Medicating Normal ~ The Film

 

Last night I watched 'Medicating Normal', a film directed by Lynn Cunningham and Wendy Ractliffe.

It left me feeling angry - there was no sadness, I've almost become immune to feeling sadness upon hearing about the devastation and destruction these drugs can and do cause, that's not to say I'm totally devoid of empathy as I know that as the anger subsides the empathy will return and I'll calm down.

It's almost 18 hours since I finished watching and the anger is still with me. This has, somewhat, surprised me as the content of the film is, pretty much, something I've been researching for the past 16 years or so ~ one would have thought I had become accustomed to hearing about the horrific withdrawal of psychiatric brain pellets and the wanton contempt shown by those who manufacture, regulate and prescribe such dangerous 'pills'.

The film centres around a group of people from different walks of life, including military personnel, a waitress and a young girl, all of whom were initially given a diagnosis of a mental health disorder, prescribed brain pellets, returned to prescriber after the brain pellets either didn't work or were causing adverse reactions, only to be given another diagnosis and different brands of brain pellets. The demise of these individuals is plain to see, for me at least. It begs the question why a layperson, like me, can see the problem yet so-called professionals completely miss, or ignore what is right in front of them.

There are three types of people in this world. There are those who stand up for those harmed by brain pellets, there are those who shrug their shoulders whilst offering snippets of empathy like, "It's a shame" or "how awful" then there are those who talk about those who fight for the truth (usually behind their backs) claiming they are not experts, in fact they are just conspiracy theorists. I've encountered all three types - I still do.

There's a fourth type of person too, I say person but these types are often devoid of human emotion, yet on the surface they claim they are helping humanity. They often see themselves as gods or life-savers, in fact, over the years they have convinced themselves that whatever evidence shows that they are wrong is nothing more than a study that misinterprets data, either that or it's come from an advocacy group who have links to flat-earthers, ghost-hunters and celebrity-like religions. This puts them, they feel, in a position higher than anyone else - this gives them the false belief that they are omnipotent. It's a dangerous belief and one that is causing devastation to their flock.

I am, of course, talking about prescribers, be they your run-of-the-mill GP or psychiatrist. They've lost their way over the years, they've been convinced by a higher power (manufacturers and regulators) that they are on the correct highway and those who oppose them are beneath them so not worth listening to.

This is highlighted throughout 'Medicating Normal', albeit in a more subtle way than I have just described. The film does not intend to slam brain pellets, it is not calling for their removal, it's merely calling for informed consent to be given when these toxins are prescribed.

There are experts who claim that 'these drugs work short term', such statements are usually followed up by, "people shouldn't take them for long periods." With respect, the 'short-term' claim, I feel, is merely a defence mechanism designed to ignore the bigger picture that these 'drugs' are causing so much pain and misery around the world.

Sure, you'll have your patients stepping forward to defend the use of brain pellets, more often than not these are folk who are not able to function without them - this, they feel, is the reason why brain pellets such as antipsychotics, antidepressants and benzodiazepines have their place. They don't, for one minute, stop to think that their lack of function upon stopping the brain pellet may be a withdrawal effect. Their gods tell them it's a return of the illness ~ and so the cycle continues. Higher doses, different brands, various cocktails targeting invisible receptors with the claim that brain chemicals will be balanced out.

Watching this 80 minute film highlights the devastating effects of these brain pellets and also the flawed diagnostic tools used as a means to determine the type of brain pellets one should be prescribed. 

The film, for me at least, raises the question: What is going on in the head of a prescriber when he/she writes on that pad, does no part of them say, "this is wrong, why am I medicating normal?"

The film is being shown on various dates via here.

I highly recommend people to pay the small fee to watch it. If it wasn't for Covid this would probably be on general release at Cinemas, so, bring it into the comfort of your home.

You probably won't feel the anger I felt, if you don't, you should ask yourself why.

Bob Fiddaman

Baum Hedlund Take a Stand Against Vaccine Maker

 

Los Angeles based law firm, Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman filed a Gardasil lawsuit against Merck yesterday on behalf of Julia Balasco, a 19-year-old, who suffered severe and permanent physical injuries after receiving multiple injections of the human papillomavirus (HPV) Gardasil vaccine.

Merck, the makers of the controversial vaccine, are accused of failing to properly test Gardasil before the HPV vaccine was fast-tracked and administered to millions of young girls and boys throughout the United States and the world. It is also alleged that "Merck knew or had reason to know that its vaccine was defective and ineffective, but instead of warning the medical community and the public, the company wrongfully concealed information and further made false statements concerning the safety and efficacy of Gardasil."

Furthermore, it is claimed that Merck manipulated the Gardasil clinical trials by spiking the placebo with AAHS and the vaccine’s other additives, which resulted in approximately equal numbers of subjects in the vaccine group and the placebo group suffering adverse reactions thus giving the impression that Gardasil was just as safe as taking a placebo.

Julia Balasco was just a 13-year-old when she was administered Gardasil. Her mother, Michaela, the lawsuit claims, was persuaded by the various Merck ads for Gardasil that claimed it was 'very safe' and 'prevented cancer'. Little did she know that her daughter would later develop serious and debilitating autoimmune disease, including POTS, a disorder that affects a branch of the nervous system that regulates functions we do not consciously control, including blood pressure, heart rate, perspiration, and body temperature.

Merck are no strangers to controversy. The New Jersey drug company have been fined over $3 billion dollars since 2000, some of which include health and safety-related offences (see below)

You can read more about the case of Julia Balasco here

Bob Fiddaman

Malcharist Review

 

In the words of the late Bon Scott (no relation to Paul John Scott) "The following is a true story, only the names have been changed to protect the guilty." (Ain't No Fun Waitin' Round to be a Millionaire)

Griffin Wagner is a frustrated freelance reporter working for a men's magazine in Minneapolis. Shivani Patel plys her trade over 1200 miles away in Manhattan. She's a medical ghostwriter working, in the main, for Krøhn-McGill, the world’s largest drug-maker.

Her job is to turn bad news (poor outcomes in clinical trials) into good news. This manipulation pays both her and Krøhn-McGill well.

The scene is set, as all good mysteries writers know. Male, female at different ends of the spectrum, a brief encounter, a loss of communication, then rekindling.

It's the classic format and has stood many writers since the dawning of time.

But wait, isn't Malcharist a mystery that delves into the murky practices of drug companies and ghostwriting PR companies?

Simply put, no.... it's so much more than that.

The author, Paul John Scott (PJ), has crafted something quite brilliant here. If you're familiar with Glaxo's 329 study, you're halfway on board with PJ. Those not familiar with such underhand edits will soon pick up the mantle and run with what PJ offers. He carefully lays out what ghostwriting is all about in a manner that is easy on the eye and not so taxing on the brain.

Malcharist is the reel of film, your eyes are the projector, PJ directs his characters into your mind, which is, in essence, your own personal silver screen.

There's twists and turns, as one would expect from the mystery genre. To an unskilled eye it may all sound far-fetched, the worrying thing in all of this is it has gone on, it goes on, and it will continue to go on. Don't believe me? Google 'Spravato'.

I read the book over three days, corresponded with PJ via email to offer my congratulations, at this point the book hadn't gone to print. He, as a debut fictional writer, was chomping at the bit and looking forward to seeing his work in print.

I'm now looking forward to seeing it on the silver screen...for real.

It deserves it.

PJ, as we say in England, 'knows his onions'. Stumbling on Study 329, as I did many years ago, took a lot of figuring out and years of research and many articles (via my blog). I'm familiar enough now with how the drug companies operate and employ the Patel's of this world. I also know that there are some great journalists out there. Griffin Wagner is one such journalist, albeit in fictional form.

For me, at least, Wagner is a male version of Shelley Jofre, Neither Wagner (Nice surname by the way) or Jofre were unable to let go of what they had found whilst reading through clinical trial data. Both untrained eyes, (medical knowledge), that smelled a rat.

Paul's new novel, Malcharist, is available via Amazon in the UK here and the US here

Bob Fiddaman