Military kids taking more psychiatric drugs - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Military kids taking more psychiatric drugs - Military News News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times


Before his father deployed to Iraq, Daniel Radenz was a well-adjusted fifth-grader earning straight A’s and B’s in school near Fort Hood, Texas.

But shortly after Army Lt. Col. Blaine Radenz left home in June 2008, his 11-year-old son became withdrawn and anxious. His grades at school slipped and his mother noticed mood swings. The child’s longtime pediatrician referred him for counseling.

A psychiatrist at Fort Hood’s Darnall Army Medical Center prescribed the antidepressant Celexa. Daniel also saw a psychologist there. Doctors added to and changed Daniel’s drug regimen, but his problems grew worse, said his mother, Tricia Radenz.


By Karen Jowers and Andrew Tilghman

Defense.gov News Article: Army Officials Work to Treat Invisible Wounds of War

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=62239

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 2010 – Military leaders and troops alike need more time at home between deployments to help diagnose and receive treatment for the "invisible" wounds of war such as posttraumatic stress, a senior Army officer said today.
"It affects everything. It affects the divorce rate. It affects substance abuse. It affects everything. And we've kind of taken our focus and shifted it to ensure that we're getting at that," Army Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the vice chief of staff of the Army, said on ABC's "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour.

By Fred W. Baker III