Editorial Note: In her comment, reproduced below, Sally was the person who best got to grips with what I was struggling with in last week's post and this week's and for the next few weeks. Drug induced injury is one sphere in which we get injured. Turning to other spheres may give us some ideas about how to handle the dilemma of a treatment induced injury - how to avoid being … [Read more...] about Go Figure: Digging for the Truth of Injuries
Go Figure: The Silver Lining Clouds the View
Editorial Note: Sally's first Go Figure post with its 100 comments outlines the basic dilemma facing RxISK - how can anyone who has been injured by treatment get people who have not yet been injured to wake up. The next 5 - 10 posts will pick up various ways this dilemma has been answered over the last century. All comments welcome along with any posts - something more than a … [Read more...] about Go Figure: The Silver Lining Clouds the View
Go Figure: Sally’s Problem with Whinging about Medicines
Two weeks ago in response to the last post in the Study 329 series, Sally MacGregor added the comment - that features as a post below. It's spot on. The problem is how to avoid being marginalized, becoming part of a 1%. How to capture the attention of the 99% for whom the meds work just fine thanks. There will be more on this theme over the next few posts. The whole point … [Read more...] about Go Figure: Sally’s Problem with Whinging about Medicines
Why Do People Sing?
In 1989, BBC ran a program Under African Skies covering the music of the continent. The program and music from it captured on Cassette and later Record became widely known. On Side 2 of 4 sides of cassette, there is a brief snippet of 4 children at St Joseph's Music School in Harare answering their teacher's question - Why do People Sing? Peter: People sing to pass a … [Read more...] about Why Do People Sing?
Club 329: Part 4
Editorial Note: This post perhaps should be called: There's Something about Leonie. The image above is of a Rapid Response she submitted to a BMJ editorial by Richard Smith and Fiona Godlee that BMJ published and unpublished and republished and re-unpublished. The full story is here. It again hinges around Study 329. The full transcript of her exchanges with Ben G is below. … [Read more...] about Club 329: Part 4
Club 329: Part 3
Editorial Note: This post by Leonie Fennel carries on from parts 1 and 2 in this series. There will be one more post. I dreamt I met my son Shane last night - in a jewelry shop, of all places. I was admiring the beautiful costume jewelry, when I overturned the dainty display and went clambering to pick up all the pieces. It seems I don’t escape my klutziness in the land of my … [Read more...] about Club 329: Part 3
Club 329: Part 2
Following last week's post, Club 329: Part 1, Ben Goldacre went into orbit claiming his views on medicalization and Study 329 had been misrepresented. He offered a SoundCloud as evidence. The link can be found in the comments after the last post. Seems to me Leonie got the content of the Q & A right. In the course of listening to the BG SoundCloud though something else … [Read more...] about Club 329: Part 2
Club 329: Part 1
Editorial Note: This post is by Leonie Fennel. It's one of two involving Leonie. Last week, Dr Ben Goldacre gave a public lecture in the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin (organised by the 3U Partnership and the very lovely Dr Ruth Davis). Dr Goldacre is a doctor, academic, campaigner and writer; he is also a psychiatrist and self-professed nerd. I was eager to hear what he … [Read more...] about Club 329: Part 1
The Pill That Steals Lives
Katinka Blackford Newman talks about her new book Its now nearly three years ago since I woke up and found myself in a mental hospital in North West London. I looked down and saw wealds on my arms where I had torn my skin apart. There was a mirror in the tiny room where I’d spent most of the last four weeks going through agonizing cold turkey from being taken off five … [Read more...] about The Pill That Steals Lives
Restoring Study 329: Letter to BMJ Jan 2016
Editorial Note: This was our final letter in the correspondence that began here and ran through here. There has been no response from Dr Godlee. 28 January 2016 Dr Fiona Godlee Editor, BMJ Re: BMJ handling of conflict of interest Dear Dr Godlee Thank you for your email response of January 11 2016 to our letter of July 8 2015 about Dr Elizabeth Loder's conflict of … [Read more...] about Restoring Study 329: Letter to BMJ Jan 2016