Medications Deborah took

When our darling Deborah was admitted to Surrey Memorial psyche ward in December of last year, for symptoms of anxiety with psychosis, grandiose ideas, psychosis most likely drug induced, and elevated mood, the doctors prescribed for her risperidone in varying amounts of 5mg to 3 mg.  At nights she would also get a drug to sedate her. I can't remember it's name. They did find cannibus in her system upon her arrival that sad day of her admission on December 17th, 2013. I have yet to get all the reports from the Early Psychosis Intervention (Fraser Health) team, for some reason it is lost at some confidential department.   The criteria around depression was not certain, as she was going back to her gym, and started to socialize with her friends in the spring/summer. When she was first admitted, I noticed how her heart raced all of a sudden, and despite asking for an examination of her heart, the hospitalist at the psyche unit did not order one. In hindsight I am told that this exhibit of sudden perkiness, and intense energy, extremely fast heart beat is  a symptom of mania. She left the hospital after painstakingly slow progress in our view on January 10th of 2014.

Deborah had all of her privileges stripped by the psyche ward. No toothbrush, no hairbrush, no shampoo, and in some cases no slippers or any personal belongings. She had to be supervised, and once a male patient made a pass on her, and then she was isolated in a room across from the nursing station with cameras in her room. The window was open, as it was broken, and her nights were very cold. Despite complaints about the broken window, and the fact that the nurses knew about it, did not bring a solution, other than having a board put by the window. All her personal belongings were locked away in a locker, and she was supervised even while plucking her eyebrows. There were around four levels of behavior, each with it's privileges, or lack of privileges. For instance on level two, you had some of your personal clothing, and toothbrush. On level 3 you may get to go to the cafeteria for a half hour with a family member. Eventually we would go on a two hour day pass, and build up to a four hour day pass, until she was finally discharged on Risperidone which caused her to gain close to 40 pounds in three months. She left the hospital after painstakingly slow progress in our view on January 10th of 2014. There was no leave permitted for spending Christmas at home for a few hours, and we took turns visiting her as only two family members were allowed at a time to open the gifts with her.


By the way, the pharmacist nor the doctor tells the patient that the side effect of medication is suicide. One pharmacist told me, that nobody would  take it then. A pharmacist can loose their license if they do not fill the prescription, even though it is governed by different laws from country to country. Paxel is another anti-depressant with similar cautionary verses.

The medical profession at the EPI program did not come up with a diagnosis for her, for 7 months, but did ask why she was on antidepressants starting in July of this year, 10 mg of Cipralex, that her family doctor ordered and she told the psychologist; she's on it because she is depressed. They failed to take this drug away from her, despite the fact that in the U.S.A, they do not give this drug to anyone under age 24, the formative years, and with the full knowledge that this drug causes suicidal thoughts in manic/bi-polar individuals especially in pediatric patients. It took her jumping off the bridge in order for them to determine she is suicidal. Cipralex selectively inhibits the uptake of serotonin in the central nervous system, and has an anti-depressant action. 80% of the drug is absorbed and must be monitored weekly for the 1st 4 weeks of administration. No doctor monitors a patient weekly, as it is impossible to get in that often with the appointment shortages. This drug is given for major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety, OCD-obsessive compulsive behavior , anxiety and social anxiety. It is contra indicated, duration is unknown and the peak is unknown. If hypersensitivity is a fact, than a person is not to take it. It gives suicidal thoughts, drowsiness, fatigue and constipation. All this I read in my daughters book of pharmaceuticals, that is available to all nursing students, and most likely is available on line too. I believe that she took the pills, and in a month her tragic death occurred.

In British Columbia, right now, there is at least a two year wait to see a psychiatrist, and 5-10 years of visits to diagnose a person accurately with a mental illness. The system is broken, and we all need to be aware of it. Below is a Province Newspaper article about a mother who took her life.
 http://www.theprovince.com/health/Something+wrong+happened+Surrey+Memorial+alleged+errors+resulted+mentally+mother+tragic/10232654/story.html

This is the booklet that gives all pertinent information about all the drugs.
 The Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties: The Canadian Drug Reference for Health Professionals, more commonly known by its abbreviation