Stuck on meds

Some can't quit antidepressants-Syndrome makes it impossible for some patients to wean off medication
Associated Press

When Gina O’Brien decided she no longer needed drugs to quell her anxiety and panic attacks, she followed doctor’s orders by slowly tapering her dose of the antidepressant Paxil. The gradual withdrawal was supposed to prevent unpleasant symptoms that can result from stopping antidepressants cold turkey. But it didn’t work. “I felt so sick that I couldn’t get off my couch,” O’Brien said. “I couldn’t stop crying.” Overwhelmed by nausea and uncontrollable crying, she felt she had no choice but to start taking the pills again. More than a year later she still takes Paxil, and expects to be on it for the rest of her life. In the almost two decades since Prozac — the first of the antidepressants known as SRIs, or serotonin reuptake inhibitors — hit the market, many patients have reported extreme reactions to discontinuing the drugs. Two of the best-selling antidepressants — Effexor and Paxil — have prompted so many complaints that many doctors avoid prescribing them altogether. See: Some can't stop antidepressants