Fwd: [drugawareness] Paxil (Seroxat) Protest Against MCA Monday in UK

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Sun, 1 Jun 2003 13:10:41 EDT

[drugawareness] Paxil (Seroxat) Protest Against MCA Monday in UK

 

 

 

A public protest will take place Monday, June 2 against the Medicines Control

Agency (the UK's FDA). The protest is headed up by the mental health charity

group, MIND, and victims of Paxil. They are pushing for the cessation of

prescribing of Paxil until the MCA takes a longer and closer look at the

potential

fatal side effects and addictive profile of Paxil.

 

The head of that agency, Richard Brook, stated: " Many of these people have

suffered terrible side effects when taking or trying to come off the drug and

some people, it is believed, have died. "

 

Thank God that someone in authority somewhere has admitted what I have

witnessed for a decade now as a result of this, one of the most powerful of the

SSRIs, Paxil. I warned when my book on this Prozac family of drugs, PROZAC:

PANACEA OR PANDORA?, was first published in 1994, that the backlash from this

more

powerful serotonin reuptake inhibitor would be far worse than what we were

seeing with the first drug in this family of drugs, Prozac. This statement has

certainly proven to be prophetic.

 

What a shame that America's FDA remains closed mouth on this issue and

refuses to look at the issue. Their conscious (if they ever had one) has clearly

been bought by those companies with vested interests. There is ABSOLUTELY no

excuse for our FDA to remain silent on this issue because they had evidence

presented to them in 1991 and could have stopped this SSRI nightmare at that

time

and they chose not do so, but to reassure the public there was no problem with

these drugs.

 

I returned home from testifying to the FDA that September to witness a

tragedy in my own neighborhood. A mother, in cold turkey withdrawal from Prozac

and

Deseryl, while getting her three children ready for church, chased her

children through their home with a hammer and sheep sheering knife. She stabbed

and

bludgeoned all three children to death before stabbing herself to death. Then

her poor husband, who was the first to find them was taken to court to be tried

for their murders. He was found innocent as it was determined that she was

indeed the one who did this.

 

But even more powerful and newer SSRIs remain unnoticed by the public and

these agencies as these drugs slowly rear their ugly heads to leave an even more

treacherous and deadly legacy in their wake. God help us all worldwide as we

learn the terrible lessons that lie ahead as the result of our all too trusting

natures when it comes to drugs!

 

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.femail.co.uk/pages/standard/article.html?in_article_id=180011 &

in_page_id=169

 

Agency blamed for promoting Seroxat

 

femail.co.uk - 1st June 2003

 

The body which regulates medicines is playing Russian Roulette with people's

lives over the common antidepressant drug Seroxat, a charity claimed today.

Mental health charity Mind said the Medicines Control Agency - now the

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency - had failed in its duty

as the body responsible for the safety of prescribed drugs.

 

Seroxat, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is one of the most

commonly prescribed antidepressants.

 

But some who have taken it have claimed they became hooked on the drug,

while others have reported feelings of self harm, or even suicide.

 

Mind chief executive Richard Brook said the MHRA had not listened to the

experiences of people who had taken Seroxat.

 

" Many of these people have suffered terrible side effects when taking or

trying to come off the drug and some people, it is believed, have died, " he

said.

 

On Monday, Mind and people who have taken Seroxat, will protest outside the

offices of the MHRA in London.

 

Mind is calling for Seroxat not to be issued for new prescriptions until a

full and independent inquiry has been conducted involving people who have

taken the drug.

 

The charity is demanding urgent meetings with health minister Hazel Blears,

GlaxoSmithKline, and the Royal Colleges of GPs and Psychiatrists. It also

wants discussions about stronger warnings of potential side effects on

information leaflets and better training for doctors.

 

In October the documentary series Panorama raised concerns about Seroxat and

the BBC was contacted by thousands of people who had taken the drug. Of

these, 239 agreed to take part in a survey about their experiences.

Some 97% reported unwanted side effects and 50% of these said they had had

feelings of self harm or suicide.

 

Withdrawal problems were experienced by 83%, while 66% of those who tried to

stop taking the drug said they felt unable to do so. Of the 55% who asked

their doctor about side effects, 31% had been told there were no side

effects and 39% were informed that the drug was not addictive.

 

Currently members of the medical profession can report adverse drug

reactions to the MHRA's yellow card scheme.

 

But Mr Brook said the BBC had received more reports of problems than the

official yellow card scheme. He called on the MHRA to promote its yellow

card scheme more widely. mfl

 

A spokeswoman for GlaxoSmithKline said since its launch Seroxat had helped

tens of millions of people worldwide with depression to lead fuller and more

productive lives.

 

She also said suicide was a potentially avoidable consequence of depression,

and Seroxat could therefore help prevent it.

 

" This is probably one of the most extensively investigated medicines that is

available in the UK today and like all medicines is subject to continuous

ongoing safety monitoring, " she said. " Information from patients about how

they have responded to treatment and the impact the treatment has on them is

extremely important and is something that GSK takes very seriously. "

 

She added that for patients the most important source of information was

their doctor as he or she knew the individual's background and what was the

best treatment for them.

 

Find this story at:

http://www.femail.co.uk/pages/standard/article.html?in_article_id=180011 &

in_page_id=169

©2003 Associated New Media