Tag Archives: addiction

According to Psychiatry…Everybody must be addicted

Seems like such a win-win change to the DSM. The Drug Czar wins because with all these new people “needing treatment” it justifies his emphasis on treatment. The drug companies win because they get to drug people up on drugs for which they get paid. The treatment industry wins because they get a ton of new people “needing treatment” that aren’t difficult cases, and with health care covering much of it, they can just rake in the dough without really having to do anything.

As far as I can tell, the only ones who lose are, well, the people.

Popping Ritalin Won’t Improve Grades, Warns Medical Journal—Its a Myth

Universities and colleges must crack down on illicit use of Ritalin and other stimulants, which are not the grade boosters many assume, an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal urges

“Students who think simply popping a pill will improve their grades or give them new-found academic abilities are sorely mistaken,” says the editorial released online on Tuesday.

Students use stimulants like Ritalin and Adderall because they are perceived to boost to academic performance through enhanced attention and alertness. But these supposed benefits are not reality based, but are part of a “pervasive myth,” the CMAJ charges.

The Problem With Rehab: Medicalizing Drug Addiction

The clients are receiving expensive inpatient care for services and treatment that could easily be managed in cheaper and less-acute-care outpatient settings, like intensive outpatient or partial hospital programs. And, most importantly, the clients are continuing to rely heavily on pills to combat their anxieties, mood changes and addiction.

Problem? Relying on pills got them to rehab in the first place. So what’s the point of attending and paying for — or charging a commercial insurance carrier, Medicare or Medicaid, or any other third-party payer — for an expensive retreat that leaves you in virtually the same mental place, or worse, than you started? Not that much.

Doctor: Paxil “Especially Notorious” for Causing Withdrawal

Dr. Charles Raison, an associate professor at Emory University, wrote in response to a reader’s question on CNN that about 20 percent of patients experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking antidepressants. Paxil is “especially notorious for causing withdrawal problems” because of its short half-life in the body. Paxil is also associated with a number of side effects for those currently taking the medication, including birth defects and depression.

Glaxo To Pay $1Billion To Settle Paxil Birth Defect Cases

In an effort to get its arms around massive litigation, GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to settle yet another wad of product-liability lawsuits involving one of its popular meds. The latest deal involves an agreement to pay more than $1 billion to settle some 800 cases alleging its Paxil antidepressant caused birth defects in children borne to women who took the drug, Bloomberg News writes.