Psychiatric Drugs

[anoymous]

I have recently been taking some psychology classes, and learned that psychiatric drugs do NOTHING, people just think they are helping them. studys show that marijuana actually helps people with psychiatric issues. but nothing replaces REAL treatment.

 

[old_anorak]

No, the drugs don't cure the illness, just helps to control the symptoms. Marinol (sp) a drug derived from marijuana has had some good results when used for some symptoms with some of the diseases, not all of them.

When I worked at the mental hospital, we'd always know when the doctors would start playing with the meds on certain inmates/patients. Their symptoms would start ramping up again until the person would end up hurting either themselves or someone else. I never understood why the doctors start playing with meds when the patient is doing well on the protocol that they are currently on. I've often wondered if the doctors weren't getting kick backs from the pharmaceutical companies to use the patients as lab rats.

 

[anoymous]

but the medication gives some people side effects that can be worse than what they are giving it for, like irreversible cardiac arrest, stroke. it also leads to chronic health issues.

 

[anoymous]

i personally believe that pharmaceutics are used way to much, often when they aren't needed

 

[old_anorak]

That is very true about the side effects. Some of them are extremely nasty and will last a person's lifetime even if they go off of the medication.

I do know that in the state run mental hospitals here in Missouri, chemical restraint use is 80% less then what it was 20 years ago. The same with physical restraints. There are cases that the meds need to be upped. After working in a maximum security mental hospital for the criminally insane, I really have no issue with a paranoid schizophrenic taking their meds if it keeps them from getting violent.

I used to believe like you, that people were overmedicated, but then I walked the mile in the shoes of those who care for the institutionalized mentally ill.

 

[anoymous]

but don't you think if they were properly treated they wouldn't be as violent

 

[old_anorak]

No, no I don't. These are not the people you see at WalMart who take Cymbalta or what have you. These are people that rape children, kill family members because the voices told them to, think that they are God, I don't know how to explain the difference to you any better than with this. We had an inmate who took a nurse hostage and beat her to death. Before she died, he scooped her eyes out with a plastic spoon and ate them. Absolutely no remorse, his only regret was that he didn't eat her lips as well.

 

[anoymous]

well i am not sure about some of those patients then, but i have been working with a few PTSD victims, and seen significant improvement without medication

 

[old_anorak]

Where I worked, we deal with the worst of the worst. The most violent offenders. I no longer work there due to head injuries that have resulted in permanent brain damage, memory loss, and seizures. The people in there need to be medicated, hell half of them should be taken out and shot for what they did to get put in there.

There are some disorders that can be greatly helped by therapy and I'm all for that in those cases.

 

[realisticdude]

Schizophrenia patients that don't take their medications, are in our emergency rooms needlessly. Noncompliance with psychiatric medications is a major problem . Yes , the medications work ,but only if taken and managed. You can never estimate the severity of an acute psychological episode . Side effects of psychiatric medications do not outweigh the benefits.........................Marijuana for PTSD, sure, I can see that. ( WE ALL have PTSD in our own way)...... so don,t Bogart my friend, pass it over to me.....................

 

[old_anorak]

Exactly, everything depends on how compliant a patient is in following their treatment plan. If they don't then all bets are tossed to the wind.