She just wanted to get some sleep. Instead, a Westchester woman’s botched drug prescription triggered a dangerous, near-suicidal spiral.
The drama began when Denise Rogers, a one-time New York City model who worked for Avon, Clairol, MTV and Essence magazine, picked up her usual prescription for the anti-psychotic Seroquel at Greenleaf Pharmacy in Hastings-on-Hudson Saturday afternoon.
Unfortunately, Greenleaf owner-pharmacist Peter Capuano filled Rogers’ script with another drug: The similarly named anti-depressant Serzone.
“One big risk of Serzone is it could trigger a manic episode for a bipolar person,” said Dr. Gregory Miller, of Harlem’s North General Hospital.
Apparently, it did.
Rogers, who said she was diagnosed as bipolar in 1997, took the pill before bedtime.
In a matter of hours, “she was in a seriously manic state,” her husband, Toby, told The Post. “I woke up at 4 a.m. and she was crying and screaming, saying she wanted to kill herself. It scared me to death.”
“I was suicidal,” Denise concurred. “Not to the point where I was planning it out and writing final letters, but the thought had made its way into my head – I haven’t felt that way in a very long time. I was out of control. I was talking very fast, I was very hyped-up. When you get into a manic stage, your judgment gets very clouded, you think and do really crazy things.”
The couple said they will file a complaint with the state pharmacy board and may sue Capuano.
“It was a mistake – nobody’s perfect,” the druggist said in a brief interview outside his store yesterday. “It doesn’t happen often, but it happens. We’re busy all the time – people want things filled in a hurry. So you think one thing, but you do another.”
Seroquel is a round, yellow pill; Serzone is white, squat hexagon. Both come in the 100-mg dose prescribed to Rogers, but, unlike Seroquel, Serzone pills don’t have the drug’s name printed on them.
“When I opened the bottle, I realized right away the pills looked different, but I’ve used that pharmacy for years – I trusted them. I just thought maybe they’d given me a new, generic version,” Rogers told The Post.
The next day, the couple called Capuano, who realized and admitted his mistake, Toby said.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Pharmacist Peter Capuano switched the pills.
TALE OF THE Rx
Prescribed Dispensed
Seroquel 100 mg Brand name Serzone 100 mg
quetiapine fumarate Generic name hefazondone hydrochloride
Zeneca Pharmaceuticals Manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb
Yellow Color White
Round Shape Hexagonal
Tablet Form Tablet
Antipsychotic Category Antidepressant
Schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, anxiety, severe mood disorders Treats Major depression, depression and anxiety
Sources: Physicians’ Desk Reference; Dr. Gregory Miller, director of psychiatry at North General Hospital.