Christopher Pittman - FDA Statement - February 2004

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> SSRI-Research

> Mon, 23 Aug 2004 06:15:26 -0400

> [sSRI-Research] Christopher Pittman - FDA

> Statement - February 2004

>

> Here's Christopher's statement that was read into

> the record

> at the February 2 FDA hearing.

>

> " Dear FDA: My name is Chris Pittman. I

>

> 4 am now 14 years old. I would like to tell you

> what

>

> 5 happened to me, what the medication did to me

> and

>

> 6 how it made me feel.

>

> 7 " When I was taking Zoloft, I took

> the

>

> 8 lives of two people that I loved more than

>

> 9 anything, my grandparents. I went to the

> doctor

>

> 10 and he gave me a sample pack of Zoloft. He

> told me

>

> 11 to take 50 milligrams once in the morning and

>

> 12 another 50 at night.

>

> 13 " I didn't notice a change in my

> behavior

>

> 14 until I was completely off the medication. It

> made

>

> 15 me hate everyone. The smallest things made me

> blow

>

> 16 up, and I started getting into fights, which

> was

>

> 17 not me. I would usually avoid fights. Before

> the

>

> 18 medication, I had only been in two fights my

> whole

>

> 19 life. I just hated the whole world for no

> apparent

>

> 20 reason.

>

> 21 " A week after the doctor gave me the

>

> 22 sample packs, he increased my dosage to 200

>

> 23 milligrams a day. Everything just kept

> getting

>

> 24 worse. Then, I snapped. I took everything

> out on

>

> 25 my grandparents who I loved so very much.

>

>

>

> 135

>

> 1 " When I was lying in my bed that

> night, I

>

> 2 couldn't sleep because my voice in my head

> kept

>

> 3 echoing through my mind telling me to kill

> them

>

> 4 until I got up, got the gun, and I went

> upstairs

>

> 5 and I pulled the trigger. Through the whole

> thing

>

> 6 it was like watching your favorite TV show.

> You

>

> 7 know what is going to happen, but you can't do

>

> 8 anything to stop it. All you can do is just

> watch

>

> 9 it in fright.

>

> 10 " Because of my own personal

> experience on

>

> 11 the medication, I would not want anyone to go

>

> 12 through what I have then and now, losing the

> lives

>

> 13 of my loved ones for the effects of homicide

> or

>

> 14 suicide, or both, due to the medication.

>

> 15 " Thank you. Christopher Pittman. "

>

>

>

Drug-Free School Zone? Just Say NO to Prozac for

Children.

>

>