SSRI's worked for me!

Paragraph 3 reads: "Because toxicology reports will not be available for several weeks, detectives do not know if he was taking his medication at the time of his death. The drugs seized were Cymbalta (duloxetine), alprazolam [a benzodiazepine] paroxetine [Paxil] , and buspirone [BuSpar ] ", officials said."

SSRI Stories Note: BuSpar is an anti-anxiety drug which, unlike the anti-anxiety benzodiazepines, raises serotonin levels in the brain. Dr. Ronald R. Fieve, M.D., best selling author of "Moodswing" states in his book "Prozac" that BuSpar should not be given in conjunction with an SSRI as it can raise the possibility of mania and psychosis.
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I conversed with the editor of this newspaper about 4 years ago when they did a long story on Ben Garris [Ben was a Frederick native and well known there as a child actor]. The editor told me to write a "Letter to the Editor" about Ben & Prozac [ Ben, age 16, was corresponding with me in prison - a life sentence without the possibility of parole + 50 years - he was a mental patient on Prozac at Shepherd Pratt Hospital at the time he murdered a nurse] and so I wrote a letter and the editor published it. I have also been making comments since Saturday to the Frederick News Post and putting in the web address for SSRI Stories and they are publishing it every time. This is unusual.

I am not telling this story to be bragging but rather to show advocates that many times their work will "pay off" but it is not seen for a number of years. So keep on working! This is the most complete toxicology report I have ever seen in a newspaper regarding antidepressants.

Let's not forget the disinhibiting effects of the benzos. I nearly died making multiple suicide attempts under the influence of klonipin, a benzo. Even as I acted I was thinking "Why the hell am I doing this? This isn't like me."

The local docs tested my blood for Tylenol, alcohol and aspirin, none of which I took--and I told them so. I don't fault them for not believing me.

But they DIDN'T bother to test for benzos. Seems you have to send that blood test away somewhere and well, gee, they just didn't want to be bothered.

Which might still have been okay EXCEPT they repeatedly told my accountant husband "We checked her blood. Her blood is clear." He didn't know enough (who would?) to ask what the hell it was clear of.

So they sent me home, where I nearly died in bed next to the poor man. I assure you, it's not fun living every day with the knowledge of what I nearly did to that good man.

So that's what benzos can do. Well, when combined with doctors. Ya gotta have the docs to bring things up to that level of screw up.
Sherry

It's a miracle all this information was released to the media -- very uncharacteristic. I'm glad we got it frankly even though there will always be naysayers regarding causative links. What a very sad and horrific event and I truly wish the FDA would sit up and take notice if there is any question at all that their federally approved drugs played a role. The economy is awful and people are being pushed to the limit as they haven't been in some time. Still when whole families are being murdered in brutal ways it does seem like something more than financial woes is at work.

Rosie - good plan.

I saw this story also and did my blog thing on it-similar of course to FS.

Sad, but the police, and the Frederick newspaper do not seem to note psych meds as a prominent suspicion.

http://www.medsvstherapy.com/2009/04/sad-to-say-i-was-right-chris-wood-rx-2.html

There have been some really big, really sad & tragic cases in the last three weeks.

There was Melissa Huckaby who, while on or withdrawing from meds for depression, raped and killed an 8 year old neighbor girl.

There was the nursing home shooting that killed five and the perpetrator was on "Meds for nerves" -wahtever that is.

There was the immigration center rampage murder-suicide. Of course, we have no info on that one but I imagine there were plenty of social workers and psychologists telling people who were having job troubles to go to their M.D. and get an antidepressant for their sress and sadness. Just my opinion, of course.

Now there is this Christopher Wood case where he was on or withdrawing from Paxil, Cymbalta, BuSpar and a benzo.

Also, there is another case of a family of four [just happened] in Baltimore, Maryland where there was a murder-suicide and the mom, dad, and two daughters, ages 19 and 11 are dead. It happened in a hotel room in Baltimore. The family had come to visit the older daughter, 19, who was a student at Loyola University in Baltimore. They were Catholic and the head priest at Loyola is going to say their funeral mass. We know nothing more about this.

Sherry, I agree that benzo's can cause suicidal behaviors and suicide itself. They are like alcohol. They relieve anxiety but cause depression and disinhibition in some people.

Remember the fellow who tried to kill Ronald Reagan when he was president. He was on Valium.

Good coverage and analysis of something that has also been happening here in the eastern French Canadian of Québec. We're up to almost 20 kids (in 13 crimes cases, for a population of 7 millions, that's a lot, make the maths and that would be almost an epidmic situation in the US!) dead from parent's bizarre consequencial behaviors, one of which is the case of a cardiologist killing his kids and then killing himself, which, after personal analysis of the news, was clearly a case of delusional behavior.

But, and I might be wrong, I don't think it's the recent situation of economic pressures that are causing all of this, I think it's only contributing to it. You see, here, because of the way things are, the economy is not as hit as it is in the US, since the financial market is not as important an actor as it is in the states. Anyways, economic pressures on family are not as strong as in the US (well shown by the case of the cardiologist...not sure he was a shelter man!)...

So there's something different going on here, something of a change in societal/family structures that gradually is creating a new type distress that is leading people to do this kind of crual things.

I've been looking around and it really is a North American phenomenon, both in Canada and in the US, maybe because it is more reported here than in countries where media are less present, but I'm convinced at 100% that in Europe (in the case of what i'm sure of, France, Italy and Spain), this is not occuring. Just as in those three countries they almost have no cases/prescriptions/diagnosis in the case of ADD or Social Anxiety Disorder, which to me look like a north american manufactured disease (not to say ADD doesnt exist but there is abviously overdiasgnosis of the thing), I'm quite sure what we are noticing with these cases is something that has to be analysed in it's societal fabric, something that is a lot more based on a longer trend than just the actual economic pressure..

Anyways, thanks for the post. Good job as usual.
regards from a canadian fellow

People in depressive episodes are at increased risk for suicide. People in depressive episodes are at increased risk for being treated with antidepressants. Thus, suicide must cause antidepressants... no, wait, that can't be right...

It's all part of the conspiracy to treat people who have depression. Next they'll be saying we need to treat cancer, or even diabetes - just wait and see.

Philip Dawdy responds: haha very funny. so do cancer drugs induce suicidality? just curious.

"Philip Dawdy responds: haha very funny. so do cancer drugs induce suicidality? just curious."

Cancer patients are at much higher risk for suicide than people without cancer (just like depressed people are at higher risk for suicide). So are you now going to say that cancer drugs are "linked and connected" to suicides?

Philip Dawdy responds: no but i might say cancer is. show me some research on this point.

Sure, here ya go.
Multicenter study of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.
Wollina U, Dummer R, Brockmeyer NH, Konrad H, Busch JO, Kaatz M, Knopf B, Koch HJ, Hauschild A.
Cancer. 2003 Sep 1;98(5):993-1001.

That's it - treating cancer causes death. Note that the authors of the study stated the suicide attempt was 'unrelated' to the study drug; what could be more suspicious than that?

Lizzie Borden took some Pax
And gave her mother forty whacks.
And when she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one.

I think that the problem with anti-depressents is that they stimulate people when they are in manic depressive states. The SSRI's work like Ritalin expect on Serotonin. I think that if you have someone who is manic and depressed, something that works to level you out would be better such as an anti-psychotic or maybe a mood stabilizer.

Tried xanax and have tried Zoloft for a month and it was ineffective for me... xanax made me more anxious and I felt like they did nothing and I needed more. People with high anxiety issues are probably dealing with more symptoms then doctors realize because anxiety causes a lot of stress and can put your life out of balance.

For me I think the weather plays a part as I get sort of down in the winter. But it is possible that the drugs made this person go psychotic along with him having depression...and the drugs just worsened it.

Some people are sensitive to anti-depressants. I know someone who got extremely psychotic on Prozac and was depressed. We need to fund more research into more effective drugs is what I say and better analysis of patients.

Peace be with you

I wish someone would do the research and crunch the numbers. Very rarely can one read about these tragedies with reading the victim was "suffering form mental illness." Judging from the one cure wonders in the psychiatry industry, my guess is if they've been diagnosed they've been doped.

As far as cancer and suicide goes, yes there is a depression that goes with knowing your going to die and there is very little you can do to stop it. But depression or ADHD or any other mental disorder will not kill you. I guess what I am trying to say is many terminal patients make thought out choices about ending their lives. Sort of the "should I bankrupt my family to fight a disease I will probably lose to anyway" choice.

love eternal
tad

It’s May 1 2009 Time For Murder-Suicides To StopI’m doing my part to help BLOG OUT murder-suicides. I want people to know that there are other choices even when stuff looks and seems so dam bad that you see no other way out, there is a way. What? I’m sure people in distress enough to be considering murder-suicide as an option are beyond rational and think that any other choice is crazy and futile. That’s just the despair controlling their minds. It becomes like a mental illness and overwhelms them. They can’t see any other way, can’t even imagine how life was before it became bleak and therefore can’t imagine life ever being decent and meaningful for them again. I can understand despair. As a chronic pain sufferer you get tired of waking up everyday in pain. It seems as though there is no end to your pain. I’m sure many chronic pain sufferers can relate when I say, it makes you wonder what is the use? The use is your family, friends, associates, co-workers and folks you haven’t met yet whose lives you will touch and enhance. The use is that you have yet to accomplish what you can. The use is that your choosing murder-suicide is unfair to those you kill and those who will be left behind to try to piece together what you were going thru and mostly, WHY YOU DIDN’T COME AND ASK SOMEBODY FOR HELP AND UNDERSTANDING.

People say, “things are never as bad as they seem”. I can say for a fact that most of the people committing murder-suicides are living in a time and land where they have more opportunities as well as more comforts than most of the folks on this planet. We get so caught up in a lifestyle that we can’t seem to get a handle on. What’ succesful? What’s good? What’s enjoyable? How do you know when you made it? How can I live without a new car? How can I make it without a big house? How can I make it without new clothes? I can’t live without………… We get so caught up in what we can’t, what we gotta have, what we gotta do that we forget to live life and enjoy the basic necessities. We overrate and over value keeping up with all of the things that are advertised as “the good life” and begin to measure our lives by that made up standard.

The pressure to choose the easy way out when we think we haven’t and can’t live the good life is tremendous if you allow it to be and too many people allow it. The stress levels drive people to do things that seem other wise incredulous. Stop believing that your life is worth taking if you don’t have or can’t achieve the “advertised good life”. You are worth way more than that. Murder-Suicide isn’t a choice you need to make. It shouldn’t even be a choice. Murder-Suicide needs to go the way of the square stone wheel. It’s time we, as a people, as human beings, stood up and said to those who might even be thinking about murder-suicide right this minute: STOP, THERE IS A BETTER CHOICE and YOU ARE WORTH IT!! Let’s get thru this one day at a time. Slow down. Ask for help. Allow somebody to talk to you and allow them to help you. Your family deserves that chance. Your spouse deserves that chance. You deserve that chance. The moment of darkness doesn’t last forever if you allow people who care to shed light on you.

Let’s put and end to murder-suicides. They affect all of us. The ripple effect is causing a tidal wave of massive proportions we can only yet begin to imagine. The POWER OF ONE can change a country. Let’s become a POWER OF ONE and stop, no eliminate murder-suicides as being a choice anybody could ever make.

Chronic Pain Hero
May 1, 2009
Blogging Out The Pain
http://www.ChronicPainHero.4t.com

The chronicity of chronic pain is what seems to drive people crazy. You never get away from it. It's like the drip, drip, drip of a faucet. One woman I worked with told me "I watched my personality dissolve in chronic pain."

Best wishes,
Sherry