Big Troubles Associated with Antidepressants

I love Dr. Mercola's newsletter in part because he is so outspoken and unafraid of making waves.  (I also think he has good lawyers because he has been sued by pharma companies who like to keep a lid on this kind of perspective!)

This is a short excerpt from a Mercola article:

• Antidepressant-induced violence and homicide is an international problem, but it is particularly apparent in the US due to the widespread use (and misuse) of these drugs
• 31 commonly-prescribed drugs are disproportionately associated with cases of violent acts. Five of the top 10 most violence-inducing drugs are antidepressants. Commonly used ADHD drugs are also on the list
• Research has found that one in every 250 subjects taking Paxil or Prozac were involved in a violent episode. In a study group of 25,000 people, this included 31 assaults and one homicide

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/03/antidepressant-side-effects.aspx?e_cid=20131003Z1_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20131003Z1

....It is interesting to me that St. John's Wort is largely prescribed in Europe for depression and seems to be so uncommon here as far as prescriptions go.  Also the work of Daniel Amen breaks depression down into many types, some of them are not due to low serotonin.  Interestingly there is a simple urine test for a neurotransmitter profile ($90 without insurance)--but how many doctors don't give it to their patients before prescribing antidepressants.  

What if that patient is sleeping a lot and low energy becasue of adrenal fatigue or sub clinical low thyroid (low normal range, which some doctors think is too low) and not depression?  What if the neurotransmitter test is not given, and the patient has HIGH serotonin (see the work of Ray Peat)--if a patient is high in serotonin the absolute last thing they need (according to Ray) is to boost their serotonin.  This is why I am glad for people like Mercola who offer a cautionary perspective on antidepressants.

A Votre Sante, (Here's To Your Health,)  Alix