Thanks for this post goes to Annie Bevan who for over a decade has made some amazing contributions to DH and RxISK. None more so than finding a document sitting in front of all of us for two decades that should make regulators blush, squirm and wish the ground would open and swallow them. Thomas Kingston Tom Kingston's unfortunate death earlier this year led to an inquest a … [Read more...] about Aunts, Ants and Regulators
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Medical Assistance in Dying
After 6 deaths, 6 years ago, on November 17, two days ago, the New Zealand Herald featured an article reporting on an inquest into these deaths. The original with photos of the 6 children is linked. The text is below the link. The action in this post happens right at the bottom of the NZH article and beyond. Fluoxetine use in teenager scrutinised in youth suicide inquest A … [Read more...] about Medical Assistance in Dying
Clearing the Deck Post-Prozac
Prozac (fluoxetine) went off patent in August 2021. In July 2000, FDA approved Sarafem (fluoxetine) for use in Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). In June 2010, Lilly stopped marketing Sarafem. In August 2023, Lilly informed FDA they wished to Withdraw Sarafem and its PMDD indication. It is not exactly clear what withdrawing its PMDD indication means. Presumably all … [Read more...] about Clearing the Deck Post-Prozac
The Prozac Era. What Next?
In 1963, Hoffman la Roche launched Valium, the brand name for diazepam, a benzodiazepine. It followed hot on the heels of Librium - chlordiazepoxide - another benzodiazepine. This was like one company producing 2 SSRIs and able to get them to numbers 1 and 2 in the charts. Arthur Sackler of Purdue and Oxycontin fame devised the marketing. This is where the money came from … [Read more...] about The Prozac Era. What Next?
American Veterans Can Save Healthcare
FRIENDLY FIRE Michigan Veterans Harm Reduction Summit David Healy Thanks to Derek Blumke for asking me here today. It's a great pity not to be there in person. There is a fabulous group of speakers. Most of us sense that US Vets, more than any other group in society, may be able to move things forward in a way that can hugely help all of … [Read more...] about American Veterans Can Save Healthcare
Truth is Stranger than Fiction
GK Chesterton and then later Mark Twain said that Truth is Stranger than Fiction - it has to be because Fiction has to make Sense. But Fairy Tales are also Stranger than Fiction. Most of what we call Fairy Tales began life as Moral Tales - where the story might be incredible but the Truth lay in the Moral. For a century we have felt these tales when given to children … [Read more...] about Truth is Stranger than Fiction
Drug Dysregulation or Iatrogenic Insanity?
This recent Mad in America Webinar on Stopping Antidepressants introduced the idea of SSRI Dysregulation. Terms like Dependence etc band people with problems on SSRIs in with 'substance abusers'. Substance Abusers do not get a good deal from services that do not recognize the mainstream services and the drugs they hand out have often caused the problem - drugs like SSRIs. … [Read more...] about Drug Dysregulation or Iatrogenic Insanity?
Swans, Psychopharmacology and Religion
After qualifying in Medicine in Dublin in 1980, I went to Galway on the West Coast of Ireland. Galway was very small compared to Dublin, but I’d heard the university had a new pharmacology professor, Brian Leonard, and interesting things might happen there. The world in 1980, and Ireland in particular, looked very different to what it looks now. There was an Iron Curtain … [Read more...] about Swans, Psychopharmacology and Religion
Interoception or Neuroplasticity
Mad in America recently ran a Webinar on Neuroplasticity as a way to manage one of our greatest challenges - Protracted Withdrawal Syndrome. The presenters, as described by Mad in America, included: Ben Ahrens, a chronic illness recovery expert, TEDx Speaker, and CEO of a brain retraining program Re-Origin. This program stemmed from his use of neuroplasticity concepts to … [Read more...] about Interoception or Neuroplasticity
Ghost, Cyborg or Mystery – Fidere Aude
Nearly 400 years ago Rene Descartes dramatically changed our view of ourselves in ways that have caused problems ever since. The change is caught in this famous image which illustrates what Descartes viewed as an obvious fact we could depend on. If our foot strays too near a flame, an image of the flame runs up the recently discovered nerve fibres to the pineal gland where … [Read more...] about Ghost, Cyborg or Mystery – Fidere Aude