Is a side effect of anti depressants suicidal thoughts

[mids2019]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/dec/03/thomas-kingston-husband-of-uk-royal-took-own-life-after-adverse-effects-of-medication-coroner

I don't quite get this as it seems like the voluntary withdrawal of medication was the aggravating factor here and not a side effect as such. Obviously the poor man has mental health issues which would have led to the taking of anti depressants and it's seems that not taking the medication may have unleashed the thoughts that hounded him.

It's a well known side effect in the initial stages of taking the medication. He doesn't seem to have had suicidal thoughts previously. He was anxious and couldn't sleep, which is how depression manifests in some people. This is desperately sad and it is worrying that more people don't know that the early stages of taking meds can be dangerous. Long term it will be for the better but there is a short term risk.

Yes I remember reading the warning about suicidal thoughts in the patient leaflet before I started taking citalopram and thinking maybe I shouldn’t start them after all. I did and they helped me a lot. But it is a known side effect that affects some patients.

Yes it is well known but usually affects younger people. Very sad.

It's listed as a side effect here www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/medicines-and-psychiatry/antidepressants/side-effects/

It's possible his gp told him this but he didn't tell his wife or family that it was a risk. Very sad situation.

I see

I took citalopram without that side effect. I know a successful builder who started on anti depressants due to skin cancer (treatable) and he committed suicide.

When I took another SSRI ( sertraline) I felt so horrific I really did just want it all over. The anxiety was tenfold and only coped through those 6 weeks with diazepam as an accompaniment. When they kicked in 6 weeks later, things were significantly better!

I have a loved one very close to me who took their life two weeks in to taking Prozac.

I feel infuriated that prescribing practitioners have never once said to me anything about worsened symptoms in the interim. No one ever suggests actually halfing the lowest dose available to give you a greater chance of sticking it out and not decking yourself.

It's very cruel in fact that I see these major issues seem to be skirted over. If one can tolerate the initial period then things really can improve significantly.

Yes it's a possibility when starting any anti depressant, more common in some than others and more common in teens than adults which is one reason children need fo be monitored more carefully. Prescribing doctors should be telling their patients to be on the look out for suicidal thoughts or an increase in suicidal reports and to contact them or 111 for support if this happens. It is usually on the consumer medication leaflets and patients should read these when starting a new medication so they know what side effects to look out for. Can also ask a pharmacist as they're often more knowable about medications than GPs. Of course doing any of this can be a lot harder if not impossible if you're already in a really bad place when starting medication. So the prescribing doctor should always make a patient aware to be on the lookout for increased/new suicidal thoughts.

Yes - the first 2 weeks can make you feel really strange and give you terrible intrusive thoughts.

Yes antidepressants have a black box warning that they can cause suicidal thoughts in the early stages of treatment, when I started sertraline many years ago I had one day at the beginning when I had some suicidal thoughts having never had them before. The risk is higher in young people and teens

Yes it’s called a ‘Black Box Warning’ and most ADs have one. Mainly in the early stages and mainly in younger people. X