I Took Antidepressants and I Still Feel Medicated
June 18, 2017 | 7 Comments

I suffered from a pretty bad biological anxiety that runs in my family and was very difficult to control without medication. Prior to the timeline of events below, I have taken other medications (Paxil, Effexor, Cymbalta) each causing sexual dysfunction at the lowest possible dose and genital numbness almost immediately upon taking them. I stopped them […]

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What a Surprise: RxISK taking entrepreneurs
June 12, 2017 | 7 Comments

It is worth wading through some slow moving stuff at the start of this post to get to the juicy bits. The Things Drugs Do Drugs do things.  Company marketing divides these things into the one good thing the company wants you to focus on – good for a company bottom-line and the ninety-nine other […]

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Shipwrecked by the Cure
Drug Wrecked: Where Does Change Come From?
April 24, 2017 | 51 Comments

Editorial Note:  There are two elements to RxISK.  One is identifying adverse events in order to keep people safe and to widen our knowledge about what drugs do. But just as important is taking on a power structure that some of us get a glimpse of when we raise the possibility of an adverse event […]

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The Pills That Steal Sex
March 23, 2017 | 47 Comments

This post is the original piece written by Katinka Newman, author of The Pill That Steals Lives: One Woman’s Terrifying Journey to Discover the Truth about Antidepressants, by Katinka Blackford Newman (John Blake £8.99), thepillthatsteals.com. A slimmed down version appeared in the Daily Mail.  Its unusual for a day to go past when I don’t utter […]

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Drug wreck
Illnesses Worse than Side Effects?
February 13, 2017 | 19 Comments

This extraordinary image is from an advert for Clozapine. Mental illness can unquestionably bring distress – it can be haunting, dislocating and deeply disturbing. But the side effects are often more severe. Drugs like Clozapine are used by the military for torture purposes. Healthy volunteers commit suicide after a few days exposure to them. Treatment […]

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Come Back When You Have a Medical Degree
January 30, 2017 | 46 Comments

From Johanna Ryan: Who among us has not heard that at least once during a doctor’s appointment? Say you report a problem with the prescription drug the doctor put you on. Or, perhaps, that the drug is just not working. Maybe you even give him a RxISK Report, created on this website, or an article […]

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Sherlock Holmes concept
The Early History of PSSD
January 12, 2017 | 10 Comments

When did it begin? Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD) officially made its debut in the peer-reviewed medical literature in 2006. Case reports were published that identified treatment-emergent sexual dysfunction that persisted after the antidepressant was stopped. The condition was given a name and its features were defined. This new literature also noted the significance of a […]

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Olly
RoAccutane and the Perfect Circle
December 12, 2016 | 29 Comments

Editorial Note: This post by Heather and David Roberts is about their son Olly and the struggles he and they had with the health system, acne and its treatments. Our son Olly had RoAccutane prescribed for him aged 21, getting ready to celebrate his birthday at Bristol University and wanting to look his best. He […]

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Doctors: What do they know?
November 28, 2016 | 35 Comments

Editorial Note: This is an anonymous guest post. I started teaching in the early 1970’s, when to be a teacher was to be a professional, like a solicitor or a doctor. A few years later the Minister for Education, Margaret Thatcher, managed in one short speech to downgrade the status of teachers. At the time, […]

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Dilemmas: advising others
November 21, 2016 | 36 Comments

Editorial Note: This post is by Sally Macgregor. I left a comment on: Stopping Antidepressants: Kenny’s dilemma, which contained this statement: ‘I think acknowledging that coming off the pills can end badly is absolutely crucial. For one thing it’s honest, and without honestly how can people begin to cope with the situation they find themselves […]

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Transgender, Asexuality and SSRIs
November 7, 2016 | 11 Comments

Last week, there was a post Asexual, Transgender and SSRIs about possible links between antidepressant use in pregnancy or early childhood and a later development of asexuality. In recent weeks RxISK has had several emails asking about possible links between transgender issues or Gender Dysphoria and antidepressants. In one a woman wondered about a brother […]

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Asexual, Transgender & SSRIs
October 31, 2016 | 9 Comments

Last week’s post about Antidepressants and Autistic Spectrum Disorder came with an article attached. This article was first sent to and first turned down by BMJ Open because it contained references to a set of animal studies. BMJ Open it turns out is a human studies only journal. The interest in the animal studies listed […]

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Autistic Spectrum Disorder and SSRIs
October 25, 2016 | 14 Comments

Five years ago, the Croen et al article in the Figure above appeared suggesting that antidepressant use in pregnancy can cause Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Pharmaceutical companies rushed to manage the risks – to them. What you do is you convene your experts and you put them in boxes, a teratology box, an animal studies […]

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Bruce Springsteen: Born with an Inner Restlessness
October 17, 2016 | 46 Comments

Further excerpts from Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run. Bruce looks like he had a dependence syndrome and perhaps even organic damage or dysfunction linked to an antidepressant – See Born to Withdraw. Did he also have akathisia? Akathisia (restlessness, agitation & turmoil): A disorder characterized by an uncomfortable feeling of inner restlessness and inability to […]

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Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen: Born to Withdraw?
October 10, 2016 | 20 Comments

Editorial Note: These excerpts from Bruce Springsteen’s new book Born To Run were picked out for us by a colleague who is a lifetime Bruce fan. Zero to sixty in nothing flat The blues don’t jump right on you. They come creeping. Shortly after my sixtieth I slipped into a depression like I hadn’t experienced since that […]

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The Pill that Causes you to Steal Someone Else’s Life
September 4, 2016 | 52 Comments

Katinka Newman’s The Pill that Steals Lives brings out the hazards of being put on a treatment that then becomes the problem that other treatments are used to treat. In her case she could have easily killed herself – or her children. The website 100Families.org lists 1250+ cases where mental health is linked to homicides. […]

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Chinese symbol for resilience
Stopping Antidepressants: Kenny’s Dilemma
August 29, 2016 | 25 Comments

Editorial Note: This request came to RxISK through Contact Us, last week. It went out to several of the panel who contribute to our responses, some of whom have qualified in medicine and some who have qualified by going through the medical system. There was no consensus among us about how to respond. Beneath the […]

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Treatment for amnesia
SSRIs & Loss of Identity
August 22, 2016 | 33 Comments

Editorial Note: This post reflects a probably not uncommon reality. There is no doubt people can be left with permanent dysfunction after a short course of SSRIs, or permanent depersonalization, so a permanent change of identity is possible and even likely for some – but features nowhere in the books. The author initially figured his […]

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Natalie 2012 Graduation
Kidnapped: Natalie’s Story 2
July 21, 2016 | 25 Comments

Editorial Note: This is part 2 of Natalie’s story written by her mother Kristina. The photo shows Natalie aged 18 at her graduation. Abductor number three: 2010 Natalie’s tardive dysphoria remained undiagnosed, and the counselor recommended that Natalie see her colleague, a psychiatrist. The counselor’s records reflected Natalie’s fears about taking drugs. Natalie shared, “I’m […]

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Natalie at Rain Forest Cafe 10th Birthday
Kidnapped: Natalie’s Story
July 6, 2016 | 25 Comments

Editorial Note: Natalie’s story parts 1 and 2 are by her mother Kristina. Natalie, celebrating her tenth birthday in 2003, shortly after being prescribed Prozac. Her left eye was starting to show signs of amblyopia, more commonly called “lazy eye.” This adverse drug reaction worsened and was one of many Natalie suffered from unnecessary prescribing. We […]

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Magnifying glass and a group of people
How Common is Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD)?
June 27, 2016 | 13 Comments

The level of risk of developing Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD) from using an SSRI or SNRI antidepressant is currently unknown. Patients are never warned about persisting sexual side effects when these drugs are prescribed. Calls for informed consent are often met with the response that PSSD appears to be quite rare. Given the huge number of antidepressants […]

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15 Tips for Quitting Antidepressants
Medical Kidnap: Withdrawal & Non-Compliance
June 20, 2016 | 22 Comments

Editorial Note: This post is by Wendy Murray. It comes from a chapter in her new book that deals with the problems many of us have with prescribers of all kinds for medications of all kinds when we question their judgment. Their attitudes can kidnap us just as much as a detention can. I had reached […]

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Hands tied with rope
A Kidnapped Daughter 2
June 13, 2016 | 12 Comments

Continued from Part 1. Put on mirtazepine my daughter deteriorated rapidly. The crisis intervention team descended. They started by counting pills. When they found the number correct, they assumed I had destroyed the pills. They seemed perplexed. One of the team would take her out for some one–to-one. They would visit the local park, go to […]

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Hands tied with rope
A Kidnapped Daughter
June 7, 2016 | 8 Comments

Editorial Note: This is the first of a two-part post by a father and daughter who want to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals – a very real and realistic fear. This is about how my daughter was “led away” (the literal meaning of abduction), in a cruel and calculated act undertaken by people to whom […]

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Three Weeks To Prescripticide
May 12, 2016 | 33 Comments

Editorial Note: The post is by David Carmichael, who has coined the terms “Prescripticide” for a death that is caused by an adverse reaction to a prescription drug. In October and November 2015, Julie Wood published a 5-part RxISK.org series of blog posts about SSRI antidepressants and violence. It was based on the biomedical model developed […]

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This Present Madness
This Present Madness
February 1, 2016 | 3 Comments

This Present Madness was published in November. During the rehearsal of an all-star high school band near Dallas, Texas, a gunman enters the practice hall and starts firing with a semi-automatic shotgun. His attack is deadly. It is the worst mass shooting in US history. The blame for it, as usual, is attributed to the […]

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Frequency Specific Microcurrent
Is FSM a treatment for Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD)?
January 18, 2016 | 70 Comments

Editorial note: Towards the end of 2015, we launched a new Complex Withdrawal section dedicated to exploring protracted withdrawal and Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD). We presented a new hypothesis about the underlying physiology of withdrawal and persisting side effects, and we asked for others to help explore and research the issues. Someone who has been […]

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Antidepressant site specific action
Greg’s Dilemma: Feeling Blue
December 31, 2015 | 27 Comments

Magic bullet In Greg’s Dilemma 1 and Dilemma 2, Greg outlined more than one dilemma linked to getting hooked to antidepressants and benzodiazepines. The responses to these posts were all over the shop – from pull yourself together, to entrust your life to God, to support for descriptions of positions others find themselves in. The […]

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Backwards bike
Greg’s Dilemma: Riding a Backwards Bike
December 21, 2015 | 22 Comments

Greg’s dilemma is one we all share – even John Junig. The easy bit of the dilemma has to do with dependence and withdrawal. Dr Junig’s line that he’s trained in neuroscience and behavior and can confidently say that Greg’s – or anyone else’s – difficulties on treatment with benzodiazepines, antidepressants or mood stabilizers, are […]

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Greg’s Dilemma: Riding a Bike Backwards
December 14, 2015 | 8 Comments

Editorial Note: Last week in Greg’s Dilemma, Greg outlined the difficulties he had with dependence on and withdrawal from serotonin reuptake inhibitors and benzodiazepines. The first comment was from a therapist who seemed to say “pull yourself together”. This eerily echoed the next part of Greg’s dilemma – that could have been posted last week […]

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