Monday, March 8, 2010

Are Veterans Being Given Deadly Cocktails to Treat PTSD?

PTSD is not something you can cure with drugs. As a matter of fact, there’s no definitive cure.

With counseling, group therapy, and years of support, a person can still lead a relatively normal (I’m really not sure what normal is) life. Sometimes it’s necessary to add drugs to peoples PTSD treatment.

For example, I take Trazone at night to sleep. Zoloft,  a common anti-depressant drug that’s been around for over a decade, is also used as part of a treatment program. There are other drugs out there that have proved their worth as partial components for PTSD therapy.   

But, a potentially deadly drug- Seroquel -  manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has been linked to the deaths of soldiers returning from war.

Although it has not been approved for treatment of PTSD, Pentagon purchases of Seroquel nearly doubled between 2003 and 2007. Elspeth Ritchie, medical director of the Army's Strategic Communications Office told the Denver Post the drug is "increasingly utilized as an adjunct for PTSD."

Yet the FDA continues to approve it!

2 comments:

Ernie Branscomb said...

Dave
Take good care of yourself. There are some of us that appreciate the hell you went through for us.

ImBlogCrazy said...

Thanks Ernie.
Duly noted, and appreciated.

It's Time to Pay Up Donnie!

It's looks like there will be some prime real estate going on the market soon in New York City. Convicted rapist and former president ...