With so much news about how dangerous antidepressant medications like Paxil and Effexor are, a lot of older information seems to get replaced by newer information. Adverse drug side effects associated with SSRI drugs like Paxil and Effexor have gotten a good deal of attention after thousands of plaintiffs filed claims against the makers of these medications once they developed various conditions caused by the drugs. However, one item that seems to be ignored for the most part is the claim that SSRI antidepressants also deplete the bones and other nutrients from the body.
It is for this reason that many patients taking SSRIs like Paxil and Effexor should also consider taking vitamin supplements. Some of the nutrients that SSRIs deplete include B-Complex (B12, folic acid, B2), Selenium, Zinc, L-Gluthathione, Calcium, Magnesium and Vitamin C.
One early study showed that SSRIs inhibit the absorption of calcium into your bones. In fact, Dr. David Golzman, a senior investigator of the study which was published in Archives of Internal Medicine in 2007, said that “daily use of SSRIs can cause a 4 percent reduction in bone mineral density in your hips. The lower spine lost 2.4 percent of bone density. Additionally, SSRIs can lower your blood pressure which can result in falling; a perfect prescription for broken bones, and that puts a lot of people at increased risk for fractures over and above the risk that they already have as a result of the fact that they’re aging and are taking other medication, which may also predispose to osteoporosis.”
More recent studies have shown that 11 percent of the American population is currently taking antidepressant medications like Paxil and Effexor. Chances are many of them don’t realize the dangers the drugs pose to their bones. Among problems with nutrient depletion, patients also suffer from suicidal thoughts and behavior as well as aggressive behavior. Studies also show that babies born to mothers who take SSRIs while pregnant may also be born with various birth defects including PPHN, neural tube defects and oral clefts. This information should really force people to rethink taking SSRIs as a treatment for depression, especially since studies show that the drugs don’t work any better than placebos anyway.
