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Dr. Peter Breggin's articles, books, podcasts, and interviews


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So are the chances really 50/50 on wheather we can recover from this, would you say thats about right Alto?

damaged by citalopram - severe suffering for 3 years now...no improvement

 

akathsiia, pgad, dp/dr, terror, and so SO many more daily

 

severly disabled and lost everything

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Alto, does he (and do you agree) that recovery is a 50% chance from this?

damaged by citalopram - severe suffering for 3 years now...no improvement

 

akathsiia, pgad, dp/dr, terror, and so SO many more daily

 

severly disabled and lost everything

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Since Peter Breggin doesn't recognize post-discontinuation withdrawal syndrome, he doesn't have any opinion that I know of about recovery rates.

 

What I said is when you don't know the odds, you might as well estimate them as 50/50. Since it could go either way, you might as well focus on the better outcome than torturing yourself with fantasizing a bad outcome.

 

I DID NOT SAY THE CHANCES OF RECOVERY WERE 50%.

 

In fact, since most people do not suffer withdrawal syndrome for many years, chances of recovery are much higher.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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I DID NOT SAY THE CHANCES OF RECOVERY WERE 50%.

 

What I said is when you don't know the odds, you might as well estimate them as 50/50. Since it could go either way, you might as well focus on the better outcome than torturing yourself with fantasizing a bad outcome.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • 1 year later...
  • Moderator Emeritus

Very interesting interview with a psychologist who has studies patients over a 20 year period.

Those who came off antipsychotics after a short time are working and doing well.

Those who stayed on are not doing as well and many are not working. 

Those who have been on and off repeatedly are not doing well. 

I've only listened to the first half about schizophrenic patients so far and can't concentrate any more

but it is extremely interesting research. 

 

http://drpeterbregginshow.podbean.com/e/the-dr-peter-breggin-hour-121014/

**I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge.

 

 

Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem)

1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat

2002  effexor. 

Tapered  March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads.

Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013

Restarted taper  Nov 2013  

OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015    :D 

Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014

 

Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg  

 July 2017 30mg.  May 15 2018 25mg

Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. 

 

My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33

 

Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible

 

 

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Thanks mamaP.    This is the guy that Whitaker refers to all the time when quoting studies so I am very interested in hearing what he says.

Drug cocktail 1995 - 2010
Started taper of Adderall, Wellbutrin XL, Remeron, and Doxepin in 2006
Finished taper on June 10, 2010

Temazepam on a PRN basis approximately twice a month - 2014 to 2016

Beginning in 2017 - Consumption increased to about two times per week

April 2017 - Increased to taking it full time for insomnia

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  • 3 weeks later...

http://www.breggin.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=316

 

To quote specifically about antidepressants:

 

The SSRIs are probably the most fully studied antidepressants, but the following observations apply to most or all antidepressants. These drugs produce long-term apathy and loss of quality of life. Many studies of SSRIs show severe brain abnormalities, such as shrinkage (atrophy) with brain cell death in humans and the growth of new abnormal brain cells in animal and laboratory studies. They frequently produce an apathy syndrome -- a generalized loss of motivation or interest in many or all aspects of life. The SSRIs frequently cause irreversible dysfunction and loss of interest in sexuality, relationship and love. Withdrawal from all antidepressants can cause a wide variety of distressing and dangerous emotional reactions from depression to mania and from suicide to violence. After withdrawal from antidepressants, individuals often experience persistent and distressing mental and neurological impairments. Some people find antidepressant withdrawal to be so distressing that they cannot fully stop taking the drugs.

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But doesnt shrinkage means we will suffer forever? Or will our brain cells regrow?

Cold turkeyed Paxil in May 2012  :ph34r:

 

Finally recovered / see success story :)

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Breggin is definitely up there on the American heroes list if you ask me.

 

Boy i find this statement just so heartbreaking and humiliating from a personal perspective.

What in Gods name was i thinking believing a doc who said 'safe and nonaddictive' !

 

Just as a glimpse of hope if anything...Breggin does say,

"After wdl from medication has been partially or fully completed previously medication- spellbound individuals often realize for the first time that they were significantly impaired and that they are now recovering and returning to themselves."

(Breggin 2013, Psychiatric drug wdl pg 115)

 

Your above statement was made in 2014 so maybe he's changed his mind a bit.?

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

 

 

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I think it will be different for everybody. I don't think that means suffering forever for the majority. From what I've read, the brain is plastic and has the ability to heal itself. But the reality is that the healing takes time, many years in some cases. He has written many articles that you can find on his site: http://breggin.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=53&Itemid=37

 

His term for what the drugs do is Chronic Brain Impairment (CBI). From his article entitled: Psychiatric drug-induced Chronic Brain Impairment (CBI): Implications for long term treatment with psychiatric medication. International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine, 23: 193-200, he concludes by saying: 'Most patients begin to recover from CBI early in the withdrawal process. Many patients, especially children and teenagers, will experience complete recovery. Others may recover over a period of years.'

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CS do we have that journal article on this posted on this site?

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

 

 

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Thanks i think we should try to upload it to this site or provide the link somewhere handy.

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

 

 

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Me three, I agree, he's a hero to me.

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

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This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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Breggin2011_ChronicBrainImpairment.pdf

 

(Note: from his site you need to download the file to your computer, then come here and follow the same instructions for attaching an image to your post. The pdf is an allowed file type. It is counted against my file storage since I uploaded it here).

What happened and how I arrived here: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4243-cymbaltawithdrawal5600-introduction/#entry50878

 

July 2016 I have decided to leave my story here at SA unfinished. I have left my contact information in my profile for anyone who wishes to talk to me. I have a posting history spanning nearly 4 years and 3000+ posts all over the site.

 

Thank you to all who participated in my recovery. I'll miss talking to you but know that I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines, suffering and rejoicing with you in spirit, as you go on in your journey.

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Alto i couldnt agree with you  more....on the wdl and tapering statements ....dont know anything about personalities..... those are  my thoughts on it as well.

He like Gotzsche [in his latest book had one sentence where he inferred some may have to taper for a 'full year'] has completely passed over withdrawal issues esp tapering they are both silent pretty much in this area. Its as if they don;t know!? These people it appears are unable to conceive of tapers for years.

 

Even Healy ... i could be wrong ...may not conceive of a taper that lasts for years.

 

Just this last month i met a person in Auckland on paroxetine....they have not had any wdl issues ....now get this ....i questioned them and was told they are now in their 10th year of tapering ....omg!! I couldnt believe it. And only now arrived at 5mg. He is going this slowly so that he doesnt have horrible effects.

This person is obviously staying on doses too long unnecessarily in my opinion but its all self calculated because the doctors are just clueless idiots. There is just no info for anyone on this.

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

 

 

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This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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Thanks Cymbalta (i hope you are ok with being called that ...that name sure is a lot of typing) . Or even CW would be easier. ok im just lazy i admit it.

Ive downloaded in my computer and its qued for printing.

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

 

 

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I am usually referred to as CW so that's cool. We learn to use abbrev bcuz we typ so mch. :)

What happened and how I arrived here: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4243-cymbaltawithdrawal5600-introduction/#entry50878

 

July 2016 I have decided to leave my story here at SA unfinished. I have left my contact information in my profile for anyone who wishes to talk to me. I have a posting history spanning nearly 4 years and 3000+ posts all over the site.

 

Thank you to all who participated in my recovery. I'll miss talking to you but know that I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines, suffering and rejoicing with you in spirit, as you go on in your journey.

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Wow great thread.

I bought the book when it first came out ...got the signed one!

I found the book informative in many ways. These books are also scary reads...i usually have one eye only open!

 

But yes i also found the book disappointingly silent on tapering and wdl.

 

Ive been flicking through it because i did recall one sentence somewhere suggesting a 10% taper but it may have been per week not month. Cant find it at the moment....thats how well hidden it is . The word tapering doesn't even occur in the index....'Hello'!

He talks about having a collaborative relationship with the patient seeking to follow their wishes ....but who amongst us as patients could have ever conceived of the necessary safe and acceptable taper requirements that would have to last for years.

Later...he mentions tapering on page 192 seems to be very vague on the taper confused even mentioning 10% per week (arithmetic progression or geometric progression? He doesnt say)....but then says this may be too fast for some.

 

He says pg 193 the necessity to wdl 'step by step' but doesnt comment further. If he is supposed to be informing prescribers ...then he has left them clueless.

 

I do like his acknowledgment on pg 17 though that even small doses can cause problems. And his request that doctors take seriously the concerns of patients....boy that needs to be sung a bit louder. However i tend to think its all just falling on deaf ears.

"Prescribers and therapists may be misled into believing that the patient is taking "too small" of a dose to cause signs of intoxication or other problems" ..."Always take seriously the concerns of family and friends"..

 

Perhaps this book should be titled 'Why not to take antidepressants ' rather than 'psychiatric drug wdl a guide for prescribers..'

 

Breggins term CBI seems to be a very broad term perhaps also including withdrawal syndrome ...who knows. For say on pg 37 he says, "improvement [from cbi] can continue for years after termination of the medications." In reading this i have simply assumed he is talking about wdl. We know that wdl can go on for years.

 

pg 223

"Patients almost always assume their drugs are safer than they are" 

There's a point well worth noting. Never was a truer word said. I think the word 'patient' could just as easily be replaced with the word 'doctor'.

 

pg 264

"Since the beginning of my private practice in 1968 i have refrained from starting my own patients on psychiatric drugs.." Well thats a doctor worthy of the title if you ask me.

Maybe hes not seeing patients these days ...a year or two ago an email bounced back with an advert for his upcoming book and his next seminar ..so maybe hes just doing seminars and writing books these days ...who knows.

 

Thats my 2 cents worth. I did like the table of names at the back ..its a quick and easy way to identify a drugs category. And the alternative names they hide behind.

 

But yeah someone needs to write about the horrors of protracted wdl and the many frightening psychological phases i believe it takes a person through, phases that last for months and months before the brain shifts the topic and crucifies/torments/persues/terrorizes/traumatizes you with another!

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

 

 

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  • 2 years later...
  • Moderator Emeritus

This is a podcast from yesterday's show on The Peter Breggin Hour -- all on antidepressants.

 

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-bsds9-69326f#.WN0u3AXJK2I.email

 

Best,

 

Andy

Sertraline 50mg and Clonazapam .375mg from 2000 -- symptoms of dizziness Spring 2012

increased to .5 Clonazapam and 100mg Sertraline -- no improvement

Benzo microtaper from November 2012 to November 2014 (followed benzo sites "taper benzo first")

Started Sertraline taper in December 2014 cut by 25mg to 75mg; 62.5mg 1/1/15 and 50mg on 2/1/15

Held at 50mg through April 5 to use liquid 
Reduced dosage in 10% or less drops from 50mg to 25mg -- at single tablet of 25mg on 10/5/15

Transitioned to all liquid for accuracy while tapering -- Horrible insomnia -- back to 25mg liquid and held until October 1, 2016

10/16 -- 11/18 tapered very slowly to 10.6mg.  No real improvement and never really stable so updosed to 12.5mg (1/2 a pill) for convenience and long hold.

After 8+ months of holding with no noticeable improvement decided to add .4ml of liquid Prozac (about 1.5mg) to see if that improves the situation

Supplements, Magnesium, D3, Omega 3, curcumin, Valerian, 81mg Aspirin, L-Theanine, Vit. C,

 

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Very nice find, Andy.  I liked his historical perspective. He even mentioned the fact that tranquilizers were used in the testing of Prozac. 

 

Dr. Breggin mentioned suicidal thoughts and violence in people on Varenicline, which is Chantix, and I remembered an article I came across recently when researching the black box warnings.  Evidently Dr. Breggin hasn't read about the latest news on the black box warnings on these types of anti-smoking drugs, which are chemically similar to SSRIs. 

 

It seems the black box warning is being removed: 

 

Black Box Warnings Removed From Chantix, Zyban

 

The way I understood Dr. Breggin, you can really tell how dangerous these drugs are because these suicidal and violent reactions happen even in people without any mental illness history, such as people using them to stop smoking. So it was always helpful to cite the anti-smoking drugs like varenicline as an example proving that these drugs are, in fact, very dangerous. 

 

But now that logical argument has been removed from the conversation with the removal of the black box warnings. 

 

I fear that with the oncoming deregulation of the government as a whole and the FDA specifically, there will be fewer black box warnings and there's now precedent of them being removed (although perhaps this has happened before?).

 

So I liked that show, but I wish Dr. Breggin would have talked about the removal of black box warnings and what this could mean for the future, especially since from that article, it seems the warning was removed after only one study.  

 

 

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The issue of the removal of the black box warning on Chantix is really very frightening.  Yes, there have been early efforts by the SSRI manufacturers to seek removal of the similar warnings on their products.

 

Here is another episode of Breggin's show in which he interviews Kim Witczak who is doing citizen activist work in this regard.

 

https://drpeterbregginshow.podbean.com/e/the-dr-peter-breggin-hour-%E2%80%93-010417-1484234350/

 

Her story is a harrowing one told on an earlier podcast of his.  Her husband, Woody, had a minor issue, went to a doc, got prescribed an SSRI and wound up committing suicide.  If you are up to it that podcast is really powerful.

 

Best,

 

Andy

Sertraline 50mg and Clonazapam .375mg from 2000 -- symptoms of dizziness Spring 2012

increased to .5 Clonazapam and 100mg Sertraline -- no improvement

Benzo microtaper from November 2012 to November 2014 (followed benzo sites "taper benzo first")

Started Sertraline taper in December 2014 cut by 25mg to 75mg; 62.5mg 1/1/15 and 50mg on 2/1/15

Held at 50mg through April 5 to use liquid 
Reduced dosage in 10% or less drops from 50mg to 25mg -- at single tablet of 25mg on 10/5/15

Transitioned to all liquid for accuracy while tapering -- Horrible insomnia -- back to 25mg liquid and held until October 1, 2016

10/16 -- 11/18 tapered very slowly to 10.6mg.  No real improvement and never really stable so updosed to 12.5mg (1/2 a pill) for convenience and long hold.

After 8+ months of holding with no noticeable improvement decided to add .4ml of liquid Prozac (about 1.5mg) to see if that improves the situation

Supplements, Magnesium, D3, Omega 3, curcumin, Valerian, 81mg Aspirin, L-Theanine, Vit. C,

 

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Thank you for linking that podcast. It was just the background info I was looking for. 

 

It's quite clear that our entire medical care establishment is part of the corporate coup d'état and just like Exxon hid climate change data 40 years ago, big pharma is using similar tricks, magic mirrors and payoffs to hide the bodies from their own form of toxic sacrifice zones. 

 

I found the discussion on the removal of the black box warning to be quite chilling, and also, the connections to direct-to-consumer advertising and marketing off-label to be equally concerning. It seems that the first amendment rights of big pharma outweigh the first amendment rights of patients. Seems that corporations are people. Too bad they can't take these drugs!

 

Witczak's commentary was excellent when she stated that when marketing and promoting off-label is legal, the drug companies can create their own "science" to support the marketing.  With ghost writing in medical journals, fraud in drug trials, and the removal of the black box warnings, that's really what is happening. 

 

She mentioned the name Thomas Moore as being involved in the fight to keep the black box warning on Chantix, and I remembered him from a MiA article, as he was involved in this study:

 

1 in 6 Adults in the US Takes a Psychiatric Drug

 

If they remove the black box warnings, expand the rights of big pharma to continue their off-label marketing, and keep silencing the voices of victims and their families . . . with tens of millions of people on these drugs, this may be the end to us as human beings. 

 

Sorry, Andy, I'm taking your thread off topic. 

 

 

 

Her story is a harrowing one told on an earlier podcast of his.  Her husband, Woody, had a minor issue, went to a doc, got prescribed an SSRI and wound up committing suicide.  If you are up to it that podcast is really powerful.

 

 

 

 

I tried to find this one by searching for Kim Witczak's name in the search box over on Dr. Breggin's podcast website, but I couldn't find it.

 

Do you happen to have the link? Yes, I'd like to hear more of her narrative. I'm really glad she's taking this on and speaking truth to power. 

 

Thanks again for posting this great information. 

 

 

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Start with this from Kelly Brogan's site:

 

http://kellybroganmd.com/truth-is-we-all-could-be-woody/

 

I know I heard her on a podcast and thought it was Breggin, but might have been elsewhere. I will find it, Shep.

 

Best,

 

Andy

Sertraline 50mg and Clonazapam .375mg from 2000 -- symptoms of dizziness Spring 2012

increased to .5 Clonazapam and 100mg Sertraline -- no improvement

Benzo microtaper from November 2012 to November 2014 (followed benzo sites "taper benzo first")

Started Sertraline taper in December 2014 cut by 25mg to 75mg; 62.5mg 1/1/15 and 50mg on 2/1/15

Held at 50mg through April 5 to use liquid 
Reduced dosage in 10% or less drops from 50mg to 25mg -- at single tablet of 25mg on 10/5/15

Transitioned to all liquid for accuracy while tapering -- Horrible insomnia -- back to 25mg liquid and held until October 1, 2016

10/16 -- 11/18 tapered very slowly to 10.6mg.  No real improvement and never really stable so updosed to 12.5mg (1/2 a pill) for convenience and long hold.

After 8+ months of holding with no noticeable improvement decided to add .4ml of liquid Prozac (about 1.5mg) to see if that improves the situation

Supplements, Magnesium, D3, Omega 3, curcumin, Valerian, 81mg Aspirin, L-Theanine, Vit. C,

 

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Thanks for the link!  Check it out - it led to another site:

 

Woody Matters

 

That site has a TON of legal information and media articles that Kim Witczak has been working on over the years. 

 

Oh Andy, please don't spend too much time looking for the podcast. I thought it was something you had already. 

 

I found a YouTube video with Kim talking about it here:

 

Psych-Drugs Harm - 5E: Kim Witczak - Woody Matters - Sept.16, 2015 - CPH

 

(CAUTION: This video involves details about a suicide from Zoloft, so please don't watch if you are easily triggered.)

 

Kim Witczak is a powerful spokeswoman. 

 

 

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