Psychiatric drug withdrawal study by Davies & Read gets news coverage in the UK

[Caspur]

Hi All,

Another media piece, this time from the US and about benzodiazepines.

 

Warning, its a difficult read and refers to suicide quite a few times.

 

There are links to other articles written in the same paper, embedded in the article.

 

https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20181023/seidman-epidemic---and-its-not-opioids

 

Thanks

Caspur

[TreeElf]

Hey guys, wanted to share some positive news with you in regards to the above letter I sent my doctor. I hadn't heard anything back so I rang today and requested a call back from her, as I have a referral to a new psychiatrist next week and wanted the doctor to forward the letter to them also.

 

A while later I got a call from the head pharmacist at the local chemist. My doctor had asked her to call me, which at first confused me a bit. But the pharmacist basically said she had also read the letter and appreciated the information I'd provided - that they understand there is some evidence now that indicates 'some' individuals experience protracted withdrawal, but they also have to work within their system and the current evidence they use. However, both her and the doctor are prepared to support me in a very slow taper off the remainder of the Prozac, and she gave me a guideline plan of reducing by 0.1mg approx every 3 to 6 months (I want to go extra slow now), with the intention of getting off it completely.

 

Have to say I was really impressed with how pro-active and understanding this lady was, and also how readily she listened to the evidence. Initially I'd been a bit defensive and ready to have an argument with them, but she had a plan all laid out for a super slow withdrawal and was happy to help with it. It apparently costs more to prescribe liquid fluoxetine and she will have to justify ordering it for me for such a long period by saying that the intention is to come off it completely. She did suggest that, for now, this is still considered an 'unusual' case (HA!), but I'd say that is a big step forward all things considered.

 

I hope you guys have similar success with healthcare professionals, I was pleasantly surprised by her attitude! Wishing you all the best x

[Caspur]

On 10/25/2018 at 7:04 PM, AbbyElfie said:

Hey guys, wanted to share some positive news with you in regards to the above letter I sent my doctor. I hadn't heard anything back so I rang today and requested a call back from her, as I have a referral to a new psychiatrist next week and wanted the doctor to forward the letter to them also.

 

A while later I got a call from the head pharmacist at the local chemist. My doctor had asked her to call me, which at first confused me a bit. But the pharmacist basically said she had also read the letter and appreciated the information I'd provided - that they understand there is some evidence now that indicates 'some' individuals experience protracted withdrawal, but they also have to work within their system and the current evidence they use. However, both her and the doctor are prepared to support me in a very slow taper off the remainder of the Prozac, and she gave me a guideline plan of reducing by 0.1mg approx every 3 to 6 months (I want to go extra slow now), with the intention of getting off it completely.

 

Have to say I was really impressed with how pro-active and understanding this lady was, and also how readily she listened to the evidence. Initially I'd been a bit defensive and ready to have an argument with them, but she had a plan all laid out for a super slow withdrawal and was happy to help with it. It apparently costs more to prescribe liquid fluoxetine and she will have to justify ordering it for me for such a long period by saying that the intention is to come off it completely. She did suggest that, for now, this is still considered an 'unusual' case (HA!), but I'd say that is a big step forward all things considered.

 

I hope you guys have similar success with healthcare professionals, I was pleasantly surprised by her attitude! Wishing you all the best x

Wow @AbbeyElfie thats good news and very good news for you. It does prove there are doctors out there willing to listen and learn from their patients. Not all of them are egomaniacs who only believe things they know about are possible, and everything else is in their neurotic patients heads or just psychosomatic!

Good luck with the taper

Cheers

Capsur

[Caspur]

MOD NOTE:  This is SA's topic on the Scottish Petition

 

Hi All,

This is information about the Scottish petition that is being processed at the moment:

 

https://www.helensburghadvertiser.co.uk/news/17010804.helensburgh-woman-hoping-for-review-on-use-of-anti-depressants/?ref=twtrec&fbclid=IwAR0vI1MljdNq47_p3aSk_RW7zlQrTWMZfePAsWMwQvlxh7kf9aQxpf_PVj8

 

The actual petition is here:

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651?fbclid=IwAR1lGanM2-j2xWgJSu6rFnirQs7Yc1FQTL_m4ZwtlAMh50btI5ynjCQ4-qA

 

Please look at the huge number of supporting evidence submissions. There are some very heartfelt and angry descriptions of peoples suffering at the hands of prescription medications.

 

Cheers

Caspur

 

Edited October 27, 2018 by ChessieCat
added mod note

[TreeElf]

Thank you @Caspur, and thanks for sharing these articles and studies!

[ChessieCat]

This is SA's topic on the Scottish Petition

[ChessieCat]

On 10/27/2018 at 12:27 AM, Vanora said:

If there are still people who haven't as yet sent in a submission please do consider it. This petition has really caught the attention of the committee with unprecedented levels of submissions and we are hoping that it may eventually be debated within the Scottish parliament itself.  

 

[Caspur]

Thanks @ChessieCat I submitted my story to the petition a couple of weeks ago. Thanks for pointing me to this post. I have been following the petitioner, Marion Brown via  a Facebook Group call Lets Talk Withdrawal Podcast.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LetsTalkWithdrawal/

 

Cheers

Caspur

[India]

I feel like there is some corollary with Semmelweis here . Semmelweis lifted the lid on the iatrogenic nature of 'childbed fever' but he was ostracised by the medical community. Perhaps we can think of Semmelweis when we go with our letters.

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/01/12/375663920/the-doctor-who-championed-hand-washing-and-saved-women-s-lives?t=1541073795088

[Caspur]

Hi All,

This is an exert from a program broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the UK. The program is All in the Mind and the topic being discussed is antidepressant withdrawal. Professor John Read is the co-author of a recent paper published on withdrawal, included in the thread above (Davies and Read 2018 - http://prescribeddrug.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Davies-Read.pdf ).

He does a very good job of explaining the issue and the goals of the UK campaign to get better recognition and proper guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of drug withdrawal.

Cheers

Caspur

 

[Caspur]

Hi All,

This may have been posted elsewhere on SA, but the link below is an event that happened in Wales a few days ago. It was to raise awareness of prescribed drug dependence. It was held at the Welsh parliamentary headquarters, the Senedd. There is a live petition on prescribed drug dependence in the Welsh Parliament. It was organised by Aled Jones of PAST which advocates on prescribed drug dependence issues (see link graphics) - . Dr David Healy, Stevie Lewis (a campaigner with lived experience) and James Moore of Mad in America, Mad in the UK and the Lets Talk Withdrawal Podcast Facebook site.

 

https://rxisk.org/welsh-senate-withdrawal-seminar/?fbclid=IwAR2u7T4MkfhrWKbv_-DFWaTwrIkamyXuqiDKboxGXnU2mhXsPhVeO2_SeyQ

 

Cheers

Caspur

[Altostrata]

!!!! Lots of activity in the UK.

[btdt]

Last week a seminar on dependence on and withdrawal from antidepressants took place in the Welsh Senedd, overlooking Cardiff Bay.

It was the initiative of and organised by Aled Jones of Prescription Drug Awareness, Support and Treatment, under the auspices of Mark Drakeford – the First Minister.  The Senedd building was a stunning setting for the event.

One of the key speakers was Stevie Lewis who has organised a petition to the Welsh Assembly on the issue of dependence on antidepressants, complementing a comparable petition organised by Marion Brown in Scotland.  Both petitions are feeding into a review of prescription drug dependence being conducted by Public Health England.

The final speaker was James Moore who with his podcast Let’s Talk about Withdrawal has emerged as a leading figure globally on the question of antidepressant dependence.  His central role in this debate may have something to do with having a keen eye for a political opportunity – he realised that if the proceedings were recorded they could be disseminated far and wide.  If this truth about antidepressants gets around the globe with even a fraction of the speed the lies have circulated, a great deal of good may come from his and Alex Jones’ efforts.

Wow 

Maybe I should move there... big joke can't afford a cab to the store... Still hats off to you folks in the UK well done 

 

👏

[Caspur]

On 12/19/2018 at 4:53 PM, btdt said:

Last week a seminar on dependence on and withdrawal from antidepressants took place in the Welsh Senedd, overlooking Cardiff Bay.

It was the initiative of and organised by Aled Jones of Prescription Drug Awareness, Support and Treatment, under the auspices of Mark Drakeford – the First Minister.  The Senedd building was a stunning setting for the event.

One of the key speakers was Stevie Lewis who has organised a petition to the Welsh Assembly on the issue of dependence on antidepressants, complementing a comparable petition organised by Marion Brown in Scotland.  Both petitions are feeding into a review of prescription drug dependence being conducted by Public Health England.

The final speaker was James Moore who with his podcast Let’s Talk about Withdrawal has emerged as a leading figure globally on the question of antidepressant dependence.  His central role in this debate may have something to do with having a keen eye for a political opportunity – he realised that if the proceedings were recorded they could be disseminated far and wide.  If this truth about antidepressants gets around the globe with even a fraction of the speed the lies have circulated, a great deal of good may come from his and Alex Jones’ efforts.

Wow 

Maybe I should move there... big joke can't afford a cab to the store... Still hats off to you folks in the UK well done 

 

👏

Hi btdt, you may already have seen the talks given on the day, but if not they have been added to this link

https://rxisk.org/welsh-senate-withdrawal-seminar/?fbclid=IwAR2u7T4MkfhrWKbv_-DFWaTwrIkamyXuqiDKboxGXnU2mhXsPhVeO2_SeyQ

Cheers

Caspur

[Caspur]

Hi All,

 

The debate over the Read Davies withdrawal paper continues:

http://cepuk.org/2019/01/08/tumbling-rabbit-hole-disturbing-world-antidepressant-withdrawal-research/

 

Cheers

 

Caspur

[Caspur]

All,

A further installment on the Davies Read paper. This time the opposition is from a different quarter of psychiatry, but its still making very petty accusations. I am now questioning strongly why the 'opposition' cannot see there is a problem with AD medications. The level of denial is appalling.

Cheers

Capsur

 

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/couch-crisis/international-antidepressant-withdrawal-crisis-time-act

[Caspur]

Hi All,

Last week the UK had a high profile broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Today program. Today is the 5pm news and magazine program that is very popular. Here are the recordings, kindly captured and supplied by James Moore of www.letstalkwithdrawal.com (there are many very informative and useful podcasts on his site.

 

The surprising thing about these broadcasts, especially the first one below, was that they were literally headlining the program. The first one was 'hosted' by Sarah Vine who is the wife of Michael Gove, a prominent UK Government Minister (Minister for the Environment, at present I think). Vine is also a journalist/writer for the Daily mail, a right wing UK newspaper. This paper has run several articles about the over use of antidepressants which I have posted in this thread.

 

 

Cheers

Caspur
 

[Caspur]

Hi All,

Yesterday there was another interview on UK prime time radio with Sarah Vine. This time it was BBC Radio 2 and the Jeremy Vine Show. Rather than post a link to the interview, here's a blog critiquing the content of the interview. Suffice to say, it wasn't the most positive for the prescribed harm communities. There's a link to the radio show at the end of Bobby Fiddermans piece.

https://fiddaman.blogspot.com/2019/03/bbc-fail-on-antidepressant-mythology.html?fbclid=IwAR32uyINtTc2uzqChWeSByxeluUZlGwZWKQJ0RZbq_OrQhEmpWnxqj29NXk#.XJCfqLjgrct

Cheers

Caspur

[Caspur]

Hi All,

Here's some more good news from the UK.

 

I have lifted this text from the Lets Talk Withdrawal Facebook Group, as published by James Moore

 

"Stevie Lewis and Marion Brown some time ago lodged public petitions with the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Government, both calling for action on Prescribed Drug Dependence. Since then they have been working tirelessly with the petitions committees. The Welsh Assembly has today (March 21st) release its report. We have written a Press Release which we have shared with media contacts and I know that Stevie has already been interviewed about the report".

 

This is the press release:

http://www.letstalkwithdrawal.com/governments-debate-psychiatric-drug-withdrawal/?fbclid=IwAR1rLBa7j1gQNc1zlABqK2VDG6VknnSUDVZTaIM1L-FBEX4rbx01mOfz03k

 

The report created by the Welsh Assembly petition is available, but I cannot upload it here due to lack of file space allowance.

I will post a link when I have one.

 

The Scottish Government petition will report in the middle of this year.

Cheers

Caspur

[Caspur]

Here's a link to the report mentioned in my previous comment.

 

http://www.assembly.wales/lai.../cr-ld12429/cr-ld12429-e.pdf

[Caspur]

All,

 

Another Radio 4 piece in the UK about dishonest/undeclared outcome switching in medical trials, especially those published in the most prestigious medical journals. It uses the GSK Paroxetine trial as an example of how negative  the impact of this practice can be.

 

There's also a link to the research that prompted the radio piece.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0003jhq

 

https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13063-019-3173-2?fbclid=IwAR3pJ9hCeYJ9Z2WCuRC8pSVbzbtJOzEBCugm_24nAdQM-_1-yA4b3a5U6iI

 

Cheers

Caspur

 

 

[Caspur]

Hi All,

An article from Sky News on the difficulties with antidepressants. It focuses on Dr Tony Kendrick from Southampton University. He is currently undertaking a piece of well funded research on psychiatric drug withdrawal, although the actual focus is quite difficult to determine. As yet there have been no reports or publications that I can find.

 

There is also some comments from the co author of the recent Lancet paper on withdrawal.

 

https://news.sky.com/story/long-term-use-of-antidepressants-could-cause-permanent-damage-doctors-warn-11688430?fbclid=IwAR0KPsjfNKkBu3QzcwqoZ05U_M5M7SkIYUcvws1EAm5iuOmBgmmRhZJteqk

 

Cheers

Ed

[Caspur]

Mean while, at the other end of the spectrum, here is a particularly bad piece from the BBC this morning. Carmine Pariente is a leading psychiatric researcher in the UK and is an ardent supporter of the use of antidepressants. Thanks again to James Moore for supplying the audio.

Cheers

 

Caspur

 

 

[Caspur]

Hi All,

Today the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK released a major document stating their new stance on antidepressant withdrawal. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of coverage in the UK media. Here are a few of the articles and a link to the RCP page where the announcement was released.

 

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/latest-news/detail/2019/05/29/rcpsych-calls-on-nice-to-update-its-antidepressant-withdrawal-advice?fbclid=IwAR117mmuaOPFkV20mmtfl9npbrz8G3Abo0JGFR4lANxdqILyAZeWiUfZflg

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/30/antidepressant-withdrawal-symptoms-doctors-side-effects?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR0bsSp977wE-3cwafqoypZJIs-5I5qgQ8QX0TzyRZ0xxxbL6qH790dK42g

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/wean-patients-off-depression-pills-say-doctors-qnh2sj3nm?fbclid=IwAR0PfTrje-jWmLoBb5-RQ9yqZpMZngb5DVbk_8dGlT-BZwZoflkVfjF7wgw

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7084025/amp/Royal-College-Pyschiatrists-warn-doctors-anti-depressants-dangerous-effects.html?__twitter_impression=true&fbclid=IwAR3o34zZSlLxfGr5zKRTO3fIXT4hGOEHSjxPr31bEeA-Tq1aH8cgqBi3cvg

 

This is an update from Sarah Vine who is a Daily Mail writer and is stuck on an antidepressant.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7084027/SARAH-VINE-Royal-College-Psychiatry-decision-severe-effects-antidepressants.html?fbclid=IwAR3oS88V3BMEY0ChY_qxQTmd7p0gvAFZ38ocFLU9l8hQNpRD5smvM58HHvI

 

Cheers

 

Caspur

[trenace]

Waheyyy, I just read an article on sky news acknowledging the severe symptoms one experiences coming off antidpressants. Finally I might be able to get some articles together for my doctor who won't give me longterm sick. He doesn't believe me regarding the things I'm feeling either. Might print off a few hundred copies of the article, print some testimonies from here aswell, make a hardback book out of my findings and smash it over his head. 

[Distraut]

Here is the link:

 

https://news.sky.com/story/long-term-use-of-antidepressants-could-cause-permanent-damage-doctors-warn-11688430

 

[Caspur]

Hi All,

The final report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Prescribed Drug Dependence (in the UK) is due at the end of this summer. There have been a few comments on social media suggesting the content is looking good. Watch out for it here: http://prescribeddrug.org/

 

You can sign up for information via email which will let you know when the report is published.

 

Cheers

Ed

[Katy398]

This is scary stuff

So if they can cause permanent damage. How do we get support to live the rest of our lives with pharmaceutical induced brain damage?

 

 

[Ripley]

Hi, I'm not sure if this is where to post this link but it's some BBC coverage today of a man's story: "My anti depressant withdrawal was worse than depression". I believe there was a discussion on the Victoria Derbyshire news programme today, which I missed but may look up. 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51834456