According to Erika Schwartz MD, New Antidepressant is the Wrong RX for Menopause
"The sensible and caring way to deal with the problems of menopause is to help women understand what happened to their bodies, how their diets affect the way they feel, how exercise improves the symptoms, how stress management helps them get the sleep they need, how supplementing their hormones with bioidentical hormones can help them get their lives back on track and enlighten the world with the wisdom they acquired along the way," says Erika Schwartz MD.
New York, NY (PRWEB) March 6, 2008 -- The news that Wyeth's new antidepressant Pristiq has won approval from the FDA should make us all depressed, says Erika Schwartz MD in her latest blog at www.drerika.com.
It is a particularly ominous development for women because Wyeth is also asking the FDA to approve the drug for the reduction of hot flashes in menopause, she writes.
Pristiq will be the successor to Wyeth's Effexor XR, whose patent expires in two years. Sales of Effexor last year were $3.8 billion.
Dr. Erika says approval is proof the FDA is more anxious to protect profits of pharmaceutical companies than the wellbeing of the American public.
"The FDA whose mandate is to protect the public has spoken again," says Dr. Erika. "It has added yet another antidepressant to an already endless list of drugs that don't work."
Dr. Erika says the prospect of Pristiq being approved for menopause is truly disturbing. Treating menopause with anti-depressants is ineffective and dangerous, she says. If women are depressed during menopause it is because their hormones are depleted.
"The sensible and caring way to deal with the problems of menopause is to help women understand what happened to their bodies, how their diets affect the way they feel, how exercise improves the symptoms, how stress management helps them get the sleep they need, how supplementing their hormones with bioidentical hormones can help them get their lives back on track and enlighten the world with the wisdom they acquired along the way.
"The solution is not going to be found in giving them another drug to become dependent upon."
www.DrErika.com is dedicated to providing an independent, honest view on healthcare topics and issues from a position of devoted patient advocacy.
Its founder, Erika Schwartz, MD is an internationally-recognized patient advocate, practicing physician, expert in conventional and integrative medicine, author of four books and a frequent guest on TV and radio. DrErika.com doesn't tailor its stories to suit sponsors - it does not accept sponsors.
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