Isn't DTC (Direct to Consumer)grand? how about successful campaigns ala Viva Zyprexa! and Abilify for bipolar! once those ads got to the consumers, (not to leave out that little sad blob from the Zoloft tv ad days)one must remember the drug reps got to the doctors first, and most ALL anti depressants are rx'd via PCPs besides Seroquel for insomnia, etc. I'd bet most ppl received those 2 categories of drugs from a PCP not a psychiatrist, which is dangerous medicine practice in my opinion!

It's great to see pharma has come such a long way in the area of psychiatric drugs... They are so effective that you need to take 5 different varieties at once, constantly have to tweak their dose, come off them when side effects get too bad, add more to combat the side effects, etc... Thanks for making downtrodden people's lives that much better, Pharma!

Amen. This is very disturbing:

"While some of these combinations are supported by clinical trials, many are of unproven efficacy. These trends put patients at increased risk of drug-drug interactions with uncertain gains for quality of care and clinical outcomes."

As I read around online, patients again and again list the different cocktails they are on, each one different from the next. Anecdotally speaking, it seems to be becoming the norm.

I recently read a book on Bipolar 2 in which the author talks about all the wonderful help that's now available, and then confesses she's on two antidepressants, one mood stabilizer, and a low dose of Seroquel. This is for MILD bp.

Psychiatry itself is sick.

Yes, it's a very disturbing trend. One incentive for pharma to push this trend, besides the obvious profit factor, is the way in which taking multiple drugs clouds the legal liability issue. It becomes hard to blame outcomes on one particular drug (not easy at the best of times) and thus limits the possibility for patients to take legal action. I do believe that this is part of the motivation behind educating doctors that multiple drugs are "needed." Very nefarious.

P.S. It is interesting though that the article appears to be written from the point of view that maybe this isn't the greatest thing ever to happen in the field of psychiatry. An ever so slightly cautionary note is being sounded. I consider that progress, albeit not very impressive and long overdue.

Yeah, I used to assume that when they mixed all these drugs together there was some scientific evidence that it was effective - that there had been clinical trials, etc. We were part of an experiment without the informed consent part, and many still are.

Can anybody tell me whether this polypharmacy trend is a purely American phenomenon?

From my experiences with psychiatry, it seems that any newer medication tends to be viewed as exciting and therefore better. (Which maybe just points to how jaded and hopeless some doctors are?) Meanwhile, a friend of mine who moved overseas is being tapered off most of her meds and was switched from her fancy new antidepressant to a tricyclic; it's the first time i've ever heard of anyone taking a tricyclic.