The pre-pregnancy puzzle This post contains a comment by Neil Gorman on Humira in Ulcerative Colitis backed up by material criticising a BBC Panorama program on antidepressants in pregnancy retrieved from the link to Mumsnet mentioned by Neil. This link illustrates beautifully why Pharma has such an easy ride. There is a mythic element here. Where men are accused of seeing … [Read more...] about The Dark is for Mushrooms, Not for Women
Antidepressants
Treating PSSD
Editorial Note: This is the fourth in a series of posts about PSSD (Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction), with more to come. The earliest was Buried Alive, but in this recent series the first was Drugs and Sex Don't Go, followed by PSSD: If a Drug Caused Blindness and then No Sex and the City. Possible treatments In Drugs and Sex Don't Go, we outlined how the PSSD community has … [Read more...] about Treating PSSD
No Sex and the City
PSSD - the most reported syndrome to RxISK There have to date been 67 reports of Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD) on paroxetine (Paxil, Aropax and Seroxat), fluoxetine (Prozac and Fludac), sertraline (Zoloft and Lustral), citalopram and escitalopram (Cipramil, Celexa, Lexapro and Cipralex), venlafaxine (Efexor and Pristiq), fluvoxamine and nefazodone. This makes it the most … [Read more...] about No Sex and the City
PSSD: If a Drug Caused Blindness?
Editorial Note: Of these 13 Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD) cases, 12 came to us from a colleague who had been approached by others. If a drug caused anyone to go blind or deaf it would probably be removed from the market immediately. In the early days of Viagra, there was talk of it turning visual fields blue, which some worried might be the first steps to going blind. … [Read more...] about PSSD: If a Drug Caused Blindness?
Drugs and Sex Don’t Go
Most doctors are told headaches or nausea are the commonest side effects of drugs. Nausea for instance is very common on SSRIs – not surprising as there is a lot of serotonin in the gut. But an immediate change in sexual functioning is a lot more common than nausea. Close to everyone taking an SSRI will feel some genital numbing. A one way ticket to losing your money For … [Read more...] about Drugs and Sex Don’t Go
Daily Mail Online: What is wrong with randomised trials Part 2
May 5, 2013 By Jerome Burne Could alcohol get a licence as a drug for depression? How do you test for the safety of a drug that causes the same side effects as the disease it is used to treat? These are just two of the points I didn’t have room for in my post last week on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and why they don’t tell you what you want to know. (More on these … [Read more...] about Daily Mail Online: What is wrong with randomised trials Part 2
Maclean’s magazine: There’s a pill for that
A B.C. class-action suit against the makers of Paxil is putting the spotlight on a controversial issue: the growing use of antidepressants during pregnancy. ...Yet a rising chorus of researchers is questioning Motherisk’s stance on SSRI use in pregnancy. One of the most vocal is psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist David Healy, director of the North Wales department of … [Read more...] about Maclean’s magazine: There’s a pill for that
BBC Radio: The Prozac Economy
Prozac is 25 years old. It has been taken by over 40 million people around the world and made billions of dollars for Eli Lilly, the company that created it. But does it work? And what effect has the promise of a "happiness pill" had on society? Will Self examines the legacy of the so-called 'wonder drug'. As he sets off on a personal exploration of the conflicting and … [Read more...] about BBC Radio: The Prozac Economy
Sudden Cardiac Death: Vanessa’s Story
Editorial Note: This post is excerpted from After the Error: Speaking Out About Patient Safety to Save Lives by Susan McIver, Ph.D. and Robin Wyndham. © 2013 Susan McIver and Robin Wyndham. Published by ECW Press Ltd. ecwpress.com Special recognition The day after Terence Young’s 15-year-old daughter, Vanessa, suddenly died on March 19, 2000, he began his journey to find out … [Read more...] about Sudden Cardiac Death: Vanessa’s Story
Autism Awareness Day: Antidepressants in Pregnancy
Editorial Note: This post is by Adam Urato MD, the Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, Massachusetts, as well as a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. He cares for pregnant women on a daily basis. Autism rates are on the rise, with the latest report from the US Centers for Disease … [Read more...] about Autism Awareness Day: Antidepressants in Pregnancy