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    Dr. Shipko's Informed Consent For SSRI Antidepressants
    Dr. Shipko's Informed Consent For SSRI Antidepressants
    Dr. Shipko's Informed Consent For SSRI Antidepressants
    Ebook36 pages39 minutes

    Dr. Shipko's Informed Consent For SSRI Antidepressants

    By Stuart Shipko

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    About this ebook

    As a practicing psychiatrist for over 30 years, I have had ample experience working with antidepressants. Judging by what my patients tell me, psychiatric medications, SSRI antidepressants in particular, are prescribed to patients often with little or no information about the risks of taking these medications. When a patient consents for treatment, it should be with the full knowledge of the risks involved and alternative treatments available.

    For most patients, antidepressants are safe and sometimes very effective for anxiety and depression. For some patients, they are not so helpful and patients experience side effects or withdrawal effects without having had proper warning that this might happen.

    The decision to start a SSRI antidepressant is deceptively complex because of the risk of side effects and the risk of withdrawal symptoms on stopping the drugs.

    Considerations related to stopping a SSRI are more controversial, as there have been no good studies on exactly what percentages of patients on SSRIs can expect to have withdrawal symptoms and a general failure to acknowledge prolonged withdrawal syndromes. These considerations are based on my own experiences with patients who suffer from prolonged withdrawal syndromes.

    "Dr. Shipko's Informed Consent For SSRI Antidepressants" provides the clinical logic by which I approach starting and stopping SSRI antidepressants. It is not a specific guide to treatment. Information is intended to be discussed with your prescribing physician.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStuart Shipko
    Release dateJul 16, 2013
    ISBN9781301229598
    Dr. Shipko's Informed Consent For SSRI Antidepressants
    Author

    Stuart Shipko

    I have been practicing psychiatry for over 40 years.My interest in panic disorder stems from my experience as an emergency room physician, where I saw a lot of panic attacks that simulated heart attacks and other physical conditions. In the late 90's I started a website called the Panic Disorders Institute where I, and a group of informed patients with panic disorder, shared information. This multiplied my understanding and knowledge of panic disorder. The information in Surviving Panic Disorder is the information that people are seeking when seen for an initial consultation.My interest in problems with stopping Xanax and my observation of the numerous side effects and withdrawal effects of the SSRI antidepressants prompted me to share my experiences in Xanax Withdrawal and Informed Consent for SSRI Antidepressants. Xanax withdrawal gives good general information about stopping the drug or other short term benzodiazepines such as Ativan and Klonopin. Anyone considering starting or stopping a SSRI should take the time to read the book on informed consent.Standing Still and Looking Back: a Memoir is a labor of love. All memoir is, to some extent, psychotherapy. With the start of the pandemic I found myself with time on my hands. Initially it started out as a pandemic diary, but as I wrote I began to reflect on my long career, particularly experiences that I had early in my career in faith healing. Unlike my other books it is not a self help book. I hope you find it a good read!

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      Book preview

      Dr. Shipko's Informed Consent For SSRI Antidepressants - Stuart Shipko

      PREFACE

      I am writing this eBook to share the key information that I discuss with patients in consultation before starting or stopping a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. ‘Informed Consent’ is not intended to be a comprehensive book about these drugs, rather, it duplicates the information that I typically provide to my patients when I see them in consultation. If you are contemplating starting or stopping an SSRI antidepressant, then it is a good idea to understand the potential risks and benefits of these powerful medications. These drugs are often prescribed with little discussion; sometimes the doctor just hands out samples with no discussion of a possible downside. Similarly, when the drugs are stopped, patients often have no warnings of the possible adverse consequences. In my experience physicians often do a poor job of giving patients proper informed consent concerning starting and stopping a SSRI.

      As a practicing psychiatrist for over 30 years, I have had ample experience working with antidepressants. Judging by what my patients tell me, psychiatric medications, SSRI antidepressants in particular, are prescribed to patients often with little or no information about the risks of taking these medications. When a patient consents for treatment, it should be with the full knowledge of the risks involved and alternative treatments available.

      All clinicians see and experience patient illness in different ways and have varying degrees of agreement and disagreement concerning how to deal with the patients’ medical concerns. ‘Informed Consent’ represents my approach to working with patients who are considering either starting or stopping a SSRI antidepressant. As such, it is not the final word on the subject. Information contained in this book are my observations only and may not apply to your situation. The information presented here is important to consider when making decisions about starting or stopping these medications and is intended to be discussed with your doctor as part of your medical decision making.

      WHAT ARE THE SSRI ANTIDEPRESSANTS

      SSRI stands for selective, serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Serotonin is a brain neurotransmitter, a chemical that affects brain nervous activity at the synapse, a connecting space between nerve cells through which the cells communicate. Serotonin is released into the synapse and then much of it is reabsorbed back into the nerve cell. The term reuptake inhibitor means that serotonin is blocked from being reabsorbed into the nerve call and more serotonin will remain in the synapse. These are also often referred to as SRI antidepressants, which stands for serotonin reuptake inhibitors, because other neurotransmitters are always affected to some degree. These are the antidepressants that primarily interact with the serotonin receptors in the nerve cells. These include Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox,

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