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
Search Results for: What to do about suicide
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
The Story of SSRI Stories
Rosie Meysenburg's story For anyone interested in the effects of drugs, the website SSRI stories has been an inspiration. Rosie Meysenburg, its creator, was recently diagnosed with cancer and is terminally ill. The story of how she came to create SSRI stories shows what people can do to hold the powers that be to account. —David Healy DH: How did you get started … [Read more...] about The Story of SSRI Stories
Zoloft Study: Mystery in Leeds
In my blog post The best bias that money can buy I outlined how doing trials of their drugs in conditions like depression is the ultimate way companies hide bodies. That what is needed instead are studies of drugs in healthy volunteers. Here’s a good example of what a healthy volunteer (phase 1) study can show, and how the story of antidepressants and suicide might have … [Read more...] about Zoloft Study: Mystery in Leeds
The Best Bias That Money Can Buy
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were adopted by FDA in 1962 following the thalidomide disaster. This was a way to manage the risks posed by potential poisons. If the toxicity from a drug could be shown to overcome to some extent the toxicity stemming from the illness, a risk-benefit ratio would be set up that would warrant taking the risk of giving the poison. But what … [Read more...] about The Best Bias That Money Can Buy
The Spin That No Data Can Overcome
Roger Shepard's above illustration shows two tables of exactly the same size and shape. It’s an extraordinary example of how even when you know that the table tops are the same, the data changes nothing. The dynamics of perspective mean we continue to see things in the wrong way. Early on in the Prozac and Suicide controversy, Eli Lilly adopted a strategy that has “put … [Read more...] about The Spin That No Data Can Overcome
False Friends
‘Evidence’ is what the French call a false friend. You think you understand the word but you don’t. In French or Dutch, the Evidence in Evidence Based Medicine means that something is self-evident – as in using a parachute when jumping from a plane or penicillin for septicemia or an antipsychotic to tranquilize. You don’t need a clinical trial to work out what the right thing … [Read more...] about False Friends
Petra’s Story: Cymbalta
This piece is the first of a series showing people struggling with the Kafkka-esque absurdities of modern healthcare. It is written anonymously. If you'd like to share your story, please contact us. — David Healy A little over two years ago my daughter’s partner was killed in a tragic accident while in the company of my son. Naturally, this caused terrible grief and sadness … [Read more...] about Petra’s Story: Cymbalta
Coincidence a Fine Thing
Coincidence can be a fine thing. No sooner had I finished The tricks that drug companies do live after them, asking for examples of maneuvers to add to a generally available repository of tricks, than up pops Robert Gibbons' paper, Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior With Antidepressant Treatment, with not one but two maneuvers and reminders of others. Dangerous liaisons First … [Read more...] about Coincidence a Fine Thing