Michael Frye

A Zoloft Survivor

My name is Michael Frye and I was a victim of Zoloft for over 10 years. I have been through this life with a lot of regrets. The biggest regret of all was ever taking the prescribed antidepressant drug Zoloft.

Zoloft Prescribed for Side Effect of Another Medication

I was taking a treatment for a virus. That medication had depression as a side effect. So my doctor felt I needed to take something for depression too. He prescribed the antidepressant Zoloft. Initial treatment for the virus also produced a side effect of blood abnormalities which overrode any benefit of that drug. So, that drug was discontinued but I continued to take Zoloft for a period of almost ten years. The Zoloft only magnified the depression and produced unusual behavior. The dosage started at 25 mg and as I reported still having depression and other side effects, they(my doctors) just raised the dosage being oblivious to the fact that they were killing me with the increasing of the dosage. Once I achieved 150 mg dosage, I just have a blank period of time and memory loss of about 3 or 4 years. I will never fill in those blanks for I feel that is long term memory damage.I have since also learned that the reason I stayed on the drug so long is likely because most doctors have no clue how to withdraw patients correctly from antidepressants. Because of this they are afraid to take patients off because of the horrible withdrawal. So doctors generally just tell you that you need to stay on these drugs for life!

Forced Into Abrupt Withdrawal Due to Life Threatening Side Effects

I was forced into cold turkey withdrawal because I was so close to death. I was hemorrhaging out the ears, mouth, eyes and rectum. I was in a state so near death, cold turkey was my only choice at that point. I would recommend no one ever try that method! It is much too dangerous and nothing anyone would ever want to endure. I do not know how I survived but for the grace of God! Gradual withdrawal is much safer and far less painful!

Out of Character Behavior Led to Divorce

During that ten year period, I started displaying bizarre behavior. I had been married and happily married until the medicine took its toll on me. I started being hostile with my family, friends, and coworkers. During that period I displayed unusual behavior and it tore my family apart after a 20 year marriage. I was divorced in 2009 after almost twenty years. I was separated from my daughter who graduated in 2010. I also suffered the uncontrollable cravings for alcohol that are so common with antidepressants.

Multiple Congestive Heart Failures

I have suffered (3) congestive heart failures after being on Zoloft and I have no hereditary predisposition to heart disease. But I have since learned that heart disease is linked to antidepressants. (http://www.wellnessresources.com/freedom/articles/antidepressants_strongly_linked_to_heart_disease/?)

Bone Density Problems

I have severe bone density issues as well as the inability to absorb calcium in any form. What goes along with this is the inability to keep platelet counts normal.

Agranulocytosis – Often Fatal Side Effect

I also now have agranulocytosis which is often fatal. I have found that papaya leaf extract in liquid and capsule form help with those issues. Iowa Select Herbs (http://stores.iowaselectherbs.com) provide the best quality I have found.

Liver Failure & Pancreatic Problems Lead to Answers

Most doctors just label this problem as liver and pancreatic issues associated with liver disorders. I know they are incorrect in all their diagnosis’s of me. I have experimented with their diagnosis as well as consulted with an expert on antidepressants who has written and lectured and testified about these drugs around the world, Ann Blake-Tracy, the Executive Director of the International Coalition For Drug Awareness (www.drugawareness.org) and author of Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? – Our Serotonin Nightmare. And subsequently learned what the real problem stems from. Sad to say but most physicians are ignorant to the fact that antidepressants cause these issues. In my case the problem was the Zoloft itself, especially after taking it for ten years. But I have since learned how to counteract the damage by listening to my body in healing these issues. I tend to get better results from natural and homeopathic healing.

I started having blood sugar issues where my blood sugar would swing from very low levels to extremely high levels and told my doctors about them. Yet they came up with negative results for a non-fasting test. My pancreas became enlarged, my gall bladder quit working, my liver was very toxic and my brain started showing damage as well.

Warning to Others

I did not know until 2011 or early 2012 that my problems were related to the antidepressant drug Zoloft. I was tired of misdiagnosis’s and started doing research myself. Several experts assisted me in the diagnosis and the cold turkey withdrawal and the healing. I have just begun to fight to get all the things back that I was robbed of. This is my year for all things to be restored! This is also a warning to all my friends and relatives! Do not allow your doctor to put you on antidepressants without reading the fine lines. Your life depends on it. Your loved ones lives depend on it. Be informed. Everything cannot be cured with a pill. God has a way of healing us naturally. I invite you to try His methods first.

Liver Transplant?!

I would say I am at the far end of recovery from taking the drug Zoloft. I have been diagnosed with end stage liver disease and the damage is from Zoloft. I was given a limited amount of time to live and they said I would need a liver transplant to live. I have stage 4 fibrosis/cirrhosis and have started healing myself. I hope what I post will help others to survive as I am doing.

Additional Serious Reactions

Almost 2 months ago I had an ammonia content in my blood of 319 with 75 to 78 being normal. My legs were swelling as well as my abdomen and pancreas. My renal function was very poor. I could not even have a normal bowel movement except maybe once a week. My short term memory was still an issue and my WBC and RBC were off the charts. My bone marrow was being suppressed and my back pain was so severe that I had to lie down at all hours of the day. I was hopeless and depressed to the max.

Encouragement

I still did not give up! I have a strong faith in God and I know he has a purpose for me. So what I am about to post may be an inspiration to others. I certainly hope so. Here it is as follows and I may say that this information I am providing is based on my individual results. It is not intended to cure any disease or prevent any disease. It was just my way of healing the damages to my body caused by Zoloft.

How Bad Things Got

After having a liver biopsy in August 2013, I had decreased white blood cells and red blood cells. I had an ammonia content in the blood of 319 and I had no platelet functions. My blood would not clot. I bled out on the biopsy table. At that time I decided to do what I could to change the quality of life I was living. I have no immune system and of course brain and organ damage from Zoloft.

Steps I Took to Recovery

What I am about to post is what worked for me and radically changed both my physical and mental state.

~ I began regular consultations with Ann Blake Tracy at www.drugawareness.org

~ I started eating a vegan diet – mostly raw or slightly steamed.~ I began a regimen of no red meats and only white meat, excluding pork. It was mostly fish broiled and not fried which I have now stopped eating meat and dairy altogether.

~ I ate raw broccoli and other green leafy vegetables, onions and fresh garlic.

~ I started taking or making fruit and vegetable smoothies which included uncooked raw vegetable juices.

~ I used flax seed oil and omega 3 oils.

~ I had amazing results using Sovereign Silver for the pancreatitis I developed.

~ I used Young Living oils of Lemon, Frankincense, Peppermint and Valor. The Valor and Peppermint helped my back pain. Lemon lifted my spirits and Frankincense helped with so many things that I don’t know what I would have done without it.  More info here: http://www.drugawareness.org/alternatives/

~ I used milk thistle for my liver.

~ For each morning detox I use a cup of 165 Deg. Green Tea steeped with a slice of organic lemon. This helps to detoxify the Zoloft out of my system.

~ I then discovered about a month into the raw vegetables a brand of fruit and veggie smoothie. The brand name is “Bolthouse Farms” and it is even available at WalMart. The most beneficial of their smoothies was the “Green Goodness and the “Blue Goodness”. They have produced some amazing results. They even have wheat grass in them.

Amazing Results

I dropped almost 40 lbs of weight in less than a month. My mind became clearer, my energy level increased 100%. No more depressive moods!

My ammonia level was at 319, which is critical and life threatening, lowered itself naturally to 75 in less than thirty days.

At 52 I am in better shape now than I was in my body building days of the early 80’s. I feel almost bullet proof. I have stabilized my weight at 198 pounds and while on Zoloft I was over 230 pounds.

My heart is healing and the cramps have gone away. I believe that the cramps were being caused by the elevated serotonin because the main function of serotonin is constriction of muscle tissue. I tried the magnesium and the calcium supplements but they did not work on the painful cramps. Yet after only a week of daily taking the smoothies with the wheat grass, the cramps disappeared.

What I want to make clear is to experiment with raw vegetables and fruit and veggie smoothies until you achieve your optimal health. I could not emphasize this more … “Until you rid yourself from the toxins of antidepressants and other prescribed drugs, you are just existing and not living.”

I wish you all the best. I believe that the information I have given you, based on my experience, will help you recover. I am healing!

October 2014 Update

I just got an email from Michael that needs to be shared. He began having additional problems with his liver failing and pancreatic function shutting down leading to diabetes. This is the update I just got today:

” I have been using Aloe Vera juice to detox my liver, and my pancreatic function was gone. I was becoming diabetic.  After one gallon of cold pressed aloe, my blood sugar stabilized and the size of my pancreas reduced 200% and now insulin function is normal. So common sense would dictate that all our sicknesses can be cured through natural God given plants and herbs.

“I also eat papaya fruit and my hematologist told me I could not raise my red blood cells or platelet count. But just papaya fruit, leaf, and liquid extract has nearly tripled my platelets.

“They actually had sent me home to die. They said a blood transfusion or platelets would not help. Boy did I prove them wrong through Biblical methods. I am healing. Thank you for all your help.”

[I must caution you that the above statement from Michael has not been approved by the FDA …. the same FDA who brought you Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Celexa, Lexapro, Fen-Phen, Redux, Vioxx, Effexor, Stratera, Cymbalta, Pristiq, Brisdelle, Wellbutrin, Trazadone, Risperdal, Clozaril, Zyprexa, etc., etc., etc.]

Good Luck and May God Bless You All!

Michael R. Frye

“A Zoloft Survivor”

Please share Michael’s story with others so they know there is hope and a life after antidepressants. We will continue to gather more stories for you from others who have “been there” and come through it so that you can see how they have done and what works and what does not.

WITHDRAWAL HELP: You can find the hour and a half long CD on safe and effective withdrawal helps here: http://store.drugawareness.org/  And if you need additional consultations with Ann Blake-Tracy, as Michael did in his recovery, you can book one at www.drugawareness.org or sign up for one of the memberships for the International Coalition for Drug Awareness which includes free consultations as one of the benefits of that particular membership plan.

WITHDRAWAL WARNING: In sharing this information about adverse reactions to antidepressants I always recommend that you also give reference to my CD on safe withdrawal, Help! I Can’t Get Off My Antidepressant!, so that we do not have more people dropping off these drugs too quickly – a move which I have warned from the beginning can be even more dangerous than staying on the drugs!

The FDA also now warns that any abrupt change in dose of an antidepressant can produce suicide, hostility or psychosis. These reactions can either come on very rapidly or even be delayed for months depending upon the adverse effects upon sleep patterns when the withdrawal is rapid!

Ann Blake Tracy, Executive Director,
International Coalition for Drug Awareness
www.drugawareness.org & http://ssristories.drugawareness.org
Author: ”Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? – Our Serotonin Nightmare – The Complete Truth of the Full Impact of Antidepressants Upon Us & Our World” & Withdrawal CD “Help! I Can’t Get Off My Antidepressant!”

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