I don’t know, but the article says he STOPPED taking it. It may have been the withdrawal of it toppling his chemistry, especially if he didn’t withdraw properly.
Either way, and regardless of the mechanism behind it, he still murdered several people and in my opinion, he should face the music. He could just as easlily called a shrink for help for feeling out of control. He chose not to do that.
I asked that question last week on the original thread to this story. It seems to me more than a few such incidents have been tied to the perp going off his meds.
One other theory is that the antidepressants lift the depressive fog enough for a suicidal person to take action for the first time. People who are severely depressed are often immobile and can't muster the energy to do much of anything - which may in part be a defense mechanism. Getting off the drugs may allow the homicidal/suicidal thoughts to resurface while there's still enough energy to accomplish the deed.
>>Was the underlying mental derangement made worse by the Prozac?<<
After the article saying a new story analisys showed 2000 stories of about murder that mentioned Prozac I checked the Google news archive.
There are indeed 2100 stories that mention prozac and murder but that’s out of 2 million stories about murder.
Some people cannot properly metabolize SSRIs. Statistically, we can see it is a miniscule subset of the total population.
So, what's the percentage of those 10's of millions who commit these horrific acts of violence? Is it possible that the mental illness is the reason for his actions, and not the medication? As to the question of whether Prozac made his mental illness worse, it would not seem so given the information in the article. But, who knows for sure. Different people have different reactions from the same medications others take. I guess I'd want to know whether any recent incidents might have set him off - such as any arguments with friends or family, a loss of some type, a poor grade in a course or on an assignment, someone rejecting him, etc, etc. Too many variables in these cases to know sometimes what the reasons are.
I take Prozac. There are countless warnings about stopping your medication without consulting your doctor. Prozac like the others mentioned, are seratonin uptake inhibitors. If you suddenly stop taking it, your seratonin levels will gradually drop and you again become subject to the chemical imbalance which caused your depression. The result can be catastrophic...as you can see.
we report, you decide:
www.drugawareness.org
People taking Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft have clinical depression in the first place. It seems odd to blame the violent or suicidal tendencies on the medicine.
NIU Law Professor to Participate in Nationwide Teach-In on Guantanamo Bay Professor Marc D. Falkoff, counsel for 17 Yemeni men at Guantánamo Bay,to read poetry written by Guantánamo Bay detainees September 27, 2006
Falkoff will return to NIU ... to present a lecture at 4 p.m. in Altgeld Room 100. He will share his personal experiences as counsel for 17 Yemeni men unlawfully detained at Guantánamo Bay and read more of the detainees’ poetry.As one of the first American citizens to travel to the camp and meet directly with the detainees, Falkoff has heard firsthand their stories of torture, abuse, disrespect, and other “disturbing” incidents. Since his first visit in November 2004, he has returned to the camp on eight occasions. During these visits, Falkoff took a special interest in the poetry written by detainees and was able to collect the “declassified” poems, which will be published in a volume by the University of Iowa Press.
The teach-in will explore two overriding themes: 1) whether Guantánamo can exist in a democracy committed to the rule of law, and 2) whether and how various communities should respond to this unprecedented governmental action. Specific issues to be addressed include not only a review of the court cases, but also topics relating to medical care, torture, abuse, and religious insults to the detainees.