Diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and suffering primarily from psychiatric problems, Robert Nichols was taking a mix of 11 drugs that left him groggy and confused during the last few weeks of his life. They included Percocet, Valium, Celexa, the antipsychotic Seroquel, and Depakote, an anti-seizure drug used to treat major depression and bipolar disorder...
Some of the criticism of Nichols' other others' deaths comes from having too many doctors, each of whom are prescribing and none of whom are consulting with the others.
Not only should doctors be talking with each other, we'd advise people with PTSD to seek talk therapy rather than rely on so many medications.
The Navy Times has more:
Too many prescriptions, too little talk
11 medications are common...I used to take 9 medications and stopped taking 4 antidepressants. I do not feel like killing myself as much as I used too, and I am back in the emotional roller coaster also. So, I am not suggesting anything here. What I want to say is that we should STOP relying on antidepressants as a long-term treatment option. To effectively integrate emotions and memory and to encode them both in a narrative is an important role in healing. Antidepressants used in short-term applications such as 3 mo. to 18 months, used in conjunction with integrative therapies and modalities.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Scott!
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