Good Morning, Today is a tough day. It's the two year anniversary of Madisyn's death. This is a long update so please bare with me. I wrote a letter to the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos who is the federal minister of health. I am mailing it registered mail as well as emailing. I have posted the letter below. I will be emailing a copy to all the provinces minsters of health. Everyone gets a copy! I am asking for urgent action. I am doing this purposely on the two year anniversary of Madi's death to honour her.
I can't thank all of you enough for standing with me. No one stands alone. Together we can get this done! Please continue to share. Let's save some lives!
Please feel free to email The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos as well.
jean-yves.duclos@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Jean Yves Duclos
600 Boulevard Charest East #201
Quebec, QC
G1K 3J4
April 13th, 2023
Dear Honourable Jean Yves Duclos,
My daughter Madisyn Lauren Solomon died a paradoxical suicide at the age of 27 on April 13th, 2021 in Kitchener, Ontario. The drugs the Doctors prescribed to help her caused the suicidal ideation that led to her death by suicide.
There is a way to prevent deaths like Madisyn's. She was living with her Dad and he heard her up in the early morning the day she died. Not knowing to check on her for suicidal ideation and her history on drugs he went to work. He came home later that day to find his daughter hanging from a cord.
She was hospitalized two weeks before her death for adverse reaction to lexapro and lorazepam (the family Doctor gave her). These drugs caused suicidal ideation. Despite this there was no family meeting and the Doctors continued on with the drugs that led to her death by suicide.
Had we the family or a care giver been alerted She was starting new pharmaceutical drugs we could have gotten her back to the hospital and saved her life. We needed to be told to watch her for suicidal ideation. The drug she was prescribed in the hospital was pregabalin better known as Lyrica.
There are quotes from other users of Lyrica stating they could hear voices telling them to do things like jump in front of a bus. I believe my daughters brain was hijacked by the drugs and made to betray her in a compulsive, hallucinogenic moment.
I would like it to be mandatory in Canada that when a patient is put on new psychotropic drugs they have to sign a safety waiver . This waiver would state that at least one caregiver/family member is aware a psychotropic drug was prescribed . They can watch over the patient for symptoms of suicidal ideation. It would have saved Madisyn’s life.
In the monographs for psychotropic drugs there are clauses similar to the one like the example below from Lyrica
3. Suicidal Behaviour and Ideation: Patients, their caregivers, and families should be counselled to monitor for signs of suicidal ideation and behaviours and should be encouraged to report any distressing thoughts or feelings at anytime to their healthcare professional.
When I read that clause I thought the Doctors would be held accountable for not informing us of my daughters suicidal ideation and not having a family meeting. I was wrong. The should word is merely a recommendation and not mandatory. We need the above clause to state it is mandatory that patients, their caregivers and families be counselled to monitor for signs of suicidal ideation and behaviours and be informed to report any distressing thoughts or feelings to their healthcare professional.
As you are aware psychotropic drugs are powerful and mind altering. It is not feasible to ask a patient to monitor themselves. This is an URGENT call to action. My daughters death compelled me to start a petition for this psychotropic drugs safety waiver. This petition currently has over 3200 signatures and growing! I am posting this letter on the two year anniversary of Madisyn Solomon’s death as an update on the petition. There are over 3200 eyes watching and witnessing that this letter is being emailed and mailed registered mail today!
To put this in perspective, I work in a Dental practice. We prescribe one lorazepam (1mg) pill for some anxious patients. The policy is that the patient arrives one hour before their appointment. We take their blood pressure and if it’s okay and their caregiver is in place they take the pill in front of us. The caregiver has to agree to watch them for 48 hours. My daughter was prescribed 30 (1mg) lorazepam pills in a ten minute telephone appointment she took at work. She went across the street to a Rexall on her break and had it filled no problem. The pharmacist stated that since covid these prescriptions are common. This was the first time my daughter was ever prescribed lorazepam. This is madness, this is crazy and something needs to be done. Note the Patient is now DEAD!
We need this mandatory law/policy in place to save lives. It doesn’t matter what it’s called…a mandatory policy or a law.In honour of my daughter whose life was cut short I would like it to be called Madi’s law or Madi’s policy if possible. Word it how you will. We give you the flexibility to decide how it’s implemented. The important thing it that it’s implemented and lives are saved.
Please do not let my daughter and other lives that have been lost or harmed be in vain. Often patients need multiple attempts with psychotropic drugs before they find the right one. It’s just common sense to have a caregiver/family member of the patients choice in place to monitor them for safety. Doctors can’t go home with their patients. We don’t allow people to leave surgery without a caregiver in place. This is comparable.
I will be emailing this to every provinces minister of health as well so everyone gets a copy. I have also mailed the complete list to date of petition signatures.I will continue collecting signatures and sharing Madisyn’s story. She was a bright light, a beautiful soul and She didn’t deserve to die in this way. Thank You for your time. Please implement this waiver and prevent harm and deaths.
Kind Regards,
Louise Carter