Death by medication?

I found out recently that Sam was taking three different prescribed medications at the time of his death: Fuoxetine ( Prozac), Buproprion ( Wellbutrin) and Latuda.

In the weeks leading up to his suicide, Sam told me that he was felt he was starting to experience psychosis. He didn’t elaborate much, other than to tell me they had booked him a consult with a psychiatrist. According to the notes in the Board of Inquiry into his death, the Latuda had been prescribed months before by the psychiatrist who Sam had a consult with via phone just days before he died. I am unaware that he had ever seen the psychiatrist prior to that last appointment, so the timeline has confused me. Did the psychiatrist prescribe this drug without even seeing Sam?

Latuda is a drug that is prescribed for schizophrenia, or for depression in patients who are diagnosed with bi polar disorder: neither of which, I believe Sam was ever diagnosed with. Certainly, a soldier who was considered” fit for full duty” in my mind anyway, shouldn’t have been on such a drug, or cocktail of drugs unless he was being closely monitored by medical professionals.

The fact that he was also taking Buproprion AND Fluoxetine as well, just makes me sick to my stomach.

Buproprion is known, on rare occasions to cause hallucination. Both Buproprion and Fluoxetine are known to cause an increase in suicidal ideation in some patients. These two drugs are prescribed for anxiety and depression. But why was he taking both?

I spoke to my pharmacist and asked him if it is” normal” to be prescribed all of these medications concurrently. He said that they ” could” be taken together, but it wasn’t common. He also said that it would be more ” normal” to be on these three medications while in care of a psychiatric hospital setting.

If my son was considered so mentally ill as to be on all three of these drugs, then why wasn’t he hospitalized? Why wasn’t he being properly monitored? Or did the medical ” professionals” just hand out these drugs like aspirin?

I somehow doubt that I will ever have the answers to these questions.