This is an advertisement on YouTube from the US for a sustained-release version of the drug that was to be used in the aborted Australian NEURAPRO-Q trial on young patients. I'd normally never encourage my readers to access advertisements of pharmaceutical drugs, and the broadcasting of such material is, I believe, banned in Australia, but I think the rather long compulsory listing of potential side effects in this ad could have the opposite effect of promoting this rather scary product. To quote one wag who left a comment on the video at YouTube "You may end up dead, but at least you won't commit suicide."
I was given the original, not extended release version off label for "depression with psychotic features"--i.e., mostly autism/synaesthesia--not long after it came out, and have the early-20s-onset diabetes and some lasting muscle problems to show for it. (And several other similar meds over a few years' time, to be fair; I got switched off it because of a movement disorder, though.) The stuff really is as frightening as the compulsory warnings suggest.
ReplyDeleteI am glad they are having to attach all the warnings now, for all the good it will probably do. :( At least people unfortunate enough to get some of the worse side effects will not be brushed off as easily, one would hope.
I've also dealt with real major depression, and am horrified that this is considered a reasonable tradeoff. Turning into an unhealthy zombie is a great improvement there. Stigma reduction, indeed. :-|
Living in the UK now, I can't say I miss the direct drug marketing at all.
Do you mean that your synaesthesia was misdiagnosed as "psychotic features"?
ReplyDeleteI'm really very sorry that those nasty side effects happened to you. I wish I could prevent others from having bad experiences and problems like the stuff that you have described.