The Evidence, However, Is Clear...The Seroxat Scandal

CHAPTER ONE
“Highway to Hell” 

No stop signs, Speed limit. 
Nobody's gonna slow me down 
Like a wheel, gonna spin it 
Nobody's gonna mess me around.
Young, Young & Scott – Highway To Hell


I was prescribed Seroxat by my GP due to 'depression' - it was work-related and kind of spiralled when my former employers put me on to a 'Long Term Absence Register' because I had developed an illness, Osteoarthritis of the hips, that didn't allow me to perform the job I was employed for. The 'Long Term Absence Register' was basically set up to leave employees without pay and without being able to claim for benefits. It had a strain on family life and Seroxat was deemed to 'fix' that problem.

Seroxat took away the pain of not being able to provide for my family, in fact I didn't really care much about anything. I became devoid of any human emotion other than sadness, it was an unexplainable sadness though, you know bouts of crying when I really didn't know what I was crying about.

I first noticed withdrawal symptoms when my family and I went on holiday - an annual trip to the mother-in-laws caravan. At the time I thought I had sunstroke - strange shooting sensations across my head and a feeling of nausea. However, victims of sunstroke suffer because they get too much sun I had been on holiday for two days, two days in June where it had rained constantly. I actually [wrongly] thought that there would be no need to take my dose as I was away on holiday and away from everything that reminded me of the employment thing.

Once I realised that the zaps were caused by me missing a dose, I immediately started again. The zaps then stopped.

The two week holiday was a respite from the problems on the work front, however I didn't feel I was myself on the holiday. I didn't drink alcohol and couldn't get into the spirit of things. Eventually the sun did come out but sitting in it seemed to increase my agitation. Sudden loud noises were beginning to irritate me - unavoidable when you are sitting around a pool and kids are screaming and splashing around, basically enjoying themselves much to the increasing annoyance of myself.

I'd go for walks alone instead of sitting at the beach or around a pool - I didn't like the feelings I was getting at these loud noises - I would clench my fist and hold in the feeling of anger. I became very tired way too easily - one minute I was wide awake, then next I was 'comatose'. I was waking but not feeling that refreshed feeling one does after 8, 9 sometimes 10 hours sleep! Sure, when we are depressed our bodies tend to shut down and sleep is a common trait in the depressed... so I've been told. But this was more than sleep, this was literally like hibernation!

The early days of taking Seroxat have become a blur, there isn't much I can remember.

I started to become violent in my sleep. I remember my then wife telling me that I had woken next to her in the middle of the night.

On another occasion I lashed out at her during sleep. Again, I had no recollection of this incident. Things were strained between us and it was decided that I sleep elsewhere, the couch downstairs was the obvious choice as I didn't want to get into the same bed as my children through fear of attacking them whilst I slept.

Sudden loud noises became a real problem for me, with three children in the house I found it intolerable and would have to leave the room, sometimes house, just to get away from the noise. I started to feel alienated (distanced) from my own family. The children tried their best but how can children play without making noise? They are grown up now and my eldest recently told me 'Dad, it was like literally walking on egg shells'. That saddened me because it was something that was out of my control and something that had only started when I took Seroxat.

As the nightmare continued, my employers agreed to retire me on medical grounds and an agreement was reached for a ill health retirement package. One would think that a sudden windfall of cash would have brought me back into reality. It didn't. I was numb and at times I thought I was on a different planet with back-to-front time zones. Night sweats, confusion, lack of empathy and blurred or delayed vision became common. I felt like a prisoner in my own home. People complain about Seroxat withdrawal... all of the above happened when I was not withdrawing.

Things came to a head and I tried to take my own life by swallowing 20 or so Seroxat tablets. My then wife was on holiday with a friend. I just wanted out, I didn't care for anything, I had put weight on, my marriage was a sham, my children would take a wide berth when walking past me and would rarely talk with me for fear of me 'snapping'. I just did not care about anything, a complete lack of empathy for everyone and everything. I wanted the old me back, wanted my children to have a dad again. I couldn't see how that could happen. Here I was with a lump sum of money yet I was considerably withdrawn from reality. My world seemed my own and nobody else's. I didn't want anyone else to come into my world because I knew they wouldn't like it.

After I swallowed the tablets I phoned a friend who lived nearby - it was one of the rare occasions where reality had dawned and I realised that I had made a huge mistake. My friend phoned an ambulance and I was admitted to hospital and kept in for observation overnight. No stomach pump, just a series of wires with sticky tape attached to my chest.

A few months went by and my GP had prescribed me the liquid form of Seroxat, a sickly orange liquid administered with an oral syringe. As I recall, I think I had told him that I wanted [needed] to come off Seroxat as it was making my life a complete misery. I think I had tried tapering [1] by halving the tablets or taking one instead of two. It's all quite blurry. Basically, I had no guidance, nobody could tell me how to slowly taper and what programme to follow. The manufacturer [GSK] offered no guidance on the patient information leaflet, I think the only guidance they offer today is that 'you must taper slowly' or words to that effect.

I moved out of the marital home, leaving my 3 sons behind me. Again, I felt no emotion. I moved across the city to live with my sister, Janet. She educated herself on withdrawal problems and made things really comfortable for me. I owe her a great debt. I lived with her and her two children, Ashley and Lucy, for about 5 months before being given keys to a one bedroom council flat just around the corner from her. In fact, part of the reason I was able to live so close to her was because the Housing Department had agreed that I needed someone close by to help me through withdrawal. I guess I have GSK to thank for my one bedroom council flat.

I was elated when I got my own place, it meant I could see my children again, more importantly show them how their dad was getting better because I was tapering - and had been during my time spent living with my sister.

The zaps were still with me as was the irregular sleep patterns but I was happy in myself that I was 'getting there'.

18 months from 40mg to 22mg and I was reading comments on the internet from GSK employee, Mary Anne Rhyne, claiming that “discontinuation reactions” last for about 2 weeks. It was the longest two weeks I have ever known!' The term, “discontinuation reactions” was coined by the pharmaceutical industry – it basically means withdrawal reactions.

Enough was enough. I decided, against my GP's wishes, to go cold turkey. He told me to keep in touch on a regular basis and we did via email. My GP had sometime previously stopped prescribing Seroxat to new patients because he had witnessed what I had gone through and had read documents that I had read on the internet and printed off for him.

I still allowed my children to come see me for the first few days but then things got really bad. I became violent in my thoughts - I yearned confrontation.

Days and nights passed and I would control the zaps jolting through my body by wrapping a soaking wet ice cold towel around my head. I'd also wrap ice cubes in a smaller towel and place this on the back of my neck.

This helped somewhat with the zaps. I'd go for walks in the middle of the night - As I recall this was during the months of Feb/March and it was a particularly cold year. I would walk with just a t-shirt on - the cold biting at my naked arms - I didn't care - anything to take away the zaps – Anything!

I was living in a nightmare, although I had no fear, no fear at all, quite the contrary. I would walk through a country park that backs on to where I live, walk through during the early hours of the morning. I didn't care if I was stopped by gangs of youths, I would 'let them have it' - this was my mindset - I wanted violence.

It was a rough journey and one that I would never recommend to anyone. I've lost friends because of Seroxat, I've lost the woman I married, more importantly [to me] I lost a very precious moment in any father's life - I had missed my children growing up.

I locked myself in my flat and after a period of about 3 months [cold turkey] the demon had finally been banished. The clouds had parted and for the first time in six years. I felt like Bob Fiddaman again.

The withdrawal hell of Seroxat doesn't look like much when reading about it. One has to experience it at first hand to fully understand just how debilitating it can be.

So there you have it. GSK messed my life up and are continuing to mess with other people’s lives. I don't want them to do that.

In all I was on the liquid Seroxat for a total of 18 months, this period saw me taper down from 40mg per day to 22mg per day - it was a long process but it was something I needed to do. This drug had control of me, my thoughts, my emotions, dare I say it, my whole life.

Read more: Purchase the book

UK - HERE
US/CANADA - HERE
AUSTRALIA - HERE

Paddy McGorry's DeLorean Program - The Survey

The early intervention program is akin to the chemical imbalance theory in as much that it is based purely on speculation. There is no science behind it, none at all. Possibility is not an excuse for treatment, if it were, then smokers would be offered chemotherapy years in advance of "possibly" developing lung cancer. McGorry et al can no more predict a mental disorder than you or I can next weeks Lotto numbers. To fund any program based on speculation is a high risk... in as much as the same way of treating the disorders with psychiatric medications that have a proven track record of causing suicide and horrific withdrawal problems.

You can now complete an online survey and also offer your thoughts on Patrick McGorry's EPPIC model. 

Take the survey HERE

More about McGorry and the DeLorean Mob:

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,




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AUSTRALIAN ORDERS HERE

**Exclusive - JANE NIEMAN VIDEO TESTIMONY GSK V KILKER

Back in 2009 a jury found by a majority of 10 -2 that Paxil was the causation of Lyam Kilker being born with serious heart defects.

During the trial much evidence was heard, what swung it for the jury was a deposition given by Jane Nieman who, in 2005, was employed by GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Paxil.

Nieman, under oath, gave a video deposition.

For the first time, that video has now been made public and the edited version of the transcript is also available.

There are three reasons why I feel this should be made public.

1. It highlights how GlaxoSmithKline knew Paxil could cause serious heart defects...yet chose to do nothing about it

2. It clearly shows how GlaxoSmithKline's position of helping consumers affected by their product is one of a total lack of care, duty and responsibility.

3. GlaxoSmithKline, more often than not, settle out of court. On the two occasions where they have defended Paxil, they have lost. The Kilker case was such an occasion.

This lack of care continues today. GlaxoSmithKline refuse to help consumers struggling with their prescription drugs, they recommend that you "talk with your doctor".

The video and transcript from the Kilker trial shows how this wanton neglect is part of the money-making machine that is GlaxoSmithKline.

Briefly, the Kilker family had alleged that their son, Lyam, was born with a heart defect. During the pregnancy Lyam's mother had been taking Paxil.

Items of disclosure showed that another patient had discovered she was pregnant in December 2000 while being treated with Paxil. However, she reported that at six months gestation the pregnancy had to be terminated because the fetus was diagnosed as having Truncus arteriosis. Her physician told her that the child would not lead a normal childhood and would most likely not make it through the open heart surgery that he would need as soon as he was delivered, if he was able to make it to that time.

The video deposition sees lawyers probe Nieman for answers. What she revealed was damning for GlaxoSmithKline. It's also interesting to note that Nieman digs herself an even bigger hole when she suggests to lawyers that the initial report that concluded that the patient's termination was "almost certain" [related to Paxil] may have been a clerical error. Under oath she said;

"There's always the possibility someone made the mistake and checked the box wrong."

On hearing this, lawyers, rightly so, asked the following:

Q. Let's talk about the probability. Is the prob -- the probability is that somebody at GSK filled that in on the computer. Would you agree with that?

A. Somebody at GSK filled that in on the computer, definitely.

Q. Nobody from Pro -- from Eli Lilly or Schering-Plough came in there and secretly filled this in, right?

A. No. Right. Definitely that did not happen.

Q. And the doctor didn't break into the database, or the patient, and fill that in or write down or check off "almost certain" twice; did they?

A. I don't understand -- no.

Q. Nobody broke into GSK's database

A. No, no.

I'm sharing this video because I believe the public have a right to see how GlaxoSmithKline knew a very long time ago about the dangers of pregnant women taking Paxil [known as Seroxat in UK]

Here, for the first time, is Nieman's video deposition. It's especially for GlaxoSmithKline's UK lawyers, Addleshaw Goddard and comes with the message, "You can't keep a good man down"





Here's the transcript:

The full court transcripts from the Kilker trial can be viewed on my sister blog, GlaxoSmithKline Internal Files.


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Support the Megan Meier Cyber-Bullying Prevention Act

There's a campaign that I fully support that is in need of signatures [at present just 22]

The creators of the Support the Megan Meier Cyber-Bullying Prevention Act Petition write:

Urge the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and President Obama to pass the Megan Meier Cyber-Bullying Prevention Act (H.R.1966)

The Megan Meier Cyber-Bullying Prevention Act (H.R.1966) would impose criminal penalties on anyone who transmits in interstate or foreign commerce a communication intended to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to another person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior.

Megan Meier was 13 years old when someone named Josh Evans contacted her through her MySpace account. The boy was supposedly 16 years old and expressed interest in Megan, though over the course of five weeks the online relationship took a dark turn. "Josh"--who was actually the mother of a girl Megan went to school with--sent messages to hundreds of other kids, calling Megan vicious names. On October 16, 2006, Megan hung herself in her bedroom closet and was pronounced dead the next day.

Regular readers of this blog will know that the bereaved parents, whom I have interviewed in the past, have also been targeted by a cyber bully. It's time for a change in the law so cretinous individuals take responsibility for their actions.

Support the petition HERE please folks.

Lundbeck Under the Spotlight

The parents of Shane Clancy, the young man prescribed citalopram, who committed an act of homicide before taking his own life, recently met with pharmaceutical giant Lundbeck. The meeting was covertly recorded and both Leonie and Tony, Shane's parents, have now had the audio enhanced and published it in full on their blog.

It's a fascinating insight into how big pharma show skill in the art of deflecting questions put to them.

Both Leonie and Tony have showed tremendous courage in getting this out to the public. I, for one, applaud them. You should too.

Full audio recording and transcript can be found HERE

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Are the Australian Government Under the Spell of the Pharmaceutical Industry?

"Huggy Bear"  Fictional character who played a pimp in the 70's cop show Starsky and Hutch.

Quite often when a reader throws me a link to research I sit and ponder whether or not it merits further investigation. When a sharp eyed Australian reader of my blog recently sent me a link to the Australian Medicines Industry webpage, I kinda shrugged my shoulders and muttered "Yup" under my breath.

The Australian Medicines Industry,  formerly known as The Pharmaceutical Association, represents 80% of all Australian pharmaceutical companies. They appear to lobby the government and get consumer organisations to promote drugs, at least that's the way I see it.

What I find baffling is another body, namely Medicines Australia.

As far as I can see, Medicines Australia represents The Australian Medicines Industry but they would appear to be one and the same.

Here, Dr Brendan Shaw announces a new public website that seeks to raise awareness of the industry’s contribution to the health and wealth of the nation. The article cites Shaw as being The Australian Medicines Industry spokesman.


Yet this video sees him as the spokesperson for Medicines Australia?

Confused?

Even more confusing is the registrant of The Australian Medicines Industry website is Medicines Australia [Fig 1]

Fig 1

The Australian Medicines Industry and Medicines Australia are basically the equivalent of The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry [ABPI], the body that protects pharma from pesky patients requesting information about pharmaceutical products, they probably coined the term, "Talk to your doctor."

One only has to contact GSK to ask them about one of their prescription products. Any "Dear GSK, Can you help me withdraw from your product" type of letter is usually met with, "Dear Consumer, Under the ABPI Code of Practice...blah, blah, blah.... we therefore suggest you talk to your doctor....blah, blah, blah....

I can only assume that they have the same system set up in Australia.

A short time ago, I received a promotional pack of Aropax through the post. Aropax is yet another brand name or the SSRi antidepressant Seroxat, known as Paxil in the US and Canada and a whole host of different names throughout the world.

The Aropax promotional pack is from 2002 and it's my understanding that only a handful of these still exist today, luckily I have one.

I have, on two occasions, contacted GSK Australia and asked them about this particular promotion. They have never replied. With this in mind, I sent the following to Medicines Australia to see if they could have thrown some light on the 2002 promotion of Aropax in Australia:


1. How many patients were enrolled in the a plus project?


2. How many of the patients were under the age of 18?


3. Did the starter packs just contain packets of Aropax with 20mg tablets or were there starter packs with lower doses?


4. What were the qualifications and training of the counsellors on the a plus project?


5. What were the sales trends of Aropax in Australia before, during and after the a plus project?


6.How much did GlaxoSmithKline pay individual key opinion leaders, including (but not limited to) Professor Graham Burrows and Professor Bruce Singh? What were the services for which each was paid?


7. What were the goals of the a plus project?


8. How long did the a plus project run for?


9. How many adverse reactions were reported for Aropax during the project?


10. Were participants on the a plus project ever followed up or did GlaxoSmithKline Australia lose touch with the participants once the project had finished?


11. Why was the project ended?


12. Was the a plus project deemed a success by GlaxoSmithKline?


13. Has GlaxoSmithKline or its subsidiaries ever offered similar counselling sessions to patients taking other drugs manufactured by the company?


14. How much did GlaxoSmithKline pay for sponsorship of the Depression Awareness Journal around the time of the a plus project?

For an introduction into GlaxoSmithKline's promotional tool for Aropax watch this short video I made: [Forgive the Brummie accent]




I though it was reasonable of me to ask Medicines Australia about GSK's marketing tactics, they do seem to have a very good relationship with them, as a matter of fact, today sees them 'big up' Glaxo on their page. The Royal Flying Doctor Service [Queensland and Victoria] and Save the Children being two key partnerships recently secured with GSK Australia.


When I see the word 'children' and 'GSK' in the same sentence I normally hear alarm bells.

Medicines Australia replied within 48 hours, it was a peculiar email to say the least.

With the above questions, I wrote:

Dear Sirs,

I have wrote to GSK Australia on two separate occasions regarding the promotion of Aropax in Australia in 2002. Sadly, for reasons only known to them, they have failed to respond.

I therefore request that Medicine's Australia intervene and either answer the questions I put to GSK or urge GSK Australia to give me answers.

Medicines Australia replied with:

You have sent your email to a non-manned mailbox at Medicines Australia.
Medicines Australia is the industry association representing pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Medicines Australia is not interested in your services and no action has been taken with regard to your email.
Many Thanks
Medicines Australia

Non-manned? Weird that a non-manned inbox has the ability to tell me that it is not interested in my services? Weird that Medicines Australia would set up an email system to 'bounce' emails back to the sender...without actually reading what was sent?

Ignorance, as they say, is bliss.

So, the 2002 Aropax promotion by GSK in Australia still remains shrouded in secrecy. GSK won't answer me, neither will Medicines Australia. I'd ask the Aussie government but it would appear they are already having a back scratching session with Medicines Australia.


Will Delaat, Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Industry Council and former "Independent" Chairman of Medicines Australia, recently addressed Medicines Australia's 2011 Parliamentary dinner, where the theme of the evening was "Innovation for the Health of the Nation."

Here's part of Delaat's speech:

It’s about shining a light on how the health and productivity of our people, and the health our economy, benefit from the Australian medicines industry.

It’s about shining a light on the importance of the right policy settings from Government to enable and encourage a viable medicines industry.

It’s about shining a light on the importance of a robust intellectual property framework in Australia.

But it’s also about something much more straightforward than that. It’s about celebrating a great success story - the Australian medicines industry.

• An industry that delivers the latest medicines and vaccines to Australian patients and contributes to improved health and productivity outcomes.

• An industry that employs 14,000 Australians in high-skill, high wage jobs – 72 per cent of whom are tertiary educated.

• An industry that contributes more than $4.1 billion in manufacturing exports, more than any other high tech industry.

• An industry that undertakes 800 clinical trials in Australia each year.

• An industry that attracts more than $1 billion a year in global R&D investment – more than the automotive industry.In short, the medicines industry is one of Australia’s key innovative technology industries, which contributes to the nation’s social and economic development in a number of ways.

The medicines and vaccines the industry researches, develops, manufactures and brings to the community play a vital role in treating illness, and helping people live healthier, happier, more productive lives.

Tie this together with the Australian government ploughing money into Patrick McGorry's early intervention program [a model whereby children can be diagnosed with a mental disorder...before they actually get it] and you have a very cosy, exclusive pill pushing club who, when brought to task, claim that you are either a conspiracy theorist or Scientologist! [Back story]

Australian's need to start asking questions of this bed hopping. Exactly who is running your country? Is it Prime Minister Julia Gillard or is it the pharmaceutical industry?

**Footnote - The father of Prime Minister Julia Gillard is a former psychiatric nurse.


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The Defence of Prof. Ian Hickie

Prof Ian Hickie

Patrick McGorry's sidekick, Prof Ian Hickie, has come out fighting this week with an opinion piece that was published on the Sydney Morning Herald website.

One would have thought that Hickie, who I have highlighted before on this blog, [Back story] would have used the Sydney Morning Herald as a platform to show evidence that the DeLorean Machine [The Early Intervention Program] was fool proof and robust.

Instead, Hickie chose to slam his critics...and he did so in the style and ahem, candour, that anyone who opposes his fairy tale theories would expect.

Here's a snippet:

...an odd mix of armchair critics, conspiracy theorists and a former chairman of the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual taskforce, Dr Allen Frances, oppose the expansion of early intervention programs for teenagers and young adults. Conversely, child advocates have attacked the proposed reforms for putting too little emphasis on the expansion of specialised child services.

In parallel, the Scientologists have repeatedly used freedom of information legislation to mount an ''investigation'' into the work of McGorry, our colleagues and myself. Various members of these groups have made highly personal ''conflict of interest'' allegations in an attempt to distract attention from the evidence that favours these new approaches.

Way to go Hickie!

When all else fails shout conspiracy or Scientology. One would have thought psychiatrists and professors would have devised a better argument after all these years. Amazing isn't it, they can pluck an "illness" out of thin air yet call them to task over it and you are labelled an armchair critic, conspiracy theorist or Scientologist.

These guys just love their labels eh.


Ian Hickie was the inaugural CEO (2000-2003) of 'beyondblue: the national depression initiative', which has very successfully sold depression in Australia, with many millions of dollars of government money. This has worked brilliantly for the drug companies, and beyondblue does not accept pharma funding, so the drug companies get the promotion for free. I've previously wrote about beyondblue back in November 2008.


Beyondblue and Hickie paved the way for EPPIC, a psychiatric service aimed at addressing the needs of older adolescents and young adults with emerging psychotic disorders.

Hickie and McGorry had already been working together for several years, in fact Hickie is a key player in McGorry's 'Headspace'.

The PDF above is a seemingly egregious example of the conflicts of interests that exist: a whole journal supplement based on the SPHERE project clinical audit. The audit was funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb (see p. S54), the manufacturer of Serzone. The publication of the supplement was funded by beyondblue with Commonwealth [Australian] Government money (see title page).

The audit, which used Hickie's SPHERE questionnaire, found ridiculously high rates of mental disorders. This was reported in the supplement by Hickie, Davenport, Naismith, & Scott (2001, p. 52) as:

'Sixty-three per cent of people attending general practice have some evidence of mental disorder (including alcohol or other substance misuse) by self-report or GP's diagnosis of psychological difficulties.'

63%?

That's some cash cow huh?

Not surprisingly, if you scroll to the bottom of the PDF you will find: Source: Hickie et al. Educational Health Solutions; 2000

As long as the DeLorean Mob continue to berate their critics with name-calling, their critics will continue to press for the science behind their theories.

To be honest, any name-calling aimed in my direction really is water off a duck's back. It just highlights the inability of the other side to prove their point and shows them to be straw clutchers. It's just their way of stifling voices.

I'm reminded of my childhood days:

Scene: Early 70's School playground, me eating a packet of crisps.

CLASSMATE: Give me a crisp Fid.

ME: No.

CLASSMATE: You big gay!

Some things just never change.

Related posts: -

Hickierie Dickory Doc - McGorry Turns Back the Clock

33 year old mother slams Hickie

This one is especially for Ian Hickie and his DeLorean mob:

Seroxat Sufferers - Over 500

I'll be busy over the next week or so, many documents to trawl through that will take up most of my time.

Meantime, I offer readers a selection of posts from my blog that have had over 500 views.

Obviously, I can't post them all as I'd have to go back to 2006.

Anyway, see what tickles your fancy.


Ontario Government To Fund the Smoking Cessation Drugs Champix and Zyban [695 HITS]
In what can only be described as a sheer act of lunacy, the Ontario government have decided that they will fund the smoking cessation drugs Champix and Zyban by adding them to the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan.


News 7: More Complaints Against Prof Graham Burrows [748 HITS]
Australian psychiatrist Graham Burrows remains tight-lipped on recent allegations that he over medicated patients and prescribed them psychiatric drugs after just spending 30 seconds with them.


2011 CCHR Human Rights Awards Banquet [868 HITS]
A gathering of like-minded people. A show of solidarity in the fight against the drugging of children. A feeling of an intense connection with those you meet.


HERE WE GO AGAIN - Viibryd, the new SSRi [569 HITS]
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to your doctor and not be presented with a new option of antidepressant medication.


DEAD WRONG - THE DOCUMENTARY - A REVIEW [1763 HITS]
The documentary, 'Dead Wrong' centres around a mother, Celeste Steubing, searching for answers as to why her son, Matthew, killed himself. The journey she embarks on reveals to her how dangerous the drug, Lexapro and other antidepressant medications can be.


VIAGRA TO BE SOLD IN TESCO STORES..."EVERY LITTLE HELPS." [589 HITS]
I can't turn on the radio these days without hearing adverts for erectile dysfunction, case in point being the offer of help from pharma giants Lilly. 40over40 website.


Glaxo, Children and Lucozade...Not made from Girders! [2510 HITS]
Oh how I remember as a kid I used to get the old sniffle. My dear old mother would make sure I was comfortable in bed, hot water bottle, a supply on tissues to wipe the running nose. There was something else too...


The Inquest of Sara Carlin and the Moderation of Yahoo Groups [847 HITS]
During the inquest of Sara Carlin, I strived to report to the best of my ability. Much of the mainstream reporting of this particular case came from Canada and I saw fit to report on issues that the mainstream media were ignoring. It's all documented on this blog. During the inquest, this blog's web traffic increased considerably, a good 80% of daily hits coming from all over Canada. What I didn't expect was the vile behaviour of my obsessive online critic, Jeremy Bryce. His constant goading on Yahoo Groups throughout the inquest shocked even me...


The GMC/GLAXO Email [611 HITS]
Following on from yesterday's article regarding Dr. Sarah Myhill who has fallen victim to the General Medical Council [GMC] As promised here is the entire email as discussed in that article...


I'll be back soon

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AUSTRALIAN ORDERS HERE

Warnings, Studies and Adverse Reactions on Psychiatric Drugs Database

Here's what the pharmaceutical companies and medicine health regulators won't tell you. Your prescribing doctor may not tell you either, because he/she could be as misinformed as you.

Check out the CCHR database. If you don't like what you find, tell your doctor and/or medicines regulator.

Seek the truth and don't buy into the spin that people actually need these drugs and it's dangerous to suggest otherwise.

Database HERE

Alternatively, you could contact the FDA, MHRA, Health Canada or the TGA, the "independent" bodies of drug regulators who all claim that the benefit of taking these drugs outweigh the risks...risks that include:

Suicidal thoughts
Actual suicide
Homicidal thoughts
Actual homicide
Horrific withdrawal problems
Akathesia
Long term brain damage

Choice is yours...always remember that.


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AUSTRALIAN ORDERS HERE

The Counterfeit Shyness Epidemic

A few UK newspapers ran with stories yesterday regarding future proposals in the DSM.

The updated DSM [The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders] is due in 2013 and those wacky white coated men have covered all bases when it comes to targeting children.

Not content with S.A.D. [Social Anxiety Disorder], the wannabe Gods have come up with O.D.D [Oppositional Defiant Disorder]

Let's just take a look at the acronyms used for each of these disorders. Sad and Odd.

According to the wisdom of these nutty professors, your child may have S.A.D. if he/she is quiet in the classroom, you know the kind of kid I'm talking about here, the one who chooses not to raise his/her hand and volunteer an answer. Yup, drug them.

On the other end of the scale we have O.D.D. These are the children, who unlike the S.A.D. individuals, choose to do the opposite. They talk back to 'adults' and may oppose what they are being asked/told to do.

For those in between these two labels, don't fear, you won't feel left out. Early intervention of "mental disorders" means you too can have a label just like your friends. Just tick a series of boxes and your destiny will be planned for you by the white coated soothsayers. Your parents will be informed, "Dear Mr and Mrs Jones, although the mental health screening of your child showed no apparent mental disorder, we feel, by the answers given in the screening survey, that your child has the early signs of psychosis. This may become full blown within the next five years or so. We highly recommend that they be monitored by our team.

Sounds absurd doesn't it? Did deep and you will find that this is already happening.

I foresee future disorders being invented, just so those DSM shills can report back to the pharmaceutical companies with cap in hand, "We did what you asked of us massa, all bases covered massa."

Gone are the days where children can have an imagination, if they are caught daydreaming in class, label them then drug them. If they answer a teacher back, label them and drug them. If they are seen to be mourning the loss of a parent, brother, sister, grandparent or friend, label them and drug them. Yup, another gem from the proposed DSM is "Depressive disorder". If a child mourns the loss of any of the above for longer than 6 months, label them and drug them.

Call me an old cynic if you want but isn't this push to drug children a reflection on decisions made by medicine regulators regarding SSRi's like Seroxat, Cipramil etc?

A while ago, the UK regulator, MHRA, made recommendations that antidepressants like Seroxat should not be given to children. That put a huge dent in the coffers for the pharmaceutical industry. Only way around this would seemingly be to invent a few more disorders. Hey Presto!... and the licence to print money starts all over again.

Don't expect the MHRA to intervene with the latest in the line of new mental disorders. They are spineless and, after all, wholly funded by the pharmaceutical industry. Give it about 10 years and they may send out warning letters to doctors regarding the medication used to treat children who are sad, mourning or just a little bit boisterous. They allow the pharmaceutical industry to make wads of cash before intervening, you see. Everyone, except your child, is a winner.

When the average person reads of the good deeds done by the pharmaceutical industry such as various donations to war-torn countries or vaccines to the poorer countries, it makes us sleep better at night, knowing that big pharma is really looking out for us. That is the image they like to portray, it's a confidence trick, one which they are past masters at.

Delve a little deeper and you may just find a more sinister reason behind the pharmaceutical industries apparent generosity.

As a child growing up I was always out playing games. I fear Hopscotch will now have rules attached. If your child lands on a crack in the pavement then they may just have a mental disorder... because those men in white coats want them to.

More coverage HERE and HERE




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VROOM! VROOM! Glaxo Team Up With Formula 1 Aces McLaren

GlaxoSmithKline have proudly announced on their webpage that it has formed a long term strategic partnership with McLaren Group.

Formula 1 racing enthusiasts can now stay awake watching cars go round and round with one of Glaxo's products.

It baffles me why a prestigious British company [McLaren] would want to team up with a company who have such a tainted history and disregard of children and consumers who take their prescription medication.

If McLaren had done their homework they would have learned about GSK's suppression of information in clinical trials, information regarding their diabetes drug Avandia and antidepressant Paxil [Known as Seroxat in the UK]

By teaming up with GlaxoSmithKline it would appear that McLaren are sticking their fingers up to patients who have suffered severe withdrawal at the hands of Glaxo's Paxil, giving the middle finger to those children born with serious heart defects because of Glaxo's Paxil. [See Kilker v GSK] Maybe McLaren are sticking their fingers in their ears and covering their eyes at Glaxo's suppression of information regarding their product Avandia too? Where Glaxo, once again, withheld important safety information from those taking it. Safety information along the lines of "Avandia can cause heart attacks and strokes." Check the report by the Senate Finance Committee, who accused GlaxoSmithKline of knowing about the drug's risks well before they became public.

I could point to the evasion of tax Glaxo have been accused of in the past too [they settled those particular accusations out of court] I'm sure McLaren's legal team would know all about those though, if they don't then one has to ask why, if they do, then they don't mind being associated with the alleged criminal activities of their new partners..

Way to go McLaren!

I look forward to your racing vehicles going round and round emblazoned with the GSK logo...and more than likely one of their products. I can just see it, substitute Marlboro Cigarettes for Glaxo's Zyban.



Enjoy the videos.







GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.

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Another Psychiatrist Slams McGorry's DeLorean Mob

Australian Psychiatrist, Patrick McGorry. A soothsayer who can predict the future mental health of children.

Superb article written by psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed is doing the rounds. In it, he [I assume it is as he] picks apart Paddy McGorry's flux capacitor on his time-travelling DeLorean.

On September 13, 2011, smh.com.au ran with an article entitled "Politics and mental health a poor mix", McGorry and his sidekick, Prof Ian Hickie, come under scrutiny once again.

Ahmed writes:

In one of the more farcical applications of psychiatry to political debates, a report this month linked inaction on climate change to the possibility of worsening mental health. Released by the Climate Institute, it suggested that increasing natural disasters might be linked to climate change, which might lead to increased costs in mental healthcare. The evidence for every link was slight at best, yet the novelty of the report ensured widespread attention.

It was launched by Professor Ian Hickie, who has been rightly recognised for giving mental health a greater profile, but who has also played politics to do so.

Hickie has done more than any other clinician to promote tick-a-box diagnosis, particularly among general practitioners, who now regularly prescribe antidepressants through questionnaires alone. With former Australian of the Year Professor Patrick McGorry, Hickie has made overblown claims about the prevalence of mental health.

It is disingenuous to suggest, as McGorry has done, that there is no conflict of interest because their organisations are non-profit. Their bodies shared in $2.2 billion of funding in the federal budget. Their exorbitant claims - such as one in four people will suffer mental illness - are indicative of a blurring of the lines between illness and normal, human responses to adversity.

For Hickie to claim that climate change can cause mental illness  is yet another reason why people should not take McGorry's band of DeLorean driving merry men seriously. They will be predicting the weather next!

Weatherman: Tomorrow sees a north-easterly breeze and cloudy skies in the south. Please take your Paxil as not to give yourself a mental disorder.

**This forecast was brought to you by LoonHayTic Pharma PLC


Earlier this year McGorry pulled a clinical trial. He, with the financial assistance of Seroquel manufacturer Astra Zeneca, wanted to carry out a clinical trial [of sorts] with children, amongst others, who had not yet been diagnosed with a psychotic illness.


Psychiatrists, psychologists and researchers from all over the world lodged a complaint when they heard of the planned trial.

McGorry pulled the trial and now denies that the complaint had anything to do with his decision. If the 9 page complaint didn't change McGorry's mind...then what did?

If you look at the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry listing you will see that it was changed to say that ethics approval had been received on 8 July 2010: [HERE]

Yet on the 16 Aug 2011 there was no mention of this - [HERE]

I find it strange that the criteria for a clinical trial can change, almost overnight, when one of it's supporters comes under fire from his peers.

It's a sunny day here as I write this, forecast for the weekend predicts rain. Anyone got any psych meds?

More about McGorry HERE.




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MHRA Go Hi -Tech

To be honest, I can't tell them apart.

Pharmalot's Ed Silverman is reporting that the British drug regulator, the MHRA, are considering using Twitter and Facebook as a way of reporting adverse reactions to medicine.

Silverman writes:

The MHRA is now “actively working on introducing other ways of reporting to make it easier and encourage more reporting,” Mick Foy, the MHRA group manager for vigilance and risk management of medicines, tells GP. “Applications for smartphones, improved web reporting forms and the use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook are being carefully considered as potential routes for reporting.”

But this is not a slam dunk, because the MHRA wants reports to contain info on drug reactions, the patient and the person conveying the info. And the agency must be able to conduct follow-ups. “It is important to consider the structure of the information for inclusion on our database, something Twitter and Facebook do not easily lend themselves to,” he says.

Forgive me for my cynicism for a moment but don't you think the MHRA have rather more important matters to address first?

Their Chairman [I still don't know what he actually does] Alasdair Breckenridge is a stout defender of Seroxat, he is also a former employee of GlaxoSmithKline.

Their Head of Licensing, Dr Ian Hudson, is former World Safety Officer of GlaxoSmithKline.

The current UK Seroxat litigation sees both GSK and the claimants call upon expert witnesses. GSK have called upon Rashmi Shah. Shah's former positions at the MHRA were Senior Medical Officer, Senior Clinical Assessor and Senior Medical Assessor. He worked for them for 17 years. [Back story]

To be honest, it would appear that this is just another token gesture by a regulatory authority who really don't have any authority at all when it comes to making decisions on whether a drug should or shouldn't remain on the market.

Their four and a half year investigation into GlaxoSmithKline's suppression of pediatric clinical trial data resulted in the MHRA's CEO, Kent Woods, sending the, then Head of Glaxo, JP Garnier, a "Whose been a naughty boy" type of letter. Glaxo were not criminally charged because the MHRA claimed there was a loophole in the EU law. It took them four and a half years and millions of pounds before they came up with that particular excuse.

I can't imagine for one minute that the MHRA actually believe that they have an untarnished image. Anyone who has ever wrote to them with simple requests will find that they either don't hold the information you request any more, can't give it to you because of some exclusion clause in their rules and regulations or, worst of all, they will label you vexatious if you debate with them about their ethics.

The current reporting system is called the Yellow Card Scheme. Their webpage proudly boasts, "This site can be used to report suspected side effects to any medication including vaccines."


If they do decide to move with the times and enter into the world of social networking, I'm sure the increase in reporting will rise. What I'm unsure of is that the MHRA will do nothing but log the adverse reports then claim that the benefits still outweigh the risks.

To be honest, I've heard it all before. I wouldn't trust the MHRA if my life depended on them...much like the poor souls who have died, and who continue to die, at the hands of antidepressant type medication that the MHRA continue to claim does more good than harm.

By the way Kent, there's still an SSRi withdrawal problem. You still haven't done anything about it. [Notes of meeting with Kent Woods 2008]

You can read more about the MHRA on the excellent Social Audit website. The author, Charles Medawar, was trying to convince the MHRA back in 1997 that there was an SSRi problem. As history unfolded and more children and adults suffered at the hands of these drugs, the MHRA stood firm. It's abundantly clear, to me at least, that the MHRA will never budge, it is, after all, the pharmaceutical industry that pay their wages.

I ceased communication with the MHRA back in 2009. I've sent them the occasional Freedom of Information request since. My reasons for ceasing communication with them is clearly marked out in my book, The evidence, however, is clear...the Seroxat scandal. Basically, the MHRA won't admit that Seroxat is a teratogen neither will they accept any such evidence that points to Seroxat being a teratogen.

I'm bored writing about them...they always leave a bitter taste in my mouth.



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Russian Creating Awareness About the Dangers of Paxil

When I first started writing this blog [April 2006] there was maybe a handful of UK advocates who had blogs/websites. Many have come and gone since, those that have disappeared or not updated seemingly got fed up with banging their heads against the proverbial brick wall when trying to get answers from the UK medicine's regulator, the MHRA.

I've always been an admirer of the small man/woman going up against the might of the pharmaceutical industry and regulators around the world. It can be consuming and, at times, draining. The stories you come across are dark and frustrating. Suicides, corruption, ignorance and...well, obsessive freaks who ride on top of your back by stealing your work and, in my case, my name.

Visitors to this blog have grown over the years, countries far and wide land on the 2,000+ posts I have written. One such visitor was a Russian who has created a Paxil awareness website that reaches out to many across Russia. We've spoken on a number of occasions via email and recently I asked him if he would be prepared to do an exclusive interview with me - He agreed. He wishes to remain anonymous - I respect his wishes.

For the purposes of this Interview I shall call him by the name Mr X. His website is entitled "Secrets of Paxil and other antidepressants" [translation] and can be found HERE

*** Translation by Google is actually incorrect. Mr X tells me that the sub title should read - "The facts about which you won't read in the patient information leaflet."



What prompted you to created a website about Paxil? 

To help others understand the terrible consequences of the lies in psychiatry. If you are taking a psychotropic drug, an antidepressant, for example, if you are tell a doctor that you feeling better, the doctor tells you it is the the drug working. But if you tell about the worsening of old symptoms or if the new symptoms appear then most doctors will tell you that it's your disease and not the pill. Moreover, If you are experiencing light side effects, like headache and dizziness that disappear after drug withdrawal then doctors can agree that these effects was caused by a drug. But if you became seriously and chronically ill after the drugs then doctors usually say that "it's not the drug, it's your disease. This is a terrible lie that leads to horrible results and undermines the whole medicine's authority.

Is there a big Paxil problem in Russia?


Russian people much rarely see psychiatrists, psychotherapist and psychologists compared to people in the USA or UK, for example. But there is concern with many patients, that have become addicted to Paxil, already appearing on the Russian internet.

Are you happy with the way prescription drugs are regulated in Russia?


In Russia drugs are prescribed to people who really don't need them. For example, one doctor can prescribe some drugs then the patient goes to another doctor that asks the patient: "Who prescribed you it? If you would have taken all these medicines then you would be a constant client for a mental hospital" . So, it much depends on a doctor ethics and awareness level.

Is Paxil liquid available to Russians?


As far as I know - isn't.

What do you hope to achieve by creating a Paxil website?


I would like to let potential patients know the real effects of psychotropic drugs, which are documented in drug trials and are reported by common patients. But these undesirable effects are being hidden by people and organizations that are ready to destroy many lives in order to achieve personal welfare by promoting the lie about how perfect the drugs are while the drugs really are useless and harmful.

Mr X's website, "Secrets of Paxil and other antidepressants" is a testament to one lone soul up against the might of the abhorrent culture of the self-professed Gods that think they know everything about the human brain, when in fact they know nothing.

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SpongeBob SquarePants, 4 Year Olds and 'Attention Disorders'

Beware folks, SpongeBob SquarePants, the popular kids cartoon, has been studied by 'Adults' and they have found that watching the cartoon can be detrimental to the attention span of four year old children.

Many of the national newspapers are running with this particular story so I thought I'd offer some input - just to lighten the mood, you understand [**Impish grin**]

The study, which appears in the Journal of Pediatrics, found that 4 year olds perform worse when asked to follow rules or delay gratification than kids who spend time drawing or watching slower, educational programs.

ZOINKS! [Copyright, Shaggy - Scooby Doo]

"Jimmy, Nancy, come on, it's time for breakfast. There's Cheerios on the table and University Challenge on the TV"


I'm left wondering exactly how much a study like this cost and if it came from the School of the Blindingly Obvious.

These folk should come on over to my place and try and attract my attention when I'm watching a Shania Twain documentary... an earthquake wouldn't prise me away from the TV!

Poor old SpongeBob, it appears he can't do right for doing wrong. Back in 2005 US conservative groups slammed a music video featuring SpongeBob claiming the video, a remake of the Sister Sledge hit, "We Are Family" - was a vehicle for pro-gay propaganda!

Funny that, I always assumed Velma from Scooby Doo was a lesbian - Those pesky kids and their gossip, huh!

The 'short-term attention and learning problems' were seen in a study of 60 children randomly assigned to either watch “SpongeBob,” or the slower-paced PBS cartoon “Caillou” or who were assigned to draw pictures. After these nine-minute assignments, the kids took mental function tests; those who had watched “SpongeBob” did measurably worse than the others.

University of Virginia psychology professor Angeline Lillard, the lead author of the study, said “SpongeBob” shouldn't be singled out. She found similar problems in kids who watched other fast-paced cartoon programming.

As a child growing up I used to watch children's *programmes [*correct English spelling], that's what kids are supposed to do isn't it? My favourites included the American import, The Banana Splits, remember that? Fleegle, Drooper, Bingo and Snork. It is thought that children who watched this [male children] later developed penile dysfunction problems, otherwise known as Drooper syndrome. Female children developed gambling addiction, mainly Bingo addiction. Tra la la.

The Arabian Knights cartoon was also a favourite of mine, watching this would have dire consequences when I reached my mid-thirties as I became the size of an elephant.


Don't get me started on Rhubarb and Custard, watching that particular cartoon was like going on an acid trip!

Whilst I think children these days watch too much TV and play too many games consoles, the study from the University of Virginia could have been put together by the Janitor, who would later have been rumbled by Scooby, Daphne, Fred, Velma and Shaggy.

Let kids be kids, stop trying to get inside their heads with this psychobabble claptrap. Watching TV can be quite educational, especially for children. They don't need people in white coats analyzing them.

A great quote, amongst all the newspapers covering this story, came from Nickelodeon spokesman David Bittler, who disputed the findings and said "SpongeBob SquarePants is aimed at kids aged 6-11, not 4-year-olds."

Yup David, right on brother. You may want to ask the University of Virginia the same about attention disorder medication.


***The authors of the study, Angeline S. Lillard, PhD, and Jennifer Peterson, BA indicated they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose. However, the University of Virginia, where their Department of Psychology is based, has received sponsorship research money in the past from Pfizer, $152,595 to be exact.***

Interview With the Seroquel Lawsuit Blogger

Last week [Sept 4, 2001] I highlighted the story of the Seroquel Lawsuit blogger who has took it upon himself to post the settlement package offered by Seroquel manufacturer's AstraZeneca.

A settlement package is often made in litigation cases whereby the defending party, make an offer of compensation to claimants that have made the allegations against one of its products. It is the norm for that settlement to include no admittance of liability and also a 'gagging order', which prevents those it has made the settlement with, not to speak out publicly.

AstraZeneca have offered a settlement to over 28,000 litigants that are currently part of a group action against the company. The package, which can only be described as derisory, has incensed a number of claimants and has now been posted online and made public. This has further angered AstraZeneca, lawyers representing them and lawyers representing the 28,000+ litigants.

It appears that two offers have been tabled, one by The Miller Firm LLC and one by Weitz & Luxenberg. The litigants have, it appears, also been contacted by Garretson, the court appointed claims administrator.

Moving in the circles I do, I have managed to bag an interview with the anonymous blogger. Rather than chop and use selective quotes, I decided to post the interview 'as is' for your perusal.



What made you create the Seroquel Lawsuit Blog?
The blog was started because there was nothing out there questioning anything to do with this litigation or covering the patient/victim/injured parties perspective besides what the main stream media was being spoon fed by AstraZeneca and law firms.

Here we have a powerful & dangerous antipsychotic drug being mass marketed for everything under the sun by a criminal corporation at the tune of  $5.5 billion a year in profit Couple that fact (that along with similar others drugs), that Seroquel was (and still is) permanently injuring (if not killing) many tens of thousands of people and all we hear, in relationship to this tragedy, is endless drivel about meaningless small fines, and Wall Street dollars figures.

The evidence is overwhelming and well documented that AstraZeneca did and continues to mass market and sell a drug that is unsafe by a litany of nefarious means.Meantime, our government (including the Department of Justice) looks on idol and blinded while taking a small token hush bribe, which has just further emboldened and allowed AstraZeneca to continue their criminal business as usual model, without any admission of guilt or accepting responsibility for the many crimes they have perpetrated upon the citizens of America and people around the globe.

Someone had to speak out - why not the SeroquelLawSuitBlog?

We don't have an epidemic of Psychosis in America after all, what we do have is a population mired down in the mud bog of apathy which allows corporations like AstraZeneca to disease monger and continue their criminal assault upon some of the most vulnerable populations imaginable (our children, elderly, and returning veterans).

Can you list some of the side effects caused by Seroquel?
All anyone needs to do is pull out the latest Seroquel package insert, there are over seventy pages of serious side effects: weight gain, diabetes, sudden death from cardiac related issues, metabolic issues, and the list just goes on and on as more debilitating side effects are being added all the time.

AstraZeneca knew these problems existed, but instead of conducting further testing about the myriad of safety concerns AstraZeneca buried and hid the bad news, while turning this drug over to their marketing department. Still to this day, AstraZeneca is conducting trials that are pushing for, and focused on, broadening/expanding the use of this drug for general consumption by the public. "Shameful" would be a mammoth understatement

Have you been told of the implications in publishing a 'settlement package' online?
I would hope the implication of this blog is that people become informed and knowledgeable to what is actually going on here. This is a criminal corporation that for mere pocket change and an insulting token offer  is about to walk away emboldened, unscathed, and rewarded for their unscrupulous practices. I happen to see this ongoing corporate pharmaceutical industry assault on the public as one of the greatest and horrible crimes of modern times. When you look around at what has conspired in the corporate world, banking, Wall Street, and governments currently and over the past few decades, that's saying a lot.
.
As far as these ambulance chasing law firms go, they have no doubt sold injured parties down the river for their own gain and profit. The numbers don't lie, the public needs to know about these sleazy goings on. Change won't happen until we, the public, demand and force it to happen. The days of America and populations around the world sitting back thinking someone else (the government, the courts, lawyers, FDA, Department of Justice) will take care of these problems for us has long past.

I have nothing to fear, it is quickly coming to the point in time where there will be nothing left for criminal elements to take from us. 'Too Big to Fail' really means too big and corrupted not to fail. Simply, we have a situation that is unsustainable.

If there was one message you could give to claimants in the Seroquel litigation, what would it be?
I would hope Seroquel Claimants would become informed and active participants in this process, look at the evidence, look at the numbers, start questioning, take the time to seriously consider what's really being placed on the table and think for themselves. I would hope each litigant would do a serious gut check, put this litigation and the lawyers to the smell test, follow what's in their hearts...and do the right thing.

In your mind, what would be a reasonable settlement?
That's a tough one, I believe each litigant needs to assess that question based on the level of damage done, losses incurred, suffering endured. Very difficult to place a price tag on permanent damage done to ones health or the death of a loved one.

AstraZeneca has ten billion dollars sitting in cash reserves, that is blood money made upon damaging the health of others. In a just and fair world AstraZeneca would have to place half of that money (5 billion) in a medical trust that would provide ongoing and future medical care to those they have injured ( The general public still don't seem to realize that they, the public tax payer, are being left with the financial burden of caring for those AstraZeneca has harmed). Beyond that, the other 5 billion could be a small start in compensating the victims of AstraZeneca's crimes.

But even more important than the money AstraZeneca needs to openly apologize to each injured victim and the general public while accepting full responsibility for what they have done..

Until that day comes...nothing will really change.


The Seroquel Lawsuit Blog continues to be updated on a regular basis and can be found HERE

Amy Winehouse - Librium in her system

Amy Winehouse

Reports are coming through that Amy Winehouse, who tragically ended her life last July, had Librium [Chlordiazepoxide] in her system.

Librium is usually prescribed as an anxiety medication from the drug class of benzodiazepines and is used in the treatment of anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders. It has also been used to treat alcohol withdrawal. I find it odd that such a drug would be prescribed as one of the many warning for this particular benzo is: "Drinking alcohol while taking Librium may increase your risk for serious reactions and side effects. In general, drinking alcohol while on Librium is not recommended."

According to The Express her father, Mitch, said toxicology reports indicated traces of alcohol together with the anti-anxiety drug Librium.

“Everything Amy did, she did to excess,” he said in an interview on American TV talk show Anderson. He added: “She drank to excess and did detox to excess.”

He said his daughter, whose most famous song, Rehab, has her answering “no, no, no” when told to go to rehab, was trying to kick her alcoholism without a doctor’s help.

He said: “The periods of abstinence were becoming longer, and the periods of drinking were becoming shorter. It was heading in the right direction.”

The Yellow Card reporting system, set up by the MHRA for doctors to report bad reactions to prescription drugs, shows that there have been 19 fatalities, five of which were caused by 'cardiac disorders', associated with patients taking Librium [Fig 1]

The MHRA's Yellow Card Reporting System has come under fire in the past for it's lack of follow ups to reported adverse events to prescription drugs. I write about this in my book, The evidence, however, is clear...the Seroxat scandal [Chipmunka Publishing]

More, I'm sure, will be revealed when a full inquest into the death of Amy Winhouse begins next month.

Fig 1