“He was not a depressed man, nor would he ever have taken his own life.”

 

My father had been suffering numbness in his arms and legs for about a year and it was getting progressively worse. After visiting numerous doctors and having all kinds of tests, he was finally told that he had spurs on his spinal cord and that surgery could remove them.

Of course he was told there was a risk of paralysis, but that is true of any back surgery. He had some discs removed from his back thirty years ago and came out of that fine.

My father was always a very active man, but lately he just didn’t feel well enough to pursuit his usual interests. Any way, on January 24, I took him to the doctor and my father told me he was going to ask for some antidepressants.

I told him not to because of the side effects.

He came out of the exam room with a box of 56 Celexa and said the doctor told him these were a milder antidepressant and did not have the side effects that most have.

I took my dad home and later that evening, one of my brothers visited my dad. He said my dad had taken one of the Celexa and was crawling out of his skin and speeding.

On January 25, my father shot and killed himself.

After reading the package insert for Celexa, I discovered that they consider depression as having at least five of nine symptoms listed. My father only had three. I feel the doctor should never have given my father these drugs. He was not a depressed man, nor would he ever have taken his own life. He was looking forward to this surgery. He was only in a depressed mood because he could not get out to go dancing or do the other things he liked to do.

 

3/18/2001

This is Survivor Story number 9.
Total number of stories in current database is 34

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