February 1, 2002

8:07 PM

How's this for a rape defense: It wasn't me, it was my alter ego. Edward Lawrence Frostbutter, 17, told police that he does not remember assaulting the 16-year-old classmate in a restroom stall in Calvert High School on Jan. 16, according to court documents. Instead, he said his alter ego "Sam" was responsible, and he told police that "he felt awful about what Sam had done," according to charging documents.
posted by Rastafari (12 comments total)

Every time I see Paxil mentioned in a news story, I cringe.

A friend of mine is involved in a lawsuit right now against SmithKline Beecham (the makers of Paxil). His father committed suicide while on Paxil, and his sister attempted it. There are many horrible stories about this drug and its adverse effects on people, so I'm not at all surprised to hear this one.

When we start playing around with the chemistry of the brain, we're asking for trouble, IMHO.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:18 PM on February 1, 2002

Nature Knows Best, eh?

I'd also place blame on his parents for naming him Edward Lawrence Frostbutter.
posted by Flimsy_Parkins at 10:09 PM on February 1, 2002

So they can lock "Sam" up and give Lawrence something to read while he waits for "Sam" to get out.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:30 PM on February 1, 2002

they should tell the kid that sam's getting the chair, and he's going on a roller-coaster ride.

5 bucks sez the kid gets out, and does something even worse. any takers?
posted by jcterminal at 11:41 PM on February 1, 2002

When we start playing around with the chemistry of the brain, we're asking for trouble, IMHO.

If anyone would be responsible in that situation it would be the doctor. Millions use Paxil without psychotic side-effects. Also millions of depressed people are treated with drugs that help keep them functioning. I think it would be more trouble to helplessly watch someone fall into a suicidal depression because they feared treatment.
posted by skallas at 12:25 AM on February 2, 2002

Twin of Sam.
posted by pracowity at 1:43 AM on February 2, 2002

Court records state that Frostbutter had been taking the prescription drug Paxil and is being treated for depression, though he has not seen a doctor for split personality disorder.

I'm astonished that the Washington Post would use the out-of-date (and misleading) phrase "split personality." Playing armchair pyschiatrist, I diagnose him with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), of which Lawrence E. Frisch, M.D. has written: "There is no good evidence that supports the use of medication in treating DID. Psychotherapy has been the major form of treatment used, and remains the treatment of choice for most therapists."
posted by Carol Anne at 4:27 AM on February 2, 2002

when people go nuts on paxil (or other ssri's) it generally means they have an undiagnosed bipolar disorder.
Which is why I do not think that G.P.s should be prescribing them....at the very least they should have to consult with a psychiatrist . As bipolar has been shown to be genetic in origin , a person who so much as has bipolar relatives should be very cautious in taking an antidepressant ...lots of folks have their first mania that way.
posted by bunnyfire at 6:38 AM on February 2, 2002

Excuses, excuses tut tut
posted by Arqa at 11:12 PM on February 2, 2002

I rather offhandedly chose paxil_is_the_devil as a screen name during a brief stint in yahoo trivia chat, and was surprised at how many emails I got from people with horror stories who wanted to relate.
How does Paxil keep selling? Thalidomide didn't get press like this, and that made Batman villain-esque style mutants.
posted by dong_resin at 12:19 AM on February 3, 2002

SSRIs are powerful drugs. Paxil is one of the fastest-acting of the bunch, so some doctors tend to try it first -- you don't want your patient to have to wait three or four weeks to start feeling better, like with Prozac. (I started feeling better the same day I took my first Paxil.)

I doubt that Paxil has, on a percentage basis, any more numerous or severe side effects than any other SSRI. But SSRIs as a group are over-prescribed, and because it works faster, many of the doctors who overprescribe SSRIs choose Paxil.
posted by kindall at 12:53 AM on February 3, 2002

Sounds suspiciously like Primal Fear to me.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:48 AM on February 4, 2002