I have personal experience of seeking help with Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). I also have personal experience of considering taking my own life by suicide. These instances have been as a result of feeling physically and mentally distraught, and with a fear that there may be no realistic potential for improvement in my condition. Presently, I am enjoying … [Read more...] about Medical Assistance in Dying: A Personal Perspective
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Antidepressants: Education and Disability Certificates
This post covers difficulties primarily on antidepressants that medicines can cause to people in schools or universities who end up unable to study or do course-work, as well as the difficulties people can have trying to get off medicines, a process that can be pretty disabling. The materials linked to this post are being put in your hands to run an experiment and hopefully … [Read more...] about Antidepressants: Education and Disability Certificates
M. A. D. and Treatment Resistant Depression
MAiD is Medical Assistance in Dying. That little 'in' is doing a lot of work. The recent MAiD in Canada: Treatment Resistant Depression post attracted the following comment from Gus - book28@telus.net - that was just too good to leave as a comment. Let's DisGus Are you people for real? Is this MD for real, saying “Essentially none failed to recover. Even the most severe … [Read more...] about M. A. D. and Treatment Resistant Depression
Gripped by and Discarded by GlaxoSmithKline
Paroxetine, aka Seroxat in the UK and Paxil in the US, SSRIs, adverse reactions, rage attacks – words to which I wish I had been introduced without so much hurt attached. Late in 2001, aged 21, one of our sons, Shane – one of a family of five placed in long-term foster care with us when he was just 20 months old – decided it was time to fly the nest. He was engaged to a … [Read more...] about Gripped by and Discarded by GlaxoSmithKline
Dennis the Menace gets Covid
Last March when the world was locking down for the first time in response to Covid, Joan-Ramon Laporte primarily, with me tagging along, wrote a short piece on polypharmacy as a possible hazard for older people, especially those in residential or care homes. Everybody was looking for the drug that might provide a miracle cure or get out of jail free card for people with … [Read more...] about Dennis the Menace gets Covid
MAiD in Canada: Treatment Resistant Depression
See accompanying MAiD in Canada and Sex. Illustration: Meds © created by Billiam James The provision of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) is under review in Canada with debate about access for patients with mental illness. An amendment to the draft legislation eliminating the exclusion of people with mental illness was proposed by Senator Stan Kutcher, arguing mental … [Read more...] about MAiD in Canada: Treatment Resistant Depression
Antidepressant Withdrawal: Avoid Doctors?
Antidepressant Withdrawal and Dependence is one of the greatest public health crises of our time. Ed White has recently featured in the UK recounting his experiences he drifting into dependence on antidepressants and finding that the people best placed to help him and you were others in same position supporting each other through groups on Facebook and elsewhere - see White … [Read more...] about Antidepressant Withdrawal: Avoid Doctors?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Courageous, Charismatic, Attractive?
Although last weeks post on RxISK portrayed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a Socialist when the times call for something more than this, she does seem to offer a lot more than any other politician, almost anywhere else. Targeted by the Capitol Hill mob, she has since drawn a compelling analogy between what happened and what happens after sexual abuse. See Here. “The reason I … [Read more...] about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Courageous, Charismatic, Attractive?
Healthcare’s Castaways: Shipwreck of the Singular
Shipwreck of the Singular, which Samizdat has just published, took more time to write than all my other books combined. The others tumbled out - often in just a few weeks. Unpublishable Pharmageddon took 3 weeks. But it then took 4 years to find a publisher. I took on an agent to help get a publisher. Faced with Shipwreck, the same agent said it would never be published. She … [Read more...] about Healthcare’s Castaways: Shipwreck of the Singular
Colchicine and Covid and Google
Perhaps linked to this January 23rd news: MONTREAL -- A team of researchers from the Montreal Heart Institute believe they have found an effective weapon against COVID-19: colchicine, an oral tablet already known and used for other diseases. Full Article HERE We had an enquiry from a reader - can we let him know the 100 commonest side effects listed for … [Read more...] about Colchicine and Covid and Google