[drugawareness] NY POST-DARKER SIDE TO THE 9/11 'WONDER' PILL

[Guest guest]

atracyphd wrote:

 

My Groups | drugawareness Main Page

 

Sue Edelman of the New York Post has been working on an article for a couple

of weeks and it was published this morning in the form of two articles in

today's New York Post. Find both articles below.

 

Our gratitude goes out to her for her extensive efforts to raise awareness on

this issue!

 

The only thing I would have added to the articles is a link to our website

for additional information along with the warning that when you contact your

doctor for assistance in coming off the drug you must make sure that he/she

has a copy of my book on this group of drugs, " Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? -

Our Serotonin Nightmare, " and my tape on how to come off the SSRIs safely.

[You or your doctor can get those by calling 1-800-280-0730.]

 

Why would that be necessary?

 

First of all because MOST doctors do not have a clue that there is such a

thing as serious withdrawal from Paxil because they have been lied to by

GlaxoSmithKline just as much as the patients have been lied to about the

addictive effects of this drug or any other SSRI.

 

Secondly, MOST doctors have NO CLUE how to bring their patients down off of

the SSRIs safely. Instead they throw all caution to the wind and drop

patients rapidly - far more rapidly than they should.

 

The ONLY physician I have seen recommend reasonable caution in withdrawal

from antidepressants is Dr. Nancy Snyderman on the 20/20 special two years

ago when she cautioned that it may take a patient as long as a year to wean

down off Paxil safely.

 

Just this past week a psychotherapist contacted us to see if we could

overnight the book and tape to him so that he could use them to monitor his

doctor who has begun withdrawing him from Paxil.

 

And what made him think his doctor needed to be watched? Look at the doctor's

track record and see what you think: To begin with the doctor had switched

his dose of 20 mg Prozac to the maximum dose of 60 mg of Paxil along with

Deseryl in just a month's time!! [Even the neurologist this psychotherapist

is going to has told him that all the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy he is

now experiencing is being caused by the Paxil. Surprise? He is just lucky he

did not get diagnosed with MS like so many other patients.]

 

Now, this same doctor wants to take him off the drug at the same rapid pace

he put him on it. He has dropped him an initial 15mg!! [For years I have

gotten reports of patients jumping out of cars going down the freeway when

they drop only 5mg of Paxil!!!] And he wants him to continue to drop 15mg

every two weeks until he is off [or dead!].

 

This is much too rapid a withdrawal! But I cannot tell you how often I hear

about patients being brought down too rapidly from these drugs - possibly the

most dangerous thing you can do other than to take them in the first place.

 

This rapid withdrawal is what keeps so many patients on these drugs for so

long, like the widow in the first story by Sue Edelman below. How sad that

she was not told that the horrible effects she had was due to too rapid a

withdrawal from Paxil! Now she, as so many others, is afraid to come off the

drug and chance going into that horrible withdrawal again. How tragic that

she does not know that it does not need to be this way, that she can get off

the drug without those horrible withdrawal effects.

 

My heart goes out to someone like this! I hope that the day will soon come

that GlaxoSmithKline is held responsible for doing this to so many in order

to keep the revenue coming in on this most addictive drug. [The UK listed

Paxil as the number one most addictive drug two months ago with the next five

drugs on the list being another one of these new serotonergic

antidepressants.]

 

It does not take much common sense to realize that if you are marketing an

addictive substance that you keep the customers coming back for more. Just

ask the tobacco companies who added nicotine to their products or the soda

industry that continues to add more and more caffeine to their products so

that customers will keep coming back for more and more and more.

 

Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, Executive Director,

International Coalition for Drug Awareness

www.drugawareness.org and Author of " Prozac:

Panacea or Pandora?-Our Serotonin Nightmare "

(800-280-0730)

 

 

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/60066.htm

 

BRAVEST WIDOW'S ANTI-ANXIETY SCARE

 

 

By SUSAN EDELMAN

 

 

 

PAXIL: Antidepressant may have violent side effects some experts say.

- NYP: David Rentas

 

October 20, 2002 -- A 9/11 firefighter's widow who has taken Paxil and other

drugs for anxiety and depression since the Sept. 11 attacks says she once

slumped to her knees in a crowded mall and sobbed hysterically - and had no

idea why.

 

" I completely went berserk, " she said.

 

The Staten Island mother of three, who asked that her name not be used, said

the incident occurred after she stopped taking the drug.

 

" I was never warned about any withdrawal effects, " she said.

 

She has resumed taking Paxil.

 

" Mentally, I'm not ready to go off it, " said the 40-something school

employee.

 

" It kind of numbs you, and I like it that way. I don't shake and I don't cry.

I function, " she said.

_________________________

 

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/60050.htm

 

DARKER SIDE TO THE 9/11 'WONDER' PILL

 

By SUSAN EDELMAN

 

October 20, 2002 -- EXCLUSIVE

 

A popular antidepressant drug widely prescribed to New Yorkers affected by

the Sept. 11 attacks could trigger suicidal thoughts and cause severe

withdrawal problems in some patients, experts say.

 

Paroxetine, marketed in the U.S. as Paxil, is prescribed for those suffering

depression, panic attacks, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.

 

But some experts say the top-selling drug may increase the risk of suicidal

or violent behavior in some patients when they start using it.

 

The Irish Medicines Board last week ordered a Paxil recall until the

manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, inserts a warning on the label that " thoughts

of harming yourself or committing suicide " may increase in the first few

weeks of treatment. The company says it will comply.

 

And going off the medication, some New York patients say, causes symptoms

like extreme nausea, dizziness, crying spells and " electric shock "

sensations.

 

GlaxoSmithKline insists Paxil is non-habit forming, but some former Paxil

users say they went through hell when they quit popping the pills.

 

" When I stopped taking it, I got so sick I couldn't function. It was like

temporary insanity, " said Ann Cantera, of Sayville, L.I., who began taking

Paxil for pre-menstrual depression.

 

" I was crying and crying and crying, and consumed with suicidal thoughts. "

 

Several psychiatrists in major New York hospitals told The Post they now

avoid prescribing Paxil, choosing other antidepressants instead. They said

Paxil causes more weight gain and sexual dysfunction than similar drugs - and

has the worst withdrawal problems. GlaxoSmithKline - which heavily advertised

Paxil after the 9/11 attacks - says the drug is safe but advises users to

taper off the medication to avoid " discontinuation symptoms. "

 

Commercials for Paxil mention specific side effects such as nausea, sweating,

fatigue and sexual dysfunction. The ads do not detail withdrawal problems but

warn: " Do not stop taking Paxil before talking with your doctor. "

 

GSK spokesman Michael Fleming said, " Paxil has helped millions of people

overcome severe and disabling mental illnesses. "

 

In December 2001, two months after the World Trade Center disaster, the Food

and Drug Administration approved Paxil for treatment of post-traumatic stress

disorder. About $1.8 billion of Paxil was sold in the U.S. last year,

according to GSK.

 

As sales of antidepressants soar, criticism of Paxil and GSK has heightened:

 

* About 300 people have signed on to a national class-action suit filed in

Los Angeles that contends GlaxoSmithKline has failed to warn patients and

doctors of severe withdrawal problems. Lawsuit papers allege " dependency "

issues.

 

* A British pharmaceutical-industry board this month found GSK violated a

marketing code of ethics there, alleging the company had misled consumers

about withdrawal symptoms.

 

* In a verdict last year, a jury found Paxil could cause some patients to

commit homicide or suicide. The jury awarded $6.5 million to relatives of

Wyoming man Donald Schell, who shot his daughter, granddaughter, wife and

himself after taking two Paxil tablets. GSK appealed, then settled for a

secret sum.

 

Cantera, a plaintiff in the class action, said she took Paxil for 11 months.

She says she suffered violent vomiting, diarrhea and muscle spasms while

taking it, but the symptoms got worse when she went off the drug.

 

Kim Repola, of Ringwood, N.J., who took Paxil for an obsessive-compulsive

disorder, said, " It took a lot of my fears away, but it also took my life and

soul away. " She said she suffered hallucinations, bad dreams and " white

flashes. "

 

" I woke up in the middle of the night and my head would be zapping away, " she

said.