The Side Effect

As the mental health reporter for the Boston Globe, Alison Bass's front-page reporting on conflicts of interest in medical research stunned readers, and her series on sexual misconduct among psychiatrists earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination. Now she turns her investigative skills to a controversial case that exposed the increased suicide rates among adolescents taking antidepressants such as Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft. Side Effects tells the tale of a gutsy assistant attorney general who, along with an unlikely whistle-blower at an Ivy League university, uncovered evidence of deception behind one of the most successful drug campaigns in history. Paxil was the world's bestselling antidepressant in 2002. Pediatric prescriptions soared, even though there was no proof that the drug performed any better than sugar pills in treating children and adolescents, and the real risks the drugs posed were withheld from the public. The New York State Attorney General's office brought an unprecedented lawsuit against giant manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Paxil, for consumer fraud. The successful suit launched a tidal wave of protest that changed the way drugs are tested, sold, and marketed in this country. With meticulous research, Alison Bass shows us the underbelly of the pharmaceutical industry. She lays bare the unhealthy ties between the medical establishment, big pharma, and the FDA—relationships that place vulnerable children and adults at risk every day.

Side Effects of Drugs Annual: A Worldwide Yearly Survey of New Data in Adverse Drug Reactions, Volume 42, first published in 1977, and continually published as a yearly update to the voluminous encyclopedia Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs, presents clinicians and medical investigators with a critical survey of new data and trends in adverse drug reactions and interactions. Topics covered in this new release include Central Nervous System Stimulants and Drugs that Suppress Appetite, Antidepressants, Lithium, Drugs of Abuse, Hypnotics and Sedatives, Antipsychotic Drugs, Antiepileptics, Opioid Analgesics and Narcotic Antagonists, Anti-Inflammatory and Antipyretic Analgesics and Drugs Used in Gout, and much more. Provides a critical yearly survey of the new data and trends regarding the side effects of drugs Authored and reviewed by worldwide pioneers in the clinical and practice sciences Presents an essential clinical guide on the side effects of drugs for practitioners and healthcare professionals alike

Understanding risk -- Putting risk in perspective -- Risk charts : a way to get perspective -- Judging the benefit of a health intervention -- Not all benefits are equal : understand the outcome -- Consider the downsides -- Do the benefits outweight the downsides? -- Beware of exaggerated importance -- Beware of exaggerated certainty -- Who's behind the numbers?

An unforgettable memoir about the turmoil of antidepressant withdrawal and the work it takes to unravel the stories we tell ourselves to rationalize our suffering. Brooke Siem was among the first generation of minors to be prescribed antidepressants. Initially diagnosed and treated in the wake of her father’s sudden death, this psychiatric intervention sent a message that something was pathologically wrong with her and that the only “fix” was medication. As a teenager, she stepped into the hazy world of antidepressants just at the time when she was forming the foundation of her identity. For the following fifteen years, every situation she faced was seen through the lens of brokenness. A decade and a half later, still on the same cocktail of drugs, Brooke found herself hanging halfway out her Manhattan high-rise window, calculating the time it would take to hit the ground. As she looked for breaks in the pedestrian traffic patterns, a thought dawned on her: “I’ve spent half my life—and my entire adult life—on antidepressants. Who might I be without them?” Unfurled against a global backdrop, May Cause Side Effects is the gripping story of what happened when, after fifteen years and 32,760 pills, Brooke was faced with a profound choice that plunged her into a year of excruciating antidepressant withdrawal and forced her to rebuild her entire life. An illuminating memoir for those who take, prescribe, or are considering psychiatric drugs, May Cause Side Effects is an honest reminder that the road to true happiness is not mapped on a prescription pad. Instead, Brooke’s story reveals the messy reality of how healing begins at the bottomless depth of our suffering, in the deep self-work that pushes us to the edges of who we are.

This second edition of the guide features updated information about newer psychotropic agents, as well as new drugs to help manage iatrogenic weight gain, metabolic dysregulation, involuntary movement disorders, and other common problems.

Building on the success of the 14 previous editions, this remarkable reference has been extensively reorganized and expanded and now comprises almost 1,500 individual drug articles providing the most complete coverage of adverse reactions and interactions found anywhere. Each article contains detailed and authoritative information about the adverse effects of each drug, with comprehensive references to the primary literature making this a must have for any academic or medical library, pharmacologist, regulatory organization, hospital dispensary or pharmaceutical company. Now available online for all academic, corporate or government institution as well as individuals viaScience Direct! The online version provides an unparalleled depth of coverage and functionality by offering convenient desktop access and enhanced features such as increased searchability, extensive internal cross-linking and fully downloadable and printable full-text, HTML or PDF articles. Enhanced encyclopedic format with drug monographs now organised alphabetically Completely expanded coverage of each drug - thalidomide warranted three sentences in Meyler's 14th edition, but is now a 13 page extensive monograph Clearer, systematic organization of information for easier reading including case histories to provide perspective on each listing Extensive bibliography with over 40,000 references - Meyler's 15th edition incorporates all relevant citations from Meyler's 14th, but also includes relevant citations from previous editions of Meyler's and Side Effects of Drugs Annuals to give a historical perspective on the use and safety of drugs

A humor classic by one of the funniest writers today, SIDE EFFECTS is a treat for all those who know his work and those just discovering how gifted he is. Included here are such classics as REMEMBERING NEEDLEMAN, THE KUGELMASS EPISODE, a new sory called CONFESSIONS OF A BUGLAR, and more.