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A FOX 17 News investigation revealed that a drug for the treatment of PTSD in our veterans could kill them. Prazosin is an antihypertensive drug commonly prescribed to treat nightmares of PTSD. The FDA has only approved two drugs to treat PTSD, and Prazosin is not in fact part of it.
Retired Sgt Allen Chapman stated that he took 10 pills a day to treat depression, PTSD and all the other side effects associated with working in a war zone abroad.
"I have so many medications that it takes time to take them all in the morning," Sgt said. Chapman said.
He served in the 230th National Guard Signals Company. He spent time in Afghanistan from 2011-2012.
"When you get back, you're used to all that high-speed stuff and then people here, people are just slow," Sgt. Chapman said.
This is one of the reasons why readjustment is so difficult, and why Sgt. Chapman went to the VA for help.
"I was referred to a psychiatrist and tried different medications, but it took a while to find the right balance, to find the right medication," said Sgt. Chapman said.
One of these drugs is Prazosin, a medicine for high blood pressure that a Virginia doctor has prescribed to relieve his nightmares.
"I did not want to go to sleep. There are times when I did not want to go to bed. I just did not want to go to sleep, "Sgt Chapman said.
With time, he realized that his nightmares did not improve. In fact, he said that they had gotten worse.
"I was killing people, I was cutting parts of the body and their bodies, and it was always with a knife," Sgt. Chapman said, describing his nightmares.
Finally, Sgt. Chapman has been removed from the drug, too scared by the side effects.
Dr. Vaughn McCall of the University of Augusta recently conducted a study on this drug. He found answers like Sgt. Chapman is not uncommon.
"We found that not only did prazosin not seem to have a beneficial effect on suicidal ideation, but it seemed to reduce the degree of improvement we observe in nightmares and sleep disorders in general," said the Dr. McCall.
He said that patients who took a placebo saw a greater improvement.
"This makes me pause and, at a minimum, I would be hesitant to give Prazosin to a suicidal patient suffering from PTSD," said Dr. McCall.
The VA turned down an interview but sent a statement to FOX 17 News: "Prazosin may not be as effective as we thought and it should no longer be routinely prescribed for nightmares. ESPT, but it could nevertheless benefit some patients.
The VA responded to Dr. McCall's study by stating, "Even if it adds to the evidence that Prazosin may not be effective for nightmares of PTSD, it should not pose a significant safety problem."
However, for Sgt. Chapman, the idea of an increase in suicidal thoughts certainly seems a concern.
LOSE A SON IN SUICIDE
Sgt. John Toombs took a video of himself one early November morning in 2016.
"I went looking for help from the VA and they opened a Pandora's box inside of me and just kicked me out," Toombs said in a statement. video.
The day before, he had stated that the VA had referred him to an inpatient drug treatment program for his delay in taking his meds.
"I came looking for help and they threw me out like a stray dog in the rain," Toombs said in the video.
Moments after recording the video, he hanged himself at a construction site located on the campus of Murfreesboro, Virginia.
Now, his father is talking about his son's struggle leading to his death.
"People do not realize it's something you do not get over," said his father, David Toombs.
David Toombs thinks of his son every moment of every day.
"He was extremely intelligent and his sense of humor was fast and dry. He would take you off guard so quickly and then he would answer you so quickly, "said David.
Sgt. Toombs was the man who was riding on the back of a convoy in Afghanistan, wide-eyed, looking for kamikazes or anyone who would pose a threat to his team. His father says that when he got home, things were good for a few years, but when he decided not to re-register, it became harder and harder to recognize his son.
"It was just not the same person," David said. "He said for him that the main thing was to be helpless and hopeless. If he felt helpless and hopeless, it's the worst. "
His father said that getting fired from the detox program was one of those periods of helplessness and hopelessness.
At the time of his death, Sgt. Toombs had six medications in his system that mentioned suicidal thoughts as a side effect. It's something his father thinks is a problem that plagues the VA.
"They took too much medicine, they have too complicated a system and they give up at some point," David said.
The VA declined an interview but sent a statement to FOX 17 News: "Prescribers evaluate a veteran's response to medications at every encounter, including the presence of side effects."
However, Sgt. Allen Chapman, who served with Sgt. Toombs and lives with PTSD himself, says that this has not been his experience.
"I can go to the VA and ask for some medicine and there are no questions asked," Sgt. Chapman said.
He stated that his 10 different prescriptions are replenished without any discussion of what they make him feel.
"I went in and out within 10 minutes and I thought," You did not ask me anything! "Sgt. Chapman said.
According to their website, the Tennessee Valley Health System claims to process more than 5,000 prescriptions a day. David Toombs sees this as a quick fix to try to keep pace with the thousands of veterans who are going through the doors of the VA.
"It's not a situation in which they can just continue to take medicine and treat it, the situation sometimes gets worse," said David.
Now he will continue to fight for better results for the men and women who are fighting for our country.
Here is the complete statement of the VA:
"The doctors, nurse practitioners, and other prescribers of the VA Tennessee Valley health system consider a number of factors in deciding whether a drug is safe and effective for a particular veteran. Prescribers evaluate a veteran's response to medication at each encounter, including the presence of side effects. Medications are discontinued if the risk of continued treatment due to side effects outweighs the benefits. Clinical pharmacists with specialized training are available at all institutions to provide advice on drugs based on the latest research and expert recommendations.
The VA / DoD clinical practice guideline for the management of PTSD and acute stress syndrome was updated in 2017 to reflect the most recent literature that prazosin may not be as effective against PTSD nightmares. than that initially found in the first studies. Although it is no longer recommended to routinely prescribe nightmares of PTSD, experience and research show that it can still be beneficial in some patients. The results of the study published by McCall and colleagues in December 2018 add to the evidence that prazosin may not be effective against nightmares of PTSD, but should not pose significant safety concerns. The study included veterans with PTSD with suicidal thoughts, but there is no indication that prazosin has aggravated this particular symptom. Larger studies would be needed to be safer than prazosin could be responsible for worsening nightmares or insomnia. – Chris Vadnais, US Department of Veterans
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