Sad Davey Johnson news

[Guest old original jb]

You are right that the most likely fatal "complication" of mental illness is, sadly, suicide. The three major mental illnesses--schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder each have lifetime suicide rates of about 10%. For schizophrenia, the suicides tend to happen early on; for depression and bipolar illness the risk is distributed throught the course of the illness.

"Malignant catatonia" is a very rare complication of schizophrenia or of depression or mania with psychosis. It is kind of like the brain going on total overdrive while the person doesn't eat or sleep for several days, and can, without supportive interventions, lead to death from dehydration and cardiovascular collapse. This was probably much more common in the days before medications and ECT which is an effective treatment for this condition.

Due to the high comorbidity of substance abuse and psychiatric illness--probably some of the same things that produce vulnerability to one produce vulnerability to the other--complications from use of illicit drugs can sometimes be considered a complication of a psychiatric illness.

Psychotropic medications themselves can unfortunately produce fatal reactions in some people (as can ANY medication); serotonin syndrome, neurolepic malignant syndrome (in both cases there is instability of blood pressure and heart rate, high fever and delirium), cardiac arrythmias (torsade de pointes, ventricular fibrillation, QT prolongation leading to asystole and sudden cardiac death), and for some medications agranulocytosis/neutropenic sepsis. This is why such medications should be prescribed by experienced specialists and the people taking them monitored carefully for adverse effects with the appropriate blood tests, EKG and face to face visits with the prescribing physician.

Some psychotropic medications can increase vulnerability to heat stroke, and patients must be advised to keep well hydrated. Conversely, in a few patients either the illness itself or medications used to treat it can cause problems with salt and water balance--most notably psychogenic polydipsia in which people drink so much water that they become "water intoxicated" and suffer from low levels of sodium and potassium that can lead to seizures and even brain swelling and death. A similar result can occur when the medications cause SIADH (syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion) in which the brain puts out a lot of a hormone that makes the kidney retain water while losing salt.

There are a few medications that rarely cause a progressive rash (Stevens Johnson Syndrome) which, if not spotted, becomes a blistering rash that can cover much of the body and be as serious as a third degree burn in terms of threat to life and health. Fortunately it is rare and can be stopped if spotted early and the offending medication is removed.

Lithium can alter kidney function, but generally does so very slowly and with much less frequency than was originally thought. There is no increased vulnerabilty to kidny infection. Thorazine can cause blood pressure to drop precipitously in some individuals, especially in combination with other medications.


The daughter of the famous author was Libby Zion who was taking a class of antidepressants called MAOI's and concurrently was given meperidine, better known as demerol, producing a hypertensive crisis.
MAOI's are the most effective antidepressants, but unfortunately can interact with foods and other medications to produce spectacular rises in blood pressure which can be fatal. There is a great deal of controversy as to whether Libby Zion told the doctors at New York Hospital that she was taking the MAOI or not, but her father focused on the fact that the resident on call who saw her had not slept in 48 hours and embarked on a media campaign that resulted in a complex set of rules that set limits on work hours for residents and interns in New York hospitals.

All that said, pscyhotropic medicaitons are in the vast majority of instances quite safe and when used judiciously can bring about significant relief from massive suffering. Finally, the small but substantial risks associated with taking these medications must be weighed against the very real and very great risks to life and health from untreated serious mental illness.

Post Script:
Had I seen this thread earlier, I surely would have chipped in with a contribution.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

This room can be great, can't it? We get news, memories, jokes, charitable contributions and science in the same thread.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I checked and Davey sat out the night Andrea was born (9/13/72), replaced by young utiltiy infielder Bobby Grich. Grich played second the next few days and got as much time as Johnson (who was having a dreadful season) down the stretch, if not more.

The emergence of Grich made Johnson expendable, and Baltimore moved him, along with fellow-future-Oriole-manager Johnny Oates, to Atlanta, where he had the season of his life.

[Guest Edgy DC]

The Baltimore Sun talks to Davey.

Apparently, Ms. Johnson suffered from schizophrenia. JB nailed it in his first try.

[duan]

unfortunately suicide in the case of schizophrenia is all to often the end game of a somewhat tortured existence. Two of my uncles suffered from schizophrenia until their deaths and to be honest I understand why they chose the path they did.

I'll never forget being told (while one of them was going through a particularly bad phase) "not to answer the door to XXX" there's no way either of them would have wanted their doted on nephew to be afraid. Faced with the choice of nullifying their highly capable minds (as the drugs they were prescribed did), struggling with demons or ending their life they both chose the last option.

It's funny; it's at least in some way a disease which carries a degree of genetic disposition; it's the one thing that scares me about having children.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Oh man, that's a rough one duan.

I can only offer good vibes to you. That's a rough decision to have to make.

The good news is that at least you know to look out for the signs, and that medicine has taken great leaps in recent years.