intothewoods Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/opinion/sunday/generic-drugs-safety.html * Fluoxetine: 40 mg 1999-2012; 60 mg 2012-March 2019; 45.2 mg at present. * Provigil: 25-100 mg PRN 2005 to mid-2015; 200-300 mg mid-2015 to early 2016; tapered from 300 mg in early 2016 to 100 mg early 2017; tapered from 100 mg early 2017 to 33 mg June 15, 2019; 8.9 mg at present. * Amitriptyline: 10-15 mg 2002-2013; 25 mg 2014 to December 5, 2018; December 15, 2018 converted to water suspension and tapered to 16.5 mg at present * Diazepam: 5 mg at night 2002-present. Supplements: Iron for anemia Recent tapering timeline: 2019: Fluoxetine 60 mg Provigil 33.5 mg Amitriptyline 25 mg Diazepam 5 mg 2022: 45.2 mg 8.9 mg 16.5 mg 5 mg Back Story: From 2012 thru early 2017, relocated and cycled through over 20 primary and psych docs (supposedly for severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) who prescribed two dozen different psych meds in search of the "perfect therapeutic combo." Took most for only a few days, some for a week. Included Wellbutrin, Cymbalta, Lexapro, Seroquel, Lamictal, Klonopin, Lyrica, Gabapentin, Belsomra, Tramadol, Librium, Halcyon, Remeron and -- the last straw, Trintellix. Began in early 2016 when it was still called Brintellix (Pharma's attempt to combine the words "brilliance" and "intelligence" in a pill name), became unable to eat or sleep, lost 25 lbs and the ability to speak. Slowly tapered myself back to Prozac by 2017 but was unable to stop akathisia, cortisol mornings and kindling which continue, actively, through present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intothewoods Posted May 15, 2019 Author Share Posted May 15, 2019 A New Book Argues That Generic Drugs Are Poisoning Us https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/13/books/review/bottle-of-lies-katherine-eban.html * Fluoxetine: 40 mg 1999-2012; 60 mg 2012-March 2019; 45.2 mg at present. * Provigil: 25-100 mg PRN 2005 to mid-2015; 200-300 mg mid-2015 to early 2016; tapered from 300 mg in early 2016 to 100 mg early 2017; tapered from 100 mg early 2017 to 33 mg June 15, 2019; 8.9 mg at present. * Amitriptyline: 10-15 mg 2002-2013; 25 mg 2014 to December 5, 2018; December 15, 2018 converted to water suspension and tapered to 16.5 mg at present * Diazepam: 5 mg at night 2002-present. Supplements: Iron for anemia Recent tapering timeline: 2019: Fluoxetine 60 mg Provigil 33.5 mg Amitriptyline 25 mg Diazepam 5 mg 2022: 45.2 mg 8.9 mg 16.5 mg 5 mg Back Story: From 2012 thru early 2017, relocated and cycled through over 20 primary and psych docs (supposedly for severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) who prescribed two dozen different psych meds in search of the "perfect therapeutic combo." Took most for only a few days, some for a week. Included Wellbutrin, Cymbalta, Lexapro, Seroquel, Lamictal, Klonopin, Lyrica, Gabapentin, Belsomra, Tramadol, Librium, Halcyon, Remeron and -- the last straw, Trintellix. Began in early 2016 when it was still called Brintellix (Pharma's attempt to combine the words "brilliance" and "intelligence" in a pill name), became unable to eat or sleep, lost 25 lbs and the ability to speak. Slowly tapered myself back to Prozac by 2017 but was unable to stop akathisia, cortisol mornings and kindling which continue, actively, through present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Altostrata Posted May 20, 2019 Administrator Share Posted May 20, 2019 Hint: What about this article was significant for you? Post a selection to launch further discussion. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Emeritus Shep Posted May 21, 2019 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted May 21, 2019 (edited) On 5/14/2019 at 9:54 PM, intothewoods said: A New Book Argues That Generic Drugs Are Poisoning Us https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/13/books/review/bottle-of-lies-katherine-eban.html The author of this book, Katherine Eban, was interviewed yesterday on Democracy Now: Bottle of Lies: How Poor FDA Oversight & Fraud in Generic Drug Industry Threaten Patients’ Health (part 1) Why Did the FDA Go Easy on Generic Drug Makers After Inspections Exposed Quality & Safety Concerns? (part 2) It also goes into details of what whistleblowers such as Peter Baker are finding. Baker discovered a company was selling insulin contaminated with metallic particles. In retaliation for turning in this evidence, Baker was: ". . . followed, he was threatened. In one instance, he was poisoned with tainted water at a plant. Some of the investigators that he worked with were spied on. A hotel room was bugged. And based on this sort of aggregate experience, he was actually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress." This is international. Per the transcript: "Nearly 80% of the active ingredients of all drugs, brand or generic, as well as almost all antibiotics, are made outside of the United States." The interview covers many issues, including how FDA inspections are staged and rigged: They literally have data fabrication teams that come in, in advance of these inspections, shred documents, fabricate documents, invent quality data, invent standard operating procedures, all in advance of the FDA’s arrival. Personally, I think it's a bit disingenuous of the author (and the interviewer) to not mention that the FDA itself is corrupt at the highest levels, but I guess that's for another article. Going after whistleblowers like this has likely been going on for a long time, just like with environmental and political activist whistleblowers, but it hasn't been widely reported on. It's no wonder that people suffer with changes to generic drugs. This is an eye-opening interview. I'm glad to see this journalist getting this type of press coverage. Edited May 21, 2019 by Shep fixed typo / added another link for part 2 of the interview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackieDecides Posted May 22, 2019 Share Posted May 22, 2019 she was also interviewed on Fresh Air. as someone who takes a generic for high blood pressure I found it frightening. 😳 Currently taking Ramapril (blood pressure) 5 mg twice a day Omeprazole 10 mg AM and 20 mg PM (the taper has gone nowhere after the first cut) Famotidine once a day (and I still needs tums sometimes) magnesium 200 mg at night as of yesterday 2 fish oil capsules "EPA-DHA 1000" off Lexapro as of 5/2018 - last dose had been 5 mg every other day for a couple years highest dose had been 20 mg at which point I was diagnosed with Bipolar II, which went away when I cut the lexapro down to 15 mg. I spent years on Paxil before Lexapro (can't remember dose), briefly on Effexor and Abilify and others I have forgotten. in fact, when I was diagnoses with BPII I was put on all kinds of things which made me feel so bad I stopped them cold turkey within maybe 3 or 4 weeks, thank goodness. since then I've known these pills were terrible and I weaned down the Lexapro with zero help or support over I'm not sure how many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intothewoods Posted May 22, 2019 Author Share Posted May 22, 2019 I posted this but didn't /couldn't comment because I am having a bad reaction to low-quality generic Prozac. It's not the first time nor the first generic psych med rejected by my body. All four of my meds have to be a certain brand, better-quality generic or my system suffers shock. Like so many of us, I went years having a trial or switch of various polydrugs, and could take just about any generic. Sometimes the pharmacy would split a month's dose between two generics. No problem. But it was taking its toll and after destabilizing, things got ugly. The past two years, I've driven many hours (like last week) to get the acceptable generic. It's insanity inside the insanity of our psych med circus, which really gets aggravating with benzos as we know because they're controlled substances so each month for my diazepam (Valium), I have a two-day window to legally get it refilled and get the correct generic. My town has 3000 residents and one real pharmacy. Mail order is a lottery of generics d'jour and perilous. So, a two-hour haul one way. (in August I move to the city.... Good Generics here we come!) So much is coming out about dreck generics all of the sudden (60 Minutes had a sobering segment May 12), but my body has always known. The worst, as this book's author reports, is from India. Auro-bindo, rest in peace as I will never take another of your generics. Misery, this whole month. Big Pharma's reckoning gets bigger..... * Fluoxetine: 40 mg 1999-2012; 60 mg 2012-March 2019; 45.2 mg at present. * Provigil: 25-100 mg PRN 2005 to mid-2015; 200-300 mg mid-2015 to early 2016; tapered from 300 mg in early 2016 to 100 mg early 2017; tapered from 100 mg early 2017 to 33 mg June 15, 2019; 8.9 mg at present. * Amitriptyline: 10-15 mg 2002-2013; 25 mg 2014 to December 5, 2018; December 15, 2018 converted to water suspension and tapered to 16.5 mg at present * Diazepam: 5 mg at night 2002-present. Supplements: Iron for anemia Recent tapering timeline: 2019: Fluoxetine 60 mg Provigil 33.5 mg Amitriptyline 25 mg Diazepam 5 mg 2022: 45.2 mg 8.9 mg 16.5 mg 5 mg Back Story: From 2012 thru early 2017, relocated and cycled through over 20 primary and psych docs (supposedly for severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) who prescribed two dozen different psych meds in search of the "perfect therapeutic combo." Took most for only a few days, some for a week. Included Wellbutrin, Cymbalta, Lexapro, Seroquel, Lamictal, Klonopin, Lyrica, Gabapentin, Belsomra, Tramadol, Librium, Halcyon, Remeron and -- the last straw, Trintellix. Began in early 2016 when it was still called Brintellix (Pharma's attempt to combine the words "brilliance" and "intelligence" in a pill name), became unable to eat or sleep, lost 25 lbs and the ability to speak. Slowly tapered myself back to Prozac by 2017 but was unable to stop akathisia, cortisol mornings and kindling which continue, actively, through present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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