Withdrawal case studies needed by Daily Mail

The Daily Mail Good Health section is planning to run another article on the widespread problem of drug dependency involving prescription medicines such as opioids, gabapentinoids, benzodiazepines, Z-drugs and antidepressants. The article will examine the scale of the problem and the amount spent on inappropriate prescribing. To help to tell the story and illustrate the devastating impact withdrawal & dependency can have, we need several case studies of patients who have been affected and are happy to speak out about how it has ruined their lives. The more powerful the story – the better. This is will involve a 25-30 minute telephone interview with health journalist Pat Hagan at a time that suits you but within the next week or so. It will also mean being named and photographed for the article. Once the piece is complete, the case study can request a ‘read back’ – where their part is read back over the phone to make sure they’re happy before going to print. 
If you are happy to appear please contact Pat Hagan, freelance health journalist, on pat.hagan@btconnect.com or mobile 07952 547 690.

4 Responses to Withdrawal case studies needed by Daily Mail

  1. Nuala Sheehan 22/09/2021 at 1:28 pm #

    Thank you very much for doing this piece of work. Would it be possible to include antipsychotic (neuroleptic) drugs? These are in very common use and are generally prescribed long term. Research findings clearly demonstrate that those patients who do not take them long term have better outcomes than those who do. This evidence is mostly being ignored by prescribers. Antipsychotics are not curative; they are psychoactive and they are very harmful in long term use. The harms include brain damage, excessive weight gain, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, sudden death, increased risk of developing dementia and a shortening of life expectancy by up to 20 years. They alter brain chemistry and coming off them requires very careful tapering to avoid serious withdrawal effects.

  2. Sandra Villarreal 22/09/2021 at 3:34 pm #

    How does one sum of the horror of being psychiatrically drugged for 35 years w/ECT’s to treat the drug-induced crippling depressions stuck in the revolving door of psychiatrists, therapists, psychiatric hospitals, intensive care units, jails, alcohol treatment centers, burn centers and mental healthcare programs in an hour followed by all cold-turkey withdrawals, barely surviving, that induced not only suicidality, but I became homicidal for 8 long excruciating months. I’ve been drug-free for 6+ years and doing great aside from permanent cognitive impairment.

    I would exclude my now adult children, also prescribed psychiatric drugs where my daughter was ripped off her meds she’s taken for 20 years (one a benzo) becoming extremely paranoid & finding herself hiding in closets for days on end unable to properly care for her children, with no one to help her. And this is what happens when jail personnel neglect to give inmates their Lexapro upon release back to society forcing them into cold-turkey withdrawal. ‘Kalamazoo man guilty of stabbing man 27 times gets minimum of five years’ (in prison). This is my son. My gosh, where does one even start with the anguish and heartbreak individuals and families are forced to endure all because we took our medicine as prescribed so they could ‘cure’ our chemically imbalanced brain they said we had. Did I mention my children were taken away from me when young and rightfully so after suffering continual adverse effects & drug induced psychosis on & off for 3 years, but my therapist didn’t want to hear it. Take your medicine she said. and don’t worry about harming your children. After 3 more years I put a gun to their head knowing I would be next. Where I actually believed I was doing everyone a favor. If God gave us a quota of tears, I’ve used all mine.

    • Sandra Villarreal 02/10/2021 at 11:21 pm #

      ‘Muskegon Jail staffers, nurse charged in inmate’s death faces judge during preliminary hearing.’

      [Sep 22, 2021] MUSKEGON, Mich. — The five people charged in connection to the death of an inmate at Muskegon County Jail in April 2019 appeared before a judge Wednesday for their preliminary hearing.

      In April 2021, four jail staffers — Crystal Greve, Jamall Lane, Jeffrey Patterson, David Vanderlaan — and former Wellpath registered nurse Aubrey Schotts were charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of 39-year-old Paul Bulthouse, who was an inmate at Muskegon County Jail at the time.’

      Mr. Paul Bulthouse was denied his Klonopin prescription upon admission forcing him into a cold-turkey withdrawal where he later died as a result. Jail personnel watched Mr. Bulthouse having 17 status epilepticus seizures over the previous weeks and did nothing. Every one of these jail staffers deserve what they gave Mr. Bulthouse – the death penalty.

      This is the exact same jail my son Justin is currently serving his 5-year sentence. ‘Kalamazoo man guilty of stabbing man 27 times gets minimum of five-years’. From what I see, there is no shortage of medical neglect, anywhere when it comes to psychiatric drugs. They get em on the way in and on the way out. This madness has to STOP.

  3. Rosemary Knowles 25/09/2021 at 3:51 pm #

    I would just like to use this opportunity to beg the Daily Mail to look into the Judiciary and especially Children’s Courts where there is so much pig ignorance about these psychoactive drugs and their mind-altering effects on good and innocent stressed out people, who may suffer a psychotic episode when drugs are altered by their trusted GPs.
    They then get treated as criminals and/or dangerously mentally ill people who are deprived of everything they worked so hard for – home, wife and children, reputation and finally job – and are silenced in court, and humiliated by a Judge who is completely and shamefully ignorant about these prescribed drugs – even while the PHE Review is in progress. Referred by my MP to JCIO to complain, nervously – about this fact – I got a brief email weeks later to tell me that such complaints could not be dealt with – only if the Judge swore in Court, was racist or fell asleep at the bench. I could not make that up. Children’s Courts are an abomination and cause PTSD on top of withdrawal effects – a double scandal and injustice. But with time – 3+ years – and support, cold-turkey does work to the level that employment can be restored – but the scars to the whole families over 3 generations never really heal.

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