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FDA HEARINGS 2006: PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGIC DRUGS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
DR. PINE: Thank you. The next speaker is Michelle Moore.
MS. MOORE: May 23, 2001, my husband Darren Ali was murdered. He was murdered and torn away from his wife, his kids, his family, and friends due to a force far more powerful than himself: the dangerous antidepressant drugs Prozac and Paxil.
To think that this amazingly strong husband, father of two, son, best friend to so many, police sergeant, and SWAT team commander could be taken over by these horrific drugs is beyond comprehension. Let me tell you about this special man that the world will forever miss. This is the man that I loved the moment I saw him. He was a policeman and I a nurse.
He lit up the room when he was in it, vibrant and full of life. He was an incredibly loving husband to me for nine and a half years. Three years after we were married, we
were blessed to start a family. Our son Jack was born. Two years later, we were blessed with our daughter Rachel. He was a playful and devoted father to both J.D. and Rachel. He was J.D.’s hockey coach. He went to Rachel’s dance recitals.
The kids adored their father. They were seven and five at the time of his murder.
I will never forget the moment I had to tell them their father died. It was the worst and difficult moment of my life. They screamed in horror. Besides the deep love for his family, Darren also had another love in his life, this was for his work and his fellow officers. He loved being a police officer. “He was one of the best,”
the sheriff said.
He rose to the position of sergeant and was a commander of the SWAT team. I will never forget some of his fellow officers telling me that if they ever went to war they wanted Darren beside them. As part of the motorcycle unit, he provided security for President George W. Bush. The sheriff’s department didn’t know what they were going to do without him. He was irreplaceable.
He graduated from Northern Michigan University with a degree in criminal justice. He wanted to be a police officer all of his life.
Darren was diagnosed with depression three weeks before his death. It was described as a minor depression. He was put on Prozac, and he took that for three days. He was then taken off Prozac and put on Paxil. He took one Paxil, and immediately he started feeling very anxious. I being a registered nurse realized quickly this was not a
normal reaction.
He never had any suicidal thoughts or behaviors. I returned home from work, after him being on the Paxil for one day and Prozac for the previous three days, and found him dead. My husband adversely reacted to these drugs. He was never warned properly and I also.
I know that Darren would never make this decision.
In closing, I hope that everyone walks away today with an increased knowledge of the possibility of what these very dangerous drugs can do to someone. These are mind-altering drugs.
(Applause.)
DR. PINE: Thank you.