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Psychiatric Abuse in Ireland
Between November 2004 and April 2005 I in a personal capacity wrote to pharmaceutical companies in the 26 county state who manufacture what are known as atypical 'anti-psychotic' drugs in the 'treatment' of 'mental illness'. I was motivated to do this by what I believe is a failure on the part of these companies to fully inform psychiatric patients in relation to the dangers of such drugs. This article on how pharmaceutical companies play down the dangers of neuroleptic drugs appeared in two Irish newspapers. One journalist who viewed it invited a psychiatrist friend of his to comment on it. These comments by Siobhan Barry of the Irish Psychiatric Association as well as my own counter response also are published here.
![Click on image to see full-sized version para.jpg](../attachments/jul2005/para.jpg) Between November 2004 and April 2005 I in a personal capacity wrote to pharmaceutical companies in the 26 county state who manufacture what are known as atypical 'anti-psychotic' drugs in the 'treatment' of 'mental illness'. I was motivated to do this by what I believe is a failure on the part of these companies to fully inform psychiatric patients in relation to the dangers of such drugs.
I also raised these concerns with the Irish Medicines Board (IMB), the state's drug regulatory body, which I felt were entirely inadequately addressed. It is accepted, for instance, within the medical profession that these drugs are associated with TARDIVE DYSKINESIA (TD), a neurological disease characterised by abnormal involuntary movements of the facial muscles, mouth, neck or indeed any part of the body. All the companies who manufacture these drugs fail to use the term tardive dyskinesia in the patient information leaflet (PIL) provided with the drugs. The PILs provided by the companies and the psychiatric profession falsely describe the symptoms of TD as 'side effects' of the 'medication'. This represents a serious distortion of the truth as tardive dyskinesia is a disease of the nervous system caused by neurotoxic drugs. A high percentage of psychiatric patients begin to develop TD even after two to three months on these drugs.
Another serious health risk presented by these drugs is that of DRUG RELATED DIABETES. In 2003, in one of the most extensive reviews carried out by a drug regulatory authority, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US said that in relation to the older anti-psychotics, the new or atypical drugs olanzapine (Zyprexa), clozapine, quietiapine and risperidone (Risperdal) were all associated with “a statistically significant increase in risk for diabetes”. The PIL though, in relation to these drugs for patients in Ireland, states that the risk is 'very rare' or 'rare'. PATIENTS IN THE USA WHO WERE PRESCRIBED RISPERDAL AND ZYPREXA AND WHO SUBSEQUENTLY DEVELPED DIABETES HAVE FILED LAWSUITS against Janssen Pharmaceutica and Eli Lilly respectively, and lawsuits have also been filed against AstraZeneca, manufacturers of Seroquel (quietiapine).
In September 2003, the FDA warned the American company Janssen Pharmaceutica about providing misleading information to healthcare professionals in relation to Risperdal and in an FDA report on Zyprexa, it was also noted that 29% of patients were gaining 7% or more of their baseline weight in under six months. Both drugs are notorious for massive weight gain and disfigurement. Interestingly, in relation to Risperdal, the IMB agreed late last year with Janssen the variation for the PIL in relation to diabetes. It is likely that the new PIL for Irish patients will point out this increased risk. The present PIL still states though that it may occur in 'very rare cases'. (17/7/05)
Given the real fears surrounding patient safety, the company Novartis, who make clozapine, have decided to monitor their drug by registering patients in Ireland to the Clozaril (clozapine) Patient Monitoring Service. Clozapine, it has been clearly established, can cause a drop in the white blood cell count. It should also be noted that some companies don't make any reference at all to the risk of diabetes in their PILs despite the fact that considerable medical literature makes it clear that all 'anti-psychotic' drugs present such a risk. Bristol Myers Squibb who make Abilify and Pfizer who make Geodon simply fail to inform patients in Ireland about this.
The IMB in its capacity as a member of the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products through which Abilify is licenced could be calling for changes to be made in relation to this PIL. It could also make a call for an updated warning on Zyprexa's European licence. This though, to my knowledge, has not taken place. Similarly, the IMB through their participation in the World Health Organisation could call on Pfizer to highlight the diabetes risk. In fact the IMB's role within both bodies provides it with an opportunity to call for greater and more accurate patient information irrespective of the various positions of drug regulatory authorities.
There must therefore be a more proactive approach by the IMB on this issue. It may be reluctant to adopt such a stance given that the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland contributes approximately €3 BILLION A YEAR TO THE EXCHEQUER IN TAX PAYMENTS. These figures come from the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association which represents the interests of the international research based pharmaceutical industry in Ireland and with whom the IMB works closely. The 26-County state is also the second biggest net exporter of pharmaceuticals in the world. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT EACH OF THE DRUGS MENTIONED IS WORTH BETWEEN 2 BILLION AND 4 BILLION US$ A YEAR GLOBALLY TO THE COMPANIES INVOLVED. Outspoken criticism of these companies may therefore have real effects on investment in this country. Incidentally, use of tranquillisers and ‘anti-depressants’ in Ireland is also one of the highest in Europe.
It is possible that in the future we may see legal action being taken by patients in Ireland against the companies concerned and even the psychiatric profession if they have failed to monitor patients for signs of diabetes in relation to the neuroleptics. These drugs have not emerged as the psychopharmacological breakthrough for 'mental illness'. Psychiatry, it should be remembered, has a long history of discredited, torturous and dangerous 'treatments'. It must be remembered that essentially these drugs serve as chemical restraints in their mental and emotional numbing effects on the patient. Clearly these drugs could only justifiably be prescribed for the shortest possible period of time. The psychiatric profession believe though that they help to redress some alleged brain chemical imbalance and that a patient must remain on them for many years if not a lifetime.
PEOPLE BEING PRESCRIBED THESE DRUGS MUST BE REGULARLY MONITORED FOR SIGNS OF DIABETES AND OTHER SERIOUS RELATED MEDICAL COMPLICATIONS. The person must be informed in the PIL that diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure, hardening and narrowing of the arteries leading to strokes and heart disease. There must be a clear warning that liver disease, eye diseases, thyroid disorders and a potentially fatal blood disorder in which the body stops producing the white blood cells vital to its protection from infections are also risk factors for these drugs. The patient must be informed that these drugs can, in the long term, cause brain damage and actual structural changes to the brain. There must be more awareness about the dangers of the drugs anticholinergic effects (severe constipation with bowel obstruction, difficulty urinating, dry mouth, blurred vision, etc).
The (PIL) SHOULD EXPLICITLY STATE THAT TARDIVE DYSKINESIA IS A NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE. The PIL must also explicitly mention other serious risks such as TARDIVE AKATHISIA (compulsive restlessness) and NEUROLEPTIC MALIGNANT SYNDROME (similar to viral brain inflammation). For these companies though profits come before psychiatric patients. If any other 'treatments' were causing even a small percentage of the serious health problems that these drugs are causing there would be a public outcry.
THE RIGHTS AND THE DIGNITY OF PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS ARE NOT BEING UPHELD AND THE PSYCHIATRIC PROFESSION HAS CLEARLY SOLD ITS SOUL TO THE DRUG COMPANIES. It is to be hoped that successful litigation by patients in the USA will bring radical change to the way these companies operate and that this will encourage others elsewhere to speak out. This failure to recognise the great harm caused by these drugs must be addressed once and for all.
RESPONSE FROM SIOBHAN BARRY OF THE IRISH PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION TO ARTICLE:
In response to Sean Fleming, it should be understood at the outset that:
1. I am writing as the PRO of an organisation that was set up to work for those that are involved in the mental health services as service providers or users with view to improving what that service offers. I am not representing the pharmaceutical industry about whom much comment has been levelled in the correspondence.
2. All medications have the risk of causing side effects and this list includes over the counter preparations such as aspirin and paracetamol as well as dispensed drugs such as are used in the mental health field.
3. I can respond directly to two of the psychotropic medication related topics raised - firstly, reference is made to the involuntary movement disorder called Tardive Dyskinesia - There is evidence from the US, Morocco, India and our own studies carried out in Ireland which were not funded by the pharmaceutical industry that show that there is x6-fold increased rate of involuntary movements in people with schizophrenia, who have never taken neuroleptic medication, when compared to the general population. The finding of involuntary movements in schizophrenia is likely to be indicative of underlying brain pathology. In my view medications, particularly of the older type, are more likely to make this worse. Secondly, in the case of diabetes and the newer type of atypical neuroleptics was raised, and of course it is vital to monitor patients carefully - weight, blood pressure, random blood sugars and ECG for example when such medications are prescribed. However, there are also issues in relation to lifestyle and schizophrenia - in reduced levels of physical activity, increased smoking and an often poor attention to diet that undoubtedly may also play a part.
4. There is a reference to "a long history of discredited, torturous and dangerous treatments" perpetrated by psychiatry but the same could be said of governments, the media and humanity in general.
All patients, their families and doctors wish that there was a side effect-free one highly effective tablet for schizophrenia - regrettably there is not. The most comprehensive treatment for psychhotic illnesses of which schizophrenia is the most common comprises medication, psychological input, social & occupational recovery programmes and family/carer education. About 15% of people who develop psychosis have a single episode but the probablity of relapse within 6 months of stopping neuroleptic medication occurs for more than 80% of people so unfortunately, individuals need to persist with medication to stay mentally well in the majority of cases. There are a range of medication options to ensure that side effects for an individual are at a minimum.
What is needed in the mental health services is a reduction in stigma, a non threatening environment for assessment and phase-specific treatment from a multidisciplinary treating team involving medical, psychological, social and vocational care, where the individual plays a key decision making role in all aspects of their treatment plan.
Finally, on an allied note, one of the best predictors of outcome for people with schizophrenia is the delay between the onset of their illness and receiving effective treatment which includes neuroleptic medication. The longer this delay, the poorer the outcome. Elsewhere in the developed world, early intervention in psychosis programmes ensure that accessing effective treatment is available at an early stage in the development of psychotic illnesses with many consequent benefits in terms of recovery from illness and a reduction in the secondary handicaps of serious mental illness.
In closing, I would like to repeat that my remit and that of the organisation that I represent is to seek the best outcomes for those who use the mental health services.
Siobhan Barry
PRO, Irish Psychiatric Association
COUNTER RESPONSE from Sean Fleming:
To begin I take issue with Siobhan Barry describing the effects of neuroleptic drugs as ‘side-effects’. One of the REAL EFFECTS of such drugs is tardive dyskinesia which the psychiatric profession do not dispute is caused by such psychiatric drugs but which they play down as a side effect when it is in fact a disease. The psychiatric profession also say that these drugs help to redress a chemical imbalance which ‘schizophrenics’, for example, are believed to suffer from. They say that an excess of dopamine, one of the brain’s neurotransmitters, causes the symptoms of such ‘illnesses’. What many people are not aware of is the fact that there are no medical tests such as brain scans, blood tests or any other suitably objective medical tests which can measure such imbalances or prove that someone suffers from overactivity of dopamine in the brain.
In relation to my writing about tardive dyskinesia, a neurological disease, she says: “There is evidence from the US, Morocco, India and our own studies carried out in Ireland which were not funded by the pharmaceutical industry that show that there is x6-fold increased rate of INVOLUNTARY MOVEMENTS (capitals mine) in people with schizophrenia, who have never taken neuroleptic medication, when compared to the general population.”
She does not give any references to such studies and I and others I have been in contact with have never heard of these studies.
It has to be stressed that she is talking about involuntary movements and not tardive dyskinesia which is an important distinction. It should come as no surprise that people who are deeply distressed may make involuntary movements. Thoughts that people find disturbing or intrusive may cause them to grimace or make such movements.
She also says in relation to this that: “The finding of involuntary movements in schizophrenia is LIKELY (capitals mine) to be indicative of underlying brain pathology”.
She says ‘likely’ because there is absolutely no objective evidence through physically based medical testing of any brain pathology.
As Siobhan Barry herself will admit and what is indisputable is that WE DO KNOW THAT PSYCHIATRIC DRUGS SUCH AS THE NEUROLEPTICS whether of the older or newer variety DO CAUSE TARDIVE DYSKINESIA. THIS IS A NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE CHARACTERISED BY ABNORMAL INVOLUNTARY MOVEMENTS OF THE FACIAL MUSCLES, MOUTH, NECK OR INDEED ANY PART OF THE BODY. The psychiatric profession do not want attention drawn to the fact that they are causing SUCH A DISEASE with their drugs. Therefore it comes as no surprise to me that they are plugging these so-called studies. Psychiatric literature in relation to such ‘studies’ often uses terms such as ‘likely’ or ‘may’ or ‘seem to suggest’ when writing about them. Let us be clear though - Tardive dyskinesia is not a side effect of psychiatric drugs – IT IS A DISEASE CAUSED BY THE POISONING OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM WITH NEUROLEPTIC DRUGS. Neuroleptic means nerve seizing.
I also would like to know though who funded these studies. Was it the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Ireland or some other psychiatric body which supports the disease or medical model of mental illness? If that is the case then people should not be surprised that these psychiatrists and researchers have brought their own biased views and their own wished for outcomes to these studies.
In relation to drug related diabetes she says we need to look at the role of lifestyle factors and how this may be responsible. She says that it is vital that patients are monitored for diabetes but does not say that psychiatrists ensure that this monitoring takes place. That is because it hardly ever does. The reality is that these drugs often do cause massive weight gain and the weight gain is the direct result of the drugs and the companies themselves admit the link. One can say with certainty that the weight gain is largely attributable to these drugs. I have seen people over the years who were quite literally disfigured by these drugs and who were not eating any more than they normally did. Also, considering the physical, mental and emotionally debilitating effects of these drugs people often do not have any energy and find themselves unable to do the things they normally did. Patients often complain of a ‘zombified’ feeling in relation to these drugs.
LET’S US NOT ALSO FORGET THAT AT LEAST 1 in 10 ‘schizophrenics’ COMMITS SUICIDE. I believe that these drugs are a major factor in this.
Siobhan Barry fails to mention the fact that the reason why psychiatric patients relapse when they stop taking psychiatric drugs is because of the fact that THESE DRUGS CAUSE DEPENDENCY. Many patients are deeply unhappy with the effects of these drugs and should have medical help and support in s-l-o-w-l-y withdrawing from them. They are denied such support.
A mention of other serious health risks caused by these drugs was not addressed by her (as outlined in above article). In relation to her mentioning smoking psychiatric studies themselves indicate that the reason why these patients smoke may be due to the fact that nicotine helps to regulate psychiatric drug disrupted neurotransmitters.
She talks about the need to tackle the stigma of so-called mental illness. The reality is that psychiatry and the psychiatric profession create and perpetuate the stigma of ‘mental illness’. They tell people that they have ‘mental illnesses’ or psychiatric disorders related to brain chemical imbalances or genetic defects and yet they have never ever been able to establish a biological cause for even ONE of these ‘mental illnesses’.
They detain people against their will and forcibly drug people and administer brain-damaging ECT. No one seems to question this power that they have over vulnerable people and how it can often be abused. Psychiatrists pathologise aspects of a person’s thinking, feelings and behaviour given that there is NO OBJECTIVE PHYSICAL PATHOLOGY TO OBSERVE. The societal and environmental factors in severe mental distress or ‘mental illness’ are of secondary importance to them given that they believe that the causes of ‘mental illness’ are primarily biological.
In relation to her rather dismissive view of the long, tortuous and discredited history of psychiatry she also fails to see how these practices may well be continuing today. Many tens of thousands of poor souls suffered lobotomies by the psychiatric profession, a practice which continued up until recent times, a practice which the psychiatric profession now admit was totally wrong and barbaric. Today though we witness the continuation of this practice in many cases through chemical lobotomies. There is absolutely no justification for prescribing these drugs for many years or a lifetime given the very serious health risks presented. Psychiatry is inextricably linked with the drug companies who have distorted the findings of drug trials and who have lied about the real effects of their drugs.
Psychiatry despite the great harm inflicted by it on their ‘patients’ will continue to protect its own professional power and prestige. Meanwhile many lives affected by their ‘treatments’ will continue to be ruined.
Notes:
(1) In relation to paragraph 3 of my article and my point about the greater risk of drug related diabetes with the drugs compared to older ones see warning letter from FDA, drug regulatory authority in the USA to Janssen Pharmaceutica ( page 4):
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:iVonRqgG4J8J:www.fda.gov/cder/warn/2004/12195Risperdal.pdf+the+FDA+and+anti-psychotics&hl=en
(2) In relation to Janssen in Ireland playing down the risk of drug related diabetes mentioned in paragraph 4 (below photo) of my article you will need to go to :
http://www.janssen-cliag.ie. You ll then need to go product information, select brand, go to Risperdal and view tablets Risperdal Tablets (0.5mg, 1mg, 2mg) access Risperdal tablets in (pdf). They still state that the risk is very rare on page 2 of patient information leaflet.
(3) In relation to my writing that Bristol Myers Squibb (who make Abilify) and Pfizer (who make Geodon) simply fail to inform patients in Ireland about this in paragraph 5 of my article and the fact that they fail to mention the risk of diabetes high blood sugar or hyperglycemia see www.medicines.ie - then go to Browse , type in Geodon, then the PIL will appear just below this, click on that and patient information leaflet will appear. There is no mention of of diabetes high blood sugar or hyperglycemia. In relation to Abilify see: http://www.emea.eu.int/humandocs/Humans/EPAR/abilify/abilify.htm and go to Product Information in the second section and click on package leaflet. Once again no mention is made in relation to diabetes or high blood sugar. It can be seen also in relation to the above that tardive dyskinesia is not explicitly mentioned as a neurological disease. Instead it is described under side-effects generally as unusual movements .
(4) In relation to my mention of Clozapine in paragraph 5 of article and the drop in the white blood cell count see: http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=About_Medications&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=51&ContentID=20850
(5) In relation to the point I make in the 7th paragraph of my article below photo where I write in relation to the pharma industry and the 3 BILLION A YEAR TO THE EXCHEQUER IN TAX PAYMENTS see http://www.ipha.ie/htm/mediacentre/index.html . Click on Pharma Industry at a glance. You will see that the figure of 3 billion is mentioned.
(6) In relation to paragraph 8 and the horror story that is the history of psychiatry see: http://www.reason.com/0205/cr.bd.ill.shtml
(7) In relation to paragraph 9 and the many serious health risks associated with these drugs see: http://www.oism.info/danni_farmaci/2000_01_gb.htm
(8) In relation to paragraph 10 of my article see : http://www.breggin.com/articlessummary.htm and go to article Should the Use of Neuroleptics Be Severely Limited?
(9) In my counter response to Siobhan Barry I believe the following links support what I am saying. In relation to how these drugs actually damage and change the brain see: http://www.mindfreedom.org/mindfreedom/ioc/scan.shtml and http://www.breggin.com/
See in relation to suicide and psychiatric drugs: http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/drug-induced-suicide.htm
See also in relation to general points I make against the Irish Psychiatric Association representative : http://www.sntp.net/drugs/damage.htm
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Comments (29 of 29)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29an animated visual display of this disease caused by the drugs psychiatrists administer can be seen at :http://salmon.psy.plym.ac.uk/year3/PSY337atypical_classic_antipsychotic_drugs/PSY335SchizophreniaDrugTreatments.htm
scan down page a little.
A Chairde, 1. I am attaching some references for the piece on the website: RG McCreadie et al (1996) Abnormal movements in never-medicated Indian patients with schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry 168: 221-226 ; B K Puri et al (1999) Spontaneous dyskinesia in first episode schizophrenia. Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 66:76-78; Fenton WS (2000) Prevalence of spontaneous dyskinesia in schizophrenia. J Clin Psychiatry, 61(4):10-4. Gervin M et al (1998) Spontaneous Involuntary Movements in First-Episode Schizophrenia: Baseline Rate from a Group of Patients from an Irish Catchment Area. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 1202 -5.
2. Dopamine overactivity i.e. often due to overly sensitive receptor function can be demonstrated in people by Neuroendocrine Challenge Test - numerous studies have used this by giving a probe that causes the release of dopamine - the more sensitive and active the receptors, the greater the response. A study by Wieck et al in the British Medical Journal in 1991 (vol 303, 613-616) demonstrates this technique very elegantly and clearly, showing the increased dopamine effect before the onset of psychosis itself.
Conventional neuroleptics i.e. of the older school are likely to aggrevate or precipitate involuntary movements but there is little doubt but that a vast literature on their spontaneous reporting also exists - above being a small selection.
I hope that this clarifies some of the points that Seán raised in relation to my reported comments. Siobhán Barry
In response to Siobhan Barry’s posting I would like to make the following points. The mention of the studies in relation to spontaneous dyskinesia do not prove that any brain pathology exists. No brain pathology is observed through objective medical tests such as brain scans for example. It is important to make the distinction between such involuntary movements and those caused by neuroleptic (nerve seizing) drugs as seen in tardive dyskinesia. There is no denying the fact that tardive dyskinesia is a neurological illness caused by neurotoxic drugs. As I have pointed out people may grimace or make involuntary movements if they find certain thoughts disturbing, intrusive or if they are deeply distressed or upset. It is also possible that a thorough physical examination of the person may reveal an underlying real and treatable physical illness which is giving rise to the spontaneous dyskinesia. The solution is not to give these drugs in the way they are given and which certainly do cause real illness such as tardive dyskinesia, akathesia, and diabetes, etc.
The psychiatric profession and the pharmaceutical companies tell patients that tardive dyskinesia is a ‘side effect’ of the drugs. They use terms such as ‘unusual movements’ in the patient information leaflet for these drugs under ‘side effects’. They should be telling patients that this is a disease caused by their drugs.
In relation to the Neuroendocrine Challenge Test it is important to remember that this does not prove that ‘schizophrenia’ is a brain illness related to a genetic defect. It is only a theory that ‘schizophrenia’ is a brain illness related to an over activity of dopamine. Psychiatry perpetuates the belief that this an illness primarily biological in origin. It does not explore how psychological /societal /environmental factors may cause the ‘imbalance’. The answer is not to say that this is a brain illness which requires life long brain damaging neuroleptic drugs. This Test clearly also does not provide for a base line standard of a neurochemically balanced ‘normal’ person. It does not tell us what normal levels of dopamine should be against which a neurochemical ‘imbalance’ can be measured. This does not stop psychiatrists though from telling their patients that they should ingest neuroleptic drugs in order to help redress the imbalance that they are alleged to suffer from.
She mentions the conventional or typical neuroleptics. All neuroleptic drugs whether typical or atypical cause tardive dyskinesia. A very high percentage of ‘patients’ develop tardive dyskinesia on the atypicals and in fact it is also believed that the risk of diabetes is greater with these new drugs. The new drugs are not the breakthrough we were told they were.
I believe that the vast bulk of the psychiatric profession are causing great physical harm with these drugs. They and the pharmaceutical companies have created a global epidemic of neurological illness, drug related diabetes and other serious ill effects with their drugs. Many may be in denial but deep down they must know that what they are doing isn’t right.
Prior to the black box warning on the neuroleptics, my beloved son took Zyprexa for two years. He had cheap government care from a doctor who was overwhelmed with patients. He felt "funny", went into a coma, and died all within one week. I am a shattered parent, missing one of the world's most terrific children, who happened to have manic depression. Fortunately, Lilly has gotten some bad publicity, including settling a lawsuit involving 8000 plaintiffs last summer who had diabetes, hyperglycemia - which is what my son had, or death. Their market share is down 21% as it should be; being the most lethal atypical on the market today. I hope that this will also happen in Ireland. Meanwhile, if you have no black box warning, fight for one. People taking this drug should have regular weight checks, blood glucose monitoring for diabetes, etc. All of this, plus symptoms of hyperglycemia, are listed on the black box warning. Which, by the way, we had to fight to get well over a year after other countries had already required it of Lilly. I do not want this information to be put out for commercial use, but rather given to activists in Ireland.
Sincerely,
Ellen Liversidge
If these drugs are causing such things then is there any medication available that is safer for the patients? If so why isnt it the prefered choice? If there isnt, then really what can be done?
Ellen, thanks for your posting and I am sorry about your son.
I have a real fear that a good friend of mine may suffer a death related to neuroleptic drugs.
I find it hard to understand the way psychiatrists play down the serious risks and also their dismissive and arrogant attitude towards those who are criticise their drug 'treatments'.
The reality is as you know that people can be forced to take these drugs through involuntary commitment and what I believe is known as outpatient commitment in the US.
Until we can end force in psychiatry and ensure that medical support and help is available for those who want to come off these drugs I believe little will change. The psychiatric propaganda that these drugs help to redress some 'imbalance' must be exposed for the falsehood that it is.
As regards Joe Public we need a genuine caring approach: therapeutic housing, counselling, crisis centres providing support from people who have been through similiar experiences and a holistic approach to health.
People must not be FORCED to take these drugs.
If the psychiatric profession were to take the view that they should only be prescribed for the shortest possible period of time at the lowest possible dosage combined with a much greater emphasis on psychosocial approaches then the outcome would be a great deal better for a great many people.
The psychiatric profession itself could learn about the often awful effects of these drugs by taking them themselves for a while or by giving them to members of their own families.
Best,
Sean
Yet again we are forced to read more pseudo scientific rubbish.
Yes it is true that a very small number of patients using anti psychotic medication have developed a condtion termed tardive dyskinesia. But so do many patients not being treated with any form of medication.
Patients are medicated for one reason only : To make them better. Statistically side effects are rare, and taking the drugs you mention is much safer than not taking them.
And please don't rant as you usually do, if you care to disagree, please give me details of the trial which proves your point. Yes a clinical trial, not some waffle.
You show appalling ignorance Damian. The psychiatric profession themselves admit that the risk of tardive dyskinesia is quite high if a person is on neuroleptics long term.
It is an indiputable fact that these drugs cause tardive dyskinesia and tardive akathesia. There is also a real risk of diabetes.
You also need to understand that the so-called clinical trials are often funded by drug companies and that published results often cover up unfavourable findings.
Can I suggest you read Peter Breggin's Toxic Psychiatry?
I'm not interested in starting a long thread about this. Please show me evidence which contradicts my opinion.
I say statistically taking the drugs is much safer than not taking them
Please show me actual evidence which directly contradicts my opinion. I.e. the actual rate of TD
Re. your comment on Peter Beggin - Breggin is simply a scientologist spreading the cults crazy notions. He served as an officer for The Prozac Survivors Support Group, Inc. which was established , organized and financed by the CCHR
He is also an advocate of children becoming sexually active -
"Permitting children to have sex among themselves would go a long way toward liberating them from oppressive parental authority."
Not too sure this guy is someone who I would regard as an expert.....
Damian,
Peter Breggin is NOT a scientologist. His wife was involved in scientology and in fact he helped her when she was disassociating herself from the Church of Scientology.
I think you'll also find that in relation to the quote you give that it was taken out of context.
You should check his website :
ww.breggin.com
He has done great work highlighting the very serious health risks associated with psychiatric drugs and the lies of the psychopharmaceutical complex.
Good luck.
Well we may never know whether he is currently a scientologist but we can be sure he has very close links with them.
Also you say it was taken out of context.....what context could possibly justify children becoming sexually active ??????
Damian ,
you say one can be sure that Breggin has close links with scientologists?
How can you be sure?
You first said he was a scientologist which is a lie.
He has repeatedly said he is not involved in scientology and in fact if he was the Church of Scientology would have revealed this.
He is also not a member of the CCHR founded by the Church of Scientology.
He gets a mention on quackwatch.org :
"The propaganda Breggin offers here will be easily dismissed by the scientific and clinical professional communities as having nothing to add to the important issues ...... But to the lay reader, such misguidance as Breggin provides..... can do real harm"
From holysmoke.org :
"Breggin IS allied with the CCHR in spite of his protestations to the contrary. He served as an officer for The Prozac Survivors Support Group, Inc., which was established, organized and financed by the CCHR.
On his website, Breggin claims he has not had anything to do with the Church of Scientology since 1974. In his denial, which appears at: http://www.breggin.com/Joemccarthylives.html Breggin makes no mention of the CCHR or its Prozac Survivors Support Group, Inc., on that page or on his entire website."
CCHR is basically the church of scienology. Also it is a common tactic for scientologists to deny their membership
Believe quackwatch if you wish.
What about the quacks in the psychiatric profession/pharmaceutical industry who perpetuate falsehoods about psychiatric illness and psychiatric drugs?
Breggin is a qualified psychiatrist and writer who has had the courage to speak out against the psychiatric psychopharmaceutical complex.
He is not a member of the CCHR whose membership is made up of both scientologists and non scientologists.
CCHR is the church of scientology.
Even the scientologists say so on their website:
"The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is a Church-sponsored social reform organization formed in 1969"
The rubbish they spout about psychiatry is the same crazy notions the proclaim about everything else
A great thesis on this subject at the UCC Dept of Applied Social Science - it opens with the following poem
Take a pill
My head aches and there’s throbbing in my ears.
“Take a pill”
My heart aches and my eyes are filled with tears.
“Take a pill”
There are rats at my backdoor and I nearly fell
Through our rotten floor.
“Take a pill”
But doctor I’m not ill
Why do you tell me “take a pill”?
My roof is leaking still.
“Take a pill”
We’ve got no money to buy us any bread,
“Take a pill”
The ceiling will be crashing round my head,
“Take a pill”
My old man got the sack
And all the work has bent my back,
I feel I’m on the rack.
“Take a pill”
Now doctor I can’t do without your pills,
But they’ve upped prescriptions
And I can’t pay my bills.
Now tell me if you can
How you’ll help me and my old man,
Oh tell me if you will?
“Take a pill”
Link to thesis by Lorraine Kelly:
http://www.ucc.ie/academic/appsoc/hdsp/ProLorraine.htm
My GP gave me a "To Whom It May Concern" letter - which I view as an alternative to the pills I might otherwise have had to take.
Personally, I would much prefer the letter to the pills.
If interested, a copy of the letter in question can be seen at:
http://www.constitutionofireland.com/DrMcCavertLetter6September2005.htm
I had a read of Kellys thesis and found it quite amusing that you would even cite it.
Firstly she cites a number of known scientologists in the paper ( and mainly rehashes their ideas ).
She then goes on to spectacularly fail to balance her paper. She makes numerous simple errors of logic. She mis-represents psychiatry on numerous occasions.
For example : "Psychiatric treatments (drugs, Electro-shock therapy, lobotomy) ‘work’ by damaging the frontal lobes of the brain. " She provides no evidence whatsoever for this sweeping statement - in fact she later contradicts herself by saying firstly that they don't work and secondly that their mode of action is unknown.
This work presents the reader with nothing that has not been written before, usually by scientologists.
It is also worth remembering that this paper was written by a student sociologist, with no medical training. She is unqualified to pass judgment on the subject in a scientific manner.
William,
Thank you for posting link to your website. I have never laughed so much in a long time.
It is amusing to read the list of people you are writing to concerning your "bullying". Did I see pope@vatican in there somewhere?
Re. your letter, nowhere does it say that you should not have to take medication, and nowhere does it say you are right or the doctor agrees with you
The question is asked: If the new "atypical" neuroleptics cause fatalities, diabetes, hyperglycemia; i.e. wreckage to the metabolic system, what to do? Well, a recent CATIE study (9/05) sponsored by the NIH in the U.S. proved that the "old" antipsychotics were just as successful and did not cause metabolic catastrophes. Un-fortunately, the psychiatrists are all giving the new drugs, even though they cause weight gain, diabetes, and death on top of all the old symptoms. The new are much more expensive than the old. The old have a bad name but a competent psychiatrist can mitigate some of the side effects of the old, save money, and save lives. I don't see this happening in the U.S. to date but it may start happening in the publically-funded programs where costs are out of control. Remains to be seen but it is a clue to those of you who fear for your life.
Hi Ellen,
Thought you would be interested to read this report from the FDA(American drug regulatory authority for Irish readers) .In September 2003, they wrote to the pharmaceutical Janssen about providing misleading information to healthcare professionals in relation to Risperdal on hyperglycemia:
http://www.fda.gov/cder/warn/2004/12195Risperdal.pdf(page 4)
That link does not appear to be working but a word search ' warning letter to Janssen on Risperdal and hyperglycemia' on the FDA website will bring up the report which I just recently viewed again on their site.
I know people who put 2 or 3 stone in weight on with this drug.
http://www.janssen-cilag.ie/content/extended_products/www.janssen-cilag.ie/pdf/pil00036.pdf
very short,sent to lebanon, on duity , very healthy, different food, came back and within a month collapsed on duity, was diagnosed with diabitis.
I did not mention earlier that my son, who had bipolar disorder, managed successfully on lithium for over fifteen years. It was only the last two years of his life, when he was put on Medicaid - the government health program - that he was given the atypical that took his life.
There is a BIG push to put people with bipolar disorder on atypical antipsychotics instead of on cheap, less dangerous lithium as they had been for many many years before the atypicals came along. If you have bipolar, please consider this. If you should have a "breakthrough", which you shouldn't as long as your lithium level is closely monitored, then you could be "brought down" from psychosis fairly quickly with even one of the older antipsychotics.
This solution beats getting diabetes for the rest of your life, or becoming hyperglycemic and dying.
Reading this great article by Seán. I need to praise his efforts to put some kind of BALANCE into the benefits and risks of any drug. Not only the neuroleptics
I am not sure where Damien "bulldozer" comments come from and his aggressive manner on his empty comments that themselves carry no scientific evidence what so ever although he is trying to shove down everyone else's throat. Maybe he thinks that he is superior because he is taking the side of psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry. But that is just making it clear that he is not objective and has no scientific evidence on his posession, just an awful bedside manner. Psychiatry has not ONE single biological cause for any psychiatric condition WHATSOEVER....so much for scientific evidence!!!!
So maybe he would like to disclose his conflicts of interest by telling us what is his background as he seems to believe that anybody that does not agree with him is a Scientologist!!!
Maybe he needs a second opinion or he is trying to knock down a very good movement raising awareness which is necessary for INFORMED CONSENT to take place, to do so the patients need the whole independent information to make the right choice...that is not available at the moment or maybe he is against that too.
Any drug whose risks outweighs its benefits should be withdrawn off the market. It is not in the best interest of the patient.
This is not the case today causing great harm.
Nuria O'Mahony
I note Dr Siobhan Barry's comment in her response to Sean Fleming to the effect that: 'All medications have the risk of causing side effects'.
When I was referred to her circa 1992, she prescribed me with a powerful psychiatric drug (the name of which I unfortunately forget). I asked her at the time what were the possible side-effects, and she replied: 'None'.
I subsequently suffered some very unpleasant side effects, including extreme over agitation and dangerously increased energy levels.
Unfortunately, there were no witnesses to this consultation, nor is there any taped evidence of the encounter. But I give you my word that I was told there were no side efects. So, obviously, Dr Barry has either changed her mind in the meantime, or was consciously lying at the time. If the later, she might argue that disclosure would have increased the patient's anxiety - but this is an abuse of the doctor/patient relationship, and an abuse of the power relation prevailing in the relationship.
I would therefore caution anyone about believing anything Dr Siobhan Barry says in relation to this issue, and to treat her comments with a large degree of scepticism.
Success in academic psychiatry is not measured in the improvement of
patients' mental health, but rather in quantifiable commercial
tender. (see link ).
When will psychiatrists ever stop this abuse and fraud and how long will the public continue ti believe thier lies?