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Daily Mail: Tens of millions of Americans are struggling to get off antidepressants - and going to extreme lengths to quit


Altostrata

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ADMIN NOTE Also see

 

Groot, 2018 Antidepressant tapering strips to help people come off medication more safely

 

Netherlands organization is producing tapering kits

 

Petition calling for tapering kits in the UK

 


 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5596531/Tens-millions-Americans-struggle-quit-antidepressants-extreme-lengths-quit.html

 

Tens of millions of Americans are struggling to get off antidepressants - and going to extreme lengths to quit

  • One quarter of Americans that take antidepressants have been on them for over a decade 
  • Many suffer withdrawals when they try to quit, but the symptoms closely resemble depression itself, and even doctors struggle to tell the difference
  • There have been no comprehensive studies on antidepressant withdrawals  
  • In the absence of research and reliable medical advise, patients turn to the internet and each other to taper off of their medications  

 

Some 25 million Americans have taken antidepressants for a decade or more, and withdrawals from the popular drugs may be keeping many of them from weaning off.  

 

.....13 percent of the country's population take antidepressants, and 25 percent of those have been taking them for more than 10 years. 

But how many people who try to quit the mood-altering drugs experience withdrawals? 'Absolutely no one knows,' says Dr David Cohen, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of social work and one of the few trying to fill this informational gap.

 

Withdrawal symptoms closely mimic depression itself, meaning that few many Americans who struggle after quitting antidepressants wind up back on them and in an endless cycle of drugs and depression symptoms.

 

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One-quarter of people who took antidepressants had been on them for 10 or more years, according to the latest CDC data, and experts say many may suffer withdrawals if they quit

 

....

In February, a large UK study proclaimed that the drugs work, with 60 percent of its respondents reporting that they saw a 50 percent improvement in their symptoms within two months of taking the drugs.

 

Yet, even that overwhelmingly positive study found that 80 percent of people who were prescribed antidepressants stopped taking them after a month. 

 

But there is no telling how many that quit - that early or years later - experienced withdrawals because 'no one solid study has ever queried that issue properly,' Dr Cohen says. 

 

'This is probably because it's an unpopular issue. Drugs are presumed to be things that people need and, generally, funding [entities] are not interested as a rule in the darker side of the effect of drugs,' he adds. 

 

Admittedly, even if the interest and funding were available, antidepressant withdrawals are hard to identify, much less study. 

'Withdrawal usually resembles the problem for which the drug was originally prescribed,' says Dr Cohen. 

 

These symptoms include general feelings of depression, 'crying excessively,' having compulsive thoughts, ideas and thoughts of self-harm or suicide, having out-of-body experiences and feeling agitated or sleepy. 

 

We just have to pay more attention to the stories people tell. That doesn't mean we have to believe them right off the bat, just don't discount them either, and pay good, scientific, clinical attention

 

Often, people having the withdrawals will even have neurological symptoms, including 'brain zaps,' burning and tingling sensations, on top of high anxiety levels, Dr Cohen says.  

 

In these instances, 'what is usually called a psychological or mental disorder is being manifested, but it appears as a consequence just of the way that the drug is withdrawn or is leaving the body, so it's hard to separate which is which,' concedes Dr Cohen. 

 

Difficult, but not impossible, and how to distinguish between the two is 'the key question on which there are practically no studies,' he says. 

In his clinical practice, methods have been effective to assess whether or not someone is having withdrawals.  

 

'It's all about the history,' says Dr Cohen. 'You have got to take the individual history of the person and very carefully figure out what happened and when,' he says. 

 

This careful documentation has the potential to reveal differences between symptoms that occurred before going on an antidepressant - which would likely be due to depression itself - and those that occurred immediately and either only or more intensely after going off the antidepressant. 

 

The second method creates this sort of detailed history by putting the patient through the paces of medications. 

 

Essentially, 'you note the occurrence of reactions when you give a drug, see what happens then stop the drug and see what happens. Then, you give the drug again, and see what happens,' explains Dr Cohen. 

 

'Then, you can pretty conclusively see, because a withdrawal reaction will quickly subside when you resume the medication,' says Dr Cohen.

But this method is 'experimental,' he admits, and in fact rehashes the same kind of unending cycle that caused distress for so many patients as they tried to find the right medication to start in the first place. 

 

'Most patients are so fed up with the process that they don't want to stop taking a medication, while others do it on their own without realizing that it's a scientifically useful process, it's exactly what a scientist would do with an animal or a person,' says Dr Cohen. 

 

Unfortunately, providers will often simply mistake what may well be antidepressant withdrawals for a patient's need to get back on the drugs. 

'If withdrawal reactions are genuine, regardless of how frequent, the worst thing is to put the person back on the drug, and say, "okay, then they shouldn't get off,"' without more carefully considering whether or not they might be experiencing withdrawals. says Dr Cohen. 

 

Instead, he says that, if anything, they should go back on the drug only to taper off again more gradually and 'with the support and education of the person and the provider, preparing them for what to expect you would probably get rid of 90 percent of the surprise, pain and discomfort,' patients experience when they come off antidepressants.  

 

Instead, he says that patients regularly report that they were 'extremely surprised' by their withdrawal symptoms, and 'patients, clinicians, researchers and study sponsors...everyone is in the dark.' 

 

So like any good citizens of the modern age, patients are turning to each other and the internet to help them wean off antidepressants. 

Dr Cohen and his colleagues recently conducted a survey of people who had taken antidepressants for more than nine years and decided they were ready to quit. 

 

'They rated their relatives, sources on internet and friends who had been through antidepressant cessation the most helpful resources, bar none, and physicians were rated as much less helpful,' says Dr Cohen. 

 

Self-managed dose-cutting has become so popular, in fact, that Cinderella Therapeutics in the Netherlands now sells tapering kits that show people how to cut down their dosages over time, depending on the specific drug and starting dosage they take. 

 

Most of Dr Cohen's survey respondents had stopped taking antidepressants over the course of one to six months, and about 80 percent were 'real satisfied with what they had done,' he says. 

 

'So there is a user wisdom that is emerging and being collected in some websites, and that should be used,' he says.  

 

In the absence of resources for studies, Dr Cohen says that practitioners like himself 'just have to pay more attention to the stories people tell. 

That doesn't mean we have to believe them right off the bat, just don't discount them either, and pay good, scientific, clinical attention,' says Dr Cohen. 

 

Because, often, 'that’s what happens with withdrawal: it’s discounted.

 

'Instead, there needs to be a much more even-handed approach to the effects of the drugs, not just antidepressants, which often harm people more and are real difficult to get off of, more than any illicit drug,' says Dr Cohen, 'and the effects can last a year, or two, and sometimes even appear to be permanent.'  

Edited by Altostrata
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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

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Thanks, Alto. Validation is great... doesn't make WD easier but it helps.

  • Prozac | late 2004-mid-2005 | CT WD in a couple months, mostly emotional
  • Sertraline 50-100mg | 11/2011-3/2014, 10/2014-3/2017
  • Sertraline fast taper March 2017, 4 weeks, OFF sertraline April 1, 2017
  • Quit alcohol May 20, 2017
  • Lifestyle changes: AA, kundalini yoga

 

"If you've seen a monster, even if it's horrible, that's evidence of divinity." – Damien Echols

 

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Alto, it must feel good knowing that all your years of dedication to this cause are finally paying off, that the truth is finally getting out there and Doctors are slowing starting to believe that this is real and is happening to their patients. 

 

I hope many more doctors will start coming to this site, to ask questions and to discover the truth about this vile condition for themselves.

 

2001: 20mg paroxetine
2003-2014: Switched between 20mg citalopram and 10mg escitalopram with several failed CT's
2015: Jan/ Feb-very fast taper off citalopram; Mar/ Apr-crashed; 23 Apr-reinstated 5mg; 05 May-updosed to 10mg; 15 Jul-started taper; Aug-9.0mg; Sep-8.1mg; Oct-7.6mg; Nov-6.8mg; Dec-6.2mg
2016: Jan-5.7mg; Feb-5.2mg; Mar-5.0mg;  Apr-4.5mg; May-4.05mg; Jun-3.65mg; Jul-3.3mg; Aug-2.95mg; 04Sep-2.65mg; 25Sep-2.4mg; 23Oct-2.15mg; 13Nov-1.95mg; 04Dec-1.75mg; 25Dec-1.55mg.
2017: 08Jan-1.4mg; 22Jan-1.25mg; 12Feb-1.1mg; 26Feb-1.0mg; 05Mar-0.9mg; 15Mar-0.8mg; 22Mar-0.7mg; 02Apr-0.6; 09Apr-0.5mg; 16Apr-0.4mg; 23Apr-0.3; 03May-0.2mg; 10May-0.1mg

Finished taper 17 May 2017.

Read my success story

 

I am not a medical professional. The information I provide is not medical advice. If in doubt please consult with a qualified healthcare provider.

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Yes, I am glad recognition for withdrawal risk is picking up now.

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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  • Moderator Emeritus

You do realise that it's going to get really busy around here because of all the media attention?  We are just the tip of the iceberg. There will be millions more looking for answers once they realise they do not need to be drugged for life and their so called mental illness is, in reality, a manifestation of withdrawal from some of the most addictive drugs ever created.  

 

I hope that now our voices will be heard and that there will be some serious research done into withdrawal.

2001: 20mg paroxetine
2003-2014: Switched between 20mg citalopram and 10mg escitalopram with several failed CT's
2015: Jan/ Feb-very fast taper off citalopram; Mar/ Apr-crashed; 23 Apr-reinstated 5mg; 05 May-updosed to 10mg; 15 Jul-started taper; Aug-9.0mg; Sep-8.1mg; Oct-7.6mg; Nov-6.8mg; Dec-6.2mg
2016: Jan-5.7mg; Feb-5.2mg; Mar-5.0mg;  Apr-4.5mg; May-4.05mg; Jun-3.65mg; Jul-3.3mg; Aug-2.95mg; 04Sep-2.65mg; 25Sep-2.4mg; 23Oct-2.15mg; 13Nov-1.95mg; 04Dec-1.75mg; 25Dec-1.55mg.
2017: 08Jan-1.4mg; 22Jan-1.25mg; 12Feb-1.1mg; 26Feb-1.0mg; 05Mar-0.9mg; 15Mar-0.8mg; 22Mar-0.7mg; 02Apr-0.6; 09Apr-0.5mg; 16Apr-0.4mg; 23Apr-0.3; 03May-0.2mg; 10May-0.1mg

Finished taper 17 May 2017.

Read my success story

 

I am not a medical professional. The information I provide is not medical advice. If in doubt please consult with a qualified healthcare provider.

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There probably will be some increase, Dan. But many people use Web search and read the Tapering articles without registering.

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 month later...

Have any of the studies included people put on antidepressant for medical reasons unrelated to mood?  (Pain, low blood pressure, etc)

Pristiq tapered over 8 months ending Spring 2011 after 18 years of polydrugging that began w/Zoloft for fatigue/general malaise (not mood). CURRENT: 1mg Klonopin qhs (SSRI bruxism), 75mg trazodone qhs, various hormonesLitigation for 11 years for Work-related injury, settled 2004. Involuntary medical retirement in 2001 (age 39). 2012 - brain MRI showing diffuse, chronic cerebrovascular damage/demyelination possibly vasculitis/cerebritis. Dx w/autoimmune polyendocrine failure.<p>2013 - Dx w/CNS Sjogren's Lupus (FANA antibodies first appeared in 1997 but missed by doc).

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On 4/14/2018 at 5:32 AM, Altostrata said:

'Instead, there needs to be a much more even-handed approach to the effects of the drugs, not just antidepressants, which often harm people more and are real difficult to get off of, more than any illicit drug,' says Dr Cohen, 'and the effects can last a year, or two, and sometimes even appear to be permanent.'  

 

The medical profession has gone from denying the existence of withdrawal to saying the effects can, in some cases, be permanent! May God preserve us...

Effexor XR 75mg 1997-2012 

Effexor XR 37.5mg 2012-2017 (tapered off over six months - finished taper July 2017)

SCA Aug 12th, 2017

Cymbalta 30mg Aug 2017 - Nov 2017 (CT Nov. 17th for medical reasons)

Metoprolol 50mg Aug 2017 - Feb 2019 tapered down to 25mg June 2019 then tapered down to zero. Off Metoprolol as of Jan 2020        

Amiodarone (anti-arrhythmic med) 200mg Nov 2017- May 2018

Supplements: Omega 3, vitamin D3, magnesium

What helps me: Manual lymphatic drainage massage, acupressure, meditation, homeopathy (my psychiatrist is also a certified homeopath), a healthy diet when possible organic, yoga, walking my dogs every day and gardening.

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Dr. Cohen is hardly "the medical profession," only one researcher who has looked into withdrawal syndrome.

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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