Pharmagunddon: School Shooters and Psych Meds
Here at Age of Autism, we have been sharing with our readers the realities of the increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. With that comes many topics, including vaccine injury and regression, school issues, adult housing and also various treatments. I have a daughter diagnosed with severe Autism and recently, an autoimmune disorder. Megan regressed in health and skills after vaccinations. With the continuing surreal killings in public settings over the years - schools, college campuses, malls and even a movie theater, the media has had a history of attempting to link some of these cases to Autism or Aspergers. You can read our recent statement Age of Autism Responds to Newtown Tragedy as this point is important: " Age of Autism mourns the deaths of all innocent victims of this awful crime and offers its deepest condolences to their families. Additionally, we are deeply disturbed by the association of the perpetrator of this awful crime by various media outlets to a vulnerable community - the autism community - with rumors that he was on the autism spectrum. Regardless of whether or not the shooter truly is on the autism spectrum, we wish to make it clear that autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are in no way associated with criminal violence."
It is important then to look at reality and root causes because without them, it can be hard to find a solution. I would like to share some important data about these tragedies since we are all in the midst of a recent, gut-wrenching inciden,t but to do so, we have to go back in time, to look at patterns, something we think is important here on AoA.
On May 20th,1988,
Laurie Dann walked into an elementary school in Winnetka, Illinois and shot
five students, killing one. She was to kill herself later that day. I remember
vividy hearing about that as I was working at a psychiatric hospital about 15
miles away. It was a shocking reality to know that a school could become a
sitting duck to a violent mind. Here was a recent article about that horrific
day, the young boy killed, and the fact that school shootings keep increasing:
"Since then, there has been a school or campus shooting somewhere in the United States almost every year. In many years, there have been three or four campus or school shootings."
On Friday, December 14th, 2012, Adam Lanza, an unknown name to the world on December 13th, allegedly forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown Connecticut. There he allegedly shot and killed 26 victims, 20 young children and 6 female adults. He is also believed to have killed his mother before this attack and then killed himself after the attack. If you google his name today, you will see 517 million hits. A monster? What do these two cases have in common? Weapons? Murder? Yes, both were tragic crimes but also with another commonality -- the perpetrator had been treated by a psychiatrist. Another clue, is the lesser discussed use of medications that may have a bigger piece, in not only these two cases but in other savage and senseless deaths of innocent people:
School Shooters Under The Influence Of Psychiatric Drugs
"Despite 22 international drug regulatory warnings on psychiatric drugs citing effects of mania, hostility, violence and even homicidal ideation, and dozens of high profile school shootings/killings tied to psychiatric drug use, there has yet to be a federal investigation on the link between psychiatric drugs and acts of senseless violence."
"At least fourteen recent school shootings were committed by those taking or withdrawing from psychiatric drugs resulting in 109 wounded and 58 killed (in other school shootings, information about their drug use was never made public—neither confirming or refuting if they were under the influence of prescribed drugs.) The most important fact about this list, is that these are only the shooters where the information about their psychiatric drug use was made public. To give an example, although it is known that James Holmes, suspected perpetrator of a mass shooting that occurred July 20, 2012, at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, was seeing psychiatrist Lynne Fenton, no mention has been made of what psychiatric drugs he may have been taking. Also note that all these mass shootings didn’t just occur in the United States:
1 -- Huntsville, Alabama – February 5, 2010: 15-year-old Hammad Memon shot and killed another Discover Middle School student Todd Brown. Memon had a history for being treated for ADHD and depression. He was taking the antidepressant Zoloft and “other drugs for the conditions.” He had been seeing a psychiatrist and psychologist.
2 -- Kauhajoki, Finland – September 23, 2008: 22-year-old culinary student Matti Saari shot and killed 9 students and a teacher, and wounded another student, before killing himself. Saari was taking an SSRI and a benzodiazapine. He was also seeing a psychologist.
3 -- Dekalb, Illinois – February 14, 2008: 27-year-old Steven Kazmierczak shot and killed five people and wounded 21 others before killing himself in a Northern Illinois University auditorium. According to his girlfriend, he had recently been taking Prozac, Xanax and Ambien. Toxicology results showed that he still had trace amount of Xanax in his system. He had been seeing a psychiatrist.
4 -- Jokela, Finland – November 7, 2007: 18-year-old Finnish gunman Pekka-Eric Auvinen had been taking antidepressants before he killed eight people and wounded a dozen more at Jokela High School in southern Finland, then committed suicide.
5 -- Cleveland, Ohio – October 10, 2007: 14-year-old Asa Coon stormed through his school with a gun in each hand, shooting and wounding four before taking his own life. Court records show Coon had been placed on the antidepressant Trazodone.
6 -- Red Lake, Minnesota – March 2005: 16-year-old Jeff Weise, on Prozac, shot and killed his grandparents, then went to his school on the Red Lake Indian Reservation where he shot dead 7 students and a teacher, and wounded 7 before killing himself.
7 -- Greenbush, New York – February 2004: 16-year-old Jon Romano strolled into his high school in east Greenbush and opened fire with a shotgun. Special education teacher Michael Bennett was hit in the leg. Romano had been taking “medication for depression”. He had previously seen a psychiatrist.
8 -- Wahluke, Washington – April 10, 2001: Sixteen-year-old Cory Baadsgaard took a rifle to his high school and held 23 classmates and a teacher hostage. He had been taking the antidepressant Effexor.
9 -- El Cajon, California – March 22, 2001: 18-year-old Jason Hoffman, on the antidepressants Celexa and Effexor, opened fire on his classmates, wounding three students and two teachers at Granite Hills High School. He had been seeing a psychiatrist before the shooting.
10 -- Williamsport, Pennsylvania – March 7, 2001: 14-year-old Elizabeth Bush was taking the antidepressant Prozac when she shot at fellow students, wounding one.
11 -- Conyers, Georgia – May 20, 1999: 15-year-old T.J. Solomon was being treated with the stimulant Ritalin when he opened fire on and wounded six of his classmates.
12 -- Columbine, Colorado – April 20, 1999: 18-year-old Eric Harris and his accomplice, Dylan Klebold, killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded 26 others before killing themselves. Harris was on the antidepressant Luvox. Klebold’s medical records remain sealed. Both shooters had been in anger-management classes and had undergone counseling. Harris had been seeing a psychiatrist before the shooting.
13 -- Notus, Idaho – April 16, 1999: 15-year-old Shawn Cooper fired two shotgun rounds in his school, narrowly missing students. He was taking a prescribed SSRI antidepressant and Ritalin.
14 -- Springfield, Oregon – May 21, 1998: 15-year-old Kip Kinkel murdered his parents and then proceeded to school where he opened fire on students in the cafeteria, killing two and wounding 25. Kinkel had been taking the antidepressant Prozac. Kinkel had been attending “anger control classes” and was under the care of a psychologist.
The list above does not include this terrifying event:
Police identified Cho Seung-Hui as the shooter who carried out the massacre that left 33 people dead, including himself. He was an English major whose creative writing was so disturbing that he was referred to the school's counseling service.....Police and university officials still offered no clues as to exactly what set off Cho, a 23-year-old senior, on the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history. News reports said that he may have been taking medication for depression.
Immediately after the incident, reports carried speculation by family members in Korea that Cho was autistic [33] However, no known record exists of Cho ever being diagnosed with autism, [33/34] nor could an autism diagnosis be verified with Cho's parents. The Virginia Tech Review Panel report dismissed an autism diagnosis [35/36] and experts later doubted the autism claim. [37]
Sadly, the issue of guns, security at schools and parenting continue to
be scrutinized yet the glaring link of medications are dismissed. Here
was a list of medications that had reported violence associated with them. From that 2010 study:
In the 69-month reporting period we identified 484 evaluable drugs that accounted for 780,169 serious adverse event reports of all kinds. This total included 1,937 (0.25%) cases meeting the violence criteria. The violence cases included 387 reports of homicide, 404 physical assaults, 27 cases indicating physical abuse, 896 homicidal ideation reports, and 223 cases described as violence-related symptoms.
Last year, TIME sounded the alarm on that study:
"Top Ten Legal Drugs Linked to Violence"
Here are the top ten offenders:
10. Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) An antidepressant which affects both serotonin and noradrenaline, this drug is 7.9 times more likely to be associated with violence than other drugs.
9. Venlafaxine (Effexor) A drug related to Pristiq in the same class of antidepressants, both are also used to treat anxiety disorders. Effexor is 8.3 times more likely than other drugs to be related to violent behavior.
8. Fluvoxamine (Luvox) An antidepressant that affects serotonin (SSRI), Luvox is 8.4 times more likely than other medications to be linked with violence
7. Triazolam (Halcion) A benzodiazepine which can be addictive, used to treat insomnia. Halcion is 8.7 times more likely to be linked with violence than other drugs, according to the study.
6) Atomoxetine (Strattera) Used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Strattera affects the neurotransmitter noradrenaline and is 9 times more likely to be linked with violence compared to the average medication.
5) Mefoquine (Lariam) A treatment for malaria, Lariam has long been linked with reports of bizarre behavior. It is 9.5 times more likely to be linked with violence than other drugs.
4) Amphetamines: (Various) Amphetamines are used to treat ADHD and affect the brain’s dopamine and noradrenaline systems. They are 9.6 times more likely to be linked to violence, compared to other drugs.
3) Paroxetine (Paxil) An SSRI antidepressant, Paxil is also linked with more severe withdrawal symptoms and a greater risk of birth defects compared to other medications in that class. It is 10.3 times more likely to be linked with violence compared to other drugs.
2) Fluoxetine (Prozac) The first well-known SSRI antidepressant, Prozac is 10.9 times more likely to be linked with violence in comparison with other medications.
1) Varenicline (Chantix) The anti-smoking medication Chantix affects the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, which helps reduce craving for smoking. Unfortunately, it’s 18 times more likely to be linked with violence compared to other drugs — by comparison, that number for Xyban is 3.9 and just 1.9 for nicotine replacement.
Lariam may be familiar to AoA readers as Dan Olmsted has written some exclusive and extensive articles on its dangers in the military.
It is more than likely that there are others that did not make this list -- yet -- but are known to be dangerous to some of their users. How do I know that? Back to Laurie Dann: Police also would like to speak with two other psychiatrists who treated Dann. One of those doctors prescribed an experimental drug to her, which she received from Canada by mail. Traces of the drug, clomipramine, were found in her blood.
The drug does carry warnings that high doses could cause suicidal depression, delusion and extreme bewilderment, and that combination of the drug with another could be dangerous, said DeVito. But psychiatrists said the drug would not induce any violent behavior. `It is not a homicidal drug by any means,`` DeVito said......
Call a healthcare provider right away if you or your family member has any of the following symptoms, especially if they are new, worse, or worry you:
- thoughts about suicide or dying
- attempts to commit suicide
- new or worse depression
- new or worse anxiety
- feeling very agitated or restless
- panic attacks
- trouble sleeping (insomnia)
- new or worse irritability
- acting aggressive, being angry, or violent
- acting on dangerous impulses
- an extreme increase in activity and talking (mania)
- other unusual changes in behavior or mood
Then there is the question of Adam Lanza : Friends of Nancy Lanza, the mother of Newtown shooting suspect Adam Lanza, told 60 Minutes on Sunday that he suffered from Asperger's syndrome, and that dealing with the condition dominated both their lives. It's already been reported that Lanza reportedly had the condition, but there's no evidence it had any effect on his rampage. As the nation sets out to understand how Friday's massacre came to pass, some are rightly worried that the high-functioning form of autism will become unfairly stigmatized......Adam Lanza's mother had been increasingly concerned over her son's well-being in the weeks before the tragedy, telling a friend just a week before that he was "getting worse" and that "she was losing him," the New York Daily News reported. That report makes no mention of Asperger's syndrome, but it cites Adam's uncle who said he was taking an anti-psychotic drug called Fanapt.
Reading up on Fanapt, it is a newer medication not used for Aspergers but for Schizophrenia.
"Fanapt is specifically indicated for the acute treatment of adults with schizophrenia"
AUTISTIC DISORDER
There is limited evidence for the efficacy of pharmacotherapy in autistic disorder; however, SSRIs and atypical antipsychotics are used to alleviate some of the associated symptoms.
Is it possible that there are negative side effects from medications, capable of rendering a user into a murder spree? You be the judge.
Psychiatric
Disorders: Frequent – restlessness, aggression, delusion; Infrequent –
hostility, libido decreased, paranoia, anorgasmia, confusional state, mania,
catatonia, mood swings, panic attack, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia
nervosa, delirium, polydipsia psychogenic, impulse-control disorder, major
depression.
Teresa Conrick is Contributing Editor to Age of Autism.
Great post Teresa, very interesting.
Working with Autism, located in Los Angeles, has helped hundreds of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder to achieve their maximum potential for independence. www.workingwithautism.com
Posted by: WorkingWithAutism | December 26, 2012 at 08:56 PM
Cia,
Some other important questions-
Why are so many kids becoming mentally unstable?
Why are we seeing immune system damage in so many children?
How is the immune system tied up to causing psychiatric issues?
Why are doctors not testing (Strep, Lyme, Mycoplasma, many viruses and parasites) as the root cause and instead randomly using medications only based on behaviors?
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | December 21, 2012 at 08:05 PM
Cia Parker,
You ask what could a mom do who has a child with extreme mental disturbance (psychosis). We now know that many psychiatric illnesses can be brought on by infections - (bacterial/viral/parasitic) both acute or chronic - and that should be a starting point on evaluating anyone. The treatment would not be psychotropic- not at all- but immune system treatments.
I have been writing about this for quite awhile.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20111212/NEWS/111219804
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/308873/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-shocked-to-find-antibiotics-alleviate-symptoms-of-schizophrenia-7469121.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3292400/
Posted by: Teresa Conrick | December 21, 2012 at 07:58 PM
@ Cia
"However, I'd like to ask if you guys think that psychotropic drugs are always more harmful than beneficial."
I suspect there are tens of thousands .. if not millions of people .. who have benefitted from carefully prescribed psychotrophic drugs.
Consider, between four and five MILLION children are born in the US every year .. and .. some have stated 10% of the American people between the ages of 6 and up are prescribed and use psychotrophic drugs every day.
10% of MILLIONS of people is a staggering amount .. however .. no one should be surprised that for a small minority of those people the drugs may be more risk than benefit.
Unfortunately, public health officials (FDA, CDC) don't appear too anxious to identify and research that small minority of individuals .. and therein lies the problem.
Instead .. we are bombarded with research blaming the explosion of autism on a host of factors .. older fathers, pet shampoos, living near freeways, etc .. while at the very same time .. public health officials are loathed to conduct a scientific, independent study of "vaccinated v. unvaccinated" children to ascertain if BOTH populations have the same inexplicable rate of autism.
In the Newtown tragedy .. blame the guns, video games, Aspergers or pure evil .. while at the very same time .. public health officials are loathed to acknowledge the presence of pyschotrophic drug use less it create even a slight suspicion of the drug being a contributing factor.
Were psychotrophic drugs involved? Who knows .. but .. just like the epidemic of autism that correlates almost precisely to the increase in childhood vaccines .. these types of inexplicable, senseless, extremely violent mass murders have become far more common AFTER psychotrophic drugs became widely prescribed in the U.S.
In any event .. while common sense suggests there is no such thing as a "one size fits all" drug or vaccine .. that's their position and they are sticking to it.
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | December 21, 2012 at 03:32 PM
Have you guys read the article that went viral, "I am Adam Lanza's Mother"? It's horrifying, a mother who has a psychotic twelve-year old who periodically has meltdowns. Her other two children know they have to run get in the car and lock the doors until the police come to handle him. The mother said she can't institutionalize him unless he kills or severely injures someone, and asks who it has to be? Herself? Her younger son? Her younger daughter?
I read another article by the mother of a mentally-ill child, who describes his symptoms, and how the medication he is on has restored him to living a normal life.
I, like everyone here, am strongly opposed to psychotropic drugs, and, when the principal of my daughter's school recommended that she be put on Ritalin, I told her there was no way I would ever consider it, and my daughter behaved extremely well at home, showing that the problem was with the school and not with her. However, I'd like to ask if you guys think that psychotropic drugs are always more harmful than beneficial. (And I reiterate that I cannot imagine ever taking one myself or giving one to my daughter, but neither one of us is psychotic.) What should you do in the case of someone who is psychotic without having taken any medication? Also, what you think moms like "Adam Lanza's mother" should do? It horrified me that she and her other children should be compelled to live in such a dangerous situation.
Posted by: cia parker | December 21, 2012 at 10:53 AM
From President Obama's speech on gun control and reform
"We’re going to need on making access to mental health at least as easy as access to a gun."
Unfortunately, Teresa's well-researched article clearly reveals the problem is not "making ACCESS to mental health" easier .. the REAL problem may be the mental health professionals who diagnose and TREAT troubled individuals with an array of prescribed psychotropic drugs that have been linked to violent spree-killings over recent decades.
After all .. common sense dictates that guns have ALWAYS been available in our culture .. so .. why are these types of violent tragedies occurring more frequently than in previous generations?
From: The Epidemic of Mental Illness. Why?
"It has been reported the number of disabled mentally ill has risen dramatically since 1955, and during the past two decades, a period when the prescribing of psychiatric medications has exploded, the numer of adults and children disabled by mental illness has risen at a mind-boggling rate. Thuse we arrive at an obvioius question, even though it is heretical in kind: Could our drug=based paradigm of care, in some unforseen way, be FUELING THIS MODERN-DAY PLAGUE?"
My friends, easier access to mental health MUST be accompanied by a serious investigation to the short-long term affects psychotrophic drugs are having on the "10 percent of Americans over age SIX that now take antidepressants".
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | December 20, 2012 at 03:09 PM
http://ssristories.com/
Posted by: Franko | December 20, 2012 at 02:05 PM
Tim;
That is exactly it.
You summed it up in a tidy little nutshell.
Posted by: Benedetta | December 20, 2012 at 11:59 AM
As has been stated, there is no single or simple solution to this horrific tragedy and the others that preceded it. Society has turned a blind eye to mental illness by reducing funding for research,closing group homes and greatly diminishing support services for families. What's left to do when someone exhibits signs of inappropriate behavior and mental illness in a world where the biomedical, nutritional interventions have been deliberately sublimated by big PHARMa and so are ignored by most psychologists and psychiatrists? Why medication of course! The problem is, most of these meds are relatively new (SSRIs first hit in 1987) and untested especially in children and teens. One study http://www.dovepress.com/articles.php?article_id=7993 showed that if an individual has a gene variant involved in liver detoxification (Cytochrome P 450 D6), they are more likely to experience hallucinations, mania, delusions, rage, violence etc from SSRIs and other drugs. Until we collectively begin to examine closely all the components that may be at the root of why a person's thinking and actions become so distorted causing them to commit these violent acts (which may include over vaccinating our young children,genetic vulnerabilities, environmental toxins, nutrient deficiencies etc) we will never solve this problem. As we discuss the role inadequate gun control laws and diminished mental health services have played in this tragedy, those of us who have benefited from, or are knowledgeable practitioners of a comprehensive biomedical approach to treating autism, chronic illness and mental health issues need to speak out and educate our communities regarding the many effective methods to help our children regain their physical and mental health.
Posted by: Maureen McDonnell, RN | December 20, 2012 at 11:52 AM
A good - but indeed terrifying article! I said from the start schizophrenia - and when the comment was she was loosing her son made it seem true - taking Fanapt confirms it for me!
Posted by: Diane | December 20, 2012 at 11:24 AM
Adam Lanza, like tens of thousands of other young, and old, people, was being "warehoused" with psychiatric drugs.
"Warehousing" in medical care predominates, for there is little, if any, search for cause, dealing with cause, and restoring patient health in the conventional health care paradigm. It is part of "five minute medicine" a process where a patient waits two months see a doctor, twenty minutes in the waiting room, ten minutes in the examining room before the doctor shows up for a total of a five minute visit, the last three minutes, of which, he/she is writing out the new prescriptions for the newest drug-of-the-month just explained to him/her, at a lavish lunch provided by the drug company rep.
Vaccine damage is with us, here in a society not equipped to deal with it. And, worse, the Autism community is, for various reasons, not organized, yet, to solve its own issues.
http://www.bolenreport.com/Mark%20Geier/autism%20infighting2.htm
Tim Bolen
www.bolenreport.com
Posted by: Tim Bolen | December 20, 2012 at 10:42 AM
Someone who knew the Lanza family said that Adam would not let his mother touch him. Sounds like the tactile hypersensitivity that mercury toxicity can cause....
Posted by: nhokkanen | December 20, 2012 at 01:49 AM
Robert Whitaker’s “Anatomy of an Epidemic” provides evidence to support his view that long-term use of psychiatric medications has caused an increase in the number of mentally disabled people in the United States. Even though Whitaker is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and “Anatomy of an Epidemic” won an award for being the best investigative journalism book for 2010, I have not seen this book reviewed in the mainstream press. Similarly, psychiatrist Peter Breggin’s book “Medication Madness,”which is about psychiatric drugs driving people to commit violent acts, has been all but ignored.
Posted by: Caroline | December 19, 2012 at 11:34 PM
Do the psychologists think that our kids are guinea pigs to see "how much of this drug is too much?" Seems to me they do. The military has always done this with their members, and now it seems that the doctors think that these "unproductive members of society" would be good fodder for experiments. What a joke. I wonder, if they had children of their own that were autistic or ADHD, would they also prescribe these same drugs--that say not to overdo it in adults mind you--to their own children. I bet they wouldn't.
The government shouldn't be looking at the Autistic community for their answers, they should probably be looking at the psychologists practicing these questionable practices.
Posted by: Michelle Heath | December 19, 2012 at 08:54 PM
Teresa; A good article and a lot to think about.
What is worrisome that these people were on medications and we are trying to decide that they either did not work or worse - made the situation worse.
There is so much I wish the American people would stop accepting as just fate -- it just runs in the family.
Compassionate One -- a recent study in Utah of rats that pulled out their fur (compulsive obsessive like behavior) stopped when they under went a bone marrow transplant. Completely changed their immune system that the symptoms went away.
Diabetes is another one of those runs in the family, autism is another, asthma another and mental illness yet another. None of these diseases runs in anything, if it did, there would be no human race.
I also wish they would take seriously teenagers with depression, and stop saying that is just the way teenagers are - they will outgrow it.
I also wonder just how many times depression is misdiagnosed when in fact it is bipolar?
Either way it must be dealt with just as Shannon Wasserman stated--but it would be nice to know it is the correct diagnosis, with the correct medicine and correct dosage.
Psychosis has been around a long time before medications, in very low numbers - but it was there.
When I was a little girl, I read books on the Eskimos. In one book the writer described an incidence about a man that woke up one morning and took off his clothes - grabbed a knife and began to carve himself up. As he did so he showed no pain, and even bragged about what nice, soft skin it was and how it would make soft clothes. When they finally stopped him, and bound up his wounds, he finally came to himself and told them he had no idea why he did such a thing and then died. They were just glad that he did not think that some of them were seals and carved them up too -- which was something that was reported.
Another tale by the North East Native Americans that is often told and apparently happened so much that they actually had a name for the specific spirit that caused it -- called Wendigo. A hunter would run into a Wendigo and either kill himself, or worse he thought he had hunted, killed, skinned and eaten a deer only to find he had been tricked by the wendigo into killing his own family.
"Wendigo psychosis is the name conventionally given to a disputed culture-bound disorder featuring an intense craving for human flesh and the fear that the sufferer would turn into a cannibal. This was alleged to have occurred among Algonquian native cultures."
Just a couple of months ago on the community board was a story of an American businessman that traveled to India on business. He was on the computer with video talking to his family when he took out a knife and began to cut himself up . The appalled family called frantically to the India police, but when they arrived at his motel door; they refused to break it down and save the man. So the family had to watch as he killed himself. The family claimed he had no mental problems. Of course my mind immediately goes to those vaccines he took in order to travel abroad.
So there is psychosis with or without medications.
But such incidents were rare -were they not?
Mass shootings-- anywhere - esp. schools, in the 50s, or 60s were never heard of? The brain tumor, sniper guy in the tower on the California campus was the 70s right? That was about it though.
--
In "Age of Autism, a Man Made Epidemic" wasn't it discussed how there was a rise in the need for asylums were there had not been such a need before syphilis and the treatment for it - mercury arrived on the scene?
In modern times there has not really been a need much either for asulums -- but it sure looks like we are going to need them again.
I myself witnessed my own family member descend into psychosis. She was diagnosed with depression and taking antidepressants when she really had bipolar. Was it the medications that drove her over, or was it the three hep Bs she took that raised her SED rates followed by a flu shot that made the manias much more longer and intense??? If I had to chose it would be the vaccines. It makes more sense to me, the way things went down.
I could say it is genetic since my mother-in-law had her own problems with psychosis, but she too would never ever miss a flu shot - she would get them more than one time a year too -- when ever the doctor mentioned it, and it did not matter how often.
I don't know about gun control. I live out in the country in an ocean of aging out teenagers untreated for their depression; who now as they matured have decided to self medicate -- illegal druggers. If they can take away the guns will I be face to face with someone more powerful than me with a sword?
The most simple solution to me -is to immediately throw a bunch of money at mental health and to try to at least control the epidemic at this point. To stop it though in the future from continuing it will be nessacary to allowed people to once again sue the drug companies that makes the vaccines.
Ben Franklin said "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"
The best example that I can think of Ben Franklin's quote to fit would be the 1986 Vaccination compensation court which was created because vaccine makers said if it was not done that they would go out of business and then what would we do to keep deadly disease at bay.
They threatened, Congress caved, and a right was taken away.
Can you think of any other industry that could have said to Congress: "We are going to make such an unsafe product that we will go under unless you protect us"?
Can you imagine the auto industry doing this? We would still be driving Pintos and seat belts would still be in only rocket ships.
Posted by: Benedetta | December 19, 2012 at 07:36 PM
I really think people need to be careful with pointing the finger solely on pharmaceutical pyschotropic medication. Look, I am a naturopath who isn't the biggest fan of big pharma and how they lobby the hell out of various governments but my personal experience with Lexapro (a SSRI) proved to be extremely stabilizing and beneficial towards my recovery from extremely debilitating anxiety and depression.
You can't solely blame meds for violent acts just as I can't solely give the credit to Lexapro for helping me deal with my extreme anxiety. I went to a great pychologist, had amazing support from my family and completely changed my way of thinking through mindful meditation and Buddhist teachings.
Life is so extremely complex and multifactorial. We need to be careful not to generalize all of these cases.
Definitely, we need to examine and question the efficacy of these drugs and mental health needs to become priority number 1 in our society. Genuine compassion needs to become the universal ethos of our society so we can properly care for very troubled individuals.
I completely understand that everyone is different and some people will respond well to SSRIs (like myself and my sister who obviously have the genetics that allow for a positive response) and some will present with serious side effects which is why these cases need to be monitored with the utmost of care and attention.
Sometimes medication is necessary to stabilize the individual but you can't solely rely on the meds to help 'fix' things. There needs to be some form of therapy put in place to help empower the individual and love has to be unconditional and constant.
Cheers
Posted by: Compassionate One | December 19, 2012 at 06:41 PM
This recent tradgedy is incomprehensible and my heart and prayers have been w/ the families of Newtown since Friday. I can't imagine their pain.
In regards to your article, another question to ask is - Why do so many teens and young adults today HAVE such serious mental health problems? I think it's all related to the vaccines. They are not just contributing to Autism, but to ADD, ADHD, Teen Depression, Teen Mental Illness and others as well. The systematic assault on our babies immune systems by vaccines is severely changing the immune systems natural development and, in turn, attacking the brain and causing various levels of brain damage in our children. Our public health systems need to look into this issue and do the REAL research so we can give our nation's children a healthy future,
Posted by: DannysVoice | December 19, 2012 at 05:42 PM
@Sharon Wasserman- My answer to your question would be to use any other class of medicines in existence, which causes less side effects and that might control the psychosis. I don't think the SSRIs or SNRIs are okay to use on anyone, but there are other, older drugs that may help a person or child without resorting to this new class of drugs that flood the brain in an uncontrolled way with neurotransmitters, cause unremitting body and facial tics aka tardive dyskinesia, gynecomastia, high blood pressure, and sudden death. There have to be less dangerous drugs to use. Problem is, if those drugs are off patent, generic versions of them abound and pharma won't make nearly as much money off of them.
Posted by: Not an MD | December 19, 2012 at 05:41 PM
Just saw Wolf Blitzer say something about them doing a 'genetic' work up of Adam Lanza. Even Sanjay seemed stumped by this and he said that he couldn't see what it would turn up as they don't know which genes are responsible for most mental health issues- duh. This may be a good time to advocate for more environmental cause of problems instead of the waste of time and resources on genetics. I can't believe they have even mentioned this ahead of any discussion of an autopsy and drug/med issues!
Posted by: Jen | December 19, 2012 at 05:38 PM
Excellent Teresa! Thank you for your research and writing.
Posted by: Mindy Poist | December 19, 2012 at 05:20 PM
Aye!from me Teresa..
Posted by: Angus Files | December 19, 2012 at 05:03 PM
I have seen people descend into psychosis and become violent and paranoid before taking medications. If some of these kids were bipolar or schizophrenic what do you expect their parents to do? There are some serious, dangerous mental illnesses that medications somewhat alleviate, although not always very well. Like most serious issues, the answers aren't all or nothing, black or white. And yes, doctors over prescribe anti depressants to "normal" people. But are you going to do with a child or adult who is psychotic?
Posted by: shannon wasserman | December 19, 2012 at 03:23 PM
This is not the association being made on the MSM and hot potato goes to... our kids. So it has to be corrected. Thank you, Teresa.
Posted by: Adriana | December 19, 2012 at 03:18 PM
Every experiment Autism Speaks has funded through their Autism Clinical Trials Network drug partnership with vaccine manufacturing drug companies have failed.
Meanwhile, they hire so called experts to blast away at the broadly-accepted, head to toe considerate biomedical treatment of Autism as a placebo. Their axiom seems to be we created this problem now get off our profit-taking schemes.
Clearly, every single biomedical physician helping our children are now either scared or disbarred and the combination continues to operate against our children and their doctors.
Too bad people believed in Autism Speaks and pushed for the Combating Autism Act.
Posted by: Media Scholar | December 19, 2012 at 02:34 PM
Thanks Teresa- more solid, relevant information in your article than all hours of mainstream media pap combined. Truly!
THANK YOU and PEACEFUL THOUGHTS
O/S
Posted by: ottoschnaut | December 19, 2012 at 01:27 PM
Independent studies showed that SSRIs are equal to placebo in treating depression, which by its nature usually goes away by itself in most cases. Cognitive/behavioral/psychotherapy is much more effective. However, SSRIs can often induce aggression, paranoia, mania, craziness and violent behaviors. They should be banned , at least they should be prohibited from being used in children and young adults. These drugs further destroy already damaged brains of autistic persons.
Posted by: no vac | December 19, 2012 at 12:50 PM
I agree that psychiatric medication is the underlying reason for innumerable acts of criminal violence. They have said that they didn't find any such medication in Adam Lanza's home. I realize that that doesn't necessarily mean that he didn't take any, but it may be that the boy was on the autism spectrum from having been brain-damaged by vaccines, and committed these horrific crimes as the result of the damage, even without the influence of these dangerous medications. To demonize all autistic individuals because of the acts of a few is racist. Most of us recognize that it is unfair and inaccurate to blame all Muslims for the acts of a few, to cite a recent parallel, and do not do so. Rather than put ourselves in a position which will be hard to get out of if it turns out that the boy was mentally ill, capable of violence, autistic, and not on drugs, wouldn't it be better to say that most autistic people are not capable of such violence and would never do it, but that a few are? Just as with society at large. Most people would not commit the horrible crimes we hear about on the news nearly every night, but a lot (in the big picture) of apparently typical, normal human beings do so all the time, yet we don't demonize all males, for example.
Posted by: cia parker | December 19, 2012 at 11:37 AM
Police should investigate further if Adam Lanza under the care of a doctor and whether that doctor prescribe Adam meds? Just because they found no pills at the home doesn't mean that Adam Lanza wasn't on psych drugs.
Posted by: Sarah | December 19, 2012 at 10:18 AM
Really disappointed when Dr. Oz spoken Piers Morgan last night. The show was of course dedicated to the horrific incident. He and another doctor (psychiatrist) never mentioned medications once in their time- although it was relatively brief.
Posted by: Jen | December 19, 2012 at 09:52 AM
Excellent article. Great solid research on the 800 pound gorilla sitting in the room. One thing I noticed and several others have as well is that the first report of Adam Lanza using Fanapt, a drug prescribed for "acute psychosis" according to manufacturer Novartis's website, came from a quote form Lanza's Uncle as reported on Tuesday by the New York Daily News. Later that day though the quote was deleted from the article. What else do you need to know about the corporate media's complicity at refusing to report on this issue.
Thank goodness for Age of Autism because we are in a post-journalism world. There is lots of media. Lots of noise, but there is no reporting anymore that might in anyway clash with the interests of large corporations.
Posted by: John Gilmore | December 19, 2012 at 07:48 AM
Hi, Teresa, and thank you for this article. I believe it is the powerful medications given to children, young adults, and adults that are driving these outrageous acts of violence in people who were never previously violent.
My own mother was put on Wellbutrin (not even one of the "top ten" offenders listed above) after a heart attack as she felt sad due to her sudden disability. The first day on the drug, she started acting paranoid, and thought the police might arrest her, or me, for using her walker, which I brought from home into the hospital for her to use. She thought we would be accused of stealing by hospital staff. By day two on Wellbutrin, she suddenly started telling nurses, in my presence, that she was married to a police officer and that he beat her regularly.
I was floored by this as: 1. my father was never a police officer, and 2. my father never laid a hand on her, but was loving and kind and wonderful.
I asked the nurse what drugs they were giving my mother. She told me that she was visited by a psychiatrist and was just placed on Wellbutrin. I said my mother was acting psychotic, and needed to be taken off the drug immediately. The nurse had no idea my mother was not telling her the truth and didn't believe it could be the drug. I don't blame the nurse. How could she know anything about my mother? Then, the nurse checked the drug manual and found that hallucinations were listed as a side effect of this drug.
I was able to get my mother off the drug, and she returned to normal, completely forgetting all the nonsense she uttered. The nurse was enlightened about this drug. But, I have to wonder just how many kids are taking these drugs thinking they are to blame for their psychosis and not the medicines inducing the psychosis. If a child cannot verbally express what is being experienced, or is afraid of being told he/she is crazy, how is anyone to know what is going on inside the head of these drugged up, suddenly dangerous children? A federal investigation is definitely needed and is long overdue if we are to stop these violent and unpredictable acts.
Posted by: Not an MD | December 19, 2012 at 07:45 AM
It was reported that an FBI investigator said they found no signs of medications generally used for psychiatric disorders inside the Lanza home.
Posted by: Vicki Hill | December 19, 2012 at 07:36 AM
It is so important that this association between chemicals and violence is made public. Chemicals are very dangerous, and one of the leading causes of disease like Asperger's Syndrome.
Posted by: Tony | December 19, 2012 at 07:09 AM
Hi Teresa,
Thanks for the article and sparking this conversation.
I think it gets very messy and hard to point the finger at one particular thing when trying to fully understand the mind and how it works. I personally have been on SSRIs before for a type of OCD: intrusive thoughts with accompanying anxiety & depression http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrusive_thoughts
I have a history of drug use through my teen years (alcohol, marijuana & ecstasy) as it helped alleviate the intrusive thoughts which were often very violent and extremely unsettling. The drugs actually helped me socialize and feel like a 'normal' teenager. Unfortunately they only leave the fragile brain more paranoid and vulnerable to anxiety & depression later on in life.
About a year ago, I was at breaking point and entrenched in a world of extreme darkness and anxiety. I am a fully qualified naturopath and tried the best clinically researched St. John's Wort supplement on the market, an activated B vitamin complex & magnesium but my case was far too severe to be alleviated by these measures.
I personally found that when I went on the lowest dose of Lexapro (escitalopram), 5mg/day, I stabilized within a few months. Look, the first few days were pretty horrible as the anxiety intensified, which apparently is a pretty common phenomenon. Luckily, I had amazing support around me and utilized my meditation practices but damn was it hard. I reckon I wouldn't have been able to get through it if it wasn't for my recent interest in Buddhism and my cultivation of mindfulness/compassionate-love.
Another key factor in my improvement was my 100% transparency policy where I told my loved ones all the thoughts that were troubling me. They were thoughts of harming myself and those closest to me (which was extremely difficult and gave me fears of being locked away). I found this was absolutely essential in helping reduce the impact these intrusive thoughts had on my mental wellbeing.
Back to my first point, it is so hard to single out one variable of the person's life that may have been the main influence on the person's actions as there is so much we don't know about each individual.
Did the person have any form of clinically diagnosed mental illness? How long did they suffer from a mental disorder? Did the mental disorder present with violent thoughts? If so, did the person ever express they had such thoughts? Did the person just try to ignore them and soldier on? (This is usually what happens with people who have these intrusive thoughts). Did the person ever use recreational drugs? How long had they been taking the various pychotropic medications? What was the medical history of the person as there are theories that various childhood viruses may cause neurological damage that can produce subtle changes in brain chemistry. What was the mum's health & lifestyle during her pregnancy?
We could start getting existential with our questions of good vs evil but then this comment will never end so I'll finish with the main theme of my comment here:
There are so many variables in each of our lives. We are extremely complex organisms living in an even more complex world. The amount of dynamic interactions that occur second by second in each individual's life produce a unique set of circumstances.
So do we just stop trying to figure out what went wrong? Of course not, we just have to realize that there will be different theories out there and that we must be as respectful and compassionate towards each other as possible.
I believe that the most important aspect to focus on is to cultivate compassionate love for oneself and others on a daily basis. The more we meditate and repeat positive thoughts of loving kindness, the better our brains will be wired to thrive as a species (it's called neuroplasticity and its a beautiful thing when utilized in a positive/compassionate/mindful mindset).
Thanks for listening and I hope this makes some sense to who ever reads this.
Much Love.
Posted by: Compassionate One | December 19, 2012 at 06:58 AM
"Is it possible that there are negative side effects from medications, capable of rendering a user into a murder spree?"
If we are SERIOUS about bringing an end to these senseless violent tragedies .. and .. judging from the cited evidence of psychotrophic drug use in so many past instances of spree-killing violence .. Teresa's question is CRITICAL.
Unfortunately .. no one in major media is asking that question .. which means .. it will remain unanswered by the pharmaceutical industry that .. in my humble opinion .. ALREADY KNOWS THE ANSWER.
In any event .. it is one thing for the media to ignore Teresa's question .. but .. it is quite something else for Congress to do so.
Remember, this is the same Congress that conducted widely televised public hearings on Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED) used by celebrity athletes.
Common sense would ask our legislators .. which is more important .. protecting the integrity of major league baseball .. or .. protecting the lives of our children in school?
Of course we have to realize that celebrity athletes using PED's are relatively easy targets for Congress to investigate .. unlike the extremely powerful pharmaceutical industry that contributes so heavily to the campaign funds of BOTH parties.
By the way .. here is an 11 minute film about this subject that .. if true .. raises some very frigtening questions on this very subject:
http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com/videos/drugs/the-link-between-psychiatric-drugs-andnearly-all-recent-mass-shootings.html
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | December 19, 2012 at 06:57 AM
Well done Teresa!
Posted by: JennyB | December 19, 2012 at 06:44 AM