Does that time of the month make you irritable? Bloated? Full of mood swings? Does this occur to you every month? Well, guess what--you may not be suffering from PMS, but rather, PMDD (premenstrual disphoric disorder)!--And guess what, there's a treatment!
Or so sellers of Prozac would like you to think.
When Prozac's patent was running out, they were somewhat desperate to find a way to keep selling it. Their solution: give it a new name--Sarafem; paint the drug without changing the internal material a new color--from green to pink and purple; find a new target audience, preferably gullible--women; and at last, make up a new sickness: PMDD.
What surprises me the most is that they somehow got away with it--Prozac is not something to be played--in my opinion, Depression is an over-diagnosed condition in the USA, and there are many other ways that would be more effective at treating it. Side effects of Prozac are very real and very dangerous, especially if someone takes it with other drugs--such as coffee. I was on Prozac for awhile, but then I had to stay up late for a test and drank a few teas--and WHAMMO, stuck with a Panic Attack that lasted an hour. As it turns out, I love coffee much more than prozac, and have since discontinued any kind of drug for depression.
For more on Sarafem:
http://www.youtube.http://www.
6 comments:
I heard about this - Prozac making up PMDD to continue selling it. The drug industry is so corrupt. However, I do believe that medications, including depression medications, can be very useful.
Interesting.
Although, as someone who'd doctor has suggested might have PMDD due to the EXTREME emotional and anxiety issues I experience in correlation with my cycle, this information makes me feel like I must be just plain crazy. Which sucks.
*whose doctor
I know that depression drugs can help certain people--pretty much half of my family is on some kind of anti-depressant, and some people on the other half SHOULD be taking them.
I'm just bothered by how this marketing encourages more people to take prozac who perhaps are just having PMS. I've experienced bad side effects from Prozac, and a close family member nearly killed herself because prozac put her hormones out of whack--I'm concerned that they're overgeneralizing, and overdiagnosing this to people who may experience very bad side effects, even while some may receive some benefit.
While I was searching this up on YouTube, there were a bunch of other videos with titles such as, "Bad effects of Sarafem," or "sarafem kills."
And I don't think you're crazy for experiencing all these emotional and anxiety problems--I think there's a patriarchal dialogue which labels anything "not normal" in terms of a man's perspective as "crazy"--which is another reason why this Sarafem thing bothers me. It seems to me to say, "You have natural side effects to swellings of progesterone and estrogen at that very feminine time of month? Well that's terrible, we should fix that so you can fit better in a male-dominated society."
That being said, I should probably clarify my point of view. For a long time the only way I could get a period was if it was induced by birth control pills, and then after a few months even those wouldn't work because I was too skinny--so for me my period and my PMS is a matter of pride. It's only in the past year started getting regular, for the first time this summer I started having certain PMS side effects, so they're all kind of exciting and new to me (even though I'm 21 years old) --so I understand that my worldview may be somewhat skewed, since the PMS thing is relatively new and low-key for me. It is for these reasons that thought of someone trying to medicate away the PMS that I am so prideful of that I get quite upset.
I think that many women legitimately have severe problems around their menstrual cycle and can feel okay about seeking relief - however, there is something to say about pathologizing women's problems.
If it was placed side by side with Midol or some other product, I'd be absolutely fuming!
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