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Dr. Charles Raison is confused about withdrawal syndrome


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I need to go to work but I am going to post when I return on this site by psychiatrist, Charles Raison, http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/expert.q.a/05/31/antidepressant.weaning.raison/index.html.

 

Once again, a psychiatrist is confusing withdrawal symptoms with relapse. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist but I am beginning to wonder if this is deliberate. I am not saying it is financially related by the way but having to rethink old wise tales is very threatening to people.

 

Anyway, people who have time might want to set Dr. Raison straight.

 

CS

Edited by surviving
clarified topic title

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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I need to go to work but I am going to post when I return on this site by psychiatrist, Charles Raison, http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/expert.q.a/05/31/antidepressant.weaning.raison/index.html.

 

Once again, a psychiatrist is confusing withdrawal symptoms with relapse. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist but I am beginning to wonder if this is deliberate. I am not saying it is financially related by the way but having to rethink old wise tales is very threatening to people.

 

Anyway, people who have time might want to set Dr. Raison straight.

 

CS

 

 

 

Hey CS.........

 

 

Thanks for this post!

 

 

I'd be happy to set this guy straight. I clicked on the link but it stated: page cannot be found.

 

 

Punar

To Face My Trials with "The Grace of a Woman Rather Than the Grief of a Child". (quote section by Veronica A. Shoffstall)

 

Be Not Afraid of Growing Slowly. Be Afraid of Only Standing Still.

(Chinese Proverb)

 

I Create and Build Empowerment Within Each Time I Choose to Face A Fear, Sit with it and Ask Myself, "What Do I Need to Learn?"

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for anxiety 

12 years paxil - cold turkey 1,5 month - switch celexa 1 year taper; total 13 years on brain meds 

67 years old - 9 years  med free

 

in protracted withdrawal

rigidity standing and walking, dryness gougerot-szoegren, sleep deteriorate,

function as have a lack of nerves, improving have been very little 

 

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Unfortunately, I couldn't comment since they archived it after one day.

 

That really angers me and I just let CNN know it. I am sure it will be thrown in the trash.

 

CS

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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That really angers me and I just let CNN know it. I am sure it will be thrown in the trash.

 

Don't worry, Cs! There must be still some places full of baskets full of my letters. :) But, at some point, "the number of letters" reaches the point that no "trash bin" will ever help them. You did a damn good thing, and everybody should do the very same. More power to you!

2000-2008 Paxil for a situational depression

2008 - Paxil c/t

Severe protracted WD syndrome ever since; improving

 

 

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once”

Albert Einstein

 

"Add signature to your profile. This way we can help you even better!"

Surviving Antidepressants ;)

 

And, above all, ... keep walking. Just keep walking.

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Thank you so much Stan!! The link works perfectly. I will read it tomorrow!!

 

 

Punar

To Face My Trials with "The Grace of a Woman Rather Than the Grief of a Child". (quote section by Veronica A. Shoffstall)

 

Be Not Afraid of Growing Slowly. Be Afraid of Only Standing Still.

(Chinese Proverb)

 

I Create and Build Empowerment Within Each Time I Choose to Face A Fear, Sit with it and Ask Myself, "What Do I Need to Learn?"

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Unfortunately, I couldn't comment since they archived it after one day.

 

That really angers me and I just let CNN know it. I am sure it will be thrown in the trash.

 

CS

 

 

Good that you tried CS!

 

Damn! I was looking forward to giving my two cents on the subject.

 

 

I've written to CNN (Anderson Cooper) several times, regarding psyche drugs, and never heard a word back. I've also written Dr. Phil., Oprah but their programs are all sponsored by Pharma Companies.

 

 

So many people in the benzo groups have written to Oprah as well, over the years and never heard word back either.

 

 

Oh, I also wrote to Michael Moore..........heard nothing.

 

 

but we all must continue to write. It's better than remaining silent.

 

 

Punar

To Face My Trials with "The Grace of a Woman Rather Than the Grief of a Child". (quote section by Veronica A. Shoffstall)

 

Be Not Afraid of Growing Slowly. Be Afraid of Only Standing Still.

(Chinese Proverb)

 

I Create and Build Empowerment Within Each Time I Choose to Face A Fear, Sit with it and Ask Myself, "What Do I Need to Learn?"

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but we all must continue to write. It's better than remaining silent.

Absolutely! At some point (and thanks to this forum), the amount of data on the subject won't be possible to deny by anybody. This happening is just a matter of time.

2000-2008 Paxil for a situational depression

2008 - Paxil c/t

Severe protracted WD syndrome ever since; improving

 

 

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once”

Albert Einstein

 

"Add signature to your profile. This way we can help you even better!"

Surviving Antidepressants ;)

 

And, above all, ... keep walking. Just keep walking.

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I think that allies will be hard to come across for some time. At least big time media allies. Media is corporate and most outlets derive a substantial revenue from ads. These days, drugs are probably near the level of autos, feature films and junk food (McDonalds, Bud Light, Coke, etc.) as a revenue source.

 

The biggest problem is that many, many people believe that these drugs are really good! The general sentiment is that 'science' has made huge progress towards curing depression/anxiety etc through pharmaceutical intervention. And many people who take the meds believe that the meds have literally saved their lives. (I've spoken with folks who think their meds are saving their life and that Diabetes or a neurological condition is just the cost of staying sane. I once chatted with a guy on atleast 5 meds who was literally twitching while vibrating to the point of malfunction. He was on Xaxax, Klon, Ativan simultaneously as well as a couple antipsychotics and antidepressants. And this guy was telling me he needed all of these drugs to treat his disease. It was a tragedy.)

 

The status quo insists meds work. Nearly all the 'sane' people think the drugs work. And nearly all the 'not sane' people agree... It's like living in bizarro world.

 

So... This is a nuanced case that people like Whittaker have started to make. But the heart of the problem (other than the profits the drugs generate) is that suffering people have been brainwashed into believing that their suffering is a lesser suffering. They are told their side effects will be more tolerable than their 'underlying diagnosis' or that their side effects are not side effects at all but their organic 'illness' acting up. I endured horrific side effects for more than a decade. In spite of this I continued to take the medication because I truly believed that I had no choice. I was the prototype for the patient I just described. Some of my side effects I recognized as side effects, horrible but necessary. More troubling, I did not recognize many of the most serious side effects for what they were. I thought my side effects were symptoms of some mental illness that the meds were mitigating. I believed all of these problems would get worse if I stopped taking the medication. This was pounded into my head by many many people in authority.

 

As I've gotten off, many of those side effects have totally disappeared, and I discovered that they were, in fact, CAUSED by, not limited by, the medications themselves. But many will stay on the meds for life and never discover that their suffering is not a lesser suffering but an added suffering.

 

I think the truth is bound to come to light. In 100 years I have no doubt that current meds (especially atypicals and short-acting ADs) will be viewed the way medicine currently views insulin shock and lobotomies. But it's a long way between the now and the truth. But progress is accelerating. We've got to keep the momentum rolling and never lose the belief that we'll change the culture and prevent this misfortune from needlessly afflicting others.

 

Alex.i

"Well my ship's been split to splinters and it's sinking fast
I'm drowning in the poison, got no future, got no past
But my heart is not weary, it's light and it's free
I've got nothing but affection for all those who sailed with me.

Everybody's moving, if they ain't already there
Everybody's got to move somewhere
Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interesting right about now."

- Zimmerman

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Here's Dr. Raison's contact info: http://whsc.emory.edu/home/news/experts/psychiatry/charles-raison.html

 

Google shows Email: craison@emory.edu

 

I would cc his colleague Sanjay K Gupta MD sgupta2@emory.edu since Dr. Raison serves as an "expert" on Dr. Gupta's TV show.

 

Also cc Dr. Raison's boss:

 

Steven Levy, M.D.

Professor and Interim Chairman, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

404-727-8382

slevy02@emory.edu

Research interests: Theory of psychoanalytic technique and therapeutic efficacy

 

Factoid: Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D. was former chair of the Emory Psychiatry department.

 

Send feedback to CNN.com at http://edition.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form4.html?83

 

Google and ye shall find. Most psychiatric "experts" are associated with a university and can be found in university directories.

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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Charles Raison is a "Psychiatry Expert"? Isn't that a contradiction in terms? (Rimshot). Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

Oh and good call on the Nemeroff connection at Emory. A sensible psychiatrist once described Nemeroff as "so toxic he glows in the dark" when talking about all his pharma ties. He's right up there with Schatzberg for pure debauchery.

 

Schatzberg and Nemeroff were the toxic tag team (alliteration!) that may simply have signed off on the infamous "Recognition and Treatment of Psychiatry Disorders: A Psychopharmacology Handbook for Primary Care," a textbook strongly suspected of being ghostwritten by a pharma company in the hopes of growing the market of psych meds into primary care!

 

If you're morbidly curious about this infamous "text," read the link below.

 

LINK: Schatzberg/Nemeroff Text

 

EDIT: STOP THE PRESSES! Looks like (Up)Chuck Raison is a pharma shill! I just pulled up his profile on Propublica's "Dollars for Docs" database and he made $35K from Eli Lilly in '09! Way to keep that Hippopotamus oath alive Chuck! :rolleyes:

 

LINK: Raison pharma compensation

Been on SSRIs since 1998:

1998-2005: Paxil in varying doses

2005-present: Lexapro.

2006-early '08: Effexor AND Lexapro! Good thing I got off the Effexor rather quickly (within a year).

 

**PSYCHIATRY: TAKE YOUR CHEMICAL IMBALANCE AND CHOKE ON IT!

APA=FUBAR

FDA=SNAFU

NIMH=LMFAO

 

Currently tapering Lexapro ~10% every month:

 

STARTING: 15 mg

11/7/10: 13.5 mg

12/7/10: 12.2 mg

1/6/11: 10.9 mg

2/3/11: 9.8 mg

3/3/11: 8.8 mg

4/1/11: 7.8 mg

4/29/11: 7 mg

5/27/11: 6.4 mg

6/24/11: 5.7 mg

7/22/11: 5 mg

8/18/11: 4.5 mg

9/14/11: 4 mg

10/13/11: 3.6 mg

11/9/11: 3.2 mg

12/7/11: 2.6 mg

1/3/12: 2.1 mg

2/2/12: 1.8 mg

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Hi Alex,

 

""I think that allies will be hard to come across for some time. At least big time media allies. Media is corporate and most outlets derive a substantial revenue from ads. These days, drugs are probably near the level of autos, feature films and junk food (McDonalds, Bud Light, Coke, etc.) as a revenue source. ""

 

As we learned with NPR which never interviewed Whitaker about his book. But they interview psychiatrists in a heartbeat when they write books.

 

""The biggest problem is that many, many people believe that these drugs are really good! The general sentiment is that 'science' has made huge progress towards curing depression/anxiety etc through pharmaceutical intervention. And many people who take the meds believe that the meds have literally saved their lives. (I've spoken with folks who think their meds are saving their life and that Diabetes or a neurological condition is just the cost of staying sane. I once chatted with a guy on atleast 5 meds who was literally twitching while vibrating to the point of malfunction. He was on Xaxax, Klon, Ativan simultaneously as well as a couple antipsychotics and antidepressants. And this guy was telling me he needed all of these drugs to treat his disease. It was a tragedy.)""

 

I was sadly that guy on a 3 to 4 med cocktail. My mother when she was alive tried to get me stop taking the meds. I blew her off as clueless about mental illness. That memory will haunt me for quite a while.

 

""So... This is a nuanced case that people like Whittaker have started to make. But the heart of the problem (other than the profits the drugs generate) is that suffering people have been brainwashed into believing that their suffering is a lesser suffering. They are told their side effects will be more tolerable than their 'underlying diagnosis' or that their side effects are not side effects at all but their organic 'illness' acting up. I endured horrific side effects for more than a decade. In spite of this I continued to take the medication because I truly believed that I had no choice. I was the prototype for the patient I just described. Some of my side effects I recognized as side effects, horrible but necessary. More troubling, I did not recognize many of the most serious side effects for what they were. I thought my side effects were symptoms of some mental illness that the meds were mitigating. I believed all of these problems would get worse if I stopped taking the medication. This was pounded into my head by many many people in authority.""

 

That was exactly the way I handled things. I had wonderful symptoms like tinnitus, memory loss, and a tremor that I ignored all in the name of my bleeping label.

 

It wasn't until I was diagnosed with a hearing loss that I felt was connected to Remeron that I realized for the first that these meds were trouble big time. But it still took me a year before I made the move for my freedom.

 

I am sorry you experienced this also.

 

""As I've gotten off, many of those side effects have totally disappeared, and I discovered that they were, in fact, CAUSED by, not limited by, the medications themselves. But many will stay on the meds for life and never discover that their suffering is not a lesser suffering but an added suffering.""

 

Unfortunately, my tinnitus and hearing loss are still around. But the tremor is mostly gone and things are getting better although the insomnia is a killer.

 

I am glad these have improved for you.

 

""I think the truth is bound to come to light. In 100 years I have no doubt that current meds (especially atypicals and short-acting ADs) will be viewed the way medicine currently views insulin shock and lobotomies. But it's a long way between the now and the truth. But progress is accelerating. We've got to keep the momentum rolling and never lose the belief that we'll change the culture and prevent this misfortune from needlessly afflicting others.""

 

You're right, we have to keep the pressure on.

 

CS

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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Here's Dr. Raison's contact info: http://whsc.emory.edu/home/news/experts/psychiatry/charles-raison.html

 

Google shows Email: craison@emory.edu

 

I would cc his colleague Sanjay K Gupta MD sgupta2@emory.edu since Dr. Raison serves as an "expert" on Dr. Gupta's TV show.

 

Also cc Dr. Raison's boss:

 

Steven Levy, M.D.

Professor and Interim Chairman, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

404-727-8382

slevy02@emory.edu

Research interests: Theory of psychoanalytic technique and therapeutic efficacy

 

Factoid: Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D. was former chair of the Emory Psychiatry department.

 

Send feedback to CNN.com at http://edition.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form4.html?83

 

Google and ye shall find. Most psychiatric "experts" are associated with a university and can be found in university directories.

 

Thanks Sur.

 

CS

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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You know what? Educating doctors one by one works, too.

 

cs, if you send a note to all those docs, they will notice. They may not be convinced -- yet -- but they will notice.

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 was sadly that guy on a 3 to 4 med cocktail. My mother when she was alive tried to get me stop taking the meds. I blew her off as clueless about mental illness. That memory will haunt me for quite a while.

 

...

 

That was exactly the way I handled things. I had wonderful symptoms like tinnitus, memory loss, and a tremor that I ignored all in the name of my bleeping label.

 

It wasn't until I was diagnosed with a hearing loss that I felt was connected to Remeron that I realized for the first that these meds were trouble big time. But it still took me a year before I made the move for my freedom.

 

I am sorry you experienced this also.

 

...

 

Unfortunately, my tinnitus and hearing loss are still around. But the tremor is mostly gone and things are getting better although the insomnia is a killer.

 

I am glad these have improved for you.

 

...

 

CS

 

Hey comp,

 

I was that guy as well of course. I am sorry about the situation with you mother. I look back at some of my own defenses for my meds with similar sadness.

 

I'm sorry to hear that the hearing issues still plague you. In my case, several symptoms immediately resolved within a few months of my getting off the meds. For instance, I had insane cravings for alcohol and peanut butter candies (reeses). I also had a number of very embarrassing OCD-type compulsions... these things are gone to my great relief. Lots of my other symptoms have, unfortunately, not disappeared so I can relate your predicament. Of course, I have new issues in w/d as well that I didn't have while on meds. So, as I'm sure you know, it's a long haul.

 

I've been less active on this site the last couple of days as I've been enduring a bad period. Just wanted to respond briefly.

 

Best wishes.

 

Alex.i

"Well my ship's been split to splinters and it's sinking fast
I'm drowning in the poison, got no future, got no past
But my heart is not weary, it's light and it's free
I've got nothing but affection for all those who sailed with me.

Everybody's moving, if they ain't already there
Everybody's got to move somewhere
Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interesting right about now."

- Zimmerman

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You know what? Educating doctors one by one works, too.

 

cs, if you send a note to all those docs, they will notice. They may not be convinced -- yet -- but they will notice.

 

Good point Sur.

 

But first, I want to write to people like psychiatrist Steve Balt, who writes the blog, Thought Broadcast, and who seems more open minded. One of his most recent blog entries was to question when psychiatrists should be stopping treatment and whether the meds for life theory is still valid.

 

CS

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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Hi Alex,

 

I hope you feel better and that the rest of your issues resolve quickly.

 

You're right, it is definitely a long haul.

 

CS

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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