I don't understand why so little is said about Effexor side effects and withdrawal symptoms.

He saw his doctor two months before the attack but there was no notation of any side effects from the drug."

"I'm feeling homicidal Dr."

Some side effects are hard to be detected by the patient. If the doctor don't ask or inform the patient about them patients will not recognize some strange feelings as side effects.
There are people self-harming without a clue that it's a side effect from a SSRI or SNRI.

Investigators said the drug may have played a part in his 'irrational and violent behavior....'

Note the use of the word may. Nothing is proven, they don't know if the drug played a role or not. This is just another anecdote.

There are people self-harming without a clue that it's a side effect from a SSRI or SNRI.

You don't know that.

Philip:

This link should give you a much better sense of context for the Effexor situation in this case.

http://nwanews.com/adg/National/244142

JQS.

Scary. Side effects are rarely recorded as side effects but instead as "symptoms" of a mental illness and the dosage of the drug causing the side effect increased, or the drug changed so that withdrawal from one drug can be combined with side effects of another. Are there any "clinical trials" that study what happens say to people who are abruptly switched from Paxil to Effexor and then following the current trend from Effexor to Abilify, oh and tweaked with a bit of ECT? That psychiatry is just so darned sciencey.

A Believer, do you ever feel that a psych med can cause suicidal ideation or self harm as a side effect?

Thanks

Dear Philip:

Violence is Violence! Effexor or no Effexer! You murder someone; only common sense and logic would demand that you should justly pay the price society demands! Whether that be interned in a prison or a mental institution for the rest of your life; which ever be the fitting conclusion to that particular case and outcome.

Do SSRI's and other psychotropic drugs change brain chemistry? Yes they do!

Do they alter behavior? Yes they do!

Have these drugs demonstrated time and time again bad and unpredictable side effects? Yes they have!

Does the Doctor prescribing such medications, the FDA, and the Pharmaceutical industry hold part of the responsibility? Yes they do!

I would recommend each of these victims’ families file class action suits against all three of the fore mentioned entities for their part in these crimes against thier families, humanity, and society! It appears the only thing the psychiatric establishment listens too is money anywise. We read about these horrible acts, tragedies, and stories all the time!

Is that Just Antidotal? No it is not!

"A Believer", AKA pro-pharma no matter what! You should go take some of those Magic Lie Pills and ponder that one for a while, you fool of all fools.

Just maybe you can get a part time job as a court jester juggling all your bullshit for the fascination of the masses, or even become a pharmaceutical snake oil representative.

In the end you're "a believer" in nothing but an illusion in fact.

Yours Truly,
Stan

"I was placed on the following drugs over a period of nearly 8 years. They were all prescribed by an expert in the study of depression, who I had appointments with at a university hospital over the complete time period. All my efforts to describe the side-effects to him were ineffectual, interrupted and over-ruled. The usual response was 'That's not the way it is...' and 'You must accept that...' :-

1. Prozac (years 1-4 approx):
Self-mutilation - started almost immediately, yet I had NEVER cut myself before in my life.

Suicidal - I had always been suicidal (thought it was the norm), but the 'want' and the 'action' were completely separate i.e. death was always a very attractive proposition, but I wasn't going to kill myself. This changed within 6 weeks, it brought the two together & probably explains why the self-mutilation started. I have never in my life experienced the like of it: the depths of blackness into which the slightest trigger or stress would drop me, the effort it took to stave off suicide, the severity and length of the battles to keep me breathing.

This is one of many testimonials.

I felt the thing under my skin.

ABSTRACT

Aim

To identify the incidence and risk of suicide and self harm, among patients prescribed antidepressant drugs.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study, with nested case control, of patients identified from a nonrandom sample of general practices in New Zealand from 1996 to 2001. A total of 57 361 patients who received a prescription for a single antidepressant were identified from the RNZCGP Research Unit Database. Suicides within 120 days of a prescription were identified from the New Zealand National Mortality Database and self-harm events within 120 days of a prescription were identified from the New Zealand Hospital discharge database.

Results

26 suicides and 330 episodes of self-harm were identified within 120 days of an antidepressant prescription. On univariate analysis the association, expressed as OR (95% CI), between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and self harm and suicide were 2.26 (1.27–4.76) and 1.92 (0.77–4.83), respectively. When corrected for the confounding effects of age, gender and depression/suicidal ideation there was an association between SSRIs and self harm, OR 1.66 (95% CI 1.23–2.23), but not for suicide, 1.28 (0.38–4.35). Paroxetine was a significant risk factor for suicide on univariate analysis, 4.23 (1.19–14.95), but not when corrected for age, gender and depression/suicidal ideation, 2.76 (0.30–24.87).

Conclusions

Age, gender and pre-existing depression/suicidal ideation are important confounders in observational studies of the association between antidepressants and suicide or self harm.

Received 9 January 2005 Accepted 11 May 2005
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118698300/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Psychiatrists, please, guide your patients, listen to your patients!!!!!
Ask them!
It's not easy to say you feel like harming others, killing others, kill yourself, or harm yourself.

I know a woman who was constipated for 1 month and was ashamed to tell her psychiatrist.

These side effects are widely reported!

Dear Lord!

Since Effexor has "homicidal ideation" listed as a side effect in both the Physicians Desk Reference and the insert to the drug, then I am assuming that this fellow was one of those with the "homidical ideation" who acted on it. People do act on their ideas once in a while.

Ana, The Boston Globe published in the year 2000 an article which showed that the new patent for the new Prozac [which was never manufactured] would not cause self-mutilation the way the old Prozac would. You can view this article by going to www.SSRIstories.com/index.php and scrolling past the 47 school shootings involving SSRIs and then past the 17 cases which were "won" by people claiming the SSRI caused their suicide, murder and mayhem, then you will come to the Journal Articles. This article from the Boston Globe is listed in the Journal Articles.

Ana, I am sorry you had to have this terrible reaction to Prozac of "self-mutilation". I spoke to a man & his wife once whose young daughter had self-mutilated on Prozac. She was taken to the hospital where her arms were both covered totally in bandages. The man and his wife, when they saw her, said this was the most heartbreaking moment of their life.

Rosie,

I almost killed myself during Effexor withdrawal. I had suicidal ideations but for two times it was pretty hard.
I never self-harmed, thank the Lord.
But I felt the urge to burn myself with cigarettes.
It never happened in my whole life.
It's very difficult to explain. Fortunately I had the list of withdrawal symptoms and I knew it was withdrawal.
I kept on repeating it to myself.
But the suicidal ideation is something very hard to explain.
Although I kept telling to myself "It's withdrawal, call someone..." I didn't.
It's planted in your mind in such a way that even knowing you don't WANT it you cannot help.
I will never understand it and perhaps remembering ssristories.org helped me.
I also was extremely violent and did some things that are totally against my nature.

This testimonial:
"I had always been suicidal (thought it was the norm), but the 'want' and the 'action' were completely separate i.e. death was always a very attractive proposition, but I wasn't going to kill myself."

I understand and can see clearly what is the difference between the WANT and the ACTION.

It's very complicate but I wish people knew about it.
That can explain why Tracy Johnson, the 19 years old healthy volunteer has killed herself during Cymbalta's clinical trial.

This should be of great concern but it seems that they don't care.

I congratulate you Rosie for ssristories.

Rosie wrote: "Since Effexor has "homicidal ideation" listed as a side effect in both the Physicians Desk Reference and the insert to the drug, then I am assuming that this fellow was one of those with the "homidical ideation" who acted on it. People do act on their ideas once in a while." It kind of makes me think about "disinhibition." All kinds of bloody ideas can occur to us, they can even act as an outlet and alternative to "acting out." Maybe these tragic incidents have something to do with one of our defense mechanisms being monkeyed with too much. Confusion of the processes of our brains. But, not to take away from responsibility. It always confuses me how to look at someone who did something horrible because they were "sick." The tardive dyskenisia caused by anti-psychotics is because the voluntary and involuntary nervous systems connection is compromised. Ambien causing sleep-driving seems similar as well. We're supposed to know the difference between when we're asleep and awake, but we take a break from reality, and we don't.

But, not to take away from responsibility. It always confuses me how to look at someone who did something horrible because they were "sick".

Drug-induced violent behavior has nothing to due with sickness.
Health people can also have this.
Once again I will remember Tracy Johnson.
As far as I'm concerned I have never been depressed in my life.
I was put on many drugs because of side effects of Klonopin were seen as mental disease.
Why was I prescribed Klonopin?
Because I had difficulties to sleep due to problems that I had in my life and I needed therapy.
Halcion has caused me hallucinations and in 1991 a man has killed his father due to side effects of this drug.
He was not sentenced and considered "not guilty".

Maybe these tragic incidents have something to do with one of our defense mechanisms being monkeyed with too much. Confusion of the processes of our brains.

Nothing is know about what happens. We know nothing about the brain and mind to assume anything.

Researches haven't even started to try to understand all side effects and withdrawal symptoms.

Greetings,

My primary diagnoses is Bipolar II, with side orders of Borderline Personality Disorder, Schizo-Affective and PTSD, OCD and a healthy fear of Bush. I underwent over twenty ECTs, which I would never agreed to had I not been so sick.

I am on many drugs, including Effexor. I have been out of the hospital for almost two years. Before, I would have to stay for two to three months at a time. Whilst I am sure that there are anecdotal stories of the horrors of p-drugs, I would like to say that I personally wouldn't be here, but for them.

Hospitals have put me on massive doses of, say, Thorozine, which my p-doc deems "barbaric". He also sees a time when I don't need meds. We are working toward that aim.

My illness is compounded by my family that refuses to be part of my life. However, I carry the guilt and sorrow. I would never think to harm them.

I know that all meds have side-effects, but I wonder how much is part of the patient? When I notice that a med is not working, I contact my doctor.

I do believe that there are those who have terrible reactions to medications. But how much is it due to the prescribing doctor not caring. How much is it due to the patient's psyche?

Me, I am in Cognitive Therapy, along with meds. Still, after all these years, I SI when I'm stressed. But I don't open my wrists, or use heat. Habits are hard to break.

Violence is one of them.