Fwd: USA Today Publishes A Pro-SSRI Story Featuring Mr. Paxil Terry Bradshaw

February 6, 2004

rickjgio <rickjgio@...> wrote:From: " rickjgio "

" Psychbusters "

Subject: USA Today Publishes A Pro-SSRI Story Featuring Mr. Paxil Terry Bradshaw

Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2004 23:23:30 -0800

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USA Today Publishes A Pro-SSRI Story Featuring Mr. Paxil Terry Bradshaw

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Reply to Sender Recommend Message 1 in Discussion From: rickjgio

USA Today Publishes A Pro-SSRI Story Featuring Mr. Paxil Terry Bradshaw

Back when I was but a grade school boy in the late 70's I liked to imagine what

it was like to be grown-up. Whenever I did I thought of Pittsburgh Steelers

starting quarterback Terry Bradshaw. He was what I imagined when I thought of

what it was like to have adult responsibilities. During this past holiday season

I saw ESPN's retrospective presentation of Superbowl XIII, held on January 21,

1979 and the first Superbowl I can recall watching on television live, which

featured the Bradshaw led Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Dallas Cowboys. During

his interview for the show Bradshaw said that the pressure of playing in big

games never got to him. Bradshaw was one of my sports heroes, but now he has

turned himself into a pathetic whore for Glaxo--Kline's (GSK) Paxil drug

and for psychiatric drug dependence. According the January 30 USA Today article

below Bradshaw " expects to be on medication the rest of his life. "

The day after I saw the retrospective on Superbowl XIII I saw Bradshaw live on

Fox NFL Sunday. I heard him make a joke about divorce, which drew loud laughter

from a couple of his colleagues on the show, Jimmy and Howie Long. I

immediately thought to myself, " You forgot to put in a plug for Paxil, you GSK

whore. " I wondered if the reason why Bradshaw went on Paxil was because of a

past divorce. According to the USA Today story Bradshaw had not one but three

divorces. " With any bad situations I'd experienced before - a bad game or my two

previous divorces - I got over them, " says Bradshaw. " This time I just could not

get out of the hole. The anxiety attacks were frequent and extensive. I had

weight loss, which I'd never had before. I couldn't stop crying. And if I wasn't

crying, I was angry, bitter, hateful and mean-spirited. I couldn't sleep -

couldn't concentrate. It just got crazy. "

Bradshaw says, " I could not bounce back from my divorce - emotionally - I just

could not bounce back. " One other thing that probably won't be bouncing back

either is Bradshaw's phallus, as Paxil is quite awful when it comes to causing

sexual dysfunction. It took less than two days for 20 mg. of Paxil to shut down

my sexual functioning back when I was on it for a 11 days in a healthy subject

clinical trial. So it's a safe bet that Bradshaw won't be much of a flame in bed

if ever gets married again. I know it is sacrilege to say this, but maybe

Bradshaw needs to accept that marriage isn't for him. A pharmacological fix

isn't going to make him any better at it. I see so many people miserable and

bent out of shape over relationships. I would suggest that Bradshaw is Exhibit A

for why we need a Singles Pride movement. I'm tired of observing people who hate

each other staying in relationships because it looks good socially.

The USA Today piece featuring Bradshaw by . and " medical advisor "

A. Shoop, M.D., is basically a pro-SSRI propaganda press release filled

with boilerplate biobabble jargon. " Depression is a physical illness, " says the

great thinker Bradshaw, which is complete nonsense and the American Psychiatric

Association knows this. Included as a source in the article is some clown down

at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas named Madhukar

Trivedi falsely claiming that the SSRI antidepressants don't produce side

effects, like the tricyclics and MAOI's before them. This only a couple of days

before the FDA's historic decision to put a more stringent suicide warning on

the labeling of SSRI's. Anybody with their names attached to this piece of

propaganda ought to be putting their heads in a hole in the ground by now. Of

course, the timing of the publication being only a couple days before the

historic FDA hearing on suicidality in children taking SSRI's

stinks quite badly. But we learn in the story that Mr. Paxil is on what he

calls a " Depression Tour " to promote diagnosis and drugging your cares away.

Don't expect Bradshaw to be issuing any warnings about the side effects his holy

Paxil drug causes. That's not in the script his GSK employer is providing him.

-Rick

Terry Bradshaw's winning drive against depression

By , Spotlight Health, with medical adviser A. Shoop, M.D.

Whether the Patriots or Panthers win the Super Bowl, some fans are bound to feel

depressed. That's something former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry

Bradshaw understands all too well.

" I was diagnosed with clinical depression about five years ago, " says Bradshaw,

who won four Super Bowls. " When you're clinically depressed the serotonin in

your brain is out of balance and probably always will be out of balance. So I

take medication to get that proper balance back. I'll probably have to be on it

the rest of my life. "

Bradshaw is not alone.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, in any given year, nearly

19 million American adults suffer from depressive disorders, with women

suffering at almost twice the rate of men. These illnesses include major

depressive disorder - often called clinical depression - dysthymic disorder and

bipolar disorder. Major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability

in the United States.

" Depression is a physical illness, " states Bradshaw, who is participating in a

national campaign sponsored by GlaxoKline, makers of Paxil CR, a medication

he takes. " The beauty of it is that there are medications that work. Look at me.

I'm always happy-go-lucky, and people look at me and find it shocking that I

could be depressed. "

The day-to-day ups and downs that many people experience may lead to sadness

momentarily, lasting a few hours or more. But these events don't prevent people

from enjoying their children or getting out of bed. Clinical depression lasts

longer than two weeks and is pervasive and all encompassing, typically

preventing a person from doing his or her job or from enjoying formerly

pleasurable activities.

" I could not bounce back from my divorce - emotionally - I just could not bounce

back, " Bradshaw says. " With any bad situations I'd experienced before - a bad

game or my two previous divorces - I got over them. This time I just could not

get out of the hole. The anxiety attacks were frequent and extensive. I had

weight loss, which I'd never had before. I couldn't stop crying. And if I wasn't

crying, I was angry, bitter, hateful and mean-spirited. I couldn't sleep -

couldn't concentrate. It just got crazy. "

Scouting report

Symptoms of clinical depression include:

*Persistent sadness and/or anxiety

*Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness and helplessness

*Anhedonia - loss of interest or pleasure in enjoyable activities, including sex

*Decreased energy or fatigue

*Concentration and/or memory problems and difficulty making decisions

*Insomnia or oversleeping

*Appetite changes, weight loss or weight gain

*Suicidal thoughts; suicide attempts

" It's hard for me to put into words the horrific feeling of being depressed, "

says the NFL Hall of Famer and current co-host of Fox NFL Sunday. " It is the

most sickening feeling in the world when you believe you are miserable and

you're all alone. "

And like many people struggling with depression, Bradshaw looked for a way to

numb the pain he was feeling by self-medicating.

" I was drinking a lot, and I didn't like the path I was on, " Bradshaw admits. " I

was frightened by what might happen. I wasn't sure if I was going to drink

myself to death. "

Bradshaw finally confided to his preacher and began a process of counseling that

involved first his preacher then a psychologist and finally a psychiatrist. The

latter eventually prescribed anti-depressants.

While medications, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs),

are gaining favor, the role of psychotherapy - or talk therapy - should not be

discounted. In fact, studies show that combining psychotherapy and medications

together shows more promising results than either one alone.

Tricyclic medications are effective anti-depressants, but they produce

significant side effects like constipation, urinary retention, cardiac toxicity

and sexual dysfunction. Another class of drugs monoamine oxidase inhibitors have

a propensity for drug interactions with other medications, including surgical

anesthetic agents and over-the-counter cold remedies.

" Another major issue is tricyclic drugs can be fatal in overdoses, " reports

Madhukar Trivedi, director of the depression and anxiety disorders program at

University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. " Since suicide and

suicidal thoughts are symptoms of depression, it is not good to provide a

medication that could be used to achieve it. So tricyclics are troublesome in

terms of side effects and safety. "

Trivedi says that SSRIs are popular because they address both of these problems.

" SSRIs are a very safe class of medication, " Trivedi states. " And even in

overdose do not lead to fatal outcomes. "

The second benefit of SSRIs, as their name implies, is their selectivity.

Trivedi says their effect on other neurotransmitters is " minimal to none " and

therefore doesn't lead to the serious side effects caused by tricyclics.

Mind games

SSRIs are not the holy grail of mental health.

" We are beginning to recognize that while they are very effective they are not

silver bullets or magic pills, " says Trivedi, who is not affiliated with the

GlaxoKline campaign. " Not everyone responds to SSRIs. In clinical practice,

response rates range from 40%-50% in patients. I think we have to think about

treating depression with perhaps more than one medication because not every

patient will respond to the first medication given. "

But many people with depression never show up for diagnosis, let alone

treatment.

Despite depression being the second-most disabling illness in the developed

world, far too few actually seek help. This is largely due to the stigma that

surrounds any mental illness.

" My family doesn't have any history of depression that I know of but back then

no one talked about that stuff, " Bradshaw says. " Even after all this, my family

and I still haven't talked about it because I think my mom and dad felt like it

was their fault. Neither of them is at fault. "

But Bradshaw also feels it's a mistake to suffer in silence and shame.

" Stigma is incredibly powerful, " says the two-time Super Bowl MVP. " We'll talk

about cancer and every other disease, including alcohol and drug abuse, but

people do not want to talk about depression. There's something about depression

that seems to say, 'I'm a tremendous failure' or 'I'm the biggest wuss there

is.' "

But few would call Bradshaw a " wuss " or a " failure " on the field or off. He says

it took all his courage to admit he was depressed and seek treatment.

" One of the reasons why I am doing this campaign - what I call my Depression

Tour - is I want to tell people that it's okay to be depressed, " Bradshaw adds.

" Lots of people are depressed - you're not alone - and I want them to know that

if you're clinically depressed there's a solution for you. "

And more and more often, the solution doctors are choosing is SSRIs.

" SSRIs have produced a sea change in our ability to talk to clinicians, primary

care physicians and patients about depression and anxiety, " Trivedi

acknowledges. " They have made a big impact on getting people to start trying to

get therapy for depression. "

And encouraging people suffering from depression to get help is Bradshaw's game

plan and one he calls a " winning strategy. "

" Go see your doctor, " Bradshaw urges. " Go talk to a psychiatrist. And when you

get the help you need, you're going to wonder why you didn't do it a long time

ago. "

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February 6, 2004