Date: Fri Jun 1, 2001 2:51 pm Hi All, Not sure where to begin...actually not sure if I belong here or not. My son Evan hung himself from a tree limb in our back yard seven years ago. He had struggled with bipolar depression all his eighteen years. At the time, he had just started taking prozac. We were devastated, and for years we berated ourselves for not being there until the medicine began to work. We thought- Evan was strong despite his depression; why couldn't he hang in there a few more days??? What could have possibly tipped him over the edge? He had his whole life ahead of him-friends, girlfriends, college ( he was accepted at several schools)Now with the recent media attention to these antidepressants and suicides/murders we are starting to see the bigger picture. My friends-some of whom take prozac themselves- don't want to listen when I tell them I suspect the prozac is what caused the loss of my baby boy. But we have exhausted the other possibilities. It is a slap in the face, like we are living through it all over again. But for my own sanity I must get to the bottom of this and come to terms with it. When I happened upon this group it was like a light went on. I only hope that you all can help me get to the bottom of things and support me along the way. I realise that i've not suffered first-hand like so many of you, but I need to be where my thought process makes sense to someone. And I need to find answers. Hopefully this will be the place that sheds light. In good faith, Elizabeth Date: Fri Jun 1, 2001 3:35 pm Response1: Elizabeth!!! WELCOME!! Oh, but you have suffered far worse than any of us who just ingested this poison. You have suffered the worst possible scenario ever in life. But you are in good company because there are others on this board who have lost a child or a spouse to these drugs. I am so sorry, so terribly sorry, for your loss and I applaud you for trying to understand what may have driven Evan to do what he did. You are not the first person to question the role an SSRI may have played in the death of a loved one and you won't be the last. Hopefully, you will find enough love, information and support here to educate yourself about what these drugs can and do do to people. Jean lost her husband to suicide; Dawn lost her son. Mel almost lost his wife who is now in a wheelchair after surviving a suicide attempt. Joey's husband has been lost to her for the months that he's been on these drugs, but it looks like he is figuring out that the drugs ARE his only problems. The rest of us have suffered in varying degrees from taking Paxil, Prozac, Effexor, etc. We understand your frustration, your pain and your hope for understanding. So glad that you've found us. God bless you and your family (and Evan, too.) Trisha Date: Fri Jun 1, 2001 4:01 pm Response2: Elizabeth, you must get in touch with Dawn and Jean, they have both lost loved ones to these terrible drugs, my deepest sympathy to you and your family. I am grieving right now as our last exchange student left us on Monday to return to Germany. I have had to say good bye to our 7 boys over the years, but your good byes would be impossible for me, I at least know I can stay in touch with my boys, God be with you, Hugs, Joey Date: Sat Jun 2, 2001 4:03 am Merciful Heavens, this is a talkative group! Thank you all so very much for the warm welcome and reassurance. I have a busy few weeks ahead of me,we are having a family reunion and it is our turn to host, but want to set aside some time to read back through the messages here and get to know you all and your stories & struggles. Thank you so much for not making me feel as though *I* am the crazy one! Also, dear Avenging Angel, thank you for the personal letter and for sharing your story with me. In this respect it is quite sad and frightening to know I'm not alone, but please know you are in my prayers. Thank you also for providing the links to more information. My head is a whirlwind of mixed emotions now-grateful and comforted to have found this group, exhausted from the stress of dredging this all up again, and frustrated & angry with these drug makers and pushers, and the government cheerfully overseeing all of it. What kills me is that there is probably no way to prove for sure the link between prozac and Evan's suicide. Or is there? Sometimes answers only bring more questions. Thank you again for the affirmation, group. God bless you all! Elizabeth Date: Sat Jun 2, 2001 4:18 am Response1: Elizabeth: David Healy, a noted British psychiatrist, did a study of 50 non-depressed patients who were given Prozac and guess what? About 25%+ of them became actively suicidal. Of course, Eli Lilly denies this is true; in fact, they have dont quite a splendid job of trying to discredit his research. Read Prozac Backlash by Joseph Glenmullen and Toxic Psychiatry or Talking Back to Prozac both by Peter Breggin. You'll see that there is very strong evidence that these drugs produce suicidal ideation. I know that Paxil did it to me and I had never had a suicidal thought in my life. Trisha Date: Sat Jun 2, 2001 8:03 pm Response2: Hi Elizabeth, Firstly welcome to the group and I'm so glad you've found us. If you are trying to make sense of what has happened, then I think you're in the right place as you will find that you get a lot of support and information from the group - we're a really good crowd. I am really sorry to hear about Evan. My heart goes out to you and your family and all the people he left behind and I just hope you will find the strength to get through this. I'm amazed that Evan was put on prozac, a drug that is known to cause mania and hypomania. This is even listed in the UK prescribing information that the drug companies give to doctors and is a well recognised side effect over here in the UK. Furthermore, I have a copy of an article from Pendulum (the magazine of the Manic Depression Fellowship here in the UK) where it is warning people with manic depression not to take prozac as it can make them suicidal. If you would like me to send you copies, please email me privately, giving me your address details and I will gladly forward this information to you. It must be really difficult for you to try and reach your friends and tell them what you know - that prozac killed your son and that you are frightened for them too. Unfortunately, many people, especially those on the drugs, do not want to face up to the harsh realities of what these drugs can do. They get brainwashed by their doctors who they trust blindly into believing that the drugs will help and because they are so vulnerable, they cling on to any bit of hope they have. I was the same when I was on the drugs. My friends and family tried to warn me but I never heard what they had to say. Eventually I woke up from this nightmare myself but only after coming close to death and becoming suspicious of a comment made by a psychiatrist I was set up to see (I was led to believe that he was a neurologist by nursing staff at the hospital) and this prompted me to start carrying out my own research into the drugs. I have a research background and knew where to start looking for the information so I guess I was lucky in that respect. I was horrified at what I found out. Anyway, in the end, I decided to take myself off the drugs and after getting through the withdrawal, I have not looked back since. Whilst on prozac, I became actively suicidal but after coming through the withdrawal, I have never had a suicidal thought since and am no longer battling with depression or anxiety. I was one of the lucky ones to have survived. Please be assured that the group is here for you and we will do all we can to help you through this. We share information all the time so I'm sure you will find it helpful. Also, we have another member here called Dawn who is going through a similar experience. She is our 'Avenging Angel' and I'm sure you will be able to offer comfort and support to one another. I have quite a few medical research papers linking Prozac to Akathisia, a state induced by psychiatric drugs that many experts are now recognising could be pushing people towards suicidal and/or violence. Unfortunately, following quite a lot of media attention recently, we have had a lot of akathisia related enquiries to the support group and I have literally run out of stocks on information relating to Akathisia. However, once I get the chance to copy them (we haven't got a copier so we need to get them done outside and unfortunately we're short of volunteers at the moment due to sickness and holidays so there's just me at the moment trying to do the work of 30 people!), I'll make them available to the group. David Healy's secretary has also sent me two of his recent papers, one of which related to his recent study in which people with no history of mental illness became suicidal and/or violent on SSRIs. Bear with me for the time being as I've got a lot on my plate (in between having bad days, I'm manning the help line and sending information out single handedly, I'm also working on two video documentaries, one of which a proposal should have been submitted on Friday and the other one filming starts this week, as well as commissions for three articles that I need to research and write for the 15th June!!!!!) but I promise I'll make them available as soon as I can. Take care Elizabeth, Ramo