A woman who said she has become severely suicidal during a year of being prescribed the same antidepressants as royal family member Thomas Kingston has issued a warning over their side effects.
Lingling Wang, 48, told The Independent she felt she was not made adequately aware of the potential effects of taking antidepressants before she was prescribed them for insomnia and mild anxiety last January.
A year later, the 48-year-old, who previously worked as a senior consultant for a bank, said: “My life is finished – I lost my job, almost all my friends, I’m bedridden, I have to rely on my family to feed me.”
She is speaking about her ordeal as a coroner issued a warning about the effects of medication used to treat depression after ruling last month that Kingston, the husband of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent’s daughter Lady Gabriella Kingston, fatally shot himself following an adverse effect to antidepressants.
Labour MP for Stroud Dr Simon Opher told The Independent he believed antidepressants are “overprescribed” in the UK, raising concerns over serious side effects and difficulties patients face coming off the medications.
Data analysis by this newspaper found almost 200 alerts in a decade were made to the UK’s medicines regulator over deaths linked to citalopram and sertraline – both common antidepressants that were prescribed to Ms Wang and Kingston.
The UK’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it is now undertaking a review of safety warnings for 30 antidepressants – including citalopram, sertraline and mirtazapine – following families’ concerns over the loss of their loved ones.
Ms Wang, of Surrey, was initially prescribed mirtazapine by her NHS GP, but weeks later she was found to be suffering from severe anxiety as well as low mood while her insomnia had not improved.
She was, therefore, advised to wean off mirtazapine – which she said she found very difficult, experiencing “huge waves of anxiety” – and to gradually introduce citalopram.
However, on citalopram she said her brain felt as if it had “completely frozen”, so she was told to taper off both of the medications and begin taking sertraline instead, which she said just made her feel “worse and worse” and left her “crying for help”.
Ms Wang said her anxiety and brain zaps were so severe that she was forced to fly to stay with her parents in China, where they could look after her, and where she said she saw a psychiatrist who helped her to come off the sertraline. She said she would have killed herself if she had not.
Ms Wang did submit a formal complaint to her NHS Trust, but after it was reviewed, it was not upheld. The review found Ms Wang was informed of the need to stop antidepressants carefully and was sent a link to information about sertraline.
Echoing calls Lady Kingston made during her husband’s inquest, Ms Wang said she is now speaking about her ordeal to call for better warnings for patients over side effects linked to antidepressants. “I want people to know what happened to me and for people to know you should be informed,” she said.
In a prevention of future deaths report issued on Friday, Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, called for action to be taken over the risk of suicide to patients prescribed the drugs and questioned whether there is adequate communication of the possibility of more severe side effects.
Medical expert Dr David Healy told Kingston’s inquest that the guidelines and labels for SSRIs were not clear enough about the effects of using the drugs, or of moving from one to another. “We need a much more explicit statement saying that these drugs can cause people to commit suicide who wouldn’t have otherwise,” he said.
Dr Opher, who is also the chair of the Beyond Pills All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), added: “Although antidepressants can be really effective in severe depression, they can also cause unpleasant side effects such as sexual dysfunction and more tragically, suicide. In addition, some patients have great problems coming off the tablets – and have a range of symptoms including anxiety and even an increase in suicidal ideation.
“I believe we need a bespoke service to help patients to get off these medicines. In addition, we need to try different treatments for mild to moderate depression.”
Data analysis by The Independent found the MHRA, since 2014, has received more than 71 alerts over fatalities linked to the antidepressant citalopram and 114 alerts over fatal adverse reactions linked to sertraline, although the data does not determine whether the drug was the direct cause of death.
Citalopram and sertraline are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Kingston had also been prescribed zopiclone, while Ms Wang had also been prescribed mirtazapine, both of which are sedative drugs.
The NHS says mirtazapine can make patients feel sleepy, which means it can help with difficulties getting to sleep.
The most recent data shows 5.2 million patients were prescribed SSRIs in 2021, up from 4.2 million in 2015-2016.
NHS Frimley said it does not comment on individual cases.
However, a spokesperson said its “guidance advises prescribers to discuss treatment options and match treatment to clinical needs and preferences, reaching a shared decision on a treatment choice appropriate to the person’s clinical needs. Clinicians are advised to not routinely offer antidepressant medication as first-line treatment for less severe depression unless that is the person’s preference.
“Clinicians are advised to discuss benefits, side effects, withdrawal effects and address any concerns about taking or stopping medication. Patients should be advised that antidepressant withdrawal should be tapered, not stopped abruptly, and to follow NICE recommendations on stopping antidepressants.”
The MHRA said it is not able to provide updates on the review as it is ongoing.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
