Treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorders WITH SERZONE

WHAT IS PTSD

Many adults suffer from the mental illness of Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, otherwise known as PTSD. PTSD is an extreme anxiety mental disorder that causes excessive concern, or worry over common problems, or problems that might happen, such as automobile not starting in the morning to get to work, although it has been running smoothly, the house catching on fire during the middle of the night with no apparent reason. Various treatments for PTSD have been experimented with, producing just as many different results, although a cure has not yet been discovered. In this essay, we will be discussing PTSD, how the drug Serzone has been used in treating this illness, and other possible cures for PTSD.

PTSD is a serious mental disorder, and the seriousness of this disease should not be underestimated, however, it is not to be confused with regular anxiety disorders. The symptoms of PTSD are so broad, that nearly everyone can fit into this category, and has been widely misused, which will be discussed at the end of this report. Everybody, from time to time, has experienced emotions such as anger, fear, happiness and excitement over events that were anticipated, but never happened. These emotions, considering they are occasional and within reason, are involuntary, and felt by the most mentally sound individuals. (Gorman, 2002)

WHO IS AT RISK FOR PTSD?

Studies reveal that 100% of the American population is at risk for developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or some other type of mental illness. Anyone who is not easily influenced learns when to question the validity of these statistics. Granted, there are many legitimate cases, but if the truth is known, there are probably many more statistics that are not legitimate, and mentally sound people who are just going through a bad time, are faced with the stigma of a history of mental illness, being medically treated when they did not need it, and although a misdiagnosis, they must go through extreme circumstances to regain their credibility. But for this research, we are going to look at the legitimate cases.

People who go through divorce, death of a loved one, unable to conceive in pregnancy, loss of a job, marriage to the wrong partner, having a child when unprepared, giving birth, middle age life crisis, and the most recent recognizable incidences have been traumatic experiences and veterans of war, are all contributors to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder conditions. Veterans do experience legitimate cases of stress disorders. Going through war can be a very traumatic experience. It is very easy to imagine the trauma of killing an enemy, even when it is in self-defense. Consciously, it is very common to think we could easily kill someone such Bin Laden, but until one is actually faced with the situation, there is no way of knowing how one will react. The military trains to strip all emotions away from individuals, however experiencing war is a completely a different situation.

PTSD AFFECTING WAR VETERANS

"Ghosts of War"- Many veterans and those who fought in wars before and since have not healed. Their families suffer from a war that took place in a distant land, often years before their birth. Countless veterans from all wars suffer from a debilitating disorder known as Post

Traumatic Stress Disorder." (Steubing, 2001)

It was only after World War II, that it was recognized that veterans have a real case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, or other mental problems, which need psychiatric care, but many veterans were denied psychiatric care. Explosion of bombs and missiles, having to stay on your guard 24 hours a day, and not being able to communicate with family members for the length of the war, will take a mental toll on anybody. "At one point in the war, the number of men being discharged from the service for psychiatric reasons exceeded the total number of men being newly drafted" (Tiffany and Allerton, 1967). The mental stress situation did get worse before changes were made to improve the situation. During the Korean War, mental stress statistics reached its peak, and clinics had psychiatric care for short-term onsite treatment. Instead of the soldiers being permanently released form the war as in World War 11, soldiers in the Korean War received the psychological treatment they needed, and most of them returned to the war as soon as possible. The Vietnam War, took a surprising turn, psychological stress were the lowest compared to all the other wars, with a ratio of 12 per one thousand victims of mental illness. (Goodwin, 1987).

Special treatment experiments for veterans are continuously being experimented with, and are expanding. PTSD care is not available to the many veterans, which needs psychiatric care, but providing more facilities to reach veterans is now underway....

Both outpatient and inpatient health care facilities are being increased, in locations and prolong the time for in-patient care, make an entrance for veterans more convenient, faster and easier, expand services for veterans families, and make the applications and claims process easier for veterans who need psychiatric care. (steubing, 2001)
SERZONE

"Serzone is a highly popular anti-depressant drug manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. More than seven million Americans

use Serzone and annual sales o the pharmaceutical product exceeded

$100 million. On December 7, 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) advised the manufacturer that warning labels

Should advise that Serzone could cause liver damage" (NA, copywrited,

2002).

Serzone, an antidepressant drug, widely used to cure depression, but has not been getting very good publicity, and has had serious physical consequences, such as permanent liver damage. Serzone is intended for adult use only, and never should be used in treating children. The drug was invented in 1994, was tested on children ages 7 to 17, before it became available. Bristol-Meyers Company were to report the results to the Federal Drug Administration, however, the results still were not reported six years later. Although the tests results concerning the consequences of Serzone have not been reported, the medication was made legal for physicians to prescribe the drug to patients they feel could benefit from the drug. However, the FDA never gave its consent to treat children with Serzone, however many physicians have done so, and the results ended in irreversible liver damage, need for kidney transplants and even death. Most people would agree that, in most cases, companies that test medication on children would not seem to be very credible. (Willman, 2000)

SERZONE'S GOOD SIDE

It is always the bad news that seems to speak louder than the positive news, and usually the statistics favoring the good news outnumbers the statistics concerning the negative effects. The media that has exposed the bad news about Serzone, may not be revealing the entire story. Leaving out a few words where it is convenient, and adding a few words where the situation allows stretching the truth a little, can give a story an entirely different meaning. A recent and more profound example of this was the diet substance named Phen-Phen, the media exploded with the statistics that 3 people out of one million died from using this dietetic prescription drug. First of all, three people out one million are really good statistics, and what was not revealed was the persons health history and if they followed the directions. The Serzone's treatment concerning PTSD may be under the same publicity.

"Serzone (nefazodone hydrochloride) is a new antidepressant medication found to be safe and effective during prolonged treatment of depression. Structurally,

different from other antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

(SSRIs), tricyclics and monoamine oxicase inhibitors (MAOIs) but similar to trazodone (DESYREL). Serzone inhibits serotonin reuptake and blocks one type of serotonir receptor. It's low incidence of side effects and customer-sensitive pricing make Serzone a favorable addition to the antidepressant medications currently available." (Gershon, 2001).

Serzone has been proven to effectively treat major cases of mental depression. Serzone does not have as many side effects or risks as other medications of mental depression medications. Most patients stop taking medication for mental depression before they experience the benefits of the medication, because the side effects are so severe. Serzone is a short-term medication, prescribed only for several weeks, with low risks of side effects. (Greshan, 2001).

BENEFITS OF SERZONE

We already established that Serzone has been effective in treating serious cases of adequately diagnosed depression. It is very possible that negative side effects occurred in careless diagnosis of depression. Serzone has helped people with sleeping disorders, and does not produce side effects such as weight gain, or unnecessary weight loss, and no symptoms of elevated blood pressure were reported. Elderly people, with mental depression were also treated effectively with Serzone. Serzone is also being tried on veterans who are suffering with PTSD from the effects of war. (Greshan, 2001).

CAN SERZONE CURE PTSD?

Medication should only be used in treating patients when their present condition outreaches the risks of the side effects of the medication. Medical physicians to easily give out anti-depressants, to patients who should handle their difficulties by living through their emotions. Mental conditions usually worsen in the long run after someone stops taking mental…