RxISK is powered by people working behind the scenes - picking at threads and sometimes finding something rather different to what they expected. One of those who can't resist a loose thread is Suzanne Stevens, who has been interested in our Sudoscan problem. Many of you suffering with PSSD or related PRS, PRSD and PGAD conditions have been emailing Impeto Medical in Paris … [Read more...] about Device Wrecks & Regulators?
Antidepressants
Ecclesiastical and Pharmaceutical Risk Benefit Calculations
The Catholic Church has been convulsed in recent years by sexual abuse scandals. There are two aspects to this. One has been the harm inflicted on children from the abuse but in many instances as much if not more damage has arisen from the secondary harms these children and later adults have incurred in their efforts to get believed. The second aspect has been the Church’s … [Read more...] about Ecclesiastical and Pharmaceutical Risk Benefit Calculations
Sudoscan Saga & Propecia/Finasteride Survey
Sudoscan Several months ago, we became aware of a device called Sudoscan made by Impeto Medical, based in Paris. It’s mainly used to assess peripheral neuropathy in the hands and feet. But the company also have a special adaptor for Sudoscan that has been used to test genital function and found disturbances where other tests haven't. This is custom-made and isn’t commercially … [Read more...] about Sudoscan Saga & Propecia/Finasteride Survey
Montelukast, Fluoroquinolone, Psychotropic Withdrawal & Toxicity
Last week's post on Montelukast Withdrawal Syndrome has attracted comments at a higher rate than any prior post in 7 years of RxISK posts. It followed a post on Asthma causing Suicide and Homicide two weeks previously, which had links to the QuarterWatch 2015 report of adverse events in children fingering montelukast and suicidality as the second most common pediatric … [Read more...] about Montelukast, Fluoroquinolone, Psychotropic Withdrawal & Toxicity
EMA Acknowledges Persistent Sexual Dysfunction After SSRIs & SNRIs
The European Medicines Agency has just concluded a review into sexual dysfunction after the discontinuation of SSRIs and SNRIs. Before we discuss their findings, it's worth looking back over the events of the past year. RxISK petition In 2018, we put together a petition requesting changes to SSRI and SNRI product labels to warn about post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD) and … [Read more...] about EMA Acknowledges Persistent Sexual Dysfunction After SSRIs & SNRIs
Antidepressant Withdrawal Welsh Senedd Debate
Editorial Note: For context see Welsh Government Response to Withdrawal Petition. The image is of Janet Finch-Saunders. The cover image is of the Senedd building. Debate on the Petitions Committee Report: Petition P-05-784 Prescription drug dependence and withdrawal—recognition and support Motion NDM7053 Janet Finch-Saunders To propose that the National Assembly … [Read more...] about Antidepressant Withdrawal Welsh Senedd Debate
Welsh Government Response to Withdrawal Petition
For Context to this post - See Welsh Senedd Withdrawal Seminar and Welsh and Scottish Petitions on Antidepressant Dependence. From Stevie Lewis Dear All, At the back end of last week I received the Welsh Government's response to the Petitions Committee's recommendations - see HERE. As you'll see from the attached, they have accepted 9 of the 10 … [Read more...] about Welsh Government Response to Withdrawal Petition
Neutered Britain: Sex and Drugs
An article in the BMJ last week triggered a flurry of newspaper interest. Sex is a surefire generator of column inches as it were. Stories appeared in all the major broadsheets. Rather surprisingly I didn't put two and two together until the Daily Mail took the tried and trusted tack of talking about one of our problems - happening in another country. The Americans, they … [Read more...] about Neutered Britain: Sex and Drugs
RxISK Rorschach: Do not Go Gentle
Last week's RxISK post on Assisted Dying proved something of a Rorschach test. People read diametrically opposite messages into it. It was written at the same time as Something Stupid This Way Comes and cross-referenced this. This I thought made it clear that there is no such thing as Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD). TRD is a phenomenon created by antidepressants - … [Read more...] about RxISK Rorschach: Do not Go Gentle
Assisted Dying: Going Gentle or Not so Gentle
Assisted dying has become a hot topic. For large parts of human history when people came toward an end, they might have been left in an outhouse by relatives or consigned themselves to a hut in the woods. Children too. When born, Spartan children were taken outside and their hands placed on the eaves of the house - if they didn't cling on, the bodies were … [Read more...] about Assisted Dying: Going Gentle or Not so Gentle