ZOLOFT-INDUCED SUICIDE: A BATTLE FOR WOODY

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atracyphd2

Sun, 19 Jun 2005 12:21:42 EDT

[drugawareness] ZOLOFT-INDUCED SUICIDE: A BATTLE FOR WOODY

 

 

 

Two years ago Woody Witzak hanged himself in his garage only days after

starting on the Prozac clone, Zoloft, for insomnia. His wife, Kim, has

filed a

wrongful death suit against Pfizer for her husband's senseless death

and has

fought a very valiant and tireless battle in raising awareness about

Woody's death

and the dangers of SSRI antidepressants.

 

Karen Barth Menzies of the Los Angeles law firm, Baum Hedlund, filed a

suit

on Kim's behalf against Pfizer in May 2004.

 

" A motion by Pfizer is pending to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that

Minnesota state law cannot supersede the FDA's authority to regulate

drug safety.

Witczak, with the court assistance of state Attorney General Mike Hatch,

contends that Pfizer failed to sufficiently warn users of Zoloft about

the suicide

connection. " A 1991 Pfizer document, for example, reported how a

52-year-old

patient " became acutely suicidal " 13 days after he started taking

sertraline

(Zoloft) and that his condition improved once he stopped taking the drug. "

 

But Pfizer, and all of these SSRI manufacturers, had to have known

about the

suicide connection to their drugs LONG before this. My book, Prozac:

Panacea

or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare, is packed full of studies

indicating

that when you impair a patient's ability to metabolize serotonin, thus

allowing

serotonin to build to higher levels (the precise so called

" therapeutic effect "

of antidepressants), you produce impulsive murder and/or suicide along

with a

whole host of horrific and deadly side effects. That research goes

back over

fifty years!! When is the FDA going to pay attention to all of that

research?

 

The article also states: " Among the Zoloft cases handled by the Baum

Hedlund

firm and Barth Menzies was the 1998 murder of comedian Phil Hartman by his

wife, Brynn, who then committed suicide. Tests later showed she had

ingested

Zoloft, cocaine and alcohol on the day of the shootings. "

 

Sean Hartman's birthday was just this past Friday and the least I can

do for

Sean is to clarify the misinformation stated here about his parents

and the

cause of their deaths. In my opinion it is despicable that in Brynn

Hartman's

home state an article would appear containing all of the

misinformation put out

about her by Pfizer since this tragedy happened so many years ago.

Perhaps my

upcoming book on their deaths will help the world to know what really

happened

in this case.

 

As the leading expert in Phil Harman's case I would like to make it very

clear that the evidence showed his wife had consumed cocaine AFTER she

shot her

husband and not before. Brynn was not in her right mind when she took the

cocaine. It was a drug she was deathly afraid of and fought hard to

stay away from

for many, many years after a problem with it early on in her life.

 

It is clear that Brynn Hartman was suffering from Serotonin Syndrome and a

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder at the time Phil was shot. She was so

completely

unaware of what was real when this happened that she went to get

friends to come

with her to tell her if Phil had been shot or if it was a nightmare

she was

having. And when they confirmed he had been shot she became

hysterical, laid

down next to Phil, and then shot herself.

 

And the most important piece of information this article left out is that

Pfizer has settled the wrongful death case filed by the Hartman

children. For

anyone who was born just yesterday let me point out that these drug

companies do

not settle cases because they are " benevolent. "

 

In the article Dr. Paul Goering, medical director for the psychiatry

department at St. Paul's United Hospital, is quoted as stating that,

" If we didn't

have them [antidepressants], I don't know what I'd do. "

 

Might I suggest he go out and get a real job where he could actually

produce

something beneficial for society and stop torturing people with mind

altering

drugs that can drive them to suicide just to escape the drug-induced

hell they

suffer as a result?

 

Dr. Tracy

______________________

 

Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, Executive Director,

International Coalition For Drug Awareness

www.drugawareness.org

Author of the " Bible on Antidepressants, " Prozac:

Panacea or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare

& audio " Help! I Can't Get Off My Antidepressant! "

(Order: 800-280-0730)

_________________________

 

 

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Last update: June 18, 2005 at 11:07 PM

 

A battle for Woody

 

David Phelps

Star Tribune

Published June 19, 2005

 

Two years after her husband hanged himself in their garage, there has

been no

closure for Kimberly Witczak.

 

And there won't be until she's done pursuing those she thinks are

responsible

for Tim (Woody) Witczak's death at 37. There was no suicide note, but for

Witczak, there was something equally damning -- a partially consumed

bottle of

the antidepressant Zoloft on the kitchen counter of their south

Minneapolis

home.

 

Since then, Witczak, 39, has been on a crusade that has taken her to a

federal courtroom in Minneapolis, the hallways of the U.S. Capitol and the

headquarters of the Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, Md.

 

She currently is in federal court challenging Pfizer Inc., the maker of

Zoloft and the biggest pharmaceutical company in the world. She

contends that

Pfizer did not sufficiently warn doctors and patients about the drug's

potential to

cause suicidal tendencies, a claim that Pfizer denies.

 

Hers is not the only suit against Pfizer involving Zoloft -- there are at

least a dozen cases around the country. But it's one of a handful to

invoke a

state " failure to warn " statute, with Witczak asserting that the state

law should

supersede even FDA requirements on disclosure.

 

Already, her testimony before FDA advisory committees has been among those

voices that forced drug companies to include warnings that certain

antidepressants can cause suicidal thoughts in those under 18. That's

not enough for

Witczak; she wants the stronger warnings to cover adults, too.

 

Connections to suicide

 

Her case hinges on an assembly of corporate documents collected in earlier

lawsuits involving Zoloft and similar antidepressants. The papers

suggest that

as far back as the mid-1980s, manufacturers and regulators saw connections

between a family of drugs known as selective serotonin re-uptake

inhibitors

(SSRIs) and suicidal tendencies.

 

A 1991 Pfizer document, for example, reported how a 52-year-old patient

" became acutely suicidal " 13 days after he started taking sertraline

(Zoloft) and

that his condition improved once he stopped taking the drug. A 1993

confidential Pfizer document reported that a 45-year-old woman had to

be hospitalized

after she developed akathisia while on the drug. Akathisia is a

neurological

development that results in extreme agitation that can lead to suicide.

 

Zoloft was introduced in 1992 and quickly became a blockbuster drug for

Pfizer. The drug had $3.3 billion in sales in 2004. Besides

depression, doctors

also began prescribing it for " off-label " uses such as migraines and

moodiness.

Tim Witczak was one of those who had no symptoms of depression but was

given a

prescription for Zoloft by his doctor for insomnia.

 

Pfizer said clinical trials and studies and reports fail to demonstrate a

connection between use of Zoloft and suicide.

 

" There's no scientific link to Zoloft and suicidal behavior. That's

the long

and short of it, " said Bryant Haskins, a Pfizer spokesman. " Zoloft has

provided effective and life-saving treatment to millions of patients

since it's been

on the market. "

 

Others note that Zoloft is a crucial drug in the arsenal against major

depression, a serious disease in the United States.

 

" Do we shoot ourselves in the foot if we don't treat this catastrophic

illness? " asked Dr. Paul Goering, medical director for the psychiatry

department at

St. Paul's United Hospital. " If we didn't have them [antidepressants],

I don't

know what I'd do. "

 

Goering said 10 percent of all untreated patients with major depression

commit suicide.

 

He said antidepressants should be prescribed after a thorough conversation

between doctor and patient and ongoing monitoring for side effects.

" If you

start to see or feel these things [suicidal thoughts], then let us

know right

away, " Goering said.

 

Prescription for insomnia

 

Witczak disputes assertions that her husband, Tim -- Woody to his

friends --

must have been depressed to commit such an ultimate act. He was given

Zoloft

for insomnia as he immersed himself in a new, high-level sales job.

 

" I went to two suicide support groups. They said it was undiagnosed

depression. I could accept that if I thought that was true. But it

wasn't, " Witczak

said, describing her husband of 10 years as an outgoing, caring " kid

at heart. "

 

Witczak has been an effective spokeswoman for her cause.

 

" She's very articulate and has a very compelling story to tell, " said

Karin

Hope, legislative aide to U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., who has

arranged for

Witczak and her brother-in-law, Eric Swan, to meet with congressional

committees that have jurisdiction over the FDA and drug safety.

 

" We were dealing in the abstract until we came in touch with her, "

said U.S.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a New York Democrat who has been battling the

FDA over

drug safety issues. " She put a human face on the things we are trying to

correct. "

 

Last October, the FDA ordered drug manufacturers to place " black box "

warnings on all antidepressants to warn doctors and patients about the

increased risk

of suicidal thoughts and actions for children and adolescents taking the

drugs. The FDA issued the directive based on the findings of advisory

committees

before which Witczak testified.

 

The FDA currently is asking pharmaceutical companies for clinical

studies of

adults and suicide rates when using an antidepressant. " We've just begun

collecting data. It will take awhile to evaluate, " FDA spokeswoman

Susan Cruzan

said.

 

Witczak and Swan have enlisted the help of Los Angeles attorney Karen

Barth

Menzies and her law firm, Baum Hedlund. Barth Menzies has 12 Zoloft cases

pending across the country and has filed lawsuits involving other

antidepressants

in two dozen states.

 

Among the Zoloft cases handled by the Baum Hedlund firm and Barth

Menzies was

the 1998 murder of comedian Phil Hartman by his wife, Brynn, who then

committed suicide. Tests later showed she had ingested Zoloft, cocaine

and alcohol on

the day of the shootings.

 

Barth Menzies filed a suit on Witczak's behalf against Pfizer in May

2004. A

motion by Pfizer is pending to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that

Minnesota state law cannot supersede the FDA's authority to regulate

drug safety.

Witczak, with the court assistance of state Attorney General Mike

Hatch, contends

that Pfizer failed to sufficiently warn users of Zoloft about the suicide

connection.

 

In an affidavit filed in the Witczak case opposing Pfizer's dismissal

motion,

Dr. David Healy -- a British psychiatrist and believer in the SSRI-suicide

link -- asserts that Pfizer knew of Zoloft's risk for more than 10

years. Healy

is the author of a book published last year titled, " Let Them Eat Prozac. "

 

" Pfizer has been far from fully forthcoming with the FDA about the adverse

reactions of Zoloft, which can lead certain vulnerable patients to become

suicidal, " Healy said in the affidavit dated March 14, 2005.

 

A birthday meeting

 

The Witczaks met in Chicago on Kim's birthday, June 1, 1990. She was

working

at an ad agency there and later became a producer for the Jenny Jones

syndicated talk show; he was in sales for an Anheuser-Busch

distributor. They married

in 1993 and moved to the Twin Cities in 1994 for Woody's sales career. Kim

eventually became an account manager for Fallon Worldwide, a Minneapolis

advertising agency.

 

In May 2003, Woody got involved in a startup company as vice president of

sales. The company sold energy-efficient lighting to commercial and

industrial

customers. Witczak said he was excited about being part of something

from the

ground up.

 

Anxiety over the new job and the new business caused Woody to have trouble

sleeping, Witczak said, and his family doctor prescribed Zoloft. For

the next

two weeks Kimberly Witczak was on assignment in New Zealand. Back

home, Woody

experienced night sweats, diarrhea and physical agitation.

 

One evening shortly after Witczak returned from New Zealand, she was

in the

kitchen when Woody entered after aimlessly driving around town.

 

" He was drenched. He'd been driving all day. He sat on the kitchen

floor in a

fetal position and said, 'Kim, you gotta help me. My head's outside my

body,'

" she recalled.

 

Kim calmed Woody down, and things seemed to go smoother, although he

complained about gruesome nightmares that he refused to describe.

 

On Monday, Aug. 4, Witczak left for an assignment in Detroit. She

talked to

Woody on Tuesday morning and described him as excited from a

successful sales

call. They booked a flight to St. Louis for a friend's wedding in

October and

Woody booked a separate flight to Las Vegas for a bachelor party the

following

weekend. When Witczak called late Tuesday, there was a different Woody

on the

phone, she said. He seemed " completely distracted. He was in a

different state

of mind. "

 

When Witczak failed to reach Woody by phone or e-mail on Wednesday,

she asked

her father to go to the house. That's when Woody was found dead,

hanging in

the couple's two-stall garage. One of his last acts had been to search

Google

on the word " noose. "

 

David Phelps is at dphelps.

 

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