It seems that in recent times the medical community and FDA may have erred on the side of "public demand".  Do you have chronic heartburn? Depression? Are you obese?  There may be a pill for each of your ills.  Consider Fen Phen, and Redux and the patients who have developed deadly effects from taking this wonder drug.  Never again worry, because the drug companies have come up with Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft to restore your cheery good mood and chase away the boogie man (to help you with your depressions and anxieties).  It will fix you right up.   Just one pill a day and your worries are over!

I submit that each of these drugs could be considered a stride in medicine, and could indeed work as "wonder" drugs for SOME of the population.  The key here is that everyone (aside from identical twins) is metabolically different.  We didn't just come cut from the same cloth, the medications that work for me are not necessarily the right medication for what ails you.  Yet some doctors are very casual about prescribing them for their patients.  Have you noticed the advertisements on the television and in magazines, they are required by law to list the most common potential side effects of some of these wonder drugs?  It's what they don't tell you that could cause you the most damage.  Most of us have heard of the long term effects of Redux and the heart valve damage that they have proven it is associated with it.  Now I want to talk to you about the new pills for your mental ills.

The advent of Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft has brought about a great deal of controversy, these are powerful drugs which work to alter your brain's chemistry.  They are in a class of drugs called SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors).  They increase serotonin in the brain. There are other medications in the same category that I did not mention by name. For a complete list of these medications you can search for them on the Internet.  I invite you to do your own research on these medications.  In some cases these drugs have been very effective in helping individuals who suffer from certain disorders. It is prescribed for everything from depression to chronic pain, to anxiety, and panic disorder among other disorders.   Your doctor may give you a sample to begin taking until you can have your prescription filled.  BUT if you fail to  follow the dosing instructions or if you try to STOP taking these drugs without first consulting with your physician, the withdrawals can cause some very nasty side effects.  This class of drugs is the WRONG medication for many people,  for a variety of reasons. 

In a study done at Stanford University Medical Center, in California.......it was found that a small segment of the population has a gene which makes them more likely to have severe reactions, and withdrawl from SSRI's.....and especially Paroxetine(Paxil). In another study conducted by Dr David Healy, in the Ukraine...he not only found this drug to have the potiential for dangerous side-effects, and  from withdrawl, but accused Smith-Kline(its maker)of hiding information that they knew of these dangers before marketing the drug.  Many people who are mentally ill will tend to self medicate and mix alcohol with their prescribed medications, they forget to take their medications, they forget they have taken them and over medicate themselves,  they mix medications that should not be taken simultaneously.  Some people tend to become even more forgetful and irresponsible when they are being medicated.   

We believe that Paxil played a significant role in Cindy's case.  Perhaps causing dangerous changes in both hers and her mother's behavior and personalities on the night Edna Dooley died.  Neither of these women had ever displayed violence in their entire lives! Yet something obviously occurred that caused both these women to engage in a physical conflict. Because Cindy and her mother were BOTH taking this medication at the time of these unfortunate events.  We do think it could have been a factor in whatever occurred that fatal evening. Unfortunately,  Cindy has no memory of the events...she does not know what triggered the situation, and it has been said it is unlikely she ever will.

In addition to all this, here are symptons of caregiver burnout, which Cindy and her sister were both experiencing at the time of their family tragedy. Neither ever had respite, despite multiple demands on their time and health.  It was most like "the sick caring for the sick". Each of them already had their own chronic health problems: 

Here are a few links you might want to visit, about Paxil and its serious side-effects:

http://www.medicinenet.com/paroxetine/article.htm

http://www.quitpaxil.org

You can find Paxil information both positive and negative via any of the search engines, just type in Paxil and  side effects, then you may understand why I believe there is a reason for the contention that Paxil was a mitigating factor in this family tragedy. One further note. In court a caregiver expert stated that Cindy had every sympton of caregiver burnout.  The prosecutor made light of it, and the judge completely disregarded the burnout as well as the effect of the medication on Cindy. So much for justice, in Virginia.