I was so suicidal after taking them, I had to be rushed into hospital
PETER Gordon wanted to kill himself when he tried to stop taking prescribed anti-depressants.
He said: ‘I felt so suicidal that I had to be admitted to hospital, despite the fact that I am a practising NHS psychiatrist.
‘My experiences have led me to campaign for openness about the dangers that antidepressant drugs can pose to patients who want to stop taking them.’
Dr Gordon, who works at St John’s Hospital in West Lothian, said his problems began more than 20 years ago when his first child was born.
‘I was sleeping badly and feeling increasingly anxious,’ he said. ‘My GP said I had generalised anxiety disorder and recommended Seroxat. Some four or five months later I thought I didn’t need it any longer, so stopped taking it. The benefits had seemed limited.
‘Within 24 hours I experienced difficulty walking and my head was bursting with pain. When I resumed taking the Seroxat the symptoms went away. I tried halving the dose and then quartering it, but this just made me suffer from sweating, ringing in my ears, headaches and vivid dreams.
‘My psychiatrist colleagues said my symptoms were not due to withdrawal. I felt that I had to give up, so continued to take it.
‘Then I decided to try cutting down the dose by minute amounts, by using the liquid form of Seroxat. But I still got withdrawal symptoms.
‘I started to have suicidal thoughts. Four weeks after stopping Seroxat altogether, I sought help from my GP who was so concerned that he helped me get urgently admitted to psychiatric hospital. At one point I tried to hang myself in hospital.
‘Everyone offered a prescription needs to be properly warned of the risks. Ultimately I was re-started on the Seroxat. Twenty years later, I am too frightened to try withdrawing again.’