Drip Drip Drip - Paxil Info Leaks Out

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By Evelyn Pringle (about the author) Page 2 of 4 page(s)

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Plaintiffs and their attorneys will not, either directly or indirectly, publicize the fact of the settlement and that any inquiry into the settlement, its amount, meaning, interpretation or comparative value, or the negotiations leading to the settlement by anyone, including but not limited to the press or media, will be met only by a statement that the case has been resolved, and will decline any requests for interviews by the press or media regarding the settlement, its history or its terms.

The clause even extends the internet specifically in that plaintiffs and attorneys will not maintain and instead will discontinue any website references to Paxil discontinuation or withdrawal.

And, it says, they agree to refrain from any future internet postings regarding Paxil discontinuation or withdrawal.

Paragraph 5 of the lawsuit's complaint says that over a 2 years period, plaintiffs' attorneys have been individually contacted by approximately 500 Paxil withdrawal victims.

And, the pain and suffering experienced by each individual is the direct result of Glaxo's failure to warn users of Paxil's addictive nature, the drug's inducement of physical or psychologic dependency, and its infliction of dependency/withdrawal syndrome when the patient's Paxil dosage is reduced or terminated, the complaint states.

Paragraph 16, lists withdrawal reactions that can summed up as one or more of the following complaints: jolting electric "zaps," dizziness, light headedness, vertigo, incoordination, gait disturbances, sweating, extreme nausea, vomiting, high fever, abdominal discomfort, flu symptoms, anorexia, diarrhea, agitation, tremulousness, irritability, aggression, sleep disturbance, nightmares, tremor, confusion, memory and concentration difficulties, lethargy, malaise, weakness, fatigue, paraesthesias, ataxia, and/or myalgia.

Paragraph 7, says: These reactions are "unexpected" to the victims and even their physicians because the manufacturer has deliberately failed to properly warn of this.

Both physician and patient unwittingly use Paxil without knowing the drug's addictive traits, the complaint says.

Paragraph 8, charges that because Glaxo has suppressed the information, patients and physicians are fooled into thinking that the reactions are caused by another condition, such as relapse into depression, thus prompting incorrect and unnecessary medical treatment, including increased dosages of Paxil.

While researchers have acknowledged the potential for withdrawal reactions with all SSRIs, Paxil is by far the worst. Citing data from the World Health Organization, the lawsuit's complaint states: Paxil has the highest incidence rate of withdrawal adverse experiences of any antidepressant drug in the world.

Starting in December 2001, Glaxo finally added a minimizing precaution to Paxil's label of some possible "discontinuation" side effects affecting "2 percent or greater" of patients based on studies.

However, documents reveal that Glaxo has always known about the withdrawal syndrome. For instance, in 1993, in a report that occurred 5 months after Paxil arrived on the market, Stoker and Eric noted Paxil withdrawal at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in San Francisco, May 22-27, 1993.

The authors of the study conducted 2 week tapering off periods for 186 patients in 6 to 12 week doubled blinded comparative studies. Low dose and high dose groups were studied. Paxil's low dose group actually did worse than the high dose group, suffering 42% withdrawal rate, compared to 38% in the high dose group. And, both occurred even though the tapering off regime was initiated during dosage reduction.

The lawsuit's complaint specifically describes close to 10 studies that reveal a high rate of withdrawal symptoms since Paxil came on the market that Glaxo was fully aware of.

A fact well-evidenced in internal company documents. A previously suppressed, May 1, 1997, Glaxo memo to, Paxil Selling Team, on the discontinuation syndrome, defines the withdrawal syndrome as, "a class effect that can occur when an SSRI is stopped abruptly. Symptoms may include asthenia, flu-like symptoms, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, and sleep disturbances (insomnia, vivid dreams or nightmares)."

However, the memo instructs Glaxo sales representatives to avoid using the term and says: "instead of 'withdrawal syndrome,' which implies addictive properties, try to refer to this phenomenon as 'discontinuation symptoms.'"

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Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for OpEd News and investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government and corporate America.

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
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