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I know so many people on these meds and I take low dose (10mg.) Prozac myself. Serafem for PMS is just another name for Prozac. I asked my doctor about the whole murder/suicide connection to these drugs and she said it is because these folks have SERIOUS mental issues to start with and aren't taking their meds correctly or are mixing other drugs and alcohol with them.

I know if I drink too much (more than 3 glasses of wine or so) I end up with weird dreams and feeling spacey but otherwise I feel exactly the same as ever--just not quite as irritable.

By the way, I am the Mom of a 4 year old boy and an 18 year old daughter who has put me through hell recently. I never have the urge to physically harm my children or anyone I love for that matter. I'd still like to get alone with that murderer who killed Samantha Runnion though--I have serious fantasies of "taking care of" him ;)

Part of the problem you have here is that 10mg isn't exactly the same effective dose for everyone. Your weight and tolerance to the drug can make lower dosed effective, or create the need for higher doses. You have problems when you mix alcohol; others may have similar problems if their dosage is too high. It is quite easy for too high a dose to be given by your doctor if it is the lowest dosage available and your body just isn't up to using it all constructively. That's why Ritalin helps some kids really well and turns others into zombies. They will give an 8 yr old the same dose as a 6 yr old even though there are great differences in their stature.

Andrea Yates had such serious mental issues that she should have been, and had been, in a mental hospital. However, no one was expecting anything like what the Columbine boys did. I'm not saying that it causes homicidal tendencies, just that it may, and probably does exacerbate them. Everyone has thought "I wish I could just kill (person)," at some pointin their lives. These drug alter your brain chemistry and your control over your own emotions . . . that's why you take them. If they react badly, why can't they make you more likely to do something like this? I would like to emphasize that the drugs' entire purpose is to alter your emotions and perceptions.

sparky