I wrote this piece for Compleat Mother about a year ago, and thought I would share it with my blog readers…
Go Here
America is about to go psychotic!
By, Jenny Hatch August 2004
Warning
Dropping “cold turkey” off any medication, most especially mind altering medications, can often be MORE DANGEROUS than staying on the drugs. Tapering off very, very, very slowly- over months, not just weeks, has proven the safest and most effective method of withdrawal from this type of medication, thereby giving the body time to readjust its own chemical levels.
American Psychosis
With the recent FDA inquiries into Anti-depressants and the resulting news coverage, many of those who are taking Anti-depressants may feel a desire to stop taking their medication. Those of us in the Psychiatric survivors movement are deeply concerned about this happening. I decided to take the time to write this article to share some good information with those individuals who want to wean off of their medications.
Ann Blake Tracy, author of Prozac, Panacea or Pandora has documented the manic reactions that can take place when one quickly stops taking Anti-depressants. Her International Coalition for Drug Awareness has set up a great web site to help educate the consumer about these types of drug withdrawal symptoms. She has put together a tape to educate how to safely withdraw.
And her web site has a free email newsletter to educate consumers.
The reason I titled this piece, America is about to go psychotic, is simply because since 9-11-2001 the numbers of Americans taking Anti-depressants has skyrocketed. Inevitably some of these individuals will reach a place where they feel a desire to come off of the meds, and it will be at this juncture that they will learn the sad, sorry, truth about Anti-Depressants. These drugs are extremely difficult to get off of!
I have not taken one pill in the past fourteen years, yet I believe I am STILL struggling with some of these symptoms after being overmedicated for a post partum psychosis! More particularly, I have noted a mild short-term memory loss, which is completely random in how it manifests in my mind. And this memory loss has been quite embarrassing at times.
Here is a list of the most common withdrawal reactions reported by Patients:
Insomnia;
Vivid and violent dreams; Inability to detect dreams from reality (the world takes on an other-worldly aspect);
No emotions;
Inability to feel guilt or cry;
Nausea;
Loss of Appetite;
Rash;
Breathing or Lung Problems;
Heart Fluttering;
Shaking – jerkiness;
Memory Impairment;
Hair loss;
Blurred vision or pressure behind the eyes;
Inability to discontinue use of drug and increasing own dose;
Craving for alcohol, sweets, and other substances or drinking large amounts of alcohol, coffee or other caffeinated drinks, diet pop with NutraSweet, etc…;
Headaches;
Swelling and/or pain in joints;
Burning or tingling in extremities;
Muscle Twitching or contractions;
Tongue numbness and slurred speech;
Sweating;
Dizzyness; Confusion;
Chills or cold sweats;
Muscle weakness;
Extreme Fatigue;
Diabetes or hypoglycemia;
Lowered immune system;
Seizures or convulsions;
Weight gain or weight loss;
Mood swings; altered personality;
Symptoms of Mania, For example: Inability to sit still or restlessness, racing thoughts, acting silly or giddy (like a teenager again), sexual promiscuity leading to unwanted pregnancy or divorce, irresponsibility, wild spending sprees, gambling, criminal behavior, shoplifting, embezzling, stealing, hostility, etc.;
Deceitfulness; blank staring; inability to see any alternatives in situations;
Hyperactivity;
Aggressive or violent behavior;
Wanting to ram other cars or driving irrationally;
Impulsive behavior with no concern about consequences;
Numbness in various body parts – legs go numb and right out from under patient or sexual organs go numb making orgasm impossible;
Pulling away from loved ones and others (isolating oneself);
Divorce;
No desire to be touched;
Paranoia;
Falsely accusing others of abuse – family members or acquaintances;
Loss of spirituality; Feeling “possessed” or that something evil is inside;
Self Destructive behavior and suicidal ideation; suicidal attempts;
Muscle Tremors; loss of co-ordination;
Mania;
Psychosis.
Go Here for detailed list of symptoms.
It is these final two symptoms Mania and Psychosis, which seem to become extremely heightened when a “cold turkey” approach is taken by a patient, especially if they have struggled with an alcohol addiction, been taking other types of psychoactive drugs, and eat a typical American refined sugar based diet.
If you are someone who has been diagnosed with manic-depression and/or Diabetes AFTER taking anti-depressants, most likely these horrible illnesses are a side effect from taking the drugs. Some patients would give just about anything to go back to being depressed once in a while rather than suffer from a life long diabetic condition, or deal with the debilitating horror of manic-depression.
Here is an excerpt from Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? “The rest of the story on the new class of SSRI Antidepressants (Prozac, Zoloft, Lovan, Luvox, and more) by Ann Blake Tracy.
This excerpt describes what is happening chemically in the body when Prozac is ingested.
P.166- 168 Second Edition 1994
“Later on in this chapter we will discuss in detail a Yale study published in March 1991. Psychiatrists at Yale Medical School’s Child Study Center where researchers observed the incidence of intense Self-destructive thoughts in adolescents on Prozac who were given the drug because of Obsessive – Compulsive Disorders. Dr. Robert King and Dr. Mark Riddle led the research and believe that the disruption of serotonin production by Prozac “may directly affect the brain’s ability to regulate aggression.”.
When we consider the fact that when used on a regular basis it more than doubles the flow of adrenalin, the fight or flight hormone, that concept is certainly easy to believe. What on earth are we setting ourselves up for if one of the most popular drugs on the market is affecting a patient’s ability to regulate aggression? How many more jails, prisons, morgues, etc, will we need to cope with this type of situation?
Various mind altering drugs can distort orientation toward the immediate present and cause disregard for long range consequences of his/her behavior thereby making it difficult for him/her to premeditate criminal acts. Yet these drugs can also produce a tendency to react strongly to sensory stimuli in the immediate environment, and develop an inclination to refer everything to oneself that often develops into paranoia, all this combined with the need to move or do something due to intense psychomotor stimulation can all produce an aggression-prone individual leading to the serious akathisia reactions.
Akathisia needs to be addressed in far more depth than it has previously in conjunction with the violence associated with Prozac or any other psychiatric “medication”. This type of drug reaction is one that the public has generally associated only with illegal drugs, not with prescription drugs.
Deseryl, the tricyclic antidepressants, the neuroleptics, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO’s) and the new group of serotonin uptake inhibitors (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Lovan, Luvox, etc..) are all known to produce this potentially violent form of inner restlessness known as Akathisia. All of these drugs powerfully enhance serotogenic and/or nonadrenergic transmission. Some researchers believe that akathisia is caused by an enhancement of the adrenergic receptors in the brain activating the fight or flight response, or as in the case of the drugs which affect serotonin, the 5HT serotonin enhances dopamine release.
When serotonergic transmission is enhanced, that in turn is believed to inhibit the dopaminergic neurons. Akathisia would then be produced when the dopaminergic neurotransmission is impaired. As we learned in discussing the effects of higher levels of serotonin upon the glandular system, higher serotonin levels consistently increase the blood levels of ACTH and the adrenalin, cortisol. We also know that serotonin stimulates the hypothalamus/adrenal/cortical axis which, in turn, causes adrenal releases, ie. “an enhancement of the adrenergic system”
It also bears repeating that one single dose of 30 mg of Prozac clearly doubles cortisol (adrenalin) levels. If one single dose cause this drastic rise in adrenalin, the fight or flight reaction, what kind of increase can be expected when Prozac is used in more than one single dose as patients take it on a daily basis? Prozac has also been demonstrated to increase the release of CRF, indicating an accompanying increase in ACTH and cortisol levels. This excess adrenalin or adrenalin rush would explain the “warm flush” (similar to the hot flashes brought on by menopause as the hormones become imbalanced) which patients so often report feeling just before committing murder or other violent acts or a suicide attempt while on Prozac.
As I said before, from the beginning it appeared obvious to me that Prozac was Causing elevated levels of adrenalin (epinephrine) to activate the “fight or flight” response which, in turn, produced the feelings of uncontrollable rage patients were reporting. The information we have reviewed thus far should make it quite clear that if the corticosteroids are stimulated that the adrongenic steroids are as well. For instance, it has long been known that higher levels of Testosterone will induce violent behavior.
A study done by Kreuz and Rose, 1972, discovered a significant correlation between the testosterone levels and violence among prisoners. The five with the highest steroid levels had a combined total of two murders, one attempted murder, one assault, and four armed robberies which they had committed. A more recent and even wider study of over 4000 military men found that those with the higher steroid levels more frequently committed assault, abused alcohol and other drugs, were absent without leave and in general ended up in more trouble.”
Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? P. 166 – 168 2nd Ed.
Trouble, more and more trouble, that is what I see in the future as those who have been taking these drugs to deal with the unknowns of Terrorism start to come off of their medications. I would challenge you the reader of this article to get a copy of Dr. Tracy’s book and do an indepth study on just what exactly these drugs have done to our society. It is mind boggling to consider the future.
I have often wondered if my own drug use during my teens laid the foundation for my post partum psychosis. I never, not once, took an illegal street drug, but I was one of the most medicated people around, constantly taking antihistamines (at one point I was so addicted to Actifed, I could not sleep without taking it). I used cortisone like a hand cream, (cortisone has been completely tied to psychosis and although my use was always topical on the skin, fourteen years of daily use had to have a toxic effect on my body). I did so many rounds of antibiotics for the many lung infections I was plagued with that it took me ten years of colon cleansing and almost daily acidophilus consumption to overcome the yeast overgrowth I suffered from. My lifelong suffering from excema on my hands and face has finally been overcome, but it took some major effort.
My Own Experience With Drug Withdrawal…
I have often said to myself that the most difficult thing I have ever done is come off of Prozac. My drug experience is somewhat unique as I was very clear before and after that I did not want to be medicated for my psychosis. While I was taking the drugs I was so doped up and confused it was difficult to know what was best. Because of the court order, I was on high doses of two heavyduty medications, Stelazine and Lithium. A few months after being on toxic doses of these drugs I was so depressed I ASKED my psychiatrist to put me on an Anti-Depressant. That is so ironic to me now, as I am completely against psyche medications in all forms being used on anyone.
My psychiatrist recommended a new drug called Prozac, which had been on the market for about two years. This was in 1989, when only a couple of whistle blowers were reporting adverse reactions to anti-depressants. I took all three medications faithfully for a few weeks and then with my doctors support came off Lithium cold turkey as I thought I might be pregnant. Lithium is a known baby deformer. A few months after this, I went into a heightened suicidal state, which required a five-day hospitalization.
While in the psyche hospital the doctors decided to take me off Stelazine, but doubled my Prozac dose. For the next few months I experienced a range of the above mentioned symptoms, the most troubling of which was a sexual dysfunction that left both me and my husband very frustrated. I had huge blood sugar swings, which developed into a serious hypoglycemic state, and found myself very isolated emotionally having no desire or energy to seek out other people or participate in life. I spent most of my time lying on the couch watching television.
A few months later on this high dose of Prozac, I went into my local pharmacy to refill my prescription for Prozac and saw the book Talking back to Prozac by Peter Breggin MD. I purchased it and spent a few weeks reading it. I was startled to see his list of common side effects from this drug and realize that I had many of them, including suicidal ideation and violent thoughts and feelings, especially regarding hurting myself.
In the spring of 1990 I walked into my local library and right at eye level was the drug I was taking four times a day. That Prozac capsule was splashed right across the cover of a Newsweek magazine, and to illustrate how my mind was functioning at the time, I took the magazine over to the copier, copied all four pages, put the magazine back, put the article in my book bag, and went home and completely forgot about it for a few days.
Then when I saw it and decided to read it and it took me four hours to wade through those few pages of text. While the article was mostly positive about this new wonder drug, something about the message of the text struck a nerve in me and I decided to ask my psychiatrist if she would help me wean off of this drug. I had an internal sense that I was at a cross roads with my health and that if I did not take the opportunity and time to wean off the drug soon, that I might find myself tied to it or other drugs like it for a long, long time.
I was fortunate to be working with a female psychiatrist who was quite educated about Post Partum emotional illness and from the very first visit was comforted that she seemed to know so much and was willing to support me in whatever choices I made regarding my own health. She also had put me on natural progesterone, which we purchased out of pocket from a Wisconsin clinic as my insurance company would not compensate us the $50.00 it cost us every month for me to take it. I believe this natural hormone therapy was very effective in helping to keep my manic symptoms under control while I was on Prozac.
However, as I weaned off of the medication, I experienced a short but heightened manic response during the months of my weaning. And we took it very, very gradually, weaning down to taking one pill a week. If I had it to do over again, I would have put in a supply of Young Living Essential oils Peace and Calming oil blend to help me with the mania and insomnia I suffered from during this time. I would have taken daily baths in this oil to help with the mania. But Young Living didn’t exist back in 1990, and what I used to help me during the critical time was the natural progesterone, some Chinese herbs and Homeopathic remedies prescribed by my Osteopath.
One night my mind was just racing, almost as bad as when I was psychotic, and I took a triple dose of the progesterone. I could feel it taking me down level by level, until by about 3AM I was able to rest without feeling like I was jumping out of my skin. I had a sense that this was a reaction to coming off the medication, and just let my body feel what it needed to feel without freaking too much that I was losing my mind, but it was very, very difficult.
In May of 1990 I took my final dose of Prozac, and then it felt as if my mind exploded. I started to FEEL, and what I was FEELING was not so nice. I believe all of the suppressed emotion of the past fourteen months just bubbled up out of me, and spilled out all over my husband and family. I cried, I raged, I yelled, and I ached. My body ached, my muscles ached, and I just hurt all over. The first week was the most difficult. After that it lessened with each week, until finally I was able to feel a sense of normality. My sexuality went back to normal and I was able to feel emotional highs and lows again. I would cry, and then laugh because it felt so good to cry. I would feel joy and be overwhelmed by that sensation coursing through my emotional body, when it had been suppressed for so long.
The main message I would like to convey to you the reader is if you decide to come of your medications, please do it with your doctor’s approval and help, and PLEASE, do it gradually.
I was able to wean, without being forced to go back on some other drug, and freed myself of the bondage that had been thrust upon me by a power-tripping judge in a Michigan court. The past fourteen years I have been able to give birth to four additional children.
They are my joy! I have not fallen into the pit of psychosis, and although at times I have suffered from extreme emotional distress from life events, I have learned and mastered the tools to help my body and mind when struggling emotionally. The most important of these Tools, completely validated by Dr. Tracy’s book, is a proper amount of sleep every night. I go to extreme lengths to be certain that I get enough rest. I outlined additional helps, tips, and tools for preventing mania and psychosis in my book, A Mother’s Journey.
It is my prayer that if you are someone who has been taking these medications and has a desire to wean off of them, you will do it wisely, slowly, and without too much distress. And if someone in your life has been taking these drugs, and they decide to come off of them, please take the time to educate them about the potential for psychosis and mania if they come off the drugs too quickly.

The Paul Hatch Family
(Fall 2004)