Editorial note: this post is by Dee Mangin .... just when you were looking at pancreatic cancer on Januvia and Byetta. Sugar sugar: Less is not more Most people with diabetes now have type 2 diabetes. But for most people the high blood sugar called type 2 diabetes is not a disease. It is a risk factor. Just like blood pressure and cholesterol, the person sitting next to you … [Read more...] about Great White Lies
RxISK Establishes Charitable Funds in US, UK, & Canada
RxISK.org, the first free independent website for researching and reporting prescription drug side effects, has established RxISK Funds in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Each RxISK Fund is used to support global prescription drug safety. Receipts for US tax purposes, UK, or Canadian purposes are issued for donations. These funds have been established within … [Read more...] about RxISK Establishes Charitable Funds in US, UK, & Canada
Swimming with Great Whites? If you’ve got “Diabetes” look away now.
After its launch in the late 1950s, Upjohn’s Orinase (tolbutamide) became the first blockbuster hypoglycemic (blood sugar lowering) drug. Its success was born of failure. It wasn’t a replacement for insulin. Even if used early, it didn’t stop people from becoming insulin dependent. But attempts to create an early use market led to a focus on raised blood sugar levels and the … [Read more...] about Swimming with Great Whites? If you’ve got “Diabetes” look away now.
RxISK and the RIAT Act
Editorial Note: Below is the press release for a potentially significant development in clinical trial publishing - the RIAT Act. Doshi and colleagues are aiming to publish studies that companies have buried or to correct studies that are published but grossly misleading. The main reason for non-publication or misleading publication is that companies do not want you to know … [Read more...] about RxISK and the RIAT Act
We Have a Dream: Getting Engaged to a Doctor
Still, you take the medication as prescribed. At first you imagine your body may adjust or the pills will come to understand you. It is no use. From Virginia Chase Sutton: Lithium and the Absence of Desire. Patient engagement Patient engagement is one of the mantras of current healthcare improvement efforts. Medical students and junior doctors likely think they are doing … [Read more...] about We Have a Dream: Getting Engaged to a Doctor
Suicide on Pain-Killers: John’s Story
Editorial note: Nearly 20 years ago I put someone on sodium valproate for a mental health problem. She was likely the first person in North Wales put on this drug for this reason. I was the person who knew most about psychotropic drugs in North Wales. She had left school before finishing and at the time there was no access to the internet. Listening to what I was proposing to … [Read more...] about Suicide on Pain-Killers: John’s Story
RxISK Announces New Tools to Decipher Drug Company Speak
RxISK.org, the first free independent website for researching and reporting prescription drug side effects, is adding two enhancements in the first week of June. Researchers will be able to access patient stories and the official assessment of side effect causality. RxISK stories Narratives shared by patients with their permission and without personal identifiers, will now be … [Read more...] about RxISK Announces New Tools to Decipher Drug Company Speak
Suicide is Painless: Sylvia’s Story
Editorial note: In 1962, Sylvia Plath committed suicide a week after going on phenelzine, an antidepressant. She had two young children, making her death close to inexplicable - unless the medication she was put on disturbed the balance of her mind. But what does 'disturb the balance of your mind' mean? In this account, another Sylvia put on doxycycline gives one of the best … [Read more...] about Suicide is Painless: Sylvia’s Story
SoS: Benzodiazepine Withdrawal
The first benzodiazepine, Librium, came on the market in 1960, followed three years later by Valium. By the late 1960s the benzos were selling in vast amounts. In the 1970s Valium became the best selling drug on Earth. While Leo Hollister and others put forward suggestions that you could get hooked to them as early as 1961, the main concern in the early years was their huge … [Read more...] about SoS: Benzodiazepine Withdrawal
Daily Mail Online: What is wrong with randomised trials Part 2
May 5, 2013 By Jerome Burne Could alcohol get a licence as a drug for depression? How do you test for the safety of a drug that causes the same side effects as the disease it is used to treat? These are just two of the points I didn’t have room for in my post last week on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and why they don’t tell you what you want to know. (More on these … [Read more...] about Daily Mail Online: What is wrong with randomised trials Part 2