This extraordinary image is from an advert for Clozapine. Mental illness can unquestionably bring distress - it can be haunting, dislocating and deeply disturbing. But the side effects are often more severe. Drugs like Clozapine are used by the military for torture purposes. Healthy volunteers commit suicide after a few days exposure to them. Treatment induced problems … [Read more...] about Illnesses Worse than Side Effects?
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Come Back When You Have a Medical Degree
From Johanna Ryan: Who among us has not heard that at least once during a doctor’s appointment? Say you report a problem with the prescription drug the doctor put you on. Or, perhaps, that the drug is just not working. Maybe you even give him a RxISK Report, created on this website, or an article that seems to shed light on your odd symptoms. The doctor responds by … [Read more...] about Come Back When You Have a Medical Degree
The Early History of PSSD
When did it begin? Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD) officially made its debut in the peer-reviewed medical literature in 2006. Case reports were published that identified treatment-emergent sexual dysfunction that persisted after the antidepressant was stopped. The condition was given a name and its features were defined. This new literature also noted the significance … [Read more...] about The Early History of PSSD
Roche and The Perfect Circle
Editorial Note: This is part 2 of the post by Heather and David Roberts - See RoAccutane and The Perfect Circle. Ever since in 2012 our son Olly died after using it, we have tried to learn what it does to the body and the mind. For the most terrifying thing about it, apart from the teratogenic damage to unborn babies, is that it can seriously, and we feel irreversibly, affect … [Read more...] about Roche and The Perfect Circle
RoAccutane and the Perfect Circle
Editorial Note: This post by Heather and David Roberts is about their son Olly and the struggles he and they had with the health system, acne and its treatments. Our son Olly had RoAccutane prescribed for him aged 21, getting ready to celebrate his birthday at Bristol University and wanting to look his best. He was studying Biological Sciences. His results from his first year … [Read more...] about RoAccutane and the Perfect Circle
Heartattack and Vine – and Plavix
Editorial Note: The first RxISK story was about Plavix - Fiona's Story. This anonymous account has striking overlaps with that. Plavix is clopidogrel. The grel group of drugs include 1tazigrel, dimetagrel and others. They function like expensive aspirins. They cause problems on withdrawal and can be lethal. But medics and nurses will bat the problems away and suggest that any … [Read more...] about Heartattack and Vine – and Plavix
Doctors: What do they know?
Editorial Note: This is an anonymous guest post. I started teaching in the early 1970’s, when to be a teacher was to be a professional, like a solicitor or a doctor. A few years later the Minister for Education, Margaret Thatcher, managed in one short speech to downgrade the status of teachers. At the time, she was trying to alleviate the shortage of teachers without spending … [Read more...] about Doctors: What do they know?
Dilemmas: advising others
Editorial Note: This post is by Sally Macgregor. I left a comment on: Stopping Antidepressants: Kenny’s dilemma, which contained this statement: ‘I think acknowledging that coming off the pills can end badly is absolutely crucial. For one thing it’s honest, and without honestly how can people begin to cope with the situation they find themselves in’ I also said that I had a … [Read more...] about Dilemmas: advising others
Transgender, Asexuality and SSRIs
Last week, there was a post Asexual, Transgender and SSRIs about possible links between antidepressant use in pregnancy or early childhood and a later development of asexuality. In recent weeks RxISK has had several emails asking about possible links between transgender issues or Gender Dysphoria and antidepressants. In one a woman wondered about a brother who went on … [Read more...] about Transgender, Asexuality and SSRIs
Asexual, Transgender & SSRIs
Last week's post about Antidepressants and Autistic Spectrum Disorder came with an article attached. This article was first sent to and first turned down by BMJ Open because it contained references to a set of animal studies. BMJ Open it turns out is a human studies only journal. The interest in the animal studies listed below is that animals conceiving and giving birth … [Read more...] about Asexual, Transgender & SSRIs