Withdrawal can often be more dangerous than continuing on
a medication. It is important to withdraw extremely slowly from
these drugs, usually over a period of a year or more, under the
supervision of a qualified specialist.
This website is a collection of
3100+ news stories with the
full media article available, mainly criminal in nature, that have
appeared in the media (newspapers, TV, scientific journals) or that were part of FDA testimony in either 1991, 2004 or
2006,
in which antidepressants are mentioned.
Antidepressants have been recognized as potential
inducers of mania and psychosis since their introduction in the 1950s. Klein
and Fink1 described psychosis as an adverse effect of the older
tricyclic antidepressant imipramine. Since the introduction of Prozac in
December, 1987, there has been a massive increase in the number of people taking
antidepressants. Preda and Bowers2 reported that over 200,000 people
a year in the U.S. enter a hospital with antidepressant-associated mania and/or psychosis.
The subsequent harm from this prescribing can be seen in these 3100+ stories.
This web site focuses on the Selective
Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), of which Prozac was the first. Other SSRIs are Zoloft, Paxil (Seroxat), Celexa, Sarafem (Prozac in a pink
pill), Lexapro, and Luvox. Other newer antidepressants included in this list are Remeron, Anafranil and the SNRIs Effexor, Serzone, Cymbalta
and Pristiq as well as the dopamine
reuptake inhibitor antidepressant Wellbutrin (also marketed as Zyban).
The Physicians' Desk Reference
The Physicians' Desk Reference lists the following adverse reactions (side effects) to antidepressants
among a host of other physical and neuropsychiatric effects:
Adverse reactions are most likely to occur when
starting or discontinuing the drug, increasing or lowering the dose or when switching
from one SSRI to another. Adverse reactions are often diagnosed as
bipolar disorder when the symptoms may be entirely iatrogenic (treatment
induced). Withdrawal, especially abrupt withdrawal, from
any of these medications can cause severe neuropsychiatric and physical
symptoms. It is important to withdraw extremely slowly from these drugs, often
over a period of a year or more, under the supervision of a qualified and
experienced specialist, if available.
FDA Public Health Advisory
On March 22, 2004 the FDA published a Public Health Advisory
that reiterates several of these side effects and states (in part) "Anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia,
irritability, hostility, impulsivity, akathisia (severe restlessness),
hypomania, and mania have been reported in adult and pediatric patients being
treated with antidepressants for major depressive disorder as well as for other
indications, both psychiatric and non-psychiatric." (Click Links
button at bottom of this page for a direct link to this FDA Warning.)
On September 14, 2004 the FDA added a Black Box Warning in regard to
antidepressants & suicidality in those under age 18.
On September 14, 2004 the FDA
mandated that pharmacies provide to all parents or guardians for
those younger than 18 an Antidepressant Patient Medication Guide.
This guide reads (in part) "Call healthcare provider right away if you or
your family member has any of the following symptoms: Acting aggressive,
being angry, or violent & acting on dangerous impulses." This
Antidepressant Patient Medication Guide also states "Never stop an
antidepressant medicine without first talking to a healthcare provider. Stopping an antidepressant medicine suddenly can cause other symptoms."
(Click Links button at bottom of this page for a direct link to this
FDA Antidepressant Guide.)
On December
13, 2006, the Black Box
Warning for suicidality was updated to include those under age 25. The Black Box Warning is included in the insert to the drugs and in the Physicians' Desk reference.
48 School Shootings/Incidents Involving SSRIs
Most of the stories on this site describe events that occurred after the year
2000. The increase in
online news material and the efficiency of search engines has greatly increased the ability to track stories. Even
these 3100+ documented stories only represent the tip of an iceberg since most
stories do not make it into the media. There are 68 cases of bizarre behavior,
48 school shootings/incidents,
61 road rage tragedies,
13 air rage incidents, 44 postpartum depression cases, over 600 murders (homicides), over 190 murder-suicides
and other acts of violence including workplace violence on this site.
An Absence of Controlled Scientific Evidence
In the Journal of American Physicians and
Surgeons, Volume 14, Number 1, Spring 2009, there is a journal article by
Joel M. Kauffman, Ph.D., which is titled: Selective Serotonin Reuptake
Inhibitor (SSRI) Drugs: More Risk Than Benefits?" In reference to
SSRIStories.com, Dr. Kaufmann made the following statement: "Since no
clinical trial involving multiple homicides is ever likely to be run, no firmer
evidence is likely to be found. Healy noted that much of the evidence for
suicide and murder came from the efforts of journalists and lawyers".
To read the full article go to the Links page on this site (click the button at
the bottom of this page).
Japanese Warning on Violence
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
in Japan has investigated reports where people on antidepressants have committed
sudden acts of violence against others. The agency has decided torevise
the warnings on the medication guide to read, "There are cases where we
cannot rule out a causal
relationship with the medication."
A Public Health Problem of Epidemic Proportions
There is a grave concern among advocates that adverse reactions are greatly
underestimated by the public, the medical profession, and the regulatory
authorities. Each of these stories in our list can be interpreted as an adverse
reaction and in most cases we have highlighted the portion of the article that
refers to evidence of bizarre behavioral change consistent with drug reaction.
In some stories causation is acknowledged and the juxtaposition of these stories
with those where it goes unrecognized as well as the repetition of themes and
circumstances is chilling. If indeed medications played a significant role in
all these tragedies, then this is a public health problem of epidemic
proportions on a global scale.
How to Use This Web Site
To enter the site, click on the button below. This will bring up the site index.
The index contains 5 columns, each with its own column header
displayed in red. Clicking on the
column header will re-sort the index according to that heading. A link to the
complete media article or testimony, often with a summary heading, is available
by clicking on the "What" column entry displayed in blue.
There are 2 flags set in the index which have special meaning as follows:
If the first character of the "Additional" column is a special character sequence (*,**,+,++), then the moderators of
SSRIStories consider that story to be of special interest.
** Indicates a school shooting or school incident.
*
Indicates a legal case won using SSRI
defense.
++
Indicates an important journal article.
+
Indicates a highly publicized case.
If the last character of the "Drug" column is an asterisk, it indicates some expert has indicated the drug contributed to the events documented in the story.
1 Klein DF, Fink M.
Psychiatric Reaction Patterns to Imipramine. Am Journal Psychiatry 1962; 119:
432-438
2 Preda and Bowers. Antidepressant-Associated Mania and
Psychosis Resulting in Psychiatric Admissions . Journal of Clinical
Psychiatry 2001: 62: 30-33
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DISCLAIMER: This site is in no way associated with
either the Church of Scientology or the Citizens Commission on Human
Rights (CCHR).
