NEW PAXIL BOOK NOW ON SALE

My new book, 'The Evidence, However, Is Clear...The Seroxat Scandal' is now available as a paperback directly from the Chipmunka Publishing website. Copies can be ordered HERE

Price of the book is £10 - Postage from Chipmunka will be £2

The book will be available on Amazon in due course, unsure what the postage will be on Amazon.

Those who have expressed wishes to have the book signed can purchase directly from this blog. Please email me for details at fiddaman64@blueyonder.co.uk

If ordering direct from this blog, the postage to UK will be approx £2. For those overseas, I'll update on postage prices soon.

The Foreword is by Dr Jon Jureidini, child psychiatrist and clinical Professor, Discipline of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, South Australia.

I owe Jon a great debt as it was he who set up the whole editing process [from Kindle version to paperback]

Here's his foreword.

Bob Fiddaman’s account of his interaction with the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) over the antidepressant Seroxat (and of his blogging of that interaction) is comic and tragic in equal measures.

Charles Medawar, whose Antidepressant Web was godparent to Fiddaman’s blog, spoke of a ‘conspiracy of goodwill’ arising out of the wish of all parties (doctors, funders, manufacturers and users) that antidepressants be safe and effective. Fiddaman shows us that there is also ‘bad will’ in this case, identifying cynical and exploitative behaviour by those who we should be able to trust.

Around half of serious adverse affects of drugs are not identified until the medication has been used for a considerable time. This delay is understandable because research to bring a drug onto the market only involves hundreds or thousands of patients, whereas a successfully marketed drug will be taken by millions. Therefore rarer adverse effects sometimes do not become apparent for several years after a medication becomes widely available. By this time many may have been adversely affected by the drug without they or their doctors recognising that it is harmful. And when a drug is very widely prescribed (millions were taking Seroxat), every delay of a day in discovering harms means that thousands more people will suffer. Therefore pharmacovigilance (the detection and analysis of adverse effects of medications once they come into widespread use) has to be central to drug development and research if we are to reduce harm from medication.

But in spite of the fact that pharmaceutical companies have an obligation to monitor adverse effects of their drugs, they invest only a trivial sum in pharmacovigilance. Their priority is the much more profitable enterprise of developing and especially marketing new drugs, where they make huge investment. This imbalance is understandable (though not acceptable) in the light of their need to turn a profit, and reflects the lack of any significant disciplining of their activities by regulatory bodies.

One person’s reported experience with a drug proves little but Fiddaman shows us what we can learn when we collect together the experience of many users. Patients’ collective experiences with their drugs constitute a gold mine of information for the health system and pharmaceutical industry, but we doctors and scientist make barely any effort to collect the data and make sense of it. It is left to small heroes like Bob Fiddaman to irritate the system. A more rigorous and informative examination of patients’ experiences with drugs could prevent countless crippling adverse events. If we do ever achieve a truly effective system of pharmacovigilance, then Bob Fiddaman’s blog will have played an important part in this outcome.



Fid

**EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: LAWYERS DISCUSS THE RECENT GLAXO V KILKER CASE

This is pretty riveting stuff - I only wish they could do this on national TV with an audience and I do hope that one day GlaxoSmithKline actually go the distance with an appeal and lose... instead of settling the case.

There are an awful amount of Internal documents from the Kilker case that have been sealed, they will remain sealed if Glaxo settle the appeal - which, they probably will.

Personally, I think this is appalling behaviour by GlaxoSmithKline. Lyam Kilker was born with heart defects [3 different heart defects as it happens] - A jury found GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil [Seroxat] to be the causation of his heart defects. Glaxo appeal the decision - yet settle other 'birth defect cases'. Meantime, the family of Lyam Kilker are plunged into another long wait which, I think, will result in an out of court settlement some time down the line.

It's one thing to manufacture a drug that harms a child, but to then punish the family and child because they won at trial is pretty despicable even by GlaxoSmithKline's standards.

Everyone, even GSK, have a right to appeal but we all know what the outcome of this tragic case is going to be - Glaxo will settle, they cannot afford for the sealed documents to be made public property.

My heart goes out to Lyam Kilker and his loving family. All his mother is guilty of is taken Paxil for what can only be deemed as mild depression. She never knew the damage it could cause her fetus because GlaxoSmithKline never told her... more importantly, they never told her doctor.

The case of Lyam Kilker was a 'test' case - basically Glaxo dipping their toes in the water to see how hot it is. It appears their toes were scolded.

Expect settlements with the other 630 birth defect cases they dispute.

Did they know of the dangers of pregnant women taking Paxil?

Watch the video.

The first 30 seconds is audio only, while the team prepare to go on air. The video is uncut and exclusive to Seroxat Sufferers blog.




Special thanks to the production team at Law Journal TV for passing this on to me and granting me permission to use on Seroxat Sufferers.

After watching the video, take a look at the files that have been made public from the recent Kilker v GSK trial, including a testimony from Ex-GSK executive Jane Nieman which was pretty damning for GlaxoSmithKline.

**Footnote

The MHRA have access to the documents. They refuse to act on them. A strong message of support for GlaxoSmithKline it would appear.

Fid

SEROXAT SUFFERERS STAND UP AND BE COUNTED
Beware of Obsessive freaks posting as me


Original Image: whitman-ma.gov



"This petition is to bring criminal charges against GlaxoSmithKline. The medication they made has caused numerous deaths not to mention birth defects. Many babies have died or been born with horrible birth defects caused by the use of Paxil [Seroxat]. Information that Paxil caused birth defects was hidden therefore taking the right to make an informed decision was taken away from Mothers. GlaxoSmithKline needs to be held criminally accountable for their misinformation and blantant lies. It is for all these babies to have justice."

SIGN THE PETITION HERE

JULY 2009 SSRI WITHDRAWAL GUIDE BY DAVID HEALY

**EXCLUSIVE - KILKER v GLAXOSMITHKLINE COURT DOCUMENTS

TO ACCESS FILES VISIT SEROXAT SUFFERERS BLOG HERE

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Fid

SEROXAT SUFFERERS STAND UP AND BE COUNTED
Beware of Obsessive freaks posting as me.

Vancouver - David Barton Sullivan - Prozac & Risperdal

Summary:

Paragraphs 8 through 12 read: "Shortly after Sullivan was taken into custody near the Andresen Road restaurant, he was interviewed by Detective Jane Scott of the Vancouver police. Sullivan said he was taking Prozac, an antidepressant, and Risperdal, an antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia and other disorders, according to Scott's search warrant affidavit."

Source: SSRI STORIES

Saturday, April 29, 2006

VANCOUVER -- A Vancouver man accused in last week's stabbing death of a 17-year-old McDonald's worker will be sent to Western State Hospital for a mental evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.

David Barton Sullivan, 28, was scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Clark County Superior Court on a charge of first-degree murder, but he did not enter a plea. Instead, Tom Ladouceur, Sullivan's attorney, asked that his client be sent to the state hospital near Tacoma for an evaluation to determine whether he understands the nature of the proceedings and can assist in his defense.

Deputy Prosecutor John Fairgrieve agreed and asked Judge John F. Nichols to set bail for Sullivan at $1 million, which Nichols did.

Sullivan is accused in the April 20 death of Anna Svidersky, who was sitting at a table in the Vancouver McDonald's on her break when she was stabbed in the chest and arm with a kitchen knife just after 8 p.m. She was taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, where she died an hour later.

If convicted, Sullivan could face 25 to 32 years in prison.

Sullivan is a Level II sex offender with a history of mental illness.

Outside the courtroom, Fairgrieve said Sullivan will be held in the Clark County Jail until the state hospital has space to take him for a 15-day evaluation. He then will return to Clark County for a competency hearing.

If Nichols finds Sullivan competent, the case will proceed to trial, Fairgrieve said. If the judge finds he is not competent, he could be returned to the state hospital for a 90-day period to try to restore competency. Sullivan can be sent to Western State for a second 90-day period if needed.

Shortly after Sullivan was taken into custody near the Andresen Road restaurant, he was interviewed by Detective Jane Scott of the Vancouver police. Sullivan said he was taking Prozac, an antidepressant, and Risperdal, an antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia and other disorders, according to Scott's search warrant affidavit.

Sullivan acknowledged he went to the restaurant and said he had "stabbed somebody" there with a butcher knife that was "deadly, deadly," according to the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, Sullivan "gave no indication of how this female victim was selected, but (said) she was 'just sitting there, minding her own business.' "

The document also included witnesses' accounts of the attack.

One co-worker told police that he saw a man wearing a heavy winter coat approach Anna from the back of the dining area with his right hand drawn up inside the sleeve, the affidavit said. He saw the man extend his right hand, expose the knife and stab Anna in the left side of the chest, it said.

Anna jumped up and yelled, then "managed to jump over a condiment counter in an attempt to get away from the suspect," the worker told police. "The suspect attempted to stab her again," he said, but when Anna fell to the floor, the man walked out the door, the affidavit said.

Meanwhile, a communitywide effort Thursday -- based at the Andresen Road McDonald's and including matches from area McDonald's and the company's Illinois headquarters -- raised nearly $90,000 for Anna's mother, Esther; younger brother, Peter; and two younger sisters, Christina and Elizabeth. Clark County McDonald's will continue to offer donation canisters for about a month.

The case of Shawn William Martinot

Summary:

Paragraph 4 reads: "Tests later found traces of an anti-depressant in his bloodstream."

Source: SSRI STORIES

Inquest into La Ronge man's death goes to jury

A coroner's jury will deliberate on the case of La Ronge man who died in a hail of bullets after smashing vending machines and confronting police with a gun.

Shawn Martinot died with 16 gunshot wounds in August 2004 after his fatal encounter with the police.

Over the past week, the inquest into his death heard the 38-year-old lived and worked at the Northland Hotel in La Ronge and, according to witnesses, had been drinking the day before the incident.

Tests later found traces of an anti-depressant in his bloodstream.

A co-worker testified she became scared when Martinot began smashing vending machines with a sledgehammer. He had a rifle next to him at his table as well.

Police came to the hotel and a 17-hour standoff began. The RCMP used a robot to fire tear gas at Martinot, but he shot and disabled the device. Martinot eventually came into the hallway where police were waiting. He had a gun in his hands and police shot him. He died.

The six-person jury is expected to make recommendations to prevent similar deaths.

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OUTCOME

JUNE 8, 2006

Negotiating teams -- whose job is to bring order and calm out of the chaos of a standoff between police and armed suspects -- should consider asking the suspect's family for help, a coroner's jury recommended Tuesday.

During the 17-hour standoff between RCMP officers and Shawn William Martinot at the Northland Motor Hotel in La Ronge on Aug. 29 and 30, 2004, that didn't happen.

When it was over, Martinot's body was riddled with 16 gunshot wounds.

Over the course of a six-day inquest which began last week, a fi ve-member jury of men and women from La Ronge and Air Ronge were told that the 38-year-old, who lived and worked at the hotel, was drinking heavily over the previous weekend and had traces of an antidepressant in his system.

At some point during the morning of Aug. 29, Martinot used a sledgehammer to smash up a vending machine in the hotel.

He had a rifle next to him at his table in the hotel lounge, a staff member told the inquest.

Police were called, and while they were on their way, Martinot went to his room.

Knowing he was armed, police evacuated the rest of the hotel and a neighbouring apartment building. As the day wore on, the RCMP emergency response team was flown to the northern town from Regina.

Martinot refused to give himself up.

The team eventually sent in a robot armed with tear gas. Martinot shot the robot and disabled it, but not before the gadget had delivered its eye-burning payload.

Flushed from his room by the gas, Martinot was still carrying a gun when he walked into the hallway toward the offi cers. He refused to put it down, so they opened fi re.

He died at 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 30.

According to an acquaintance in La Ronge who spoke to the StarPhoenix soon after the shooting, Martinot moved there from Flin Flon, Man., about two years before he died, at the urging of a friend who worked at another nearby hotel.

"I think if they would have let someone in there who really knew him, to talk to him, they might have been able to talk him out," the man said.

"But they wouldn't let anyone in there because he had a rifl e." Martinot's mother, Gladys Martinot, told the inquest that if anyone had called her at home in Flin Flon during the standoff, she would have come to the scene and tried to make her son see reason.

A coroner's inquest is held to determine the time, place and manner of a death, and to make recommendations for ways to avoid a similar incident in the future. It is not responsible for assessing criminal or civil responsibility.

The jury's six recommendations included: adding at least one "non-police professional negotiator trained in police procedures, critical incidents and intelligence gathering" to negotiating teams; that one person on the team be responsible for communications and intelligence-gathering; the inclusion of third parties such as family members or health professionals; a review of RCMP procedure to include briefi ng of all members arriving on the scene so that information is consistent; and reviews of existing support equipment, such as robots and static shields.

The recommendations are not legally binding on the RCMP.