Army's burgeoning suicide rate and in fatal accidents

PTSD death sends family on search for answers

By: CHARLES D. BRUNT 03/07/11 3:01 AM
Albuquerque Journal
Senior Airman Anthony "Tony" Mena managed to dodge bullets, rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs during two tours in Iraq.

But he couldn't survive the onslaught of medications that military, Veterans Affairs and civilian doctors prescribed to treat his resulting post-traumatic stress disorder and back pain.

Five months after being medically discharged, the former member of Kirtland Air Force Base's 377th Security Forces Squadron died in his sleep — the result of a lethal mix of nine prescribed medications, including antidepressants, pain killers, tranquilizers and muscle relaxers.

The medical examiner ruled the 23-year-old's death an accident: Mena had not taken more medicine than prescribed.

His July 21, 2009, death set his family on a quest to force changes in PTSD treatment.

"I trusted the doctors," his mother, Pat Mena, said from her El Paso, Texas, home. "I really thought they had a list of everything my son was taking."

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that produces psychological symptoms that can occur after a traumatic event. It can cause flashbacks, nightmares, depression, anxiety, edginess, substance abuse and other symptoms, and can surface years after the event.

Some studies indicate 20 percent of returning Iraq and Afghanistan troops have PTSD.

Cases like Mena's have prompted the military to revise its policies on polypharmacy, the use of combinations of multiple medications. Military studies have cited polypharmacy as a factor in the Army's burgeoning suicide rate and in fatal accidents.



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PTSD death sends family on search for answers