RxISK

Making Medicines Safer for All of Us

Polypharmacy

What Counts? A Tale of Good and Evil

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This title plays on words. Counting suggests numbers but also hints at values. This talk hinges on a clash between a worldview centred on numbers and one centred on values. The slides and text are below.  A video record of the talk is here - What Counts? Slide 2:            One of these two is on an antidepressant and unable to make love. Like drug induced Homicide, … [Read more...] about What Counts? A Tale of Good and Evil

How the Safety of Drugs was Destroyed

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Emer Cooke, the CEO of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is Irish. This is Dublin's famous Halfpenny Bridge which for some reason features in an article outlining the history of the phrase Tail wags Dog which seems appropriate for what followed. I wrote to Emer recently about a bizarre letter I received from Kinapse - A Brush with EMA - who run EMA's medical literature … [Read more...] about How the Safety of Drugs was Destroyed

Clinical Details Confuse Expert Doctors

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Following the death of their 16-year-old son Romain, who had been put on paroxetine with Tercian later added, Yoko Motohama and Vincent Schmitt began asking questions of GSK, Sanofi, the French ANSM (Agence nationale de sécurité du medicament), and others. They set up two websites Antidepeffects.wordpress.com and Romainschmitt.wordpress.com. Romain’s case features on … [Read more...] about Clinical Details Confuse Expert Doctors

Could Journalists be Doctors in Disguise

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I had to give some workshops a few years ago to media students and either while thinking about what to say or in the middle of saying it, or soon after, it hit me that good doctoring has a lot in common with good journalism. Both hinge on getting the story right and key to that is having a real person whom others can contact to check out the story they have been told about … [Read more...] about Could Journalists be Doctors in Disguise

Charles Dickens and Red Tape, Alive and Well in 2023

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This post is a follow up to Great Treatment, Patient Dead  and to last weeks 'Twas the Nice before Christmas.   This image is almost unreadable but worth presenting as it's the first mention of Red Tape - short for Red Tapeworm.  The full, readable text can be found here The Circumlocution Office. Red Tape is a highly topical way to start the New Year.  Dickens was … [Read more...] about Charles Dickens and Red Tape, Alive and Well in 2023

The Treatment was Great, The Patient Died

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This post contains a letter sent on October 31, 2022 to the Minister for Mental Health in Scotland about Gordon Hughes pictured here with his mother a few weeks before the events outlined below.  Pictures and headings have been added. Kevin Stewart MSP, Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care, MinisterMWSC@gov.scot Dear Mr. Stewart, I was recently approached by … [Read more...] about The Treatment was Great, The Patient Died

ADHD and Polypharmacy. American Conditions?

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This post tackles two RxISK themes - ADHD and Polypharmacy. While working through Pfizer's Serious Adverse Event narrative file, see The Fog of a Special Medical Operation, the term ADHD - attention deficit hyperactive cropped up quite often. There was one predictable feature to this - all cases came from the United States with none at the moment from Argentina, Brazil, … [Read more...] about ADHD and Polypharmacy. American Conditions?

Brain Fog: What is it? How to Treat it.

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Lots of people complain of cognitive problems on or after taking medications, whether psychotropic drugs, cholesterol lowering statins, asthma drugs like montelukast, or fluoroquinolone antibiotics. They often use the word “Brain Fog” to cover this.  Women get Brain Fog in pregnancy that can linger afterwards. People with Long Covid complain of Brain Fog as do the Covid … [Read more...] about Brain Fog: What is it? How to Treat it.

What’s a life worth? Is anyone listening?

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This post is by Tracey G.  Tracey approached me and as you'll see others in October 2020 for materials on antidepressants to give her Member of Parliament, Johnny Mercer.  She had been in touch in 2018 - "lost in the world of not being taken seriously or believed with regards to a possible protracted withdrawal".  It was easy believe her but not easy help - no-one knows how to … [Read more...] about What’s a life worth? Is anyone listening?