Every other day some drug company announces that it has a new product and is conducting a clinical trial. These companies attempt to solicit potential lab rats for their experiments by advertising on TV, radio or the internet. It seems that any “eligible and willing participant” (whatever THAT means) will be compensated, usually in the form of cash, for their involvement in said trial.
I usually don’t pay much attention to these commercials as I have never been willing to apply, insert, inject or ingest some unknown substance manufactured by a company who feels the need to advertise to the GENERAL public that they are in want of “test subjects.” However… one commercial DID capture my attention recently.
I heard on the radio that someone (I really don’t know who or what organization) is looking for individuals who are currently or have at one time been on prescription anti-depressants. They want to test “several new types of antidepressants” on any depressed person who is “eligible and willing” between the ages of 18 and 65. I don’t know about you, but this scares the hell out of me that there could be diagnosed, already-depressed people LEGALLY walking around out there on EXPERIMENTAL, mood-altering substances, and getting paid for it!
From previous posts, anyone reading this ought to know by now that I am certainly NOT anti-anti-depressant. I have freely admitted to using and benefiting from them… under the careful observation and supervision of a REAL medical doctor or psychologist!! It is typically a risk starting any mood-altering medication, even under the best of circumstances and surveillance. There’s a reason those drugs carry black-box warnings you know. There is no way to anticipate how any given psychotropic drug is going to affect you physically, cognitively, emotionally and mentally. However, with a prescribing doctor nearby, an informed person can usually get through any trouble that may occur during the initial start-up period.
It seems alright to me for people to try a new energy drink or diet supplement or appetite suppressant here and there… or a ground-breaking skin cream for acne, psoriasis, stretch marks or eczema… Some unique teeth-whitening paste… A potion that promises a potential cure for baldness… that’s OK. But I’m sorry… no good could possibly come from something “experimental” being marketed to an already vulnerable, clinically depressed population.
See, the thing is… with the earlier mentioned items… what’s the worst that could happen? An upset stomach, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, excess gas and bloating, flatulence, headache, skin rash, hives, itching, dry-skin, oily-skin, scaly skin, weight gain, weight loss, hair loss, tooth loss, dry mouth, sleeplessness, restlessness, ringing in the ears, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, swelling of the mouth, face, lips or tongue, chest pain, dark urine, fast, slow or irregular heartbeat, fever, chills, sore throat, swelling of the hands, ankles or feet, unusual bruising or bleeding, excessive tiredness, vision changes, muscle soreness, strange watery discharge, night sweats, numbness, nose bleeds, bleeding out the eyes… that stuff is child’s play compared to what might happen when you carelessly tinker with the chemistry of the brain.
Just imagine someone participating in this highly-solicited clinical trial who is a crane operator, taxi-driver or middle-school teacher… ALL of which are extremely perilous jobs. HELLO!? Does the idea of this stuff being offered up to any psychologically-medicated person within earshot of a radio scare anyone else? Or is it just me?
Perhaps I am paranoid.
Maybe I should give that 1-800 number a call. I could use the extra cash.
Woman In Thrisis 
Now if you see a crazy person walking around you know why! They are in trials.
You mean, crazier than “normal”… right? 😉
Hilarious!!!!
Thanks Ma 😀 Wanna do it with me?
No Joanna, Don’t do it ! 😀 Too Funny!
No worries JT… I won’t. When the list of “side effects” is longer than the list of benefits… you gotta wonder… 😛
I totally agree. However, a point. There are people who are in the deep, dark caves of depression that will try ANYTHING that they haven’t tried already (obviously with no success) in the hopes that it will be that ONE med that gets them off their couch and makes them feel they can accomplish things they once felt impossible (like brushing teeth and getting dressed). I personally am with you on this and would not take any trial drug for all of the reasons you stated, and I’ve been in some deep, dark caves myself. However, I can understand the desperation and frustration that would cause someone to put their physical health at risk for a little relief from the oppression of their mental unhealthiness. My thoughts on anti-depressants are 1) they need to be combined with some sort of therapy and 2) if #1 is followed, a good therapist will motivate you to “work” on yourself using some sort of cognitive behavior, finding new ways to cope, think, express (or not express so much) emotion so you, on some glorious, wonderful day, do not have to take that FDA-approved pill along with the multi-vitamin and (at my age now) the calcium chew (they’re awful). I’ve never looked at my anti-depressant as a permanent thing. Physiologically, I know my brain has its problem either producing serotonin or routing it where it needs to go. I know this is a real, physical problem. None of us were born perfect, therefore, it is our responsibility to ourselves to find ways to deal with our deficiencies, both physically and mentally. I’m 5′ 2″ and don’t think I’m shy about asking some tall guy, especially if he’s cute, at the grocery store to grab the granola on the top shelf for me. (Evidently, the Whole Foods in my neighborhood thinks only tall people eat granola.) But I’ve found, and this is just my experience, that the more I find out about myself, know why I do and feel the things I do, know how to process those feelings in a healthy, nondestructive manner, that I get one step closer to not having to re-fill that script every month. Admittedly, this is being done in baby steps (no thanks to Bob and Dr. Leo Marvin), but nonetheless, the more I’m aware of my emotions, the better I am at guiding them through my little serotonin-deprived brain.
P.S. Apologies, Joanna, I’ve used your comment box to almost compose an entire post of my own. Maybe instead of surfing around on other people’s blogs and leaving my novellas, I might go to mine and actually publish my own post?????? Have a great weekend!
No apologies necessary Paige. I’m sorry I haven’t responded until now! I agree with 100% of what you said. And I don’t mind your addition to my entry at all! I know what you mean though, at times, I write such thorough things on OTHER people’s pages that I neglect some original thought for my own.
I too have wondered about my antidepressant being permanent or not. I also wonder that even if it was… wouldn’t it stop working at some point!?!
Thanks again for the addition 🙂 Hope you had a good weekend!