She knows, of course, that the treating psychiatrists and their psychiatric nurses do not like complaints, much less patient's disobedience, and she has been powerless against the psychiatric machine, which has both overt and covert punishments at its disposal (and in her case, with the full support of her mother).
As I phoned the clinic this morning I was told, in reply to my questions, that Rebecca is now forced to take another Atypical drug (Seroquel, 250mg tablets per day, to replace the old Clozapine poison). This in addition to the 10 day interval Risperdal 75mg injections. As you know, Serquel is a very dangerous neuroleptic, and with many adverse effects. Even the
FDA in the USA states as follows (with my emphasis ) :
http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2004/20639se1-017,016_seroquel_lbl.pdf
"WARNINGS
Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) A potentially fatal symptom complex sometimes referred to as Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) has been reported in association with administration of antipsychotic drugs, including SEROQUEL. Rare cases of NMS have been reported with SEROQUEL. Clinical manifestations of NMS are hyperpyrexia, muscle rigidity, altered mental status, and evidence of autonomic instability (irregular pulse or blood pressure, tachycardia, diaphoresis, and cardiac dysrhythmia). Additional signs may include elevated creatine phosphokinase, myoglobinuria (rhabdomyolysis) and acute renal failure. The diagnostic evaluation of patients with this syndrome is complicated. In arriving at a diagnosis, it is important to exclude cases where the clinical presentation includes both serious medical illness (eg, pneumonia, systemic infection, etc.) and untreated or inadequately treated extrapyramidal signs and symptoms (EPS). Other important considerations in the differential diagnosis include central anticholinergic toxicity, heat stroke, drug fever and primary central nervous system (CNS) pathology."
At the same page the FDA has the following information :
"Post Marketing Experience:
Adverse events reported since market introduction which weretemporally related to SEROQUEL therapy include:leukopenia/neutropenia. If a patient develops a low white cell countconsider discontinuation of therapy. Possible risk factors forleukopenia/neutropenia include pre-existing low white cell count andhistory of drug induced leukopenia/neutropenia.Other adverse events reported since market introduction, which weretemporally related to SEROQUEL therapy, but not necessarilycausally related, include the following: agranulocytosis, anaphylaxis,hyponatremia, rhabdomyolysis, syndrome of inappropriateantidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH), and Steven Johnsonsyndrome (SJS)."
A law firm in the USA, which has vast legal experience in law suits against drug corporations, pasted the piece of information on its website as it is below . According to this information the
drug manufacturer itself
changed the label on Seroquel to include the following (my emphasis ) :
"In January 2004, AstraZeneca changed the labeling on Seroquel® to warn of the serious, increased risk of diabetes and related health complications such as hyperglycemia, ketoacidosis, coma and death."http://www.kritzerzonies.com/drug_seroquel.htm"Seroquel
® (quetiapine fumarate), manufactured by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, is an atypical antipsychotic medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997 to control the symptoms of schizophrenia and manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder.
Although approved specifically for these limited purposes, some physicians have prescribed Seroquel® for "off-label" use including sleep disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders.Not long after Seroquel
® was approved for use, evidence began to mount regarding the serious side effects associated with it and other similar medications. In January 2004, AstraZeneca changed the labeling on Seroquel
® to warn of the serious, increased risk of diabetes and related health complications such as hyperglycemia, ketoacidosis, coma and death. In April 2005, the FDA ordered AstraZeneca to add a "black box warning" to Seroquel
® labeling, informing consumers about the increased risk of death from the drug. The FDA also emphasized at that time that Seroquel
® was NOT approved to treat elderly patients with dementia. Although studies have linked Seroquel
® to diabetes, death and other serious side effects, the drug remains on the market.
