The mission of MISSD is to raise awareness about medication-induced suicides and akathisia. Departing slightly, but in conjunction with drug induced reactions, I want to share a personal story regarding my 94 1/2-year-old mother.  My mother,  who has age-related dementia, was prescribed Ritalin to help increase her appetite.  Six days after starting Ritalin she had a complete break from reality-she experienced auditory and visual hallucinations, and a sensation of bugs crawling on her arms.  She experienced many symptoms of akathisia, including aggressiveness, restlessness, agitation, insomnia, irritability and hostility. Once physical issues were ruled out, she was sent to a geriatric psychiatric ward for detox. Gratefully, after two weeks and a readjustment of meds, I am happy to report that she is back to her usual self.  This experience broadened my perspective that we have to be aware of these reactions in all age groups and be vigilant when anyone stops or starts a new medication.

~Wendy Dolin

Founder of MISSD

Think akathisia can only happen to those taking antidepressants or other psychotropic medications? Unfortunately it’s time to widen our scope–akathisia can occur from other medications as well. Two doctors’ wives are now speaking out, six years after their husbands both took their lives while taking Neurontin, or Gabapentin, and suffering from akathisia. Neither the doctors nor their wives realized what was provoking personality changes and erratic behavior in their husbands, until it was too late. Both were taking the drug for back pain, an off-label use. Like MISSD, they are now trying to spread the word so others can be spared the same pain.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martha-rosenberg/pfizer-neurontin-suicide_b_875603.html

Such great thought-provoking discussions yesterday at the Naomi Ruth Cohen Conference as we provided information and raised awareness about possible side effects of medications and shared our knowledge about akathisia with others. We had the wonderful opportunity to meet such amazing professionals who were eager to hear what we had to say and become involved in our organization!

Check out the article (PDF)

Wendy Dolin, (founder) was asked to participate in the June 2014 National Center For Health Research Conference in Washington, DC. The objective for this workshop (which was led by 10 patient and consumer advocates) is to learn about the scientific evidence perspectives that the FDA then considers when making decisions to approve or recall a medical product. Wendy Dolin was one of the participants on this panel.

Below are some excerpts from an article summarizing the conference, with MISSD founder Wendy Dolin featured in one of the photos:

Page 1 (PDF)

Page 2 (PDF)

Page 3 (PDF)

View the full article here.

Pfizer has recently presented Chantix to the FDA in efforts to remove the black box warning (although side effects of this drug are very serious and have lead to suicidal behavior). Chantix did NOT lose the black box warning, but here is a powerful video discussing some of the side effects of this drug.

View the full article here.

September marks Suicide Awareness Month and the MISSD Team will once again be participating in the Out of the Darkness Chicago Walk, put on by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)! The walk will take place at Grant Park on Saturday, September 20^th, 2014!  We are looking forward to raising more awareness about our organization and supporting other suicide prevention related organizations.  For more information about this walk, you can visit http://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=2579.