Arkansas Blog

Is the video on YouTube yet?

I really beginning to think that "random" may just be the best descriptor for certain recent events. So far no rhyme or reason to any of it all.

Max you and the police should be ashamed for even suggesting anti-depressant medication was in any way responsible. There are "side-effects" listed on all drugs. To suggest a person receiving help for depression could result in them becoming a murderer is beyond irresponsible.

how is it irresponsible if it is a known, documented side effect? No one is saying that was the cause.

Ignorant people should click on my name.

Tony, if there are legitimate studies saying the drug causes people to murder people, then it would not be irresponsible. Notice that no specific reference to this study is made. What's the study they are basing this on?

Ignorant people should click on my name.

Tony, if there are legitimate studies saying the drug causes people to murder people, then it would not be irresponsible. Notice that no specific reference to this study is made. What's the study they are basing this on?

Anti-depressants increase levels of certain neurotransmitters. They do not make people become murderers. PERIOD

Max could you please give the name of this study they claim to have, or provide a link to it? I've searched the internet and can't find any such study. If you can't provide the study, then you need to note that above.

They should be ashamed indeed. They and Max should also be embarrassed to spread such misinformation. Below is a link to one of may credible studies that explain antidepressants DO NOT cause a person to be violent.

I'd expect much more from you Max. For those of us who have love ones who suffer from clinical depression, and for those of us who have lost those not taking their antidepressants, this is very disturbing. You better be glad I'm not a violent person or I'd come and kick your....

Be sure to click on reallawyer and learn some facts.

ARK. BLOG: So many sources, so much information. I quoted the police report. Right or wrong, conclusions reached in the investigation are fair game to report. However, the web is full of references to suicidal and homicidal ideation in context of Effexor use, including in the detailed explanation of the drug and potential adverse reactions on the product's website. Suicide is primarily a risk in younger users.

"Ignorant people should click on my name." Posted by: eark

Wikipedia? Really?

Let me give you a little heads up; when you get to college, the professors won't let you use Wikipedia in your papers.

Thanks smartass. I happen to have a degree in psychology. I could have linked to research that would be over most readers head, but figured something simple was more appropriate. Anyone that wants to learn how ridiculous the accusation that an anti-depressant was the cause can google and find more scientific sources. RL linked to one of them, and I doubt you or others bother to read it.

Correlation does not equal causation.

Max,
Yeah there are lots of things on the internet about the drug, but they are all assumptions and not scientific. Rumors and urban legends are abundant on the internet. You will not find any legitimate study that shows or implies it causes people to kill others. That should be pointed out and YOU should have asked them for their source. If they can't provide a source, then you need to make that very clear.

I'd expect some uneducated person to blindly accept such a statement, but not you.

Just because a murderer is on a drug, that doesn't mean the drug caused the person to kill.
Even if a higher percentage of murderers are on a specific drug, that doesn't mean it caused them to kill.
A correlation, if one even exists, does not prove cause and effect.

Again, ask for the name of the study so readers can decide for themselves. Otherwise you're just passing along gossip.

Max should protect us from ideas we don't like instead of letting us figure things out for ourselves. If only we had the sum of human thought at our fingertips, perhaps we could be trusted with that kind of information.

I found this on a lawyer's Web site. I wouldn't stop my research with this, but it provides food for thought, particularly the part about suicidal ideations, which can include suicide-by-cop, perhaps to overcome feelings of worthlessness.

Updated September 2007- Effexor, also known as Venlafaxine Hydrochloride, is prescribed for the treatment of severe mental depression. The drug is also used to treat certain anxiety disorders and to relieve the symptoms of anxiety. Candidates for Effexor use often experience suicidal thoughts, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, loss of appetite, and feelings of guilt or worthlessness. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Effexor, made by the pharmaceutical company Wyeth, in 1993.

Adverse reactions, sometimes fatal, have been reported in patients who have used Effexor in combination with MAO inhibitors, a type of antidepressant drug that increases the brain's concentration of monoamines, organic substituents functionally important in neural transmission. Some patients who have taken Effexor after recently discontinuing use of a MAO inhibitor have suffered from tremors, nausea, hyperthermia, dizziness and seizures.

Other side effects associated with Effexor use include, but may not be limited to, anxiety, constipation, dry mouth, itching, loss of appetite, loss of strength and weight loss. In rare cases, patients have attempted suicide while using Effexor. Former Effexor users have also complained of severe and prolonged withdrawal symptoms, including increased hostility. Effexor and tardive dyskinesia have also been linked.

In August 2003, Wyeth sent a warning letter to physicians notifying them that Effexor may be linked to suicidal behavior.

In October 2003, the FDA notified healthcare professionals of reports of the occurrence of suicidality (both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts) in clinical trials for various antidepressant drugs in pediatric patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). FDA has completed a preliminary review of such reports for 8 antidepressant drugs (citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, mirtazapine, nefazodone, paroxetine, sertraline, and venlafaxine) studied under the pediatric exclusivity provision, and has determined that additional data and analysis, and also a public discussion of available data, are needed.

In March 2004, the Food and Drug Administration issued a Public Health Advisory that provides further cautions to physicians, their patients, and families and caregivers of patients about the need to closely monitor both adults and children with depression, especially at the beginning of treatment, or when the doses are changed with either an increase or decrease in the dose.

In 2007, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices and the Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, conducted a longitudinal Adverse Events Reporting System Review of the U.S. FDA's most dangerous drugs. The study found Effexor to be one of the most dangerous drugs on the market with one of the highest numbers of adverse drug event reports. Effexor was the fifteenth most dangerous drug, according to the FDA reports. Over the eight years of the study, effexor was found to have been involved in over 3,600 events resulting in disability or serious incidents requiring medical treatment.

FDA is asking manufacturers to change the labels of ten drugs to include stronger cautions and warnings about the need to monitor patients for the worsening of depression and the emergence of suicidal ideation, regardless of the cause of such worsening.

The drugs under review include bupropion, citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, mirtazapine, nefazodone, paroxetine, sertraline, escitalopram and venlafaxine. It should be noted that the only drug that has received approval for use in children with major depressive disorder is fluoxetine (Prozac). Several of these drugs are approved for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in pediatric patients, i.e., sertraline (Zoloft), fluoxetine (Prozac), and fluvoxamine (Luvox). Luvox is not approved as an antidepressant in the United States.

FDA and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals notified healthcare professionals of revisions to the WARNINGS, PRECAUTIONS, and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION sections of Effexor labeling to alert healthcare providers of two important safety issues.

Neonates exposed to Effexor, other SNRIs (Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors), or SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), late in the third trimester of pregnancy have developed complications requiring prolonged hospitalization, respiratory support, and tube feeding. Such complications can arise immediately upon delivery.

Patients with major depressive disorder, both adult and pediatric, may experience worsening of their depression and/or the emergence of suicidal ideation and behavior (suicidality), whether or not they are taking antidepressant medications. The warning recommends patients being treated with antidepressants be observed closely for clinical worsening and suicidality, especially at the beginning of a course of drug therapy, or at the time of dose changes, either increases or decreases.

Ton of Garbage,

Interesting that you didn't provide a link to your information. I found the above "information" on a site that has "NO MORE DRUGS" at the top of. You could probably find people against apple pies if you search on internet.

There's a reason why suicides are higher among those taking ALL anti-depressants. People inclined to be suicidal seek treatment and get put on anti-depressants.

They only found violent reactions in people who stopped taking Effexor (withdrawal symptoms). The autopsy showed it was in his system, so I assume he had not stopped taking it.

More than likely he suffered from a psychosis that was not properly diagnosed.

I didn't post a link for one of two possible reasons. I'll let you decide which one:

a) I wanted someone to personally attack me and call me names then offer up their own version of the slaying that seems somewhat less informed.

b) I hoped people would use the Internet to research and come up with their own answers, and the posting was the most concise description of Effexor that I found.

But here's the site for you now anyway since it seems so hard to find:
http://www.injuryboard.com/topic/Effexor--Venlafaxine-Hydrochloride.aspx

Have a lovely day!