Royal Society of Medicine podcast, rebuttal of complaint by RCPsych

A few days ago, the Royal Society of Medicine circulated a podcast featuring Prof Simon Wessely and his wife, Prof Clare Gerada.

https://videos.rsm.ac.uk/video/rsm-health-matters-podcast-episode-1—antidepressants-antibiotics-and-the-gender-pay-gap

I had assumed it would be both educational and informative but in the end it proved to be neither.  Members of the online patient community were dismayed at some of the content, particularly some comments by Prof Clare Gerada.

Dr Peter Gordon has kindly transcribed the initial part of this interview which relates to antidepressants.

RSM Health Matters Podcast: Episode 1 – Antidepressants

This section was particularly troubling to me and to other patients and doctors who listened to it.

“I have seen this study and I do talk to people who claim that their lives have been ruined by antidepressants. Personally, as a GP of 26 years in the same practice and someone that trained in mental health, so I’ve seen, probably about 1 in 2 of every patient I have seen has had a mental health problem, so 50% of every single of the tens of thousands of patients I have seen has been with a mental health issue, and I can count on one hand the number who have gone on to have long term problems withdrawing from antidepressants or problems coming off antidepressants. So, far, far, far more patients have problems coming off benzodiazepines which in the early days many of my patients were on. Now, I am not disputing that some patients do have problems, absolutely not. But I am just concerned that every time we focus on the withdrawal what happens in my consulting room patients are ashamed to take antidepressants, and worse still, ashamed to admit that they are depressed because they will be labelled as somehow weak willed. So I think it is a very difficult issue and one we that we need to be very careful.”

So it seems that patients “claim” to have their lives ruined by antidepressants, the implication being that it cannot possibly be true.  Yet Clare Gerada regularly states that antidepressants “save lives” or “transform lives”.  How does she  know this?  Is it because patients “claim” this to be the case?  Can she verify the veracity of their accounts or is it only the drug damaged patient that is suspected of being untruthful?  I find it equally astonishing that she can count on one hand the number of patients who have “gone on to have long term problems withdrawing from antidepressants or problems coming off antidepressants.”  Furthermore, the idea that talking about the problems of withdrawal should result in patients feeling ashamed of taking these drugs or even ashamed of being depressed, makes no sense. I am sure they must have concerns about dependence and withdrawal, that would be very understandable, just as the ongoing debate about statins makes patients concerned about consuming statins.

She then says that far, far, far more patients have problems going off benzodiazepines. Yet in 2011, on Radio 4, Face the Facts, she said that the problems with benzodiazepine withdrawal are over-stated.

https://www.benzo.org.uk/perrott11.htm

Prof Heather Ashton made the following comments

“On the recent radio programme “Face the Facts” on BBC Radio 4, Dr. Clare Gerada was blatantly wrong when she claimed that withdrawal effects from long-term benzodiazepine use are overstated. She cannot have had any experience of long-term, prescribed benzodiazepine users or be familiar with the copious literature on this subject which has been well documented since the early 1980s, by Lader, Tyrer, Ashton and many others (see references below).”

I have referred to this before in my blog and it suggests to me that Prof Clare Gerada, like many other practising GPs does not seem to recognise the immense difficulties experienced by patients when trying to withdraw from benzodiazepines or indeed antidepressants.  If the problem was recognised by GPs, there would be no need for online support groups or indeed a very public campaign.  Or perhaps she only “claims” to be unaware.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has now responded to the complaint about the letter to The Times by Profs Wendy Burn and David Baldwin regarding antidepressant withdrawal symptoms.  It seems they feel the complaint is unfounded.  Prof John Read is interviewed by James Moore and discusses this as well as the RSM interview with Profs Simon Wessely and Clare Gerada.  Prof Read is also unimpressed.

Professor John Read: UK Royal College of Psychiatry Dismisses Complaint

For myself and other patients, the overall impression left is that leading doctors have little concern for the immense suffering of patients who have been left with no choice other than to congregate online whilst prescribing doctors stick their heads in the sand and pretend there really isn’t any issue.  This is of course deeply disrespectful to the many harmed patients.  Doctors rely on patients’ accounts when they seek help for mental health issues, they therefore also need to rely on patients’ accounts of drug damage.   It is unacceptable that patients are believed when they benefit from the drugs, but disbelieved when they are harmed.

The disbelief of doctors is equally, if not more, harmful than the harm from the drugs themselves, it compounds the emotional and psychological distress and can lead to desperation, isolation and indeed when compounded by the physical damage, can result in suicide.  I know, I have been there and only the huge amount of support I have received from my closest of friends has pulled me through.  Many have little or no social support whatsoever.