His addicted son dies after taking medication: A Drome man will take legal action against a mental hospital

is part of itA group of many parents who condemn overmedication from which their child was afflicted: Jean-Claude, of Drome, Will file an appeal before Grenoble’s administrative court in the coming weeks. They hope to take legal action after the death of their son Noah, 19, in October 2022. The latter, suffering from anxiety and drug addiction, was followed by the Crest CMP (Centre Medico Psychologique), managed by the Center Hospitalier Drôme Vivares, in Montelager, where he also spent several stays.

To treat his addictions and his anxiety, psychiatrists prescribed Noah several medications, including Subutex (buprenorphine). A month later, he died, according to an autopsy after respiratory arrest caused by the treatment, Jean-Claude says. “My son used to smoke a lot of marijuana. To treat his addictions, that’s it More on drugs, that he had become a real zombie. We alerted the hospital several times. On October 13, the police called my wife and I to say Noe was dead. It was horrible. (…)

We contacted the Drôme Vivarais Hospital Center by email and directly by telephone. Officials would not comment on Noah’s death.

“It could have been avoided”

Jean-Claude affirms that he has no animosity in his approach to the medical profession or psychiatry, “Most of the people who work there are great”he said. Also *me*Her son was left to his own devices, saw a psychiatrist, was given a prescription, and then went home. We alerted CMP (Medico-Psychological Center) many times but he was not taking his treatment well. There are many cases like that, This was an accident that could have been avoided.

Two years later, Jean-Claude’s bitterness focused on Subutex, a drug that is a synthetic substitute for opium, i.e. heroin. “My son didn’t take it”, he says. Although it is possible that Noe disclosed the consumption to obtain the drug. Jean-Claude adds: “Great care is required when taking Subutex, as there are potential risks when taking with other drugs. However, he was sent home alone with a bag full of medicine. It doesn’t work.”

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Drugs can kill

According to Dr. Bruno Rivol, the pharmacologist was interviewed by our colleagues from France Bleu Isère. “Yes, medicine can kill. All medicines have benefits and risks. This benefit-risk ratio must be evaluated”. You should be careful about overdose, he adds. “Substitute drugs, such as methadone or Buprenorphine, better known as Subutex, can kill. However, when we started giving it in the 90s in France, we saw benefits among drug users. This reduced mortality, HIV infection. But some cardiac complications, especially those associated with methadone, can occur when taken with other drugs or with other drugs. Doctor Rivol explains.

He specifically mentions sedatives, such as benzodiazepines, which, when combined with Subutex, can cause central nervous system and respiratory distress. According to the autopsy report, this is what killed Noah. In 2019, 648 overdose deaths were reported in France. Dr. Revol referred to an antidote to overdose, which exists but is not used in France, Narcan. It is still important to know that the person who is feeling uncomfortable is not alone.

Unaccompanied drug overdose

Jean-Claude condemns this in the case of his son Noé. “The treatment turned him into a zombie even before the Subutex. You passed him on the street, you had the impression of a haggard drug addict, but he was high on drugs. This is not about freeing my son, but we were warned. To say Because the support was not working, it needed better monitoring. My son could not work. He did it, but apparently he didn’t take it when people saw him, he was rude, not right. So how do you want to reintegrate? We lock ourselves up, we keep on medicating. Hospitals no longer have the equipment, drugs are a way of outsourcing care.

Today, Jean-Claude will begin the process of appealing to the Administrative Court of Grenoble so that “Changing Practices”. This feeling of guilt is always there. “It is true that we often think of what we should have done, not what we did not do.” they ask. “With our son, we never lost the bond. The day before his death, I spoke to him on the phone. Before stopping, he told me: Dad, I love you. And that’s worth it to us.” Jean-Claude concluded, tears in his voice.