GlaxoSmithKline may have mistakenly shipped Paxil CR antidepressants that contained no active ingredient, yet the company didn't advise patients who may be at risk of suicide if they miss doses.Glaxo doesn't know how many of the 7.5 million pills it voluntarily recalled last month were missing paroxetine hydrochloride, the active ingredient, or how many patients took the pills. The company didn't tell patients because testing done on a later lot suggested the chance of getting an inactive pill was small.
Patients who miss doses of antidepressants can suffer from withdrawal or discontinuation syndrome which can lead to suicidal thoughts, shooting pain, and flu-like symptoms. About 280,000 Americans take Paxil CR, and about 14 percent of those patients take the 37.5 milligram pill that was recalled.
Source: (OC Register)
