David Healy has used Charles Medawar's research and his own experience and research for his new book
Pharmageddon. Not yet available in UK but can be purchased from Amazon. Also sections available to read on Amazon web site. An important contribution to creating awareness of psychiatric adverse reactions to medicines and suicide risk for some people who take SSRI antidepressants and other drugs.
With added information about the way medicines are licensed and the secrecy that covers up deception.
Patients are entitled to know the risk and be allowed to decide for themselves whether the benefits outweigh the possible harm of accepting any treatment offered by doctors who may have no knowledge of how drugs work. (Pharmacology was removed from curriculum requirement in 1993 by the GMC in their guidelines called 'Tomorrow's Doctors'.
Unfortunately in the UK a senior policy maker at the head of D of H Mental Health, Professor Louis Appleby, has decided not to inform doctors to be aware that akathisia (extreme agitation) an adverse side-effect, can lead to suicide. He believes information about medication induced suicide may cause harm.
To whom I wonder?
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England contains no mention of suicide triggered by adverse drug reactions (ADR) or the adverse side-effect caused by many psychotropic medicines including SSRI and similar antidepressants akathisia. The current consultation being reviewed now, was under the auspices of a person who was sympathetic to this being included. He has been removed from his post!
http://davidhealy.org/http://davidhealy.org/
APRIL charity Blog will alert you to articles, books and meetings relating to iatrogenic (treatment induced) illness and psychiatric adverse drug-reactions (ADRs). Harm from everyday medicines or anaesthetics can include depression, anxiety, insomnia, suicidal thoughts and addiction. Please sign up at bottom of page to follow APRIL charity Blog. You wont be inundated with email alerts.Your comments will be welcome! APRIL (Adverse Psychiatric Reactions Information Link) www.april.org.uk
Link to APRIL home page (Adverse Psychiatric Reactions Information LInk)
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Saturday, 17 March 2012
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Self Hypnosis helped me to sleep
MY SOLUTION TO SLEEPING WHEN FIRST GRIEVING FOR MY DAUGHTER:
When my daughter Karen died suddenly, I thought I would never stop my mind racing.
How was I to sleep? I knew the importance of sleep. I knew that just a few nights without sleep can cause mental health problems. I needed to sleep and would never take drugs. I did not even realise at this time that stopping Temazepam suddenly a few days before her death, may have been implicated in why the accident happened. (Story about Karen was published in The Guardian ).
MY SOLUTION TO SLEEPING WHEN GRIEVING FOR MY DAUGHTER:
Many medicines, including some pain killers, tranquillisers, sleeping pills antidepressants and other psychotropics can trigger serious withdrawal reactions. Sleeping pills can be addictive and may harm your health
When my daughter Karen died suddenly, I thought I would never stop my mind racing.
How was I to sleep? I knew the importance of sleep. I knew that just a few nights without sleep can cause mental health problems. I needed to sleep and would never take drugs. I did not even realise at this time that stopping Temazepam suddenly a few days before her death, may have been implicated in why the accident happened. (Story about Karen was published in The Guardian ).
MY SOLUTION TO SLEEPING WHEN GRIEVING FOR MY DAUGHTER:
- I avoided caffeine after lunch time.
- I had a warm bath just before bed (this brings blood to right temperature to assist sleep)
- I used lavendar oil in a burner or in the bath
- I used SELF-HYPNOSIS the link is to an NHS web site not a commercial site!
- I drank herbal tea before going to bed, camomile or tranquility tea or sleep-easy infusion tea - works wonders!
Many medicines, including some pain killers, tranquillisers, sleeping pills antidepressants and other psychotropics can trigger serious withdrawal reactions. Sleeping pills can be addictive and may harm your health
- For withdrawal advice about benzodiazepines, and z drugs (like zopiclone) - tranquillisers and sleeping pills see Professor Heather Ashton's Withdrawal Protocol on www.benzo.org.uk
- For Professor David Healy's SSRI withdrawal protocol email APRIL at SSRI at april. org. uk (email address displayed in this way to avoid spam).
- For information about reducing antipsychotic drugs see www.comingoff.com
SSRI Stories
Rosie Meysenburg I have been informed, sadly died recently. You can hear Sara Bostock talking about SSRI Stories at our last conference http://vimeo.com/16727219
Sleeping pills increase risk of death study finds
Sleeping pills increase risk of death, study suggests - published in the British Medical Journal
Hypnotics' association with mortality or cancer: a matched cohort study
In this open access paper by Kripke, Langer and Kilne, a study of electronic medical records of 10,529 patients who received prescriptions for hypnotic drugs were compared with 23,676 matched controls with no hypnotic prescriptions during a period of 2.5 years from 2002 to 2007.
DRUGS PRESCRIBED included:
zolpidem, temazepam, eszopiclone, zaleplon, other benzodiazepines, barbiturates and sedative antihistamines.
Conclusions were: Receiving hypnotic prescriptions was associated with greater than threefold increased hazards of death even when prescribed <18 pills/year. This association held in separate analyses for several commonly used hypnotics and for newer shorter-acting drugs. Control of selective prescription of hypnotics for patients in poor health did not explain the observed excess mortality. In the UK we are still trying to persuade the government of the long standing problem of involuntary tranquilliser addiction - take a look at the postings from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Involuntary Tranquilliser Addicton www.appgita.com
Hypnotics' association with mortality or cancer: a matched cohort study
In this open access paper by Kripke, Langer and Kilne, a study of electronic medical records of 10,529 patients who received prescriptions for hypnotic drugs were compared with 23,676 matched controls with no hypnotic prescriptions during a period of 2.5 years from 2002 to 2007.
DRUGS PRESCRIBED included:
zolpidem, temazepam, eszopiclone, zaleplon, other benzodiazepines, barbiturates and sedative antihistamines.
Conclusions were: Receiving hypnotic prescriptions was associated with greater than threefold increased hazards of death even when prescribed <18 pills/year. This association held in separate analyses for several commonly used hypnotics and for newer shorter-acting drugs. Control of selective prescription of hypnotics for patients in poor health did not explain the observed excess mortality. In the UK we are still trying to persuade the government of the long standing problem of involuntary tranquilliser addiction - take a look at the postings from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Involuntary Tranquilliser Addicton www.appgita.com
WARNING - DO NOT STOP TAKING ANY MEDICINE SUDDENLY
Many medicines, including some pain killers, tranquillisers, sleeping pills antidepressants and other psychotropics can trigger serious withdrawal reactions
- For withdrawal advice about benzodiazepines, and z drugs (like zopiclone), see Professor Heather Ashton's Withdrawal Protocol on www.benzo.org.uk
- For Professor David Healy's SSRI withdrawal protocol email APRIL at SSRI at april. org. uk (email address displayed in this way to avoid spam).
- For information about reducing antipsychotic drugs see www.comingoff.com
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Professor David Healy has a blog about SSRI & similar antidepressants
The information about SSRI Secrets web site is of particular interest:
Rosie Meysenburg’s story
For anyone interested in the effects of drugs, the website SSRI stories has been an inspiration. Rosie Meysenburg, its creator, was recently diagnosed with cancer and is terminally ill. The story of how she came to create SSRI stories shows what people can do to hold the powers that be to account.
—David Healy
http://davidhealy.org/the-story-of-ssri-stories
Rosie Meysenburg’s story
For anyone interested in the effects of drugs, the website SSRI stories has been an inspiration. Rosie Meysenburg, its creator, was recently diagnosed with cancer and is terminally ill. The story of how she came to create SSRI stories shows what people can do to hold the powers that be to account.
—David Healy
http://davidhealy.org/the-story-of-ssri-stories
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Relieving Emotional Stress with Robert Whitaker, Bob Johnson, Sami Timimi
conference NOT TO MISS -this Saturday in London
“RELIEVING EMOTIONAL DISTRESS – WHAT’S WRONG, WHAT’S NEEDED.”
Keynote speaker Robert Whitaker author of Mad in America
Saturday 26th November 2011
Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 9:30-5pm
further info, and to register, email : conf@jnf.org.uk
Robert Whitaker's most recent book is:
Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America, Crown, April 13, 2010, ISBN 9780307452412
“RELIEVING EMOTIONAL DISTRESS – WHAT’S WRONG, WHAT’S NEEDED.”
Keynote speaker Robert Whitaker author of Mad in America
Saturday 26th November 2011
Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 9:30-5pm
further info, and to register, email : conf@jnf.org.uk
Robert Whitaker's most recent book is:
Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America, Crown, April 13, 2010, ISBN 9780307452412
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Medicine side-effect can be suicide
One may ask how can a Suicide Prevention Strategy not include the fact that medicines adverse side effect may be suicide. Data sheets prepared by the pharmaceutical manufacturers often contain warnings of risk of suicide. These can be viewed on the British Pharmaceutical Industries Electronic Medicines Compendium at www.medicines.org.uk
A recent analysis of patient reports to the UK medicines regulator (MHRA) showed almost as many reports of suicidal thoughts as a rash on the skin. I was involved in this evaluation and the final report is large and not easy to decipher. It is worth looking at to see the quotes taken from the Yellow Card reports that were analysed.
Dianette and depression was high on the list of reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs). I have been contacted by a journalist in Australia regarding a TV programme that is to highlight a suicide linked to this drug, known as Diane-35 in Australia.
I have submitted to the UK consultation for the Suicide Prevention Strategy and if you wish to write to the D of H the link is on the APRIL Home Page www.april.org.uk
My submission was supported by 6 Professors of Clinical Pharmacology and Psychiatry. I had a response - but then responses from the head of this strategy, Professor Louis Appleby have in the past been brush offs, or the comment to me in person " I will address the omission" led to the omission NOT being addressed.
However we shall see this time if he wakes up to the fact that covering up the high number of medication induced suicides by omission of this in the strategy, taints his reputation as possibly being far from being without conflict of interest.
A recent analysis of patient reports to the UK medicines regulator (MHRA) showed almost as many reports of suicidal thoughts as a rash on the skin. I was involved in this evaluation and the final report is large and not easy to decipher. It is worth looking at to see the quotes taken from the Yellow Card reports that were analysed.
Dianette and depression was high on the list of reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs). I have been contacted by a journalist in Australia regarding a TV programme that is to highlight a suicide linked to this drug, known as Diane-35 in Australia.
I have submitted to the UK consultation for the Suicide Prevention Strategy and if you wish to write to the D of H the link is on the APRIL Home Page www.april.org.uk
My submission was supported by 6 Professors of Clinical Pharmacology and Psychiatry. I had a response - but then responses from the head of this strategy, Professor Louis Appleby have in the past been brush offs, or the comment to me in person " I will address the omission" led to the omission NOT being addressed.
However we shall see this time if he wakes up to the fact that covering up the high number of medication induced suicides by omission of this in the strategy, taints his reputation as possibly being far from being without conflict of interest.
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