Withdrawal from paroxetine can be severe, warns FDA

Tonks, Alison

doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7332.260

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…The finding that paroxetine had particularly high rates of withdrawal replicates previous findings (RCP ; Tonks ) (and thereby provides further validation of the data of the current study).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…All concerned need to be wary of drug company claims on this issue (e.g. Eli Lilly ; Glaxo Smith Kline ; Tonks ), including on the Internet (Read & Cain ; de Wattignar & Read ). In the light of the difficulty millions of people are experiencing when trying to stop or reduce their ADs, patients, and the general public, need to be educated about the existence, and difficulty, of withdrawal symptoms.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How many of 1829 antidepressant users report withdrawal effects or addiction?

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Cartwright

Gibson

2018

Int J Mental Health Nurs

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More than 10% of adults are prescribed antidepressants annually in some countries. Recent increases in prescribing can be explained more by repeat prescriptions than new patients. This raises the question of whether antidepressants are addictive. A total of 1829 New Zealanders who had been prescribed antidepressants completed an online survey; 44% had been taking antidepressants for more than 3 years and were still taking them. Withdrawal effects when stopping medication were reported by 55%, and addiction by 27%. Paroxetine had particularly high rates of withdrawal symptoms. Only 1% of participants recalled being told about withdrawal effects when prescribed the drugs. Such high rates of withdrawal symptoms suggest that all concerned, including mental health nurses, need to help people considering antidepressants to understand that it can be difficult to withdraw from them. It will also be beneficial to closely monitor people already taking antidepressants and who are at risk of long-term usage.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How many of 1829 antidepressant users report withdrawal effects or addiction?

Read

Cartwright

Gibson

2018

Int J Mental Health Nurs

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“…However, clinical experience suggests that it can be difficult to withdraw treatment with antidepressants for a variety of reasons. Furthermore, there are emerging reports that the abrupt withdrawal of antidepressants, can lead to a 'discontinuation syndrome' in up to 1 in 5 patients, which is characterised by transient flu-like symptoms including dizziness, nausea, paraesthesia, headache, tremor, palpitations, vertigo and anxiety 64,65,66 . There was no evidence of any withdrawal effect for the women in our study, however this may be because they failed to take their medication as prescribed and were either taking subtherapeutic doses, or by tapering off their medication were avoiding withdrawal effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women's views of antidepressants in the treatment of postnatal depression

Boath

Bradley

Henshaw

2004

Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology

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Little research has been carried out on the treatment of postnatal depression and clinicians must currently rely on general recommendations for the use of antidepressants. Antidepressant medication as the main treatment for depression in general practice has been shown to be effective when used as prescribed. However, research has shown that depressed patients consistently receive either no medication or consistently low doses of medication. This study will investigate women's experiences of taking antidepressant medication for postnatal depression. Thirty-five women with a clinical diagnosis of postnatal depression who had been prescribed antidepressant medication completed a questionnaire detailing their experiences of taking medication. Four open-ended questions and responses were discussed with the women. Of the 35 women who were prescribed medication, 4 chose not to take it because they were breast-feeding. Twenty of the women described finding medication helpful. Although only 4 women directly reported not taking antidepressants as prescribed, the comments made by a further 9 women suggest that compliance may have been poor. This study suggests a need to improve information about medication for postnatal depression. If this information is not provided, women are likely to continue to self-manage medication at a dosage that may be clinically ineffective.

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“…86 No medically significant events have been documented, but patients might describe marked discomfort. Relatively fewer reports of withdrawal syndromes following abrupt cessation of fluoxetine might reflect the long half-life of the parent drug and its metabolite norfluoxetine.…”

Section: Discontinuation Syndromementioning

confidence: 99%

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Tourette Syndrome

et al. 2006

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Several lines of evidence suggest a meaningful association between obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome, including comorbidity, phenomenologic overlap, evidence from family and genetic studies, and the possible role of basal ganglia circuitry in both conditions. Obsessive-compulsive behaviors occur frequently in patients who have Tourette syndrome and tend to have a later onset than tics. Despite commonalities, the approaches to treating tics and obsessive-compulsive symptoms are actually quite distinct. A specialized form of cognitive behavior therapy and pharmacotherapy with a potent serotonin reuptake inhibitor are the two established first-line therapies for obsessive-compulsive disorder. An adequate trial of a serotonin reuptake inhibitor is 10 to 12 weeks in duration at doses near the upper end of the recommended range for age and weight. Cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder that do not sufficiently improve with serotonin reuptake inhibitors might benefit from adjunctive low-dose antipsychotic (eg, risperidone) medication whether or not tics are present. Warnings about an increased risk of suicidality among children and adolescents taking antidepressants for pediatric depression extend to those taking the medications for obsessive-compulsive disorder, but the risk-to-benefit ratio is more favorable in this latter population because several serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been shown to be efficacious in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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Withdrawal from paroxetine can be severe, warns FDA

Abstract: Annual deaths among children aged 1-14 caused by Annual deaths among children aged 1-14 caused by traffic accidents during 1991-5 traffic accidents during 1991-5 Source: Unicef Deaths per 100 000 children

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

How many of 1829 antidepressant users report withdrawal effects or addiction?

How many of 1829 antidepressant users report withdrawal effects or addiction?

Women's views of antidepressants in the treatment of postnatal depression

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Tourette Syndrome

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