New York City-February 1 2010-- Gamu Moyo, a twenty year old New School University student confronts the issue of doctor negligence regarding prescription changes for high dose antidepressant medication. When asked what Moyo is treated for she responded "I have struggled with high anxiety and depression for about two years now and have been through several bouts regarding medication changes." 'What problems have you run into along the way?'
My anxiety seemed to be remaining in the same stage, if not getting worse. I consulted my doctor asking if it may be a good idea for a change in prescription or a possible increase in the dose that I was currently taking."
Moyo goes on to explain that without even a consult and very little conversation via telephone with her doctor, her prescription was increased twice within two months. Moyo is now taking a high dose of a rather strong antidepressant medication. She notes that if she continues with these increases, by the time she is twenty-five she will be completely dependent on antidepressant drugs. "My doctor should be helping me cope with my anxiety by suggesting alternative options, or perhaps steadily taking me off of my medication to see how I have learned to cope with issues because I am older now and in a completely different environment. However, she is pushing me further down a path of complete dependency on prescription drugs."
"It is not only my doctor's negligence that frightens me", Moyo states "It is the fact that if this is happening to me, it must be happening to many other young adults; young adults that can very well be headed toward serious drug addictions."
The decrease in patient/doctor confidence has been on the rise in recent years. Doctor Barbara Ciaglia, M.D, CMC Hospital, is quoted saying "The medical field as well as the American public have, in recent years, become suppressed by pharmaceutical companies' iron fist. These companies push forth 'easy fixes' for depression and anxiety problems through rigorous advertising. It is up to the individual doctor to take full care of their patients."
According to a study conducted in August of 2010 by Archives of General Psychiatry, the number of young American adults taking prescription antidepressants has doubled in the last decade while the numbers of young adults regularly consulting or being consulted, in any form, by their doctors continues to decrease.
Lily Buzzard, a fellow student of Moyo's also commented on the issue.
I had been trying to consult with my doctor [in Pennsylvania] over the phone about problems with my current anxiety medication. After several unanswered calls followed by a short game of phone tag, my doctor finally got back to me. She asked me if I thought it right to switch off of the relatively light dose of a fairly light medication that I had been taking, [Zoloft] to a very potent antidepressant/anti anxiety med that has the potential to become very addictive [Xanex]. I am on no grounds to be able to make a medical decision carrying that much weight and she essentially put it into my hands.
The use of antidepressants continues to grow, with nearly 190 million prescriptions dispensed in the United States last year, according to IMS Health, a health care information company. That suggests doctors have placed more weight on the long-term benefits of the drugs than on any short-term risks, Dr. Thomas Laughren, director of the FDA’s division of psychiatry products, told panelists.
This begs the question; is this growing negligence by doctors toward their young adult patients partly to blame for the drastic increase of the sales of antidepressant/ anti anxiety medication or are the pharmaceutical companies the ones at fault?
Felicia Wotanis
New School University
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