Is My Child Safe on an Antidepressant

When parents are faced with news such as disturbed gunmen, Steven Kazmierczak, who had stopped taking his medication prior to his Valentines Day 2008 shooting rampage on the NIU campus, serious questions arise.

Will MY child become suicidal? Will they freak out and do something crazy?

The very thought is unthinkable.

According to an April 8, 2008, article by Mayo clinic, “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that extensive analysis of clinical trials has shown that antidepressants may cause suicidal thinking and behavior in children, adolescents and adults ages 18 to 24.”

The article, which encourages readers to “get the facts” before panicking, adds, “The FDA considers the findings disturbing enough that it now requires manufacturers to label antidepressants with strong warnings about the link to suicide in children, adolescents and young adults and recommends that people in these age groups be closely observed by their families, caregivers and physicians while on these medications.”

In answer to a question on their website regarding what a person should do if their child or adolescent is on an antidepressant, the FDA states, “If you observe worsening depression, or the emergence of suicidal thinking, or if you observe other symptoms that you are concerned might be related to taking medication, you should consult the doctor responsible for your child’s or this person’s medications to discuss the best course of action. It is very important that you do not stop your child’s or this person’s antidepressant without first checking with the prescribing doctor. Also, some of these medications may be associated with discontinuation symptoms if stopped abruptly, so that, if the doctor advises that the medication should be stopped, be sure to follow the doctor’s advice about how to accomplish this.”

Comments From Dr. Esposito

After the scenario of “young male shoots a group of people then commits suicide” repeats itself, it is time that we stop blaming the guns and realize that almost every child who perpetrated a mass shooting was on psychiatric drugs for ADHD or depression.

You may not remember them by name but Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold of Columbine, Colorado were both on psychiatric drugs when they massacred 12 people at their high school. Well, as you will see below, that scenario was not an isolated incident. However, before we review the recurring scenario of mass shootings ending in suicide, it is important to understand how many children are being put on antidepressants in this country.

It is estimated that over 10 million antidepressant prescriptions are written for patients under 18 years old alone. The numbers keep rising with these blockbuster drugs, and so does the frequency of cold-blooded massacres.

It is evident that the majority of the adolescent shooters has been on or has been in the midst of withdrawing from antipressant or other psychotropic medications. Every time this scenario surfaces we look at better gun control or tighter security but no one seems to look in the medicine cabinet. In the past eight years or so, 61 people have been killed and 77 wounded by psychiatric drug-induced school shootings.Take a look at the list of massacres and the relation to psychiatric medications.

- Steven Kazmierczak’s murderous shooting spree at Northern Illinois University: law-enforcement officials noted he had begun to behave erratically after he recently stopped taking psychiatric medication.
- April 16, 2007, while on antidepressant drugs, Cho Seung Hui, the Virginia Tech shot and killed 32 fellow students in a shooting rampage.
- September 28, 2006, Bailey, Colorado: Duane Morrison, 53, entered Platte Canyon High School and shot and killed one girl, and sexually assaulted 6 others. Antidepressants were found in his vehicle.
- March 21, 2005: Red Lake Indian Reservation, Minnesota: 16-year-old Native American Jeff Weise was under the influence of the antidepressant Prozac when he shot and killed nine people and wounded five before committing suicide.
- April 10, 2001: Wahluke, Washington: While on a high dose of the antidepressant Effexor, 16-year-old Cory Baadsgaard took a rifle to his high school and held 23 classmates and a teacher hostage .
- March 22, 2001: El Cajon, California: 18-year-old Jason Hoffman was on two antidepressants, Effexor and Celexa, when he opened fire at his California high school, wounding five.
- March 7, 2000: Williamsport, Pennsylvania: 14-year-old Elizabeth Bush was on the antidepressant Prozac when she blasted away at fellow students in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, wounding one.
- May 20, 1999: Conyers, Georgia: 15-year-old T.J. Solomon was being treated with a mix of antidepressants when he opened fire on, and wounded 6 of his classmates.
- April 20, 1999: Columbine, Colorado: 18-year-old Eric Harris was on the antidepressant Luvox when he and his partner Dylan Klebold killed 12 classmates and a teacher and wounded 23 others before taking their own lives in the bloodiest school massacre to date. The coroner confirmed that the antidepressant was in his system through toxicology reports while Dylan Klebold’s autopsy was never made public.
- April 16, 1999: Notus, Idaho: 15-year-old Shawn Cooper fired two shotgun rounds in his school narrowly missing students; he was taking a mix of antidepressants.
- May 21, 1998: Springfield, Oregon: 15-year-old Kip Kinkel murdered his own parents and then proceeded to school where he opened fire on students in the cafeteria, killing two and wounding 22. Kinkel had been on Prozac.

As you can see it is not a gun problem. It is the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs in the drug-free school zone. When a child is shy, confused or upset it is not our job to give them brain-numbing toxins that have been shown to permanently alter the receptors in the brain. We should be supporting these children and looking at important, yet overlooked factors such as diet, exercise and other lifestyle factors.

Diet and exercise seem like a cop-out or simple cliché statement, but look at the facts:

Cardiovascular exercise is the best method to improve mild and moderate depression according to research.
High levels of caffeine, sugar and overall mental stress will cause a depletion of serotonin (the happy hormone).
Managing the diet and dropping sugar levels can have an incredible effect on mood, energy and overall attitude.

I had a nine year old boy come in my office three years ago. He seemed like a zombie. His mom told me that he was on two antidepressants because he was acting out in class. After extensive evaluation we noticed the presence of a vertebral subluxation (compressed nerve caused by misaligned vertebra in the neck), which can cause compression of the brain stem as well as significant food allergies and gut dysfunction. The child consumed massive amounts of sugar and his only source of fluid was soda. Do you think any doctor asked him what he put in his mouth before they gave him a prescription? You know the answer.

I usually recommend increasing vitamins C and B and 5-HTP to assist the body in making its own serotonin to prevent the overuse of antidepressants. I would also recommend doing cardiovascular exercise at least three days a week for thirty minutes.

I will leave you with a few videos on this topic that will shock you in to understanding the abuse of this situation and the concern we need to have about the management of our children’s mood.

Antipsychotic Drugs And Your Kids