My doc gave me Lexapro & Seroquel for depression, now after i stop i'm anxious all day and suicidal,can i sue?

My psychiatrist never warned me about possible suicidal thoughts for take antidepressants and Seroquel, whatever category that is. In fact, he never even properly diagnosed me. I didn't fill out any questionaires, he just talked to me for about 10 minutes and said that I was bipolar because i was 'angry'. After about 2 years of taking these meds , i decided to stop. This made me severely anxious so I went back and told him how I felt. He didn't tell me that these were withdrawal symptoms, he just gave me something else for anxiety. For 2 years that i took these drugs, I couldn't get a job, I lost all my friends, and my life is basically ruined. Now i'm completely off my meds, I feel anxious all day every day and constant suicidal thoughts. I graduated from UC Irvine in 2003 without ever have taken any meds or diagnosed with any conditions. I ask someone to help me take action to provide me with a phone number that i can call or any advice whatsoever so I can be at peace.

My psychiatrist never warned me about possible suicidal thoughts for take antidepressants and Seroquel, whatever category that is. In fact, he never even properly diagnosed me. I didn't fill out any questionaires, he just talked to me for about 10 minutes and said that I was bipolar because i was 'angry'. After about 2 years of taking these meds , i decided to stop. This made me severely anxious so I went back and told him how I felt. He didn't tell me that these were withdrawal symptoms, he just gave me something else for anxiety. For 2 years that i took these drugs, I couldn't get a job, I lost all my friends, and my life is basically ruined. Now i'm completely off my meds, I feel anxious all day every day and constant suicidal thoughts I didnt have before . I graduated from UC Irvine in 03 without ever have taken any meds or diagnosed with any conditions. I ask someone to help me take action to provide me with a phone number that i can call or any advice so I can be at peace.

If you can read, you can't sue. The warnings are listed on the medications. Also, you as a patient have every right to get second opinions. No one forced you to take meds or accept that doctor's diagnosis. You have a responsibility as a patient for your own health care choices. Suing will not put you at peace. All you are doing is blaming others for your issues. Once you start accepting responsibility and your role in this, maybe your issues will resolve themselves. And if you haven't heard about possible suicidal thoughts while taking medications, you must be living in a cave.

Who would you sue, the Dr, the pharmacutical company? Yes, you can sue but the chances of winning are very slim. You complain of suicidal thoughts after stopping the meds on your own, not be weaned off under Dr supervision. When the medication was filled is should have come with a patient information page telling about the medication, it was your responsibility to read that. Chances are that you would have a hard time finding a lawyer to take your case, but you can always try.

i assume u still live in orange county!

I WOULD SUE!! find a lawyer.. then go to ur doctor to help u..and see if they can refer u to someone more trustworthy.. and get some help cuz i hope ur not too suicidal right now.. plz..get some help..dont kill urself.. there is time to make up for lost!!!

Yes get a hold of the Lawyer's referral services for your area if you tell them the situation they can hook you up with a lawyer who will listen to your story and if he feels you have a case he will most likely take the case. If not he will tell you you don't have a case. But why did you stop taking in the 1st place they put you on those meds for a reason. Good Luck to you but it sounds like you still need some therapy to deal. Hope you find another doc soon to help you. Gentle Hugs

Im so sick of people blaming their problems on doctors and try to sue for every little thing.

How about you taking responsibility for yourself? YOU should have asked the dr questions, YOU should have researched the drugs on the internet or library, YOU should have spoken to the pharmacist and read the pamphlet that comes with the drugs, YOU should have gone back to your dr if way before 2 yrs if you felt like there were issues, YOU should have gone to support groups to find out more info.

Why is it everyone elses fault except taking responsibility for educating yourself?

If you didnt like the dr, then WHY didnt you go to another one? There are tons of psych support groups everywhere that could have helped you.

You just want to make a quick buck? NOT cool at all, I wish people would understand that if it wasnt for the Dr's and Rn's than you would be flat on your butt. Quit trying to sue for every little thing. Only if you can prove that the Dr purposely did this to you to cause harm is it even a reasonable thought to sue.

I also was put on a anti psychotic after about 20 min interview. I am in the process of weaning slowly off of it. I think SLOW is the key. So far so good. when I have tried to just stop the meds in past i had severe anxiety.
I have found a good naturopath which has help tremedously.
Take care of yourself, you just came off of powerful drugs. It may take awhile to readjust.
As far as if you can sue, I do not believe you can. They has written info that comes with your drug. So they cover their butt. But you could contact a lawyer for advice.
also check out safe harbor. Good info there.
peace

You can try to sue, but you did have access to what was printed on the labels of the medications. They all say what the side effects and withdrawal symptoms are. If you neglected to read them, its not the Dr.'s fault. You don't need to fill out any questionnaires to be properly diagnosed. While the doctor wasn't the best, you did have the option of looking for a new psychiatrist after you started suspecting that you didn't need the medications anymore. Also, if you read the warnings on the information packets that come with the medication, you would have known to talk to a doctor about going off the medication because the withdrawal symptoms are that bad.