A recent RxISK post on SSRI triggered Movement Disorders - My Doctor Thinks I'm Faking It - put together by Stevie Lewis, attracted less attention than we expected. This may be because it featured strange movements and few of us figure we are in a good position to make sense of strange movements. The movements we featured don't make sense to many neurologists, even … [Read more...] about Functional Neurological Disorder?
Antipsychotics
Grey Hair, Rotting Teeth, Semi-Blind and Demented
The Human Body is not meant to be taking ‘stuff’ all the time, whether medicines or biohack stuff or whatever. Forget the image of a magic bullet that flies to the one spot where it is needed and causes no collateral damage, every medicine poisons. The trick is to use medicines only when the damage being caused by some condition outweighs the inevitable harms of the poison … [Read more...] about Grey Hair, Rotting Teeth, Semi-Blind and Demented
Starship Corona: Captain’s Log
The use of psychiatric meds in the U.S., already sky-high, is on the rise as a result of Covid-19. That’s not surprising – it happened after the 9-11 attacks, the 2008 crash and other crises. This graph comes from “America’s State of Mind,” an April 2020 report from Express Scripts. In the month from February 15 to March 15, prescriptions for depression, anxiety and … [Read more...] about Starship Corona: Captain’s Log
Covid and the Market in Research
There are 3 bits to this post - an interview with Joan-Ramon Laporte. An article by Ariane Denoyel and a Q and A with Laporte and Healy. Laporte Interview As part of a series for ROAR Magazine, Frank Barat has run some striking interviews about aspects of the Covid pandemic not usually mentioned. Here is Joan-Ramon Laporte talking about the market in … [Read more...] about Covid and the Market in Research
Medications compromising Covid Infections
IN THE MIDST OF THE SARS-CoV-2 PANDEMIA, CAUTION IS NEEDED WITH COMMONLY USED DRUGS THAT INCREASE THE RISK OF PNEUMONIA. Joan-Ramon Laporte, M.D. Emeritus Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Fundació Institut Català de Farmacologia. WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training … [Read more...] about Medications compromising Covid Infections
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
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
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
Welsh and Scottish Petitions on Antidepressant Dependence
Scottish and Welsh Parliaments Debate Psychiatric Drug Dependence and Withdrawal Over the last decade, the UK has seen dramatic increases in the number of people prescribed psychiatric drugs. In the British National Formulary, the prescribers bible, Chapter 4 represents Central Nervous System drugs including antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, antiepileptics and … [Read more...] about Welsh and Scottish Petitions on Antidepressant Dependence
Akathisia, Depression & Suicide: The List
This post closes our series on akathisia. Along with posts on davidhealy.org, the other posts were: Akathisia Anthem 500+ Drugs that Cause Depression and Suicide – AKA Akathisia Akathisia Challenge Even Politicians get killed by Akathisia In 500 drugs that cause depression and suicide, we mentioned building a new list of drugs that can cause depression and … [Read more...] about Akathisia, Depression & Suicide: The List