BBC NEWS | Programmes | Panorama | The E-mails page 15

After showing a programme about Seroxat in October 2002, Panorama received nearly 1,400 e-mails from viewers.
The e-mails were mixed in their content, with some about how helpful Seroxat was and others about bad experiences.

We have anonymously reproduced every single one of the e-mails we received on the Panorama website

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Ihave been taking seroxat for three years I tried to stop it twice.The second time was more sucessful.Asspoken about on the programe,I had difficulty going on the drug and severe difficulty comming off even thoughIreduced slowly.The Doctor doesen't seem to understand how distressing it can be!After a break of several months Ineeded anti depressants again but I insisted that I wanted a different drug.This is also a SSI but is not giving me the side effects that seroxat did.No sweats no horrid dreams less headaches.I can only hope that it won't have the severe withdrawel symptoms that seroxat had. My mother was also on seroxat for four years but each time she tried to come off gradually she became very depressed again indeed worse than before!Eventually she decided to change the drug so that she could rid herself of the side-effects and withdrawal problems.she arranged with the doctor to stop the seroxat and on a reduc! ed! dose commence the other SSI .Less than a week later she had taken an overdose and ended in hospital.She couldnt work out why ,she said"over afew days I had such a bad time that I just wanted it to end.Looking back life wasn't that bad ,all I had done was change tabs.

To respond to man with terrible itching...Yes, I have this too!! It drives me crazy. My husband has to scratch and scratch my back till I too have welts. I used to have severe night sweats when on 40mg a day. I dropped to 20 mg a day and they have subsided nearly completely. If I miss a pill for about 3 days then I have severe dizziness (shouldn't drive) and nausea. I have been on this for 4 years. I am going OFF - no matter how long it takes me. Thank you, Panorama, for Helen's story as a beacon. But, I am very very scared of how I'm going to feel during the weaning time. I was prescribed this drug in New Zealand and was told it was "perfectly safe - no problems". What a load of hogwash that was. Don't go cold turkey everyone, but let's give it a go. We can do it. And also - give this web link to your GP and make sure he doesn't ignore it!

I myself have been taking seroxat for about a year. I'm not convinced that this is the right drug for me, as it seems to numb me out from everything, and to be honest, i don't feel alive. Now, regarding the programme, i felt the BBC were quite irresponsible in the negative approach they conveyed the drug. The sensationalizing of the negatives, i feel, were very damaging. Not only to me, but I'm sure for others; seroxat is prescribed for depression, anxiety and phobias. Therefore, did the BBC fail to realise that the negative information could create fear in those whom are already being treated for psychiatric illnesses? I myself was not aware of these negative effects seroxat is claimed to have on people prior to viewing panorama, and I wish I hadn't tuned in as now It has left me in more mental trauma.

i took seroxat for about 9 months last year because i have on going problems with depression, self harm, agoraphobia and suicide attempts. while it did little to improve my situation it didn't make things any worse either. when i decided to stop the medication i had no side effects at all. in fact of all the anti-depressents i've taken i would say that seroxat caused me the least problems. i had nasty side effects from the cipramil i was taking earlier this year and still get feelings of being in a different reality caused by the diazepam i stopped taking 2 months ago. i felt that the program was very one sided and didn't explore the situation fully, every arguement has 2 sides after all. i also felt that seroxat was being presented as the only anti-depressent that causes these side effects when it quite clearly isn't.

I watched Sunday night's programme with great interest, yet was saddened to see rather a one-sided view portrayed. Approximately 2 and a half years ago I started taking Seroxat and within 4 weeks was taking the maximum 50mg dose. The side effects of going ON to this medication were horrendous - sweating, dizzyness, sickness, fatigue, insomnia. I found that Seroxat gave me a 'falseness' almost an over-confident air. When I came off the drug after six months I went cold turkey from having taken 50mg a day. I suffered NO side effects coming off it, although it did take some months to feel more like my old self, although this does not necessarily reflect a side effect of the drug, merely my own state of mind.

I have been on Seroxat for three years and have tried to stop taking it several times by way of reduced dosage but the side effects of 'brain flips' have always been too much to bear. Now I am attempting to go cold turkey and live with the withdrawal syptoms - I have been six days without the drug and I am getting sweats, head shocks, shocks from my head to my feet which end in fizzy feet, dizziness, vision that feels like I am looking through frames round my eyes, and nausea. I would like to know if there is anyway to reduce these symptoms because they are getting worse and it is becoming tempting to give up and just start taking them again and I know that will just take me back to square one. I would have much rather have investigated complementary therapies such as wellness exercise programmes and therapy if I had known how much worse I would feel with and whilst withdrawing from this drug. Thank you Panorama for reassuring me I am not the only one with these symptoms and! proving that they aren't just symptoms of my illness as the doctor said, and most of all that I am not going crazy!!! Any suggestions to reduce withdrawal effects most gratefully received...

I was prescribed seroxat in January this year. Initially it helped with my depression. But when it came to coming off them, I found it impossible. It has ruined my life. They prescribe these things to you willy nilly, but when it comes to getting off these damn things, help is hard to come by.

A power cut from storms on Sunday 13 October, meant that I missed this programme which I was desperate to watch. Having now read viewers e-mails, and realising that I am not the only person on Seroxat that suffers these symptoms when missing a pill, or trying to reduce or come off them altogether. When trying - I suffer from headaches, terrible sweats, vivid detailed never ending nightmares, a "zazzing" in my head (electric shocks???), "zazzing" eyes, floating around, chest pain (anxiety), have to force myself to get through the day. This is extremely difficult to explain to my family, who are always supportive, sometimes I am sure they think I am making a mountain out of a molehill, if we had been able to watch this programme together, they would now understand more fully what I go through. Does anyone out there have a videod copy I can borrow to watch please. I feel this would make a difference to my family and of course to me.

Very biased, one-sided reporting. The last sentence of the program was the only truly representative statement - "millions of people have benefited from the use of Seroxat and the handful of people who do not respond positively need other forms of therapy". Tabloid style scaremongering is not a recognized therapy for depression - particularly when it attempts to incite litigative behavior. The use of SSRIs like Prozac/Seroxat etc is not new and neither are these issues (Prozac has been around for around for some 10 years now). All this program did was to round up more depressed people into the litigators arms (who of course do not have case - as the BBC know only too well) by presenting them with an acutely one-sided view of the story. The case put forward by this program affects less than 1% of people taking SSRIs and is indicative of a lack of effect of the drug rather than a side effect. The vast majority of patients have had their lives positively transformed by SSRIs. It should come as no surprise that there will be negative effects when an organically depressed patient stops taking a drug that effectively treats the cause of a disease (i.e. reduced serotonin levels). However these negative effects are not drug withdrawal - merely the disease re-appearing. The effect of SSRI cessation is a return to depressed levels of serotonin but probably no lower than when treatment started . The problem is that people feel so good when on the drug - the return to the depressed state is of course undesirable - but is NOT withdrawal from addiction. If a heart disease patient were to stop taking their heart drugs, their symptoms would also return. The majority of the problems are not to do with SSRIs but with the underlying problems associated with the disease. All this program has done is to further stigmatize people with mental health problems by making them litiginous depressants. When they finally realize that they do not have a case against the drug makers - SSRIs are neither addictive nor cause suicidal ideation - if anything they reduce the incidence of suicidal ideation, but not in all patients. Sadly people are so afraid of taking medicines they often do not want to risk it and now Panorama has sent these people further from effective treatment.

I have experienced the same problems with Cipramil which was also briefly shown on the programme about Seroxat. I have only been taking 20mg(one tablet) per day since April of this year as prescribed by my GP. I tried to stop taking the tablets at the end of August and experienced such awful symptons such as dizzines, nausea, extreme tiredness, increased anxiety etc that my doctor had to put me back on Cipramil but with a lower dose of 10mg per day. For the last two months i have been trying to come off Cipramil but after only three days of not taking a tablet the withdrawal symptons return and are very difficult to deal with. My Gp prescibed Stemitil to help cope with the side effects of trying to stop the Cipramil. I am determined not to take any more Cipramil and am currently experiencing the same symptons but will see this through as I value my health and have a family that need me. Doctors should not be so quick to treat people with these drugs as the problems created b! y then trying to stop taking them can be far worse and have devastating consequences.

I watched the programme on tape yesterday and cried through most of it. I was desperate for an answer to my own seroxat problem but I seem to be alone and flying in the face of other experiences. I recently had my dosage of seroxat increased to 30 mg. and within a day or so of starting experienced an uncontrollable increase in libido. I was constantly on the point of orgasm but never quite getting there. It was uncomfortable ,to say the least and highly distressing. from being almost non orgasmic i became multiorgasmic. However this was coup[led with a highly confused mental state, friends and family have reported I was not myself and indeed I felt as if I was watching someone else living my life. The combination of the 2 above effects led me into a dangerous liason with a total pervert who preyed on vulnerable women. Fortunately the episode was purely on the internet or I dread to think what may have happened. Particularly since I found myself calculating how many paracetamol it would take to kill myself. common sense and the part of me that was still me prevented a tragedy that would have destroyed my family. I am now coming of the drug and though I am experiencing some side effects they are not as severe as those reported. But what I need to know has anyone else experienced this strange side effect? It definately was the drug as I am returning to normal (for Me) libido and thought processes as I wean off it.

I came off them cold turkey and lay awake at night thinking of differnt ways to kill myself. I too put cigarettes out on myself, cut myself and had the head shocks. I would definatley warn people not to take them and am distressed by how willing doctors are to prescribe them.

Everything your program has said is true I have suffered sweating ,wierd dreams or nightmares morelike,violence towards my partner,something just clicks and you cant help yourself. i was never like this but i want to ask does anyone suffer from itching of the skin on several parts of the body. i have literally scratched until I have blistered or even bled would anyone tell me if this has happened to them. its probbable been the worst 2 years of my life so far.

When I was first prescribed Seroxat in November 2000 my GP said that she found it easy to get patients onto this SSRI but more difficult to get them off, but added that she would support me when the time came. Over the 18 months that I took Seroxat, I developed a severe shakiness and by March 2002 I needed to come off the tablets - a 30mg dose - quickly to avoid seizures. The withdrawal symptoms were unpleasant and as described in your programme but I was motivated to continue my withdrawal by the severity of the side effects of the drug itself. Since withdrawal I have found much benefit in the use of complementary therapies, especially reflexology. I was fortunate in finding a reflexologist who understood my condition and my withdrawal symptoms. Congralutions to the Panorama for airing this subject

I have been taking Seroxat for about 3 years. Prescribed while going through a divorce which could only benefit my 2 children and me, but leaving me with emotions all over the place, while I came to terms with what I had let myself and my children go through before I had taken this step. While taking Seroxat I felt so much better they are brilliant, I was so much more relaxed, I was therefore interested in watching Panorama. Feeling I could not agree with any of the allegations.I found I was shocked with the comparisons I could make about 18 months ago feeling a lot better I discussed with my doctor trying to stop taking them shortly, as I was feeling much better, however I stupidly just stopped Instead of going back and geting advice from my G.P Within a very short time I was getting the feelings of electric shock and was clearly in a worse state than I was before starting to take the tablets. His advice was to start them again, I then felt I had gone 2 steps further back. I have recently come off them gradually over about 4 months. However I still at times feel very anxious,tearful and shaky. I was considering starting to take them again until i watched Panorama,Seroxat is brilliant while taking it, the only thing I found is that I gained about 3 stone and even following diets could not lose this weight. If it had not been for this I would have happily continued taking them indeffinitely. So they must be adictive, they seem to make you feeling more vunerable than ever when you stop taking them. ! I will never again believe any drugs are not adictive. After watching Panorama it is clear these drug companies will go to any lengths to sell drugs and are clearly not bothered about the effect they are having on peoples lives.

I've been taking Seroxat for 3 years now, prescribed to me for deppresion and anxeity attacks. I tried to stop after 6 months but felt awful. Really low and so dizzy it felt like I had one leg longer than the other. My doctor said I had an ear infection and gave me some anti-biotics. Obviously they did nothing for me and I was told to start taking the seroxat again. Still on them. I wish I could just feel normal again without the use of these poxy drugs!!

what can i say....im gobsmacked! i cannot believe the MAJOR disstress, both physicaly and mentally that this "wonder" drug causes. i was given this drug 8 years ago as i had mild syptoms of post- natel depression a the age of 19. well thats it, i am 28 now and im still on them, thats ALL of my adult life! every time i have tried to stop taking the tablets or gradually reduce my dose, i have become so unwell, its unbearable. it is Addictive,regardless of what the manufactures think, they are not the ones taking it! ow can they possibly give these to children?

I am currently on seroxat 3omg daily.i have all the side effects.i also had skin problems and sleep problems and was prescribed further medications for those.i was relieved and distraught when i saw the programme.relief came as i know realise that it is not me but the medication making me feel this way.distraught that this pill has taken so much of who i am away.i feel that i dont know who i am anymore.my friends have commented,my partner and worst of all my 3 children.ithought it was my depression i now am aware it is this drug.i am so angry that it has done this to me.i also feel like an old woman.i am a 36 year old nurse with a family i was easy going,fun loving,enthusiastic and quite a social person.no longer.i dont know who i am.i wish there was some way of turning back the clock to regain those missed parts of life.i feel cheated and angry and very hurt and saddenedby it all.

After a year on Seroxat the doctor & I thought I could come off it - I did not realise the hell I would have to go through physically, mentally and emotionally. How can they prescribe this drug to people with anxiety/ depression when this makes you far worse. It's not worth it. I have survived it. No thanks to GSK

I missed the programme, but until last week had ben taking Seroxat 30mg tablets for a 3 month period for depression.Since I stopped using them I have felt totally detached from my surroundings, unable to concentrate, suffered extreme nightmares and most importantly seem to have lost all interest in my family. Nobody seems to know how long this is likely to last

After taking Seroxat 2years ago for a period of less than 3 months. I found that I suffered withdrawal side effects which were difficult to cope with. It was difficult to believe that these occuredeafter only taking the drug for such a short time.

I found the Panorama programme to be very unbalanced. I have taken antidepressants of various sorts for a large proportion of my life. They are all similar in their side-effects and they all take a fair amount of time to come off, but without them I would have comitted suicide years ago. I would rather be alive to feel the side effects. My doctors over the years have always given me warnings of the possible side effects when both starting and stopping medication and have checked on me regularly, up to every other day when I have been severely depressed and at least once a week when I have started to reduce the dose. If my GP's have all been aware of this why have all of them not been. Very little mention was made of GP responsibility in the programme. Finally, why was physical dependence always equated with addiction on the programme. I am also physically dependent on Thyroxin as I have a thyroid problem. If I stop taking it I will eventually die but I am not addicted to it. Antidepressants are the same.

I have been on Seroxat for about three years now and for the last six months have had a continuing battle at trying to cut down my dose. I was beginning to think something was seriously wrong when I had the 'shock' sensations going through my head and feeling very off-balance. I was told it was nothing to do with the drug, so found it reassuring to hear on Panorama that it is a common withdrawal reaction. I was actually prescribed it to help with headaches, but realise that the effect of the drug has only been aggravating things. I have been told that switching to Prozac will counteract the side effects of Seroxat. I wonder if anyone else has tried this and if switching to Prozac is a good solution, or if the withdrawal is just the same on these drugs. Thank you for such an informative programme BBC.

agood programme, which highlighted the cover up of the drug companieswhen it comes to admitting they are in the wrong. My only concern is that you maybe could have given more advise on how to grt off seroxate without the withdrawel symptoms. I have been on a low dose for three years for headaches not depression, I tried to come off in February and was extremly ill, sick, electric shocksetc I lost 1 1/2 stone in a week had to have a endoscopy as the gp thaught somthing serious was giong on. I eventualy had to go back on seroxate and again now am weaning myself off dropping the dose by .2mill of suspension every week. I still feel nauseated, off balence, very tired, ratty, and wish I had never gone on it ever. How the doctor in the programme can say if you get withdrawel sypmtoms it means you need the medication, what rubbish, lets put all the none beleivers on the medicaton and see how they feel when they try and come off it. In the end it all comes down to the drug compani! es profits nothing to do with how poeple are affected.

It would appear that the problems a with Seroxat are a repeat of those associated with the Benzodiazepine tranquillisers, such as Valium,over 20 years ago.Then doctors were unable to recognise the side effects caused by these drugs and thought that the worsening of the patients condition was due to the patient's illness rather than a reaction to the drug. Consequently this resulted in a cocktail of psychotropic drugs being presribed, with the patient ending up with iatrogenic mental illness. There were also serious withdrawl symptoms when coming off these drugs. Recent research into Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors has found that only 18% of the response to these drugs is due to the medication itself, the remaining 82% of the response is duplicated in patients taking a placebo. It would appear that doctors are unable to accept the fact that the drugs they are prescribing might make you ill. It is a fact that drugs only work in 30% to 50% of patients, research in the USA found that about 100,000 patients are killed each year by prescribed drugs and about 2 million are incapacitated. If these figures are extrapolated worldwide then taking presribed drugs is a major cause of illness.

I was severely depressed for several months. I went on holiday with a friend who lived in my holiday destination and all the way there I was trying to find places where I could kill myself on the way back. Totally unplanned, we actually had a serious accident on the way to our destination. I had really serious concerns as to whether I had caused the accident. On my (invalided) return to the netherlands I had to ask my GP(huisarts) to check my stitches. I was very confused, but felt above all that I couldn't get over this depression by myself. I asked for anti-depressives and my doctor asked if I knew what the problem was (affirmative), if I had people I could discuss it with (negative) and prescribed Seroxin. I took this medecine for nine months. To be honest it did help me to sleep. Initially I experienced nausia, paranoia, and suicidal tendencies, but since the suicidal tendencies were not unusual that didn't worry me. The ability to sleep also allowed me the energ! y ! to get my life back together so I can't complain about the effect.....other than that I got to a point where I considered taking drugs to keep me awake, which I did not do. My real concern is the fact that serious depression cannot be cured by a drug, and any doctor prescribing anti-depressants should be carefully checking the patient.

I have been struggling with this awful drug since may 1992 when my GP prescribed it for mild Panic disorder, in my first year at uni. That's 10 YEARS STUCK ON SEROXAT. The weight gain has been hideous. I went from a normal 9st to current 22 and a half STONE.-Paroxetine Hydrocloride apparently inhibits key enzymes in the liver concerned with normal metabolism. I also cannot come off this drug at ALL, -electric shocks and dizzyness are just the tip of the iceberg that is seroxat withdrawl. I found some useful sites that may help some people with withdrawl, these are - www.prozactruth.com www.quitpaxil.org Prozactruth has a regimen on it designed to help people weak off this highly addictive drug. Daily existence when one is stuck on seroxat is one of feeling drugged, lethargy, brain fog and dizziness. Avoid using seroxat if possible, look for alternatives.

I have taken Seroxat for 5 years, I'm 24 years old. Unfortunately when I first started taking it at 20mg a day I was mildly depressed, I'm now taking 2.5Mg a day in liquid form and have moments of further depression and have self harmed. How can an 'Anti Depressant' make a person feel 10 times worse after such a length of time? The majority, on Panorama shows that I'm not alone. I feel completely cheated.

Four years ago my life was in turmoil with a long standing illness obsessive compulsive disorder.I was given Seroxat and it transformed my life.Most of my systems have disappeared.I do not know if the drug cures me or merely controls the symptons.All I know is that I feel a lot better and happier and than I was four years ago

I was on other SSRI's that were not working when my GP suggested Seroxat, I checked on the internet and found all the same information on Seroxat that you presented in your program. I returned to my GP and told him that from the info I had found out on this drug I did not want to take it. He just said that all this information is nonsense . He suggested this problem was only related to those who were in a very bad mental state in the first place. It seems my GP does not consider the internet to be a place of valid information.

Thank you Panorama for at last bringing attention to the horrible side effects of this drug. I took Seroxat for some years and it did improve my depression, of which, I'm thankful. However, coming off the drug was a different matter. The headaches, head shocks, nausea and spaced out feelings were terrible. I ended up in bed for days on end, unable to stand up and function. I saw my GP, who told me that all these effects were signs that I was still depressed and needing the medication. I believed my GP to begin with and started Seroxat again. But yet again when I tried to stop, the withrawal symptoms began again. This time I ignored my GP. I cut down - literally cutting the tablets up - my GP wouldn't give me the liquid version -slowly over months at a time and I still experienced the effects of coming off. But I finally managed it and have been off for some time now. I would never take Seroxat again. The side effects far outweigh the benefits. Isn't it time GPs were given the real truth about this drug - as I believe they just don't know. Moreover, will GPs please believe patients. Just because we have have/had depression doesn't mean we are mad.

I thought I was going mad about my experiences with this drug! My psychiatrist and CPN have both told me that the effects I have been experiencing were just part of my 'illness'. I asked about the side effects when it all started to come out, only to be told it was 'nonsense'. It amazes me that people who take this drug are not taken seriously about the side effects! I stopped taking this drug after xmas due to miscommunication, and I found myself in such a state that it was suggested I should be admitted to hospital. Going back on it solved the problem. I was told it 'proved I needed the drug'. To those people dismissing this I say listen - OK people take this drug and have no problems, but some of us DO. I personally have benefitted, but also have had horrendous side effects. It gives with one hand and takes with the other. Also I also suggest not withdrawing from this drug suddenly. If I forget to take just one tablet, it's so obvious that my husband asks if I have forgotten to take it.

I was prescribed Seroxat, and then Prozac, another SSRI, for the treatment of postnatal depression a few years ago. After just 2 days of taking the medication I felt the only way out of my problems was to kill myself. Although I have suffered a few bouts of depression in my life, I can honestly say such thoughts had never been so insistent as they were whilst on anti-depressants. I stopped the tablets immediately and consider I had a very lucky escape. Watching the Panorama programme made me feel very scared, and glad that I trusted my instincts. I finally found my way out through counselling and would strongly recommend it as an alternative to medication.

I recently was prescribed Seroxat for depression and panic attacks. Due to the horrendous side effects, I only lasted a week as I was so frightened by the effects (that started literally within hours of taking the first one). This was not the end - although I'd only been on it a week, it took another week for the withdrawal effects to clear. I had migranes, tremors, heightened depression and didn't sleep for over a week. I must say seroxat has done me the world of good - after feeling that bad after just taking a few tablets my view on life is much different!! I had actually stopped prior to the Panorama program, but found it so helpful as until then I was lead to believe what I had gone through was extremely rare. Thankyou Panorama.

I was prescribed Seroxat after my father died. I took just one tablet. Within hours I was taken so ill an ambulance was called and I was rushed to hospital. I really thought I was dying, the symptoms were horrendous, shocks, sickness, numbness in hands legs & feet to name a few, eventually leading to acute hyperventilation, unusual for a woman of 32 with no history of this before I was told. The hospital clearly stated that this was a reaction to the drug It took me a week to fully recover from just one tablet and I could hardly move my limbs for the first four days!....now I am glad this happened, maybe my body recognised how bad the drug was for me and prevented future problems such as addition?

Until March 2002 I had been on Seroxat for 12 years. The drug for me seemed to help immediately and was told specifically that it was non-addictive. Both my doctor and I felt it was working that is, until I tried to wean myself off very slowly. I felt myself unable to cope. It exasperated the feelings of fear and panic plus the withdrawel symtpons of tingling lips and the head shocks. Three times I tried to do this and each time appeared less able to cope and my dose was increased, therefore thought I had failed. In March I was so down and desperate I was made to seek help. A pharmacist advised me I should not be scared to try out alternative tablets and I had probably been on Seroxat too long so were possibly no longer effective. I have now changed to Efexor of 150mg daily and would like to reduce that dose. I wish I could see life without tablets but I feel I will have to see where life without these tablets start and where 'normal' life begins. Thank you for high-lighting the possible problems associated with Seroxat!

I was on Seroxat for about two years and after the excellent Panorama programme I feel as though I got off extremely lightly. (My doctor specifically said it was non-addictive.) The GSK PR guy (Benbow?) seemed to care only about defending the company and took so little interest in the plight of the patients that I found myself shouting at the TV. I had a couple of goes at coming off it, before I succeeded, thankfully without any serious side-effects. It did help me initially and there was also a welcome sexual side effect which nobody else seems to have mentioned. I also had a bizarre experience which I'm sure was as a reult of the combination of Seroxat & alcohol. It was hysterically funny at the time but I now feel as though it could easily have gone the other way. I am, however, left with occasional involuntary twitching of my leg which I could do without, although having read some of the horror stories connected with this drug, it is a very small price to pay.

I started taking Seroxat 4 yrs ago after going through a very acrimonious divorce. I feel angry that I wasn't told how addictive the drug is. I have tried on at least 4 occasions to wean myself off them but the side effects have been so bad that I gave in and started taking them again. I work as a Police Sgt and during my withdrawal times I have felt as though I could easily kill someone. I have also suffered dizziness, blurred vision, lethargy and head shocks. When I initially started taking them I thought they were wonderful - my views have now changed and I feel I will have to be on them for the rest of my life.

I have been on Seroxat for 10 months. After Sundays panorama I stopped completely. Today is Wednesday. This has been teh worst day so far. Shaking, electric shocks going through my body and dizziness. Whilst on Seroxat though I also used to grind my teeth a lot which stopped immediately. I am experiencing some horrible side effects but I am determind not to come off slow. I dont want to prolong the symptoms.

I have been taking Seroxat for nearly 10 years and although these tablets helped me with my panic attacks, they caused me all sorts of other problems. To start with I had extremely violent outbursts which I still have occasionaly, I started to self harm very early on, I became suicidal and I suffer from extreme bouts of depression. Before taking Seroxat my only problem was the panic attacks. I am now trying to come off it over a 3 month period and my symptoms (all of which my doctor told me couldn't have been caused by the seroxt)are beginning to get to me. The symptoms I suffer include; electric shocks, severe headaches, tiredness, muscle pains, restlessness and irritabily. I understand that they do help people I just hope that not everybody has to go through what I (and many others) do!!

Disgraceful piece of journalism. Opinion was heavily biased against paroxetine and G-SKB. Didn't see any information from the many doctors/patients who are happy with its use. Tone was scaremongering and I fear detrimental affect on patients (despite the intermittent "ticker"). Not of the standards one expects from the BBC. One could suggest you are dumbing down in pursuit of the sensational.

I was put on Seroxat for severe anxiety due to diabetic son working alone and living alone in America. This drug made me worse I experienced head shocks, my anxiety was worse, my head felt like it was going to explode and I could not hear properly, my face felt hot and my feet were frozen, I got panic attacks at any time of the day, I am now trying to come off the drug by reducing one quarter every week and my doctor said it was not addictive. I was much worse on it and would advise anyone reading do not take Seroxat. I only took it for 8 weeks but it was the worst 8 weeks of my life.

I took seroxat for two months and when I was taking them I was self harming myself and know I have loads of scares and I did hopeless in school work. Im finding it really hard to catch up with school work now Im in year11. I dont advise any one to take them. I took myself of them and that was the wrong thing to do cos I felt really ill when I did that.

When I was prescribe the drug 4 years ago the doctors checked the GSK literature which at that time explicitly stated "No withdrawal sympotoms" this was completely untrue. When I stopped taking it I suffered extreme dizziness, nausia among other sympoms. Fortunately for me the local chemist suggested taking St. John's Wort, which actually allieviated most of the sympotoms and let me function.

My 15 year old daughter was prescrobed Seroxat to help her with panic attacks and depression. Within days she became suicidal and started self harming. Something which was out of character and very alarming. She became aggressive and impulsive and seemed unable to find her sense of judement. Despite repeated admissions to hospital and our discussions with doctors etc no one was prepared to listen to our fears that it was the seroxat. After nearly 3 months after she made yet another plea that she was frightened she was going to hurt herself again, the hospital changed her medication to Citalapram. This has made such a tremendous difference and she is making fanatastic progress. I only wish I the Panorama programme had been aired when she was suffering and no one would consider the drug did not suit her. I'm sure for many it works, but not for all.

Seroxat affected my whole family. My son was prescribed this drug and things just went from bad to worse. I lost count of the number of suicide attempts he made, ending in both hospilisation and a court appearnace and subsequent criminal record for assault. My family lived in fear of violence from my son 24/7 and all we got from the medics was an increase in dosage. This drug destroyed the relationship between my two sons and I suffer now from highblood pressure brought on by the constant stress of the situation, and in fact suffered a mini stroke. My son eventually took himself off seroxat against the advice of doctors and is now a completely person. We all were totally unaware of these side effects i.e. violent behaviour and suicidal tendencies. I feel strongly that my son should have some recompense for the damage done to his life over the last four years.

I work for a charity providing information and support to people suffering with depression, as well as doing voluntary work with people experiencing suicidal feelings, and have suffered severe episodes of depression myself, requiring psychiatric intervention.Seroxat was the first anti-depressant that I was prescribed, and I have tried a few, with the dosage raised over a period of time to 60mg daily. I attempted suicide while taking it, but put that down to my depression, not the medication. I cannot categorically say that that seroxat does not cause suicidal behaviour in some people, but I can say with conviction that 80% of suicides are as a result of depression. Seroxat, along with all other anti-depressants can be a useful tool in the treatment of this illness, alongside counselling and complimentary therapies. I am no lover of pharmaceutical companies, but feel the programme was unbalanced in it's reporting. Anti-depressants are not addictive, you do not suffer withdrawl symptoms but discontinuation symptoms, which you get whenever you stop taking any powerful medication. I agree that the feelings experienced during discontinuation are unpleasant, but from my experience and the experience of others that I know who suffer with depression, it is preferable to have to slowly reduce your medication and suffer some unpleasantness when your depression is under control, rather than have to live without appropriate medication and suffer severe depression and th! e associated risk of suicide. Doctors do not know all the answers and if you require information on depression and anti-depressants there a lot of sources about. Use them and then make up your mind.

I started to take Seroxat in November 2000 for mild depression. My GP informed me that this drug was not addictive (which was the only reason I took it) After 12 mths I decided that I would reduce my then 1/2 tablet a day to 1/2 a tablet every other. This was successful but having tried this for a month or so I reaslised that I was actually waking up in the morning to these 'headshocks' and needed to take the medication just to feel 'normal' and get in my car and go to work - 6mths later 5 days after running out of tablets, I went to see my GP ditraught, I wanted to climb the walls. I suggested to him the tablets were addictive and he seemed to agree and suggested trying another type of medication although this would not ease my symptoms. As I consider that my depression had been lifted for a fair few months by then I said no and opted for 'cold turkey'. Three weeks later, I went back to work after the worst 3 weeks of my life. I think there is a very thin line between what ! GSK class as addiction and 'withdrawal symptoms'

I started taking Seroxat in early 2000 and I am still on them. I have had some minor side effects but generally the medication has helped me lead a normal life without the anxiety and worry I was experiencing prior to going on Seroxat. My GP has been very good and has explained that it is better to gradually reduce the doseage then to just stop. I do experience the 'head shocks' if I miss a day or two but even after watching the program I have no regrets about taking Seroxat.

The Irish Medicines Board has recalled all stocks of the anti-depressant Seroxat at wholesale level. This follows revelations on RTE Radio's Liveline programme that GlaxoSmithKline had changed the patient information leaflet in Britain without changing it in Ireland.

I cannot believe the irresponsibility and pathetic attempt at hysteria-provoking "journalism" that panorama subjected its viewers to on the programme about seroxat. There was no explanation of clinical trials (and the fact that it is meaningless to pick out random facts without considering the study as a whole and the statistical reuslts), the neurobiology of how antidepressants like seroxat are thought to work (its takes a few weeks for antidepreesant to exert their beneficial effects which is why peopl prescribed with these drugs should have follow up appointments with their doctor about 1 week after starting it) nor was anyone allowed to give an adequate explanation of the difference between addiction and withdrawl symptoms. Programmes like this serve no other purpose than to remind us how we cannot trust media hype. The reporter has no right to class herself as a reporter. She should go back to her sources and do some proper scientific journalism if she is to provide any! on! e who is currently taking seroxat with some useful information.

I am very glad that the BBC made this programme. It has answered alot of questions for me.I thought I was isolated in my experience of these tablets.I no longer know where I began and the tablets end. They are in control of my life. I used to think it was the depression was making me feel like this but I now know it is not. I have been on Seroxat for over 3 years.Before I started to take them I had to take time off work because of depression. Intially they did improve my depression, but as time has went on I have had extra problems to deal with created by these tablets.I had suicidal before but these tablets made me feel this way differently.It was not normal way ,at times suicide has drifted into my mind but not like i was so depressed that I wanted to die, it was like in the way you might fancy a bar of chocolate. One minute I would be abstactly thinking oh I fancy killing myself.I have now became a very different person to who i was I am very untrusting, I can't settle! to do work, i am very jumpy and experience electro shock sensations ,blured vision and am regularly feeling spaced. Now my life is looking up and I find that I find myself unable to stop taking them. I have tried to stop taking them three times. The 1st time I was felt terrible, suffering from sweats, dizziness,sickness, very bad parinoia.Dropping the dose slightly last christmas lead me to start to thinking about sucide and murderous thought about my family who I love very much. This year after I went on holiday and ran out of tables this lead me to turn into a happy person into zombie frighted of going out in public in a matter of a few weeks. I had to take time off work because I just couldnt function. Taking these tablets has put considerible pressure on my realationship because of the drastic mood swings, enegry levels and strange behaviour.I am deeply concerned now as I am in my final year of my course and am worried that Seroxat is preventing me from doing well because I keep having time off because i feel so ill.

I made a point of watching the Panorama report on Serxoat, and have to congratulate the BBC on an astonishingly bad piece of investigative journalism. I speak from the position of being a psychiatrist who has prescribed paroxetine to many patients, and a person who took the medication himself for about three years. Paroxetine is NOT addictive: it just isn't. Addiction is a syndrome characterised by a wide variety of different features; it isn't just about suffering withdrawal symptoms when you stop using the medication. Yes, Seroxat can cause a withdrawal syndrome, BUT THIS IS NOT NEWS! The Committee for the Safety of Medicines has long recognised this, and includes information about withdrawal problems from Seroxat in its standard literature. And the British National Formulary (BNF), the standard UK reference handbook use by doctors and pharmacists alike, also makes this clear. Yes, Seroxat can give you a withdrawal syndrome, and speaking as someone who had it, it is not pleasant. When I missed tablets for a couple of days at a time I got all of the effects which have been described. But when I came to stop Seroxat, the dosage was trimmed down over NINE MONTHS. Why? Because this is how you stop an antidepressant: SLOWLY. Seroxat is by no means the only medication, which, if taken long term, can cause a withdrawal when stopped. Consider steroids, widely used and tremendously powerful: if taken systemically for long periods, sudden discontinuation can cause a profound (and most unpleasant) physical reaction. Are steroids addictive? Of course not.

Seems like the views you are posting on this site are as unbalanced as sunday's programme!

I took Seroxat 2 years ago because i have a breathing condition called 'chronic hyperventilation syndrome' which is exaccerbated by stress and anxiety. I have never been depressed or had suicidal feelings. However, iwas prescribed Seroxat to reduce stress & anxiety. A day or two after taking the pills i went into a severe state of mental turmoil. I felt really suicidal. It was so severe that all i did was stay in bed for two or three days. Fortunately i recognised it was the Seroxat and stopped taking it immediately. The side effects lasted a further few days and i suffered from severe sleep disturbance. No where on the pill information did it mention these potential side effects. I was very pleased to see your programme on the issue. It is obvious to me that the manufacturer is putting profit before people. I hope that more people take legal action against the company.

I have been taking seroxat for over a year and it has worked wonders for me! I have not experienced any unpleasant symptoms or feelings. I have had regular meetings and a lot support from my doctor, this drug has immensely improved my quality of life!!!

I just want to say that I dont believe anything I hear or see on the BBC anymore. The way you manipulate your'e audience is easy to spot. I am appalled how the BBC has fallen in stature over the years to the point where your'e presentation of the facts is a sick joke. I look forward to the day when the BBC is abolished. I resent paying my licence fee to strictlty what is a government propaganda machine. Panorama USED to be good but now it a sad promotion for what is disgraceful in the art of good old fashioned investigative journalism. You should be ashamed of yourselves. A lot of your viewers are realising that they are being brainwashed by the BBC and sadly you dont even recognise that fact do you?

when i forget to take seroxat i feel dizzy and am sick

My daughter is taking seroxat at the moment and she has been complaining of not being able to sleep and of feelings of extreme aggitation and of violent thoughts,she was just going to stop taking the medicine but after seeing the programe i realised that when she stoped taking it before ,which was a yer ago now ,she had dizzyness and feelings off being out of controll and felt just awfull ,but at the time she told me she was still taking it so i had no idea ,this time i im trying to help her come off slowly as i dont want her to go through that again as she is only 16 .

SSRIs changed me from a depressed person into a cheerful one, but at a price. My emotions became almost non-existent, I couldn't be bothered with housework, disciplining my children, maintaining friendships etc. I also put on 4 stones in weight to the point that I'm now clinically obese. These issues need to be addressed as well as those concerning withdrawal.

I have been taking Seroxat for over 6 years now. During the first two weeks I had all symptoms described by everyone, "electric shocks" in my head, dizziness etc., but these symptoms later subsided. Since then I have only felt better. The problem now, of course, is not only the possible side effects if you try to kick the drug (I forgot to take my tablets with me when we visited my parents in England once, and had to rush to their GP to get an emergency prescription as I felt so ill), and how do you know when it is time to stop taking it?? How can you be sure that the depression will not return if you stop taking the drug

I have been on Seroxat for about 7 years. I tried to stop taking the drug many times . I think the word addiction should be replaced by the word fear . It is the fear of suffering from the very unpleasant withdrawal effects that keeps me on this drug . My University course was wrecked by this and at one point I was so ill that I was admitted to hospital for 3 weeks of tests .None of the symptoms which I described seemed to be understood or even believed by some of the doctors .It should be remembered also that many people who have been prescribed Seroxat will probably already have had time off work with their original problem .I cannot risk having a long period of sick leave just to come of a drug .The makers of this drug have designed the perfect self perpetuating money spinner . I am also very concerned about it's proposed use with children .Do we not have enough problems with youth crime ? Does anyone know what causes the 'head shocks '?

The pill's aint that bad really. Well it takes a bit getting use to but, after 1year of taking it i can now think more clearly and reflect on some of the bad things I could have done like nearly killing my parents, so all in all the pills have saved more then one life in this incident, however my struggle for a life still continues...

I spent 2 1/2 years on Seroxat, and was always told it was not addictive.... but I was warned that once I started taking it that I may over the 1st couple of weeks feel more suicidal.. I did and I battled my way thorough that...the drug TOTALLY changed my life for the 1st 2years, for the better... I was a new person....but then I found it was not working... I totally agree with what people have said about head shocks.... and before now I have NEVER been able to describe it... my way of explaining is that I just feel TOTALLY detached for a few moments... if I turned my head I "wasn't there" I tried to tell my GP... but she did not understand....It took almost 2 months to change from Seroxat to my present drug Lustral.... using a reducing drug.....but NOW on Lustral I am feeling exactly the same... If I miss a dose and the HEAD shocks are back... perhaps it's not SEROXAT perhaps it's this class of drug in general!!!!

This was an extremely disappointing panorama presentation. This drug has been a life saver for many people. Your completely unfair representation of the drug was almost ludicrous. Brief mention was made that over 5million prescriptions for this drug were made in th uk alone in one year and only three cases were presented as negative, but of course none positive. If you displayed the same level of investigation into nearly any available drug you would be able to come up with the same results. I expected much more what a pity panaroma appears to have sun to the level of a weekly tabloid.

I took the drug seroxat,and had no side affects even stop taking it abruptly, because I wanted to fight my panic attacks without medication and it left me without any side affects, and I did not look for any other mode of help only relaxation

after seeing a trailer for the panorama programme, I completely freaked out. Yes I have heard about the seroxat scares before, but for someone who has been successfully taking the drug for 2years now, i am extremely worried what will happen to me when i eventually stop taking it. I couldn't bring myself to watch the show because i was so afraid of what i was going to hear, and from many of the comments i've read, it seems that a somewhat unbalanced view was given. reading alot of the comments on this page has given me a little more confidence and hopefully when i was the show, i will be aware of what is fact and what is scaremongering.

I am writing to congratulate you on the recent programme highlighting the withdrawal symptoms of seroxat.I have been taking it for two years due to panic attacks and four months ago started to wean myself off them by cutting down the dosage, since that day I had been suffering from severe dizziness and various other syptoms which have been diagnosed as vertigo, I have been off work for 16 weeks and have been for various scans and tests but nothing could be found. After watching Sundays show, I have realised that the effects that I was suffering from have probably occurred from reducing my dosage. Thank you for supplying us with the information.

I was using the drug earlier this year and my mum hated me during that period. I say hate, perhaps a little too strong, but she certainly didn't like me. I snapped at anything she said, burst into tears for no reason and thought everyone was against me. She saw that I had turned into someone else. I knew the drug was no good for me which is why I set out to come off it as soon as possible. But the doctor wasn't keen on this and kept me on them for a few months. I remember that if I accidentally forgot to take a tablet one day that I'd become incredibly dizzy with a head ache, and one day somebody had to drive me home from work. When the doctor eventually gave me the go ahead to come off the drugs it was very hard. I had days where hand eye coordination was shot, I walked into things, thought I was going to faint and streams of tears. I had to cut down very slowly but it was such a relief to be free from them. I hope the drug gets banned.

I was put onto seroxat by a psychiatrist when i was 16 because of my severe depression and self-harming. However the tablets seemed to make me worse and I became suicdal. After 4 months I realised that it was doing me more harm than good so I decided, against medical advice to come off it. I couldn't keep anything down for over a week and became very week, but it was worth it. Although I have not completly overcome my depression, 5 years later, I am much more positive now I realise that I need to deal with whats causing it not try to hide from it.

I watched your programme on seroxat withdrawal and side effects with great interest, and would like to back up a point made in one of the other messages on this site - seroxat is not the only SSRI which causes problems. I have been prescribed both Prozac (fluoxetine) and Cipramil (citalopram) and have been hospitalised now on four occasions due to an adverse reaction - serotonin syndrome - which is not widely advertised but is a known, dangerous and potentially fatal side effect of SSRIs. I would be interested to see a further investigation into other effects of antidepressents which I, like many other people, was told were 'one of the safest drugs available' by my GP - both he and the two hopsitals I was taken to unconcious had not heard of serotonin syndrome until I presented with symptoms. Having said that, I would like to say in support of these drugs that I am willing to work at finding a balance, as these drugs really do have the positive effect they are meant to, aswell as the negative.

Thank you for your informative programme. I was prescribed Seroxat about two years ago for panic attacks during my 'A' Levels. When I came off the tablets I suffered severe nausea then vomiting, two days later. My doctor looked shocked when told but put me back on the tablets and said he would try to wean me off them! The second time I finished the prescription I suffered the same effects but struggled on and almost went 'cold turkey'! After a few days I started to feel better and have not experienced anything similiar since. I have vowed never to touch the stuff again and have tried alternative ways to handle my anxiety. Thank you for highlighting it's faults and reassuring me I was not the only person to suffer them.

Where's the end of the program? It keeps shutting off... Excellent report, keep after them they have already made so many people's lives miserable

Your programme dealt only with the negative side of seroxat. I have first hand experience of the positive side. Many users could have been prevented from having the opportunity to lead a 'normal life' after watching your programme. It is surely only fair to redress the balance and tell your listeners about the users who have been helped by this drug? Thanks to this drug my families life has been transformed in the past few years , with none of the side effects detailed on your programme. This was scare mongering at its best. I can only urge potential users to listen to their doctor's advice and not to be deterred from using Seroxat by the Panorama programme.

In 2000 I was prescribed this drug. It made me verbally disinhibited, unable to cope with money and worst of all suicidal. I went through hell and finally realised that it was not me - or depression and that the only chance I had of sorting difficult family circumstances was to withdraw. I was so concerned to not be suicidal that I went cold turkey ( please do not try this as it was awful) I immediately felt better and NOT suicidal any more I had brain shocks and felt really ill for the whole of 2001 and have only just started to feel physically 100%. I hate this drug and would never let anyone I know take it now - the risk is too great and in measure it devastated my family.

My son was prescribed seroxat for panic attacks after 2 weeks he took all his remaining tablets at once. No-one had suggested that he may feel suicidal. Luckily the dose was not lethal!!!

I myself am taking seroxat and I would just like to express my disappointment and dismay at Sunday's programme. It told us absolutely nothing new and as far as I'm concerned the risks of taking the drug are no less than any other; there will always be some negative reactions. The programme was tabloid, sensationalist and was seemingly made purely to satisfy the money hungry lawyers who are obviously keen to exploit the situation. Additionally the freephone no given at the end of the programme is next to useless. We are redirected to a firm of solicitors! Come on BBC youre supposed to be a public service broadcaster, leave this sort of nonsense to Channel 5.

I am a health professional, with a husband who was on Seroxat for 3 years. During that time his personality changed, very short tempered with mood swings. Coming off has taken several attempts and I intially supported the view of our GP that symptoms experienced when he tried a reducing dose were probably due a return of depressive symptoms. However my husband finally managed to wean himself off Seroxat over a period of 5 months, going onto a liquid form of a very small dose. He would never have taken Seroxat knowing all that he does now and what he experienced, and I agree with this view. I feel it has robbed my husband of 3 years of his life, and do not wish to contemplate the long term effects it has had on my two children. If GSK have nothing to hide then why are the evidence based research studies not available for all to see

I've been taking seroxat 30mg for the last three years or so and if I forget to take a dose, or run out of tablets, the side effects are horrendous: dizziness, electric shocks, agitation, and even euphoria! I usually have to rush to my GP for another prescription (¿15) and then to the pharmacist to have the prescription filled (¿65 under Irish Government drug refund scheme -- it should cost more!)and I can't help thinking that if I'm taking a drug I can't afford not to take, nor barely afford to buy, does this mean I'm an addict?

having been prescribed this drug nearly two years ago i did not realise so many people have the same issues and feelings as me however it worked well for me at first but then i changed from being normal outgoing and caring and spent six months on her majestys pleasure and i dont remember a thing of it only that my wife was there but time goes by and then i decided it was time to come off seroxat after all it was non addictive no problem feeling flu like the first day and then felt like a proper cold turkey unfortunately i am glad i am not alone but i will conquer it

Is it co-incidental that at the same time that the truth about Seroxat is emerging one of it's major natural competitors - Kava Kava is being set up by the MCA for a ban based on the flimsiest of evidence as to its side effects?.

After suffering from panic attacks, depression, obessive compulsive disorder for most of my adult life during which I have taken a huge variety of treatments, Seroxat appeared to be a god send. However, 5 years after commencing treatment I am struggling after numerous attempts to come off this drug. Although I am fully aware of all the withdrawal effects I can expect, the harsh reality of the combination of mental and physical symptoms are harder to deal with than that which I have experienced from any other medication. Panorama exposed a number of problems with modern day medical care from lack of education for patients who are desperate for help through to the power and desire from multi-national drug companies to make profits. I am sure the programme will be debated for a long time to come while at the same time many people will be struggling to live with depression and others without Seroxat.

I was a disappointed with panorama's failure to portray an unbiased view in this documentary. Cases were used to as examples to put forward the argument that seroxat was addictive or dangerous but these were based on opinion and not fact.

My wife, when suffering the early stages of Alzheimer's as an Early Onset sufferer, was prescribed Seroxat. On the second night of taking it, she was twitching uncontrollably. I took her off the drug and never permitted her to be prescribed it again.

I am an occupational therapist by profession. My brother suffered from manic depressive illness. He was introduced to Seroxat by a psychiatrist and he found them quite good. However after some time he started feeling high and aggressive and he was even arrested by the police because they thought he was going to harm himself. He had bouts of ups and downs and sometimes he insisted with his doctor to give him seroxat. The doctor was very cautious especially after this episode. However he took the medication without advise. My brother started feeling high and he reached a point where he lost all control and he became dangerous for himself and for us. We had to call the special police force to take him to hospital. On March 2002 my brother was feeling down