First of all, I need to thank my intelligent friends for not ripping me apart when I clearly didn't understand how double blind trials work...
My position on the topic of mental illness is clearly very biased.
If I were a cancer patient and there was a new drug on the market that might cure me, I would definitely take it. I just get nervous because it feels as though my mind is being played with and I consider it to be my greatest asset. I'm watching my mother's mind deteriorate day by day right now and I'm terrified it may happen to me in the future. I believe that the prescription of anti-depressants do indeed save lives - if it can stop someone from having suicidal thoughts, bring it on.
The fact that I'm prescribed a large dose of a "mood stabilizer" because I'm a workaholic is disturbing to me... especially since the sedative properties of this drug are similar to how antihistamines behave. I guess I just scared because of the evidence that antihistamines may cause dementia in the elderly. I know I'm not elderly, and the studies speak of the antihistamine active in Benadryl, Diphenhydramine, and not the H1 receptor antagonist present in Seroquel.
Thanks to everyone who's sparked discussion on this... talking about these issues, I believe contributes greatly to this initiative of the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
This is strange...
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT ANYBODY CURRENTLY BEING TREATED FOR A MENTAL ILLNESS STOP TAKING THEIR MEDICATION. UNFORTUNATELY, DRUGS PRESCRIBED FOR SUCH DISORDERS HAVE TERRIBLE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS. I'VE BEEN THERE (BEFORE MY ONLY SUICIDE ATTEMPT). HOW'S THAT FOR ADDICTIVE?
DON'T STOP TAKING YOUR MEDS!
Alright, I was going to write a book on this topic, but after discovering what I discovered, I cannot ethically make money on this.
I started to think critically about the pharmaceutical industry when I saw my boyfriend shell out $600/month for his anti-depressants/tranquilizers/anti-psychotics. His income during the winter is Employment Insurance, and that $600 is quite a large fraction of this income. He did get approved for Ontario's Trillium Drug Benefit Program, but his most expensive drug, ironically called Abilify, is not covered.
WTF, I thought to myself.
My drugs cost ~$300/month, $20 for fluoxetine (Prozac) and the rest is for a newer drug called Seroquel XR. I am currently a welfare recipient, so thank you, Ontario taxpayers for paying for my meds (I can only assume that this is where the money is coming from - correct me if I'm wrong, please).
I consider myself to be very fortunate to have been prescribed a generic anti-depressant such as Prozac - I attribute this to the fact that I was diagnosed by a doctor at the University of Guelph - there may be some ethical code in place there.
I started investigating how exactly these drugs work and I came to the realization that a lot of mental illnesses are not entirely understood.
I have not been able to afford my own copy of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), but I did find a random site written by a Dr. James Morrison which outlines criteria for the diagnoses of mental disorders. I am not sure how up-to-date this information is, so if you are involved in this field, please let me know of my accuracy.
I also found this article from 2006... again, I hope things have changed since then. It's a study looking at how many panelists for the DSM, involved in the setting of its criteria, are involved with the pharmaceutical industry. Also, I cannot afford to purchase the full text of this article due to the modern inaccessibility of scientific research. So, if you do have access, send a copy of the paper my way.
Here is an article about the "disease" I have (it is accessible). I'm not going to speak much about it - read it yourself. The Mental Health Commission of Canada stated that the stigma surrounding mental illness is worse than the diseases themselves. I disagree - my diagnosis is the worst thing that happened to me. Now all of my "abnormal" behaviour can be attributed to a medical condition and pills are supposed to shut me up.
Here's the biggy. Clinical trials. Check it out. I am disturbed by the double blind studies listed. I know this is done for accuracy, but I can't help but think about the mid-20th century thalidomide disaster.
If you read these, let's get a discussion going on this topic. I will not tolerate ignorant disagreements to my opinions, but I welcome sound evidence for the contrary because I am thoroughly disturbed.
Mary Jane Richardson
DON'T STOP TAKING YOUR MEDS!
Alright, I was going to write a book on this topic, but after discovering what I discovered, I cannot ethically make money on this.
I started to think critically about the pharmaceutical industry when I saw my boyfriend shell out $600/month for his anti-depressants/tranquilizers/anti-psychotics. His income during the winter is Employment Insurance, and that $600 is quite a large fraction of this income. He did get approved for Ontario's Trillium Drug Benefit Program, but his most expensive drug, ironically called Abilify, is not covered.
WTF, I thought to myself.
My drugs cost ~$300/month, $20 for fluoxetine (Prozac) and the rest is for a newer drug called Seroquel XR. I am currently a welfare recipient, so thank you, Ontario taxpayers for paying for my meds (I can only assume that this is where the money is coming from - correct me if I'm wrong, please).
I consider myself to be very fortunate to have been prescribed a generic anti-depressant such as Prozac - I attribute this to the fact that I was diagnosed by a doctor at the University of Guelph - there may be some ethical code in place there.
I started investigating how exactly these drugs work and I came to the realization that a lot of mental illnesses are not entirely understood.
I have not been able to afford my own copy of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), but I did find a random site written by a Dr. James Morrison which outlines criteria for the diagnoses of mental disorders. I am not sure how up-to-date this information is, so if you are involved in this field, please let me know of my accuracy.
I also found this article from 2006... again, I hope things have changed since then. It's a study looking at how many panelists for the DSM, involved in the setting of its criteria, are involved with the pharmaceutical industry. Also, I cannot afford to purchase the full text of this article due to the modern inaccessibility of scientific research. So, if you do have access, send a copy of the paper my way.
Here is an article about the "disease" I have (it is accessible). I'm not going to speak much about it - read it yourself. The Mental Health Commission of Canada stated that the stigma surrounding mental illness is worse than the diseases themselves. I disagree - my diagnosis is the worst thing that happened to me. Now all of my "abnormal" behaviour can be attributed to a medical condition and pills are supposed to shut me up.
Here's the biggy. Clinical trials. Check it out. I am disturbed by the double blind studies listed. I know this is done for accuracy, but I can't help but think about the mid-20th century thalidomide disaster.
If you read these, let's get a discussion going on this topic. I will not tolerate ignorant disagreements to my opinions, but I welcome sound evidence for the contrary because I am thoroughly disturbed.
Mary Jane Richardson
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