A history of SSRIs
This is a re-post from something I wrote in March 2007 – on reflection, perhaps it should be more accurately entitled A History of SSRIs and the Damage they do to Patients.
I think there may well be a lot of discussion in the coming months about Seroxat dependency and the terrible withdrawal symptoms that many people have to endure as they try to stop taking Seroxat and so I think that the download – A History of SSRIs is more relevant today than ever.
Looking at my original post, I was remiss as I didn’t credit the author of the download – so belated apologies to Prof David Healy (I th...
Source: seroxat secrets... - October 2, 2015 Category: Addiction Authors: admin Tags: Big Pharma Depression Drug Marketing Glaxo Paxil Seroxat Source Type: blogs
Does Insurance Cover Botox Injections for Migraine Headaches?
Unfortunately no insurance company covers Botox therapy for generic headaches. Many will cover Botox for chronic migraines, which have been unresponsive to standard preventative therapies. In 2011, the FDA approved Botox for treating chronic migraines which have been unresponsive to an adequate trial of preventative medications. Preventative medications do not include the use of any narcotic pain killers. Insurance companies have made it difficult for patients to obtain Botox payment authorization, by putting in place numerous qualification barriers – if they cover Botox at all.
Insurance companies do require e...
Source: Sarasota Neurology - March 3, 2015 Category: Neurology Authors: Dan Kassicieh, D.O. Tags: Migraines / Headache Boto for headaches Botox covered by insurance botox for headaches Botox Headaches Insurance Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 42-year-old man with severe burning and stabbing pain
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 42-year-old man is evaluated for a 6-day history of severe burning and stabbing pain in both feet that is worse in the toes. The pain is more severe at night, is aggravated when the bed sheets touch his skin, and is partially relieved when he walks or massages his feet. The patient has an 8-year history of poorly controlled type 1 diabetes mellitus and a 2-year history of hypertension. He was hospitalized briefly 2 weeks ago for treatment of pneumonia and diabetic ketoacidosis. His fasting blood glucose levels...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 25, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: mksap Tags: Conditions Diabetes Endocrinology Neurology Source Type: blogs
The Role Of Black Box Warnings In Safe Prescribing Practices
TweetNote: In addition to Lara Maggs, Aaron Kesselheim also coauthored this post.
In the Health Affairs article, “Era of Faster Drug Approval Has Also Seen Increased Black-Box Warnings and Market Withdrawals,” published in the August issue, Cassie Frank and coauthors compare the number of approved prescription drugs that received black-box warnings or were withdrawn from the market for safety-related reasons prior to the 1992 Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) with black-box warnings and safety-related withdrawals in the post-PDUFA era.
PDUFA for the first time authorized FDA to collect user fees from brand-name...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - August 20, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Lara Maggs and Aaron Kesselheim Tags: All Categories Bioethics Patient Safety Pharma Policy Public Health Source Type: blogs
Ailments are big business
Back when Prozac (fluoxetine) and Zoloft (sertraline) were new, I remember the mental acrobatics doctors made to justify giving these drugs to anxious patients. The drugs were approved for treating depression, but we knew they often seemed to help anxiety. The reason, we were told, was that some anxious patients were actually depressed, deep down, and we had just failed to recognize their depression.
Continue reading ...
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 8, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: A Country Doctor, MD Tags: Meds Primary care Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
Trip Rapid Review worked example - SSRIs and the management of hot flashes
We reported 0.31 but what does that mean? I favour trying to assign various narratives based on the score, for instance:1 >> 0.5 = Intervention is highly likely to be beneficial.0.49 >> 0.25 = Intervention is likely to be beneficial.0.24 >> -0.24 = Evidence is weak or ambiguous.-0.25 >> -0.49 = Intervention is unlikely to be beneficial.-0.5 >> -1 = Intervention is highly unlikely to be beneficial.But these could be modified based on the number of trials. For instance scores based on multiple trials is likely to be more reliable than those based on a few.Trip Rapid Reviews is ...
Source: Liberating the literature - October 2, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Source Type: blogs
Keeping the Pounds On: Causes of Unexplained Weight Loss
By Amy Campbell
Our society is obsessed with weight, if you haven't noticed. More than two thirds of US adults are overweight or obese, there are more diet books published than we can count, and, of course, we have the privilege of watching shows like The Biggest Loser to help keep us in line. And according to government statistics, more than 85% of people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight. So it stands to reason that much of the focus of managing Type 2 diabetes is based on reaching and staying at a healthy weight.
It's important to note that thin people can get diabetes too, and not just Type 1 diabetes. In a 2008 stud...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - February 25, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Amy Campbell Source Type: blogs
Medications that Increase the Risks of Patient Falls
Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for adults 65 and older.
Alzheimer's Reading Room
“Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for adults 65 and older, and research suggests that those taking four or more medications are at an even greater risk than those who don’t – perhaps two to three times greater,” said Susan Blalock, Ph.D., an associate professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
In 2007, more than 21,700 Americans died as a result of falls and more than 7.9 million were injured by a fall including over 1.8 million older adults who had a fall-rela...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 14, 2013 Category: Dementia Authors: Bob DeMarco Source Type: blogs
Withdrawal from Psychiatric Meds Can Be Painful, Lengthy
This article was edited to clarify a few sentences on Feb. 14, 2013.
References
Kotzalidis, G.D. et al. (2007). The adult SSRI/SNRI withdrawal syndrome: A clinically heterogeneous entity. Clinical Neuropsychiatry: Journal of Treatment Evaluation, 4, 61-75.
Nielsen, M., Hansen, E.H., & Gøtzsche, P.C. (2012). What is the difference between dependence and withdrawal reactions? A comparison of benzodiazepines and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. Addiction, 107, 900-908.
Therrien, F. & Markowitz, J.S. (1997). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and withdrawal symptoms: A review of the literature...
Source: World of Psychology - February 13, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: John M. Grohol, PsyD Tags: Antidepressant Antipsychotic General Medications Policy and Advocacy Psychiatry Research Treatment Caffeine Stimulants Celexa Cymbalta Discontinuation Fluoxetine Hand Experience Hyperactivity Illicit Drugs Lengthy Time Le Source Type: blogs
Drugs for Diabetes Pain
By David Spero
Pain researcher Rebecca Sudore, MD, says, "Adults living with Type 2 diabetes are suffering from incredibly high rates of pain, at levels similar to patients living with cancer." Sounds awful. But what can we do about it? Actually, quite a bit.
Let's look at medications first. Because chronic pain involves emotions, thoughts, stress, general health, and the entire body, there are at least six different categories of drugs that can help with pain. They include: narcotics, anxiolytics (“tranquilizers"), antidepressants, anti-inflammatories, medicines for seizures, and alternative treatments.
With all tho...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - February 6, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Spero Source Type: blogs
A Condemnation of Suppression of Medical Research... by Ben Goldacre in the New York Times
Amazingly, this topic now seems to be in the mainstream.The Goldacre Version in the New York Times in 2013 In his op-ed, Ben Goldacre introduced it thus:the entire evidence base for medicine has been undermined by a casual lack of transparency. Sometimes this is through a failure to report concerns raised by doctors and internal analyses, as was the case with Johnson & Johnson. More commonly, it involves the suppression of clinical trial results, especially when they show a drug is no good.He noted that this problems was supposed to be fixed by the registration of clinical trials, and by changes in editorial polici...
Source: Health Care Renewal - February 2, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: perverse incentives impunity You heard it here first transparency anechoic effect suppression of medical research Source Type: blogs
Brand names make it to the OED!
I first created this post in 2007, and apart from the home page, it has been the most viewed page on my blog (over 6,000 views). So here it is again, with a link to the latest OED update.
It’s fascinating to peruse the new words added to the OED. (Here is the latest update, December 2010.) Brand names often enter the language as generic terms, and I’ve listed a few of them below. (I wonder who they have in mind with the word “flip-flopper”. And what on earth is a cotylosaur? I thought “chicklet” meant a little piece of gum, but I was disappointed to discover that it means a small chick o...
Source: ANNE T-V's BLOG - January 18, 2011 Category: Professors and Educators Authors: annietv600 Tags: Friday Fun Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Notes on autism severity and the DSM-V
I was asked briefly to comment onthe notion of " severity " of autism as currently proposed for the DSM-V. Here are some far from complete notes (some from earlier writing or work of mine) I organized in response:Currently, “severity” of autism most often refers to the attempt to quantify the obviousness of autistic traits and abilities. The more obvious these traits and abilities are judged to be, and therefore the more atypical a person is judged to be, the more “severe” autism is considered to be.Being “more severe” (having more obvious autistic traits and abilities, or being more obviously atypical) is wide...
Source: The Autism Crisis - June 15, 2009 Category: Child Development Source Type: blogs
