Image: independent.co.uk
My attention was diverted to TV's Dr. Hilary Jones again today, he of GMTV fame.
Paxil Progress, a forum where users of Paxil [known in the UK as Seroxat] discuss and offer advice on withdrawal, a forum that Dr Hilary Jones should check out if his latest attempt at earning pharma yet more money is anything to go by.
I wrote about Dr Jones [nothing to do with Indiana Jones] last week. He had offered advice to a 29 year old woman regarding Seroxat, advice that quite honestly defied belief. The advice was given in a newspaper supplement, a glossy magazine kind of effort. Many people, that I know of at least, left comments under Dr Jones advice. To date, no comments have been printed which either means the website isn't maintained or Dr Jones just isn't up for a debate regarding Seroxat.
Dr Jones' other paid job, apart from being a doctor and writing advice in glossy Sunday supplements, would appear to be to offer advice on whether you are depressed or not and whether a trip to your doctor is the order of the day.
He's a doctor, right?
I'm trying to work out what training he has had regarding spotting obvious signs of depression, be it moderate or severe.
GMTV, the morning magazine show broadcast on ITV, seem to think he is just the right man for the job. Forget leading psychiatrists, let's get ourselves housewives favourite Dr Hilary Jones.
Let's take a look a Dr Hilary's Depression Test hosted on the GMTV website, a test where, it would appear, I'm in need of a visit to my doctor because I have moderate depression.
Dr Jones writes:
"Are you worried that you may be suffering from depression? Take my self-screening assessment to help you identify the symptoms of depression. Only answer "yes" to a question if the symptoms described have been happening for two weeks or more.
Okay. Let's try it. The brilliance of this 'quiz' is that you can only answer 'yes' or 'no' - There is no option for 'sometimes'.
Question 1
Are you feeling tearful for no obvious reason?
I answered NO
Question 2
Have you got little or no interest in doing everyday things?
I answered YES. I would have like to have added, who DOES like doing everyday things but that wasn't an option.
Question 3
Are you feeling down, hopeless or depressed?
I answered NO, although January is always a difficult time for me since it is the month my mother crossed over to the other side.
Question 4
Do you have trouble falling asleep or do you wake up in the early hours of the morning?
I answered YES. Again, I would have like to have added, long term use of Seroxat has kinda messed my sleep pattern up, it wasn't an option in Dr Jones' yes and no test.
Question 5
Do you feel tired and low on energy?
I answered YES. Who wouldn't waking up at 4.30am and not being able to get back to sleep? This is a daily occurrence that I believe has been caused by long term use of Seroxat.
Question 6
Do you have a poor appetite or do you overeat?
Clever question eh? I would say my appetite is pretty poor but would add that it's only that way because I cannot afford to eat properly. I should be craving food more but have become conditioned because of a piss poor budget. So, I answered YES.
Question 8
Do you have difficulty concentrating on things like TV or reading?
I answered NO
Question 9
Do you feel restless, nervous or anxious all the time?
I answered NO
Question 10
Do you want to hurt yourself, or think that you'd be better off dead?
I answered NO
The outcome?
You may be suffering from moderate depression. This self-assessment test is just an indicator, so please arrange to see your doctor to follow up any symptoms you may have.
Forgive my use of Anglo-Saxon here Dr but why don't you fuck off with your sugar coated image and depression tests that do nothing but put money in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies. You gave the wrong advice to a 29 year old woman last week and this week you are sending people out to their doctor's because YOU feel there is something wrong with them?
What was the advice you gave that woman again who wrote you because she was concerned about tapering off Seroxat, a drug that is more teratogenic than cocaine[1]
Let's see shall we?
"Stop taking a tablet every third day for a fortnight, then every other day for a fortnight. Then you should be ready to stop altogether."
Brilliant, if your name is Fred or Wilma Flinstone!
Now, Dr Hilary Jones, he of GMTV and Sunday supplement advisory column fame, is telling people who are no more depressed than... well, erm... ME, that they should go to see their doctor because they may have moderate depression.
Dr Hilary Jones is Chair of the National Obesity Forum [NOF], whose website is sponsored by Abbott Laboratories, Roche and Sanofi-Aventis Ltd.
The NOF Conference in 2009, where Dr Jones was present, was sponsored by Abbott Laboratories LTD and GSK plc.
Hardly surprising then that Dr Hilary Jones' "Depression Test" should direct people to Pharma's agents, your doctors!
[1] Paxil [Seroxat] "more powerful a teratogen than cocaine"
Doctor Sloot is a European doctor who works for Shearing Plough.
The following was taken from the court transcript in the current Kilker v GlaxoSmithKline trial, currently on-going in Philadelphia, US. [2]
In May of this year, 2009, a study was published by Doctor Sloot. The study said this.
What Doctor Sloot did is, he took Paxil and all the other reuptake inhibitors and he exposed rat fetuses to these 12 different drugs, including Paxil. And what Shearing Plough was trying to figure out, what they were trying to do was figure out whether one of the drugs that they were going to put on the market to compete with GSK's drug was capable of causing birth defects. And so they took the drug they were going to take to market, and before they took it to market, they did this test. And they compared it to all the other SSRIs. Because, as you will learn, GSK never did this test.
What Doctor Sloot discovered in May of this year is that out of all the teratogen, out of all the SSRIs, the 12, only one was a clear teratogen, Paxil. He discovered that Paxil in May of this year was actually more powerful a teratogen than cocaine.
It would be safer, according to Doctor Sloot's study, to take cocaine than it would be to take Paxil while you were pregnant.
Dr Hilary's blurb on the GMTV website reads:
Dr Hilary Jones is GMTV's health and medical advisor and has been with the breakfast TV station since 1993.
Dr Hilary qualified from The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London, in 1976 and held a number of interesting posts for the next few years, including working between 1978 and 1979 as the only medical officer on Tristan de Cunha in the South Atlantic.
He became a full-time Principal in General Practice in 1982 and a GP Trainer in 1987. He still practises part-time as a NHS GP.
Hilary first appeared on TV-am in May 1989 on the 'Doc Spot' as the station's regular doctor and medical advisor. He has also co-presented 'The Health Show' with Terry Wogan, and presented three series of 'Loud & Clear', a weekly social action programme for Meridian. He has a regular guest slot on Steve Wright's Radio 2 show discussing medical matters.
Hilary writes a topical weekly column for the News of the World and deals with readers' medical problems and health issues in the newspaper's Sunday Magazine. He also answers readers' health problems in Rosemary Conley's Diet and Fitness magazine each month and contributes to, and edits, Family Healthcare with Dr Hilary Jones magazine. In addition he has had a number of books published and has also presented a series of relaxation tapes and health videos. In August 2009 Hilary released the semi-autobiographical book, 'What's Up Doc?' – giving readers an insight into his life as a TV doctor.
Fid
ORDER THE PAPERBACK
'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
SIGNED COPIES HERE OR UNSIGNED FROM CHIPMUNKA PUBLISHING
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