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Robert S. Mendelsohn books from the eighties


whatisbrain

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Robert S. Mendelsohn turned medical industry whistleblower after several decades of medical practice, writing several books in the 1980s. I just finished his book "Male Practice", am about to start "How To Raise A Healthy Child...In Spite Of Your Doctor", and am waiting for "Confessions Of A Medical Heretic" to come in the post. I ordered these off of abebooks, because even though I found some electronic versions for free on the internet, the internet scans were low quality and had a bunch of formatting and spelling bugs. Anyway, writing in the 1980s, and despite writing mostly about physical ailments and treatments, Dr. Mendelsohn was already completely clear about the dangers of psychiatric drugs, including the antidepressants, antianxiety, sleeping pills, and antipsychotics of his era. He mentions their physical and mental harms, habit forming physical dependence followed by withdrawal, and the merry-go-round of side effects of the initial drug being treated with additional drugs, then the additional drugs cause more side effects, and so forth.

 

But the real "news item" that I found out from the book "Male Practice" is that even antibiotics can sometimes cause psychosis. Perhaps most participants of this forum were already aware of this, but it was news to me. Looking for more information, I came across articles such as this one:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666354620301137

 

If you got into the psychiatric prescription lifestyle after a single episode of psychosis that occurred while taking antibiotics, you may want to do a web search on the name of your antibiotic plus the word "psychosis" and see what you find.

Due to things I recently learned in my volunteer work and activism with folks in the legislative, executive, judicial, lobbyist, and media specialties, I believe this information, even when posted here where we should all be feeling secure, carries quite a bit of liability, and it is up to each of you whether to keep posting it. Sorry Altostrata, I know this signature information is a key part of your wonderful work to help people, and I admire you so much for doing this work, but please hear me out. You, Mark Horowitz, Robert Whitaker, the late Loren Mosher, and so many other folks are heroes of mine and you changed my life for the better, so I know you mean well, but I just want you and others to be aware that it could lead to some problems later on. I will explain in a new post.

 

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Hi @whatisbrain

Thanks for sharing your recommendations. 

I hadn't heard of Robert S. Mendelsohn before. 

Please let us know what you think of his other books. 

 

1996-2018 - misc. polypharmacy, incl. SSRIs, SNRIs, neuroleptics, lithium, benzos, stimulants, antihistamines, etc. (approx. 30+ drugs)

2012-2018 - 10mg lexapro/escitalopram (20mg?)    Jan. 2018 - 10mg -> 5mg, then from 5mg -> 2.5mg, then 0mg  -->  July 2018 - 0mg

2017(?)-2020 - vyvanse/lisdexamfetamine 60-70mg    2020-2021 - 70mg down to 0mg  -->  July 2021 - 0mg

March-April 2021 - vortioxetine 5-10mg (approx. 7 weeks total; CT)  -->  April 28th, 2021 - 0mg

supplements: magnesium powder (dissolved in water) as needed throughout the day; 1 tsp fish oil w/ morning meal; 2mg melatonin 

August 1, 2022 - 1 mg melatonin

 

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.  - Karle Wilson Baker

love and justice are not two. without inner change, there can be no outer change; without collective change, no change matters.  - Rev. angel Kyodo williams

Holding multiple truths. Knowing that everyone has their own accurate view of the way things are.  - text on homemade banner at Afiya house

 

I am not a medical professional; this is not medical advice. 

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Looking at the list of 1980s drugs in "Male Practice" once again, I would like to be more precise - seeing Dr. Mendelsohn list psychosis as a side effect of Prednisone, a steroid that is used to treat physical inflammation, is what made me start looking through lists of skin problem treatments that may cause adverse psychiatric events, and it was then I stumbled onto research into the antibiotic/psychosis link. I believe other people on this forum have previously referred to experiencing psychiatric effects from Accutane, an anti-acne skin treatment. To summarize, all of these  - the steroid Prednisone, many antibiotics, and Accutane - all have been known to precipitate psychiatric reactions in some patients, including psychosis.

Due to things I recently learned in my volunteer work and activism with folks in the legislative, executive, judicial, lobbyist, and media specialties, I believe this information, even when posted here where we should all be feeling secure, carries quite a bit of liability, and it is up to each of you whether to keep posting it. Sorry Altostrata, I know this signature information is a key part of your wonderful work to help people, and I admire you so much for doing this work, but please hear me out. You, Mark Horowitz, Robert Whitaker, the late Loren Mosher, and so many other folks are heroes of mine and you changed my life for the better, so I know you mean well, but I just want you and others to be aware that it could lead to some problems later on. I will explain in a new post.

 

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  • 6 months later...

Ariel, thank you for your interest. I did finish all three books, and they are quite radical. I wish he had a full bibliographical entry for every single article, study, and statistic that he writes about. In general, I found both the particular factoids and the ideological stance in general very helpful and informative. His views on gender roles and sexual orientation is definitely from the past generation - not a surprise, given that he was writing in the 1970's and 80's, but might rub some readers the wrong way these days.

 

Here is a quote from the book on pediatrics, referring to the habit of parents giving children physical health drugs for every sniffle and fever. It sounds radical, but I witness this happen in front of my own eyes every day:

 

...The pediatrician's wanton prescribing of powerful drugs indoctrinates children from birth with the philosophy of "a pill for every ill." This may lead the child to the belief that there is a drug to treat every condition and that drugs are an appropriate response to normal feelings of frustration, depression, anxiety, inadequacy, insecurity, etc. Doctors are directly responsible for hooking millions of people on prescription drugs. They are also indirectly responsible for the plight of millions more who turn to illegal drugs because they were taught an at an early age that drugs can cure anything - including psychological and emotional conditions - that ails them.

 

 

Due to things I recently learned in my volunteer work and activism with folks in the legislative, executive, judicial, lobbyist, and media specialties, I believe this information, even when posted here where we should all be feeling secure, carries quite a bit of liability, and it is up to each of you whether to keep posting it. Sorry Altostrata, I know this signature information is a key part of your wonderful work to help people, and I admire you so much for doing this work, but please hear me out. You, Mark Horowitz, Robert Whitaker, the late Loren Mosher, and so many other folks are heroes of mine and you changed my life for the better, so I know you mean well, but I just want you and others to be aware that it could lead to some problems later on. I will explain in a new post.

 

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  • 5 months later...

Holy robots, found versions of all of these three books in Spanish! Seems like good quality translations, from around 2015.

Due to things I recently learned in my volunteer work and activism with folks in the legislative, executive, judicial, lobbyist, and media specialties, I believe this information, even when posted here where we should all be feeling secure, carries quite a bit of liability, and it is up to each of you whether to keep posting it. Sorry Altostrata, I know this signature information is a key part of your wonderful work to help people, and I admire you so much for doing this work, but please hear me out. You, Mark Horowitz, Robert Whitaker, the late Loren Mosher, and so many other folks are heroes of mine and you changed my life for the better, so I know you mean well, but I just want you and others to be aware that it could lead to some problems later on. I will explain in a new post.

 

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