BBC’s recent documentary is a must-see for anyone who wants to better understand the adverse effects of drugs marketed as antidepressants. The program features internal memos showing pharmaceutical companies hiding the risks before seeking drug regulator approval and misleading prescribers and consumers by downplaying serious withdrawal problems, including akathisia.

The media have long ignored this public health crisis. One sufferer interviewed by BBC stated, “I’ve been waiting 15 years for you (the media) to call.” Watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27aFEgjuYPw.

Nationally, it is estimated that since 2015, over 44% of Americans 12 and older have been prescribed one or more psychotropic drugs (including stimulants, antidepressants, anti-anxiety pills, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotics). The “Medicating Normal” Outreach Team is co-sponsoring an important petition—Protect Children: Reduce Over-Reliance on Psychoactive Drugs.

This petition calls for using already existing data from electronic health records (while maintaining the confidentiality of patients) to track and monitor a given region’s use of psychotropic medication(s). See and sign at https://www.change.org/p/protect-children-reduce-over-reliance-on-psychoactive-drugs?recruiter=709312496&recruited_by_id=f12e7c40-2290-11e7-9e0a-f902d8cecf86&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_content=cl_sharecopy_36482231_en-US%3A8.

Tania and Ian Morgan, from Swansea, lost their 25-year-old son, Sam, when he killed himself in January 2020. They believe his death was caused by an adverse reaction to an antidepressant.

Other consumers were fortunate that the hospital crisis team recognized an “adverse reaction to the sertraline”(Zoloft) and took appropriate actions before it was too late.

“An adverse reaction to antidepressants can happen within hours,” says Professor Healy.

“In 2012 I was struggling with insomnia while going through a divorce and visited my doctor for sleeping pills. Instead, he prescribed the antidepressant escitalopram, which triggered a four-day delirium during which I hallucinated about how to end my life,” Katinka Newman, author of “The Pill that Steals Lives.”

Read the full article at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12186777/Agony-families-say-pills-depression-led-children-lives.html.

Real stories. Real People. Real Harm.

No cherry-picked drug data here, only truth. Listen & Learn at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibCOhnmM608

Like akathisia, serotonin toxicity symptoms are often missed: “high fever, fast heart rate, impaired consciousness, muscle rigidity, tremors, and difficulty speaking.”

It’s essential “to regularly evaluate symptoms of secondary psychiatric syndromes…” Read the full article at https://cushingsdiseasenews.com/news/case-cushings-disease-misdiagnosed-anxiety-disorder-case-report/.

It’s good to see akathisia mentioned in Emergency Medical News. “Do not re-dose the medication if akathisia occurs after a single dose” is critical information many medical professionals are either unaware of or don’t follow because akathisia is often missed or misdiagnosed as “worsening symptoms.” The article should note that many drug classes, including benzos, can cause akathisia.

Read the full article at https://journals.lww.com/em-news/Fulltext/2023/05000/Treatments_that_May_Alleviate_Akathisia.14.aspx.

Study author Dr. John Read, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of East London, said: “Not only do antidepressants not reduce suicidality, but they also actually increase it for many, and for some they provide the mechanism for killing oneself.”

The research, which will be published in the journal Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, concluded: “If the goal is to prevent suicide then clearly they are not working for thousands of people.” Read the full article at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/17/antidepressants-suicide-drugs-prozac-research/.

Information about high-risk medical products, health issues, and adverse drug effects can be found on Drugwatch to include info about pharmaceutical products marketed as antidepressants. Of note:

“Antidepressants have also been linked to akathisia, which is extreme restlessness and an inability to sit still. The discomfort can be so great that suicide becomes a welcome alternative to feeling this type of agitation. Sometimes akathisia is misdiagnosed as worsening depression, so medication dosage is increased, causing the restlessness to persist.” See https://www.drugwatch.com/ssri/suic for more info.

In Australia and most countries, children who need talk therapy are increasingly getting drugs instead.

“Most people would suggest trying psychological approaches first, but that assumes you can access those things – the waiting lists are horrendous,” said Ian Hickie, psychiatrist and co-director of the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre.

The federal health department has “launched a review of antidepressant prescribing behaviours by GPs.”

Read the full article at https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/gen-stress-prescriptions-surge-for-children-s-anxiety-medicines-20230403-p5cxop.html.

Major changes to national guidelines in the UK may help people safely withdraw from dependency-forming prescription drugs such as depression pills, benzos, and opioids. The UK “finally acknowledged the prevalence, severity, and duration of withdrawal after decades of minimization and denial,” said John Read, professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of East London.

A 2019 Public Health England report also recommends “specialised services and a phone hotline” to help people safely withdraw.

When will the US FDA take similar actions to help reduce avoidable suffering and save lives? Akathisia is frequently a critical symptom of withdrawal.

Read the full article at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychiatry-through-the-looking-glass/202303/services-for-people-withdrawing-from.