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.

A nation of pill poppers - article in Mail - highlights problem of over prescribing

ABOUT THE ARTICLE

The NHS spent a staggering £22million a day on prescription drugs in England in 2006, a 60 per cent rise in real terms on a decade earlier.
We each pick up more than 16 prescriptions a year on average, twice as many as 20 years ago, Department of Health data reveals.

More than 50million prescriptions were written for cholesterol-busting statins in 2008, an 80 per cent rise on just four years earlier.
And more than 10,000 prescriptions a week are written for anti-hyperactivity drugs.

These facts are highlighted by Professor Joan Busfield, from Essex University, who is concerned about over prescribing and pharmaceutical industry use of ‘disease mongering’ and the re-writing of the Medical dictionary the DSM. More from her paper A Pill For Every Ill, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine are highlighted in the Daily Mail article 29 March 2010.

MILLIE'S COMMENTS

Statins and drugs for hyperactivity or ADHD diagnosis are all linked to depression and suicide, so of particular concern to APRIL charity.

Inappropriate prescribing and lack of knowledge of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is leading to untold misery, long term ill health (iatrogenic illness) and avoidable deaths. I am faced with stories on a daily basis. Recent communications and meetings I have had with parents and sufferers have disclosed the following sad cases:

o A girl who had a stroke cause by blood clot while taking the acne drug, also used as a contraceptive that I have campaigned about. I have begged the Medicines Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to issue warnings to doctors that the drug causes depression in girls with no history of depression. Licensed for short term use for acne the drug is often prescribed for years as a contraceptive in spite of warnings (years ago) from the regulator that the risk of thrombosis is high for this drug. The reason I am not putting the name (easily found on the APRIL web site) is that the web site was hacked and brought down recently and I do not want to risk any problems.

o A mother grieving for the loss of her son who was over prescribed hundreds of morphine based pain killers, addicted and distressed, he took his own life. The consultant who was treating him for Ulcerative Colitis complications had not been informed by the GP of what he was prescribing to the patient. This highlights what I found at the inquest of Angela Lee, (see blog Oct 2009) that health professionals do not communicate with each other regarding patients being seen by more than one doctor or therapist.

o A mother told me her son killed himself after being prescribed an SSRI antidepressant. He took this for a few days and became worse, so complained to his GP. The doctor told him to double the dose and 4 hours after doing this he killed himself.

o A lady who had been addicted to tranquilisers (benzodiazepines) for 25 years had finally managed to come off the drugs with the help of Pam Armstrong who runs a support group in Liverpool. Her doctor had prescribed a drug recently assuring her it was not addictive. When I did the necessary research, I found it was an addictive drug. This highlights the need for patients to be vigilant and not to assume the doctor knows best. Pharmacology has not been an exam subject since 1993 for medical students, be warned!

o A lady was suffering from severe head aches and had not told her doctor this is since being prescribed drugs for high blood pressure. It is essential to return to the doctor if one develops new symptoms after taking any medicines.
Early warning sign of intolerance to drugs, if acted upon may prevent even more serious consequences.