This extraordinary image is from an advert for Clozapine. Mental illness can unquestionably bring distress - it can be haunting, dislocating and deeply disturbing. But the side effects are often more severe. Drugs like Clozapine are used by the military for torture purposes. Healthy volunteers commit suicide after a few days exposure to them. Treatment induced problems … [Read more...] about Illnesses Worse than Side Effects?
Antipsychotics
The Pill that Causes you to Steal Someone Else’s Life
Katinka Newman's The Pill that Steals Lives brings out the hazards of being put on a treatment that then becomes the problem that other treatments are used to treat. In her case she could have easily killed herself - or her children. The website 100Families.org lists 1250+ cases where mental health is linked to homicides. The thrust of the website is that mental illness is … [Read more...] about The Pill that Causes you to Steal Someone Else’s Life
Sarah’s Tourette Syndrome Story
Editorial Note: This post by DG follows up on last week's Robbie's Tourette Syndrome Story and continues a series begun a year ago looking at the effects of aripiprazole on Tourette Syndrome Abilify, Tourette Syndrome and Me. As mentioned last week, the key point is not just drug induced adverse effects but the ability of someone who has the disorder and takes the treatment to … [Read more...] about Sarah’s Tourette Syndrome Story
Robbie’s Tourette Syndrome Story
Editorial Note: This post by DG continues a series begun a year ago looking at the effects of aripiprazole on Tourette Syndrome Abilify, Tourette Syndrome and Me. The key point here is not just the effect of a drug to trigger effects but the ability of someone who has the disorder and takes the treatment to be more expert on what is going on than the so-called experts. This is … [Read more...] about Robbie’s Tourette Syndrome Story
Olanzapine: Still Treading Water
Editorial Note: Ages back, Sally MacGregor wrote this piece to follow up to her Olanzapine experience - Olanzapine Withdrawal: Sally's Story. The original piece has routinely been among the top ten RxISK blog posts visited. This update slipped between the cracks. But here it is. Time for a progress report. I was in feisty mode last time – determined not to be beaten by the … [Read more...] about Olanzapine: Still Treading Water
Kidnapped: Natalie’s Story
Editorial Note: Natalie's story parts 1 and 2 are by her mother Kristina. Natalie, celebrating her tenth birthday in 2003, shortly after being prescribed Prozac. Her left eye was starting to show signs of amblyopia, more commonly called “lazy eye.” This adverse drug reaction worsened and was one of many Natalie suffered from unnecessary prescribing. We couldn’t understand how … [Read more...] about Kidnapped: Natalie’s Story
A Kidnapped Daughter 2
Continued from Part 1. Put on mirtazepine my daughter deteriorated rapidly. The crisis intervention team descended. They started by counting pills. When they found the number correct, they assumed I had destroyed the pills. They seemed perplexed. One of the team would take her out for some one–to-one. They would visit the local park, go to the café and drink some cocoa. … [Read more...] about A Kidnapped Daughter 2
A Kidnapped Daughter
Editorial Note: This is the first of a two-part post by a father and daughter who want to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals - a very real and realistic fear. This is about how my daughter was “led away” (the literal meaning of abduction), in a cruel and calculated act undertaken by people to whom her mother and I had ill-advisedly, and to our eternal regret, trusted to … [Read more...] about A Kidnapped Daughter
Kidnapped: Arthur Hippe
Editorial Note: This post by Lois Sampson, an Elders' Rights Advocate with the Seniors At Risk Coalition, is the first of several on this theme. The message for readers who think that neither they nor their relatives have been or are likely to be in the position that Arthur Hippe was in is that Arthur's is the kind of case where the kidnapping can be seen, yours or your … [Read more...] about Kidnapped: Arthur Hippe
Greg’s Dilemma: Feeling Blue
Magic bullet In Greg's Dilemma 1 and Dilemma 2, Greg outlined more than one dilemma linked to getting hooked to antidepressants and benzodiazepines. The responses to these posts were all over the shop - from pull yourself together, to entrust your life to God, to support for descriptions of positions others find themselves in. The responses also split in terms of what the … [Read more...] about Greg’s Dilemma: Feeling Blue