RxISK blog

Emotionally Unstable Brand Disorder

November 28, 2018 | 15 Comments

Editorial: James Moore on his Let’s Talk Withdrawal site has recently posted the following. The reason to reproduce here is that it seems to overlap so much with the Peter Goetzsche Affair – see below. In both instances we have an ex-Collaboration in one case and almost ex-College in another more concerned with their brand […]

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Emotionally Unstable Society Disorder

November 22, 2018 | 18 Comments

The news today in the UK is that nearly a quarter of young women have mental health problems – Here. A similar message appeared in this article from New Zealand a few days ago – Demand for university counselling services grows 25 per cent in two years – the text without photos and videos is below. […]

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Isotretinoin petition

Post-Retinoid Sexual Dysfunction (PRSD) Petition

October 29, 2018 | 21 Comments

There are long-standing reports of sexual dysfunction linked to the use of isotretinoin, a retinoid drug used in the treatment of acne. FDA and MHRA received the first reports of sexual dysfunction involving isotretinoin in 1983 and 1985 respectively, and according to a publication in The Lancet, Roche had received 150 reports of problems affecting the […]

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Skin and Drugs and Sex

October 25, 2018 | 6 Comments

Editorial Note: This post returns to PSSD – post SSRI sexual dysfunction – PRSD – post retinoid sexual dysfunction – PFS – post finasteride sexual dysfunction and PGAD – persistent genital arousal disorder. See our RxISK PSSD page for the many prior posts on these conditions There is also post on davidhealy.org – Khashoggi and […]

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Can Antidepressants Make You Less Attractive?

October 15, 2018 | 27 Comments

In recent years, there has been increasing concern about the problem of antidepressants finding their way into the environment. These drugs aren’t fully absorbed by the body and are present in human waste. Small concentrations are then flowing into rivers via wastewater treatment facilities where wildlife can be affected. In August 2018, several media outlets reported […]

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Post-Finasteride Syndrome & Amino Acids

October 8, 2018 | 21 Comments

Editorial Note: This post has just arrived. We need to know if the treatment outlined makes any difference to others with PFS, PSSD and PRSD. It looks safe to test. You can help us by testing it if you have one of these conditions. We’d also like to know if you are aware of any […]

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Akathisia, Depression & Suicide: The List

September 27, 2018 | 34 Comments

This post closes our series on akathisia. Along with posts on davidhealy.org, the other posts were: Akathisia Anthem 500+ Drugs that Cause Depression and Suicide – AKA Akathisia Akathisia Challenge Even Politicians get killed by Akathisia In 500 drugs that cause depression and suicide, we mentioned building a new list of drugs that can cause […]

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Even Politicians get killed by Akathisia

September 18, 2018 | 11 Comments

Editorial Note: – This continues our series of the lethal effects of akathisia running on RxISK and davidhealy.org – with special reference to Little Red SSRIding Hood and Even Docs get killed by Akathisia. Akathisia and treatment induced suicide took a political turn over the weekend, along with the issue of whether teenagers should be informed […]

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Akathisia Challenge

September 11, 2018 | 13 Comments

A post on May 31st on davidhealy.org, The Greatest Failure in What Used to be Called Medicine, and the following post on the Spectre of Dissent, triggered two conversations. One was about the appropriateness of the imagery used. The other was a long conversation initiated by Tim and then developed by Heather about what to […]

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500+ Drugs that Cause Depression and Suicide – AKA Akathisia

September 4, 2018 | 11 Comments

Billiam James’ Akathisia Anthem released last week and available HERE is timely. Since this headline in Newsweek in May 2013, things have got worse. In America since 2015, life expectancy has been falling and in other developed countries it has stopped rising. Recent American studies have fingered rising suicide rates as one factor in this […]

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Akathisia Anthem

August 29, 2018 | 8 Comments

A link to the Akathisia Anthem song and video is available on RxISK’s Akathisia page. There will be follow up posts on RxISK and DavidHealy over the next two weeks. Akathisia anthem Akathisia, Akathisia You make me wanna Make me wanna Akathisia Thank you doctor for this little pill But the fact of the matter, it’s […]

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Changing a Medical Record 4

August 20, 2018 | 18 Comments

On Becoming an Articulate Hand-Grenade Psychiatric strategy and tactics are based on faith-healing, replete with speaking in tongues (language), fortune telling (promises of happiness), and snake oil (drugs). Their model is the ABC’s of selling; “Always Be Closing”…quiet compliance and enlistment, the goal. They know what’s best for you. Beware infantilization; it is endemic in […]

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Changing a Medical Record 3

August 13, 2018 | 13 Comments

In the midst of chaos there is opportunity” Sun Tzu By June 2013, during the usual fail-replace-repeat treatment ‘plan’ of the state behavioral health providers, I found myself in the perfect storm of bad drugs and deadly ‘care’. Within a 2-week period, it involved Risperdal, tardive dyskinesia-both eyes, Lamictal, NMS, the ER, more Lamictal, anaphylaxis, […]

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Changing a Medical Record 2

August 6, 2018 | 19 Comments

Editorial Note: This is the second in Krista Hartmann’s 4 parter on changing her medical records. See part 1, Unicorn. “What the mind doesn’t understand, it worships or fears”. Alice Walker When I encountered the psychiatric industry in 2004, I was a 53- year-old, sun-surf-beach chasing artist with a solid education and middle-class origins. I […]

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A Unicorn: Changing a Medical Record

July 30, 2018 | 8 Comments

Editorial: This is the first of four posts by Krista Hartmann I am a real Unicorn, something whose existence is suspect, rarely sighted, and discussed even less…by the psychiatric industry, who are, ironically, my creators. My existence throws a wrench into their meta-narrative; truths inscribed on everlasting stone tablets…. until the next edition of tablets […]

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Changing your Record

July 25, 2018 | 29 Comments

If your doctor wrote in your medical record in the 1940s that you were mentally ill or had a neuropsychiatric disorder, this could have led to sterilization across most of the Western world, or in Germany to elimination. Long before a single Jew was gassed, tens of thousands of lives not worth living were eliminated […]

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PSSD In The Guardian, U.S. News & Lyon Capitale

July 4, 2018 | 44 Comments

The Guardian The Guardian, a British newspaper, runs a weekly feature called “My life in sex”, in which readers can write in and talk about their sex life. On June 8, 2018, they ran a piece called “After taking antidepressants, my genitals felt numb”. A 30 year old women described how she had been left […]

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Crazy and it was

The WARM Network: Withdrawal and Recovery Meetings

June 27, 2018 | 17 Comments

New Initiative: The Withdrawal and Recovery Meeting (WARM) Network of Groups By Jennifer Bryant and Laurie Oakley This is a new initiative to give anyone who would like to start an in-person withdrawal group in their community a way to get started. We have created a free “toolkit” that contains a Guide for Facilitators, Suggested […]

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What to do about Sex

June 20, 2018 | 12 Comments

The recent RxISK post on PSSD and Thermal Thresholds led to a lot of comments about what should “we” – those with PSSD or related conditions – do. There was a looking out to FDA or other regulators, doctors or politicians to do something. Coincidentally on davidhealy at the same time a pair of posts […]

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Historic Summit: Flox and Tox Get Together

June 13, 2018 | 8 Comments

Editorial Note: The European Medicines’ Agency are holding a public meeting today about Fluoroquinolone antibiotics and the problems they can cause. They invited submissions. RxISK submitted. But was not selected for a presentation so we will not be there. Miriam Knight who has been a vigorous campaigner on the need to warn about the […]

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Antidepressants, Sex and Thermal Thresholds

June 7, 2018 | 28 Comments

Last month, we announced details of two new publications about enduring sexual dysfunction after the use of medications. We hope you found them interesting. In both articles, we discussed a couple of studies from 1991 and 1999, in which neurophysiological testing showed that taking a serotonin reuptake inhibitor reduces genital sensation. We have previously mentioned […]

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My PGAD Nightmare

June 1, 2018 | 14 Comments

Editorial Point: This post is both an extraordinary account of PGAD (Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder) but also an extraordinary account of what many people have to put up with from psychiatry. For some of the history of PGAD see our Citizen’s Petition to FDA. See also the video clip on PGAD. At the beginning of […]

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The Woman Who Was: Looking back from Prescription Cascade

May 21, 2018 | 16 Comments

Editorial Note: This is M’s story. She outlines a Prescribing Cascade. In an email she also asks a question: does anyone have any evidence of SSRI withdrawal causing Vit D deficiency? HRT HRT started it all. Peri menopausal at 45, my GP did a FSH test and prescribed Climagest – oral oestrogen and progesterone. […]

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Enduring Sexual Dysfunction: 300 Cases

May 4, 2018 | 57 Comments

New publications After a great deal of work, we are pleased to announce details of two new publications in the International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine. The pre-print versions are currently available. [Now updated with printed versions – June 11, 2018.] The first is our new paper – Enduring sexual dysfunction after treatment […]

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Antidepressant Withdrawal: What’s in a Name

April 28, 2018 | 13 Comments

Editorial: a recent email to RxISK on the topic of antidepressant withdrawal brings out the fact that bupropion withdrawal is very different from SSRI withdrawal and both are very different to mirtazapine withdrawal. For all RxISK posts on withdrawal see Here Email from Edge My name is A. I’m 28. I was prescribed to Wellbutrin […]

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Dependence on Antidepressants and The New York Times

April 17, 2018 | 72 Comments

Editorial note – for all RxISK posts on withdrawal see Here A feature article in the New York Times recently by Ben Carey covered dependence on and withdrawal from antidepressants. Here. It led to over a thousand comments within 48 hours including a predictable set of comments from doctors claiming that antidepressants don’t cause dependence […]

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PSSD, Withdrawal & Small Fiber Neuropathy?

March 20, 2018 | 72 Comments

The picture here shows the before and after feet of a person who has erythromelalgia. After exercise or in response to other triggers, sometimes just lying in bed, the feet or other body parts can become hot and burning, possibly painfully so. The condition is linked to sodium channels. Those who get it may have […]

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Venus Not Rising

March 12, 2018 | 21 Comments

Editorial Note: Returning to the theme of the RxISK Prize… Reading the weekend newspaper, some months back, my eye was caught by a flame red haired women in a turquoise dress who said her occupation involved testing sex toys. The article was impossible to ignore and there was nothing for it but to contact Venus […]

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Five Minutes to Midnight

February 26, 2018 | 6 Comments

See Taper MD In 2016 life expectancy in the United States fell for a second year in a row. This was the first time anything like this had happened apart from a brief flatlining for men around 1962 we now know was linked to tobacco use. In 1962 the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) put […]

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Introducing Taper MD

February 20, 2018 | 3 Comments

Do you think you or someone you love are on too many meds? Did you know that reducing your medication burden may be the single best thing you can do to improve your quality of life? Adverse drug events are now a leading cause of hospitalization, disability, and death, all at great human and financial cost. […]

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