Jump to content
Support our work - please give today

The Guardian would like to hear from long term AD users, let’s get our voices heard!

Purplerain

By Purplerain
in Events, actions, controversies

 Share

Recommended Posts

Purplerain Newbie

Purplerain

Posted
Posted

Hi all, apologies if this link has already been posted. The Guardian are interested in hearing from people who have been on antidepressants long-term. Please click the link below and submit your experiences.  

 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/06/long-term-user-antidepressants-tell-experiences

 

I’m passionate about raising public awareness about this issue now (I’m sure my friends are all sick of hearing me banging on about the evils of medication haha) and this is a great platform to get our voices heard. For those who may not know, the Guardian is a British newspaper. 

 

x L

2008 put on 75mg Effexor XR (Venlafaxine) after breakup with long term boyfriend

2009 Dose increased to 150mg

2010 Dose increased to 300mg plus 25mg Quetiapine added to aid sleep and control hypomania

2011 first attempt to withdraw. Taper much too fast on psychiatrist's advice (300-0mg in 1 month) suffer first and only psychotic episode. Put back on 75mg generic Venlafaxine (no more Quetiapine)

2014 reduce dose to 1/4 of a 37.5mg Venlafaxine tablet during pregnancy. Suffer extreme social anxiety/agoraphobia

2015 Daughter is born. Advised not to breastfeed due to Ven being present in breastmilk. Suffer PND and go back to taking 37.5mg tablet daily. Start to experience heavy fatigue each day after taking Venlafaxine tablet.

14th June 2017 - start 10% monthly taper reduction method. June 2018: 10mg June 2019: 4.5ml June 2020: 2mg June 2021: 0.9mg June 2022: 0.35mg Jan 23: 0.14mg Feb 23: 0.12mg March 23: 0.1mg April 23: 0.08mg May 23: 0.06mg June 23: 0.04mg July 23: 0.02mg

Officially free of all psychiatric medication as of 1st August 2023 :):)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nz11 Newbie

nz11

Posted
Posted

Do you have to be a British citizen to submit a reply?

just had a look at it and it appears anyone can answer the questions. 

Whats the bet pharma will organize a team of fast responders .

I hope they get to hear many stories of the harm that is occurring.

 

 

27mins later.....submission 'done.'

There seems to be an awful lot of this kind of request for user experiences going on yet somehow I feel we are just treading water. Nothing is being done about this harm which is at epidemic levels. Nothing. If you read some of the 'worst of doctors' thread posts doctors still think a CT is okay. That wdl symptoms are relapse even if you never had a lapse. And for some reason every single doctor still assumes the tailoring hypothesis is right and valid.

Some bigwig turns up and trumps everything saying well these drugs have helped millions blah blah blah. Then that's the end of it.

 

Then people raise the same old argument 'Whats the alternative to ads'

I like Gotzsches reply to that ..."No ads" that's the alternative.

 

 

 

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nz11 Newbie

nz11

Posted
Posted

If anything one could even argue things are going backwards

Anyone read this today

decision to close support service for patients dependent on benzodiazepines

The REST Project, based at MIND in Camden, has been providing essential support services to patients suffering from dependence and withdrawal from benzodiazepines for 30 years.  During this time it has helped thousands of clients safely withdraw from long term use of sedatives, tranquilisers and sleeping pills, through specialised group meetings and personalised support.  Around 130 clients use the service, with around 40 new clients joining each year.  The total cost of the service is £48,425 per annum, or around £372 per client each year.

REST has recently received a letter from the Commissioning Manager for Camden’s Substance Misuse Services (funded by the Camden CCG) which informs the project that its contract will be terminated at the end of March 2019.  It is understood that no alternative specialist provision will be made for these clients, and that they will be expected to access illicit drug and alcohol treatment services which are inappropriate for patients taking prescription drugs. REST’s clients have expressed shock, sadness and incomprehension at the news.

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Purplerain Newbie

Purplerain

Posted
  • Author
Posted
11 hours ago, nz11 said:

Do you have to be a British citizen to submit a reply?

just had a look at it and it appears anyone can answer the questions. 

Whats the bet pharma will organize a team of fast responders .

I hope they get to hear many stories of the harm that is occurring.

 

 

27mins later.....submission 'done.'

There seems to be an awful lot of this kind of request for user experiences going on yet somehow I feel we are just treading water. Nothing is being done about this harm which is at epidemic levels. Nothing. If you read some of the 'worst of doctors' thread posts doctors still think a CT is okay. That wdl symptoms are relapse even if you never had a lapse. And for some reason every single doctor still assumes the tailoring hypothesis is right and valid.

Some bigwig turns up and trumps everything saying well these drugs have helped millions blah blah blah. Then that's the end of it.

 

Then people raise the same old argument 'Whats the alternative to ads'

I like Gotzsches reply to that ..."No ads" that's the alternative.

 

 

 

 

Oh yay you did it, thank you :) I know, it’s all very disheartening isn’t it. I was told by several Doctors to stay on my med for life as a diabetic wouldn’t question taking insulin. And paid £400 to see a psychiatrist who took me from 300mg Effexor to zero in one month which caused my first and only psychotic episode, I’m very lucky I recovered from that really. My hope is if enough of us can make ourselves heard the ‘professionals’ will have no choice but to start listening. I have to stay optimistic for my sanity xx

2008 put on 75mg Effexor XR (Venlafaxine) after breakup with long term boyfriend

2009 Dose increased to 150mg

2010 Dose increased to 300mg plus 25mg Quetiapine added to aid sleep and control hypomania

2011 first attempt to withdraw. Taper much too fast on psychiatrist's advice (300-0mg in 1 month) suffer first and only psychotic episode. Put back on 75mg generic Venlafaxine (no more Quetiapine)

2014 reduce dose to 1/4 of a 37.5mg Venlafaxine tablet during pregnancy. Suffer extreme social anxiety/agoraphobia

2015 Daughter is born. Advised not to breastfeed due to Ven being present in breastmilk. Suffer PND and go back to taking 37.5mg tablet daily. Start to experience heavy fatigue each day after taking Venlafaxine tablet.

14th June 2017 - start 10% monthly taper reduction method. June 2018: 10mg June 2019: 4.5ml June 2020: 2mg June 2021: 0.9mg June 2022: 0.35mg Jan 23: 0.14mg Feb 23: 0.12mg March 23: 0.1mg April 23: 0.08mg May 23: 0.06mg June 23: 0.04mg July 23: 0.02mg

Officially free of all psychiatric medication as of 1st August 2023 :):)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use Privacy Policy

  I accept