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Akathisia nightmare


mammaP

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A young man tortured with Akathisia side effects from meds

 

"ARIZONA CITY — Josh Jensen walks 5 miles a day. Up and down the hall. Across the living room. To the kitchen and back.

He can’t stop.

“He paces until 4 o’clock in the morning, until he’s exhausted,” said Aimee Jensen, his wife.

He catches six to seven hours of restless sleep. Then he gets up and starts again.

Aimee, 28, sat across from me on their living room couch. Two or three of their five kids were at her side. The rest were in their bedrooms. They range in age from 1 to 7.

Josh, 27, did not sit on the couch. He paced. It was not a shuffle. It was not a stroll. It was a power walk. Like he was trying to get somewhere in a hurry. In this case, the other side of the living room.

Josh could speak as he walked. In that regard, he was fine. Articulate.

He found others like him online. They said they felt imprisoned by their own skin. They wanted to escape. They couldn’t, but kept trying. They kept walking.

I turned to Mylee, the 7-year-old. I asked her what she thought about her father. Always walking, never stopping.

“It’s sad,” she said.

 

Read the full story here.. http://m.trivalleycentral.com/mobile/opinion/columns/family-says-depression-med-triggered-a-walk-without-end/article_dd8c0ed6-111d-11e5-b453-a364258056fe.html

**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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Any way of sending this family a link to our website, maybe highlighting some of our members who have suffered through akasthisia and recovered? (I am thinking of Fresh and her videos).

 

They have a fundraising page, possible contact? (I did not read it yet.)

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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Good idea CW , there's a contact email for the author/editor at the bottom.

 

It would probably help them to know others have recovered.  

There are a few videos when you search "akathisia" on youtube (including "How Much can a Koala Bear"), not sure if that would be

helpful or not.    

1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg

2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg

Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta

Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months.

July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months.

Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg.

October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive.

March 2016 , 21mg

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I will be sending ...have sent ..this link to a family member who would mock me and say sit down and stop walking around like a caged lion...and i would also be shaking and experiencing tremors wow this is exactly how it is. Yep right down to complaining and then being told to double the dose. Its a living nightmare alright!

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 the young man's video.. 

 

**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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Yes if they came to this site they would be BELIEVED 100%

 

One thing we might accomplish by a campaign of some kind is that lack of research on akathisia. The fact that many of us are past it and others didn't have it would be powerful, I think. No one could call us hypochondriacs. Yeah, they would: Tardive Hypochondrosis. But still.

 

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=&recr=&rslt=&type=&cond=akathisia&intr=&titles=&outc=&spons=&lead=&id=&state1=&cntry1=&state2=&cntry2=&state3=&cntry3=&locn=&gndr=&safe=Y&rcv_s=&rcv_e=&lup_s=&lup_e=

 

That's all I found--4 studies, only one a treatment, and they didn't post results.

 

1 Completed Prophylaxis Against Metoclopramide-Induced Akathisia Condition: Akathisia Intervention: Drug: midazolam

 

2 Completed Efficacy and Akathisia Incidence of Slow Infusion Metoclopramide Conditions: Akathisia;   Nausea Intervention: Drug: metoclopramide 10 mg 3

 

3 Completed

in 2008

NO RESULTS

Treatment of Neuroleptic Induced Acute Akathisia With Trazodone

 

4 Condition: Schizophrenia Interventions: Drug: Placebo;    4 Recruiting The Effect of Paliperidone Palmitate in Schizophrenia Condition: Schizophrenia Intervention: Drug: paliperidone palmitate

2009: Cancer hospital said I had adjustment disorder because I thought they were doing it wrong. Their headshrinker prescribed Effexor, and my life set on a new course. I didn't know what was ahead, like a passenger on Disneyland's Matterhorn, smiling and waving as it climbs...clink, clink, clink.

2010: Post surgical accidental Effexor discontinuation by nurses, masked by intravenous Dilaudid. (The car is balanced at the top of the track.) I get home, pop a Vicodin, and ...

Whooosh...down, down, down, down, down...goes the trajectory of my life, up goes my mood and tendency to think everything is a good idea.
2012: After the bipolar jig was up, now a walking bag of unrelated symptoms, I went crazy on Daytrana (the Ritalin skin patch by Noven), because ADHD was a perfect fit for a bag of unrelated symptoms. I was prescribed Effexor for the nervousness of it, and things got neurological. An EEG showed enough activity to warrant an epilepsy diagnosis rather than non-epileptic ("psychogenic") seizures.

:o 2013-2014: Quit everything and got worse. I probably went through DAWS: dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome. I drank to not feel, but I felt a lot: dread, fear, regret, grief: an utter sense of total loss of everything worth breathing about, for almost two years.

I was not suicidal but I wanted to be dead, at least dead to the experience of my own brain and body.

2015: I  began to recover after adding virgin coconut oil and organic grass-fed fed butter to a cup of instant coffee in the morning.

I did it hoping for mental acuity and better memory. After ten days of that, I was much better, mood-wise. Approximately neutral.

And, I experienced drowsiness. I could sleep. Not exactly happy, I did 30 days on Wellbutrin, because it had done me no harm in the past. 

I don't have the DAWS mood or state of mind. It never feel like doing anything if it means standing up.

In fact, I don't especially like moving. I'm a brain with a beanbag body.   :unsure:

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"Akathisia

 

Akathisia is a disorder, induced by SSRI medications, which can cause a person to experience such intense inner restlessness that the sufferer is driven to violence and/or suicide. It has been said, "Death can be a welcome result." For reasons related to the strong political and lobbying power of pharmaceutical companies, akathisia is rarely explained as a possible side effect of SSRIs, and medical professionals and the general public know very little of the existence of this disorder.

 

In fact, the drug lobby would like you to believe that akathisia is simply "restless leg syndrome." As a result, sufferers of akathisia, as well as the medical professionals with whom they consult, are not able to recognize the symptoms of akathisia and therefore take the steps necessary to stop it. This lack of knowledge has tragically resulted in akathisia sufferers taking their own lives, and leaving behind devastated loved ones.

 

MISSD is not anti-drug. We know that prescription drugs have been life-saving for so many individuals who struggle with mental health issues. We are for truth in disclosure, honesty in reporting and legitimate drug trialsAkathisiand medical professionals and the general public know very little of the existence of this disorder.

 

 

 

Akathisia: What to look for

 

Are you experiencing an increase in any of the following symptoms: anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, or physical/inner restlessness, which have in turn caused suicidal thoughts or feelings?

 

Perhaps a friend or loved-one, shortly after starting a new medication, has engaged in strange, unusual or violent behavior, or without warning has even taken his/her own life.

 

You or your loved-one may be suffering from akathisia.

 

If medication-induced suicide or akathisia has affected your life – or you would simply like to learn more – we would love to hear from you. To send us your stories, articles, questions or comments, please drop us a line:

 

share@missd.co

 

 

Stewart Dolin 1952-2010

 

Stewart Dolin had the perfect life. He was married to his high school sweetheart for 36 years. He was the father of two grown children with whom he had a very close and meaningful relationship. He was a senior partner of a large international law firm, managing hundreds of corporate lawyers. He enjoyed his work and derived satisfaction from cultivating relationships with his clients, as well as helping them achieve the results they desired. He enjoyed travel, skiing, dining, joking around with his family and friends and an occasional cigar. He was 57 years old, and high on life.

 

In the summer of 2010, Stewart developed some anxiety regarding work. He was prescribed Paxil (paroxetine), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor ("SSRI"). Stewart's prescription was filled with a generic version of Paxil, manufactured by Mylan. Within days, Stewart's anxiety became worse. He felt restless, had trouble sleeping, even asked his wife to listen to a meditation tape with him (hardly typical behavior). He kept saying, "I still feel so anxious."

 

On July 15, 2010, (six days after beginning the medication), following a regular lunch with a business associate, Stewart left his office and walked to a nearby train platform. A registered nurse who was also on the platform later reported seeing Stewart pacing back and forth and looking very agitated. As a train approached, Stewart took his own life. This happy, funny, loving, wealthy, dedicated husband and father who loved life left no note and no logical reason why he would suddenly want to end it all. Neither Paxil nor the generic version listed suicidal behavior as a potential side effect for men of Stewart's age.

 

We did not know it then, but Stewart was suffering from akathisia.

 

MISSD (The Medication-Induced Suicide Prevention and Education Foundation in Memory of Stewart Dolin) is a unique non-profit organization dedicated to honoring the memory of Stewart and other victims of akathisia by raising awareness and educating the public about the dangers of akathisia. MISSD aims to ensure that people suffering from akathisia's symptoms are accurately diagnosed so that needless deaths are prevented. A website, the creation of educational materials and support of conferences such as Selling Sickness, will help to raise awareness and knowledge of akathisia and medication-induced suicides. Again, we feel it's important to note that we are not anti-drug, and recognize that prescription drugs can be positive and life-saving for many individuals. We are for truth in disclosure, honesty in reporting and legitimate drug trials.

 

If this could happen to Stewart, then it could happen to anyone. MISSD will make a difference."

 

 

The above has been transcribed from the MISSD website here http://missd.co/

1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg

2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg

Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta

Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months.

July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months.

Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg.

October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive.

March 2016 , 21mg

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I am in touch with Josh and his lovely wife.

 

Such a lovely family and I am devestated for them.

 

I will ask them to visit the forum.

2008 - Doctors appointment with stress induced anxiety led to Citalopram prescription.

Severe adverse reaction

Mirtazapine prescribed - adverse reaction but told to stay on.

Poop out - December 2013

15mg

Currently on 13.5mg,

April 12mg

May 10th - 11mg

June 10th - 10mg

July 8th - 9mg

September - 0mg

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We have members who have suffered through this and come out the other side and some members that are still going through it. I myself had it in early protracted wd.  I would hope the idea gets transmitted to Josh that medicine had no clue and that medication only makes it worse. He'll need lots of support staying away from the medicos if he is going to get better (in my opinion).

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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Fresh thanks for that great find .

 

in summary its a 3  pronged defn...'an uncontrollable restlessness, an uncontrollable pschological panic, a trigger and overwhelming push to commit suicide'

 

I have never heard the medical profession use this word.

 

CW totally  agree the only way to get through this is to keep away from doctors and take nothing. I kept away from them for 2 years...then i launched many complaints ..now they are arguing well why did you wait 2 yrs to complain why if you had trouble didnt you see the doctor....oh boy!!

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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Fresh thanks for that great find .

 

in summary its a 3  pronged defn...'an uncontrollable restlessness, an uncontrollable pschological panic, a trigger and overwhelming push to commit suicide'

 

I have never heard the medical profession use this word.

 

CW totally  agree the only way to get through this is to keep away from doctors and take nothing. I kept away from them for 2 years...then i launched many complaints ..now they are arguing well why did you wait 2 yrs to complain why if you had trouble didnt you see the doctor....oh boy!!

You don't hear doctors use the word much.. but there are lots of words they don't use.. kickback... malpractice...akathisia 

There is one lady in this list who sued.. 

WE know the word well here.. a search of SA bring up 10 such posts all about akathisia 

 

https://www.google.ca/search?q=survivingantidepressants.org+Akathisia&oq=survivingantidepressants.org+Akathisia&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l3.11695j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=0&ie=UTF-8

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

great article by Yolanda...

http://psychrights.org/articles/newdrugsnewproblems.htm

 

in what seems to be an attempt to relieve the "living hell” that the worst and most dangerous side effect, akathisia, creates. Akathisia may present as a diffuse psychomotor restlessness, which affects the patient’s entire body, an increased tenseness, insomnia and a feeling of being very uncomfortable, frequently verbalised, as "I don’t feel like myself, weird, strange, not me." Patients feel they are going mad, in turmoil, and numb as if nothing matters. Embarrassed, they do not confess their impulses. Eliciting them needs careful questioning. These experiences can go on for hours or years, or can be acted on very quickly, in a matter of minutes. Acute akathisia is a psychiatric emergency. [as if any doctor would know or care]. Recurrent episodes of hallucinatory delirium along violent or sexual themes with colourful visual, voice and tactile hallucinations may be misdiagnosed as a schizophrenic illness. Sexual craving has been reported.

 

Akathisia has a strong association with violence, self-harm, suicide and homicide.  It is an inner restlessness or jitteriness, accompanied by a subjective as well as objective compulsion to move, abscond, pace or run, or drive long distances in a somewhat dissociated state. [wow this is exactly what i did ] Akathisia can lead to suicide because it is intolerable. Preoccupation with unwelcome, obsessively violent thoughts is pathognomonic.

 

First recognised in users of reserpine for high blood pressure, it became prominent in the forensic literature of the 1970s and 1980s as an effect of haloperidol and, later, of flupenthixon. The above syndromes often appear in combination with each other. They may recede within days of stopping the medication or persist, requiring hospitalisation and additional treatment over subsequent weeks or months. They occur in individuals with no prior history of violence, suicidality, psychomotor agitation or manic-like symptoms. Some patients cannot easily stop taking these medicines without going into a state of withdrawal. They are, technically, addicted.

 

I reckon this thread should be a stick somewhere.

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 weeks later...

Just out. Abstract only

One author is with the VA. I guess they have a lot of this with all the ADs they use.

 

Ann Pharmacother. 2015 Jul 16. pii: 1060028015594812.
Extrapyramidal Reactions Associated With Serotonergic Antidepressants: A Follow-up Literature Review.
  • 1Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA.
  • 2University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA c.caley@uconn.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:

Extrapyramidal reactions (EPRs) associated with serotonergic antidepressant treatments have been reported since 1958. These reactions can be distressing for patients and complicate treatment. Our objective was to complete a follow-up review of published EPR cases reported for serotonergic antidepressants.

DATA SOURCES:

Published cases between January 1998 and May 2015 were collected through a medical literature search. Citation reference lists were also searched manually.

STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION:

Identified cases were reviewed for patient age, gender, psychiatric diagnosis, dosage, time to reaction onset, concurrent medications, and EPR description. Cases were excluded when there was not a clear description, if descriptions were not consistent with accepted definitions, or if the written English was poor. We included cases of akathisia, dystonia, dyskinesia, parkinsonism, or mixed EPRs. Authors scored each case using the Naranjo adverse drug reaction probability scale.

DATA SYNTHESIS:

We identified 86 published reports involving 91 patients; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were implicated in 80.2% of cases. All EPR types were reported: 17 akathisia cases, 18 dyskinesia cases, 27 dystonia cases, 19 parkinsonism cases, and 10 mixed EPR cases. EPRs typically occurred within 30 days of either treatment initiation or dose increase. Age, gender, antidepressant dosing, or concurrent antipsychotic treatment did not appear to broadly contribute to EPR risk. Naranjo scores ranged from 2 to 8.

CONCLUSIONS:

Case reports associating serotonergic antidepressants with EPRs continue to be published. Practitioners are advised that monitoring for such is important. Rigorous research efforts are needed to better understand the clinical risk factors for these adverse drug reactions.

© The Author(s) 2015.

KEYWORDS:

akathisia; antidepressive agents; dyskinesia; dystonia; humans; parkinsonism; serotonin reuptake inhibitors

 

2009: Cancer hospital said I had adjustment disorder because I thought they were doing it wrong. Their headshrinker prescribed Effexor, and my life set on a new course. I didn't know what was ahead, like a passenger on Disneyland's Matterhorn, smiling and waving as it climbs...clink, clink, clink.

2010: Post surgical accidental Effexor discontinuation by nurses, masked by intravenous Dilaudid. (The car is balanced at the top of the track.) I get home, pop a Vicodin, and ...

Whooosh...down, down, down, down, down...goes the trajectory of my life, up goes my mood and tendency to think everything is a good idea.
2012: After the bipolar jig was up, now a walking bag of unrelated symptoms, I went crazy on Daytrana (the Ritalin skin patch by Noven), because ADHD was a perfect fit for a bag of unrelated symptoms. I was prescribed Effexor for the nervousness of it, and things got neurological. An EEG showed enough activity to warrant an epilepsy diagnosis rather than non-epileptic ("psychogenic") seizures.

:o 2013-2014: Quit everything and got worse. I probably went through DAWS: dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome. I drank to not feel, but I felt a lot: dread, fear, regret, grief: an utter sense of total loss of everything worth breathing about, for almost two years.

I was not suicidal but I wanted to be dead, at least dead to the experience of my own brain and body.

2015: I  began to recover after adding virgin coconut oil and organic grass-fed fed butter to a cup of instant coffee in the morning.

I did it hoping for mental acuity and better memory. After ten days of that, I was much better, mood-wise. Approximately neutral.

And, I experienced drowsiness. I could sleep. Not exactly happy, I did 30 days on Wellbutrin, because it had done me no harm in the past. 

I don't have the DAWS mood or state of mind. It never feel like doing anything if it means standing up.

In fact, I don't especially like moving. I'm a brain with a beanbag body.   :unsure:

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I think the doctors and psychiatrists know akathisia, they see people living it in the hospital after their medications, in France a neurologist explained that hospital sent him regular people who could no more move, or others who do not stop to move, you must not take them for more idiots they are, but there is denial to save their job, money, the system...and they make as they know nothing and prescribe you benzo, betablockers etc

i had akathisia long time, at 6 years and 4 months of any medicine, the level of akathisia is very low, but still here with nasty residuals, for example to be unable to rest in street, sitting, be quiet against a wall, so for me akathisia do not go totally away, a stress and hop, it is back, hopefully not so severe than first years,

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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  • 10 months later...

I'm experiencing this as well.

 

First, it was just a constant feeling of doom, fear. During and after the AD usage.

 

After 4 months, I started to have the need to walk alot. That helped.

 

At 6 months, horrible mental torment. Meds offer little relief. Pacing offers little relief.

Luckily, I am sleeping well now.

December 2015 One month Prozac at 10mg/day and every other day for MILD Anxiety ( What the hell??? No prior illness of any sort.)

Horrible side effects. Finally Cold Turkey.
May 2016 - Lamotrigine 0.5mg. Going up slowly. Sleep back to 8-9 hours normal (complete insomnia after Prozac).
June 2016 - 2 weeks 2.5mg Diazepam for Akathisia. Then lowered to 0.6mg/day.

Also Propranolol, Clonidine, occasional antihistamine, magnesium, B6 - for akathisia.

Experiencing severe protracted withdrawal. Symptoms got worse and changed each month. 

Last symptom remaining - Severe Akathisia since May with (mostly) waves and (some) windows. (When worse: pacing, can't concentrate or even speak, difficulty eating, driving, getting out of the house, horrible pain, restlessness, headache, exhaustion)

 

 

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My god that is scary as hell.

2010 started 10 mg celexa, 2011 went up to 20 mg

06/2014 started tapering (20 mg,10 mg alternate days)

19/09/2014 crashed at 10 mg

20/09/2014 updosed to 20 mg to try and stabilize- Never stabilized and CNS basically plummeted

August 31 2015- Started my 5% taper anyways

May 3 2016- At 14 mg the tapering caught up with me- Withdrawal included severe anxiety, feeling like im on speed, suicidal and homicidal ideation, akathesia, feeling like I was on heroin, memory loss, PGAD, feeling like I was on an acid

May 4 2016- Updosed to 15.5 mg to try and stabilize

​June 4- Started taking 2 mg 5 times a day which adds up to 10 mg because of akathesia when taking my full dose. Akathesia symtpoms smaller

July 27th- Dropped from 15.5 mg to 10 mg because could no longer tolerate taking drug- bad side effects mainly akathesia and emotional deadness.

​Oct 11- Improved a lot since May 4th after my crash. Withdrawal symptoms still left- DR/DP, emotional anasthesia, akathesia, tingling in head, feeling like my body and face disappears, messed up sound interpretation, perception and difficulty reading social and emotional cues during DR/DP, apathy, inability to tell if I am in dream or reality, disturbed sleep. Started having few windows

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  • 7 months later...

Just now saw this thread.

You all are so sweet to be concerned.

Unfortunately its been over 3 years and Josh is still suffering.

He has a new video he made in October for anyone that is interested

Thank you all for your support

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So heartbreaking. I had variants of akathisia for a long time, and they are now thankfully long gone, and never recurred. I hope Josh recovers ASAP. 

I am not a medical professional and nothing I say is a medical opinion or meant to be medical advice, please seek a competent and trusted medical professional to consult for all medical decisions.

 

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  • 5 years later...

Looking at his wife's latest posts he seems do be doing much better, but it has been a long drawn out path...

December 2021 - Metoclopramide started. Akathisia symptoms start; Metoclopramide gets changed to PRN.

March 2022 - Akathisia diagnosed; Metoclopramide stopped; Propranolol 10mg x twice a day. Biperiden PRN (0.5mg to 1mg).

April 2022 - Tandospirone 30mg (10mg 3x day), Quetiapine 25mg (only taken once, immediate adr). Mirtazapine 7.5mg. . Discontinued Propranolol.

May 2022 - Mirtazapine upped to 15mg. Tandospirone cut to 2x 10mg. Low dose Depakote for the month; 100 to 200 to 100 to 0. Mirtazapine cut back to 11.75mg (3/4 of a 15mg pill).
June 2022 - Mirtazapine updose to 15mg. Tandospirone, Biperiden discontinued. Klonopin started PRN (0.5mg). 
September 2022 - Akathisia slowly starts improving, WD/ADR normal sets in in mid September. Hold for 4 months.
March 2023 - Off mirtazapine; no Klonopin for 5 months either! Started quercetin (250mg x 2) to soften the histamine rebound.

May 2023 - Stopped quercetin and changed from magnesium carbonate to oxide - reacted badly. Reverted back to carbonate. 
June 2023 - Added fish oil.
Current regimen: CALM Magnesium (Carbonate into Citrate) 175mg x2; Vitamin E 268mg x2; Fish oil (100mg Omega3; EPA 30mg; DHA 37mg)x2
Intro thread: 
https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/27095-portuguesesea-metoclopramide-akathisia-and-mirtazapine/

 

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