Paxil. More Big Pharma fraud?

This blog is based on a Health Sciences Institute newsletter, dated 30th October 2012.
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Paxil (also known by the trade names Aropax, Pexeva, Seroxat and Sereupin) is a powerful antipsychotic drug that is approved to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) in adults.

Some of the known side effects of Paxil are flatulence, vomiting, gingivitis, dizziness, insomnia, nervousness, confusion, sleep abnormalities, anxiety, depersonalization, depression, lack of emotion, hallucinations, hostility, hysteria, manic-depressive reaction, psychotic depression, and psychosis. Mania has been reported in up to 2 per cent of bipolar patients.

How do these people live with themselves?

If you look at that long list of disturbing side effects, and DIEs, then the mind boggles as to why anyone would even consider giving this drug to children. Then again, I suppose when we're talking about Big Pharma, anything goes, especially when money is involved. As you and I both know, as soon as a drug has the potential to rake in millions, patient safety is the last thing on Big Pharma's mind.

Big profits were no doubt the motivation behind GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) blatant bribery of doctors to prescribe Paxil to children. In fact, the drug giant went so far as to fly psychiatrists and their partners to five-star hotels on all-expenses-paid trips, where speakers (who were paid up to $2,500 to attend) gave presentations on the drug.

Doctors who attended these 'scientific meetings' were given $750, free board and lodging and access to activities including snorkelling, golf, deep-sea fishing, rafting, glass-bottomed boat rides, hot-air balloon rides and, on one trip, a tour of the Bacardi rum distillery... and those who agreed to write extra prescriptions enjoyed further kickbacks including trips to resorts in Bermuda, Jamaica and California.

That's despicable! But wait, there's more...

GSK even went so far as to publish an article in a medical journal that alluded to Paxil's safety for children, despite the journal asking several times for the misleading wording to be changed. Even though GSK knew that three trials had failed to prove the drugs' effectiveness in children, they still went ahead and published a report entitled "Positioning Paxil in the adolescent depression market – getting a head start"... Copies of the misleading article were given to sales representatives to pass on to doctors, in the hope that it would secure more business.

The more the merrier

An investigation found that GSK also paid $275,000 to Dr. Drew Pinsky, who hosted a popular radio show in the US, to promote another of their 'adults only' antidepressants, Wellbutrin, on his programme. GSK also claimed it could treat weight gain, sexual dysfunction, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bulimia... and those are exactly the unapproved uses Dr. Pinsky promoted on his radio show.

As if that wasn't enough, GSK launched their bestselling asthma drug, Advair, to sales representatives in Las Vegas using images of slot machines, emphasising the bonuses they could make through sales. At the event, the then chief executive, Jean-Pierre Garnier, said: "What is the number one reason why you should love to be a GSK sales rep? Advair's bonus plan. Yeah!"

GSK pushed the drug as the ultimate answer for tackling asthma, saying it should be the drug of choice for treating all cases. However, it had been approved only for treating severe cases, as other drugs were more suitable for mild asthma. GSK published material calling mild asthma a "myth" in an attempt to boost sales.

What's even more shameful is the fact that after GSK admitted corporate misconduct over all three drugs, they walked away with nothing but a slap on the wrist in the form of a $3bn fine... which is nothing compared to the profits GSK made from Paxil ($11.6bn), and Wellbutrin ($5.9bn) in 2000-2001 — the years covered by the settlement.

I am truly at a loss for words... 

Some additional comments on Paxil and the behaviour of drug companies
The Big Pharma drug companies are very big corporations, whose main priority are their shareholders, and the making of profit. It would appear that the making of profit (and not only from this blog, but many others) is very much more important than patient safety, and that our health is very much a secondary consideration for these companies.

Okay. I can understand that (and understanding it means that I want nothing to do with their drugs and vaccines). But always more puzzling is the fact that the Government, the Department of Health, our National Health Service (NHS), and our doctors and GP's are quite willing to continue with their role - as distributors of Big Pharma drugs. Moreover, as distributors of Big Pharma drugs, they are quite willing that we are not made aware of the dangers of these drugs.

Even more alarming, in some ways, is that our Media is also not willing to tell us what is happening, and how our health is placed in danger by all Big Pharma drugs, not just Paxil / Seroxat. Okay, most of the mass media is owned and managed by the same vested financial interests as Big Pharma. Remember, James Murdoch not only ran News International, he was also on the board of GSK!

But even this does not explain the position of BBC News! They are funded by the licence fee we all pay - and still they do not see fit to warn us about the disease-inducing effects (DIEs) of Big Pharma drugs.

Clearly, the Government, the NHS, our doctors, the Media (even the BBC) are quite willing to hide this information from people.

I wonder? How many young children will be put on Paxil today? And how many of them, or indeed their parents, will recognise or understand the dangers that are involved in doing so?

There is serious legal culpability here. Consuming something when we know it is dangerous is one thing. But when people, who should be telling us about the dangers, are clearly refusing to do so. Surely that is a crime!

FDA Warning. Statins now linked to Memory Loss

This blog, on Statin drugs, is based on a Health Services Institute newsletter, dated 29th October 2012.  Visit the HSI Website, and subscribe to receive their regular newsletter.

Our regular readers will remember that, o a few years ago, I told you about Dr. Duane Graveline, a former NASA astronaut. Soon after starting Lipitor, Dr. Graveline experienced two bouts of total global amnesia (TGA). That's when all memory vanishes for several minutes to several hours. 

I was reminded of Dr. Graveline's terrible ordeal when I read this comment from one of our readers, called Kevin: 

          "Modern day super-statins are exceedingly powerful. My fear is that the doses are much too high and that dosage regimens have been developed for ease of prescribing. I also find that the side effects of these drugs correlate with the dosage. For years doctors tried to get me to take 40mg of simvastatin instead of a daily mini-aspirin and I said: 'Thanks, but no thanks.' 

          "I can no longer take aspirin and with very great reluctance, I have agreed to start with simvastatin. I insisted on 10mg tablets which I cut in half so the effective dose is 5mg. I have been guided here by the tremendous work of Dr Duane Graveline, who is a former USAF Flight Surgeon, NASA Astronaut and Family Doctor. I strongly recommend his books Lipitor: thief of memory and The Statin Damage Crisis." 

Thief of memory 

After Dr. Graveline's episodes of 'vanishing' memory he launched his own investigation of statin-related TGA. He found hundreds of people who shared their experiences of memory loss while using statins. 

In fact Dr. John Briffa, contributing editor to The Cholesterol Truth, said that when he deals with ageing patients who complain about memory loss, one of the first things he asks them is whether they are taking cholesterol-lowering statins or not. 

To further support the effects that statins can have on brain function, research into 171 individuals who complained of statin-related brain symptoms found that 90 per cent of people who stopped statins experienced an improvement in their symptoms… This tells me that there must be a link between statins and deteriorating brain function. 

In his own research Dr. Graveline discovered that certain brain cells produce their own cholesterol. Neurons need this cholesterol to function properly. When something impairs cholesterol production, it can compromise thought processes. 

The result… TGA, and just about everything in between. Including depression. 

A few years ago, The Wall St. Journal ran an article about memory loss linked with statin use. Many readers posted comments about cognition problems and TGA. One reader suffered a crippling depression while taking statins. But her symptoms disappeared when she quit. From that point, it was an easy decision. She said that risk of a heart attack "would be preferable to life on statins." 

Given that statin benefits are wildly exaggerated, that's what I call clear thinking. 

Now, after nearly 10 years the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally caught up and has recently noted in a Consumer Update that memory loss, forgetfulness, and confusion "span all statin products and all age groups." 

We are yet to see if this so-called consumer update will carry any further weight.

Some additional thoughts on this article.

The FDA may have caught up - but have our doctors, the NHS, as they seem intent on continuing to prescribe Statin drugs, regardless of the evidence that they are causing serious DIEs. Indeed, I am no certain that all doctors have stopped telling us that these awful drugs are 'entirely safe'.

And what exactly is 'memory loss'. At the extreme end of the spectrum, memory loss equals Dementia. Can the FDA, or Big Pharma, or the NHS, tell us that 'memory loss' ends with a little bit of forgetfulness? Can they be certain Statin drugs are not implicated in the epidemic of dementia that we have been experiencing over recent decades.

Of course they can't; it is best that all of us started to say 'No thanks' to Statin drugs!

Who needs Animal Testing?

Drug testing drugs on animals is an emotive subject, but there is much evidence to suggest that it is ineffective, often ignored, and often results do not translate to human health. Ever since the Thalidomide tragedy, and before, the issue has been hotly debated. 

Thalidomide, like many other Big Pharma drugs, was tested on animals, with no benefit to those who suffered from that horrendous drug.

In March 2007, the magazine, 'What Doctors Don't Tell you', (WDDTY), reported that in 2005 around 3 million tests were carried out on animals in the UK for medical research, and that a study had shown that most of it caused needless suffering to animals. It said that researchers had studied 6 separate animal trials, and found that none of the results were replicable in humans. The research team from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine also reported that many animal studies were poorly prepared, and most ignored even the most basic parameters fro proper scientific testing. Their report also pointed out the very obvious fact that the biological differences between animals and humans are often so great that any results become meaningless

WDDTY had earlier reported (23 June 2006) on a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that discovered drugs were still used - even when animal tests had uncovered problems. Professor Ian Roberts discovered that animal testing is "a covert, and secretive, activity", and that despite the enormous suffering endured by the animals, results were often ignored by drug companies if they suggest a problem with the new drug. The study reviewed six medical treatments - on head injuries, blood clotting, stroke, disease in premature babies and osteoporosis - and re-examined the initial findings from the animal tests.

     * In assessing the use of steroids for patients with head injuries, the initial animal trials had discovered mixed results. Nonetheless, the therapy was approved for use in humans, and was found to increase the risk of death and so was stopped.

     * Two other studies on stroke showed that the animal test results didn’t translate to humans.  In both cases the drug improved the animals condition - and yet the same drug increased the risk of death and disability in humans.

Most studies indicate that animal testing provides only misleading and conflicting results, and that often they are dangerously unreliable.

So Big Pharma companies might need animal testing, but no-one else does - least of all the animals who die an irrelevant death, or the humans who die because their death is ignored!

The Disease-Inducing-Effects (DIEs) of Big Pharma drugs

The terms 'side-effect' or 'adverse reaction' do not adequately describe the damage that Big Pharma drugs can do to us. Indeed to describe the carnage caused by these drugs as 'side-effects' is an understatement of enormous proportions. They are inadequate descriptions of what drugs can do, and a gross underestimate of the human tragedy they cause on a regular basis. The terms make a mockery of the reality - that thousands of people every year suffer serious ill-health as a direct consequence of taking drugs which they believed would make them better. 

Big Pharma drugs can, and do, create new diseases, often diseases much worse and more life-threatening than the original condition for which the drugs were given. And they can kill us.

·        Beta blockers may lower blood pressure. But they are also known to cause diabetes.

·        Statin drugs are said to protect against heart disease. But they are also known to cause Parkinsons disease, and a muscle wasting disease called rhabdomyolysis, which is a killer.

·        Cox-2 painkillers may deaden pain. But they are now known to cause cancer and heart attacks.

·        Antidepressants may be thought to treat depression. But some have proven to increase the risk of suicide, especially in children and young people.

For this reason we need a new, more accurate way of describing the real outcome and consequences of taking drugs - a description that illustrates realistically what they do to the human body. 

Drugs produce Disease-Inducing-Effects, incapacity-inducing affects, addiction-producing effects, quality-of-life destroying effects - and too often, killer-effects.

So the term 'side-effect' and 'adverse reaction' should be replaced by 'Disease Inducing Effects' or DIE's, particularly apt as the 'D' can be used interchangeably for both 'disease' and 'death'.

This article was first written for the free e-book 'The Failure of Conventional Medicine'.

The Allergy Epidemic

Our immune system defends and protects us from attack from foreign substances, such as viruses and bacteria. It produces antibodies that seek and destroy intruders, and thereafter protects us from future attacks. An allergy occurs when the immune system overreacts to a normally harmless substance, and triggers what in reality is an inappropriate and unnecessary response.

Substances that trigger allergic reactions are called allergens, and these can include such things as house dust mites, pollen, cat and dog fur, bee and wasp stings, feathers and a variety of foods.

The antibodies produced by the immune system can cause the release of some irritating substances, such as histamine, which produce redness, heat and swelling, leading to symptoms such as sneezing, wheezing, shortness of breath, a runny or blocked up nose, watery and bloodshot eyes, rash, itchiness, diarrhoea, and vomiting.

Food intolerance is less serious than an allergy. The symptoms are less serious, including headaches, muscle and joint pains, and tiredness. But it remains an inappropriate response - the body is not responding normally, or as it should do.

Anaphylaxis, or anaphylactic shock, is a severe, potentially fatal allergic reaction to an allergen, where there can be a sudden drop in blood pressure and the narrowing of the airways. It can be triggered by foods such as peanuts, nuts, sesame seeds, fish, shellfish, dairy products, eggs and strawberries, or by an allergic reaction to wasp or bee stings.

Allergies include a wide range of medical conditions such as Rhinitis, Hay Fever, and Asthma.

Allergy in the UK has reached epidemic proportions

According to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology's report, published in July 2007, "the prevalence and incidence of allergic disease have markedly increased over the past 50 years", and that evidence presented to the Committee showed that "an increasing prevalence of asthma was first noted in studies of Birmingham school children, starting in the mid 1950s," and that since then "the prevalence of asthma and wheezing appears to have doubled "approximately every 14 years" until the mid 1990s. It added that the trends for other disorders such as hay fever and eczema are similar.

The report estimated that in 2004 the scale of the "allergy epidemic" showed that 39% of children and 30% of adults had been diagnosed with one or more of asthma, eczema and hayfever; and 38% of children and 45% of adults had experienced symptoms of these disorders during the preceding 12 months. The committee commented that the treatment of allergic disorders costs the NHS a considerable amount of money each year.

Clearly, this describes the development of an epidemic that began shortly after Big Pharma drugs became freely available through the NHS. It is known and even admitted that anaphylaxis can be triggered by certain drugs, such as penicillin. And the increase in conditions described as 'auto-immune' disease, suggests that the culpability of pharmaceutical drugs is far greater than is recognised.

This article was first published for my e-book 'The Failure of Conventional Medicine'.

A Case Of Hidradenitis Suppurativa

I have a new update for this blog, originally published in January 2012.

http://safe-medicine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/case-of-hidradenitis-suppurativa.html

The update comes from the patient herself, and I quote from her email

Hope you're well - I'm doing really well with the hydradenitis - haven't even had to take a single remedy for months now - and i've now lost almost 5 stone - I can cycle again, go swimming and I've even joined a gym - all of these were out of the question just a year ago! It's truly amazing.

This single case demonstrates the incredible power of Homeopathy, and needs no further comment. Remember, ConMed, through the NHS, tried for many years to treat this condition, and must have spent £1000's on this one patient alone.

Homeopathy is not only safe, it is amazingly effective - and it is also inexpensive!

WDDTY. The Bully Boys are now attacking them too.

I went into my local newsagents last week to buy a copy of the new 'What Doctor's Don't Tell You' magazine - and could not find a copy anywhere. I didn't think too much more about it, other than that it was new, so I would try again - and if necessary ask the retailers to stock the magazine in future. I should have known better! Bryan Hubbard, from WDDTY, has just sent me an email - and the Bully Boys, employed bb Big Pharma, are apparently at it again. This is what Brian has said: "'What Doctors Don’t Tell You' has just launched a 100-page glossy version in UK stores – and already it’s being targeted by the bully boys who want the title banned.  They’ve even contacted our distributors, asking them to stop supplying the title. These champions of free speech include Simon Singh (co-author with Edzard Ernst of the book ‘Trick or Treatment’) and his chums, including ‘paranormal researcher’ Hayley Stevens. Singh has written to our distributors, Comag, to get them to stop supplying the title, while Singh, Stevens and fellow trolls are busy complaining about the title to retailers who stock it". Singh inspired the Nightingale Collaboration, which seeks to stop all alternative practitioners (and especially Homeopaths) from making any claims whatsoever on their websites. Bryan is asking us all to support WDDTY and help ensure that the magazine remains on the shelves for everyone to read. He asks us to let the retailers know they are doing the right thing in stocking it - so please write to the following: WH Smith Customer.Relations@WHSmith.co.uk Waitrose customersupport@waitrose.co.uk Sainsbury’s customerservice@sainsburys.co,uk But I think we need to write, not just in support of WDDTY - but in support of Free Speech, and Press Freedom - as well as to support medical therapies such as Homeopathy. The 'bully boys', like Singh and Ernst, are trying to suppress every non-Pharma voice. Big Pharma is using its financial influence to attack not only our right to know, but our right to information, and our right to alternative medical therapies. This is quite unacceptable - so please take action right now.