Today kicks off NaNoWriMo, my friends. I attempted NaNoWriMo last year, but pretty much hid my face until it was December was sidetracked by the third day in due to an unexpected but necessary move. This year, I really have no excuse not to participate. I even have a story this time. Sure, none of the characters have names and I have no idea why any of them even know each other, but hey, Harry Potter wasn’t written in a day.
As you read this, I’m probably curled up in the fetal position somewhere.
Anyway, on to the goods. There’s a lot …read more

Many folks manage mental illness – whether it’s situational depression, occasional bouts of anxiety, or schizophrenia – with prescription medications. For these folks, trips to the pharmacy are part of their regular routines, and oftentimes they get to know their pharmacists on a first name, “How’s the family?” basis.
Shoot, in small necks of the woods like mine, you may have even went to school with, dated, or attended the same church as your pharmacist.
But how much do you really know about your pharmacist? Does he ever disclose all the secrets of the trade, or does he merely fill your prescription and …read more

And by “one thing” I mean prescribing medication.
Aside from the cost of mental health care, one of the biggest patient complaints I’ve heard since beginning Mental Health Notes and becoming involved with NAMI is the way in which appointments with psychiatrists seem to go these days.
It’s become the norm for a patient to take a half or whole day off work to sit in a waiting room for an hour or more only to see a psychiatrist for a few minutes in order to discuss whether or not a particular medication is working, grab a new or adjusted prescription, and …read more

One of my mottoes has always been, “If you want something done, get up and do the damn thing.” Having that mentality is definitely one of the reasons I love grassroots movements and advocacy.
It’s also definitely one of the reasons I love passing along information about said grassroots movements and advocacy to you lovely people.
A couple of weeks after the Grab Drug Advertisements By The Pills series here at Mental Health Notes, I received an email from Consumers Union Grassroots Organizer Daniela Nunez about their recent petition to the FDA for better reporting of drug side effects. The Appropriately labeled …read more

Remember the Grab Drug Advertisements By The Pills series here at Mental Health Notes? Of course you do! We just finished it yesterday.
In light of that series, I thought now would be a good time to introduce you all to a Web site that was recently introduced to me.
Cary Byrd, the owner and CEO of eDrugSearch.com, emailed me a few days ago to let me know about the Web site. Given this past week filled with posts about prescription drugs, how could I pass up the opportunity to let you all know about this resource?
In Cary’s words, eDrugSearch.com is an …read more

Grab Drug Advertisements by the Pills: Part Six
We’re reached the final installment of Grab Drug Advertisements by the Pills. What have we learned so far? Well, we’ve learned that:

Drug advertisements can both confuse and educate viewers.
The FDA regulates what drug companies do and do not have to reveal in their advertisements.
While the most expensive drugs tend to dominate the advertisement scene, there are ways you can save money on prescription medications.
Many drug advertisements deal with newer, less-familiar drugs, and why it may be best to wait a while before trying any.
There are lifestyle changes that can give results similar to …read more

Grab Drug Advertisements by the Pills: Part Five
We’ve determined that most medications featured in drug advertisements are both the priciest and the newest drugs on the market, which unfortunately means you could end up emptying your pockets just to experience some pretty serious, unknown side effects.
However, there is good news. In addition to asking your doctor about cheaper prescription medications that have been around longer (and have better understood side effects), you could also ask your doctor about any lifestyle changes and alternative remedies that may provide similar management benefits and symptom relief.
For example, did you know that each of …read more

Grab Drug Advertisements by the Pills: Part Four
Now that you know that the most expensive prescription medications tend to dominate the drug advertising scene, it’s probably no surprise that these same prescription medications are also the newest drugs on the market.
However, here’s something to which you may not have given much thought: Because these new drugs are new drugs, they don’t have as much clinical trial time under their belts. The most pressing problem this poses is that there could be serious side effects, risks, and dangers associated with the drug that we (the scientists, drug companies, doctors, and patients) …read more

Grab Drug Advertisements by the Pills: Extra!
CFS Squared and Baldiness blogger Laura clued me in on “Big Bucks, Big Pharma” documentary when I announced the Grab Drug Advertisements by the Pills series.
After googling “Big Bucks, Big Pharma” I found the Media Education Foundation’s (MEF) Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease & Pushing Drugs, which directs readers to this relatively short trailer.
Certain direct quotes from the trailer hit home with this Mental Health Notes series (Grab Drug Advertisements By The Pills), such as:

“Both doctors and the public want to reach for the newest prescription drug.
“You can’t sit down to TV at …read more

Grab Drug Advertisements by the Pills: Part Three
Now that you know how drug advertisements can both educate and confuse you, and the FDA regulations in place to help them do just that, let’s consider the cost of the prescription medications featured in the most recent drug advertisements.

Simply put, it’s pretty dang high. The most expensive drugs tend to dominate the advertisement scene.
Why?
Well, skepticism and criticism common sense tells me it’s because they’re the most expensive. Drug companies want to get the most expensive drugs out there in the public eye in order to make more money. Of course, you shouldn’t …read more