How on earth could an antidepressant drug drive someone to murder? In the past two columns RxISK has heard from two people who know they can. In The Man Who Thought He Was A Monster, Steindor Erlingsson shared his own story of being tormented with urges to stab his wife and young children while on antidepressants. These were utterly alien thoughts, which horrified him – he … [Read more...] about Antidepressants and Violence: The Numbers
Violence
The Man who thinks he is a Monster: Sertraline and Violence
Editorial Note: See The Man who thought he was a Monster Sunday’s child is full of grace He was born on a Sunday. He had an average background with few health, physical or mental problems. His main difficulty was a certain social anxiety. He went to University to study Neuroscience – probably to try and understand people. His first attempt to seek help was from the … [Read more...] about The Man who thinks he is a Monster: Sertraline and Violence
The Man Who Thought he was a Monster: Antidepressants and Violence
This post by Steindór Erlingsson asks awkward questions in the week when the jury is likely to deliver a verdict in the sentencing part of James Holmes' trial for the shooting dead of twelve people in Aurora Colorado at the premiere of the Batman movie, Dark Knight Rises, Holmes had no intentions of harming anyone before being put on Zoloft. His dose was increased twice and … [Read more...] about The Man Who Thought he was a Monster: Antidepressants and Violence
Because Veterans Are Worth It
Editorial Note from Johanna Ryan: Cesar Ruvalcaba is a veteran of the U.S. Army, 10th Mountain Division, and served in Somalia in the early 1990’s. He’s now a dedicated antiwar activist and a member of Vietnam Veterans Against War (VVAW). He told this story May 25 at a Memorial Day rally in Chicago organized by antiwar veterans. As Cesar indicated, many Iraq-era veterans … [Read more...] about Because Veterans Are Worth It
The Year of My Life that was Stolen
This post is by Katinka Blackford-Newman, who can be seen here running a half-marathon to raise money for RxISK but who also since the events described here has been involved in several criminal trials, believing that it is important that juries get to hear stories like hers when faced with the challenge of assessing what contribution a drug might have made to a crime. There … [Read more...] about The Year of My Life that was Stolen
Abilify from the Inside Out
Editorial Note: This is part 2 of Johanna Ryan's series that started with Dodging Abilify. Abilify is at present the best-selling drug in North America - how come? In last week’s column, Dodging Abilify, I described the fan-club enthusiasm for this drug among doctors I’ve met, my own reluctance to try it, and what I’d learned about Abilify from casual research. This week … [Read more...] about Abilify from the Inside Out
Antibiotics: Suicide & Psychosis
Editorial Note: This is the transcript of a program broadcast as The Lariam Legacy on BBC Radio on March 31 2015. The narrator is Victoria Derbyshire. The featured drug is the anti-microbial Lariam, mefloquine. Mefloquine is closely related to the Fluoroquinolone's Levaquin and Cipro. See previous RxISK posts on Lariam History, Lariam Hell and Flox-Tox. Atabrine was the … [Read more...] about Antibiotics: Suicide & Psychosis
Pilots and Antidepressants
Editorial Note: This post is by Julie Wood, the central figure behind SSRI Stories in its current incarnation. SSRI Stories has collected and posted 47 stories about pilots flying and crashing while on antidepressants. The majority are airplanes but several of the crashes involve helicopters. With the current focus on the possible contribution of psychoactive drugs to the … [Read more...] about Pilots and Antidepressants
An Irish Epidemic: Suicide and Homicide on Antidepressants
Editorial Note: This post is by Leonie Fennel. Ireland is currently in the midst of an unprecedented suicide/homicide epidemic. Parents are uncharacteristically killing their children; husbands are killing their wives; brothers are killing their brothers; mothers are killing themselves and their babies, all at an alarming rate. Dr Michael Curtis, Deputy State Pathologist, … [Read more...] about An Irish Epidemic: Suicide and Homicide on Antidepressants
Chantix and Violence
Editorial Note: On October 16, there is an FDA hearing about Chantix and violence which is widely expected to feature an effort by Pfizer to roll back the warnings on the drug. One of the fascinating things about the Chantix story has been to see perfectly normal friends who use it to stop smoking become very agitated, and distressed. I don't personally know anyone who has … [Read more...] about Chantix and Violence