UKsurvivors mssg 48854

--- In uksurvivors@yahoogroups.com, "bob_fid2000" wrote:


>

> Judging by the goader's recent 'pro GSK' posts, one would assume that he is desperate for the current Paxil trial to be doomed to failure. Pretty sad considering all those babies that have been born with heart defects as a result of GSK's drug.

>




http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uksurvivors/message/48854

I will start by saying what I have repeatedly said when posting on this and other lists - I have no problem with anyone taking legal action and have never spoken out against the litigation.


It would appear from this post that although concern is expressed about "babies born with heart defects" - it's only babies affected by Seroxat / Paxil that seem to matter, when you consider what has already been posted in regard the Efexor heart defect baby deaths!! Now that's pretty sad too.

So what about the babies born with birth defects who's mothers were and are still taking one of the other drugs in the class – mothers blissfully unaware of the risk they are taking? And why is that?

Is it possibly due to the extreme adverse publicity afforded to the one particular drug - Seroxat?



Little things - like the much publicised Panorama Seroxat programs - that the Shelley Jofre's Coventry University Lecture Podcast clearly states were deliberately focused on the one drug – despite the production team and herself knowing the problems with SSRIs were a drug class phenomenon – Panorama actively chose to concentrate only on Seroxat? http://coventryuniversity.podbean.com/2007/11/01/one-woman-a-multinational-and-a-victory-shelley-jofre-panorama/


The publicity procured by the Seroxat litigation Lawyers Hugh James who liaised with Shelley Jofre and Panorama throughout the production of their first Seroxat program?

The publicity purchased by Hugh James and their PR company Good Relations – further generated by a few self seeking politicians like Paul Flynn who took the SSRI issue to parliament but only named Seroxat – and persist on their blogs to still do this - despite them commenting on an article about the SSRI drug class?

The biased and lazy journalism of the media and main stream press who latched onto - because of the Panorama programs and political interest - a quick fix, already sensationalized headline and used the name Seroxat as a marketing tool - despite their articles being about problems with the drug class?

The yellow cards published by MIND for Panorama - aimed at and issued to those taking Seroxat who contacted the show - that were accepted by the MHRA - that have further distorted statistics vital to establish all drug ADR issues?

The now misrepresented Yellow Card reports that NICE and the MHRA rely on and have to work with as available data and statistics, to assess all drugs efficacy and safety?

Here's the result of this publicity

http://tuesday1st.blogspot.com/

Seroxat prescriptions have fallen from 3.7 million in 2001 to 1.6 million in 2008





whilst total prescriptions for the drug class have increased from 14 million in 2001 to 24.3 million in 2008





Exclude Seroxat from the equation and total prescription for the SSSRI, SNRI drug class have risen from 10.3 million in 2001 to a 2008 total of 22.7 million

That's thousands – no - Millions of people who have - and are being denied the right to make an informed choice about treatment with the SSRI, SNRI drug class -

and Millions including unborn babies at risk.

The more recent publicity about birth defects and article by Dr David Healy was centred on the SSRI, SNRI drug class - but Seroxat has still been the most named drug in the media.

The whole contrived and generated Seroxat withdrawal furore has been a self perpetuating roller coaster and it's the patients on ALL drugs in the class that are the victims of it.

At patient level the publicity will have raised awareness of withdrawal problems with Seroxat – this will give rise to expectation, dread, even fear of having problems when coming off it;

A self fulfilling prophecy as this will compound and exaggerate any withdrawal symptoms however slight and make them appear worse; those affected will make more complaints to docs with the accompanying question "is it Seroxat?".

Docs, to a point, are guided by the findings of NICE and the MHRA, but also by their own opinions - probably influenced by the Seroxat publicity;

This will give a false raised awareness of problems with that particular drug and possibly the sense of a need for self protection and damage limitation, because the word litigation has been brought into the equation.

This will have resulted in them listening to and taking patient complaints of ADRs with Seroxat more seriously than patient complaints about other drugs in the class, looking for further serious possible ADRs and more stringent yellow card reporting.

My concern about the possible connection with the SSRI, SNRI drug class and birth defects goes back to before 2003/4, when I spent nearly a year helping one young woman get off Seroxat and alcohol because she wanted to have a second child.

Only to have her contact me in a panic in 2006 when her marriage and she had a wobble, her GP prescribed and she had started taking fluoxetine at the end of her first trimester.

Had her GP said Prozac she would have immediately recognised the drug and known it was an SSRI, although this would have been doubtful with other lesser publicised drugs in the class.

To those not involved with the litigation - this is of special concern with regard more serious side effects and ADRs like birth defects - because the medical profession are not looking for or associating them with the other drugs in the class - neither are patients.

To those involved with the litigation – of special concern is maintaining Seroxats single drug false notoriety to protect the Group, Seroxat Litigation Order: No 68: which shows that the whole litigation is dependant on the very flimsy `Defining Issue' that Seroxat is harder to get off than any other SSRI. http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/150_14671.htm

The litigation has been framed to make Seroxat appear the worse drug in the class which is giving the false impression that the other drugs in the class are safe –

as I said I'm not against anyone taking legal action or the litigation – I am against the harm it's causing millions of other people including Seroxat victims who have – to their cost - been swapped to other drugs in the class.

Tues



http://www.seroxatusergroup.org.UK/Documents/newsletter2.doc

Extract from Seroxat Newsletter-

"BBC Panorama is planning to broadcast a follow up to the `Secrets of Seroxat' documentary in May. Many of you who contacted the programme will have been asked by the producer to fill in a special version of the Yellow Card designed for Panorama by MIND. The Yellow Card system is used by GPs to report drug safety issues to the Medicine's Control Agency. If your GP has not already filled in a Yellow Card about Seroxat, please ask them to do so. see full document here"



Tuesday1st UK: SSRI / SNRI Antidepressant Statistical Politics.

http://tuesday1st.blogspot.com