FDA, SSRIs & Suicide: Problems do exist

Yes, the FDA should look at suicide with SSRI treatment. The SSRIs should not be reviewed, however, with a categorical directive – to come to a conclusion regarding: are they “good or bad?”

Way to simple! – and SSRIs are saving lives everyday. So why should the FDA look at suicide in adults – and just what is the problem?

SSRIs are predictably bad if the comorbid, associated, diagnosis is not recognized and not treated in the correct sequence. What a mouthful. But those of you on board with CorePsychBlog missives already have heard this theme. Problems with good meds: one of my favorite subjects, has been for more than 15 years. And now I have seen thousands of SPECT scans that verify the challenges we face in finding the correct multiple diagnoses. Get it all right and SSRIs are not a problem. Pictures speak louder than words. But first an outline of the problems.

This brief outline will be amplified on in later posts. Previous posts here do cover some of these subjects. For now please think of these topics as a table of contents for the next series of posts. These are a brief list of comorbid conditions that occur with depression. If any of these problems are untreated, the SSRI can often amplify the depression and the impulsivity. More likely to suicide.

1. Bipolar illness
2. ADD, ADHD
3. Temporal lobe dysregulation following brain injury
4. Metabolic issues including bowel, liver, and hormonal dysregulations
5. Other meds not properly identified as interacting and creating toxic reactions
6. Improperly adjusted dosage
7. Sleep not addressed simultaneously
8. Nutrition insufficiency: effects biotransformation and  foundation of neurotransmitters
9. Neurotoxins already present
10. Genetic inability to metabolize different SSRIs, causing toxic accumulation

There are probably a few I am missing but this is start.

Let's just hope the FDA starts their SSRI review with just the first two above.

Stay tuned: psychiatry is coming out of the closet, these are real medical, real life and death matters.