Warning!
Talk of suicide
Terence Young, one of the panelists at “You and Your Meds: Are They Safe?“, during his 10 minute presentation spoke about prescription drug warnings and how the FDA (USA) and Health Canada share different information.
He showed us a slide of an example of the Paxil information leaflet that Americans who take the drug receive from their pharmacist a leaflet that up front tells users that Paxil can cause suicidal thoughts and ideation. This does not happen in Canada (in all honesty I fell confident that even my American followers will say that they had no idea their medications could cause this). The example of a Canadian Paxil leaflet included the usual list of side effects we are all used to seeing, the whole constipation, fatigue, dizziness, insomnia etc. That’s what my Prozac and Cipralex leaflet from the pharmacy said and that is what my child psychiatrist told me.
It is obviously a problem if Health Canada is not requiring information about suicidality be known to the users of any SSRI’s and other psychiatric medications! BUT, unfortunately we can not blame just the drug companies because they do in fact have this information on their websites.
On the USA GSK website it is easier to find the information about increased risk of suicidality while on Paxil. I googled “USA Paxil leaflet” and the first link took me to a PDF from GSK where the first thing I saw was:
On top of that it is very easy to get to this information!
I went on to the Canadian GSK website and was less impressed. I can find the suicidality information but it takes much more clicking and scrolling. You can the information here under “Warnings and Precautions” and here under “June 2, 2004 – Important safety information regarding SSRIs and other newer anti-depressants including Paroxetine”.
I prefer the more “in your face” approach by GSK USA but at least the information is there.
Young talked about how these “black box warnings” are there so if a user of an SSRI says, “HEY! Your drug made me attempt suicide!” GSK, Eli Lilly, Pfizer etc can point to their companies leaflet which shows the warning that suicidality can occur. They are legally covering their asses. These warnings are there for the same reason Niagara Falls has these signs on the fence near the falls.
If those signs are not there and someone climbs over the fence then the city is in major shit for not making sure they did everything in their power to prevent an injury or death. With these signs up, if someone goes over then it is their fault and not the city’s. If we’re experience suicidality while on Paxil, Prozac or Zoloft etc. that drug company is essentially removed of any legal obligation because we were warned.
I was not warned. Were any of you warned?
My psychiatrist never informed me or my parents of the increased risk of suicidal thoughts and actions when according to the above June 2004 link on the GSK website and a letter to healthcare professionals I found on the Eli Lilly website this potential risk was acknowledged for 1 year before I was put on an SSRI at 16 (an age not recommended to SSRI use, which the drug companies also warn against).
The letter continues to say that this risk is increase for children and youth.
So, the drug companies, aside from making the drugs that cause this horrible side effect, have done their part to wash their hands of any wrong doing.
Did my psychiatrist miss the memo? He must have!
As I progressively got worse on Prozac (and eventually Prozac and Zyprexa combo) my psychiatrist continued to increase my dose. Que suicide attempt and other self harming before I had not experienced before (ie: overdosing).
We trust our doctors. It is very discouraging to know that doctors are either withholding this information, do not know or do not believe that SSRI’s can cause suicidality.
I encourage everyone, regardless of medication, to do their own research. Know the good and the bad about your medication and listen to what your body tells you. The internet has given us access to information we didn’t have even 15-20 years ago and we need to take advantage of it! We need to hold our doctors accountable and do what feels right for us. We are our best advocates!
Posted on January 19, 2013, in Madness, Mental Health, Stigma/Discrimination, The Facts and tagged adverse reactions, big pharma, doctors, Eli Lilly, GSK, information, Paxil, Prozac, psychiatric medication, psychiatrist, side effects, SSRI, suicide, Terence Young, You and Your Meds. Bookmark the permalink. 15 Comments.
I’ve never had a doctor tell me the side effects of any medication, sometimes at the pharmacy they will if its a new drug I have not been on, but sometimes not.
My experience in the US was always different, the pharmacist always consulted before letting me go, and explained what the side effects were, and to make sure others around me paid attention to the signs.
I usually always get more information and concern out of a pharmacist than I do a doctor. There was debate here a few years ago about whether or not pharmacists should be allowed to prescribe medication. I think they should.
This is all a new world to me but I am appalled at what I have read. It does NOT fill me with confidence in the medical profession generally
I’m not saying don’t trust your doctor but a lot of them are not keeping up with new research and what not. We need to stay on our toes because this goes for any type of health issue.
I was never warned. Honestly, I don’t think many people read the patient drug information.
When I’ve asked about risks of side effects, including suicide, I’ve been blown off and told it was because of my illness, not the medication. I’ve heard similar from others. Many psychiatrists routinely dismiss side effects, up to and including suicidal ideation/attempts.
I read the drug leaflets now and I do extensive research.
I don’t see what they think dismissing these side effects is going to do!? If I die then you can’t make money off of me anymore! (If I can be a little darkly humorous)
There have been instances of other drugs like Prozac and such creating suicidal ideation in some users too. In the US a suit was brought against GlaxoSmithKline by a pre-scandal Eliot Spitzer, google “Paxil lawsuit” and a bunch of articles will come up. I think it’s slimy of GSK not to include this info on leaflets in countries where they *weren’t* brought into court, however.
Paxil killed my appetite, from what I recall, but after a point it was making lightning go off in my head. I honestly don’t recall if it helped my mood whatsoever.
I’m aware of many lawsuits against the drug companies and I’m sure a lot of people would like to file more lawsuits!
The problem with these lawsuits seem to be that they’re mostly settled out of court and the company doesn’t make the changes that it actually should. In the medication safety panel I went to one of the panelists said that a man did research on law and big pharma and he found that there is specifically a job where you’re paid to go to jail for the company if they are taken to court and jail time is required. It’s a tad irresponsible….
I’ve heard mixed things about Paxil. My friend also had the lightning experience with Zoloft. doesn’t sound fun at all.
Great message. I hate the way we aren’t empowered with information like this. I am guess they (the psychiatrists) take a ‘hope for the best’ approach which is hardly good enough when we’re talking about people’s lives.
The warnings always say suicidality can be cause in children and young adults. Apparently there is a belief that there is some magic cut off line when you become an adult (I dont know what the specific age is supposed to be) and then the drugs can no longer cause these side effects. Doctors actually believe this (at least some of them).
I dont remember with medication it was that I started taking, but it caused me to become much more suicidal than I was. I made an appointment with my psychiatrist and explained this, and that we needed to try something else and he basically told me that no, that wasnt happening. I guess I was making it up or something. I refused to keep taking it.
I had a friend that ended up hospitalized for the same thing. She brought up her concerns with her doc, he told her no, it wasnt happening. She kept taking it and ended up voluntarily committing herself because she was afraid of what she would do to herself. Its scary.
From what I’ve read it was first discovered that SSRI’s could cause suicidality in healthy adult patients so I have also been confused when I’ve seen the warnings that say children and youth although they have added young adults to that list. But yeah, a person can wake up one morning and magically not be at risk for the side effect? No….
My doctor ignored my concerns also. It’s very disempowering. I’m sorry you’ve had that experience also. I hope your friend is ok now. It’s so hard when people are told they NEED this medication but yet all these horrible things are happening while they’re on it.
My first psychiatrist (the guy who misdiagnosed and disabled me with his bogus prescriptions) also missed that memo. He also somehow completely ignored the guidelines for diagnosis as laid out in the DSM-IV. While the DSM is in and of itself a horrible tool, if he had adhered to its guidelines for bipolar diagnosis he should never have diagnosed me as such.
I live in Canada, and I can tell you that I’m not surprised to hear that our version of the leaflet you mentioned (I believe it’s called a monograph) contains less information than the American version. I’m also not surprised that the Canadian website is less clear.
Canada used to be a very progressive nation, but now our complacency and general deference to authority has allowed it to become a haven for corrupt corporate practices, including so many of the rigged clinical trials performed by pharmaceutical companies. Canada’s universal health care system, which so many Americans hear about, is also in the process of being gradually dismantled. This isn’t even registering with most Canadians. Canada is no longer the environmental and peacekeeping role model it used to be (quite the opposite in fact).
I’m very disappointed in my government and my fellow Canadians. Like you, I not only blame the pharmaceutical companies for these practices, but also my government’s corrupt regulatory and review processes.
We’re supposed to be all, I don’t know, “better” in Canada but we’re really not. That’s what Monograph was! The name makes no sense to me.
I would like it if Canada could step it up but it doesn’t help that it’s citizens seem to have lost their fight! We’ve been holding on to the “we’re not as bad as the USA” that we’re getting there!
In American politics there are increasing references to “North America” as opposed to just “America”. That is mostly related to the fact that Canada and America are progressively becoming a single unit where energy production and security is concerned, but there’s more to it than just that.
While there are elements of American culture I despise (such as the gun culture, the strong remnants of racism and hateful religious fundamentalism) there are many that I deeply admire.
I wish people on both sides could look across at each other and see that we have a lot to learn from each other, but unfortunately this isn’t really happening.
You’re from Toronto, so I’m sure you’re all too aware of the rise in gun violence in the poorer areas of the city. As you probably know this is a direct result of American guns flowing across our borders. On the other hand, the way we as Canadians are letting corrupt corporate interests roll right over our values is nobody’s fault but our own.
It seems like most Canadians have lost their fight, but not Canadians like us!
Peace,
Julian.
I would say the difference between Toronto gun violence and American gun violence is that if someone is shot it is most likely if not always gang related. We do seem to have more stabbings resulting in murders. Even our last mall shooting (late last year) was gang related and unfortunately innocents were hurt but so far to my knowledge were not the target.
We should be learning from each other but pride is getting in the way….