Antidepressant "Withdrawal": Why Aren't Psychiatrists Seeing this "Common" Problem?

Over onTheNew York Timeswebsite, there is an article titled, "Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit. "  Benedict Carey and Robert Gebeloff write about how long-term use of antidepressants is increasing, and some people have difficulties coming off the medications with symptoms that constitute a discontinuation syndrome.  I'll let you read the article rather than quote it, because there was a lot wrong with the piece. It doesn't feel like a new idea that there are people who have protracted and miserable discontinuation syndromes--distinct from a recurrence of symptoms-- after stopping antidepressants. People have been writing in to Shrink Rap about these difficulties for the past decade, there are online forums around it, andThe New York Times Magazine did a cover story by aman who stopped his Effexorand went through a difficult time with discontinuation symptoms back in 2007. I don't think any psychiatrists were surprised to read that SSRI's have a discontinuation syndrome, and because of the symptoms that can develop, we routinely advise people to come off SSRIs and SNRIs slowly, especially from those medications that have a shorter-half life like Paxil and Effexor.  The question is not whether people might have symptoms, but about how difficult it is to manage these difficulties and how long they might last.  So while we have all seen people who have some discomfort after stopping a short half-life SSRI or SNRI, we think...
Source: Shrink Rap - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: blogs