My Story by Derek Scott on Prozacawarenes Sat May 11, 2002

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ProzacAwareness/message/18341



My Story


I have had social anxiety disorder since childhood, but was too
embarrassed to seek treatment for it until I reached 30. The reason
for seeking treatment then was because I had a presentation to
perform in front of my peers on the BSc Behavioural Science degree
started in 1998, and which I should have completed in the 2001
academic session. I had intense anxiety with regard standing up in
front of tutors and other students to give a presentation, as I had
had a nasty experience the previous year during a poster
presentation. During the poster presentation I experienced a severe
panic attack, so giving another presentation filled me with dread
that this would most likely occur again. On speaking to the head of
the department she assured me that I would be fine, and not to worry
about it. I wasn't fine and was never going to be without some form
of help either by means of medication, counseling or both.

I steadily got more and more anxious as the presentation approached,
and decided that I should seek help from the University visiting GP,
Dr Hannah. Dr Hannah diagnosed some form of panic disorder with
anxiety and depression components, and wrote out a prescription for
a drug I had never heard of before, this being Seroxat. I asked Dr
Hannah if the drug was addictive because I had heard all the scare
stories about anti anxiety medications of the past. I was assured
that Seroxat was a non habit forming medication, and that it was
much safer in comparison to the drugs that used to be prescribed for
anxiety in the past. Dr Hannah did warn however that the medication
would not begin to work for around 4 weeks, to be patient and that
there were side effects, but that these were very minor, usually
just mild nausea for a few weeks until the individuals body got used
to them. I was so happy that `finally' after suffering years of
social anxiety that I had just told someone about what I had been
going through for what seemed like forever, and that all my problems
would soon be solved by this tiny white 20mg pill. I was of course
wrong.

Initially I experienced the expected nausea, insomnia, sweating,
headaches, concentration problems, and day-time tiredness to name
but a few, and I thought ok, let's give the drug a chance. The
weeks went by, and the nausea was still there, but over time this
did eventually dissipate, leaving the concentration problems,
tiredness, insomnia, headaches and sweating etc. Then one day,
maybe six weeks after starting the medication the anxiety was
suddenly gone, and I was left feeling in a strange mood. It's hard
to describe exactly how it felt, but it was if nothing mattered any
more, not my degree, not even life itself, but at the same time I
was frustrated!! My grades were slipping because I just couldn't
care less basically, and wasn't motivated to study.

This was my final year at university, so as I am sure you can
understand before being prescribed Seroxat I so wanted to do well,
so much so that I came back to university knowing I was going to
have problems with the presentation because of social anxiety, but
that somehow I would get through it, even if it meant disclosing to
someone that I suffered social anxiety. The weeks rolled by, and I
was going to class, trying really hard to stay motivated enough to
study, but it was really tough, I had to fight the ever present
tiredness, lack of motivation, and the nasty side effects that never
seemed to go away. I was now having problems with balance, and
suffering electric shock sensations, which were really scary, I
thought I was suffering from seizures. I went to my GP to complain
about these new side effects, and was told it wasn't the medication,
and to come back in a few weeks if things didn't improve, which they
didn't and I asked to be sent to a neurologist. A month or so later
I got a letter from Nine Wells hospital in Dundee detailing that I
had an appointment to see a Dr O' Riordan in June 2002!! I
increasingly returned to my GP telling him that the medication no
longer worked, `if it ever had', and the medication crept ever
closer to the maximum dose of 60mg for social anxiety disorder. By
spring 2001 I was on the maximum dose of Seroxat, and it still
wasn't working, doing nothing to calm the ever present social
anxiety.

I decided to embark on a postgraduate course in IT, which seemed
like a good idea at the time, but due to further problems with
Seroxat I now see was fool hardy, but I wasn't to know what was to
come. Everything seemed ok for about a month or so, I seemed to
have settled in, and then the pounding headaches began (this would
be late October, beginning of November 2001.) The side effects were
much worse than I had ever experienced before, I was always tired, I
had insomnia, hypersomnia during the day, headaches that lasted for
days, and this meant that I had difficulties attending important
classes because I was too tired, but the main problem was that the
social anxiety was getting worse, with agoraphobic feelings about
attending classes, classes I knew would be filled with people all
sitting very closely together.

The classes in the computing section at the University of Abertay
Dundee contain computers that are too close together. This may be
ok for most people, but for someone with social anxiety disorder,
and probably other people with disabilities the lay out of the rooms
are ill equipped. I tried to tell the tutors concerned of my
difficulties, but they weren't interested, too busy covering their
backs with the university rules and regulations to be of any real
help.

I went to see my GP telling him that the side effects of the
medication had now intensified, and of the symptoms I was now
experiencing, these being pounding headaches, insomnia, dizziness,
intense hunger for anything sweet, agitation, mood swings, electric
shock sensation etc. Dr Proudfoot took my blood pressure and
discovered that it was elevated, and requested that I give a blood
sample to rule out diabetes, or thyroid trouble, as I had increased
in weight from 12 stone to almost 15 stone, and was craving
carbohydrates.

The blood sample came back negative, and the severe symptoms I was
experiencing were thought to be caused by the Seroxat medication. I
was advised to decrease the dose to 50mg and to continue to decrease
the amount at weekly intervals by 10mg until I was free. I did this
until I reached 20mg, then I experienced nausea, vomiting,
diarrhoea, the never ending headaches that I had become so used to
by now, but worst of all were the electric shock like sensations
that seemed to come in waves, which were accompanied by dizziness,
and a feeling I can only describe as the feeling you get when you
are drunk on alcohol. On several occasions I was crossing, or
trying to cross a busy road in Dundee, and lost control of my body
for about 30 seconds, or it felt like that long, I don't know how
long exactly, and on one occasion narrowly escaped being hit by a
car. I am sure that if I had been killed that my death would have
been attributed to suicide, since it would have been discovered by
the mortician that I had high levels of Paroxetine (Seroxat) in my
blood plasma.

I continue to wonder how many other people `have' been killed either
crossing a busy road, or have killed themselves and others by losing
control at the wheel of their car thanks to severe Seroxat
withdrawal symptoms that Glaxo SmithKline continue to deny exist
despite mounting evidence to suggest that they do. I am now on 40mg
of Seroxat after describing to my GP the withdrawal symptoms which
have now thankfully been highlighted by the Guardian newspaper and
New Scientist magazine, and several other sources, including the
British Psychological Society magazine `The Psychologist' and the
Which magazine `Health'.

Glaxo SmithKline should be held accountable, as should the MCA
(Medicines Control Agency), as it is evident that both parties knew
that withdrawal symptoms existed as far back as 1993, but did
nothing to warn patients, potential patients their families, or Dr's
of the risks involved.

Derek Scott