TangoFoxtrot79 intro + seeking doc

[TangoFoxtrot79]

Hello,

 

Myself I am not taking any psychotropic drugs but I am seeking help for my wife who is (on her request).

 

She developed a postpartum depression after birth of our second child and has been prescribed sertraline more than 3 years ago. This was under psychiatrist's guidance but after that her care has been managed by our GP. The GP has kept her on sertraline despite a litany of symptoms that read like the leaflet of SSRI side effects - however these may be confounded by other health factors. She wants to have a '2nd opinion' on the need for SSRI continuation and asked me to find a psychiatrist who could help. I am looking for a psychiatrist in Vancouver, BC, Canada, or one licensed to practice remotely in British Columbia, who could critically assess if the drugs are still needed and potentially guide in tapering. Ideally looking for a psychiatrist who is familiar with the recent(ish) findings on the downsides of SSRIs and deprescribing practices e.g. practices advocated here or The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines.

Thanks a lot!

[Emonda]

Welcome @TangoFoxtrot79

 

7 hours ago, TangoFoxtrot79 said:

I am seeking help for my wife who is (on her request).

 

So the moderators can best help your wife, please complete her drug signature by following these instructions. Adding a signature ensures her drug history appears at the bottom of every post, making it more efficient for those trying to assist. This link should go directly to her own signature: Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

7 hours ago, TangoFoxtrot79 said:

asked me to find a psychiatrist who could help. I am looking for a psychiatrist in Vancouver, BC, Canada, or one licensed to practice remotely in British Columbia, who could critically assess if the drugs are still needed and potentially guide in tapering.

 

I'm not from Canada, but a few members here are. They may jump in with a name, although I have not heard good things about mental health care in Canada.

 

7 hours ago, TangoFoxtrot79 said:

who could critically assess if the drugs are still needed and potentially guide in tapering.

 

There are plenty of helpful people here who can provide guidance on tapering off Sertraline, if that is the end goal. Dr Horowitz credits the concept of slow tapering material in the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines to what he learnt here.

 

There are two names on this list in Canada...but I can't comment on either:

 

 

I hope this helps.

 

Emonda

[Yesyes123]

It is very hard to find a psychiatrist anywhere in the world who is truly up to date with the recent findings about the tapering and withdrawal symptoms of psychiatric drugs, including SSRI’s.

 

We have solid evidence here on this forum that SSRI’s (and any psychiatric drug) are not actually “fixing” any kind of “chemical imbalance” in the brain, this is a known marketing stunt to justify the sales of a very profitable product. 
 

They do have an effect that can be therapeutic and helpful for many people; the real problem is they create dependence very quickly and trying to come off of them can literally ruin someone’s life, we have countless horror stories documented here in this website.

 

That means if someone who is on these drugs wishes to come off, they can. It is not a lifelong necessary drug, like many doctors sell it. The thing is it can be VERY hard to come off - due to withdrawal symptoms and not any kind of “relapse” from an underlying condition.

 

It is absolutely great that you found this website before your wife actually came off the drug abruptly or fast tapered.

 

You may hear from doctors the most varying practices when it comes to coming off these drugs; some may still say stopping cold turkey is OK, which is just plain evil. The amount of problems that a cold turkey can create after 3 years of daily use is undescribable.

 

This is what I would do in your position:

 

While you are free to seek support from any doctor, understand many of them simply have not been educated on the side effects and especially problems caused by discontinuation of these drugs.

 

They many times do not seem to take online reports like Surviving Antidepressants Forums seriously, which is amongst the only places where real people share their real life stories with psychiatric drug problems.

It seems your wife is having problems with side effects while on Sertraline. It is possible to reduce dosage very slowly until she no longer has side effects, or continue untill fully quitting the drug. But this process takes years.

 

We recommend, in case she wishes to start her process of stopping the drug, decreasing the dosage by 10% of her current dose per month - there are many methods and more information on this here on the forums.

 

Wish you all the best