One of the apparent contradictions inherent in medicine: Just when you think you’ve discovered something new and helpful, research comes out to suggest that it may be counterproductive.
Invega has now come out with a different formulation: the sustained release. Apparently, this is the first atypical to be approved for the once-monthly injection formulation, though there are other neuroleptics used in this fashion. Personally, I’d love a once-monthly instead of the everyday pill. Bring it, yo evildoers at AstraZeneca! I’m ready for my Seroquel shot!
Or maybe not. A new Lancet study says older antipsychotics, like clozapine, are safer over the long term than Seroquel, Zyprexa and Risperdal. From the L.A. Times health blog:
Researchers in Finland, where clozapine is still widely prescribed for schizophrenia patients, found that users of the drug were less likely to die than those who took any one of three other second-generation (also called “atypical”) antipsychotics — Seroquel, Risperdal and Zyprexa — or those who took the first generation schizophrenia medication pherphenazine (once marketed as Trilafon).
…
Sufferers of schizophrenia have long been known to die earlier than the general population, markedly more often by suicide and by complications of diabetes. They are far more likely to engage in behaviors that lead to earlier death as well, including tobacco use, substance abuse and sedentary lifestyles. The Lancet article found that a schizophrenia patient who took any of the studied medications for seven to 11 years was less likely to die prematurely. And the longer she took it, the less likely she was to die an early death.
American physicians have largely abandoned Clozaril, which has been on the U.S. market since 1989, in favor of Zyprexa, Seroquel, Risperdal and Abilify — all newer drugs that have been aggressively marketed to doctors and patients as safer and more effective than the first-generation of antipsychotic drugs, including pherphenazine and haliperidol (better known by its commercial name, Haldol).
Meanwhile, the numbers of people being prescribed these powerful psychiatric drugs have skyrocketed. In 2008, 50 million prescriptions for antipsychotic drugs — overwhelmingly the newer ones — were filled.
liz | 10:07 AM |
BIG PHARMA, SCHIZOPHRENIA
I don’t know what’s going on, but suddenly the site is getting a lot of comments on the Psycho Donuts dust-up. To fill you in, there’s a donut shop in California called Psycho Donuts that uses mental illness as its theme to sell donuts. Here’s how the store’s website describes the theme:
Psycho Donuts has taken donuts to the next demented level. We bid a fond farewell to the tired, round ring of lameness, and the drab, time-weathered environment of donut past. Psycho Donuts has taken the neighborhood donut and put it on medication, and given it shock treatment.
Psycho Donuts are very unique and, well, crazy. Our name comes with a commitment to not only be the craziest/fun donut experience you’ll ever have, but one of the most unique places in the South Bay (see blog).
Try our signature Smores Donut; or for something different, how about a Green Tea Donut? Even if you’re not certifiably insane yourself, you’ll still find a handful of donuts from the past.
As a donut lover, this is an issue close to my heart. I mean, a Green Tea Donut? Is that even legal? I’ll stick with Boston Kreme, thank you, and yes, I’ll spell it that way until I die.
But the “Nutcase” display case and the padded cell in the store don’t sit well with many mental health advocates, who fear the store is stigmatizing, especially the folks at NAMI’s StigmaNet. Yet to tell you the truth, the more I think about it, the less I care. Wait — don’t hate me. It’s just that there are so many other things that are more important, I think, and the fact that this, of all issues — a single store in a single town — is generating so much controversy, seems kind of limited to me.
For instance, I got some other mental-health-related news from some people via email while I was on vacation, and without blogging about it further, I’ll just give you the broad strokes (no attribution because I’m not sure if my tipsters want it):
Also in California, L.A.’s homeless lose out in settlement
Recent news quote: “The secretary of defense is required to have a plan in place by September 2013 to increase military and civilian mental health personnel available to our troops and their families.”
Antidepressant use doubles in US, study finds
N.J. psychiatric hospitals to release 300 patients under lawsuit settlement
Suicides rising in US military
American Medical Association study: Adults near WTC disaster still being diagnosed with asthma, PTSD
I could go on and on. Every day I see headlines I worry about, and get emails from people who are suffering right now. Those people don’t give a shit if there’s a “bipolar” donut (pictured). They just want to know: Is there anything that’s going to ever make me feel better? Can I survive this? Why can’t I get out of bed? Can you help me? Can anyone help?
Personal urgency and large-scale issues slap me in the face in a way this donuts thing just doesn’t. Yet the comments keep coming. I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong.
liz | 1:55 PM |
Funny or Offensive?, media, stigma
My dog Hannah really wanted a bite of something to eat the other night, but she didn’t want to be too obvious about it.
liz | 1:44 PM |
cute fix
I think I’m allowed, kinda. One of my oldest, bestest friends, Josh Neufeld, has a book out, and it’s a winner. It’s called A.D., and it follows the seven real-life stories of people enduring Hurricane Katrina. As it’s not related to mental health, I’ll quickly post a link here to the original web comic, published by Smith magazine. But I will say this: Josh and I caused each other no end of emotional stress in college, so you could make an argument for relevance. Also, he’s the one who got me hooked on comics, which have been one of the chief joys and antidepressants in my life.
liz | 12:19 PM |
media, random
From ComputerWorld.com:
The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England is warning that Facebook, texting and e-mails are destroying relationships and may even lead teens to commit suicide.
Archbishop Vincent Nichols, head of the Westminster diocese and spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, voiced his concerns about e-mail and social networks in an interview with England’s The Sunday Telegraph.
…
Nichols also said online social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace, are eroding children’s and teenagers’ real-life social networks.
“Facebook and MySpace might contribute towards communities, but I’m wary about it. It’s not rounded communication so it won’t build a rounded community,” he added in the interview. “If we mean by community a genuine growing together and a mutual sharing in an interest that is of some significance then it needs more than Facebook.”
These weakened relationships, the archbishop said, can lead to suicide.
“Among young people often a key factor in them committing suicide is the trauma of transient relationships,” Nichols said. “It’s an all or nothing syndrome that you have to have in an attempt to shore up an identity; a collection of friends about whom you can talk and even boast. But friendship is not a commodity, friendship is something that is hard work and enduring when it’s right.”
Archbishop: Facebook can lead to teen suicide
Facebook and MySpace can lead children to commit suicide, warns Archbishop Nichols
liz | 2:35 PM |
suicide
Mayor Nutter has invoked the dreaded Plan C to scare the shit out of Philadelphians for absolutely no reason. That’s my take, anyway. What are the chances that the following will actually happen:
Shrinking municipal workforce by 13 percent, or 3,000 jobs, including:
* 1,000 positions in the Police Department, which has 6,600 officers, and 200 positions in the Fire Department, which has 2,200 firefighters.
Also:
* The closing of all city recreation centers and two city health centers.
* A shutdown of all branch and regional libraries.
* The deactivation of six fire engine companies, three ladder companies, and five medic units.
* A reduction in citywide trash pickup from weekly to twice a month.
* An end to operations at Fairmount Park and the elimination of the City Planning Commission and Commerce Department.
I’m calling bullshit on Plan C. I think this is Nutter’s way of riling people up so Harrisburg will have to do something to break the budget impasse. I really hope I’m right.
Nutter’s Plan C could cost Phila. 3,000 jobs
liz | 11:57 AM |
philadelphia
From Klosterman’s novel, Downtown Owl, comes this hilarious passage from the point of view of a 16-year-old male. It’s remarkably similar to my thoughts every morning of my life:
“Why do we get out of bed?” Mitch wondered. “Is there any feeling better than being in bed? What could possibly feel better than this? What is going to happen in the course of my day that will be an improvement over lying on something very soft, underneath something very warm, wearing only underwear, doing absolutely nothing, all by myself?” Every day, Mitch awoke to this line of reasoning: Every day, the first move he made outside his sheets immediately destroyed the only flawless part of his existence.
liz | 9:27 AM |
random
liz | 4:31 PM |
Uncategorized
Thanks to Tony W. for sending a link to a NY Daily News article about Scott McCann, who placed a fake bomb at LaGuardia. He’s now at Bellevue for observation, and his mother is upset, to say the least:
The distraught mother of would-be LaGuardia bomber Scott McGann defended her mentally ill son Sunday night.
“He’s not a kook,” Margie Jones told the Daily News, barely able to speak through her tears.
She said her 32-year-old son suffers from catatonic schizophrenia – a form of the disease that leaves victims in a psychotic state where they’re unable to speak, respond or even move.
“I love my son,” said Jones, a school psychologist who lives three hours north of San Francisco in Willits, a town of 5,000.
The heartsick mother had planned to see McGann this past weekend after buying him a ticket to fly to California some time before Saturday’s airport scare.
The question of his mental illness and diagnosis is likely to be pursued intently if there’s a criminal trial, and catatonic schizophrenia seems, on the surface, an odd explanation for this particular event. More about McGann from the article:
A computer programmer and artist, McGann was described by friends as a kind and pensive person who peddled his handmade goods in Union Square.
“He was a friendly guy who worked a lot with skateboarders,” said William Saar, 50, who sells used books in Union Square.
“He didn’t seem like the type of guy to do something like this,” Saar said.
…
Christopher Gause, 20, another artist who sells in Union Square, said McGann made sculptures out of scrap metal.
“There was some spirituality he found in his art,” Gause said. “He was very calm, very friendly, and smiled.”
Sounds like such a nice guy. I wish the diagnosis hadn’t been disclosed so early on — or maybe I just wish it weren’t true. While to “normal” citizens, the diagnosis seemingly explains bizarre behavior, to those who deal with mental health issues — especially those with schizophrenia — it merely exacerbates the perception that we’re all dangerous and could “snap” at any moment.
LaGuardia fake bomber Scott McGann’s mom says he’s sick and needs help, not crazy
For a more humorous look at the situation, you must check out New York Magazine’s take on how Scott McGann could be your boyfriend.
[Photo copyright NY Daily News]
liz | 10:21 AM |
SCHIZOPHRENIA, violence
This blog will be on vacation from Monday, July 27, through Wednesday, July 29. Please come back and see us on Thursday, when our well-restedness will no doubt yield great insight on the subject of mental health.
Love,
Liz
liz | 8:38 AM |
alternative treatments
