To want to sue my local surgery?

[beeblabs]

TRIGGER WARNING: If you’re taking Zoloft/Sertraline and it’s working for you, best skip this thread.

A few weeks ago I started having dizzy spells and mild panic attacks. I also noticed my thoughts were getting racier (if that makes sense). I’ve suffered from an overactive thyroid and low blood sugar in the past, so I rang the Dr and asked for a blood test! They told me they couldn’t see me face-to-face due to Covid but asked if I wanted something for my anxiety and prescribed me 50mg of Sertraline.

From the first day of taking these tablets, I couldn’t eat or sleep! I’d lie in bed at night breaking out in cold sweats and twitching involuntarily. I rang the GP and asked them to change my meds, but they told me the benefits will outweigh the side-effects eventually and prescribed me Diazepam! By week 2, I felt like I was tripping on LSD and became utterly delusional (convinced I needed to take my life to save my son from the “evil presence” in the house!). I spent a few days in a psychiatric hospital before being discharged (when I stopped taking Zoloft, the delusions stopped).

Now my mother is talking about suing the local surgery. My husband said that I had a very rare reaction to a popular SSRI and despite my experience, they do help a lot of people.

I can’t help but feel that these mind altering drugs are prescribed too easily and there should be further tests before writing a prescription (especially over the phone, by a nurse practitioner!). I’m currently on a new antidepressant called Mirtazipine and I’m still taking Diazepam for my nerves.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with SSRIs? Or is it all positive?

Lots of sensible answers.

That sounds upsetting, OP, but I'd need to check though I can't think of a single effective medication that doesn't have side effects and works for everyone. If that is your expectation then you may be disappointed,

Until we have effective genetic testing linked to individualised prescribing (We're not there and won't be there for some time), the system works by prescribing a first line medication that evidence indicates works for most people. For those it doesn't, there can be several iterations before most people find a medication that is effective. I understand why people 'lose confidence' or 'want to sue' but often that seems to be based on a mis-understanding of the way medicines work and unreasonable expectations. Humans have a wide variety of genetics and different medications have different effectiveness and side effects for individuals for that reason.

I hope you find a medication that is effective for you and have a support network of people who can give sensible advice and support.

Good luck.

Suing is absolutely ridiculous. I was prescibed dianette (BC) in 2019 and I developed a very rare side effect and was very unwell. I reported it to the NHS for their safety measures - I didn't sue them? It's a risk with all medications.

That's a good point re: reporting @ErickBroch. OP, if you think it would help you come to terms with your experience, you could report your side effects via the Yellow Card scheme: yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/ The Yellow Card scheme allows anyone to report side effects they experienced as a result of medication or medical intervention and can help with measuring the prevalence of side effects or identifying a previously unknown side effect once a drug is in general usage. I remember my DF (a GP) using it in old school paper format when he had an unusual and undocumented reaction to a medication many years ago.

@cansu

My ds who has autism and learning difficulties had a very bad reaction to fluoxetine which ended in him being sectioned. They will never take responsibility. I went all the way to the ombudsman to get camhs to take responsibility and got nowhere. I have zero trust in mental health services.

How was the doctor supposed to know in advance that your ds would have such a bad reaction to fluoxetine. @cansu?

They don't have crystal balls.

Oh dear, I've been on Sertraline for years and have nothing but good words to say about it.

If my doctor tried to take me off Setraline then I would consider it reasonable to sue the local surgery

So no, OP, definitely YABU from me.

Horrible experience, I honestly feel for you as that must have been difficult.

But to want to sue the NHS for something like this, not to mention the fact that it wasn't their fault, is ridiculous.

The NHS are under a huge amount of pressure right now with the pandemic, and this is the last thing they need! I have a relative who was misdiagnosed with a brain tumour (benign) and almost died, she didn't sue them when she had every right to. Why on earth would you want to sue for being given free medication that didn't work for you?

I was prescribed Sertraline after I had my first child, and I can honestly say it ruined my experience with my newborn as my mood was horrendous, never once would I ever consider suing the NHS as it was nobody's fault.

I took it for a few months and it stoppd me feeling emotion in general so in a sense it worked. On stopping it, for years (15?), I had the sensation of electric zaps in the middle of my head where my brain is when I was falling asleep.

You’ll never succeed in suing them. People have committed suicide etc and it is all still prescribed.

Some people though have been helped by it. It shouldn’t all be so over prescribed though in my opinion.

I'm sorry you experienced that but as a well recognised MHRA side effect, documented in the leaflet, you have zero chance of suing your surgery.

There's no case to answer. Surprised they give you benzos at all. I got a sort of LSD reaction to diazepam once. Didn't think about suing them, just didn't use it again.

Mirtazapine made me gain too much weight.

@Mamamamasaurus

I was on Sertraline, overseas, and it was hell. I was in a country where I don't speak the language and felt shocking (not to the point of hallucinating, but rough). I considered throwing myself off the nearest bridge because I felt SO BAD.

I managed to get a call to my GP who advised reducing the dosage, which I did, and felt instantly better. The reviews of Sertraline baffle me because of how bad I felt, and yet felt numb, all at the same time. I sometimes wonder if it's even the same drug.

That said, I would never think about suing my GP because they wouldn't know how I would react to the drug. How do you know you react badly or are allergic to something? Does someone give you a heads up? No. Life doesn't work like that.

I appreciate you had a rough time of it but the Dr wouldn't gave known that you would react how you did. Maybe the suggestion of PALS would be helpful?

sertraline as most drugs come under different names, essentially the same drugs there are slight differences. My DD1 is on Sertraline but can only take Lustral, she can't function on any other derivatives. Myself take another drug, I can't take the one derivative but can take the same brand in the slow release form, that's how sensitive taking some medications can be to people.

I also have had rare reactions to drugs given in hospital, when mentioned later Doctors are surprised that I reacted to them..

I had an awful reaction to sertraline a few years back. I took one 50mg dose and ended up needing to see the mental health team at A&E a few hours later because I was in such a bad mental state. It was one of the worst experiences of my life.

I was angry at the doctor hadn't warned me of the potential side effects (this does happy quite frequently according to the mental health nurse) and also that you need so start at a much lower dose and build up to 50mg. For the majority of people sertraline is a good medication. I was unfortunate to have a bad reaction and suing never even crossed my mind.

Many doctors feel patients should be made more aware of the potential for these drugs to cause devastating experiences. I'm sorry this has happened to you.

Unfortunately although you can make a complaint if the negative possibilities were not explained (and I accept they weren't), this is probably mentioned in the small print that comes with the tablets. Your doctor should file an incident report.

@Greenqueen40

Sue your surgery? For prescribing a medicine to help with the symptoms you complained of during a consultation? The bastards!!

This.

I think people have watched too many US TV shows.

What loss would you be suing for OP? Drop the meds and move on.

Wow OP, I’m shocked at some of the appalling responses to you on this thread. The way some posters talk, you’d think the NHS was some kind of religious deity and must not ever be questioned by such lesser mortals as yourself.

I’ve no idea why your GP wouldn’t see you in person. That makes no sense since they have access to adequate PPE. I was having problems with my coil and my GP got me in quickly and removed it, then sent me for further gynae tests at the hospital, which was less than 2 weeks later. I’ve had at least 6 face to face medical appointments since September.

You should definitely question the meds you’ve been prescribed as you could have come to serious harm from the hallucinations.

Hope you’re feeling better very soon.

I think there is a huge issue if doctors are prescribing snti-depressants /anti-anxiety medication without a face to face appointment or blood test. It seems like an easy way to fob someone of. I once had what felt like very very serious depression. I went to the GP and they recommended I go on the waiting list to see a counsellor (I live in another country and they prescribe anti-Ds less freely. This is actually a problem in itself but thats by the by...) and meanwhile they took a blood test. It turned out I had really serious anaemia, and probably had for a while. My iron levels were ridiculously low. I started taking iron tablets and B vitamins and my iron levels went up, and my depression disappeared.
I am not against anti depressants at all and have found them helpful in the past. But prescribing them without exploring other options feels reckless.

Serthraline was awful for me, the side effects outweighed the benefits, I couldn't sleep, had horrific sweats & panic attacks. I'm now on 30mg of Mirtazapine & I haven't had any major side effects in almost 3 years of being prescribed it.

People need to read the leaflet, too, and take ownership of knowing about the drug they're on. My son's psychiatrist tried him on an ADHD drug that had the total opposite effect. We didn't consider suing, it was in the leaflet that this might happen.

I think that proving negligence is difficult and stressful and that's why legal action is generally the end of a very long road when all other recourse has been exhausted or proved inadequate.

But it's alarming that you were prescribed not one but two psychotropic substances without a face to face consultation. I would raise it with the practice manager. Be clear what it is you want to happen and ask what your options are.

In my case, if the doctor had just prescribed me with sertraline, I would have battled through the side effects (and I do suffer from side effects although they fade after 1/2weeks- i have taken it in the past) to no avail, presumably while my (chronic) anaemia got worse and worse. Even if the doctor had precribed medication at the same time as running blod tests it would have been better. Rather than "we cant see you, heres some pills"

I'm not sure why anyone seems to think a doctor can predict the future and will know who is going to have a rare reaction to something. Your doctor wasn't acting unprofessionally to give it more than a single day or two to assess the medication.

Your situation was rare and unpredictable. It sounds like a traumatic experience that you are coming to terms with and you are looking for someone to blame to make it easier to get over but you would be completely unreasonable to sue your GP over this.

My dd has taken sertraline, it works for many people. She's now on Mirtazipine coincidentally. You have to read the leaflet, there's rare side effects but that's the same with most drugs, doesn't mean you can sue because you got one

OP reported an adverse reaction though and the dr still didn't see her, just gave her benzos on top. Sounds a bit careless to say the least.

I appreciate you have been through a difficult and traumatic time. It sounds awful. However, you can't sue your GP for having a possible drug reaction. It's awful it happened to you, you have my sympathises but it's rare and for the vast majority of people it's a really helpful drug. There are always people that get side effects from things, just look at the vaccine debates but in the vast majority of instances it's benefits substantially outweigh the risks. Your GP was helping you, it's unfortunate you has the side effects you did but it's just crappy luck, no one is to blame.

You haven't lost out financially and your health hasn't suffered as a result of the bad trip so you wouldn't be awarded anything even if the surgery was found to be negligent.

I think that proving negligence is difficult

Not really, in the case of a GP it's all judged according to a set of rules about what should have been done at each given stage. Proving that the negligence caused damage is the challenge.