August 24 DC Protest Against the FDA- What's Everybody Mad About?

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By Evelyn Pringle (about the author) Page 3 of 9 page(s)

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Several days before his death Jo Ann noticed increased agitation and a dryness of skin. She feared he was not metabolizing the drug and scheduled a doctor's appointment which ended up being two days too late.

Another mother, Lisa Van Syckel, described how her daughter, Michelle, was given Paxil for a diagnosis of depression and anorexia nervosa when she actually had Lyme Disease.

While on the drug, her mother watched as Michelle self-mutilated, became psychotic, violent, and attempted suicide twice.

When she quit taking the drug she suffered severe withdrawal and was constantly ill with flu-like symptoms, vomited blood, and had rectal bleeding. On top of all that, her friends at school called her "Psycho."

Lisa maintains she was not able to make an informed consent decision on behalf of Michelle because the drug maker withheld information on Paxil's adverse effects.

Another father, Tom Woodward, described how his oldest child, Julie, hung herself while on Zoloft, when she had no history of self-harm and there was no depression or suicide in their family history.

The doctors said Zoloft was safe. "The possibility of violence, self-harm, or suicidal acts was never raised. The two and a half pages we received with the Zoloft never mentioned self-harm or suicide," Tom said.

Julie had been excited about college and had scored high on her SATs a few weeks before her death. However, "instead of picking out colleges with our daughter, my wife and I had to pick out a cemetery plot for her," Tom said, "instead of looking forward to visiting Julie at school, we now visit her grave."

He is very angry. "It is clear that the FDA is a political entity and its leadership has protected the economic interests of the drug industry," he said, "Under the Bush administration, the FDA has placed the interests of the drug industry over protecting the American public."

He points out the fact that 86% of the millions of dollars in campaign contributions by drug companies went to the Bush administration and Republican candidates. He wants to know, "what did Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and GlaxoSmithKline Beecham buy?"

According to Tom, top officials in leadership positions have strong ties to the industry. For instance, "FDA's chief counsel Daniel Troy has spent his career defending the drug industry," he said, "If a study does not favor a drug, the public never hears about it."

Mark Miller and his wife Cheryl lost their 13-year-old son, Matt, after a psychiatrist gave him Zoloft. They were told that Matt had a chemical imbalance that could be helped by a new, wonderful drug called Zoloft. "It was safe, effective, only two minor side effects were cautioned with us - insomnia, indigestion," they said.

While on the drug, Matt became agitated, could not sleep, eat or sit still. The night before they were to leave on a family vacation, Matt hung himself from a bedroom closet hook, barely higher than he was tall.

"To commit this unthinkable act," Tom said, "something he had never attempted before, never threatened to, never talked about, he was able to pull his legs up off the floor and hold himself that way until he lost consciousness."

Mark and Cheryle have since learned that Matt's doctor has been "a well-paid spokesman for Pfizer," maker of Zoloft.

Young Corey Baadsgaard was diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder, and was prescribed Paxil by his family doctor.

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