The last set of posts have brought stimulants and dopamine into the frame. In the 1960s and 1970s while stimulants were becoming controlled drugs it was nevertheless denied that they caused dependence. It is now clear that the closely related dopamine agonists, increasingly the first line treatment for Parkinson's Disease, cause a host of compulsive behaviors in addiction to … [Read more...] about Dopamine & Addiction: Junkies of the Third Age?
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A Blast from the Past: Amphetamines for Weight Loss
Author: Johanna Ryan The story below, a first-person account of life on (and off) amphetamine “diet pills,” was written over forty years ago. It couldn’t be more relevant. Under the cover of a public-health crusade against obesity, drug companies are bringing back old-fashioned “speed” in brand-new packages. Last week’s post described the newly-approved weight loss pill … [Read more...] about A Blast from the Past: Amphetamines for Weight Loss
The Show Ain’t Over Till the Fat Lady Sings
By Johanna Ryan As 2015 dawns, the specter of Corporate Personhood, sanctified by trade treaties which put patents and profits above the needs of us humans, seems to be drawing ever closer. Our latest wake-up call came from the respected French drug safety journal Prescrire. They’re sounding the alarm about a December 19 vote by the EU’s Committee on Medicinal Products for … [Read more...] about The Show Ain’t Over Till the Fat Lady Sings
The Destruction Statins Leave After Them
Editorial Note: This post is taken with permission from an article authored by Hazel Summers that first appeared in Canyon News - The Secret Danger of Statin Drugs, on December 28th. Moyra Peyralta, who wrote one of the key RxISK stories - Nearly Invisible - drew it to our attention. There is a Nearly Invisible component here also. We need a good image for the idea of a Drug … [Read more...] about The Destruction Statins Leave After Them
Over The Top: Tackling Medical Power
Editorial Note: Laurie Oakley has recently brought out a book, Crazy And It Was, that gives many vivid illustrations of the problems of coping with healthcare systems, especially mental healthcare systems. Her account of what it's like to deal with a doctor who just isn't listening was particularly compelling. We asked her to give some hints of the kinds of problems covered in … [Read more...] about Over The Top: Tackling Medical Power
The Mysteries of Love
RxISK has had twenty-two stories and features on sex and drugs over the last two years - more than on any other topic. While we have a Sex Zone on the RxISK front page because we thought the topic might be of some interest, we didn't expect sex to take over quite like this. There are a few reasons sex may be so hot. Mysterious effects First a great deal of what is … [Read more...] about The Mysteries of Love
Massacre of Innocence
Paradise lost Any post about pregnancy pulls in more than the average amount of complexity. We had a series of posts on the risks of antidepressants in pregnancy at the end of last year The Dark is for Mushrooms, not for Women and Preventing Precaution and Mumsnet and a string of posts from Adam Urato - see Massacre of the Innocents - with another point of view from Philippa … [Read more...] about Massacre of Innocence
Massacre of the Innocents
Editorial Note: This post is by Adam Urato. There are other Adam Urato posts on RxISK (see Antidepressants and Autism and Autism Awareness Day) about the use of antidepressants in pregnancy and by women of child-bearing years. This post appeared first on Mad in America. The image is from an article by Gideon Koren that seriously proposes putting the image of a pregnant woman on … [Read more...] about Massacre of the Innocents
Better to Die RxISKing It 2
Editorial Note: This post continues from Better to Die RxISKing It. This plea for a Peoples' Movement with those suffering adverse effects on drugs reporting them was the substance of a talk given a month ago to the International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry in Los Angeles. Venus in furs Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs was published in 1870. It … [Read more...] about Better to Die RxISKing It 2
Better to Die RxISKing It
Editorial Note: This post continues from last week's Persecution of Heretics. It's about how only a Popular Movement with those suffering adverse effects on drugs speaking up can save us now. It adapts a talk given a month ago to the International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry in Los Angeles. It loses something without its slides. But it was recorded and may be … [Read more...] about Better to Die RxISKing It