NHS Royal College of Psychiatrists Warn Doctors of severe withdrawal- 5/2019

[[ho...]]

Hello All, It appears there has been some shift in policy at least in UK on anti-depressants. They have a new policy paper advocating slow tapers over months at patient tolerance level.They also admit patients can have severe, even debilitating symptoms in withdrawal. The UK is a leading prescriber of anti-depressants.

 

For years, health officials have played down the difficulty of withdrawing from antidepressants, insisting side-effects were 'mild' and last no more than a week or two. But in a new 'position statement' published today, the Royal College admits some patients experience 'severe' side effects which can last weeks or even months.

 

In a major U-turn, it said the risk should always be discussed with patients when they are prescribed the drugs – and called on NHS watchdog NICE to change its guidance to reflect this position.

 

Britons use more antidepressants than almost every other country in the Western world – which experts believes is partly due to a lack of awareness about the withdrawal problems.

 

The Royal College's 23-page position statement said that when patients want to stop taking the pills they should gradually lower the dose, 'tapering' off the pills over several weeks or months to minimise side effects.

 

And they should be closely monitored by doctors to make sure any side-effects are quickly picked up and dealt with.

 

['Discontinuation of antidepressants should involve the dosage being tapered or slowly decreased to reduce the risk of distressing symptoms, which may occur over several months, and at a reduction rate that is tolerable for the patient.'

 

Sir Oliver Letwin MP, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for prescribed drug dependence, said: 'We are pleased that the College is now calling for NICE guidelines to be updated to reflect the fact that antidepressant withdrawal can be severe and long-lasting for many patients.'i]

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7084025/Royal-College-Pyschiatrists-warn-doctors-anti-depressants-dangerous-effects.html

 

It's a start!

[[de...]]

Thank you for that Hohhot. 

 

Once there is a shift in policy, doctors will be forced to respond accordingly....if not...

 

Those lawsuits can be pretty crippling.  Insurance companies, too. 

 

Really good to see.

 

Dee

[[La...]]

Great to see this change come about! Thanks so much for posting the article/