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(*) Healy is a founder and chief executive officer of Data Based Medicine Limited, which aims to make medicines safer through "online direct patient reporting of drug effects".
AUTHOR AT MAD IN AMERICA
.(**)David is a founder and Chief Executive Officer of Data Based Medicine Limited, which operates through its website RxISK.org, and is dedicated to making medicines safer through online direct patient reporting of drug effects.
PSYCHIATRY EXPOSED, VIDEO
Dr, David Healy of the University of Bangor has acquired an international reputation as a reforming psychiatrist who is diametrically opposed to the routine presciption of toxic psych meds with their widespread debilitating side effects, His work complements the pioneering developments by Dr. Joanna Moncrieff and Professor Peter Gotzsche of the Council for Evidence-Based Psychiatry, and would appear to be supportive of the international Facebook campaign which is largely orchestrated by psychiatric survivors, including Mary Maddock, Jim and Nancy Gottstein, Ruth Goodyear, myself, and many others.
It is therefore absolutely amazing, and quite appalling, that Dr. Healy is nevertheless a prominent advocate of ECT shock therapy, See for example, his book with Professor Edward Shorter of the University of Toronto.
BOOK ON ECT SHOCK THERAPY BY DAVID HEALY AND EDWARD SHORTER
During my website and Facebook campaigns, I have learnt, for example by personal communication with Professor John Read of the University of Auckland and the eminent Scottish psychotherapist Dr, Graham Vahey, that
(1) There is scant empirical evidence available to suggest that ECT is of any substantive benefit at all to psychiatric patients,
(2) ECT routinely destroys a proportion of the patient's brain cells, and routinely causes severe cognitive defects, including severe memory loss,
(3) Sometimes patients achieve an 'artificial euphoric high' soon after treatment which is sometimes misinterpreted as a 'success' even though it is only quite temporary.
(4) In the medium to long term many recipients become extremely docile and unassertive and behave like 'sheep'. Others experience extreme reactive depression as the result of their treatment, and many struggle to achieve meaningful lives (e.g, Jason Kalendek, Tony Buonfiglio, and Mary Maddock, personal communication)
Indeed in a recent article NEW STUDY CONFIRMS THAT ECT CAUSES BRAIN DAMAGE Dr. Peter Breggin refers to a journal article by Dr, Jennifer Perrin et al, (based on research completed in Aberdeen, Scotland, which has been effectively ignored by the Scottish Mental Health Inspectorate and Mental Welfare Commission) and states that
""""The title of the research paper actually tells the story: "Electroconvulsive therapy reduces frontal cortical connectivity in severe depressive disorder." The specific area is the "dorsolateral prefrontal cortical region." This is the same area assaulted by surgical lobotomy. It contains nerve trunks connecting the rest of the brain with the frontal lobes -- the seat of our capacity to be thoughtful, insightful, loving, and creative. Think of what it takes to be a person; all of that requires the unimpaired functioning and connectivity of the frontal lobes of your brain.
Using a functional MRI in nine patients, the authors of the study conclude, "Our results show that ECT has lasting effects on the functional architecture of the brain." The result of these lasting effects is "decrease in functional connectivity" with other parts of the brain. In other words, the frontal lobes are cut off from the rest of the brain. The authors call this "disconnectivity." Does this sound familiar? It is a "lasting" frontal lobotomy.
This new study contradicts claims by shock advocates such as psychiatrist David Healy that ECT does not cause brain damage."""
4th November 2015. See also DISTURBING NEWS ABOUT ECT from Dr. Peter Breggin
4th November 2015. See also DISTURBING NEWS ABOUT ECT from Dr. Peter Breggin
Despite all these caveats, Dr, Healy and Professor Shorter advocate a methodology which should be regarded as barbaric torture, and hence justify the ongoing maltreatment of large and increasing numbers of psychiatric patients around the world.
I am moreover bemused by the following two statements which are referenced above:
(*) Healy is a founder and chief executive officer of Data Based Medicine Limited, which aims to make medicines safer through "online direct patient reporting of drug effects".
(**)David is a founder and Chief Executive Officer of Data Based Medicine Limited, which operates through its website RxISK.org, and is dedicated to making medicines safer through online direct patient reporting of drug effects.
Virtually every strong psychiatric medication poisons the enzymes, and therefore has the potential to cause devastating physical side effects, either in the short, medium, or long term. I suspect that Dr, Healy is making large financial profits by advising patients to switch from one medication to another based on his subjective judgements. However this would be like jumping from a frying pan into a frying pan. In the case of atypical anti-psychotics, they all have a chance of around 70% of causing debilitating side effects within fifteen months of commencing treatment, Therefore switching medications would simply have the effect of changing to an alternative set of potentially very nasty side effects, (Maybe Dr, Healy switches some of his patients from toxic psych meds to brain destructive ECT, though the very idea of doing this appalls me. Another, slightly off the wall, suspicion is that one purpose of the 'switching treatments' scenarios may be to collect data for Dr. Healy's ongoing research to the effect that toxic psych meds do more harm than good)
I have contacted Dr, Healy several times, effectively to inquire whether these suspicions are indeed correct, but he has steadfastly declined to respond, I now invite him to do so in a comment following this blog post, If my suspicions were indeed correct, then Dr, Healy's international campaign concerning the widespread maltreatments of our populations by toxic psych meds would appear to be highly cynical indeed, Indeed, almost as cynical as his outrageous advocacy of ECT.
Comment on Facebook from Mary Maddock:
Thanks so much Thomas! As one who was severely damaged by both electroshock and psychotropic drugs I would like a reply from David Healy also. He is an Irish man. Twice as many women receive electroshock, often without informed consent and most of them are elderly here. All the countries who promote electroshock are the similar. How could anyone think that inducing a brain seizure could be good for the brain without any research?
Comment on Facebook from Mary Maddock:
Thanks so much Thomas! As one who was severely damaged by both electroshock and psychotropic drugs I would like a reply from David Healy also. He is an Irish man. Twice as many women receive electroshock, often without informed consent and most of them are elderly here. All the countries who promote electroshock are the similar. How could anyone think that inducing a brain seizure could be good for the brain without any research?
ABOUT THE INDOMINATABLE MARY MADDOCK
ABOUT DR. PETER BREGGIN
ABOUT PROFESSOR JOHN READ
Thanks so much Thomas! As one who was severely damaged by both electroshock and psychotropic drugs I would like a reply from David Healy also. He is an Irish man and twice as many women receive electroshock often without informed consent and most of them are elderly here. All the countries who promote electroshock are the similar. How could anyone think that inducing a brain seizure could be good for the brain without any research?
ReplyDeleteI am unsure what the fact that Dr. Healy has to do with the matter - are you suggesting cause and effect in the following sentence - "He is an Irish man and twice as many women receive electroshock often without informed consent and most of them are elderly here"?
DeleteIt is unknown why Dr Healy appears to not speak to clarify himself. Indeed the lesser of TWO EVILS, Heavy and pervasive poisoning, chemical straitjacketing, chemical lobotomization, if lobotomization is the goal, then ECT would be a preferred, less dangerous, less adverse side effects, and more effective in lobotomizing. Is lobotomiaation either Electronically, chemically, (an ijmproement in the drill, hammer and saw originally used) necessary, or useful. NO. NOT EVER.
ReplyDeleteDr. Healy has indeed spoken out, at least about ECT in his "Poison, Shock, Mutilate" blog piece. There are 81 comments posted and no matter what the research cited, Healy very stubbornly defends this lunatic QUACK "procedure" insisting it is difficult to "tease out" what caused the "memory problems" ECT victims "claim" they have. He ridiculously suggests these problems could be related to the benzos or other psych drugs the patients were ingesting! Or, even the anaesthetics they were given! Or maybe they ate a statin! Oh, and what about the fact cardiac surgery causes cognitive problems? What??! He says ECT certainly does not cause brain damage and it is a fabulous "treatment". For the 100th time he mentions some formerly "stuporose" depressed patient miraculously better, cheerfully doing crossword puzzles after ECT! He asks how ECT causes euphoria or mania when it is used to make "manic" patients "normal"! Seriously? Like he is unaware of this effect?!
ReplyDeleteIt is seriously sickening to read over his comments brushing aside the scientific research and patient testimonies. This man has zero credibility as a doctor, a scientist, and a researcher. Advocating for something causing brain injury to living breathing human beings is just beyond callous,?ignorant, disgusting, and unethical. Why is this man not shunned and condemned by his "colleagues"?? Because of his "expertise" in the area of psych drug harms?? Who said it decades ago? Breggin. He has also been fighting to slay the monster of ECT for over 50 years. Every time I read another pro-ECT comment from Healy, I want to just scream.
But look at that market! Autistic kids, demented, aggressive seniors, pregnant women, the elderly women always a major victim group. Healy and Shorter should both volunteer for a few round of the "benign" " penicillin" they call ECT. Why not? I mean, it is totally harmless, right. Sickening.
Yes Breggin was a pioneer in this field
DeleteYes Breggin was a pioneer in this field
Delete