Blog Profile / Furious Seasons
| URL : | http://www.furiousseasons.com/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Mental Health / Bipolar Disorder | |
| Posts on Regator: | 835 | |
| Posts / Week: | 3.6 | |
| Archived Since: | December 8, 2008 | |
Blog Post Archive
Oh Come On SAMHSA: Let Bob Speak
I'll have some news on my work on this site below, but let me first weigh in on something far more important. Last evening, I learned through MindFreedom that Robert Whitaker, the Polk Award-winning journalist and author of the recent...
In Fact, I Am Alive
I know it's been four months since I last posted--and I'd never planned on being away so long--but I am on my way to coming back to this site. It'll likely be next week before I am back up to...
Yes, I'm Alive And So Is I-1068
I apologize for the lack of posting here the last two weeks, but we rolled out signature petitions for I-1068--aka The Marijuana Reform Act of 2010--last week and it's been hell on wheels the last few weeks. I am the...
Some Initial Thoughts On The Draft DSM-5
As many of you know, a draft of the proposed DSM-5 is just out and it's bound to stir plenty of comment and controversy. First, I've got to congratulate the DSM-5 crafters for making the draft public and for seeking...
Rebecca Riley's Mother: Guilty Of Murder
I wouldn't know what to add to this news: "BROCKTON – A South Shore mother was found guilty today of second-degree murder in the death of her 4-year-old daughter who never woke up one night in December 2006 after ingesting...
Paxil Interferes With Breast Cancer Drug
This alarming bit of news hit yesterday: "Women who took GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil while taking tamoxifen at the same time were more likely to die of their breast cancer, the researchers found. The longer the overlap between Paxil and tamoxifen, the...
One Thing Conservatives Are Right About
I apologize for being silent for a couple of days on here, but I've been working 12 to 14 hour days--weekends included--since early January and my brain has turned to mush. Why so much work? Let's just say that over...
What's The Point Of Articles Like This?
There's an OK-ish piece in the New York Times today, penned by a psych nurse in Portland, Ore. It concerns a young woman admitted to a psych unit in that city--without name and history--and the nurse writing about her progress...
Lilly Settles Mississippi Zyprexa Claims For $18.5 Million
News is out that Eli Lilly has settled yet another lawsuit with yet another state over claims that the company illegally marketed its antipsychotic Zyprexa for unapproved uses. This time out it's $18.5 million to the State of Mississippi. That...
The Awful Way We Treat Our Elderly
The Seattle Times today has part two of a big old investigative series on adult family homes in Washington State and the paper's findings are horrifying. I won't even try to summarize them because it is all sickening and makes...
Study: SSRIs Complicate Breast Feeding
As if there hasn't been enough bad news around anti-depressants and pregnancy of late--formerly assumed to be safe, now linked to preterm births!--there is news of a new study showing that SSRIs can cause delayed lactation. I think I'll just...
DSM-5 To Dub Obesity A Mental Illness?
In a fascinating piece in the Boston Globe, which echoes one of my regular themes about weight gain problems with psych meds, Harvard psychologist Paula Caplan delivers some shocking news about the forthcoming DSM-5: "Another disturbing link could be on...
AstraZeneca Exec Was Pressed To Lie About Seroquel Weight Gain
Well, this ought to be fun for AstraZeneca to explain in court. The BBC is reporting that a former UK AZ executive was pressed by AZ marketing execs to lie about weight gain issues with Seroquel in the late-1990s. "John...
Doctor Diagnosed 2-Year-Old With Bipolar For Seeing Monsters, Ghosts
Some interesting news from this morning's session of the murder trial of Rebecca Riley's mother back in Massachusetts. The testimony is from child psychiatrist Kayoko Kifiju and concerns Rebecca's older sibling, Kaitlynne. "At the time, Kaitlynne Riley was 2 years...
Study Finds Preterm Births Linked To SSRI Use
A new study out in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology adds more fuel to the controversy around pregnancy and anti-depressants. In it, researchers report that among 3,000 pregnant women in Washington State those who took an SSRI anti-depressants...
I'm OK, Just Overwhelmed
Thanks for all the kind queries about my situation. I'm fine. I've simply been overwhelmed with work--volunteer basis, mind you--ever since co-authoring the marijuana law reform initiative for Washington State on January 11. My days have been 12 to 14...
Unfortunate Press Release Headline Of The Year
It's still early in the new year but I'm betting none of the headlines in the many press releases I get around here will be able to top this one from GlobalData, a British company: "The Brain Tumor Market is...
Is Health Care Reform Dead?
That's the big question out there today after the stunning victory of GOP Senate candidate Scott Brown in Massachusetts yesterday, which cost Senate Democrats their 60 vote edge in the upper house. Brown has indicated he'd vote against the health...
Judi Chamberlin, 1944-2010
It's my sad duty to inform you all that psychiatry survivor and grandmother of the Mad Pride movement Judi Chamberlin died on Saturday after a long illness. Chamberlin was 65. I gather that NPR's "Morning Edition" will be doing a...
Lindsay Needs To Go Outdoors
For readers who've been following the saga of Lindsay Newman, her mother reports on her blog that staff at Western State Hospital near Tacoma, Wash. have still not allowed Lindsay to go outside. That means Lindsay has not tasted fresh...