Posted by SLS on May 31, 2009, at 18:15:50
In reply to Re: Are the drugs that we're taking killing us?, posted by Andy Behrman on May 31, 2009, at 2:48:17
> Apparently, you didn't read the article on the link. Maybe you should read it again.
>
> Or, as Sonia Choi, the spokesman for BMS was quoted as saying, "I wasn't aware that akathasia was a side effect of Abilify."
>
> The more important point is that it's a horrible side effect, extremely common and doctors are turning their backs on the problem and continuing to prescribe it. Sure, it's there. In fine print. But when a large percentage of consumers suffer from the side effect, don't you think it's time to think about the safety of Abilify?Gosh. Many other neuroleptics produce akathisia, some worse than Abilify. Why single out this one drug? You said that Abilify treated you the worst of the 38 drugs you have tried. It sounds personal to me. It sounds like vengeance. You certainly have the privilege to express yourself. I disagree with you passionately, but I am happy that you have remained civil, despite having few advocates at the moment.
I don't know what the rate of coma and fatality is with Abilify. Do you? Isn't that the crux of the matter? To say that even one is too many is a rhetorical argument, and neglects the true value of a drug to society. Rare idiosyncratic reactions can occur with a great many important drugs. A couple of people taking prednisone have died of congestive heart failure. Of course, they had the biological vulnerability to have such a thing happen to them. A warning is contained in the drug monograph. Should we take this drug off the market?
What is the rate of coma and death as the result of taking Abilify?
If you cannot produce an answer to this question, then I imagine we have come to a good place to suspend this discussion as it relates to coma and fatalities. Otherwise, all of the other complaints you have about Abilify are already well recognized here on Psycho-Babble as potential side effects that we have seen emerge in real life. They range from being minor nuissances to being uncomfortable to being intolerable - just as with other psychotropics that give people back their lives. Your particular reaction to Abilify had more to do with your unique biological constitution than it did with some universal effect of the drug. The things that happened to you don't happen to me. Don't think for one minute that I am going to passively allow you to take this drug out of my mouth just because you didn't like the way it affected you individually.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:898245
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090531/msgs/898652.html