Posted by ed_uk on February 21, 2005, at 13:06:44
In reply to Re: Kindling? » SLS, posted by ed_uk on February 21, 2005, at 12:59:18
Scott, I think you may find this interesting............
Paroxetine, Panorama and user reporting of
ADRs: Consumer intelligence matters in
clinical practice and post-marketing drug
surveillance
Abstract. We systematically analysed two complementary samples of emails relating to patients’ problems with the popular
SSRI antidepressant, paroxetine. These mainly concerned serious mood disorders and drug withdrawal symptoms. 1,374 emails
were immediate responses to a major BBC-TV documentary programme. These were contrasted with 862 messages on similar
themes sent to a website discussion forum over a period of nearly three years. Despite the limitations of most individual email
reports, we judged their collective weight to be profound. We also suggest that the value of “immersion” in a large body of such
data may be greater than continuing exposure to a variable trickle of reports.We discuss the significance of these data in relation
to the patient–prescriber relationship and pharmacovigilance. We suggest that the Internet offers unparalleled opportunities
for soliciting and monitoring patients’ reports of adverse drug reactions, and propose practical initiatives to capture peoples’
experiences and thereby promote safer and more effective drug use.Here is an extract from the article........
NB. Paroxetine (Paxil) is sold as Seroxat in the UK.
Nine reports suggested sensitisation, again providing evidence that numerical analysis could not show.
In these cases, an initial course of treatment and withdrawal was uneventful, though subsequent exposure
led to severe reactions.
“I have taken Seroxat on two different occasions in my life. The first time I stopped taking them the
side effects were minimal, and I was quite happy to be prescribed them the second time . . . This time
was totally different. I was very ill for about a week when I started to take them (nauseous, faint,
totally unable to care for myself – I was hardly able to get out of bed). After about 6–9 months . . . I
began to get a strange whooshing feeling in my head. The GP told me it would not be the tablets –
although wasn’t keen to find out what it could be! I decided I would gradually reduce the tablets in
order to come off them, but found it extremely hard.” (993)
“Seroxat is in my view a very good drug and has helped me to get back to my usual self. Six months
after starting them, I came off ‘cold turkey’ with no side effects whatsoever but the panic attacks
returned and so I was put back on them about five months later. Since then I have tried to come off
them and haven’t been able to due to the common side effect: head shocks. I’ve tried to wean myself
off but still get this horrible sensation.”
poster:ed_uk
thread:460726
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050214/msgs/461328.html