The news from Washington this week (September 17 - See Scientific American) of another shooting where the shooter has been on psychotropic medication - this time trazodone - raises once again questions about the interaction between violence and medication. The data points absolutely convincingly to the fact that the drugs can and do cause violence. Some of the data is laid … [Read more...] about Shooters on Prescription Drugs
Antidepressants
Herding Women
Since 2005, Paroxetine, first marketed by GlaxoSmithKline as Seroxat/Paxil, has carried warnings of birth defect risks. These risks led to litigation in the US – but not elsewhere. In the first case that went to court in the US in 2009, the Kilker case, the lawyers for Lyam Kilker argued that, even before Paxil was launched, there was good laboratory evidence that the … [Read more...] about Herding Women
The Pre-Pregnancy Dilemma Survey: Part 1
This is the first of two five minute surveys covering dilemmas that have been thrown up by the Panorama program on antidepressants, anticonvulsants and birth defects. The dilemma arises from the fact that women going on them are kept in the dark about a number of important issues. First, they aren't told that these drugs can cause significant dependence - that they can be … [Read more...] about The Pre-Pregnancy Dilemma Survey: Part 1
Mumsnet
Editorial Note: Two comments from Johanna and Neil in response to The Dark is for Mushrooms and Preventing Precaution. Johanna I didn’t see the BBC Panorama show (not available in the US) and don’t know if the outrage expressed by the Mumsnet blogger is sincere. It hardly sounds like Dr. Pilling was against using SSRI’s for any woman physically capable of getting pregnant. In … [Read more...] about Mumsnet
Preventing Precaution
Editorial Note: This post by Harriet Rosenberg aims at getting some debate going about medication and birth defects. We will run a survey early next week on this issue Right-to-Know (R2K). A recent post on RxISK, The dark is for mushrooms not for women features responses on Mumsnet to the issue of prescribing SSRIs during pregnancy. Johanna Ryan comments at the end of the … [Read more...] about Preventing Precaution
The Dark is for Mushrooms, Not for Women
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
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