on this memorial day

why did four veterans in ONE region die in their sleep? they were all prescribed drugs for their ptsd. if there are four here, are there more elsewhere?

are they throwaways? why isn't this on the front page of EVERY newspaper out there. why isn't king george demanding over the top medical care for our veterans? why?
West Virginia Paper: 4th Local Vet Taking 'PTSD Drugs' Dies
By Greg Mitchell
NEW YORK A report in the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette connects four recent deaths in the area to a combination of drugs taken to help the veterans suffering from post-traumatic shock disorder. This comes on top of what appears to be a surge in Iraq vet suicides around the country, often reported only in local newspapers.The article by Julie Robinson is at:http://wvgazette.com/News/200805230640It opens as follows.*A Putnam County veteran who was taking medication prescribed for post-traumatic stress disorder died in his sleep earlier this month, in circumstances similar to the deaths of three other area veterans earlier this year.Derek Johnson, 22, of Hurricane, served in the infantry in the Middle East in 2005, where he was wounded in combat and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder while hospitalized.Military doctors prescribed Paxil, Klonopin and Seroquel for Johnson, the same combination taken by veterans Andrew White, 23, of Cross Lanes; Eric Layne, 29, of Kanawha City; and Nicholas Endicott of Logan County. All were in apparently good physical health when they died in their sleep.Johnson was taking Klonopin and Seroquel, as prescribed, at the time of his death, said his grandmother, Georgeann Underwood of Hurricane. Both drugs are frequently used in combination to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Klonopin causes excessive drowsiness in some patients.He also was taking a painkiller for a back injury he sustained in a car accident about a week before his death, but was no longer taking Paxil...............

i guess tom cruise

wasn't able to 'counsel' the youngsters who took their own lives. of course he doesn't believe in that type of medication. he thinks (as does his 'religion') one can be TALKED OUT of mental illness or mental instability. we all know what i think of tom cruise and his 'religion'

on the other hand, i think our children, in general, are over medicated. i didn't know so many a d d kids existed in the universe much less america. it's just easier to medicate so they shut up

on the OTHER hand, if a child genuinely needs help she or he should get it. therapy OR medication OR both

Suicides Rose as Prescription Use Declined
Study: Child Antidepressant Warnings Coincided With Increase

By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer
Warnings from federal regulators four years ago that antidepressants were increasing the risk of suicidal behavior among young people led to a precipitous drop in the use of the drugs. Now a new study has found that the drop coincides with an unprecedented increase in the number of suicides among children.
From 2003 to 2004, the suicide rate among Americans younger than 19 rose 14 percent, the most dramatic one-year change since the government started collecting suicide statistics in 1979, the study found. The rise followed a sharp decrease in the prescribing of antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil after parents and physicians were confronted by a barrage of warnings from the Food and Drug Administration and international agencies..........