(The story outlined below is authored by 'Margaret'. Since this was first written there have been a number of developments and an update to 'Margaret's Story' will follow - DH). Our son went to his GP with poor sleep because of worries at work. His doctor said he was depressed and put him on a combination of Cipramil (SSRI antidepressant) and Temazepam (a sleeping pill). A … [Read more...] about Margaret’s Story
Archives for March 2012
If Pharma Made Cars
If Pharma made cars, the seat-belt warning signs would be removed, and the beeping noise if you moved without a seat-belt on would be silenced, as the start of a gradual process that would result in seat-belts being removed or made non-functional. The safety-bags would be removed or made ornamental. The car would be turbo-charged. The accelerator would be re-engineered so that … [Read more...] about If Pharma Made Cars
Odysseus Come Home
Odysseus was in his 70s. Coming up to the 50th anniversary of a very happy marriage. He had formerly been a respected professional, a longtime member of the bowling and social clubs – a pillar of the community. He had had minor episodes of anxiety primarily since retirement but no diagnosis of nervous problems. He went to his primary care doctor and was given a sleeping pill … [Read more...] about Odysseus Come Home
The Dram of Eale
They told me the 80 year old man who'd had a stroke must be depressed – he wasn’t rehabilitating properly. Could I see him and look at whether the citalopram he’d been started on a week before needed tweaking? Jeff was solidly middle class, professional. He had never been ill before his stroke and never ever been mentally ill. He had a large loving close-knit family who came … [Read more...] about The Dram of Eale
Homeland Security
In the latest hit series Homeland Claire Danes plays Carrie Mathison a CIA agent with bipolar disorder taking Clozapine. She takes the drug to prevent herself tipping over into frank paranoia in a world where being paranoid is necessary for survival. Anyone who knows anything about Clozapine knows Claire Danes is definitely not on it – she would not be as slim and svelte as … [Read more...] about Homeland Security
We Need To Talk About Doctors
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) came into favor in the wake of thalidomide as a method to evaluate drugs and their risks. They were supposed to keep ineffective drugs off the market, but companies have learned that you can do any number of trials and if even some show a marginal benefit they can get their drug on the market and the others can be suppressed so no one has … [Read more...] about We Need To Talk About Doctors
Out of My Mind. Driven to Drink
Author: Anne-Marie (This story epitomizes what RxISK.org is all about. It shows one woman extraordinarily getting to grips with a problem she has on treatment. The hope when RxISK is up and running is that we will be able to make it easier for people like Anne-Marie to engage with their doctors to solve problems like this. Unfortunately even though clearly a drug-induced … [Read more...] about Out of My Mind. Driven to Drink
Watch where you wave that Wand
It was a white wand — the kind a little girl might have. White ribbon wound round a long straw, at the top of which a double pair of white wings was set. Another more delicate white ribbon looped around the wings, to the front of which was fixed a downy feather, and behind which the ribbon was tied in a bow. Crusoe was facing her most difficult patient. A man with … [Read more...] about Watch where you wave that Wand
Notes on a Scandal
In 1996 Zoe Heller, the author of Notes on a Scandal, took part in a widely reported debate with Roy Porter about Prozac. She defended the drug. It had restored her to life. He said today’s miracle invariably ended up in tomorrow’s tragedy and asked, Why is it that we never learn? The story of a schoolteacher who seduced one of her male pupils In 2003, Notes on a Scandal came … [Read more...] about Notes on a Scandal
Model Doctors?
Another inquest may bring out the risks to doctors from their professional associations behaving as the American Psychiatric Association (APA) or the Irish College of Psychiatry has done (see Professional suicide – the Clancy case). She posed no suicide risk. She was put on citalopram Yvonne Woodley, a 42-year-old woman with two young daughters, ran into difficulties with her … [Read more...] about Model Doctors?