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Exposing Psychology, Exalting Christ |
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Reader Letter 7/29/06 Dear Lisa and Ryan, I was shocked to read in the paper that the FDA had forced Wyeth Lab. to include homocidal ideation as a rare side effect of Effexor (one of the drugs Mrs. Yates was taking). Alas, this was more than a year too late to save my 13-month-old son. My husband was taking Effexor (as well as Wellbutrin,Zyprexa, and Ativan) when he was overcome by homocidal thoughts and drowned our son in the bathtub on May 23, 2005. I know you believe in accountability, but there is no possible way this ever would have happened without the antidepressant drugs he was on. It was not just out of character for Mike--it was against his very nature! My husband successfully battled suicidal thoughts for years, but could not fight the new thoughts of harm which seem to have bothered him when changing dosages of Effexor (and Cymbalta prior to that). We are committed Christians and have been since 1988/89. We prayed and asked for healing and deliverance so many times. Mike tried so many different prescriptions, 2 psychiatrists, 2 hospitalizations, and a Christian psychologist. Nothing worked. I have no idea why, but I trust God that He will bring good out of this mess somehow, which is why I am very vocal about the senseless tragedy imposed on my family by the mental health industry. Mike is serving 25 years to life in an Ohio prison--he received no mercy. The absolute great news is that Mike developed lithium toxicity and his kidneys failed after the prison doctor had put him on lithium (when the state took custody of him in March, they continued the Effexor, discontinued the Wellbutrin, substituted Risperdal for Zyprexa, and discontinued Ativan). Why is that good news? Because they took him off of all his medications when he developed the lithium toxicity. He was unable to feed himself or take a drink, dress himself, or control his limbs. He was also incoherent at times. They gave him dialysis twice, and the kidneys resumed working. He is now 3 1/2 weeks off of his meds, and he is doing awesome! He has emotions again! He cares about other people again! He talks! He calls on the phone! Wow!!! Praise the Lord! He is the best I have seen him since January or February or possibly since 2004. I have done 2 television interviews recently and an interview with the Toledo Blade newspaper will run tomorrow, July 30th. I am beside myself that now Wyeth comes forth involuntarily with the truth about Effexor's side effects. Had Mike's psychiatrist known that Effexor was the cause, he might have removed Mike from the drug instead of increasing the dosage (he knew Mike had homocidal thoughts 2 months before the murder). The AP article about Effexor ran in our paper on July 10, and it was very well written. Unfortunately, I don't think it got much attention. I ordered your book tonight--I hope it will answer some of my questions. Thank you for your courage! Please contact me with any questions. Sincerely, Amy Luebrecht
Editor’s Note: Here is the July 10 AP article she refers to: http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/20780/477723.html And the July 30 Toledo Blade article she refers to:
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