hi lovely ladies,
we had a thread going on here re: ssri's as a few of us have been trying to get off them with a lot of difficulty. I am happy to say that after 2 weeks of withdrawal hell i feel much better. Now I'm trying to do something to publicise this awful withdrawal syndrome, that the drug companies 'conveniently' forget to include on their literature.
Yesterday I sent the below article to 12 national magazine editors, I know you probaly think i am mad but I had to try and do something about this!!!
My name is Kate, I am 26 years old, newly married and I work with autistic adults. Two weeks ago today I stopped taking the SSRI antidepressants that I had been on for 5 years.
Since then, I have endured sheer physical hell. This is the hell they call 'SSRI Withdrawal Syndrome'.
I am writing to you because I am very, very angry with the drug companies who produce this drug, at the lack of information there is about this syndrome and it's effects, and at the medical professionals who so readily prescribe this drug without fully informing their patients of the problems they may encounter. I am writing to you because I passionately believe that the public, especially your target readership, need to know about this not-uncommon syndrome so that they make an informed choice of the drugs they are medicated with. And I am writing to you in the hope that I can prevent even a few people from suffering the way I have.
SSRI Withdrawal Syndrome (ref: Wikepedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSRI_disco ... n_syndrome)
symptoms include;
electric shock sensations in the brain
dizziness
vertigo
nausea
sweating
insomnia
tremor and confusion
The only treatment for this syndrome is the re-introduction of the drug. This is apparently a 'non-addictive' drug, but if people are suffering so badly when withdrawing from it, so much so that they have to begin taking it again, you can draw your own conclusion as to whether it is addictive or not.
Hundreds of thousands of people are prescribed these drugs every year, without being given the full story on what they might go through when they try to stop the medication. Having been on these drugs, and being told to taper of the 'slowly' over a 3-4 week period (which is what I did) and given no warning of this syndrome I researched on the internet and found hundreds upon hundreds of people in a similar situation to me, leaving desperate posts in the hope that someone can give them more information. This is not an issue with my local health service, this is an international problem which needs to be publicised before more people suffer.
An important point - The symptoms of this awful syndrome can be minimised and even eliminated by the coming off the drug at a much, much slower rate than is advised by both the drug company and the medical profession. This information desperately needs to be publicised.
I can easily see how this syndrome could contribute to and cause suicidal feelings and even the act itself. Please help me to prevent this by publishing some information about this syndrome, how to minimise the suffering, and to inform the public about this powerful 'wonder' drug.
I look forward to hearing form you,
Kate
we had a thread going on here re: ssri's as a few of us have been trying to get off them with a lot of difficulty. I am happy to say that after 2 weeks of withdrawal hell i feel much better. Now I'm trying to do something to publicise this awful withdrawal syndrome, that the drug companies 'conveniently' forget to include on their literature.
Yesterday I sent the below article to 12 national magazine editors, I know you probaly think i am mad but I had to try and do something about this!!!
My name is Kate, I am 26 years old, newly married and I work with autistic adults. Two weeks ago today I stopped taking the SSRI antidepressants that I had been on for 5 years.
Since then, I have endured sheer physical hell. This is the hell they call 'SSRI Withdrawal Syndrome'.
I am writing to you because I am very, very angry with the drug companies who produce this drug, at the lack of information there is about this syndrome and it's effects, and at the medical professionals who so readily prescribe this drug without fully informing their patients of the problems they may encounter. I am writing to you because I passionately believe that the public, especially your target readership, need to know about this not-uncommon syndrome so that they make an informed choice of the drugs they are medicated with. And I am writing to you in the hope that I can prevent even a few people from suffering the way I have.
SSRI Withdrawal Syndrome (ref: Wikepedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSRI_disco ... n_syndrome)
symptoms include;
electric shock sensations in the brain
dizziness
vertigo
nausea
sweating
insomnia
tremor and confusion
The only treatment for this syndrome is the re-introduction of the drug. This is apparently a 'non-addictive' drug, but if people are suffering so badly when withdrawing from it, so much so that they have to begin taking it again, you can draw your own conclusion as to whether it is addictive or not.
Hundreds of thousands of people are prescribed these drugs every year, without being given the full story on what they might go through when they try to stop the medication. Having been on these drugs, and being told to taper of the 'slowly' over a 3-4 week period (which is what I did) and given no warning of this syndrome I researched on the internet and found hundreds upon hundreds of people in a similar situation to me, leaving desperate posts in the hope that someone can give them more information. This is not an issue with my local health service, this is an international problem which needs to be publicised before more people suffer.
An important point - The symptoms of this awful syndrome can be minimised and even eliminated by the coming off the drug at a much, much slower rate than is advised by both the drug company and the medical profession. This information desperately needs to be publicised.
I can easily see how this syndrome could contribute to and cause suicidal feelings and even the act itself. Please help me to prevent this by publishing some information about this syndrome, how to minimise the suffering, and to inform the public about this powerful 'wonder' drug.
I look forward to hearing form you,
Kate
