Posted by ShawnThomas on March 10, 2008, at 11:13:15
In reply to Re: Psych medicine and the Niu shhotings, posted by 49er on March 9, 2008, at 7:23:31
I agree that tapering off Prozac is a must. Ideally, you should do this with the assistance of a medical professional. I don't know of any experts who advise people to stop taking Prozac cold turkey.
The shooting was around three weeks after he stopped taking Prozac, a drug associated with the longest half-life and the least problematic withdrawal effects of all the marketed serotonin reuptake inhibitors. In my opinion, those facts combined with the fact that he did not do this on an impulse suggest that this young man committed an undefensible action. I don't dispute that people have had problems with withdrawal symptoms from Prozac, but there is no valid scientific evidence available that Prozac withdrawal can induce homicide. Murder is wrong. Period.
His girlfriend told CNN that his parents committed him as a teen to a group home because he was "unruly" and used to cut himself.
She also said that recently he was "a little quicker to get annoyed."
"He wasn't erratic," she said. "He wasn't delusional."
If he were experiencing a strong withdrawal syndrome, his girlfriend would have probably found him more "erratic" and behaving unusually.
Rather than blaming Prozac, we should be focusing on how we can help "unruly" teens to become socially responsible young adults. Steve Kazmierczak had some serious mental issues that were present before he starting taking Prozac, and there are a multitude of reasons for his unconscionable actions.
Shawn
poster:ShawnThomas
thread:814265
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/neuro/20080204/msgs/817071.html