Prozac Mania - Page 3
© John McManamy
The minutes also revealed that during the approval process, Eli Lilly's trial subjects were put on tranquilizers to counter the akathisia (and presumably skew the drug trial findings in their favor), though no warning was given when the drug came on the market in the US. In Germany, however, Eli Lilly was obliged to put this caveat on its package insert:
"For his/her own safety, the patient must be sufficiently observed, until the antidepressive effect of Fluctin [Prozac] sets in. Taking an additional sedative may be necessary."
The documents also reveal that Eli Lilly excluded from scrutiny at-risk subjects in a so-called suicide study requested by the FDA, as well as 76 out of 97 suicides. A reinterpretation of Lilly's figures by David Healey, testifying as an expert witness, came up with 3,000 suicides or attempts per 100,000 patient years.
One Prozac user was literally saved by the bell. Stephen Bryson, a surgical nurse, had this to say of his Prozac experience:
"I was swearing, touching friends up in private parts and would pick arguments for the sake of it and threaten their lives. I ran around town stark naked and ran up debts of £10,000. I became quite violent. I had no awareness of ... right from wrong. I was high as a kite.'"
Stephen eventually attacked his partner with a knife, and swears he would have committed murder had not the phone rung at the critical moment. As it was, he received a 12-month jail sentence. Three months after going off Prozac, he was 'back to my old self."
Reginald Payne, 63, a teacher from Cornwall, wasn't so lucky. In March, 1996, he suffocated his wife and threw himself off a cliff. He had been taking Prozac for just 11 days. His family has issued court proceedings against Eli Lilly.
What makes these and other stories credible to a good many people is their own experience with antidepressants, this writer being no exception. In early 1999, I was an undiagnosed manic depressive seeking help for severe depression. Within a few days of going on the medication (not Prozac), my mind was racing, my manner agitated, and I was vividly hallucinating. I couldn't sleep, my heart was going like the so-called music you hear blaring out of cars, and I could swear I heard voices every time the bathroom fan went on. Naturally, I was fearful of what another dose might do to me, but I had to weigh that risk against the very real possibility of plummeting back into the depression I had only just barely survived. I had been awake a good 48 hours, and it was time for my morning pill.
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