Eric Harris psychiatric medication history

As most people know, Eric was on Luvox, but I was unaware that he’d been on other medication before. Below is an excerpt from “Columbine: A true crime story” by Jeff Kass.
“In a visit to his general physician, Eric’s medical records indicate “possible depression” and “mild/minimal depressive symptoms.” But he was “not suicidal/homicidal.” Eric was prescribed the antidepressant Zoloft, although a notation also indicates it was for ADD, attention deficit disorder. Zoloft is an SSRI, or “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.” It increases the amount of serotonin, sometimes called the “feel good” chemical, in the brain. But as of April 15, 1998, Albert had a message for Eric’s medical doctor, Jon Cram, who was able to prescribe medicine: “Eric’s depression leads to negative thinking and he cannot stop this process—his thinking is a bit obsessional,” according to Breggin’s report. Eric was taken off Zoloft, and put on Luvox, another SSRI, which is indicated for obsessive compulsive disorder. The first Luvox prescription listed by Breggin comes on April 25, 1998 for twenty-five milligrams. It was doubled to fifty milligrams just over a month later, and doubled again another month later, in early July. Breggin writes that three and a half months before Columbine, the prescriptions indicate Eric’s dose was increased. Breggin also writes that on March 13, 1999, just over one month before Columbine, the medical record notes, “It’s ‘OK’ to increase the dose to 200 mg. per day.”
Eric would go through periods of taking his medication and going off of it. Below is a journal entry that he wrote in regards to his thoughts on being put on medication.
“My doctor wants to put me on medication to stop thinking about so many things and to stop getting angry. well, I think that anyone who doesnt think like me is just bullshitting themselves. try it sometime if you think you are worthy, which you probly will you little shits, drop all your beliefs and views and ideas that have been burned into your head and try to think about why your here. but I bet most of you fuckers cant even think that deep, so that is why you must die. how dare you think that I and you are part of the same species when we are sooooooo different. you arent human you are a Robot. you dont take advantage of your capabilites given to you at birth. you just drop them and hop onto the boat and head down the stream of life with all the other fuckers of your type. well god damit I wont be a part of it! I have thought to much, realized to much, found out to much, and I am to self aware to just stop what I am thinking and go back to society because what I do and think isnt “right” or “morally accepted” NO, NO, NO, God Fucking damit NO! I will sooner die than betray my own thoughts. but before I leave this worthless place, I will kill who ever I deam unfit.”
Eric’s pattern of thought is a common one when it comes to being put on medication to deal with mental health problems. It goes to show his state of mind and distorted thought pattern during his high school years. He believed that the medication would change his views, taking away what he thought made him different than all the “Robots” who can’t think for themselves. In reality, many of Eric’s views were a result of his mental health problems, so in that way, he was right that the medication may change his views, but failed to see that it could be a good thing.

I was put on a medication for depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts and one of the major side effects was suicidal thoughts.

I think Eric was very poorly monitored on his meds. He did bring up feeling bad when he took the Zoloft but after he started the Luvox it was ASSumed that he was doing great on it. I think reality is that the Luvox contributed to some of his thinking. Side effects can include anxiety, racing thoughts, hallucinations, irritability, sleep problems and the list goes on and on.

Meds are not a fix all. I think he was shoved onto meds thinking it would fix all his issues when he really needed something else.

His counselor also believed all the BS that Eric shoved his way. So I don't think he was getting adequate mental health either

Maybe we should check for red flags on psychiatrists
Dr. Albert has quite many Eric neither his parents have access to his files. And that’s one of the red flags . Should I post the red flags ?

Rebbie556 wrote:

Maybe we should check for red flags on psychiatrists
Dr. Albert has quite many  Eric neither his parents have  access to his files. And that’s one of the red flags . Should I post the red flags ?

If you want you can. Even though Eric is dead Albert will never want to reveal his files. Claiming dr patient confidentiality. Stupid if you ask me. I think there could be things in there that we could pick apart. I am sure Eric lied his bum off but I am sure people could read between the lines

Same with his diversion paperwork. From the outside Eric looked like someone who was wanting rehabilitation. We all know that wasn't true

I never read anything more than a few excerpts from Kass' book so I didn't know that this information was available. Apparently, it came from a court filing by psychiatrist Peter Breggin, who is critical of psychiatric drugs.

I looked up Breggin to see if I could find the quoted document and instead I came across this paper, which discusses Eric in the context of Luvox causing mania, aggression and other negative symptoms.
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I thought that this was an interesting part.
(I would just say to keep in mind that this child was on fluoxetine [Prozac] and not fluvoxamine [Luvox] but I'm sure the medications are similar since they are both SSRIs.)
This report by King et al. from Yale is particularly relevant because it provides a direct window into the development of the kind of mentality that led Eric Harris to become a school shooter. A child described in their report actually developed nightmares about becoming a school shooter and then began to lose track of "reality" concerning these events. In reading the relevant excerpt from their report, it is useful to bear in mind that the child's reaction occurred long before any of the well-known school shootings took place and therefore was not inspired by them:

Thirty-eight days after beginning the protocol, F. experienced a violent nightmare about killing his classmates until he himself was shot. He awakened from it only with difficulty, and the dream continued to feel "very real". He reported having had several days of increasingly vivid "bad dreams" before this episode; these included images of killing himself and his parents dying. When he was seen later that day he was agitated and anxious, refused to go to school, and reported marked suicidal ideation that made him feel unsafe at home as well (p. 180).
The child was hospitalized for three days and then for 17 days. He gradually improved. Then three weeks after his last hospitalization, his local physician - not one of these investigators - decided to put him back on fluoxetine. He became acutely suicidal until the fluoxetine was stopped a second time.

This individual report is important for a variety of reasons:
(1) It took place in a controlled clinical trial. Therefore, the investigators did not know if the child was taking fluoxetine at the time that these abnormal reactions erupted.
(2) Entirely new symptoms related to violence developed on the drug (this stage is called challenge).
(3) The symptoms terminated after stopping the drug (called dechallenge).
(4) Some of the symptoms resumed on starting the drug again (called rechallenge).
(5) The symptoms cleared for a second time after the drug was again stopped, demonstrating dechal- lenge for a second time. 3 Of note, this child developed agitation and anxiety, two symptoms produced by fluvoxamine at a high rate. Nevertheless, the label for Luvox gives no hint that SSRI's have been linked so frequently to manic- like behaviour, suicidality and violence.

From:
R. King, M. Riddle. P. Chappell, M. Hardin, G. Anderson, P. Lombroso and L. Scahill, Emergence of self-destructive phenomena in children and adolescents during fluoxetine treatment, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 30 (1991), 179-186.
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As an interesting side note, I also saw a familiar name there and I started to get curious. This quoted paper was almost certainly authored in part by psychiatrist Dr. Robert A. King who personally evaluated Adam Lanza in 2006 at the Yale Child Study Center. He referred Adam to Yale APRN, Kathleen Koenig who prescribed the SSRI Celexa [citalopram] (or Lexapro [escitalopram] if you go by what his father said) to treat his symptoms, which she believed to be caused by OCD. Adam took the medication for only three days.
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All of the medications mentioned here are in the top 20 prescription drugs and the top ten psychoactive drugs related to acts of violence toward other people.
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Obviously, I got sidetracked but on the original topic, Randy Stair said that he didn't want to get treatment because it would change who he was but Randy tried to repeat everything that Eric said at least once so who knows if that was genuine.

Lizpuff wrote:

Rebbie556 wrote:

Maybe we should check for red flags on psychiatrists
Dr. Albert has quite many  Eric neither his parents have  access to his files. And that’s one of the red flags . Should I post the red flags ?

If you want you can.  Even though Eric is dead Albert will never want to reveal his files.  Claiming dr patient confidentiality.  Stupid if you ask me.  I think there could be things in there that we could pick apart.  I am sure Eric lied his bum off but I am sure people could read between the lines

Same with his diversion paperwork.  From the outside Eric looked like someone who was wanting rehabilitation.  We all know that wasn't true

I would LOVE to be able to read through those files.

lol who takes zoloft for adhd

Lizpuff wrote:

I think Eric was very poorly monitored on his meds.  He did bring up feeling bad when he took the Zoloft but after he started the Luvox it was ASSumed that he was doing great on it.  I think reality is that the Luvox contributed to some of his thinking.  Side effects can include anxiety, racing thoughts, hallucinations, irritability, sleep problems and the list goes on and on.

Meds are not a fix all.  I think he was shoved onto meds thinking it would fix all his issues when he really needed something else.

His counselor also believed all the BS that Eric shoved his way.  So I don't think he was getting adequate mental health either

Wholeheartedly AGREED!

Instead of really trying to figure out what was causing Eric's issues the doctor/doctors just kept increasing his dosage in a lazy effort to medicate his problems away.

I have always thought that instead of helping Eric the Luvox probably had a adverse effect on his thinking. His doctors were apparently not able to see that he was on the edge.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

I have always thought that instead of helping Eric the Luvox probably had a adverse effect on his thinking. His doctors were apparently not able to see that he was on the edge.

In a reddit AMA Brooks mentioned that Eric would go off his medication sometimes, so even if they were helping him Eric wasn't taking them like he should have.

QuestionMark wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

I have always thought that instead of helping Eric the Luvox probably had a adverse effect on his thinking. His doctors were apparently not able to see that he was on the edge.

In a reddit AMA Brooks mentioned that Eric would go off his medication sometimes, so even if they were helping him Eric wasn't taking them like he should have.

How would he know how frequently Eric took his meds? Unless Eric made a point to tell people "Well I'm off my medication again."

Sorry but I am very skeptical about most anything Brooks says.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

How would he know how frequently Eric took his meds? Unless Eric made a point to tell people "Well I'm off my medication again." 

I believe Brooks said that Eric would talk about occasionally going off his meds to get a better understanding of the world or something like that. I don't remember the exact quote.

I was talking about that to someone who knew the boys and their families respectfully I didn’t ask all personal questions.
We talked about mental illness and so on She agreed with me that he had borderline she said we can’t diagnose a dead person she said they talked to doctors they all said he had borderline I asked about the meds she agreed that they caused Eric’s outbursts and so on she said :“Oh 150% I put most of the blame on the doctor and drugs. Yes Columbine sucked, but it was the straw that broke the camels back kind of thing. Eric as soon as he started getting meds, showed a big difference in his personality. Even after we complained, they simply switched him to a different, drug that has just as many homicidal law suites. There were a lot of "motivation" but the biggest finger I pointed when it came to that, was the doctors. Eric's for the drugs they gave him which didn't match his correct diagnosis, but they got kick back for, and Dylan's mom being told he wasn't a manic depressant, just an sad teen who would grow out of it and didn't need therapy or meds“.

I obviously blame Jefferson County and the school for not paying attention to the signs or stopping the bullying and problems in the hall. But ultimately if I had to name hands down the number one person that I blame for the entire situation, it was both boys doctors. It literally takes a two second research on Google to see how both drugs Eric was on, and the lack of help for Dylan led the path to what they did. They both needed help and doctors didn't give a damn. Those doctors should be set in an electric chair.“

About the boys journal she said:“I know a lot of their journal entries were edited and deleted. They were on the Harris' doorsteps so fast to search things, I doubt Kathy had a chance to read the journals before Jeff Co got their grubby paws on them. But like Brooks has said he read something in Dylan's when it was laying out, that wasn't there when the versions of them were released. They didn't just go after the jocks, they went after everyone, with the exception of people they made sure were off property or told to get off property. But the boys several times openly said that most of the people in the school were sheep and just as bad as the jocks, because they just stood by and let it happen. And Eric was drive nuts by how vapid and shallow the girls were. And it turned to straight hating them as his personality turned during his senior year. And you can see and hear how obvious it is on Nate's tape where they are just wondering around filming. So there weren't a ton of people they felt were innocent or at very least worth sparing . Especially once Eric got on the meds. I think the boys were as much victims as anyone that day. Both slipped through the cracks of the mental health system and the school system. Both parents trust doctors as parents should be able to. But Eric's doctor has specifically been in trouble for writing scripts based on kick backs from the pharmaceutical companies, more than need.
Yeah I heard about Mark Taylor and about they said he was held for over a year against his and his parents will. It's just insane that Eric would be put on that stuff, and told oh no big deal if you are thinking about biting a freshman's throat out with your bare teeth. Like wtf that isn't the kid just knew at all. And then worse when many of the victims and their family spoke up, they went after them to silence them. „

And I think boxing lessons would 100% help Eric to take out his anger . He loved soccer so why not boxing? he would love that too.

Rebbie556 wrote:

Yeah I heard about Mark Taylor and about they said he was held for over a year against his and his parents will. It's just insane that Eric would be put on that stuff, and told oh no big deal if you are thinking about biting a freshman's throat out with your bare teeth. Like wtf that isn't the kid just knew at all. And then worse when many of the victims and their family spoke up, they went after them to silence them. „

Mark Taylor's life following the shooting has always intrigued me. Out of all the survivors his story is the strangest, filled with ups and downs and a shit ton of drama and different conspiracies.

@shadowedgooddess I don’t understand their reasoning for cover ups especially silencing the families what are they hiding?? And how the media portrayed the boys they were not like that. Yes Eric wrote creepy and weird stuff for example raping women I don’t think he would really do this his .

Rebbie556 wrote:

@shadowedgooddess I don’t understand their reasoning for cover ups especially silencing the families what are they hiding??  

Who knows, but certain aspects of the case were indeed shady from the start. Sadly after 19 years these questions will likely never be truthfully answered.

Rebbie556 wrote:

@shadowedgooddess I don’t understand their reasoning for cover ups especially silencing the families what are they hiding??  And how the media portrayed the boys they were not like that. Yes Eric wrote creepy and weird stuff for example raping women I don’t think he would really do this his .

I never read that as Eric fantasizing about rape. I always thought it was about wanting to seduce someone and have sex with her. Rapists don't normally want to go down on you first I assume.

When he calls himself a "crazy racist rapist" let's not forget this is the same boy who thought his bombs were good enough to blow up ALL of Denver and that he could totally high jack a plane with Dylan and either fly into a building OR escape to a tropical island where him and Dylan could live out their days peacefully. He was a little hyperbolic.

I remember when I first started taking fluoxetine and tried to describe to my family what it felt like. I think I described it as being a robot and that it was like my thoughtprocess was reset whenever I had a new thought, like I could never create a chain of thoughts leading to a conclusion. I can't believe I haven't thought about this when I have studied Eric. I guess I thought fluvoxamine was different and also it was a long time ago I was on that stuff. If this is what Eric experienced as well it explains so much to me.

Rebbie556 wrote:

@shadowedgooddess I don’t understand their reasoning for cover ups especially silencing the families what are they hiding?? 

There is no cover up, no conspiracy at work. You probably won't believe me though.

Screamingophelia wrote:

I never read that as Eric fantasizing about rape. I always thought it was about wanting to seduce someone and have sex with her. Rapists don't normally want to go down on you first I assume.

When he calls himself a "crazy racist rapist" let's not forget this is the same boy who thought his bombs were good enough to blow up ALL of Denver and that he could totally high jack a plane with Dylan and either fly into a building OR escape to a tropical island where him and Dylan could live out their days peacefully. He was a little hyperbolic.

I never put much stock into that statement either.  In my opinion it was just a teenage fantasy put to paper.  To my way of thinking and the way I have interpreted him, Eric wanted a girlfriend. He wanted someone who actually wanted to be with him. He wanted someone who saw his worth. I think Eric would have felt that forcing himself on someone beneath him.

QuestionMark wrote:

Rebbie556 wrote:

@shadowedgooddess I don’t understand their reasoning for cover ups especially silencing the families what are they hiding?? 

There is no cover up, no conspiracy at work. You probably won't believe me though.

I don't know what you consider a cover up, but how can you say that the whole Brown's incident wasn't a cover up?    

Jeffco lied about and hid any traces of the Brown's reports, all the while calling the Browns liars. They did this for one simple reason, to cover their own ass and to save department face. They then pretty much stonewalled on most everything else dragging out and delaying the release of any info, even things that were court ordered to be released.

Jeffco acted shady from the start and earned every bit of the distrust from the families and that community.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

I don't know what you consider a cover up, but how can you say that the whole Brown's incident wasn't a cover up?    

I wasn't referring to the incident with Brooks Brown. I thought [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] was referring to a more general cover-up, that the government was silencing people in relation to Eric Harris and his medication treatment.

QuestionMark wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

I don't know what you consider a cover up, but how can you say that the whole Brown's incident wasn't a cover up?    

I wasn't referring to the incident with Brooks Brown. I thought [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] was referring to a more general cover-up, that the government was silencing people in relation to Eric Harris and his medication treatment.

OH! I seemed to have misinterpreted that! I thought you were saying that there were no cover ups at all.