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drug_recall zoloftZoloft was approved in 1992 for treating depression and later to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder. In 1999, the FDA approved Zoloft as the first drug treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. The late 1980s debut of antidepressant drugs called selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, which includes Zoloft, has been partially attributed to the increase in treated depression, but the widespread use of Zoloft and other antidepressant drugs over the years has been controversial.
A casual link to suicide and antidepressants like Zoloft over the years has gained increasing scrutiny. Although the stigma that used to be attached to seeking treatment for depression has been largely eliminated over the years, in part due to the major marketing campaigns by drugmakers like Zoloft maker Pfizer Inc., many critics are concerned that the powerful drugs are being over-prescribed. Trends that Americans are following in depression treatment have significantly changed in recent years and antidepressants are being used twice as often as they were a decade ago.
Major depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States, but more Americans are starting to look for Zoloft alternatives. The Zoloft alternatives are being sought for various reasons. To begin with, about 30 percent of patients on SSRIs still have significant and problematic side effects, like sexual dysfunction, insomnia and gastrointestinal difficulties, such as nausea and vomiting. For patients that have just mild symptoms of depression or are able to benefit with Zoloft alternatives like counseling and therapy, which has been vastly overshadowed in recent years because of the primary focus on drug therapy, the side effect risks outweigh the benefits of the drug.
Other patients have been seeking Zoloft alternatives because of recent concerns with the FDA''s ability to adequately protect the public from dangerous drugs. Recent studies have linked several popular medications to serious cardiovascular events, and problems have raised more questions about the safety of other drugs sold in the U.S. Editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Catherine D. DeAngelis, described 2004 as being “a tough year, largely of their (drug companies'') own making,” adding, “drug companies were not as honest and forthright as we expect them to be.”
In October 2004, the FDA ordered Zoloft, as well as other antidepressants, to include “black box” warnings because of the increased risk of suicidal behavior in children. A black box warning is the strongest warning the drug agency can implement short of a ban. The continued debate over a possible link between Zoloft and other antidepressant use among children and teens and suicidal behavior sometimes leading to death has resulted in many concerned doctors and parents searching for Zoloft alternatives.
The FDA has become increasingly wary of doctors prescribing Zoloft and other antidepressants as liberally as it has become among children and teenagers in recent years, and a shift to focusing back on Zoloft alternatives that are natural and promote healthy lifestyles is being made. Pfizer Inc. has been targeted in lawsuits alleging Zoloft caused suicide. Patients interested in possible Zoloft alternatives are advised to discuss treatment options with their doctors before changing their individual plans.
A 15-year old boy, Chris Pittman, was convicted by a jury on two counts of murder in the 2001 killings of his paternal grandparents.
The defense attorney for Pittman argued popular antidepressant Zoloft drove the boy to kill. Zoloft ...
At last month''s FDA meeting families of suicide victims emotionally asked the drug agency to provide stronger warnings on antidepressants. The warnings come a year after British health authorities first became alarmed about how newer generation an...
The FDA has begun series of public hearings in order to determine if SSRI antidepressants like Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft are...