We Speak For The Dead To Protect The Industry

In 2015 an amendment to the Coroners' Bill was put forward in Ireland on behalf of John and Stephanie McGill Lynch. Their 14-year-old son, Jake (pictured), died after experiencing critical ADR's caused by the SSRI drug Prozac.

Currently, coroners can return an "open verdict" in such deaths. The open verdict means the jury confirms the death is suspicious but sidesteps a definitive verdict. Mr. and Mrs. Lynch wanted this amended to include a new verdict. They proposed the term “iatrogenic suicide” which, in a nutshell, means “the ending of one’s own life where the effect of medical treatment undertaken by the deceased, including any prescribed medication, is the primary cause of such an action."

Yesterday the Irish Times reported on the outcome of Jake’s Amendment.

Minster for Justice Charlie Flanagan ruled out the introduction citing that:

“The proposal from the McGill Lynch family is well-intentioned but cannot be supported. This is mainly because the verdict would apportion some liability on the medical practitioner who may have prescribed the treatment or medication for the deceased person”

I find Flanagan's ruling bizarre and I'm not alone in this assessment. Sinn Féin Senator, Pádraig MacLochlainn, who presented Jake’s Amendment on behalf of the McGill-Lynch family, said it was originally “uncontentious” among all parties in the Seanad but was blocked at the “11th hour.” “My suspicion is that senior medical professionals spooked the minister.”

MacLochlainn makes a valid point. Adding more insult to injury, the Office of the Attorney General advised the proposed verdict would be legally unsound because a new verdict would be capable of ascribing criminal liability to person or persons who are readily identifiable. Unsurprisingly, the Coroners Society of Ireland was opposed to the proposal. It seems the only people the government wants to hold accountable for these avoidable deaths is the victim who died.

The current choice of verdicts open to a coroner or, in legal cases, to a jury, include accidental death; misadventure; suicide; open verdict; natural causes, and; unlawful killing. When a person dies from self-sustained injury, mainstream terminology still labels such deaths as "suicides" despite that many pharma products can and do cause unwanted, ego-dystonic death. Ego-dystonic deaths are "against one's will." That is, if the consumer was not experiencing ADRs caused by pharma products, they would not in their normal undrugged mind, have wanted to die nor died.

Like thousands of other ADR victims, Jake's young mind was chemically abducted by Prozac. Prozac and all SSRIs cause akathisia, psychosis and suicidal thoughts and actions among many unsuspecting consumers. In the US, all SSRIs carry the FDA's most serious Black Box warning stating they can cause life-threatening ADRs. The FDA was forced to include the Black Box warning on SSRIs after thousands of reported deaths and extensive testimony by courageous family members left behind. Unfortunately, the FDA essentially buries the dire warning in tiny print tucked inside a paper envelope most trusting consumers unintentionally discard.

Justice Charlie Flanagan's ruling seems absurd as does his reasoning. Ms. Lynch told the Irish Times she and her husband, from Clondalkin, west Dublin, were “absolutely disgusted, traumatized,” adding that the proposed amendment “would have said ‘without apportioning blame.'" We are not looking for anyone’s head on a plate. But we are looking for some kind of accountability.”

Coroners are first and foremost doctors who sit on the fence regarding prescription drug-induced deaths. Coroners know they can't definitively label any of these deaths "suicides" but they won't protect the public by acknowledging lethal drug effects. If coroners did so, they would then honestly speak for the dead to protect the living. As it stands, coroners continue to deceitfully "speak for the dead" to protect fellow doctors and the drug industry.

The Irish Times article can be read in its entirety here.


Bob Fiddaman

Backstory

Prozac Took My Child (Guest Post)

Related Website

AntiDepAware ~ Inquest Reports

Antidepressant Destruction in London

I'm just back from London, well, not just back - I arrived home yesterday after spending the night in Kensington and an afternoon in Harlesden, which is in the London district of Brent, ironically just a few miles from the cesspit that is GlaxoSmithKline HQ.

I think it's safe to call it a cesspit given the stench emanating from its bowels this century.

So, why had I travelled to London? Well, there's a new kid on the block, she has just launched her new book, The Pill That Steals Lives, I wrote a review for the book here.

Katinka "Tinks" Newman is, by trade, a documentary filmmaker. She's now a published author too - her story of antidepressant induced violence and psychosis an all too familiar one.

Tinks held her book launch at the Waterstones book store in Kensington on Tuesday evening. I travelled the tube from Earls Court along with long time friends Leonie, Tony, Brian and his lovely wife. Brian runs the antidepaware website - More about this later.

Upon arrival at Waterstones we were greeted with many familiar faces. Another long time friend of mine, who for many years has remained anonymous via his online blog, Seroxat Secrets, was also there - his own review of the launch can be read here.

I met Olga, a charming woman from Holland. Olga lost her daughter in a bus crash in Sierre in 2012. The driver of that bus, Geert Michiels, had traces of Seroxat in his system and a subsequent investigation into the crash found that he had deliberately mounted a pavement in a tunnel and crashed the bus head-on into a wall. There were 52 on board, 28 people perished, 22 of them were children. The other 24 pupils, all aged between 10 and 12, were injured, including three who were hospitalized with severe brain and chest injuries. (Back story).

I really wish I could have spoken more with Olga and her husband but as things are at these types of gatherings more and more people introduce themselves.

Steph Lynch and I.

Next up was Stephanie Lynch and her husband John. Their son, Jake, was just 14 when he took a gun to his mouth and shot himself to death. Jake had been prescribed Prozac after a 10 minute consultation with a psychiatrist. There was no diagnosis made. Jake was prescribed Prozac because he was anxious about up-and-coming school exams. (Back story)

Kirk Brandon was next. Kirk and I became friends a few years ago now and we met previously in Birmingham when he was touring with his band. For those that don't know, Kirk formed post punk new wave band Theatre of Hate back in 1980 and has since enjoyed success both as a solo artist and by forming other bands. Kirk was prescribed Seroxat - Kirk suffered severe psychosis as a result of ingesting Seroxat.

Tinks reads an extract from her book, 'The Pill That Steals Lives'

After the launch some of us headed to Bill's Burger bar just down the street from Waterstones. Food, conversation and great company. I arrived back at my hotel in West Kensington after midnight and slept like a baby.


Day Two

Look who's here - It's those pesky Panorama people again!

Tinks, as I mentioned above, is, first and foremost, a documentary filmmaker and has made many films for the BBC in Documentary Features and in News and Current Affairs.

On the back of her book she has now been commissioned by the BBC to make a documentary about antidepressant induced violence and homicide, prescripticide, if you will.

This isn't the first time Panorama have covered antidepressants. They have previously aired four special documentaries about Seroxat, all of which are available here.

To my joy both the cameraman and sound guy had previously worked on the Seroxat documentaries and we had an interesting discussion about the individuals who featured in those series of programmes.

Cameras roll. The Panorama film crew filming us during lunch - Photo taken by Leonie.

We sat around a colourful table at Katinka's house in Brent and basically just talked naturally about our experiences on the various drugs. Leonie spoke eloquently of her son, Shane, who was prescribed citalopram after the break-up of his relationship with his girlfriend. Shane, after citalopram induced psychosis, killed a young man then himself and Leonie has been campaigning since.

Brian of antidepaware and his wife sadly couldn't make lunch at Katinka's.

Brian's website, to me at least, is a welcome addition to the fight in creating awareness and holding people accountable. Brian and his wife lost their son in 2009. He had never been depressed in his life, went to see a doctor over insomnia caused by temporary work-related stress. He was prescribed citalopram, and within days he had taken his life.

Brian has a list of UK inquest reports from 2003 - to present, all of which mention the use of antidepressants, the majority of which have resulted in coroners concluding the death was suicide. It's an important website and yet another angle to come from when trying to seek the truth. Coroners, just as much as drug regulators and the mainstream press, need to seriously wake up and see what is in front of them. They need to give the dead a voice so future generations can be, at the very least, warned how some people can have a severe reaction to antidepressant use; namely completed suicide. Katinka talks about the 'defective genes' in her book.

Also missing from the lunch was Australian author Rebekah "Becks" Beddoe (Dying for a Cure). Becks had travelled over a few days before but had to travel back unexpectedly for family reasons.

All in all it was two days spent with remarkable people, each with their own heart-wrenching stories. Tears, laughter and strong friendships were born. I love them all ~ There was a lot of pain felt in the room but this was enshrouded with an overwhelming presence of love. I'd like to think that those who have passed were present in the room too, offering us all their guidance and love.

It's something that will remain with me forever.

Thanks Tinks for making it happen.

Leonie, Steph and I. (Three caged monkeys)
SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL, TELL NO EVIL.

We see it - we hear it - we tell it!

Bob Fiddaman.

Open Verdict Returned in Prozac Related Death

It's not often one comes across a coroner who goes against the grain.

It's not often coroners come up against surviving family members armed with knowledge about drugs used to treat apparent mental illnesses.

Yesterday, at Dublin Coroner’s Court, Coroner Dr Brian Farrell ruled against suicide as being the cause of Jake McGill Lynch's death on 20 March, 2013.

Jake was just 14 years-old when he took a .22 rifle and placed it in his mouth and pulled the trigger. One year previously he had been diagnosed with Aspergers and, after a 15 minute consultation with psychiatrist,Dr Maria Migone, he was prescribed Prozac (fluoxetine) and was told that it would help him get through his exams at school - something that Jake had been worrying over.

Six days after starting his medication, Jake walked out of his first exam halfway through - later that night he cried for three hours. A day later his Prozac dose was doubled,

On day 46, Jake killed himself.

During the 18 month long inquest evidence showed that there were links to Prozac and suicide related deaths, in particular the black box warning on Prozac in the US. No such black box warning exists in either the UK or Ireland (Jake's place of birth)

In fact some years ago after meeting with the Irish Medicines Board (the equivalent of the FDA and MHRA) Jake's parents were told that, "nobody would take Prozac if such a black box warning was put into place."

Some informed consent that is, huh?

So, what is an open verdict?

In a nutshell it means that there is insufficient evidence that somebody had intended to kill themselves. In other words, Jake may not have intended to kill himself were it not for a third party, that party being Prozac.

The coroner's verdict is kinda vague in as much that he cannot say for certain why Jake did what he did but with Prozac on the table one only has to read between the lines. It leaves open the question as to whether or not Prozac induced Jake's death.

One fifth of adolescents experience suicidal thoughts, according to Dr Houlihan, a consultant Paediatric Psychiatrist at Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

Yesterday's open verdict was welcomed by Jake's parents, Steffini McGill Lynch and John Lynch from Clondalkin.

“It’s a huge relief. It allows us to grieve now. You can’t let go of that night but this allows another chapter to close. This is the verdict he deserved because in our eyes it was drug induced,” Steffini said after the inquest concluded.

One thing is certain. Jake should never have been prescribed Prozac for 'exam jitters'. He was a normal child made to feel abnormal the minute he walked into his psychiatrist's office. He was a child, who through no fault of his own, that had to deal with two things.

1. The worry of pending exams.

2. The chemical imbalance caused by the Prozac he was prescribed.

Earlier this year "Jake's Amendment" was tabled in the Dail of the Coroner's Amendment Bill 2015, a bill that calls for coroners to widen the scope so they are able to deliver a finding of Iatrogenic Suicide. Iatrogenic Suicide is the ending of one's own life where the effect of medical treatment undertaken by the deceased, including any prescribed medication.

Although no such verdict was delivered yesterday, the open verdict certainly points to the fact that Jake did not intend to kill himself - something pushed him. You'd have to be from the plant Zog to rule out Prozac.

Eli Lilly, who market and manufacture Prozac, have placed the following warning on the package insert for Prozac in the United States.

"Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: Monitor for clinical worsening and suicidal thinking and behavior."

The Irish Medicines Board should follow suit. I doubt if they will. The whole medicine regulatory system is run by limp-wristed buffoons who, it appears, merely shrug their shoulders when people die as a result of medications they have granted licence to.

Jake's voice has been heard. Hopefully the pro-antidepressant brigade in Ireland will cease writing column inches in the Irish media bigging up the use of these types of medications in children and young adults - I doubt that will happen too. Psychiatrists who write for the national press are, in my opinion, egotistical and bear all the hallmarks of narcissism. 

Godspeed little man.

Bob Fiddaman.

Jake's Amendment

An amendment to to the Coroners Bill is being put forward in Ireland later this week on behalf of a Stephanie McGill Lynch who believes her 14 year-old son, Jake (pictured) took his own life as a result of induced psychosis caused by the controversial antidepressant Prozac.

Stephanie, who wrote a guest post on my blog back in May, is hoping that 'Jake's amendment', which she drafted, will give coroners the option of a returning a verdict of  'Iatrogenic suicide'  or 'medically induced' suicide. As it stands, Coroners can return an 'open verdict'. The verdict means that the jury confirms that the death is suspicious but is unable to reach any of the other verdicts open to them.

This amendment will, no doubt, face opposition from pharmaceutical companies, particularly those who market and manufacture antidepressants. No doubt too, leading psychiatrists will have something to say about the amendment, probably along the lines of "the amendment may stop patients taking their medication."

Um, yup, isn't that the whole point?

Pharmaceutical companies and psychiatrists work hand-in-hand and any attempt at undermining them is usually met with stiff opposition

I think this is a brave move and, if implemented, could release the ball and chain currently around the necks of Coroners. They, just like medicine regulators, have a duty to protect the public from unsafe drugs, they also have a duty to give the dead a voice in the hope that that 'voice' may save other lives.

My hat is off to Stephanie on this - it's a bold move and one that will cause eruptions within the field of the pro-antidepressant brigade.

The amendment is being presented to the Dáil, on behalf of Stephanie, by SinnFein's Padraig Mac Lochlainn.

Fingers crossed that common sense prevails.


Bob Fiddaman.

Prozac Took My Child (Guest Post)

The following is a guest post. It was sent to me by Stephanie Lynch, the mother of Jake McGill Lynch who, at the age of 14, took a .22 rifle, placed it in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Jake, at the time, was on a course of medication, the controversial selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRi), Prozac.

I have much to say regarding Stephanie's guest post. My thoughts follow her heartbreaking story.



Prozac Took My Child

On May 2 we should have celebrated our beautiful child's 17th birthday, instead we got to place flowers and balloons on his grave.

Jake McGill Lynch was 14 years old when he took a .22 rifle and placed it in his mouth and pulled the trigger, all the while his dad and I sat downstairs unaware there was a problem.

You see this was not unusual when you are members of a gun club, what was unusual, and is now unfixable, is that Jake took his own life that night. This young child did not suffer from any suicide ideation, nor did he suffer from depression, psychosis, heightened anxiety or any other label that psychiatrists like to place on normal children who are facing exams and going through hormone changes at the same time.

Jake (14) Photo taken two months prior to his death.

Jake had a diagnosis of aspergers syndrome, it was so mild that it went undetected until he was 12. We all have anxiety in life, but when you have aspergers you worry about things you shouldn't worry about. So we, as loving parents, wanted to make Jake's transition from a teenager to a young man as easy as possible so we took advice from a school counsellor to have Jake assessed, wow, did we ever get that wrong!

Jake attended our GP first, who saw no problems, he then went to a psychologist were he would visit once a month, sometimes it went 3-4 months without a visit, I thought he could tell her things he did not feel he could tell us without being embarrassed. She then, in her wisdom, decided to refer him to her colleague, a Psychiatrist, we did not know the difference between counselling and psychiatry back then.

Skip to his first meeting which his dad took him to. It lasted all of 10 maybe 15 minutes, they left with a prescription for a drug called Prozac. She said it would help him get through his exams.

Six days later Jake walked out of an exam halfway through and had his first meltdown that night, He cried for 3 hours..we thought it was the stress of the exams. (This was his 6th day on Prozac)

After 7 days his dosage was doubled without seeing his psychiatrist. When he did see her, two weeks later, I told her what happened, she said, "This will wear off after 3-4 weeks and that he (Jake) should continue on the Prozac."

His 46th day on Prozac saw him take his own life.

Now, she nor the pharmacist, or anybody else for that matter, ever showed us an information leaflet or told us the side effects, she has said since that she went through a suicide check list with Jake and he said 'no' to all the questions put to him by her.

"Nobody would take Prozac if such a black box warning was put into place." - Irish Medicines Board

In Ireland, where we live, Prozac, which I believe is responsible for so many deaths, does not carry a black box warning.

When we met with the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) and asked why there was no black box warning we were told that nobody would take Prozac if such a black box warning was put into place.

At no stage did I ever sign a consent form nor has the psychiatrist got one with my husband's signature on. In the meantime we are left with the aftermath of a child, who should be on the cusp of something wonderful in his life, now being buried 6ft under ground.

Why is nobody in the medical profession shocked or saddened that Jake is dead? Why do they tell so many lies afterwards? Why do they not want to stop the deaths of children? Why in God's name do they see fit to produce and prescribe a drug with side effects of suicide and self-harm, amongst hundreds of others to children? If they think this is okay then why is ecstasy, cocaine or LSD illegal, what is the difference? The side effects are all the same.

When Jake, towards the end, looked or acted in any way stressed, I, his mother, would ask did he take his medication, thinking his exams were stressing him and the Prozac would make it better. Little did I know, at the time, that it would kill him.

How, do we fix it? Well, we can't but what we can do is speak and fight for our child.

We as Jake's parents will never stop fighting for justice for Jake, no matter what the cost or time. I know the psychiatric profession hope I get bored and/or go away, I know Eli Lilly, who market and manufacture Prozac, hope I stop mentioning their drug. That's never going to happen! They, Eli Lilly and the treating psychiatrist are, I believe, both guilty and both carry Jake's blood on their hands for not informing us that this could happen.

Let's face it, what happened to Jake could happen to any family. We thought we were helping Jake, all we done by listening to the so called professionals, and I use that term lightly, is help kill Jake. This can never be fixed but this should be stopped. Anxiety is part and parcel of life, so is sadness, grief and relationship breakdowns, unemployment too. No tablet is ever going to fix any of the above, these are life circumstances not some made up disorder or a made up chemical imbalance.

If only we had been informed of the side effects I would not be writing this now because we would never have allowed Jake to have Prozac, what parent would?

If your child, or anybody you know, is a little anxious why in the world would you give them a drug with those side effects?

Jake's death was so preventable from start to finish, he was let down by all involved and I include us, his parents, in that statement. How stupid were we to listen to a "professional" when really nobody knows their child like a parent?

Shame on Eli Lilly, shame on the psychiatrist, shame on the IMB and Medical council, shame again on the coroners for not pointing out the dangers when all these inquests come before them.

We will have a voice for Jake, that I am certain of, it will never bring him back but everybody will know that our child was not at any time a depressed suicidal teenager, he was a normal child who died from a legal drug that induced self my son to kill himself.

Stephanie Lynch - Ireland.



My thoughts.

The story of Jake isn't isolated. Many parents who lose children to suicide often don't make the connection between an antidepressant induced suicide. Many coroners, who have a duty to give the dead a voice to protect the living, also rarely make the connection. In the case of the latter I believe it boils down to one of two things.

1. Coroners have a blind ignorance when it comes to making the connection between antidepressant induced suicide.

2. Coroners are aware of the link but choose not to publish their findings because they feel they may put people off taking their medication.

What strikes me as an odd statement in Stephanie's above post is the response of the Irish Medicine's Board regarding the black box warning.

"Nobody would take it if such a warning was put into place."

Isn't that the whole point?

When a land owner erects an electronic fence around his/her property he/she has a duty to warn that the fence is electric, ergo, do not touch it. He/she is warning you because you may die if you touch it. Shouldn't the same be said for Prozac? Exactly what is it that the Irish Medicine's Board are trying to say here?

I'm left scratching my head at this bizarre response from a regulator who are supposed to protect the public from unsafe drugs.

Stephanie blames herself for Jake's death, most parents, if not all who have lost a child to suicide, often do. I couldn't disagree more but do understand the guilt, obviously not through experience of losing a child to suicide because I'm fortunate to have all of my three children alive.

Jake was prescribed Prozac, a drug that has been given a clean bill of health by the Irish Medicine's Board and the British drug regulator, the MHRA. In both countries Prozac can be prescribed to children. Strangely, in the United States, Prozac is approved for use in children and adolescents for the treatment of major depressive disorder and for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder. Jake had neither of these. He was just worried about his exams.

Moreover, Eli Lilly, who market and manufacture Prozac, have placed the following warning on the package insert for Prozac in the United States.

"Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: Monitor for clinical worsening and suicidal thinking and behavior."

Clever marketing and deflecting of laying the blame individually on Prozac sees the manufacturer lump all antidepressants together when they write on the package insert the following message

"Increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in children, adolescents, and young adults taking antidepressants."

You'll note that they don't mention their product by name in this statement.

Jake and his parents should have been told about the suicide link when he was prescribed Prozac. His inquest, which will be taking place shortly, should also go into the reasons why Jake or his parents were not warned in the same way that American children are.

A quick look on the MHRA website shows that there has been 111 reported suicides on Prozac - it's my belief that these figures should also be placed onto boxes or package inserts, consumers and parents have a right to know.

The Rxisk database, which gives more up to date figures and includes worldwide reports, shows that there has been 1,560 reported suicides on Prozac. Once again, I believe, that this information should be implemented into package inserts or, at the very least, relayed to patients or the parents of patients.

The system failed Jake, the whole system. The treating psychiatrist, the Irish Medicines Board, and Eli Lilly. Jake's parents put their trust in this system and their son paid the price of the incompetence of all of the above.

I do hope the coroner will, at the very least, ask questions on Jake's behalf... and also on behalf of any children who may in future years be labelled by some apparent mind expert who will, no doubt, prescribe these mind-altering, dangerous class of drugs. I also hope that the coroner returns a verdict of a drug induced suicide. Jake and his family deserve recognition that Prozac played a major role in Jake's death.

Worrying about school exams is not a brain disease. Prescribing mild altering drugs to children because they are worried about pending exams would, in my opinion, suggest that the prescriber has the brain disease.

Bob Fiddaman.