Doctors Dishing out Antidepressants for PMS “Quick Fix”

David Gutierrez
Natural News
Friday, Oct 31, 2008

Large numbers of women are being inappropriately treated with antidepressants when they actually have premenstrual syndrome (PMS), a British nonprofit has warned.

“[PMS] can make you feel depressed or even suicidal” said Jackie Howe, head of the National Association for Premenstrual Syndrome (NAPS). “But anti-depressant drugs can be strong and addictive, and anyone who takes them could end up with a record of mental health problems on their National Health Service file. Too many general practitioners spot that women are extremely down and emotional when they come in to see them, and hand out anti-depressant prescriptions without digging any deeper.”

According to NAPS, thousands of women have been misdiagnosed with clinical depression when actually their moods are linked to their menstrual cycles and do not last all month.

“For the rest of the month, these women are happy and positive people,” said Dr Nick Panay, who specializes in menstrual problems.

(Article continues below)

Many other women are correctly diagnosed, but doctors prescribe antidepressants anyway as a “quick fix.” According to Sarah Jarvis, women’s health spokesperson for the World College of General Practitioners, the demand for an easy solution comes from patients just as often as doctors.

“Women very often say ‘I need something to help me, and I need it now,’” Jarvis said. “They are very busy, they want answers and they want solutions straight away. So doctors do reach for the prescription pad.”

Jarvis said that diet, exercise and changes in birth control drugs can be more effective at treating PMS in the long-term. She advises women suffering from severe PMS to visit their doctors when they are feeling calm, rather than emotional or vulnerable.

“The most important thing [for women with severe PMS] is support from friends and family,” Panay said. “Because many women get mild [PMS], those with more severe symptoms are often dismissed as people who can’t cope. The reality is they are having a horrific time.”

Sources for this story include: news.bbc.co.uk.

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2 Responses to “Doctors Dishing out Antidepressants for PMS “Quick Fix””

sutadi1970 Says:
October 31st, 2008 at 12:31 pm
stinking whores!’bleeding bitches, they are filthy from inside thats why women menstruate that bad, if they led normal healthy lives they would not menstruate that bad, ts unnatural to bleed like western women do, meat eating, smoking, drinking, sugar, chocolates, dairy products all are unnatural foods and drugs which they put in thier bloated, fat overweight bodies, the human women body needs to keep the body , read womb, clean from all foreign substances, so it uses the menses as an outlet for filth, thats why women stink like fish, mackrel in particular, during periods, its womens own fault that they go from diapers, to tampons, pads, and incontinence diapers to the grave, live like a pig , die and bleed like a pig!
jynx Says:
November 2nd, 2008 at 5:14 am
Wow!! sutadi1970 Your response should have been titled “Death to Women” You must be a male… (and perhaps some type of macho extremist, also did you have a Mother?) And either truly ignorant of female physiology or just plain stupid, daft, and mental. PMS has nothing to do with the amount of a woman’s menstrual flow, it has to do with the hormones that are released during ovulation that create mood swings, it is the estrogen and progesterone balance that is the problem (I’m sorry, am I using really big words like physiology, ovulation and progesterone…if so look them up). So Eastern women don’t have PMS or heavy menses? Wow what medical journals could you cite to back that up? I”m sure none.. So going along with your theory of menses being an outlet for female filth, would your personal male outlet for filth be your brain that produces neurotransmitters, that sends nerve impulses to your fingers, that enables you to actually put words together and type them in a sequence to produce a sentence? (yah, you might need to read that sentence a few time to grasp its meaning) OR perhaps your outlet for filth is the way your mind creates thoughts that you intentionally warp to fit your twisted ideology, and then choose to post those thoughts on a reputable discussion board/blog, thinking you’ve proved an intelligent point that readers would be like OMG, all shock and awe. Well I’m sorry to say that your post has done nothing more than to produce laughter and sadness at your inept attempt to prove your understanding of women.

Peace Out Brother!