Dying For A Cure - Rebekah BeddoeI have just finished reading Rebekah Beddoe's 'Dying For A Cure' and am in no doubt that she was another victim of misdiagnosis and mismanagement by doctors and psychiatrists.
Basically, Rebekah went to see her doctor because she was having trouble sleeping [she had not long given birth to her first child]. Unbelievably, her doctor prescribed her Zoloft to help her with her sleeping [Zoloft is an antidepressant of the SSRi family]. What followed was three years of hell for Rebekah and her family.
Beddoe writes eloquently and 'Dying For A Cure' is like a diary of one persons nightmare that is being controlled by the ignorance and stubbornness of Australian doctors and psychiatrists. The book throws open many questions and as an observer [reader] one has to ask oneself why she was diagnosed with post natal depression when she was merely having sleep problems. From a minor complaint Rebekah endured an horrific journey of mind boggling drugs that included: Zoloft, Prozac, Xanax, Zyprexa, Serzone plus a whole host of others... not to mention the Electroconsulsive Therapy [ECT].
One is left in bewilderment at the lack of education in the field of metal illness. The signs were blindingly obvious that Beddoe's demeanor changed once given her first taste of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor [SSRi]. Quite why the medical profession failed to see this boils down to the way these particular drugs are promoted by pharmaceutical companies. Initially, they were promoted for depression and/or manic disorders. Pharma convinced a gullible world that this was caused by a 'chemical imbalance' of the brain, a theory that has never being scientifically proven and one that today is pretty much used as only a possibility and not an actual cause.
Pharma have also convinced the world that SSRis are not addictive. One only has to read 'Dying For A Cure' to dispel the non-addiction label.
Time after time Beddoe returned to the medical profession, time after time she was misdiagnosed and more drugs were prescribed to her, plunging her into deeper despair. This is a huge problem and one that I personally feel has been cleverly crafted by pharmaceutical companies. If a drug is touted as being non-addictive then doctors and psychiatrists will ignore the possibility of withdrawal and delve deeper into the so called illness of the patient, this lines the pockets of Pharma and destroys the lives of those who are unfortunately diagnosed on the strength of what Pharma marketing say rather than what patients tell their doctors and psychiatrists.
'Dying For A Cure' should be read by doctors and psychiatrists and should remain in their minds when they next see a patient walk through their door whose demeanor has drastically changed as a result of them being prescribed an SSRi. SSRi withdrawal is clearly an issue overlooked by the profession and by those that regulate medicines in all countries and not just Australia.
What saddens me is the fact that there is still ignorance regarding this issue. The benefit/risk factor regarding SSRi's is upside down, there is far more risk involved then any benefit in taking these drugs. 'Dying For A Cure' is proof of that.
Rebekah Beddoe is currently re-editing 'Dying For A Cure' for a launch in the UK [2009]. I strongly urge anyone that has ever suffered episodes of depression to read it. It may just be that your illness was misdiagnosed and the very drug you took to cure it was in actual fact the cause of it.
Bob Fiddaman, UK
Interview with Rebekah - Press Play
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