Dr June Raine 20 Greenacre Court
Director, Vigilance, Risk Management of Medicines Lancaster
MHRA LA1 4LE
1 Nine Elms Lane
London
SW8 5NQ 3rd September 2010
Dear Dr Raine,
I have a further question regarding the safety of benzodiazepines and z drugs.
I will use my own experience as an example as all these symptoms are documented in the warnings given in the SPC and also typical of many other patients’ experiences brought to my attention.
I was given Ativan as a treatment for anxiety in 1975 and then suffered a 35 year addiction. Some of the withdrawal symptoms, which commenced in April 2009 and persisted with full severity until August 2010, were as follows:
Constant sleep disturbances including persistent nightmares
Waking in terror every morning at 4 o’clock
Feeling frightened and terrified all the time
Feeling you are controlling your body like it is not part of you like operating machinery
Loud constant tinnitus
Extreme light hypersensivity and a sense of colours changing
Feeling that everything including you is unreal or dream like
Audio distortions like being in an echo chamber or like listening through cotton wool
Hot and cold flushes
Crushing headaches like someone is squeezing your brain really hard
Tight band round head
Pressure in the head like it will explode
Visual distortions like the ground and surroundings moving like liquid
Retching and nausea
Muscle aches, cramps, heavy limbs, burning sensations
Chronic fatigue
Involuntary weeping
Agoraphobia and claustrophobia
Panic attacks and palpitations
Constant agitation
Rage and anger with bouts of screaming obsenities
Loss of appetite
Dizziness and loss of balance
Bloated stomach
Frequent urination
Blurred vision
No concentration
Confusion, inability to perform simple tasks or plan things, comprehension problems
Spontaneous itching feelings all over body
Feeling of complete hopelessness
Thinking about suicide
Dry mouth and metallic taste
Restless legs and muscle twitches
Emotional blunting or the inability to feel
Flu like symptoms with sore tight throat
Jelly legs feeling as if they will collapse under you
Short term memory loss
Unfounded thoughts that something is going to happen
Persistent unwanted thoughts
Hypersensitivity to touch
I emphasise that I am not discussing my individual case here but using it as an example.
In your letter of the 3rd June you explained that ‘No product is risk free, and underpinning all our work lie robust and fact based judgements to ensure that the benefits to patients and the public justify the risks.’
Could you please explain to me the benefits in a situation like this?
Thanking you for your continuing help in this matter,
Yours Sincerely
John Perrott