GSK email reply to me

[punky]

I took some action and contacted GSK about my issues with their wonder drug Paxil. In addition to their packet for me to fill out I received in the mail, here's the email they responded to my outrage with: (i especially love the part about "improving life and helping people to live longer)


Thank you for contacting GlaxoSmithKline regarding therapy with PAXIL CR¿
(paroxetine hydrochloride) and PAXIL® (paroxetine hydrochloride).

We appreciate the information provided about your experience with our product. This
information is valuable to us and enables us to continue with our corporate mission
to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and
live longer. We have forwarded the information you provided to the appropriate
department for review and follow up.

Please discuss medical concerns and symptoms with a physician and/or other
appropriate healthcare provider. Patient care is individualized, and a healthcare
provider should always be consulted to evaluate medical conditions and treatment.

A copy of the prescribing information for this product is available at
http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_paxil.pdf and
http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_paxilcr.pdf for review and discussion with an
appropriate healthcare provider.

We appreciate the opportunity to serve you.

Sincerely,


Reecie
Customer Response Representative
Customer Response Center


Stupid of me to actually think they'd give a damn.

[sherijo]

All i have to say is... what-evah!

[rdjanis]

Wonder how many of those are mailed out daily...

[Charlie]

I think it's very important that we keep in mind that the response is a reflection of the companies values and not necessarily the values of the person that sent it.

[scotty]

I believe that this is "form letter # 428"!!! Not alot of satisfaction from that one Punky!!

[Bern]

Originally Posted by punky

I took some action and contacted GSK about my issues with their wonder drug Paxil. In addition to their packet for me to fill out I received in the mail, here's the email they responded to my outrage with: (i especially love the part about "improving life and helping people to live longer)


Thank you for contacting GlaxoSmithKline regarding therapy with PAXIL CR¿
(paroxetine hydrochloride) and PAXIL® (paroxetine hydrochloride).

We appreciate the information provided about your experience with our product. This
information is valuable to us and enables us to continue with our corporate mission
to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and
live longer. We have forwarded the information you provided to the appropriate
department for review and follow up.

Please discuss medical concerns and symptoms with a physician and/or other
appropriate healthcare provider. Patient care is individualized, and a healthcare
provider should always be consulted to evaluate medical conditions and treatment.

A copy of the prescribing information for this product is available at
http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_paxil.pdf and
http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_paxilcr.pdf for review and discussion with an
appropriate healthcare provider.

We appreciate the opportunity to serve you.

Sincerely,


Reecie
Customer Response Representative
Customer Response Center


Stupid of me to actually think they'd give a damn.

GSK is the worst company in the world. It's even worse than Enron, because GSK is dealing with life and death. Enron was just dealing with $$$, and life is more important than money.

[scotty]

Punky, just to give you an idea of the arrogance of this company. At the paxilprotest in Philadelphia this past September they set up a table "for the protesters" with coffee and cookies.

[Delynbetter]

I loved my letter in the mail asking me for access to all of my medical records including tests performed, physician statements...

1 - I still don't remember anything about contacting them directly, but that could have been a Paxil-brainfart and
2 - they can bite me!

[scotty]

Originally Posted by Delynbetter

2 - they can bite me!

roflmao!! Good to see ya Delyn!!!

[mach3939]

[quote=punky]
We have forwarded the information you provided to the appropriate
department for review and follow up.

Please discuss medical concerns and symptoms with a physician and/or other
appropriate healthcare provider. Patient care is individualized, and a healthcare provider should always be consulted to evaluate medical conditions and treatment. [quote=punky]

Hey it does say the forwarded the information? Hope it wasn't the circular file! When are they going to let my "appropriate healthcare provider" know that this IS happening?

Punky - at least you took the time to try! Good for you!

Debbie

[RR]

Here's our take on form letters recieved from GlaxoSmithSlime. See http://paxilprotest.com/page16.html

(Page content pasted below)

"Power of the Pen"

The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.

—Ferdinand Foch

Are you? one of the countless thousands of people who received the following letter from GlaxoSmithKline:

Thank you for contacting GSK regarding your experience subsequent to receiving therapy with Paxil. Although we sincerely regret to learn of your experience, we thank you for making us aware of it.

We welcome reports from healthcare professionals and consumers. This information is valuable, and enables us to continue to monitor and evaluate the safety of our products. In order for us to better understand your experience, we would like your permission to obtain additional information from your physician or other health care provider. Please complete the enclosed "Authorization to Contact Physician" form and return it to us in the enclosed postage-paid envelope.

Thank you for your assistance. If you have any further questions, please contact us toll-free at 1-888-825-5249 during our business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Sincerely,

Global Clinical Safety and Pharmacovigilance

— The computer generated form letter GSK sends
to Paxil victims who write to the company

If you wrote to GSK about (as the company puts it) your "experience subsequent to receiving therapy with Paxil" — you almost certainly did receive a copy of the GSK letter, and you probably read it.

Have you ever wondered if anyone at GSK ever read your letter (much less cared about it?) Ever wonder where your letter might be now?

The sad truth is the GSK "letter" you received is nothing more than lip service. After all, the company doesn't send it out voluntarily; it's issued because the law requires it. Were it not for that fact you would never have received any response from GlaxoSmithKline. So hang on to that letter. You might want to do something special with it one day....

If, by chance, your letter was read: odds are it was skimmed by an administrative assistant — then tossed in a file cabinet where it has long since been forgotten. The possibility your letter passed through the hands of an executive figure in the company? Maybe .001% (and that's being generous.)

How do you feel about that? Not very happy one might expect.

Glaxo's prime directive is to make money — and lots of it. In fact, one might argue — quite successfully and based on the record — that some top GSK brass view the public as little more than a vast horde of two-legged dollar signs scurrying around, ready to be snatched up and tossed into the maw of a "24/7/365" corporate profits feeding frenzy.

Besides, like Mr. Garnier, Glaxo's CEO, said: "All drugs have side effects." If you buy into Mr. Garnier's twisted logic it follows that anyone who takes Paxil — and is mauled, maimed (or killed) as a result — is just what folks call "**** out of luck."

"Do More, Feel Better, Live Longer." Yeah, right.

The truth is Paxil victims, in Mr. Garnier's warped world view, are nothing more than road kill on the GSK superhighway of runaway capitalism.

Or are you?

I have my iPod and my Bose headphones. You can run anywhere. I'm in a bubble. When I go home I don't talk about my job. It drives my wife (Danyele) crazy because when we go out she doesn't know anybody. Socially we see politicians — we have to — and she knows nothing about the issues. But that's the way I like it. I want to go home and say, 'hey what happened to you?' I have a very demanding job and I don't want to go home and discuss the same stories.

—Jean-Pierre Garnier
CEO of GlaxoSmithKline

Wouldn't it be wonderful if, say, Mr. Garnier had an opportunity to read your letter — or the new one you're getting ready to draft — when he gets home from a long, hard day of dirty work at Glaxo? We thought so, too. So we took it upon ourselves to track down his home address (along with a couple of his Paxil co conspirators, see below) so you could write to him personally.

For an added touch send your letter certified mail; check the little box that requires the recipient to personally sign for it. If a few thousand letters, certified slips (and postcards) show up in Mr. Garnier's home mail box, maybe he won't have any alternative but to discuss with his wife what he's doing at work.

Let's prick Mr. Garnier's "iPod bubble."

Mr. Garnier's home address is:

Jean-Pierre Garnier
349 Pond View Road
Devon, PA 19333

Copy your correspondence to the home addresses of Drs. David Wheadon and Tadataka Yamada, too:

Dr. David Wheadon
Senior VP Regulatory Affairs & Product Professional Services
220 West Washington Square
Apartment #300
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Dr. Tadataka Yamada
Chairman of Research and Development
236 South 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106

And while you're at it, c.c. your correspondence to:

Jan Leschly
Former CEO of SmithKline (now GSK)
C/O Care Capital
47 Hulfish Street
Suite 310
Princeton, NJ 08542

Mr. Leschly can also be reached by telephone: 609-683-8300, or fax: 609-683-5787

Fortune does not change men; it unmasks them.
—Suzanne Necker

[Trying66]

They make my blood boil! I cannot even bring myself to contact them yet, as I am so angry I fear what I might say....... but one day, they will hear my voice. Right now I have to focus on getting my kid through withdrawal.

[Kitsyl]

Insulting!

Kit

[scotty]

Originally Posted by Trying66

They make my blood boil! I cannot even bring myself to contact them yet, as I am so angry I fear what I might say....... but one day, they will hear my voice. Right now I have to focus on getting my kid through withdrawal.

That's exactly right Trying!!! But believe me, once he's through withdrawal, you will be angry enough to fight!! I know!!!

[Trying66]

Originally Posted by scotty

That's exactly right Trying!!! But believe me, once he's through withdrawal, you will be angry enough to fight!! I know!!!

Oh, I wait for the day. I won't be done with this one for a long time. In the meantime, I am telling everyone I know about what we are going through.

[scotty]

That that is how you start making a difference. It was in telling Ryan's story to anyone who would listen, and some who wouldn't and others doing the same that brought the problems with these drugs to light.

[mach3939]

The government is so messed up that people like us have no where to turn! What a shame.

Debbie

[feelin'_wiggy]

Originally Posted by Rob Robinson

Are you? one of the countless thousands of people who received the following letter from GlaxoSmithKline:

They probably sent me one because I submitted a complaint in June or July. But since Katrina, all junk mail is being returned to sender.

[feelin'_wiggy]

Originally Posted by Trying66

Oh, I wait for the day. I won't be done with this one for a long time. In the meantime, I am telling everyone I know about what we are going through.

I so understand. I just posted on another thread that I tell almost everyone I meet even though it's uncomfortable to talk about. I couldn't live with myself if I just swept this under the rug and didn't use my voice to spread the word.

You'll have an opportunity to do so, Trying. In the meantime, like you said, you have to take care of your son and family.

[mach3939]

Punky - I was curious (pissed last week too)and wrote myself a letter to GSK look what I got back:

Dear Debra:

Thank you for contacting GlaxoSmithKline regarding therapy with PAXIL® (paroxetine hydrochloride).

We appreciate the information provided about your experience with our product. This information is valuable to us and enables us to continue with our corporate mission to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. We have forwarded the information you provided to the appropriate department for review and follow up.

Please discuss medical concerns and symptoms with a physician and/or other appropriate healthcare provider. Patient care is individualized, and a healthcare provider should always be consulted to evaluate medical conditions and treatment.

A copy of the prescribing information for this product is available at http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_paxil.pdf for review and discussion with an appropriate healthcare provider.

We appreciate the opportunity to serve you.

Sincerely,

Allan

Customer Response Representative
Customer Response Center

Well when I wrote that one I also wrote to FDA this is it.
This is what I wrote.
Comments: I am in the middle of Paxil Discontinuation Syndrome at this
time after slowly weaning off of Paxil. I weaned for 6 months and finally
got off of this terrable drug. Why do we have to wean off of Paxil if it is
not addictive? Could you please tell me how long after the discontinuation
(Jan 10)that the horrible withdrawal symptoms will continue?

Thank You

And what I got back, really quick from both suprised me a bit on how fast it was!

Dear Debra,

Thank you for your message to the Division of Drug Information in the Center
for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER).

The drug labeling, or package insert, that accompanies drug products, is the
most complete single source of information on the drug. They are available
from your local pharmacist and also reprinted in the Physician's Desk
Reference (PDR), which can be found in many libraries. In addition, the
package insert is available from the manufacturer and may often be found on
the drug manufacturer's website. Labeling for most FDA approved drugs may
often be found on CDER's page at DRUGS @ FDA:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/script...tfda/index.cfm

The approved labeling for Paxil recommends the following regarding
discontinuation of the drug:

"Recent clinical trials supporting the various approved indications for
PAXIL employed a taper-phase regimen, rather than an abrupt discontinuation
of treatment. The taper-phase regimen used in GAD and PTSD clinical trials
involved an incremental decrease in the daily dose by 10 mg/day at weekly
intervals. When a daily dose of 20 mg/day was reached, patients were
continued on this dose for 1 week before treatment was stopped.

With this regimen in those studies, the following adverse events were
reported at an incidence of 2% or greater for PAXIL and were at least twice
that reported for placebo: Abnormal dreams, paresthesia, and dizziness. In
the majority of patients, these events were mild to moderate and were
self-limiting and did not require medical intervention.

During marketing of PAXIL and other SSRIs and SNRIs (serotonin and
norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), there have been spontaneous reports of
adverse events occurring, upon the discontinuation of these drugs
(particularly when abrupt), including the following: Dysphoric mood,
irritability, agitation, dizziness, sensory disturbances (e.g., paresthesias
such as electric shock sensations), anxiety, confusion, headache, lethargy,
emotional lability, insomnia, and hypomania. While these events are
generally self-limiting, there have been reports of serious discontinuation
symptoms.

Patients should be monitored for these symptoms when discontinuing treatment with PAXIL. A gradual reduction in the dose rather than abrupt cessation is recommended whenever possible. If intolerable symptoms occur following a decrease in the dose or upon discontinuation of treatment, then resuming the previously prescribed dose may be considered. Subsequently, the physician may continue decreasing the dose but at a more gradual rate."

I would recommend that you discuss your symptoms with your doctor. He/she is the most appropriate healthcare professional to evaluate your health and offer treatment options. You may need to be continued on a lower dose for a period of time before stopping completely.

You can locate more information concerning Paxil at
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopag...ne/default.htm
Thank you again for your message. We hope that the above information will
help answer your question.

Sincerely,
Codruginfo

This communication does not constitute a written advisory opinion under 21
CFR 10.85, but rather is an informal communication under 21 CFR 10.85(k)
which represents the best judgment of the employee providing it. This
information does not necessarily represent the formal position of FDA, and
does not bind or otherwise obligate or commit the agency to the views
expressed.

At least the FDA did say there was such a thing as Discontinuation syndrome!
Debbie

[rdjanis]

What a joke!! I notice that the paxil capsules show discontinued with: "Federal Register determination that product was not discontinued or withdrawn for safety or efficacy reasons" ....right!

[scotty]

"When a daily dose of 20 mg/day was reached, patients were
continued on this dose for 1 week before treatment was stopped'

Oh, yeah, this is GREAT advice!!!

[punky]

Debra! I am shocked. Not about the exact same reply email you received from GSK that I did, but about the fact the FDA is admitting to anything regarding paxil withdrawl symptoms! This could maybe mean a lot for all of us going through the symptoms that others, including some of our own doctors and nurses, deny exist at all! Thank you for replying and letting me know.

Originally Posted by mach3939

Punky - I was curious (pissed last week too)and wrote myself a letter to GSK look what I got back:

Dear Debra:

Thank you for contacting GlaxoSmithKline regarding therapy with PAXIL® (paroxetine hydrochloride).

We appreciate the information provided about your experience with our product. This information is valuable to us and enables us to continue with our corporate mission to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. We have forwarded the information you provided to the appropriate department for review and follow up.

Please discuss medical concerns and symptoms with a physician and/or other appropriate healthcare provider. Patient care is individualized, and a healthcare provider should always be consulted to evaluate medical conditions and treatment.

A copy of the prescribing information for this product is available at http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_paxil.pdf for review and discussion with an appropriate healthcare provider.

We appreciate the opportunity to serve you.

Sincerely,

Allan

Customer Response Representative
Customer Response Center

Well when I wrote that one I also wrote to FDA this is it.
This is what I wrote.
Comments: I am in the middle of Paxil Discontinuation Syndrome at this
time after slowly weaning off of Paxil. I weaned for 6 months and finally
got off of this terrable drug. Why do we have to wean off of Paxil if it is
not addictive? Could you please tell me how long after the discontinuation
(Jan 10)that the horrible withdrawal symptoms will continue?

Thank You

And what I got back, really quick from both suprised me a bit on how fast it was!

Dear Debra,

Thank you for your message to the Division of Drug Information in the Center
for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER).

The drug labeling, or package insert, that accompanies drug products, is the
most complete single source of information on the drug. They are available
from your local pharmacist and also reprinted in the Physician's Desk
Reference (PDR), which can be found in many libraries. In addition, the
package insert is available from the manufacturer and may often be found on
the drug manufacturer's website. Labeling for most FDA approved drugs may
often be found on CDER's page at DRUGS @ FDA:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/script...tfda/index.cfm

The approved labeling for Paxil recommends the following regarding
discontinuation of the drug:

"Recent clinical trials supporting the various approved indications for
PAXIL employed a taper-phase regimen, rather than an abrupt discontinuation
of treatment. The taper-phase regimen used in GAD and PTSD clinical trials
involved an incremental decrease in the daily dose by 10 mg/day at weekly
intervals. When a daily dose of 20 mg/day was reached, patients were
continued on this dose for 1 week before treatment was stopped.

With this regimen in those studies, the following adverse events were
reported at an incidence of 2% or greater for PAXIL and were at least twice
that reported for placebo: Abnormal dreams, paresthesia, and dizziness. In
the majority of patients, these events were mild to moderate and were
self-limiting and did not require medical intervention.

During marketing of PAXIL and other SSRIs and SNRIs (serotonin and
norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), there have been spontaneous reports of
adverse events occurring, upon the discontinuation of these drugs
(particularly when abrupt), including the following: Dysphoric mood,
irritability, agitation, dizziness, sensory disturbances (e.g., paresthesias
such as electric shock sensations), anxiety, confusion, headache, lethargy,
emotional lability, insomnia, and hypomania. While these events are
generally self-limiting, there have been reports of serious discontinuation
symptoms.

Patients should be monitored for these symptoms when discontinuing treatment with PAXIL. A gradual reduction in the dose rather than abrupt cessation is recommended whenever possible. If intolerable symptoms occur following a decrease in the dose or upon discontinuation of treatment, then resuming the previously prescribed dose may be considered. Subsequently, the physician may continue decreasing the dose but at a more gradual rate."

I would recommend that you discuss your symptoms with your doctor. He/she is the most appropriate healthcare professional to evaluate your health and offer treatment options. You may need to be continued on a lower dose for a period of time before stopping completely.

You can locate more information concerning Paxil at
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopag...ne/default.htm
Thank you again for your message. We hope that the above information will
help answer your question.

Sincerely,
Codruginfo

This communication does not constitute a written advisory opinion under 21
CFR 10.85, but rather is an informal communication under 21 CFR 10.85(k)
which represents the best judgment of the employee providing it. This
information does not necessarily represent the formal position of FDA, and
does not bind or otherwise obligate or commit the agency to the views
expressed.

At least the FDA did say there was such a thing as Discontinuation syndrome!
Debbie

[Sage]

I think people should call them during intense "Paxil withdrawal rage"

[scotty]

The FDA does recognize "discontinuation"... self limiting symptoms lasting about 2 weeks.....