CNN Health reports on new research showing that the atypical antipsychotics (i.e. Risperdal, Seroquel, Zyprexa, Geodon, Abilify and Clozaril) may cause sudden cardiac death. Research shows that these medications can double the chance of sudden cardiac death possibly by causing "disturbances in heart rhythms". This is in addition to all of the other warnings that have come out recently about this class of drugs. Yet doctors still continue to diagnose everyone who complains of "mood swings" with Bipolar Disorder and prescribing this class of drugs to them.
The pharmaceutical companies have marketed these medications as causing less side effects than older versions of antipsychotics and have pushed the idea that they are an effective treatment for Bipolar Disorder, ADHD and even aggressiveness in patients with Alzheimer’s. This marketing has been so effective that three of the drugs, Abilify, Seroquel and Risperdal, are "among the 10 top-selling drugs worldwide". This is very disturbing. This is a very serious class of drugs, with some very serious warning labels, which should only be taken as a last resort. Yet most of my clients seem totally unaware of this. Even worse than the medicating of adults for "mood swings" with this class of drugs is the use of these medications for treating children with ADHD.
The other issue is the overdiagnosis of these two diagnoses. Normal people have mood swings. This is not something which needs to be medicated. Bipolar Disorder is a much more serious illness than just having "mood swings". I see people everyday who have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and medicated, because they are emotional. This is often the result of some major event in their life, such as divorce or death, or a traumatic event. If you are going through the death of a loved one or a divorce there is grief there which needs to be felt and expressed – not medicated.
I also see children being raised in abusive situations, situations where the parents are heavily using drugs, or situations which are chaotic and unstable. These children are highly stressed and anxious and display this. When they act out this anxiety in the classroom, they are "diagnosed" by the teacher as having ADHD and the parents are advised to take the children to a doctor and get them some "Ritalin". The child is taken to the doctor who is trained and paid to diagnose and medicate. So that is what he does. I have one middle school client who is on an atypical antipsychotic for ADHD. She is acting out the violence she sees in her home, but no one has been addressing the violence among the adults, just medicating the child. And no one told the parents they were giving the child a drug originally created for schizophrenia. It was presented as an ADHD medication. The parents also had no idea about the numerous warnings associated with this class of drugs.
When did marketing become more important than good medicine?
You can read more about these issues at my blog at Kellevision.com.
See, Overdiagnosing Bipolar Disorder and more of my articles on psychiatric medications.
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