Things you need to know if pregnant and on SSRI's or other anti-depressants. A letter from PatriotCentral.net
On 08/26/01 I contacted Dr. Tracy to report some very
disturbing information. I had been participating in a Depression
Forum hosted at Babycenter.com. This is a website designated
for pregnant women and new mothers.
I was amazed at the
number of women who
were pregnant and on SSRIs and other anti-depressants.
When I told my story and addressed concerns about pregnancy,
nursing and use of SSRIs, I was threatened by Babycenter.com.
I was
contacted in email writing and told if I did not stop
posting my concern that I would be removed from Baby
Center.
Upon doing some research, I found out why Babycenter.com
was so upset with me. See Baby Center is owned by Johnson
and Johnson who owns several pharmaceutical companies. One
company is Janssen Pharmaceuticals-
the makers
of Risperdal (an antipsychotic) and second Ortho-McNeil- the
makers of Topamax (commonly used in psychiatric "cocktails").
The response you are about to read was the one Dr. Tracy wrote
after I contacted her.
I must warn you not to dismiss Racquel's concerns so quickly.
Let me give you a little information about serotonin and pregnancy.
Serotonin has been my area of expertise for the last 11
years. I am the Executive Director
of the
International Coalition for Drug Awareness and author of the
book Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare. For
nine years I have testified as an expert witness in court
cases involving these so called "medications." A
few cases I have worked on that you should recognize: the Mr.
and Mrs. Phil Hartman murder/suicide, the Columbine High
School massacre, the last four
school shootings in a row, a large number of mothers who have
killed their children, etc. (check the website at www.drugawareness.org
for
an extensive list of these cases).
First of all, do you have any idea how many nurses come to me
regularly
because they are so upset that your doctors are giving you these
drugs?! They see the damaging effects to both you and your babies
and as woman and professionals are alarmed by them. One in particular
who specialized
in high
risk pregnancies was concerned about how often she sees SSRI
users and the malnutrition she noticed in the SSRI users. But
when you interfere with the metabolism of serotonin [which is
how these drugs work] you are
likely interfering
with many other aspects of metabolism. During pregnancy you are
busy building the greatest construction project of all - another
human being.
Surely you must realize how important it is to metabolize all
nutrients
properly in order to utilize them to build that little body.
There are critical pieces of information that most doctors do
not know about serotonin and therefore have not shared them with their patients.
ALL WOMEN
should know
that serotonin was originally give to induce labor. Those with
elevated levels of serotonin (which the SSRIs produce) have been
known for decades to spontaneously abort. Does that help you to understand
why studies
on these drugs
have shown a higher miscarriage rate with their use?
Dr. Felix Sulman who did the initial research on serotonin found
that serotonin is a stress neurohormone and that those with increased
levels suffer from migraines, hot flashes, irritability, sleeplessness,
pains around
the heart,
tension and anxiety that would come from out of nowhere (you
will see a new study on our site where researchers were surprised
to find that those suffering from anxiety had EIGHT times HIGHER
levels of serotonin
even though
drug companies are marketing drugs that increase serotonin as
the "answer" for anxiety), difficulty breathing,
horrifying nightmares, etc. All of these are listed side effects
of these serotonergic medications. Why? Because the drug companies
blew this whole serotonin theory.
The research for decades has been clear on this issue.
Serotonin is HIGH in depression, anxiety, etc., not LOW.
What was low was the metabolism of serotonin - the one main
thing the drugs reduce
even further
in order to produce their effects. Does this help you to see
why Dr. Candace Pert, past head of the brain chemistry department
at NIH for 13 years and one of the two discoverers of the serotonin
binding process that made all these
drugs possible, came out three years ago and stated about these
drugs, "I am alarmed at the monsters I created!"?
Never has a discoverer of a group of drugs come out so strongly
against them! I do not understand why these drugs are still
on the market save the approximately $8 million per day they
each bring in for their
manufacturers. Nor
do I understand why someone would want to stay on a drug about
which the discoverer has made such a damning statement.
Does this mean I think you should all jump right off your
drugs? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I my opinion they have the worst withdrawal
of any group
of drugs we have seen to date. Just a few months ago the World
Health Organization sounded
a warning on the terrible withdrawal from these drugs and just
yesterday the Paxil makers had a suit filed against them for
the horrible withdrawal it causes. I have even had to put
out a tape that details the "how to's" of
safe withdrawal from these drugs because coming off them has
proved to be so very dangerous if you do not know what you
are doing. And I have found
that most doctors do not have any idea how to get their patients
off serotonergic meds. Why would I say that? Because they
call me asking how it
can be done safely. Do not attempt it without knowing
what you are doing!
I know a fellow whose mother was on amphetamines while she was
pregnant with him. At the time she thought it was safe for her
to continue taking her "medication." Her son was born with severe
hypoglycemia - low blood sugar. At a very early age he began
taking the drug he had become
addicted to in the womb - methamphetamine. He
is still on it and I don't know if he will ever be able to break
the cycle. His son is developmentally disabled and his wife understands
that the drugs are the reason. This is an upper middle class
family. The father
is a dentist.
What a legacy that mother unknowingly left for that young man
and his future family! What horrors they have faced ever since
as a result!
What legacy are you leaving for your children when we know that the SSRIs are the closest we have ever seen in
action to LSD or PCP? Perhaps a generation from now we will have those answers. (We still are not sure what LSD
does to a fetus.) But a generation from now will be a generation too late for those answers for your babies.
There are MANY other answers to depression and anxiety that are safe and natural. I BEG you to look at them and
learn what you are dealing with - where your depression stems from be it low blood sugar, caffeine addiction, etc.
- for the sake of your babies. I see people come out of the worst depression and anxiety all the time with simple
and safe methods. The answers to what you are going through can be so simple. These drugs are not your only choice!
Also please take a moment to sign the petition demanding a Grand Jury Investigation
into serious misconduct concerning Prozac on the part of Eli Lilly.
Click Here.
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