Girlfriend: Shooter was taking cocktail of 3 drugs

[Big Duane]

Read the below folks ...... drugs led to this happening, prescribed drugs, combinations that turned the kid into something he wasn't.

DO NOT TAKE DRUGS unless absolutely 100% neccessary. They will **** YOU UP

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(CNN) -- Steven Kazmierczak had been taking three drugs prescribed for him by his psychiatrist, the Northern Illinois University gunman's girlfriend told CNN.


Jessica Baty said Tuesday that her boyfriend of two years had been taking Xanax, used to treat anxiety, and Ambien, a sleep agent, as well as the antidepressant Prozac.



Baty said the psychiatrist prescribed the medications, a fact that made her so "nervous" that she tried to persuade Kazmierczak to stop taking one of the drugs.



She said he had stopped taking the antidepressant three weeks before the Valentine's Day rampage on the NIU campus in DeKalb, Illinois, which left five students dead and 16 wounded. He then killed himself.



In an exclusive interview with CNN Sunday, Baty said Kazmierczak had been taking the anti-depressant for obsessive-compulsive tendencies and anxiety caused by school pressures.



She told CNN that, during their two-year courtship, she had never seen him display violent tendencies and she expressed bewilderment over the cause of the rampage. Watch where Kazmierczak turned for gun advice »



"He was anything but a monster," Baty said. "He was probably the nicest, most caring person ever."



Kazmierczak told her he had stopped taking the anti-depressant "because it made him feel like a zombie," she said during the interview Sunday at her parents' house in Wonder Lake, Illinois. "He wasn't acting erratic. He was just a little quicker to get annoyed."

She said he had also had problems sleeping.



In her second conversation with CNN, on Tuesday, Baty said Kazmierczak began seeing the psychiatrist shortly after they transferred from NIU to the University of Illinois in Champaign in June 2007.





A psychiatrist not familiar with the details of the case said the three-drug combination was not necessarily either unusual or dangerous.

"It's not terribly unusual to prescribe all three," said Dr. Nada Stotland, professor of psychiatry at Rush Medical College in Chicago and president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association.



Xanax typically has a sedating, calming effect on users, she said.

"If you take a lot of that class of medication, you can be sort of like somebody who is drunk, out of it, but not violent," she said.



A person who had stopped taking it might feel anxious and edgy, she said.

And Ambien is commonly prescribed to overcome sleeping difficulties sometimes attributed to Prozac, she said.



Baty also said that Kazmierczak had been on the computer recently, but she did not know what he was doing and did not ask.



"He was being secretive with his computer," Baty said. "When he would sit on the couch with his laptop he would turn it away from me so I couldn't see what he was looking at."

Baty added that she found Kazmierczak's bank statement on Tuesday, when she returned to their apartment complex for the first time since the shootings.



"He made a big purchase at an ammo store for $143 and some change," Baty said, adding that she thinks he purchased the ammunition at an online store, but she did not know the name or location.



She said he also had made credit card payments and paid the electric bill for their apartment.



Baty disagreed with a report in the Chicago Tribune that said she had given police a different account about Kazmierczak's last days than she gave to CNN.

NIU Police Chief Donald Grady said Baty's statements to CNN contradicted statements she had given to police that her former boyfriend had indeed acted erratically after going off his medication.



"I suppose you could call that being uncooperative," said Grady.

Baty said the comment "upset" her.


"I don't think I ever said he (Kazmierczak) was acting erratic," she told CNN. "If I did, I didn't mean to be contradictory. He was just a little more irritable."

She said she has spoken with DeKalb police every day since the shooting

Serious Side Effects of Xanax

Sometimes there can be serious side effects of Xanax. The treatment for serious side effects of xanax require physician"™s advice or emergency attention depending upon the seriousness of the effect. The side effects of xanax can be manifested as the following effects:

Neurological effects: Blurred vision, headache, seizures, slurred speech, difficulty in depth perception.

Psychiatric effects: Mental confusion, depression, irritability, nervousness, sleep disturbances, euphoria, lethargy, stupor.

Gastrointestinal effects Dry mouth, nausea, non-specific gastrointestinal disturbances, vomiting.

Muscular effects: Muscle spasm, muscle weakness.

Cardiovascular effects: Hypotension, palpitations, tachycardia.

Dermatological effects: Pruritus, rash. Genitourinary effects: Incontinence, change in libido.

Hematological effects: Decreased hemoglobin and hematocrit, increased and decreased WBC.

Hepatic effects: Elevations of alkaline phosphates, bilirubin, AST (SGOT), ALT (SGPT).

Miscellaneous: Increased and decreased blood sugar levels.

Xanax treatment should be discontinued if any of the following occur: Hyper excitement, muscle spasm, anxiety, hallucinations, rage or other hostile behavior, tremors, insomnia, sleeping difficulties or over stimulation.

Cautions: Xanax / Alprazolam has been known to interact undesirably with certain medical conditions. You should not take Xanax if you have a history of, any of the following conditions:
[blockquote]
Alcohol or drug abuse - may increase likelihood of Xanax dependence.

Allergic reactions to Xanax, or other benzodiazepine. Always tell your doctor about any allergies before starting a medication.

Personality Disorder -personality disorder or a history of violent behavior.

Brain disease - may increase likelihood of side effects from Xanax.

Breathing difficulties - such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, or any other chronic lung disease - Xanax may worsen this condition.

Difficulty swallowing - This condition may become more pronounced in children.

Epilepsy or seizures - Abruptly starting or stopping treatment with Xanax may increase seizures. Although Xanax can be used as an aid to anti-tremor therapy, it should be used cautiously and strictly according to a doctor's instructions in these cases.

Glaucoma - Xanax should not be prescribed to patients with acute narrow-angle glaucoma. Patients receiving treatment for open angle glaucoma should consult their doctor, as Xanax may be an acceptable treatment for them.

Hyperactivity

Kidney or liver problems - In isolated cases, Xanax has been reported to cause jaundice. If you experience yellowing of the skin or eyes, seek medical treatment immediately. More Xanax may end up in your bloodstream if you have a pre-existing kidney or liver condition, increasing the likelihood of side effects.

Major Depression.

Myasthenia gravis - This autoimmune disorder characterized by muscle weakness may be aggravated by Xanax treatment.

Porphyria - Xanax (alprazolam) is listed as an unsafe drug for porphyria, an enzyme deficiency that can cause fragile skin that is sensitive to sunlight, digestive difficulties, anxiety, and reddish-brown urine.

Psychosis or other serious mental illness - Xanax has not proved to be an effective treatment for these conditions, and is not recommended.

Sleep apnea (temporary suspension of breathing during sleep) - Xanax may worsen this condition. Individuals with sleep apnea should not generally use sedatives as sleep aids. [/align][/align][/align][/align]==============================[/align]
Ambien
Side Effects & Drug Interactions[/align]
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SIDE EFFECTS


Serious adverse reactions including severe anaphylactic and anaphylactoid reactions, abnormal thinking and behavior, complex behaviors, withdrawal effects, amnesia, anxiety, other neuro-psychiatric symptoms and CNS-depressant effects have been reported with zolpidem [see WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS ].
[/align][/align][/align][/align][/align][/align]======================================[/align][/align]PROZAC[/align][/align][/align]The FDA requires all antidepressants, including fluoxetine, to carry a black box warning stating that antidepressants may increase the risk of suicide in persons younger than 25. This warning is based on statistical analyses conducted by two independent groups of the FDA experts that found a 2-fold increase of the suicidal ideation and behavior in children and adolescents, and 1.5-fold increase of suicidality in the 18"“24 age group.[/align][/align][/align][/align][/align][/align][/blockquote]

[Charlie P]

He did this after he stopped taking the drugs didn't he?

University Police Chief Donald Grady said, without giving details, that Kazmierczak, 27, had become erratic in the past two weeks after he had stopped taking his medication.

A former employee at a Chicago psychiatric treatment center said Kazmierczak's parents placed him there after high school. She said he used to cut himself, and had resisted taking his medications.
He had a short-lived stint as a prison guard that ended abruptly when he didn't show up for work. He also was in the Army for about six months in 2001-02, but he told a friend he'd gotten a psychological discharge. He had signed up after Sept. 11.


On the drugs no one died off the drugs what happened and it's the drugs fault?

[rockyshamrock]

i just wish the media wouldn't show these on the news at all. IMO all the publicity just gives somewacko an idea to go out in a blaze of glory in there mind. instead of killing them self they decide to take out as many other people as they can before they take their own life. they know they will make the national news and be talked about for weeks to come. in other words the wacko gets what he wants his place in history and his 15 min of fame.

[Big Duane]

Charlie P I believe so yes. Mixing drugs is stupid crazy, in todays world ( though I don't agree with it really) that physichiatrist should be held accountable for his patients actions - that guy gave the mixture of drugs and the many different reactions from them cracked the kids gourd.

The kid could have been insane, I bet it was the drugs. More and more, dig deep and people doing these things are on drugs. Its the drugs, and what they do to people that cause it all. Drugs ALWAYS have side affects. You're looking at them

[Charlie P]

Sorry your arguments reeks. He recieved a psych discharge from the miltary,itwasn't the drugs it was him off drugs that was the problem.

Go to a psych ward and tell them you'de like to take one of the patients home after they are taken off their meds because they don't need them and then get back to us.

Your starting to sound like a scientoligist.

[Lanse couche couche]

I think that our society has gone overboard in terms of prescribing drugs to anyone that has had a bad day. BUT, when you have someone who is honest to god nuts, you have two choices as far as I am concerned: keep them institutionalized or if they are gonna be out in society, then keep them doped to the gills.

[falcon]

Kazmierczak had been mentally ill for a long time. His parents put him in an institution for a year after high school. The he was booted out of the Army after about six monthsas anutcase. Did you seethe crazytattoo onKazmierczak? IMO: He was a very very sick puppy.


http://www.dailyherald.com/story/image/?id=47102

[Aught Six]

Being crazy might make you take drugs, buttaking drugs does not necessarily make you crazy. Besides, considering that one or all of the drugs were out of his system at the time of the murders, your argument is invalid. Ignoratio elenchi.

[Phil from Maine]

How long did he take the drugs for? Was it a few weeks or a few years? Withdrawals from drugs can last a lot longer than just a couple of weeks so
yes I can support Big Duanes arguement to some degree. Without all the facts as to how long he was taking them it would be very hard to say otherwise..

[PKnTX]

So now I shouldn't take my drugs with cocktails?
Life ain't getting any easier, that's for sure.


PK