DEPRESSION IS DEPRESSING

I set out this morning to dash off a little entry on Prozac. In preparation I looked up the latest stats on usage in the US. The numbers are usually presented to stagger the audience, wow 21 million scrips written in the US in 2004, what is happening to our society? Etc. etc.

But keep this in perspective: 92 million scrips written for just ONE of the varieties of Viocdon (hydorcodone), 69 million for Lipitor (got to keep those lipids down), 29 million for Zoloft anti-anxiety medication.

That doesn’t even take into account the "pam’s" (Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Diazepam, Temazepam, etc.). Those would be your valiams, your xanax, your restoril’s. As a group, that would make 52 MILLION scrips!!!! My god man, CALM THOSE NERVES, reading about Prozac is giving me an ANXIETY ATTACK!

It isn’t hard to understand the 31 million Albuteral prescriptions for all that asthma, or the 18 million for Allegra, got to clear those nosies! Do I have to go on? OK, just one more, should I keep it up? 13 million….Viagra! (oh god, THAT was bad).