Glaxo sued for 'drug claim fraud' (Paxil)

[QueenScoopalot]

"Glaxo sued for 'drug claim fraud'
Glaxo is accused of withholding research information on Paxil

UK drugs group Glaxosmithkline (GSK) has been sued in the US for
allegedly lying about the effectiveness and safety of its antidepressant
Paxil.

New York state attorney general Eliot Spitzer filed the case at the New
York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

The lawsuit claims GSK has deliberately witheld negative information on
Paxil, which is also known as Seroxat.

Mr Spitzer also says the company misrepresented study results to its
sales force. GSK has denied the claims.

The case centres on the safety of the use of the drug for children and
adolescents..."

Complete article at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3771429.stm

[leslie flenner]

that antidepressants sometimes cause agitation as a side effect. Period. People on medications should be closely monitored- the big scare comes from kids on antidepressants- not adults. Kids that were not in therapy regularly, and experienced side effects in an extreme. If I am off about this- anyone out there- correct me! this is my gathering from my (literally) skimming the news on this when it came out a month or more ago. For us adults- not to worry (again, from what I gather...)

[AmberLee]

Leslie, I think your info is off... I was just reading a repeat of an article from 2001 printed yesterday about the multiple side effects of Paxil. It hits some people pretty hard.

[K9soul]

What they don't go into on some of these drugs is how hard they are to discontinue. I was once on Effexor, started in college, and assured it was not addictive, yet when I tried to stop it later, I had disabling dizziness and a feeling like electric jolts going through me. It took me quite awhile to get up the courage to quit, and I weaned down carefully over three months. I still had the withdrawal, severely for two weeks, then a bit more mild for another 3 weeks. I suffered for over a month. I have heard and read that Paxil can be the same way.

[AmberLee]

Originally posted by K9soul
...I have heard and read that Paxil can be the same way.

Yeah, that was the thrust of the article. I think the term they used was either 'the jolts' or 'the zaps' to describe the sensation of electric currents to the brain when detoxing... It sounded horrid. Gads, I don't retain what I read though. It was only a couple days ago I read it... Yeesh!

[sirrahbed]

Originally posted by K9soul
I had disabling dizziness and a feeling like electric jolts going through me.

I have been on practically every class of antidepressant made and what you describe is EXACTLY how I felt trying to get ON. I simply can't tolerate any of them Some people can though - I understand the secret is s l o w l y up and the same when coming off. My *electric jolts* were horrible - mostly in my head. Eck!

[smokey the elder]

Antidepressants are really tough drugs; because everyone's brain chemistry is so different. I don't think it was fair for GSK to withhold negative trial data, but let's face it: drugs are very potent and affect everyone differently. That's why a lot of them are prescription.

As the medical world understands the chemistry part of depression, they'll be able to make "smarter" drugs with fewer side effects. Actually, this is true for all types of medication.

[K9soul]

Originally posted by sirrahbed
I understand the secret is s l o w l y up and the same when coming off.

For me, it didn't seem to matter how slowly I went. Doctors suggest taking around two weeks to wean down on these medications, I spent three MONTHS. I'd take it down a bit, let myself adjust for a week to two weeks, before I'd take it down another miniscule bit. It didn't seem to prevent the zaps at all. I still had them every time I cut the dose down a bit more, for about a week and then they'd die off mostly. When I finally stopped the last dose (just a tiny bit of a 37.5 was all I was taking at the end), I had them for over a month, severely for the first two weeks.

When I first felt this after missing a dose, it scared me that something was horribly wrong with me. I'd miss doses sometimes and have horrible days but it took me a bit to realize it was the antidepressant withdrawal, because I had not been educated AT ALL about withdrawal effects. I ended up going through a series of tests at the hospital from EKG and carotid Dopplers to lumbar puncture and tilt table test and brain MRI. Never once was the medication questioned or looked into as the source for those feelings. I eventually realized it happened when missing a dose or when trying to stop taking the medicine, but when I asked doctors about it, asking about withdrawal or physical addictiveness, the questions were shrugged off, or I was assured it wasn't the medicine. One doctor even told me I was just having an anxiety response from realizing I had missed the dose... which was total bunk and I knew that.

Not everyone suffers these things from the meds and some have it to a lesser degree. My mother was on Effexor for a time and had no trouble getting off of it, but after reading more on the net, I realize what I suffered is not a rare or freak occurrance at all. After all the heartache and worry I went through and my Mom went through, all which could have been saved by proper education, I agree with action being taken against the companies who have not properly educated people, or even physicians, with all that is involved with taking, or discontinuing, their products.