The MHRA Roaccutane / isotretinoin Inquiry into harms some people suffer, is still ongoing. Plus link to Millie Kieve's newest video.

 Re the MHRA Isotretinoin expert working Group (IEWG) conclusions following  submission of evidence from Millie Kieve for APRIL charity, together with many parents tragically bereaved by the suicide of their child.

The outcome  of our written and face to face (via Zoom) submissions of evidence, is very slow to emerge and more will be posted about this at a later date.

For my part (Millie)  - News of the work for APRIL which is ongoing, even though my age tells me to slow down!

I have now given up the office as I had rarely been into the space since the Covid lockdown, so am working on books about the history of APRIL and my life in fact!

In the meantime I have updated some videos on the Vimeo web site and this one is the newest:

https://vimeo.com/683984803

It is a talk that started as a conversation between me and my long time volunteer and friend Kathy.

I decided as I was explaining some of the history of the efforts I have made to help towards greater patient safety, I may as well record this. So I added still pictures to help illustrate the information. This covers the early years around the time of the  first conference I organised.

This includes when Dr David Healy (now Professor) was rejected after having his post as Professor in Toronto, following his talk to a few doctors, I believe, about the risk of suicide for some people taking antidepressant SSRI and similar drugs. You will hear he did agree to speak at that first conference, which led to the amazing work by the BBC Panorama team in highlighting the issues around dependence and harm caused by the SSRI antidepressant Seroxat. 

The fact that dosage was licensed too high and how the CEO of MIND charity actually resigned from and committee of people working for the Medicines regulator at the time, for reasons of failure to disclose or act on harm they knew about.

Please listen to the 11 minute 'conversation' in which I do actually include Kath's contribution, but not all as it may have been unsuitable for sharing! 

There are many videos of interest I have edited and included on Vimeo and the link to them all is on the Home Page of APRIL's web site https://www.april.org.uk Talks by leading experts in adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and how clinical trials have been rigged in favour of benefits from medicines with cover up of harms. Testimonials of suffering and recovery from people who have been sectioned for psychiatric issues, some due to the ADRs they suffered.

I will do more on the blog if I can be sure some people are still reading my posts. Please enter your email to be informed of new posts. I have no access to that data so have no idea how many of you may have signed up.

Kind regards to all and stay safe from Covid - with heartfelt concern for those in Ukraine who have far more  than Covid to worry about.

BBC looks at financial links of psychiatrists with the pharmaceutical industry

Tonight on BBC radio 4, at 8pm, a documentary will review the links between psychiatrists who create and determine new names for mental disorders, conditions, even quirks of personality, and the psychiatrists' financial links to the pharmaceutical industry. An industry that profits from the prescribing of drugs licensed for these conditions.

You can access the programme for the next 7 days, on the BBC iplayer via this link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/programmes/subjects/c3ViamVjdC9waGFybWFjZXV0aWNhbCBpbmR1c3RyeQ

The DSM is the psychiatrist's bible, with such conditions as 'Social Phobia' and 'ADHD' being conditions added by members of the Americal Psychiatric Association

Matthew Hill investigates the links between psychiatrists and the industry and asks should there be increased transparency over top psychiatrists' links to the pharmaceutical industry.

The following link should take you to the information page and the broadcast on the Internet

Rewriting the Psychiatrist's Bible 8pm Tuesday 4th August 2009

http;//www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kf117

Doctors and Psychiatrists' FINANACIAL LINKS WITH THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

My personal awareness of the conflict of interest goes back to the year 2000 when I attended the British Association of Psychopharmacology (BAP) conference in Cambridge. The event was like a trade fair. Stands promoting drugs, food and literature provided by the pharmaceutical companies, abounded. The presence of industry representatives, standing around a room seemed to inhibit questioning about the safety of drugs in the session I attended on Suicide and antidepressants.

Following the shock of the BAPC drugs trade show, I then became aware of the efforts of psychiatirsts, Loren Mosher, David Healy, Joanna Moncrieff, psychologist Rufus May to open up the debate on drug safety and the overuse of psychotropic medicines including antidepressants.

Little attention to the harms and over emphasis on benefits, in research, has led to many drug induced illnesses (iatrogenic disease), suicides, sudden deaths, disability and misery, affecting countless millions of people across the world.

(Loren Mosher, David Healy and Rufus May attended and spoke at the APRIL charity conference in 2001)

LOREN MOSHER'S RESIGNATION FROM AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION (APA)

I invited psychiatrist Loren Mosher MD to attend the London conference I organised in 2001. He was dismayed at the Industry influence on the psychiatric profession, the Diagnostic Manual (DSM) and the APA. Loren and his wife Judy came over and it was an honour to meet them. Loren's death in 2004 was a great loss to the campaign for truth and transparency in psychiatric diagnosis and prescribing.

( At the time of his death in 2004, Loren Mosher was Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, at the University of California, San Diego.)

I had seen his letter of resignation on the Internet. I felt admiration for his courage and tenacity in the face of such power and influence.

The letter to Rodrigo Munoz, President of the APA is self explanatory:

http://www.moshersoteria.com/resig.htm

Professor DAVID HEALY

At the same conference we heard from Dr David Healy, who had a job withdrawn, in Canada, following his advice to a group of psychiatrists that they should be aware of the risk of adverse reactions that may lead to suicide for some patients, when they prescribe SSRI and similar antidepressants. The influences on the University of Toronto were clearly seen in this scenario.

(David Healy was Director and is now Professor of Psychological Medicine, Cardiff University School of Medicine.)

The full story is told on the web site www.healyprozac.com

RUFUS MAY

Psychologist Rufus May has done so much for people suffering mental distress, without using drugs. Rufus openly discusses his own episode of psychosis when a young man and this is now in the archives of BBC radio 4. A documentary film was made about his support for a medical student while she was psychotic and links to these and advice on coming off psychotropic medicines is on web sites: www.comingoff.com and www.rufusmay.com

CRITICAL PSYCHIATRY and DR JOANNA MONCRIEFF

I disoverered the group known as Critical Psychiatry and found these are psychiatrists in the UK who are concerned about the over use and harm being caused by psychotropic medicines.

Dr Joanna Moncrieff was at the conferences I organised for APRIL charity in 2004 and 2008. Films with Joanna in the Coming of Medicines sessions, is on the APRIL web site www.april.org.uk and the link is in the left hand menu.

Joanna Moncrieff has written a book called The Myth of the Chemical Cure which contains valuable facts and information about the lack of evidence for prescribing and how the drugs work.

Joanna believes the drug induced state caused by medicines is not addressing the underlying problem and that we do not know what is actually going on in the brain.

Joanna says there is very little research into the drug induced states that the drugs create and main stream views that the drugs reverse an underlying state are wrong. We do not know what the drugs actually do when they create a changed mental state. I say that there is no research into the harms caused by psychotropic medicines, polypharmacy and inapropriate prescribing.

A BBC inteview highlights some of her views and can be accessed from an article:

'The myth of the chemical cure'

http://news,bbc,co.uk/1/hi/health/8138893.stm

A compact cheaper book by Joanna Moncrieff in the Straight Talking Introductions series edited by Richard Bentall and Pete Sanders is called Psychiatric Drugs at a price under £9 is recommended by David Healy who states " This straighforward book is one that should be read by anyone currently taking or thinking about taking, a psychotropic drug, anyone prescribing them and anyone party to their use. It offers a radically different and sobering view as to what the drugs can do compared with the views on offer elsewhere." www.pccs-books.co.uk