My View on Prozac/Lexapro and Other Prescription Drugs

Many People Take Prozac for Depression, Panic Disorder, or OCD Among Other Things, but Are the Benefits Worth the Side Effects?

Prozac was introduced in 1986 by the Lilly drug company. This drug was manufactured to help people with depression, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and bulimia. Different doctors may prescribe this medication for other reasons as determined by him or her.  "Prozac is the most widely prescribed antidepressant in history."

(www.prozac.com). This comes as no surprise to me. This drug has been around for almost as long as I have been alive; and when I think of all the people I know who use Prozac, it almost seems like doctors are hesitant to prescribe anything else. Off the top of my head, I can think of a very large number of people who have taken Prozac, or who are currently using it. In fact, I can think of 4 people in my immediate family who are currently taking Prozac. Is it really that much better than everything else? What has made it stand the test of time? Then again, if Prozac is so amazing, why have an infinite number of newer antidepressants come out over the years? 

  I'm sure we have all seen the commercials for Prozac, not to mention countless other drugs. It seems to me that almost every drug/medication out there has the same possible side effects; nausea, headache, sore throat, dizziness, and so on. In the real world, though, how many people actually end up suffering from these side effects? Even if a study was done to prove that only 1% of people taking a certain drug for a specific amount of time would develop heart problems, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is safe. What makes me so invincible that i couldn't be part of the 1% world population who would end up with a stroke from using prescription drugs? Also, how many people actually participate in drug studies, and for how long? Ive heard that 96% of all drugs approved by the FDA are only studied short term. It is fact that many drugs take years or even decades to pose potential problems for the user.