This is the first part of a two part series on clinical trial fraud from Johanna Ryan, with part 2 next week. Jo is RxISK's clinical trial and shoddy clinical practice sleuth - see The Maintenance Man. Recently the U.S. Department of Justice called attention to a small but worrisome crime wave. Health care fraud is a familiar feature of American life that may account for … [Read more...] about Ghosts in the Clinical Trial Machine
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The Insomnia Diaries
Insomnia is a huge problem. Insomnia triggered by the drugs supposed to treat it is another huge problem. A RxISK post featuring enduring sleep difficulties after antidepressants has been very heavily accessed and commented on. Miranda Levy puts all three sleep problems in the frame in a way that all too many will recognize. Eight weeks after I stopped being able to … [Read more...] about The Insomnia Diaries
Antidepressants and Dental Problems
The issue of dental problems linked to medications has previously been discussed on the blog. “After the rot sets in” told the story of someone on the antipsychotic olanzapine who developed crumbling and rotting teeth. “Can antidepressants make you less attractive” touched upon dental problems linked to antidepressants. “Gray Hair, Rotting Teeth, Semi-Blind and … [Read more...] about Antidepressants and Dental Problems
Coercion, Zyprexa and Psychiatry
Imagine this. Someone in your life finds you inordinately eccentric, annoying or alarming, and decides you have a “mental illness,” whatever that is. Soon, you are being apprehended, sometimes violently, and locked up on a psych ward, despite your clear statements that you do not agree to being detained or to being medicated against your will. You may be injected with drugs … [Read more...] about Coercion, Zyprexa and Psychiatry
A Roadmap for Fighting Corporate Giants
To me, The Zyprexa Papers reads like a combination between a Stephen King horror tale and a John Grisham legal thriller. I have met the author Jim Gottstein once, and I remember him as an unassuming low-key individual not prone to self-promotion. After reading this book, I now realize what a heroic figure he actually is. Not because he touts himself as heroic but because what … [Read more...] about A Roadmap for Fighting Corporate Giants
A Legal System for Drug Companies not Patients
On November 28, 2006, attorney Jim Gottstein received a phone call that would change his life. It would propel Gottstein into a legal war against the giant pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, who would retaliate against him for his release of Lilly’s own documents about its drug Zyprexa. A U.S. District Court would rule that Gottstein had conspired to steal these documents, and … [Read more...] about A Legal System for Drug Companies not Patients
The Bestselling Zyprexa Papers
Book sales are strange things. Depending on how you cut the cake, it can take relatively few buys to make a book the number one selling book in a particular category. It may be that there aren't a huge number of mental health law books and this explains how early orders of the new hardback copy of The Zyprexa Papers made it Amazon's number one seller in this … [Read more...] about The Bestselling Zyprexa Papers
The Zyprexa Papers: Outing drug company corruption
This Review by Maryanne Demasi first appeared in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics Online December 29, 2020 Harvard-trained lawyer Jim Gottstein is the author of the new book, The Zyprexa Papers. It is a compelling, first-hand account of how a humble attorney from Alaska manages to expose the rot inside one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The … [Read more...] about The Zyprexa Papers: Outing drug company corruption
Remember Those Condemned to Swallow
Prescription for Sorrow: Antidepressants, Suicide and Violence Patrick D. Hahn Samizdat Writer’s Co-operative, 2020 A book review by Mira de Vries, MeTZelf Has your doctor prescribed you an antidepressant? Are you planning to have the prescription filled? Read this book first. SSRIs, falsely called antidepressants, are poisons. They do not relieve depression but do … [Read more...] about Remember Those Condemned to Swallow
One Story to Rule them all: From Prozac to Abilify
Paul John Scott's review of : Prescription for Sorrow: Antidepressants, Suicide and Violence by Patrick D. Hahn (Samizdat Health. Available in Print or Kindle ) Prozac, arguably the most famous drug of our lifetimes, was never approved for sale. Rather, Prozac when combined with anti-anxiety medication was approved for sale. In an unpromising design that seems so very … [Read more...] about One Story to Rule them all: From Prozac to Abilify