Uhm. Those things happened to me AFTER I started Paxil, and Paxil was the gateway drug to ever more harmful antipsychotics that they convinced me I would need to be on for life.

Seriously. Less than a year on Paxil, I moved across the country with someone I had met only five months before, not caring that I was only a few credits away from completing my BA. (I had always been academically driven!) I lost successive jobs, first on Paxil because of the way it made me behave at work (magnifying hypoglycemic mood swings—hypoglycemia is the primary condition that should have been diagnosed and treated), later on Seroquel (et al) because of the way it physically incapacitated me. I alienated friends, contributed to the collapse of my relationship with the guy I moved with (Paxil’s libido-suppressing side effect was a big contributer too, actually), distanced myself from family in the last years of my father’s life, was increasingly neurotic and anxious, had panic attacks, severe depression and suicidal ideation, and recognized that I was not in an appropriate state of mind to pursue any new romantic relationships. I felt completely hopeless, isolated, a freak, like my life was over.

This all happened as a direct result of going on these drugs that this asinine doctor has counselled this person to go on so as to avoid all that!!! (In fairness, I should add that the stigma of psychiatric diagnosis was also heavily responsible for my self-alienation/isolation.)

One thing though, I’m grateful for the “BIG TIME redirection” that moving cities provided. Thanks, Paxil?

we are all in this together. we divide ourselves by the class of drug we’re on at our peril. we are much stronger if all of us harmed by all the many different classes of psychotropics come together.

I suggest networking with others harmed by drugs other than just benzos.

thanks for your work. if we all do our part we will indeed effect change.

The doctors would be required to explain the following and get consent from their patients:

1. Benzodiazepines are intended for short-term use only, no more than 6 weeks.

2. Benzodiazepines are addictive.

3. Definition and implications of tolerance.

4. Benzos need to be withdrawn slowly at a rate no faster than 10% ever 7-14 days.

I understand this is a huge task. But if I had known the above information, I never would have taken my first one.

Keep up the good work, Gianna! Hope you are feeling better every day!

Chase
stopbenzos.com

I do believe there is no “them” but we need to process what our reality seems in this moment to get there. All human beings, you and me too, have the capacity to be good, bad, loving and hateful…

we also have the right to heal in our own time so it’s okay to struggle and to feel the pain and anger too.

naturalgal…that is a good question, but the sad reality is most docs are NOT scientists…they’re just good at memorizing and pretty average people in general. I have a few of them in the family…

the unusual docs do what you’re saying, but unfortunately they’re in a minority…

This is the issue that hangs me up the most. I returned again and again to the people who were CAUSING the problem for relief of the problem. I kept metaphorically replicating my family’s incest assaults on me. I needed love and affection in order to survive and so I feel responsible for “my part” in the hideous charade of love my family offered.

My BODY was suffering due to 16 years of imprisonment, torture & rape, so with my assent the docs attacked my BODY in order to force it to behave. The larger family & society could not stop (or even acknowledge) the assaults. so they tried to change my BODY. If the shoe doesn’t fit, change the foot. I had been heavily conditioned to experience myself as an object that existed for the use of the powerful, so these “medical interventions” seemed like a logical choice.

I’m struggling with the idea that there really is no “them” out there. There’s no cabal that is orchestrating human misery. There is no escape from suffering. All my escape efforts lead me further into the trap.

But, then , I AM going thru neurontin (gabapentin) withdrawal and this is the same process as benzo withdrawal, since it affects the same brain pathways. In a few days I will be audaciously hopeful again and proud of my efforts to care for myself.

Mine was so nice, went to premiere med school and came highly recommended. He smiled every time he handed me the growing stack of prescriptions. How in the world did this man never hear from another client about “side effects”.
That I don’t get. I was told the drugs in no way could cause them.

Of course when I did confront him about it all he got pretty hysterical.He no longer was so nice.

I truly hope he has learned some lesson about giving out meds like candy but from what I hear he hasn’t.

Are not doctors trained to analyze a situation? Don’t they know chemistry? Are we not paying them to use their own brains to determine if what the drug reps are selling them really does make sense?

This is what my doctor did. He started looking at the chemical properties of the medicines and asked himself why those drygs would or would not work and what effects they would have.

I especially relate to this part: “These drugs are poison, and they don’t even work very well.”

That is the whole point. I might have been willing to withstand all the crappy side effects, if they’d helped my mood one bit, but they made things WORSE. And because the general public doesn’t understand that, I see growing evidence for the support of forced drugging. Awareness is great, but what is this leading to? How can we turn our awareness into action, into change?

(apparently the only comments people get in their email are mine)

thanks Will for stopping by.

The side effects I’ve suffered have devastated my self-esteem. Yet the whole time I was on the worst-offending drugs, my moods and mental health were terrible. I complained to the psychiatrist about the side effects and lack of progress, and told her I wanted to cut back on the medications. She would say, “well, what drug do you think you can stop?” I’d go through my suggestions, and each time she would shake her head, “no, no, stopping that would be a bad idea.”

At the time I still bought into the medical model, and I trusted her. Someday I’ll get the courage to tell the world (on my blog) exactly what these drugs have done to me. Needless to say, I am furious. But there is really no single person to blame.

She was doing what she was trained to do. By merely walking in her door I assented to the premise that drugs would solve my problems. Since I had just been discharged from the second psych ward in a month, I saw no choice but to put myself in her hands. For her part, she followed her training and the ’standard of practice’. I do believe she did what she thought would help me.

The ‘drug companies’ are only part of the problem. Unbridled profit-taking drives this whole country, and psychiatric drugs are just one aspect of the ill effects. It is probably not realistic to expect the pharmaceutical industry to change its practices for ‘mere’ ethical reasons; they are all about the bottom line. The blame probably can be most squarely placed on the regulatory agencies, who should be policing the system. Instead, they approve drugs on the flimsiest evidence collected over the shortest imaginable time frames (e.g., six weeks!).

Awareness of the problem is the first step. It is heartening to read so many people with similar feelings, even though it is awful to know that so many others have been harmed. These drugs are poison, and they don’t even work very well.

The next step is action, and I want to do something if I can. I welcome any suggestions about how I might contribute to a fight against these prescribing practices. I do think my background would be helpful, but I am just getting started and don’t really know where to turn.

It is nice hearing all of you; I feel less alone.

ps In reference to one of Joan’s comments: I do have a diploma, but I personally don’t feel like a god. I’m not sure how many psychiatrists think of themselves that way; many are just trying to do a difficult job, limited by narrowly focused training, and armed only with an arsenal of ineffective & toxic medications. The answer is not to change (or accuse) psychiatrists so much as to educate ourselves and our brethren so that we can make our own medication decisions.

TO Psychiatrists Everywhere:

“Stop the crap analogy about diabetes. Diabetics do not make insulin. There is a scientific, measurable lack of a NATURAL hormone in their bodies. They take insulin through injection to make up for the inability to make insulin. There has been nothing measurable found missing from my brain, and even if there was, it wouldn’t be Seroquel or Abilify or Zyprexa.”

EM: I am a huge fan of Public Enemy! Maybe we should change the lyrics to Black Steel: “I got a letter from Big Pharma…the other day..I opened and read it–it said they were SUCKERS! They wanted me to take this drug, or whatever, picture me givin’ a damn…I said NEVER”.

Well…not nearly as great as the original lyrics…but…I had to try it.

This guy meant well and no matter how angry I need to feel before I let go I don’t actually want to hurt him…

it would be nice if he could say he was sorry though. I don’t know why that seems impossible for him…he’s written to me by email and he knows my blog but has not accepted any responsibility…that truly is disappointing…

I sometimes wonder if he is afraid that if he says he’s sorry it could be used against him in court…

the thing is the statute of limitations has run out…I couldn’t sue him if I wanted to…

I’m pooped but wanted to let you know I appreciate you too!