Link to the Stars And Stripes article:

http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,1...tml?ESRC=dod.nl



Now what possible reason could they have for being depressed?

Side effect :
Suicidality
The FDA requires all antidepressants, including sertraline, to carry a black box warning stating that antidepressants may increase the risk of suicide in persons younger than 25. This warning is based on statistical analyses conducted by two independent groups of FDA experts that found a 2-fold increase of suicidal ideation and behavior in children and adolescents, and a 1.5-fold increase of suicidality in the 18–24 age group.[136][137][138]



Suicidal ideation and behavior in clinical trials are rare. For the above analysis, the FDA combined the results of 295 trials of 11 antidepressants for psychiatric indications in order to obtain statistically significant results. Considered separately, sertraline use in adults decreased the odds of suicidality with a marginal statistical significance by 37%[138] or 50%[137] depending on the statistical technique used. The authors of the FDA analysis note that "given the large number of comparisons made in this review, chance is a very plausible explanation for this difference".[137] The more complete data submitted later by the sertraline manufacturer Pfizer indicated increased suicidality.[139] Similarly, the analysis conducted by the UK MHRA found a 50% increase of odds of suicide-related events, not reaching statistical significance, in the patients on sertraline as compared to the ones on placebo.[140][141]

....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoloft#Suicidality

Is there anything more depressing than the thought of veterans on antidepressants?

They want to put my father, 76 - Korean War vet, on antidepressants. He was a difficult man who is now trying to "come around" in his old age, but the idea of an old man on antidepressants is just really sad.

I know that his depression stems from PTSD experienced in Korea, even though that was some 60 years ago. PTSD never goes away. It's really sad that the only thing the medical establishment can come up with is pills, pills, pills.

America's Medicated Army, Time Magazine, Jun. 05, 2008
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,...8,00.html?imw=Y

I prefer to self medicate, although, when I was in it was Motrin, everybody got motrin. Soon a lot of Marines were having liver problems because of the heavy doses they were instructed to take. I even stopped taking it because my one friend got really sick. Cause: Motrin overdose. As prescribed. Enough said.

I suppose they could take Ambien, but isn't that the one that causes weird, out-there behavior like sleep-driving?

Not a whole lot better .......

....
Side effects at any dose may include:
Anterograde amnesia
Hallucinations, through all physical senses, of varying intensity
Delusions
Altered thought patterns
Ataxia or poor motor coordination, difficulty maintaining balance[30]
Euphoria and/or Diaspora
Increased appetite
Decreased libido
Amnesia
Impaired judgment and reasoning
Uninhibited extroversion in social or interpersonal settings
Increased impulsivity
When stopped rebound insomnia may occur
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zolpidem#Side-effects


If they have psychological problems they should be pulled from combat - [and be treated
properly for it] period.

More bandaids on bandaids - about an illegal, immoral and deceptively authorized Invasion/occupation.
Nothing will ever make it, other than that ..... it is an overall symptom of the problem !

The number of American servicemen on medications such as Prozac and Zoloft in combat zones now exceeds 20,000

does anyone know the % verses none vets. it seems we all know people on these meds and may even be on them ourselves.

Medicating Our Troops

There's a fascinating article in Time this week, and that's not something I say about that mag very often. The mag has gone and taken an in-depth look at how many troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are being medicated for depression and sent back to the front lines. Sixteen percent of troops are taking anti-depressants and it all just goes from there.

War is truly hell.

It's nice to see someone in the mainstream media take a poke at this issue. I'm not sure that the article is entirely successful--there are some stats in it that are just wrong--but globally I give the mag credit for doing a fair and balanced job. One Army official, for example, is quoted saying he believes the troops get good care (which I doubt, but what else would he say?) and the magazine even delicately swings at the question of anti-depessant use and suicide:

"At least 115 soldiers killed themselves last year, including 36 in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army said on May 29. That's the highest toll since it started keeping such records in 1980. Nearly 40% of Army suicide victims in 2006 and 2007 took psychotropic drugs — overwhelmingly, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac and Zoloft. While the Army cites failed relationships as the primary cause, some outside experts sense a link between suicides and prescription-drug use — though there is also no way of knowing how many suicide attempts the antidepressants may have prevented by improving a soldier's spirits. 'The high percentage of U.S. soldiers attempting suicide after taking SSRIs should raise serious concerns,' says Dr. Joseph Glenmullen, who teaches psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. 'And there's no question they're using them to prop people up in difficult circumstances.'"
Forty percent is a discouragingly high percentage. I'll leave it at that.

One thing that mag leaves largely untouched is how these troops will do once the Iraq War is over (assuming it ever is. Afghanistan is a different story), or how they do when they rotate home. I have even larger concerns about their long-term health and how many troops might end up not being able to get off anti-depressants. But that's for another day.

For now, it's pretty clear to me that America is going to be reaping the whirlwind of the Iraq War for a long time. Thanks very much, President Bush.



http://www.furiousseasons.com/archives/200...our_troops.html