From my Correspondence about Psychiatric Medications, January 2013

                                                                         

                                                 

                                                                  JANUARY 2013

Ist. January 2013:          MANY GPs PREFER HERBAL REMEDIES TO PROZAC A survey by Schwabe Pharma has discovered that more than one in four GPs would prefer to prescribe herbal remedies such a St. John's Wort or Rhodiola for depression, rather than Prozac. One of the most commonly used anti-depressants, Prozac was prescribed 3.9 million times during 2012.   According to other experts, St. John's Wort is significantly more effective as a placebo and equally effective as powerful anti-depressant drugs in the short-term treatment of low mood. However, Prozac and other anti-depressants can cause serious physical side effects, while St. John's Wort is very well tolerated, with most patients seeing fast results with very few side effects and fewer withdrawal symptoms.   A survey of 2000 people by the makers of KarmaMood, a herbal remedy, suggested that 80% of herbal remedy users felt the mood-boosting benefits after two weeks, while 99% of anti-depressant users had side effects with loss of libido cited as the most common.This item is mainly based on an article in The Times (31st. Dec. 2012). As I reported earlier, Prozac can cause personality disintegration and suicidal tendencies. Most strong anti-depressants can cause atypical psychotic episodes [this could cause the patient to injure himself] and impotence. An Edinburgh GP (Dr.'Zhivago') advised me that they are prescribed much too routinely, frequently for longer periods than might be thought to be medically appropriate.

2nd January 2012: THE 2005 PAPER BY J.A. LIEBERMAN ET AL ON THE DANGERS OF ANTI-PSYCHOTIC MEDICATIONS As discovered for us early last year by the insightful Edinburgh schizophrenic outpatient 'Guido' (who since seems to have since been silenced by the powers that be) this paper, which has been cited over 2500, times undermines the credibility of most of the psychiatric profession by showing that their main well-hyped anti-psychotic medications (that are still massively in use!) have a propensity of around 70% for causing intolerable short to medium term physical side effects.   The title of this since highly regarded seminal paper is 'Effectiveness of Anti-Psychotic Drugs with Chronic Schizophrenia'. A pdf file of the entire paper may be obtained by googling 'lieberman new england journal of medicine 2005'. Happy Reading!

3rd January 2013:   MY MEETING TODAY WITH 'CICERO' (See also my earlier report of 16th November 2012 and my previous items about QUETIAPINE) My friend 'Cicero' is a pleasant and highly successful professional gentleman. He is delighted that his autistic son 'Marcellus' is now receiving excellent holistic treatment on the NHS. He is however dismayed that Marcellus is still suffering from physical side effects from the risperodine and olanzipine which were forcibly administered to him in a special unit of the Royal Ed when he was misdiagnosed as bipolar, and fears that he may never fully recover from the side effects.   Cicero confirmed with me that patients who are 'jagged' are sometimes violently thrown to the ground and roughly injected in a cruel and demeaning manner, but he did not say in which institution this occurred.   Cicero said that he, like me, has described many psychiatric treatments as 'criminal assaults' rather than just as substandard treatments. He agrees that the psychiatrists responsible should be prosecuted for their crimes. Cicero once met with Lothian and Borders Police to press his son's case, but they apparently didn't want to know. Shame on you, Lothian rozzers! Why don't you prosecute the really dangerous criminals?   Cicero agreed with me that extremely ruthless consultant psychiatrists like Dr. 'Yes' probably do exist. He however cautioned me not to give any clue regarding the identity of Dr. 'Yes' or his whereabouts. I'm no fool, Cicero! I wouldn't want to be jagged to pieces in my old age in a sleepy hollow in the Cotswolds, or wherever. READERS SHOULD DRAW ABSOLUTELY NO INFERENCE FROM MY ACCOUNTS REGARDING DR YES'S TRUE IDENTITY OR WHERE HE WORKS   Cicero recalled that a case had been reported to him about a lady from overseas who couldn't speak English had been locked up in Edinburgh and jagged for a year largely because her psychiatrist couldn't understand anything she said.   Cicero said that he had met with the Scottish Secretary for Health and Wellbeing (Alex Neal) and the Scottish Minister for Public Health (Michael Matheson) to discuss these issues as they relate to misdiagnosed autistic people. Cicero and I discussed whether mental health campaigners (e.g. also Chrys Muirhead) should continue to 'plough their own furrow' or whether we should try to band together in some way. Unfortunately the objectives and personal motives of different campaigners are quite diverse.(This report is open to correction and amendment should I hear further from Cicero.)

3rd January 2013:  MORE ABOUT QUETIAPINEThe side effects of quetiapine (Seroquel) include rapid weight gain, diabetes, hyperglycemia, knocking patients out, pancreatitis, sudden death (e.g. during sleep), severe constipation, extreme somnulence, internal bleeding, severely aching limbs, involuntary movements, delirious episodes, tardive dyskinesia, and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. While the long term side effects can be quite nasty, they do not appear to have been properly investigated. Long term side effects include multiple attacks of pancreatitis, remove of pancreas, low blood platenets, spleen troubles, increased risk of cancer, irreversible thrombocytopenia, stiff rigid and jerky movements, heart failure, pneumonia, suicidal tendencies, and severe neurological disorders. Some further short to medium term effects are fainting, seizures, changes in vision, prolonged painful erections, fast or irregular heartbeat, unusual bleeding or bruising. QUETIAPINE IS CERTAINLY A DRUG TO BE RECKONED WITH ! [On 15th January 2013, I discussed these issues further with 'Vespasian' (see my report dated Christmas Eve 2012). He now says that he is suffering from severely aching arms and internal bleeding, while trying to slowly wean himself from his Quetiapine over a period of years. Given his experiences in Wards 17 and 1 of St. John's Hospital, Livingston, and elsewhere, he believes that all schizophrenic patients suffer from severe physical side effects, He thinks that the less intelligent patients deserve everything they get and that he is receiving the best treatment possible. After berating me for my opinions, he bought me a Drambuie, and debated the philosophies of the role of humankind in the natural process with me into the night.]