When Audrey Dixon was prescribed tranquillisers after a bout of post-natal depression more than 30 years ago, she had no idea she would become addicted to them. Megan Bolam spoke to the mother-of-six about her experience with the drugs. A Tyneside grandmother last night warned of the dangers of becoming addicted to anti-depressants, claiming more than 30 years on medication has left her handicapped. Audrey Dixon, 59, was first prescribed the tranquilliser Benzodiazepine after suffering a minor bout of post-natal depression at the age of 21. Faced with caring for three children aged under four and mounting financial pressures, Mrs Dixon said she visited her doctor complaining she was tired and stressed out. At the time she was hesitant to take the tranquilliser but says she was assured it would help her to sleep, enabling her to take better care of her children. Now, after 30 years of tranquillisers mixed with a variety of anti-depressants, the mother-of-six says the drugs have left her physically and mentally handicapped. Over the years Mrs Dixon's health has deteriorated and she has suffered a host of problems including panic attacks, muscle weakness, mood swings, bowel problems, nausea and severe pelvic pain. Her condition has left her unable to leave her home for the past 10 years and watch her children and 20 grandchildren growing up. She is now warning others of the dangers of becoming addicted to prescription drugs such as the new anti-depressants Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) saying the side effects may not be known until it is too late. Mrs Dixon said: "When I went to see the doctor when I was 21 I was worn out and I felt isolated but I don't think I had depression. "But I was given the tranquillisers and they did work for me at the time and it wasn't until years later I started to suffer from the side effects of the drugs. "I would constantly go to the doctors, but it seemed as though they never looked any further than drugs and would just continue to increase my dosage or give me anti-depressants." Mrs Dixon added: "I think they are now giving out SSRIs the way they are giving out tranquillisers and this is what worries me. When you are young and you are down you think it is the answer but they are not." Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are sedative-hypnotic agents that were first introduced in 1960. They are commonly used to treat seizure control, anxiety, alcohol withdrawal, insomnia, control of drug-associated agitation, as muscle relaxants, and as pre-anaesthetic agents. Anti-drug campaigner Sue Bibbey, of Morpeth, is a former Benzodiazepine addict and has been working to increase the services to help people come off the drug for 10 years. Mrs Bibbey said she is concerned doctors are now handing out anti-depressants the same way they prescribed Benzodiazepine in the 1960s, creating a nation of addicts. She said: "Thousands of people who became addicted to the Benzodiazepine, received no medical help to come off them and have suffered for it. If the use of SSRIs is not highlighted, the same thing will happen." A spokesman for Benzodiazepine manufacturers Roche last night defended the drug saying it has been used to successfully treat millions of patients for more than 40 years. The spokseman said: "SSRIs are a completely different type of drugs that work in different ways so you cannot compare the two. "Doctors only prescribe Benzodiazepine's when they are satisfied their patient will obtain benefit from the particular product. "Moreover, it is the doctors responsibility to assess the appropriate dose and duration of treatment for a particular patient. "It has been accepted by all Benzodiazepine manufacturers that the duration of treatment for anxiety and sleep disorders should be as short as possible, and such recommendations are clearly given in the product information." | 
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