Veteran Suicides up...again. This one close to home

[coastie]

I was initially gonna just post this article...then I read it. Fuckin a, this happened 10 miles from where I currently live. I grew up in Callaway. This happened in March, don't know how I didn't here about it. Actually, I do know, because not enough people care and aren't screaming from their rooftops about this. Fuck this shit pisses me off.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/11/ap-military-suicides-out-of-control-112512/

From the article:

She said her son had tried to commit suicide in Pesh Valley of Afghanistan. “He told me, ‘Momma, the William you knew died over there,’ ” she said.

On his return home, “He couldn’t be in the dark — at all. He’d flip out in the dark,” she said. “He was sleepwalking and they gave him 400 milligrams of Seroquel, they gave him Paxil, Klonopins. They had him on a lot of stuff. I don’t think he knew which way to go.

“When he would have his nightmares he would stand right up staring at me,” she said. “He would say, ‘Who are you?’ “

It was as though her son was not inside his body at times, she said.

“It was the medications,” Libby Busby said. “That caused hallucinations.”
....
....
List of drugs

William Busbee had numerous drugs, or the metabolites of drugs, in his body after his death. He had prescriptions for some of these drugs from three pharmacies in three states.

Present in the body: Tramadol (pain reliever), bupropion (antidepressant), paroxetine (anti-anxiety), alpha-hydroxyalprazolam (metabolite of alprazolam, anti-anxiety/panic disorder), cannabinoids (marijuana), oxycodone (pain reliever)

Prescribed but not present: Seroquel (schizophrenia/bipolar disorder), Paxil (antidepressant), Prazosin (high blood pressure), clonazepam (anti-anxiety), ondansetron (anti-nausea), cyproheptadine (allergies), Percocet (pain reliever)

I'll wager he stopped taking some of these recently, probably the Paxil and Seroquel -coastie


No mention in the article(asides from his mother), that the drugs were the problem. The "problem" the article(and mindset of the whole country) is that there aren't enough psychiatrists to deal with the problem. More psychiatrists=more drug prescriptions. Yeah, that'll solve it. Fuck I'm gonna go bang my head against my brick wall up front.


Everyone keeps asking "why?", when the the answer is so simple. Stop encouraging/sending your kids off to war. Period.

[youngbuck]

For every service member who dies in battle, 25 veterans die by their own hands. Damn...

[coastie]

Damn...

We need more psychiatrists to prescribe more pills!

[thoughtomator]

Seroquel is particularly evil. It's no more effective than similar drugs, the one big difference it has is that it's more addictive than heroin.

[youngbuck]

I think the problem is multifaceted. Some of these young men going oversees may not be all that mentally stable to begin with. Some sign up because they're looking for direction in their life. Then you throw in a battlefield diet of low quality food (using that word lightly) that can't support balanced neurotransmitters in the brain - this may start even before heading oversees. Who knows what effect the dozens of vaccinations have on their psychological robustness. The soldiers head oversees and are inundated with the hell of war, being away from family, realizing "this isn't what I signed up for." Then they come home. Some realize they are no better off being home than they were on the battlefield - they didn't find any of that direction they were looking for. Then you might be pumped up with a slew of pharmaceuticals and psychotropic drugs which, if you weren't f'd up already, you sure as hell will be now. And while under the influence of this garbage, they reminisce on the good ol' times in Afghanistan, and proceed to completely and utterly lose it.

[Todd]

And here's the dirty little secret. Serivice members have poor options for help once they leave the service (Counseling, mental health). That's when they usually need it most and the people who offer these services aren't very good and prescribe them meds instead of helping them work through the trauma.

And the military has been floating this "Resiliency Training" crap for about 4 years now to deal with the increase in suicide. To me it glosses over the big issue which is multiple hazaradous duty deployments into hostile zones.

But the happy happy feel good thinking pattern bullshit looks good on a power point presentation so that's why they do it.

[Acala]

My father is almost 90 years old now. The other day he told me that he is having unpleasant memories of WWII combat coming up, memories he thought he had put away long, long ago.

The psychological and neurological damage of combat is real, the suicides among active duty and recently returned vets are just the tip of the iceberg because it often takes ten years for the problem to spin out of control. And the DOD does not have a solution. The standard treatments simply don't work. The best they ever do is supress the symptoms.

[Lucille]

I was initially gonna just post this article...then I read it. Fuckin a, this happened 10 miles from where I currently live. I grew up in Callaway. This happened in March, don't know how I didn't here about it. Actually, I do know, because not enough people care and aren't screaming from their rooftops about this. Fuck this shit pisses me off.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/11/ap-military-suicides-out-of-control-112512/

From the article:

She said her son had tried to commit suicide in Pesh Valley of Afghanistan. “He told me, ‘Momma, the William you knew died over there,’ ” she said.

On his return home, “He couldn’t be in the dark — at all. He’d flip out in the dark,” she said. “He was sleepwalking and they gave him 400 milligrams of Seroquel, they gave him Paxil, Klonopins. They had him on a lot of stuff. I don’t think he knew which way to go.

“When he would have his nightmares he would stand right up staring at me,” she said. “He would say, ‘Who are you?’ “

It was as though her son was not inside his body at times, she said.

“It was the medications,” Libby Busby said. “That caused hallucinations.”
....
....
List of drugs

William Busbee had numerous drugs, or the metabolites of drugs, in his body after his death. He had prescriptions for some of these drugs from three pharmacies in three states.

Present in the body: Tramadol (pain reliever), bupropion (antidepressant), paroxetine (anti-anxiety), alpha-hydroxyalprazolam (metabolite of alprazolam, anti-anxiety/panic disorder), cannabinoids (marijuana), oxycodone (pain reliever)

Prescribed but not present: Seroquel (schizophrenia/bipolar disorder), Paxil (antidepressant), Prazosin (high blood pressure), clonazepam (anti-anxiety), ondansetron (anti-nausea), cyproheptadine (allergies), Percocet (pain reliever)

I'll wager he stopped taking some of these recently, probably the Paxil and Seroquel -coastie


No mention in the article(asides from his mother), that the drugs were the problem. The "problem" the article(and mindset of the whole country) is that there aren't enough psychiatrists to deal with the problem. More psychiatrists=more drug prescriptions. Yeah, that'll solve it. Fuck I'm gonna go bang my head against my brick wall up front.


Everyone keeps asking "why?", when the the answer is so simple. Stop encouraging/sending your kids off to war. Period.

All those meds. The cure is worse than the disease.

http://www.operationwarriorwellness.org/


Operation Warrior Wellness

Creates Resilient Warriors
This field-tested Transcendental Meditation-based approach provides the key missing component in any comprehensive, integrated
program for promoting soldier resiliency and well-being. MORE

Delivers Relief from PTS
OEF/OIF veterans who practiced the TM technique showed a 50
percent reduction in symptoms of post-traumatic stress
(PTS) after 8 weeks, according to a recent study published in
the peer-reviewed journal Military Medicine. MORE

Empowers Veterans’ Families
The need: 50 percent of caregivers are forced to leave their jobs
to focus on demands at home, according to the “Caregivers of
Veterans: Serving on the American Homefront” survey. MORE

An Evidence-based Approach
More than 340 peer-reviewed studies, including research funded
by $26 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health,
document the effectiveness of the TM technique for relieving
stress and stress-related disorders. MORE

[libertygrl]

This is what make me soooooo infuriated! This doesn't have to be. It's senseless and people are profiting over it. Yet, some Republicans continue to wave the flag and chant USA - as if that is really supporting the troops. :mad: I hear the new stats for suicide are 18 soldiers a day now. We never learn. :(

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE
words and music by Pete Seeger
performed by Pete Seeger and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?

©1961 (Renewed) Fall River Music Inc
All Rights Reserved.

[dannno]

Guns N' Roses - Civil War

"What we've got here is failure to communicate
Some men you just can't reach...
So, you get what we had here last week
Which is the way he wants it!
Well, he gets it!
N' I don't like it any more than you men" *

Look at your young men fighting
Look at your women crying
Look at your young men dying
The way they've always done before

Look at the hate we're breeding
Look at the fear we're feeding
Look at the lives we're leading
The way we've always done before

My hands are tied
The billions shift from side to side
And the wars go on with brainwashed pride
For the love of god and our human rights
And all these things are swept aside
By bloody hands time can't deny
And are washed away by your genocide
And history hides the lies of our civil wars

D'you wear a black armband
When they shot the man
Who said "peace could last forever"
And in my first memories
They shot Kennedy
I went numb when I learned to see
So I never fell for Vietnam
We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all
That you can't trust freedom
When it's not in your hands
When everybody's fightin'
For their promised land
And

I don't need your civil war
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
I don't need your civil war
Ow, oh no, no, no, no, no

Look at the shoes you're filling
Look at the blood we're spilling
Look at the world we're killing
The way we've always done before
Look in the doubt we've wallowed
Look at the leaders we've followed
Look at the lies we've swallowed
And I don't want to hear no more

My hands are tied
For all I've seen has changed my mind
But still the wars go on as the years go by
With no love of god or human rights
'Cause all these dreams are swept aside
By bloody hands of the hypnotized
Who carry the cross of homicide
And history bears the scars of our civil wars

"We practice selective annihilation of mayors and
Government officials for example to create a vacuum
Then we fill that vacuum as popular war advantage
Peace is closer" **

I don't need your civil war
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
And I don't need your civil war
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
I don't need your civil war
I don't need your civil war
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
I don't need your civil war
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no uh-oh-uh, no uh-oh, uh no
I don't need one more war

I don't need one more war
No, no, no, no uh-oh-uh, no uh-oh, uh no
Whaz so civil 'bout war anyway?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9VhD4SccSE

[jllundqu]

This country couldn't care less about veterans...

When I got back from Iraq, I needed lots of help. Luckily I had family and met my wife who helped me through some rough times. All the VA docs did was waste my time and make me want to scream... I would never go back to the VA for ANYTHING...

This country pisses me off. They sit around and watch death and destruction in their name live on TV every night and sop it up without question. We need to hit the reset button, seriously.

[AFPVet]

Paroxetine (Paxil) is a powerful SSRI prescribed for depression. It can worsen symptoms of anxiety. When you mix anti-anxiety medications with anti-depressant medications, that's asking for trouble. Some doctors know... some don't.

[tod evans]

All the Nam era vets I know made do with off the street drugs...

These "new" drugs scare me.....And the goal seems to be to keep folks from "getting-high" instead of actually doing anything for the patient.

Usetacould buy such wonders as "Ludes" "reds" "tuinal""lithium", various hallucinogenics, and an assortment of speed which permitted the vet to determine what if any medication made his particular symptoms better...

Not any more....Not with the War on Drugs and money to be made on "new" patents....

Fuck the patient, the government knows best..:mad:

[paulbot24]

Paroxetine (Paxil) is a powerful SSRI prescribed for depression. It can worsen symptoms of anxiety. When you mix anti-anxiety medications with anti-depressant medications, that's asking for trouble. Some doctors know... some don't.

I know a little about this subject and this drug cocktail they had him on is horrible. First of all, were they treating clinical bipolar or not? If so, they should not have given him an SSRI like Paxil as these will usually make a bipolar person manic. We can dissect this all to pieces and find a million things wrong with what they are doing, but I think the OP said it best. These young men deserve to be home finding direction since they will have to do that again when they come back. If you join to run away from your problems or find direction, usually you wind up right back where you started running, back in your hometown, only years later. The only difference is now you are carrying a large pack on your back and probably even more baggage upstairs.

[coastie]

I know a little about this subject and this drug cocktail they had him on is horrible. First of all, were they treating clinical bipolar or not? If so, they should not have given him an SSRI like Paxil as these will usually make a bipolar person manic. We can dissect this all to pieces and find a million things wrong with what they are doing, but I think the OP said it best. These young men deserve to be home finding direction since they will have to do that again when they come back. If you join to run away from your problems or find direction, usually you wind up right back where you started running, back in your hometown, only years later. The only difference is now you are carrying a large pack on your back and probably even more baggage upstairs.


I know about these drugs as well, my wife was on several of them for 5 years. Worst time of not only our marriage, but our lives. The doctors don't give a fuck, and if you report the symptoms(think of the commercials you see saying to do this), they dismiss you with a "that only happens to x% of patients" i.e. its not happening to you, your just blaming your marital problems on the drugs.:eek: I was told that very thing at least 5 times.:eek::mad:

They told her she'd be on them for the rest of her life. I finally convinced her the drugs were the problem, we weened her off of all of them, and VOILA! She mysteriously gets better. Imagine that. The doctors would NOT help us ween her off, and all "fired" us for even asking them to.

No problems, at all, has NO seizures anymore(what she was originally taking them for) and damn sure aint "bipolar" anymore. Fuck those crazy ass pills.

[fisharmor]

No problems, at all, has NO seizures anymore(what she was originally taking them for) and damn sure aint "bipolar" anymore. Fuck those crazy ass pills.

And everyone I know who had a "problem" with pot, had the unique kind of "problem" that involved law enforcement.