Kim Witczak, a Global drug safety advocate and advisor to MISSD, intuitively knew Zoloft precipitated her husband’s out-of-character death. That the coroner who investigated Woody’s death asked about medications he took was helpful–and rare. Today, decades later, most coroners don’t ask questions about medications and formal reports don’t often include a list of all medications taken or recently discontinued. This needs to change so that medication-induced suicides are correctly recorded and data can be compiled to increase akathisia understanding and prevention.
Most people prescribed benzodiazephines are unaware that they should only be used for a brief duration and that they can cause dependency and adverse effects even when taken as directed or discontinued. This global health problem has largely been ignored by medicine regulators in all countries.
However, one country, France, has recently launched a new campaign “to raise awareness, among the general public and healthcare professionals, of the dangers of overuse of benzodiazepines which are medicines typically prescribed for the treatment of anxiety and insomnia.”
A licensed clinical social worker, Laura Vigiano, adeptly shares her akathisia experience when trying to discontinue Cymbalta. Her Mad in America article can help all better understand withdrawal akathisia. “After an eight-month taper off 60 mg of Cymbalta in 2019 I was SLAMMED with delayed akathisia so severe that I had a plan to end my life if reinstatement of the drug didn’t work. (Akathisia can be a side effect of medications or withdrawal symptoms. It is a cluster of very distressing physical symptoms and an overwhelming sense of terror much worse than anxiety.”
Today the European Cardiology Congress announces another potentially deadly ADE associated with SSRIs—progressively increasing cardiac risks. This information “calls for greater awareness among both patients and healthcare providers.” Like akathisia, this ADE can cause avoidable iatrogenic deaths.
March was an exceptionally productive month for MISSD!
Marcey Berman (r) and Kristina Kaiser (l) shared MISSD’s educational resources at the annual conference of the National Learning Disabilities Association of America.
MISSD is pleased that our educational resources will reach professionals attending this week’s Learning Disabilities of America annual conference. Children prescribed meds with known risks of suicidality and adverse psychiatric effects deserve informed care prior to prescribing.
Fact: A 2020 study found that 6.5% of U.S. children (ages 3–17) take psychiatric meds, and many more are given meds that can cause suidicality. Awareness is critical to reduce harm and save lives.
Twelve years ago today, Natalie died a Zoloft-induced death. Like many, if not most, akathisia deaths, the symptoms were missed, misdiagnosed & mistreated. Take our free, accredited course to learn about akathisia symptoms, causes, risks, and management at MISSD.LearnUpon.com. When Natalie was suffering from akathisia, her prescriber increased Zoloft, the drug causing akathisia. This mistake is unfortunately not rare and can be deadly.
MISSD has long recommended a medication buddy system so that anyone starting, stopping, or changing dose or type of medications associated with akathisia can be closely monitored for any unusual changes in thoughts and/or behavior. The parents of Thomas Kingston, who died of medication-induced suicide, are recommending a similar medication buddy system. We hope this precaution is promoted and becomes standard procedure. Read the full article at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y76kd8x6no.
