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Standards of Care

Age: 56–65  ·  Duration of use: 1–2 years  ·  Current status: No, have stopped
Symptoms: Suicidal ideation

This is my daughter's story, not mine, but she is no longer alive to tell it. Dealing with depression on and off, she got on Wellbutrin as a young adult, which seemed to help so much she decided to taper and see if she still felt good. Long story short, no, and she could not get back to the feeling good point.

In December 2022 she took an overdose of Wellbutrin after consuming some alcohol hours earlier, in a suicide attempt. Moments after she did it, she immediately regretted it and got to a hospital, totally sober, totally coherent. They were the extended release kind and she only took 5 extra so they weren't pouring into her system.

In some states, the Standard of Care for overdose is to treat the overdose, not make the patient vomit it out or use charcoal to soak up the poison. Well, the hospital did not treat the overdose correctly and she had multiple seizures which killed her the next morning. Hospitals are killing zones, especially for people seen as mentally ill. You cannot count on hospitals to save you if you attempt to take your life. She had no idea she could or would not be saved.

Has a prescribed medication affected your life?

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