Big Pharma wants to 'friend' you

[btdt]

"According to a 2010 report in Pharma Marketing News, there may be hundreds of patients in social networks earning thousands of dollars from drug companies to provide "real patient stories" as part of online branded drug or disease-awareness campaigns."

"He adds that drug companies are misleading the public by setting up unbranded health sites that obscure their Big Pharma funding and paying seemingly independent health bloggers to rave about their products without revealing the exchange - a practice prohibited by the FTC."

 

Pharma Employees Pretend to be patients on internet forums to promote their companies drugs... how cools is that not that we did not all expect it same thing on wd websites... I wonder how many are here?

 

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/big-pharma-wants-to-friend-you/article4260322/

 

Married with three children, Mary Ellen lives in the Bronx, N.Y., and likes hiking in the Adirondacks. But until she learned how to manage her Type 2 diabetes, she was tired and hungry all the time.

Mary Ellen tried insulin injections and then switched to the Lantus SoloStar insulin pen, which has a push-button system with a small, thin needle. "I found the pen easier to use and much more discreet," she confides in a video clip at WhyInsulin.com.

The health site - run by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis - portrays Mary Ellen as a typical middle-aged woman who put her family's health before her own.

But the website does not clarify that Mary Ellen and other patients featured in its "insulin success stories" are paid spokespersons for the drug company, according to a formal complaint submitted in November to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Prepared by four separate watchdog groups, the 144-page report cites dozens of examples of pharmaceutical marketing on the Web that "threatens consumer privacy and engages in unfair and deceptive practices."

In June, the British Medical Journal cited the report in an article that suggests Big Pharma's online marketing activities pose a threat to public health.

Direct-to-consumer advertising that includes the name of a prescription drug, health claim and contraindications is prohibited in Canada and highly regulated in the United States.

But transparency has become murky on the Internet, says Jeff Chester, co-author of the complaint to the FTC and executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Digital Democracy.

Pharmaceutical companies are using stealth marketing tactics by eavesdropping on patients' discussions on social networks and tracking patients' "digital footprints" online to target them for advertising, Mr. Chester says.

He adds that drug companies are misleading the public by setting up unbranded health sites that obscure their Big Pharma funding and paying seemingly independent health bloggers to rave about their products without revealing the exchange - a practice prohibited by the FTC.

"These are very powerful tools in the hands of pharma marketers, designed to drive up drug sales, without providing adequate information to patients who are often in a vulnerable state," Mr. Chester says.

Earlier this year, WebMD - one of the most visited health sites on the Internet - came under fire for promoting an online depression test sponsored by Eli Lilly, maker of the antidepressant Cymbalta. According to a report from CBS's Bnet.com, the test was rigged to yield the same results no matter which of the 10 questions were answered "yes": "You may be at risk for major depression." (The questionnaire has since been changed.)

The pharmaceutical industry's growing presence online coincides with a pivotal shift in health care, Mr. Chester says.

As many as 80 per cent of Internet users go online to find health information, according to a 2011 report published by the non-profit Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. And almost 20 per cent go online to find others with similar health problems.

Big Pharma is gearing up to "friend" and "tweet" them. Doseofdigital.com, a pharmaceutical marketing website, lists more than 350 examples of online health forums and YouTube, Twitter and Facebook pages run by drug companies.

According to a 2010 report in Pharma Marketing News, there may be hundreds of patients in social networks earning thousands of dollars from drug companies to provide "real patient stories" as part of online branded drug or disease-awareness campaigns.

[westcoast]

I've seen a few blatant ones--i wondered if the drug company would be so lame as to pay for them, or if someone else profits. I might have posted this before...user made one post -this one-the days s/he joined and never came back. And 99% of the posts in thee 57-page topic are uncertain or negative. There is a new guy I just saw when I went to retrieve this one. Next post...

 

 

This is my first post to the board, but I felt as though my experience could help someone debating about this drug.

 

 

 

Background: In the last couples years, I've gone through a divorce (although relatively friendly), my puppy dying, moving to a new state alone, and starting a new job, and am in a new relationship. I have always had anxiety, but since moving, it really spiraled. I was having panic attacks for the first time ever, difficultly sleeping, and really starting to sink into a depression. After 20 straight days of extreme anxiety and inability to focus, or function, I saw a psychiatrist for the first time. I was concerned about weight gain, and sexual side effects associated with anti-depressents.

 

 

Enter Brintellix at 5mg, coupled with talk-therapy weekly with a psychologist.

 

 

I have been on 5mg for 2 months, and 10mg for a week.

 

 

My experience:

 

-I take it with food at lunch, and have had no zero nausea. None. I've also had no itching. No GI issues. I have had some dizziness, but nothing major.

 

-Sexual side effects? None. I have always been able to orgasm with my partner. But, since Brintellix, my orgasms have gotten ridiculously better. Yes, that's right. I went from "great orgasms" to "peeling the paint off the wall orgasms." I think it's because I am able to relax, and enjoy the moment (even more than I was before).

 

-Weight gain? None. Actually, with my improved attitude, I'm more motivated to get back to the gym and eat better

 

-Depression? Reduced significantly. I went from crying every day, to stringing together a month straight of "good days"

 

-Anxiety? Also reduced. Things that would have sent me off the deep end in January, I'm able to process and move past easily. I can actually identify situations that, previously, would have triggered anxiety, I'm able to cope with "normally" now. My boyfriend and the people around me have noticed a change.

 

I know everyone reacts differently, but I wanted to share my experience in the event it gives someone some hope.

[westcoast]

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE is how this little pharmacologist begins...he posts three times the day he joins and not since. Two posts on Brint and one telling someone to combine Wellbutrin and Effexor!

 

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I have been on Brintellix 20mg for about 2 years, whenever it first came out. Literally, I was the first patient my doctor had prescribed it to, there wasn't a single user review online yet for it on any forum, and I was basically playing guinea pig. I was curious about the pharmacology of it, mainly the HTP agonist activity, which is something you see more in street drugs than anti-depressants usually. To me it seemed like a sort of "SSRI meets Meth meets Tri-Cyclic AD" mechanism of action, to put it abstractly.

 

Having been on a few different antidepressants for the past decade, this is by far the MOST EFFECTIVE antidepressant I've ever used. And it is very different to any other antidepressant I have ever tried. My most effective 'cocktail' previously was Effexor 75mg + Wellbutrin 350mg - which was like rocket fuel and did its job, but I honestly switched to Brintellix just after reading the pharmacology PDF on it and the fact that my doctor told me they thought it could improve cognitive function -- there was this sorta "NZT" mystical quality to everything I read (you must have seen Limitless if you're on this board), and of course we're all looking for NZT right? So anyway I tried it, and it blew away every other antidepressant I've ever been on, including combinations of them. But a lot of the things people have had issues with that I've read in this thread are true. I think for some, the med just isn't right, and for others, they aren't taking it the right way.

 

This drug is a virtual toddler in the grand timeline of anti-depressants and a lot of information is lacking, hopefully my experience can help a few people.....

 

SOME ADVICE / OBSERVATIONS / DOSING / SIDE EFFECTS:

 

1) It's taken me 2 years to realize, **this medication is far more effective when taken in the morning.** The HTP-agonist activity contributes to a stimulant-like effect, and the fact that it's not a "controlled release" medication means it leaves your system fairly quickly. When I took it at night, I experienced horrible insomnia, and it wasn't as effective during the day. When compared to other "extended release" antidepressants, I've noticed that Brintellix really does seem to last almost exactly 24 hours, and sometimes maybe less depending on your metabolism, so taking it in the morning may be the best way for many people (and definitely made a HUGE difference for me). I expect they'll come out with an XR / ER version when the patent expires, which I personally would like to try.

 

2) 10mg may be enough for some people, but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND taking at least 15mg / 20mg. For me, anything less than 20mg was virtually ineffective. I didn't even feel the medication at 10mg. Once we titrated up to 15mg I started to notice it.

 

3) Some anti-depressants seem to "poop out" on people and wear off after a period -- Brintellix unfortunately seems to fall into this category, maybe even moreso than a lot of other AD's. About every 6 months since taking it, I've noticed that my depression starts to come back. I have 2 ways of counteracting this: 1 is: I titrate down to 10mg for a few days, then back up to 15mg for a few days, then back to 20mg (make sure you've got a few days where you don't need to be at work etc). This seems to bring back the 'kick' of the Brintellix to what it was before, at least until it poops out on me again. Then the next time, I'll switch back to my old cocktail (effexor + wellbutrin) for a couple months, then switch back. This also refreshes the Brintellix for me and it seems to work as good as new again. (Having an effective alternate AD to play with can really help, I've always done short "switches" over the years to prevent burn out / poop out).

 

4) SIDE EFFECTS: For me, the insomnia is comparable to when I was on Wellbutrin, but not quite as bad. When taken in the morning now, the insomnia is virtually non-existent - I never have a problem falling asleep, but sometimes I can only seem to get 6 or 7 hours when I'm shooting for 8 - 10. So yes, it can cause insomnia on varying levels. If you're experiencing that, definitely try taking it in the morning. I use OTC sleeping pills (diphenhydramine) a couple times a week too to make sure I get my 10 hour nights.

 

5) After being on Paxil, Effexor, Wellbutrin, and Brintellix and various combinations thereof for extended periods of time, I can say that there is definitely a "brain enhancing" quality (for lack of a better term) to Brintellix - I hesitate to say that it makes you smarter, but it's almost like it streamlines your brain; makes it easier to organize thoughts and to turn thoughts into words, and as far as the memory claims I can't say I've noticed a difference but it may well be helping.

 

6) DO NOT TAKE WELLBUTRIN in combination with Brintellix. I did this for a bit as an experiment, and my doc cut the dosages in half as is recommended when using CYP2D6 inhibitors (wellbutrin) - with 10mg of Brintellix and 150mg of Wellbutrin I felt like somebody had given me a speed pill, and not a good one. It was wayyyyyy too much. These medications definitely interact and cause an extremely stimulating effect, and not necessarily a pleasant one.

 

7) Very mild sexual side effects. For me, it's just a slightly delayed orgasm, which I actually prefer because it lets me have sex longer. With Effexor or Paxil, there were many nights I couldn't orgasm at all (although: using Effexor + Wellbutrin together had almost no sexual side effects).

 

8) I have found that Brintellix does increase perspiration in my hands and feet (I have an underlying condition that causes excessive sweating in the hands and feet already; Palmoplantarhyperhydrosis). It's a condition I've had my whole life, but the stimulant AD's definitely make it more prominent. Wellbutrin did the same thing, at the same level.

 

 

 

Lastly I'll just say, I think the fact that Brintellix is being marketed to people who have "tried other antidepressants without relief" is probably good - having taken this class of drugs for the past decade, I was already looking for "the next frontier" AD, . . . . . but when I first got on Effexor 10 years ago, it worked amazingly well for me, and for many years. If that were me today, I think I'd still start with Effexor, and wait to use Brintellix until I really *needed* something more.

 

I think Brintellix is an incredibly powerful medication with more off-label uses than are currently recognized, and is still not understood very well by most patients, physicians, and even the manufacturer themselves. Having experimented with it a few ways (under the supervision of my doc) and taken it for the past couple years, I would recommend it to anybody who has gotten burnt out on other antidepressants, or just hasn't found one that worked, because I think this is the most effective one of them all once you "lock it in" (and it does take a bit more tweaking than other meds). (FWIW: at some point in my life I have been on: Prozac, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, Paxil, Wellbutrin, and Zoloft - so those are what I am comparing it to).

 

 

 

Oh yeah: the way they came up with the name; they just combined the words "brilliance" and "intelligence" (according to my Doc via the Takeda drug rep) which just goes more to the notion that they really are pushing the whole cognitive enhancement angle.