Andrew Solomon's "Noonday Demon" was adverse reactions to psychiatric drugs

[Altostrata]

Often cited as as an example showing the need for psychiatric drugs to treat depression, and the effectiveness of the drugs, Andrew Solomon's book The Noonday Demon has become famous in psychiatric literature.

But -- did Andrew Solomon have true "depression" or was he suffering from adverse effects of the drugs themselves?

In a January 12, 1998 New Yorker article, Anatomy of Melancholy http://www.ucdenver.edu/life/services/counseling-center/Documents/Anatomy-of-melancholy.pdf , Solomon details that after a hospitalization for kidney stones in September 1994, he was taking sleeping pills. That's when he "sank lower" and "night terrors began."

(Here, he's likely describing adverse effects of the sleeping pills and a rebound or paradoxical reaction.)

He then saw Dr. Alfred Wiener, a psychopharmacologist, who prescribed a series of antidepressants, plus Xanax.

"....The spring of 1995, I stopped taking drugs cold turkey. I knew that this was dumb, but I wanted desperately to find out again who I "really" was. At first, all I was conscious of was the awful withdrawal symptoms from the Xanax. I couldn't sleep for four days, and my eyes and stomach hurt, and my sense of balance was off. Unrelenting nightmares seemed to penetrate my wakefulness, and I kept sitting up abruptly with my heart pounding. ....

At this point, I entered what is commonly called "agitated depression." I developed in rapid succession all the typical symptoms — hatred, anguish, guilt, self-loathing. I stopped speaking to at least six people. I took to slamming down the phone when someone said something I didn't like. I criticized everyone. It was hard to sleep, because my mind was racing with tiny injustices from my past: irritability kept me awake every night, and the lack of sleep made me more irritable still. It is not unusual for really depressed people to have no deep sleep at all. ...."

He then went on to more psychiatric drugs, plus Xanax, "a lifesaver," and, at the end of the article, is looking forward to a lifetime on psychiatric medications.

Those of us familiar with withdrawal syndrome, particularly what happens when you go off benzos cold turkey, will readily recognize the symptoms not of "agitated depression" but of severe benzo withdrawal syndrome. It's likely Solomon started down the psychiatric drug rabbit hole when he had an adverse reaction to sleeping pills.

 

POSTSCRIPT Andrew Solomon is the son of Howard Solomon, CEO of Forest Labs, manufacturer of Celexa, Lexapro, Viibryd, Namenda, and Saphris, as well as other drugs  http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2002-05-26/a-ceo-and-his-son

[GiaK]

good job!

[Aria]

He bought into the concept he was mentally ill when he simply was having classic benzo withdrawal symptoms. I'm surprised with the rebound insomnia and racing thoughts his good doctor didn't give him the new diagnosis of bipolar along with the list of more drugs. You're right, Alto, he has fallen down the psychiatric drug rabbit hole.

[compsports]

Sadly, even if he hadn't bought into the concept that he was mentally ill, the doctor most likely would have convinced him since according to psychiatry, withdrawal symptoms only last a maximum of two weeks.

[rapunzel2]

wow!

 

I've read about him and watched his interviews. It was sad to see he was so, so ill (still), despite taking an awful lot of psychiatric medications. didn't seem good for me then, but now, knowing what I know and after reading "anatomy of epidemics" I feel like he's a victim of psychiatry. 

[Altostrata]

Andrew Solomon is a poster child for what's wrong with psychiatry. Given that he's done so much speaking touting psychiatric drugs, if this can go wider, it would be very helpful to revealing the flaws in psychiatric treatment.

 

I have nothing but compassion for him, he's been a dupe on two counts: via psychiatric treatment and via the pharmaceutical industry, which has made him and his family very wealthy. (He's also written an estimable book, Far from the Tree, about children who are "different.")

 

He is, however, a public figure who has revealed every detail of his care, which means discussing his personal circumstances is fair game. And, it might do him good to slowly taper off the drug cocktail he's still on.

[rapunzel2]

do you know, has he ever wondered about drugs - that those may be doing harm or causing his depression go worse? or is he sure that it's "the illness" and "drugs are good"? I haven't followed up on him for some time. 

[Altostrata]

You can see him on Youtube giving lectures about the benefits of psychiatric drugs.

[mammaP]

"There are none so blind as those who will not see"  springs to mind! 

It is blatantly obvious to allof us that the poor man has been suffering because of the very

drugs that he thinks are keeping him sane, but I honestly remember when I was telling all 

and sundry how marvellous they were  . 

 

It would be lovely to see him here tapering with us and learning how good it can be off drugs.

[GiaK]

Alto fleshed the original post on this thread into a really great article which is now posted on Beyond Meds.

 

check it out:

 

Andrew Solomon, poster child for psychiatric misdiagnosis

http://wp.me/p5nnb-awR

[compsports]

"There are none so blind as those who will not see"  springs to mind! 

It is blatantly obvious to allof us that the poor man has been suffering because of the very

drugs that he thinks are keeping him sane, but I honestly remember when I was telling all 

and sundry how marvellous they were  . 

 

It would be lovely to see him here tapering with us and learning how good it can be off drugs.

Same here mammaP.    I was so spellbound by these meds that I thought my mother was crazy for trying to tell me they were bad news.

 

Unfortunately, when I started to withdraw from the meds, I sadly learned how right she was.

[compsports]

Alto fleshed the original post on this thread into a really great article which is now posted on Beyond Meds.

 

check it out:

 

Andrew Solomon, poster child for psychiatric misdiagnosis

http://wp.me/p5nnb-awR

Outstanding article GiaK.

[compsports]

On a related note, anyone remember Jane Pauley being diagnosed bipolar disorder due to adverse reactions from steroids that she took?   She now is on Lithium for the rest of her life.

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5887567/ns/dateline_nbc-books/t/jane-pauley-shares-her-story/

 

CS

[Altostrata]

Interesting, cs. Want to write up a short article about that?

 

Gianna Kali posted a slightly longer version of my Andrew Solomon piece at http://beyondmeds.com/2014/03/02/poster-child-psych-misdiagnosis/

[compsports]

I just wrote something and accidentally wiped it out.   Argh.

[Rhiannon]

 

"There are none so blind as those who will not see"  springs to mind! 

It is blatantly obvious to allof us that the poor man has been suffering because of the very

drugs that he thinks are keeping him sane, but I honestly remember when I was telling all 

and sundry how marvellous they were  . 

 

It would be lovely to see him here tapering with us and learning how good it can be off drugs.

Same here mammaP.    I was so spellbound by these meds that I thought my mother was crazy for trying to tell me they were bad news.

 

Unfortunately, when I started to withdraw from the meds, I sadly learned how right she was.

 

 

Me three. I used to defend these drugs that were "keeping me alive" (because when I tried to stop taking them I became so suicidal, always my worst withdrawal symptom...although I was also suicidal a lot of the time when taking them, just not as intensely). 

 

Crazy how the drugs themselves can ruin your judgment so that you can't even see what they're doing to you.

 

I'm really enjoying slowly getting my brain back. Although I still have a ways to go. But already I am so much more sane and functional than I was during those years on those "medicines." Even tapering, having withdrawal symptoms, I'm more able to function at work and socially than I was when taking the meds as prescribed. That's just nuts.

[Rhiannon]

Read the article. Nice job! Congrats Gia and Alto, excellent work!

[btdt]

I just read Altos post in the comments on Andrew Solomon's Ted talk here

http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_depression_the_secret_we_share

Bravo Alto

[compsports]

I couldn't find the comment.  Alto, when you get a chance, could you repost it as I would love to read it?   Thanks!

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

Too much time on my hands.... there are over 500 comments to that thread.

 

 

Alto Strata

Posted 7 months ago

 

Andrew Solomon's book The Noonday Demon is often cited as as an example showing the need for psychiatric drugs to treat depression, and the effectiveness of the drugs.

But -- did Andrew Solomon have true "depression" or was he suffering from adverse effects of the drugs themselves?

In a January 12, 1998 New Yorker article, Anatomy of Melancholy http://www.ucdenver.edu/life/services/counseling-center/Documents/Anatomy-of-melancholy.pdf , Solomon details that after a hospitalization for kidney stones in September 1994, he was taking sleeping pills. That's when he "sank lower" and "night terrors began."

(Here, he's likely describing adverse effects of the sleeping pills and a rebound or paradoxical reaction.)

He then saw Dr. Wiener, a psychopharmacologist, who prescribed a series of antidepressants, plus Xanax.

"....The spring of 1995, I stopped taking drugs cold turkey. I knew that this was dumb, but I wanted desperately to find out again who I "really" was. At first, all I was conscious of was the awful withdrawal symptoms from the Xanax. I couldn't sleep for four days, and my eyes and stomach hurt, and my sense of balance was off. Unrelenting nightmares seemed to penetrate my wakefulness, and I kept sitting up abruptly with my heart pounding. ....

At this point, I entered what is commonly called "agitated depression." I developed in rapid succession all the typical symptoms — hatred, anguish, guilt, self-loathing. I stopped speaking to at least six people. I took to slamming down the phone when someone said something I didn't like. I criticized everyone. It was hard to sleep, because my mind was racing with tiny injustices from my past: irritability kept me awake every night, and the lack of sleep made me more irritable still. It is not unusual for really depressed people to have no deep sleep at all. ...."

During severe Xanax withdrawal, he went back on psychiatric drugs. At the end of the article, is looking forward to a lifetime on psychiatric medications.

 

There may be other comments but this is the first I found. It recaps the info at the start of this thread. I admit to looking for and reading anything written by Alto.

 

Read back through this thread as there is a link to more of Alto's comments.

[btdt]

Yes it is the same I was secretly hoping some people not as paranoid of having there email out there would vote up here post

[westcoast]

Often cited as as an example showing the need for psychiatric drugs to treat depression, and the effectiveness of the drugs, Andrew Solomon's book The Noonday Demon has become famous in psychiatric literature.

But -- did Andrew Solomon have true "depression" or was he suffering from adverse effects of the drugs themselves?

In a January 12, 1998 New Yorker article, Anatomy of Melancholy http://www.ucdenver.edu/life/services/counseling-center/Documents/Anatomy-of-melancholy.pdf , Solomon details that after a hospitalization for kidney stones in September 1994, he was taking sleeping pills. That's when he "sank lower" and "night terrors began."

(Here, he's likely describing adverse effects of the sleeping pills and a rebound or paradoxical reaction.)

He then saw Dr. Alfred Wiener, a psychopharmacologist, who prescribed a series of antidepressants, plus Xanax.

"....The spring of 1995, I stopped taking drugs cold turkey. I knew that this was dumb, but I wanted desperately to find out again who I "really" was. At first, all I was conscious of was the awful withdrawal symptoms from the Xanax. I couldn't sleep for four days, and my eyes and stomach hurt, and my sense of balance was off. Unrelenting nightmares seemed to penetrate my wakefulness, and I kept sitting up abruptly with my heart pounding. ....

At this point, I entered what is commonly called "agitated depression." I developed in rapid succession all the typical symptoms — hatred, anguish, guilt, self-loathing. I stopped speaking to at least six people. I took to slamming down the phone when someone said something I didn't like. I criticized everyone. It was hard to sleep, because my mind was racing with tiny injustices from my past: irritability kept me awake every night, and the lack of sleep made me more irritable still. It is not unusual for really depressed people to have no deep sleep at all. ...."

He then went on to more psychiatric drugs, plus Xanax, "a lifesaver," and, at the end of the article, is looking forward to a lifetime on psychiatric medications.

Those of us familiar with withdrawal syndrome, particularly what happens when you go off benzos cold turkey, will readily recognize the symptoms not of "agitated depression" but of severe benzo withdrawal syndrome. It's likely Solomon started down the psychiatric drug rabbit hole when he had an adverse reaction to sleeping pills.

 

POSTSCRIPT Andrew Solomon is the son of Howard Solomon, CEO of Forest Labs, manufacturer of Celexa, Lexapro, Viibryd, Namenda, and Saphris, as well as other drugs  http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2002-05-26/a-ceo-and-his-son

Just found this thread. This was a perfect post, Alto.

[Brighid]

Reading this thread jogged a memory about author William Styron, who noted in "Darkness Visible" (another book offering a writer's description of depression) that the suicidal descent he portrays in that book was triggered by the sleep medicine Halcion. (A quick link to a NYT article about that connection: http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/20/us/finding-a-bad-night-s-sleep-with-halcion.html.) 

[westcoast]

I read that book in the 80s, around the time my graduate advisor was taking both Halcion and Dexedrine. She'd confided in me that not being fat was her main goal in life. She had a psychotic episode similar to one of Styron's, and had amnesia afterwards. I had to find a new advisor. Soon after, Halcion was finally banned in the US. So pharma was messing up my life before I ever popped a pill...and my former advisor got tenure. She was very pretty, and slim. She has accomplished nothing of value in the last 30 years, I should add.

[compsports]

Reading this thread jogged a memory about author William Styron, who noted in "Darkness Visible" (another book offering a writer's description of depression) that the suicidal descent he portrays in that book was triggered by the sleep medicine Halcion. (A quick link to a NYT article about that connection: http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/20/us/finding-a-bad-night-s-sleep-with-halcion.html.) 

Wow, thanks for sharing this as I had no idea.   Of course, doctors would claim that the med unmasked the depression. 

[westcoast]

The nytimes link didn't work for me, but here are search results on that site for Halcion and depression

 

http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/#/Halcion+depression/