Antidepressant Withdrawal Can Prompt Serious Side Effects

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Antidepressant Withdrawal Can Prompt Serious Side Effects

Drug Withdrawal Can Take 6 Weeks To 8 Months (Mod...or longer)

 

UPDATED: 10:32 am EST March 11, 2005

 

BOSTON -- New antidepressants, like the drug Effexor, help millions of

Americans fight depression and anxiety.

 

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Pills

Some Concerned Over Antidepressant Withdrawal

 

But there is growing concern about Effexor's side effects -- side

effects that happen not when the patient is taking the drug, but when

they try to stop, reported WCVB-TV in Boston.

 

When interior designer Teresa Winders started having panic attacks,

her doctor prescribed Effexor.

 

" I didn't feel much better, and I was told, well, it takes four to

five months to kick in. You've got to be patient, " she said.

 

But Winders' symptoms continued to worsen, and eventually, she decided

to slowly taper off the drug.

 

" You think at the beginning, OK, I can do this, " she said. " And then

you start to taper off, and you think you can't because you cannot

feel your hands. And you cannot feel your feet. "

 

The side effects included severe muscle pain, nervousness and picking

at her own skin to the point of major scarring.

 

Of the newer antidepressants, Effexor ranks No. 2 in sales, and

studies show it provides important relief for many who take it. But it

has a slightly different chemical makeup than other antidepressants

like Paxil or Zoloft.

 

" The key difference is how quickly the drugs leave the body if you

lower the dose, " said Dr. Joseph Glenmullen. " Effexor is the fastest

to leave, and causes the highest percentage of patients to have

withdrawal. "

 

Glenmullen, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and author of

" The Antidepressant Solution, " said it can take six weeks to eight

months to safely come off Effexor -- something he said is not widely

known.

 

" Seventy percent of prescriptions for antidepressants are written by

family doctors, many of them are not that aware of how bad withdrawal

reactions can be, " he said.

 

Effexor's maker, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, lists a warning in the fine

print of their insert that urges " a gradual reduction " and says

" patients should be monitored " during discontinuation.

 

A spokesperson for Wyeth said all antidepressants can lead to

withdrawal symptoms and they stand by their warning labels and added

it's the doctor's job to monitor patients carefully.

 

In December, the United Kingdom issued stricter guidelines on Effexor.

Now only specialists there can prescribe the drug.

 

Winders said more needs to be done to warn patients. In the meantime,

she wondered how long it will be until her pain subsides.

 

" I'm officially disabled. I'm scarred for life, " she said. " Will I

always be in chronic pain? Will I ever be really happy again? "

 

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