i read about this in the newspaper today.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Tuesday that its antidepressant drug Seroxat (aka Paxil) increased suicidal thinking among children when tested in trials.

GSK issued a statement after the U.K. government's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) advised doctors not to prescribe the drug to children under the age of 18 because there was a risk of an increase in self-harm and suicidal behavior.

The move fell short of demands by patient group campaigners for a full ban on use of the drug, amid claims it has pushed some people to suicide and caused withdrawal problems in others.

Seroxat, known as Paxil in the United States, belongs to the same class of SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) as Eli Lilly & Co's Prozac.

GSK said clinical trials of the drug in adults had shown no evidence of an increased tendency to contemplate or attempt suicide. However, GSK said that in trials of children there was an increase in the incidence of suicidal thinking.

In a trial of 1,000 patients under the age of 18, there were no suicides. But the incidence of emotional side effects - ranging from mood swings to increased crying, to suicidal thoughts - was twice as high as in those taking a placebo.

GSK said while its conclusions from the data differed from those of the government's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, it would work with the agency to implement the new guidelines as soon as possible.

Both the government and GSK urged patients to consult with their doctor before stopping taking the drug.

The medicine -- one of the world's best-selling pharmaceuticals -- has been the subject of increased public concern due to reports of adverse reactions, prompting Britain to set up an expert panel to investigate.

Although only officially approved for adults, doctors have had discretion to prescribe Seroxat to young people on a so-called "off-label" basis. A total of four million prescriptions were written for Seroxat in Britain last year, with around 8,000 patients under 18 receiving treatment.

New data from various clinical trials showed episodes of self-harm and potentially suicidal behaviour were between 1.5 and 3.2 times higher in under-18s taking Seroxat than in those receiving a placebo, or dummy, pill, the MHRA said.

Professor Alasdair Breckenridge, chairman of the MHRA, said there would be an urgent examination of what implications, if any, the new findings would have for the use of other SSRIs and Seroxat in adults.

~~~

im 13 and ive been on paxil for over a year but i didnt become suicidal until about last december (im not anymore tho) and a few months ago i slashed my arms up with scissors cuz i told my dad i would if he kept being an ******* and he didnt believe me. so i did to illustrate my point and he told me if i kept doing that he was gonna send me to an insane asylum. so good that he saw this ****.

You won't have to live at home forever. When you turn 18 (I know it seems like forever), you can leave home if you like, and then you can choose your friends, rather than being stuck with relations. You're so young, that there's a lot of potential for your life to change. Things that are undendurable now, may be only a distant memory in a few years. I wish you luck.

Originally posted by BrandonS
You won't have to live at home forever. When you turn 18 (I know it seems like forever), you can leave home if you like, and then you can choose your friends, rather than being stuck with relations. You're so young, that there's a lot of potential for your life to change. Things that are undendurable now, may be only a distant memory in a few years. I wish you luck.
thanks. :) i skipped a day taking paxil several months ago and i so depressed and i didnt know why, but it turns out im addicted to it. if i just stop taking it its gonna be alot worse. im taking the 20mg tablets and my dad says he'll see if we can cut down to 10mg. im gonna be seeing a psychiatrist next week so we'll see what he says.

Originally posted by ~°Sarah°~
thanks. :) i skipped a day taking paxil several months ago and i so depressed and i didnt know why, but it turns out im addicted to it. if i just stop taking it its gonna be alot worse. im taking the 20mg tablets and my dad says he'll see if we can cut down to 10mg. im gonna be seeing a psychiatrist next week so we'll see what he says. never ever ever ever ever ever EVER quit taking Paxil cold turkey....my mom did that and she had grand maul seizures and they said it was prolly because she quit taking it without cutting down first.

Originally posted by ~°Sarah°~
thanks. :) i skipped a day taking paxil several months ago and i so depressed and i didnt know why, but it turns out im addicted to it. if i just stop taking it its gonna be alot worse. im taking the 20mg tablets and my dad says he'll see if we can cut down to 10mg. im gonna be seeing a psychiatrist next week so we'll see what he says.
I'm not sure whether you mean you're seeing the psychiatrist on an ongoing basis or just for this one thing about the paxil, but psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed mental health counselors, etc. can be very useful. Sometimes it's nice to have someone to talk to who's just for you.

By the way, you may think that the psychiatrist will always tell you that your father is right, but that's not so. Over the years, psychiatrists discovered that when a child is brought in by his (her) parents, in more than half the cases, the parents, not the child, are the problem. So, now when a child is brought to a psychiatrist, the doctor refers to the child as "the identified patient," since it is not clear who the problem is, the parents or the child.

Well, you may have to live at home with your father, but at least you've got us to play with. I can tell by your posts that you're smart, and you come up with some very funny, and witty things. I really do wish you luck with your situation. Now I have to go to bed, so that I can get up and go to work in the morning, so I'll just say good night. Don't be afraid to talk to us about problems like these, because 99.9% of the people here are very sympathetic.

Brandon

Originally posted by BrandonS
You won't have to live at home forever. When you turn 18 (I know it seems like forever), you can leave home if you like, and then you can choose your friends, rather than being stuck with relations. You're so young, that there's a lot of potential for your life to change. Things that are undendurable now, may be only a distant memory in a few years. I wish you luck.

I used to think that. I would keep telling myself once I get old enough I'll be out of my house living on my own, yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm 19 now and still stuck at home. Lets face it if I wasn't so depressed and have low self-esteem I wouldn't let my father push me around. But hey, that's life, but I just keep thinking that once he dies I'll finally be free and life for me can finally begin. But whenever I plan for something it never turns out right so I'm guessing from now to until the day I die my life is gonna be one hell of a bumpy road.

Anyway, I've never taken Paxil or any drug like that. I do take St. John's Wort to help swing my moods from negative to positive. It helps a little. I guess a little is better than none, right? I hope you can get your addiction to paxil under control, Sarah. I hate to think anyone is addicted to any kind of drug especially if it's something like that when in the first place it's trying to help you.

Originally posted by TradingMooses
never ever ever ever ever ever EVER quit taking Paxil cold turkey....my mom did that and she had grand maul seizures and they said it was prolly because she quit taking it without cutting down first.
thats what happened to my grandmother too...

I've been taking zoloft (which is like paxil) since november of '99 and it works great. Anyways, just like you said I tried to go off of it last June right after I graduated high school. I thought it would be a good time because school was the main reason I was taking it and I was so stressed out. Now, that I was done with school, I though why do I need it anymore? I was wrong! For about a week when I wasn't taking it I noticed I was worried about every little thing and would cry a lot, so I went back on it and haven't stopped since. I only take 50 mlg, but it does help. And, yes, it is good to talk to a psyciatrist or whaever. I have a great one, and, it's definitely not like you see on TV where they put up the picture and ask What do you see??:lol: Mine lets me take any magazines in the waiting room home. It is amazing how many people are on these kind of meds though...

Originally posted by ~°Sarah°~
thanks. :) i skipped a day taking paxil several months ago and i so depressed and i didnt know why, but it turns out im addicted to it. if i just stop taking it its gonna be alot worse. im taking the 20mg tablets and my dad says he'll see if we can cut down to 10mg. im gonna be seeing a psychiatrist next week so we'll see what he says.

Maybe 10mg will work better for you. I'm on 20mg too, and my body must be addicted too because I had to cut them in half, and then stop because I ran out and I felt like complete ****. Dizzy, exhausted...thought I'd throw up.

Originally posted by TradingMooses
never ever ever ever ever ever EVER quit taking Paxil cold turkey....my mom did that and she had grand maul seizures and they said it was prolly because she quit taking it without cutting down first.

Cutting down isn't so great either. But without the stuff, I have no confidence and I panic too easily.

Originally posted by pandora_spocks
I used to think that. I would keep telling myself once I get old enough I'll be out of my house living on my own, yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm 19 now and still stuck at home. Lets face it if I wasn't so depressed and have low self-esteem I wouldn't let my father push me around. But hey, that's life, but I just keep thinking that once he dies I'll finally be free and life for me can finally begin. But whenever I plan for something it never turns out right so....
Maybe the best thing would be to find a job. That, in itself, could be scary, but then you'd be out around people other than your father, and eventually you could make enough money to get your own apartment. Then you could make hang out with whoever you choose instead of Dad. I know that there may be issues with some of these things, but if you could find a way to do it, it might help.

Originally posted by BrandonS
Maybe the best thing would be to find a job. That, in itself, could be scary, but then you'd be out around people other than your father, and eventually you could make enough money to get your own apartment. Then you could make hang out with whoever you choose instead of Dad. I know that there may be issues with some of these things, but if you could find a way to do it, it might help.

Wouldn't do any good if I did he'd be hanging around or watching me from the outside. It doesn't matter anyway my dad won't let me get a job or a license or anything. My poor mom isn't even allowed to leave the house to go to the post office without me because he thinks she's screwing around. Out of all the dads in the world I had to be given this one. Isn't life funny? I don't think of him as a blessing though, just a curse kind of like that monthly visitor. ;) Yeah, my life sucks why dwell on it?

Originally posted by pandora_spocks
Wouldn't do any good if I did he'd be hanging around or watching me from the outside. It doesn't matter anyway my dad won't let me get a job or a license or anything. My poor mom isn't even allowed to leave the house to go to the post office without me because he thinks she's screwing around. Out of all the dads in the world I had to be given this one. Isn't life funny? I don't think of him as a blessing though, just a curse kind of like that monthly visitor. ;) Yeah, my life sucks why dwell on it?
If your description is accurate, you need to find a way to escape.