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
Withdrawal
PPPD – Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness
This post is from R, whom I came into contact with at least a decade ago. She had significant SSRI dependence and withdrawal issues. And was very discombobulated by the difficulties she was having. Back in 1997 after a difficult and stressful house move I went to see my Family Doctor because I was getting a lot of headaches and panic attacks in crowded places. She said I was … [Read more...] about PPPD – Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness
The Long Awaited PSSD Research Breakthrough?
This image is from an extraordinary blog which tells you how to sex your mouse Breakthrough? Most of the good ideas that RxISK has featured linked to the enduring sexual dysfunctions, whether PSSD, PRSD, PFS and PGAD, and in terms of other problems, have come from readers of these posts. Several readers have stood out in terms of contributions and this post comes from one of … [Read more...] about The Long Awaited PSSD Research Breakthrough?
Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate and Akathisia
This post came from a regular contributor to RxISK and DH posts. An earlier comment pointed to something interesting and has developed into this post which should be of interest to anyone who has a withdrawal problem that entails some kind of akathisia. When I came out of a psychiatric hospital in Summer 2019, I had been on zopiclone for a good 6 months. For most of that … [Read more...] about Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate and Akathisia
Withdrawal Mysteries. Jon and Justin’s Journeys
Being Hooked to and having to Withdraw from Antidepressants, especially any that act on the serotonin system, is one of the greatest public health issues of our day. Close to 15 per cent of the population of most Western countries are affected. Peter Groot and colleagues in the Netherlands have done more than anyone to raise the profile of these issues by providing a method … [Read more...] about Withdrawal Mysteries. Jon and Justin’s Journeys
Sexual Mysteries. What is in a Touch?
This is an important post for anyone hunting for a test for PSSD. If the CT fibres mentioned here are not fibres that show up distinctly on either skin biopsy or CCM, then these tests may not pick up a very real problem. We need some research on whether CT fibres show around the ankle or in the cornea. The slide above is from a fascinating lecture on Affective Touch by Francis … [Read more...] about Sexual Mysteries. What is in a Touch?
The Window to the Body and perhaps the Soul
It might sound corny but it has long been said that our Eyes are the Window to our Soul. Whatever about the soul, every medical student gets told by ophthalmologists that the Eyes are the Window to the Body. They claim to be able to detect almost every possible disease by looking at our eyes. Just over a decade ago, Corneal Confocal Microscopy (CCM) came into view. See CCM - … [Read more...] about The Window to the Body and perhaps the Soul
Touch Fibres, Autonomic Fibres and Kissing
Someone, who regularly emails breaking research that I haven't spotted or don't have time to spot, got in touch recently with great insights on an article about Kisspeptin that I had seen. But I had managed to miss several things he spotted that may be important to anyone thinking about PSSD. A Kiss Before Sex The article reported a clinical trial on the Effects of Kisspeptin … [Read more...] about Touch Fibres, Autonomic Fibres and Kissing
Benzodiazepine Facebook and Other Groups
Nicole Lamberson who will be familiar to many from Medicating Normal asked Barbara Connolly from Benzo Warrior to write a piece on Benzo Support Groups especially linked to Facebook. This was to fill a benzodiazepine shapeed hole in the DD and AA group post. Nicole Lamberson asked me to write something about what a good benzo FB group can offer from the vantage of the … [Read more...] about Benzodiazepine Facebook and Other Groups
What Twitter doesn’t Want you to Know about Sex
This brief post links to a development since the last - Everything you Want to Know about Sex - post. Twitter like Woody Allen seems to believe you shouldn't be allowed to ask certain questions. A few weeks ago I did a podcast with Liz Tucker on her What Your GP Doesn't Tell You podcast series - which has a lot of stellar interviews. It took a while to edit, finally … [Read more...] about What Twitter doesn’t Want you to Know about Sex