Suicide Attempt Prozac 15/02/1991 Georgia Woman Testifies to the FDA about the Adverse Effects of Prozac
Summary:
http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/AC/prozac/2443T1.PDF
DR. CASEY: Thank you. Cathy Eckstein?
MS. ECKSTEIN: My name is Cathy Eckstein. I reside
at 197 Jousters Lane in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
I was prescribed 60 mg of Prozac by my physician
during a period of grief that followed my son’s suicide. The
suicide occurred during the first few weeks of his withdrawal
from the prescribed drug Ritalin. I have been trying to come
off Prozac since February, 1991, and have only managed to
reduce the dosage from 60 to 40 mg.
Since I’ve been on Prozac I’ve experienced the
following adverse reactions: a drug-induced insanity that has
caused several self-destructive outbursts, there was an
extended period of anger, rage, and hostility, and it turned
into terrible feelings that suicide was the only answer. I
remember screaming at my family that I now know how
Brad must have felt before he hung himself. I needed help but I
didn’t know where to go,
I knew that I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t know how to
deal with it.
I was taken to the doctor that had prescribed the
Prozac and was told that there was no reason for me to try to
stop taking it and that I should increase the dosage to the
original 60 mg. In addition to these outbursts, there have
been headaches that feel as though burning pain went from the
base of my neck to the top of my head. There have been many
episodes where I could not pronounce words clearly or
correctly and a tremendous loss of physical strength, leaving
me unable sometimes to function in my normal activities for days
and weeks at a time.
In my own research of Prozac I have learned that
withdrawal only occurs after an addiction to the drug has
occurred. Prozac is an addictive drug that has caused me
harm. I have yet to get off this horrible drug and to date
have found no adequate medical facilities to successfully
remove it from my life. I was never informed of its
effects.
I want to see Prozac taken off the market. I am
concerned as to what other effects or reactions I am
now to expect in the future as a result of taking this drug. The
drug has falsely been promoted to me as safe and a miracle
drug.
My son died as a result of Ritalin. Others are now
dead or dying because of Prozac. How many deaths need to
occur before the FDA is convinced that this drug is not safe
and is not a miracle and the American people are tired of
being guinea pigs because of the pharmaceutical companies’
need for profit? No person deserves to experience what I have
and am experiencing on Prozac. I am requesting that you take
Prozac off the market. Thank you for letting me speak.
DR. CASEY: Thank you.