Globalization is not a word that's in favor at the moment. In the face of this very recent economic development that seemed to be sweeping the board in the 1980s and 1990s, we now want to reassert national boundaries, hang onto "our" jobs, and keep out others - sometimes those who have done a great deal to create our prosperity in the first place. This is understandable. … [Read more...] about RxISK Prize: Global Impact
Withdrawal
RxISK Prize: No Nos
The RxISK Prize throws up one surprise after another. I would have thought as organizations that save lives and pillars of the economy, it should be relatively easy to contact a pharmaceutical company. It isn't. I have lots of contacts in organizations that liaise with pharma and used to have many contacts in pharma but it's been impossible to get a list of how to contact … [Read more...] about RxISK Prize: No Nos
RxISK Prize: The Golden Rule
This post follows Launching and How You Can Help which are also now on our Prize page on the Main Menu. Launching the RxISK Prize has been eye opening. Everyone who has donated or will donate will hopefully get some sense of this. If you're not getting it, you need to remember this Prize is yours not ours. Those donating money and those donating sweat own what is happening … [Read more...] about RxISK Prize: The Golden Rule
Withdrawal & PSSD: Terminal Diagnoses?
There has been something of a hiatus on posts on DH and RxISK in recent weeks. There are a few reasons - one of them outlined here and one to come next week. Part of the problem has been knowing what to say to people with PSSD and severe withdrawal. I have been swamped with emails that are terribly difficult to answer. It would be good to get input from readers on this … [Read more...] about Withdrawal & PSSD: Terminal Diagnoses?
Drug Wrecked: Where Does Change Come From?
Editorial Note: There are two elements to RxISK. One is identifying adverse events in order to keep people safe and to widen our knowledge about what drugs do. But just as important is taking on a power structure that some of us get a glimpse of when we raise the possibility of an adverse event and our doctors dismiss us, or get nasty, and close ranks. The idea behind a … [Read more...] about Drug Wrecked: Where Does Change Come From?
Illnesses Worse than Side Effects?
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?
Heartattack and Vine – and Plavix
Editorial Note: The first RxISK story was about Plavix - Fiona's Story. This anonymous account has striking overlaps with that. Plavix is clopidogrel. The grel group of drugs include 1tazigrel, dimetagrel and others. They function like expensive aspirins. They cause problems on withdrawal and can be lethal. But medics and nurses will bat the problems away and suggest that any … [Read more...] about Heartattack and Vine – and Plavix
Dilemmas: advising others
Editorial Note: This post is by Sally Macgregor. I left a comment on: Stopping Antidepressants: Kenny’s dilemma, which contained this statement: ‘I think acknowledging that coming off the pills can end badly is absolutely crucial. For one thing it’s honest, and without honestly how can people begin to cope with the situation they find themselves in’ I also said that I had a … [Read more...] about Dilemmas: advising others
Bruce Springsteen: Born to Withdraw?
Editorial Note: These excerpts from Bruce Springsteen's new book Born To Run were picked out for us by a colleague who is a lifetime Bruce fan. Zero to sixty in nothing flat The blues don’t jump right on you. They come creeping. Shortly after my sixtieth I slipped into a depression like I hadn’t experienced since that dusty night in Texas thirty years earlier. It lasted for a … [Read more...] about Bruce Springsteen: Born to Withdraw?
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