Few have mentioned the possible role of prescription drug side effects in Robin Williams’ suicide, until friend Rob Schneider sent a tweet over the weekend blaming the Parkinson’s meds he was taking.
The tragic suicide of actor and comedian Robin Williams (shown) has sparked rampant speculation about what made him end his life. His history of substance abuse and addiction is making headlines. Most fingers of blame point to his struggles with depression and bipolar disorder, though Williams never confirmed he was diagnosed with any mental condition. In fact, he denied a diagnosis of clinical depression during an NPR interview in 2006.
Few have mentioned the possible role of prescription drug side effects, until Williams’ friend and former colleague Rob Schneider sent a tweet over the weekend blaming the Parkinson’s meds he was taking. The Daily Mail reports that a spokesman for Williams’ family offered no response to Schneider’s conjecture, but then quoted a “source” as saying:
Robin had recently left rehab. He was on medication for anxiety and depression and had also started taking drugs to combat the early onset of Parkinson’s…. A lot of Robin’s friends are convinced that the cocktail of prescription pills he was on somehow contributed to his mental state deteriorating as quickly as it did. Robin had always suffered from depression and addiction but the diagnosis and treatment of his Parkinson’s was new, as was the combination of drugs he was on.
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