'That's lot of medication': Experts slam doctor for prescribing 13 antipsychotic drugs to Lindsay Clancy who killed her 3 children
DUXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS: After the horrific triple homicide of three children in Massachusetts, doctors issued a warning against excessive prescribing of antipsychotic medicines to new mothers with depression. Experiencing postpartum psychosis, Lindsay Clancy, 32, of Duxbury, is charged with strangling her three children—Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months—to death before attempting to kill herself.
Although the prosecution has argued that she planned the murders by deliberately sending her husband out to buy enough time, the attornies blamed the overprescribed drugs treating her for postpartum psychosis. In the eight months prior to the killings, according to her attorney, she had been administered 13 potent mind-altering prescription medicines, including benzodiazepines, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and sleeping aids, the Daily Mail reported.
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Too many medicines, 'can impair your judgment'
Doctor Gary Marlow, a psychiatrist at Duke University, told the outlet that the number of drugs prescribed to Clancy was "way too high for sure". He added, "These are medicines that can help, but if you take too many, it can impair your judgment."
Clancy had been prescribed 13 drugs over the last eight months. These included the powerful sleeping pill Ambien, anti-anxiety drugs Ativan, Klonopin, and Valium; the anti-depressant drugs Remeron, Prozac, and Trazodone; Bi-polar disorder drug Lamictal; and the anti-schizophrenia Seroquel, the outlet noted.
Her attorney informed the court that Lindsay is paralyzed as she can not move at all. After strangling her children, she cut her wrists and leaped out from the window of the second floor. She as per the attorney, she heard a "male voice" telling her to commit these murders and kill herself too as it was her "last chance".
'You want to use the least number of medications necessary'
"In general, you want to use the least number of medications necessary. If a patient is psychotic and they give them the wrong medicine, they can be [even more] confused," Dr Marlow said as per the report. He also said that withdrawal symptoms and delusions could result from stopping a potent combination of medicines, which could be just as harmful as their negative effects while being taken.
Clancy had described suffering "extreme insomnia" from Zoloft while her husband said in the court hearing that he went to doctors and that the prescription medications were turning her into a "zombie". Other medications given to Clancy, the outlet mentioned, included the anti-depressant Prozac, the bipolar medication Lamictal, the anxiety drug Ativan, the anti-depressant Remeron, and the anti-depressant Trazodone. However, it is not clear how many drugs Lindsay Clancy was on and also how many psychiatrists Lindsay visited, and who was responsible for the prescriptions.
'That's a lot of medication'
Dr Steven Hollon, a psychologist from Nashville's Vand erbilt University, said: "That's a lot of medication. If she's had a history of psychosis, you must be concerned." Leonard Jason, a psychologist at DePaul University, told the outlet, "The tragic case raised questions about her treatment plan." As per Leonard, the amount of drugs, she had been prescribed "is unusual", adding, "Clearly, her psychosis was not being controlled."
Attorney also shared that she had volunteered to go to a psychiatric hospital, "She was so bad that she voluntarily turned herself into the McClean Hospital." She remained there for three days, "The hospital basically tried to get her off Seroquel. She wanted off the benzodiazepines. She then a@ends up on Trazadone Ativan, her mood was terrible after she got out of McClean. She still had suicidal thoughts - she told her husband Patrick she had suicidal thoughts."
Clancy was on three benzodiazepine drugs. One of the drugs Clancy was on Klonopin used for anxiety, seizures, and panic disorders. She was also prescribed Atarax and buspirone, other anxiety medications. She had also been prescribed five antidepressants over the last eight months. Zoloft, Trazadone, and Prozac are all classified as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs, also known as SSRIs.
Clancy was also prescribed Elavil and Remeron, two other long-term drugs that boost serotonin in the brain. Lamictal was prescribed to her as well. The drug is used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder, as per the report.
