Complaint Review: Depression Forums

Are you looking for honest opinions about depression and medications? You wont find it on Depression Forums.

Watch out for a scam called Depression Forums dot org that claims to to create an atmosphere that is both supportive and informative in a caring, safe environment for our members to talk to their peers about depression, anxiety, mood disorders, medications, therapy and recovery while at the same time, looks like a phishing scam to suck innocent victims into their sponsored counseling services. Sounds great but dont be fooled!

Based upon their Internet registrations, Depression Forums dot org, is owned by a corporation: WhoIs information (this is public information) reveals the following:

Admin Name: Lindsay Reday
Admin Organization: Depression Forums, Incorporated
Admin Street1: PO Box 48343
Admin City: Sarasota
Admin State/Province: Florida
Admin Postal Code: 34230
Admin Country: US
Admin Phone: (941) 961-9886

The reason for this complaint is that last week, due to severe problems caused by one medication (Lexapro) that has aggravated another medical problem, I was required to stop taking it. While Ive been on Lexapro for the past several years, and have been on several other anti-depressants prior to that, absolutely none of those had the side effects and extreme withdrawals I had with an evil drug, Effexor.

When one of my current doctors recommended Pristiq, a new drug thats manufactured by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and is closely related to Effexor some even believe that Wyeth released Pristiq because their patent ran out for Effexor and others can now manufacture generics for it (God only knows why, though), I decided to research any problems with Pristiq and how it compared to Effexor; thats how I found Depression Forums dot org. Assuming that this was a legitimate board that truly cared about how medications help and also harm people, I posted a question about Lexapro. Instead of getting help, I was bashed by a forum member, Deepster, whose first statement was "Hey, now! No one ever promised you a 'rose garden'. I have never taken Effexor, so I can't speak for that." That was then followed by a bash from "Forum Super Administrator," Lindsay who whined, "no Dr. or med bashing on these forums."

Uh?! What? Dr. bashing? Sorry but no doctors were named (but I did comment on a quack who harmed me see below). Med bashing? How many "meds" have been harmed by patients? With evil meds like Effexor and Pristiq, thousands (million?) have been harmed.

I posted a response to both Deepster and Lyndsay that included many links and sources to information about the evils of Effexor. That post was censored and no one from Depression Forums bothered to tell me. I only discovered this after I returned to the forum because, under doctors advice, I intentionally missed a dose of Pristiq after having taken just five doses. This was done to see if I would have any reactions like I did with Effexor. Well, Pristiq is also a drug from hell Im having severe nausea and vertigo at this moment. I will not be taking any more Pristiq, like Effexor should be banned. I just hope to God that after just five doses, I don't go through withdrawal hell again.

When I wrote to the board administrators to complain, this was their response:

"Think what you like, DF [Depression Forums] is not and never will be payed [sic] by drug companies. But we do have to abide by the honcode on the net. Which means we do not allow direct bashing of drugs as it could put people off using the drug and although it didn't work well for you, for some people, it is a life saver. This is not a debate forum it is a forum for offering support to fellow members."

If even one person is saved from the horrors of Effexor withdrawal, that would be worth reading posts such as the one I made. There are many, many, many (etc.) other medications that do not put people through Effexor hell. Why would ANYONE want to start with that first, if others work just as well and, even if they dont, dont have the horrible side effects and withdrawals? I wish someone had told me about Effexor before I started. I wish someone had told me about the hellish withdrawals before the quack took me off of the thing cold turkey.

I then received another message from the clowns who manage Depression Forums, Incorporated; that message stated,

"I am also currently issuing you with two formal warnings for breaking DF's TOS by bashing meds, inciting debate and airing grievances with the administration publicly instead of discussing your issues rationally over pm with a member of the team.? [sic]"

How many ways can one spell hypocrite? Bashing meds again? How much is Wyeth Pharmaceuticals paying or supporting Depression Forums, Incorporated? Funny thing is, Depression Forum Administrators were the ones who "incit[ed] debate and airing grievances with the others publicly" instead of "rationally over pm."

So, in case youre on Effexor or Pristiq and are going through severe withdrawals, heres the story that offended the Pharmaceutical company supporters at Depression Forums, Incorporated:

My experiences with Effexor are very common just do simple Internet search for "Effexor withdrawals" and countless horror stories abound. When I was first told to take Effexor, the quack doctor I told me that there were no side effects or withdrawals (what a blatant lie that was). After the side effects became severe, the quack finally agreed to change medications again, I was told that there wouldnt be any problems. I was taken off a very high does cold turkey. Less than 24 hours later, I ended up in the Emergency Room when I went through EXTREME withdrawals. Those withdrawals included horrendous nausea, my whole body was shaking, my head felt like it was going to explode, and EXTREME vertigo (that was so bad that I literally could almost not see).

Not only did my idiot doctor REFUSE to respond to emergency calls from me, but also REFUSED to respond to emergency calls from the Emergency Room. The ER doctors could not tell if I was have an extreme reaction to being taken off Effexor cold turkey or if I was having a major reaction to the medication that was supposed to replace it.

After trying for HOURS to get in touch with the quack doctor, the ER pumped me full of something else in an effort to help counteract my reactions and sent me home, in agony, with the instructions to keep calling the quack.

Upon arriving home (someone else had to drive because I certainly could not - I could barely see), I tried to contact just about every doctor I had seen. Finally, my GPs on-call doctor reached me and told me that I was having a severe withdrawal reaction to being taken off of Effexor and he instructed me to immediately stop taken the new medication and take Effexor again. Several hours later, the withdrawals stopped.

My idiot doctor took more than 24 hours to finally return my emergency calls. I ended up firing that doctor and filed complaints the state medical board.

My new doctor, thank God, was aware of the extreme withdrawal problems with Effexor and help me get off that drug from hell. It took SIX MONTHS to eventually get off of it entirely, the withdrawal problems were severe and, even then, I continued to have them for an additional six months after I was finally stopped taking Effexor. Neither before, nor since then, have I ever experienced the Hell I went through with Effexor (and again, so have many, many, many others). Just to make the point, I suffered withdrawals for for an entire YEAR.

Do NOT use Effexor or Pristiq unless you know EXACTLY what kind of hell you may be in for. Do you want to get stuck with the HORRENDOUS problems that others have experienced if there is something, anything, that works just as well without hellish side effects and up to a year, or more, of severe withdrawals? Finally, do not use Depression Forums dot org there are many, many other sources for real people, who need real advice and support about medications and treatment options.