POTENTIAL PROBLEMS Although these drugs have proved beneficial for many patients, it has been reported that a small sub-group of patients may be susceptible to severe withdrawal symptoms and sometimes even intense agitation leading to suicidal thoughts.
Pharmaceutical companies strenuously deny the claims and insist that the drugs are a safe, effective treatment. Many users who have suffered problems have used the internet to share their experiences and campaign for warnings to accompany prescriptions of these drugs.
However, last year the Medicines Control Agency here in the UK asked the drug company GlaxoSmithKline put a warning in with the drug Seroxat: "Occasionally, the symptoms of depression may include thoughts of harming yourself or committing suicide.
"Until the full antidepressant effect of you medicine becomes apparent, these symptoms may increase in the first few weeks of treatment."
Critics argue that this warning implies it is the condition and not the drug that may cause the suicidal feelings.
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