Tragic Anti-Depressant Withdrawal, Murder Case In UK

Let me start by saying that it's well-known that withdrawal from anti-depressants (and other psych meds) can make some people act anywhere from oddly to violently, even in cases where people have carefully withdrawn from said meds. Fortunately, the instances of true violence are rare, but they do go on and should be a constant reminder to all of us--irrespective of where we stand on the on-meds/off-meds divide--that withdrawal can be dangerous and must be approached with respect.

Now, here's news of a tragic and ugly case in the UK where a husband allegedly strangled his wife after coming off a Parkinson's med (given to him to control vivid nightmares) and two unnamed anti-depressants.

"Dr Paul Skett, an expert in prescription drugs, said Mr Thomas would have experienced nightmares after coming off the drugs, two antidepressants, and one to control both Parkinson's Disease related hand tremors and nightmares.

"One of the effects of the hand tremor drug was to inhibit rapid eye movement sleep, he explained.

"'With withdrawal you get a rebound effect where the individual suffers more rapid eye movement and more dreaming,' he said.

"'These can be very vivid and take the form of nightmares.'

"Mr Thomas denies murder, but prosecutors are not seeking a guilty verdict.

"Paul Thomas, QC, said he was seeking a 'special verdict' of not guilty to murder due to "insane automatism" caused by an internal condition.

The defence is arguing the defendant strangled his wife of 39 years due to 'non-insane automatism' - acting invoulntarily while sleeping - brought on by external stress."

While I'm not arguing that the meds made him do it, I am arguing that they are deeply entangled in the tragic outcome, which argues that patients and doctors have got to take the withdrawal process much more cautiously.

Take a swing through ssristories.com and do a find in your browser under "withdrawal."