Furious Seasons

January 30, 2009

About.com Ignores Prior Censorship Of Author, Then Interviews Him

OK, this is odd and journalistically lame. Three years ago, about.com flat-out censored an article written for it by Andy Behrman, author of Electroboy about how Abilify messed him up. As it happened, the site had tons of ads from Abilify running at the time. Behrman's piece appeared briefly and then down it came. Not long after, I posted the piece on this site, pretty much as an FU to about.com for being lame and lacking journalistic integrity. The site in owned by the New York Times Company and should adhere to some kind of standards of not letting advertising determine content.

I'm sure some of you are aware of a publication called bp Hope. A few years ago, I ran into one of the editors at a journalism awards banquet and he told me that the magazine did allow criticism of meds, but only if the author didn't refer to the drug by name. What else would you expect from a publication funded largely by Big Pharma dollars? There's no search function on the mag's website, but I'm willing to bet that there has never been word one of the Zyprexa scandal mentioned in its pages or on its site. What a fine public service to bipolars that is.

BTW, the most recent issue has an interview with Kay Jamison, an alleged profile in courage, says the mag's website. I would so love it if someone has a hard copy, if you'd scan it and send me the pdf. As it happens, the same folks who put out that mag are now publishing a depression and anxiety magazine called esperanza. It's interesting that they chose to have the Spanish word for hope in lower case. Just saying.

Anyway, here we are in 2009 and someone at about.com's bipolar blog has interviewed Behrman (there's no byline on the post, even though the author refers to herself in the first person), making no reference to the earlier censorship, on his views on the medication roller coaster plenty of people diagnosed with bipolar disorder can win up on and if there isn't a balance of some kind.

"In speaking with Andy about his new book, I asked him about his thoughts on how we, as consumers that simply cannot function without pharmacological interventions, can find a balance in sifting through slick promises and unrealistic hope being broadcast into our lives through every media outlet available. Andy has really been demoralized by his personal experience and his response is telling, 'I really don't think that consumers actually ever find a balance. I believe consumers just take what the company and the company sponsored doctors tell them to take. It's sad, but I have found that it's very true. This is what I learned as a spokesman.'"

I don't think that absolutely everyone with an alleged mental disorder is as naive as Behrman says, but I know a great number are very unquestioning when it comes to taking whatever a doc presses on them. We know why that's going on--doctors have a lot of power over patients and plenty of docs are not careful with how they use that power. It wasn't until I began being a lot more skeptical about what was going into my body and brain that my situation improved.

Speaking of Behrman's new book, it actually doesn't exist yet and he doesn't have a deal for it yet, but that ought to get straightened out soon. I cannot think of many publishers who wouldn't want a tell-all book on someone's experiences as a spokespatient for Big Pharma.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at January 30, 2009 01:29 PM

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Comments

You're dead on. We have to be. I've started looking at every prescription. This last time around, my Doc added 100mg of Zoloft a day to the 400mg of Topamax I was already taken, to help with the anxiety/depression. I read at CrazyMeds that there was zero evidence, even from the manufacturer, for any efficacy improvement or benefit for over 50mg a day. This conflicting information, combined with lazy prescribing habits, combined with a chemically shifting perspective to begin with, makes for a treacherous reality at times.

Thanks for the blog. You've been a good new find.

Posted by: ChrisJ at January 30, 2009 01:52 PM

I just hate those ads on TV that say, "Is your depression medication not working? Maybe you should ad Abilify." Maybe the medications never will work.

Posted by: Naturalgal at January 30, 2009 04:54 PM

I saw that! They screwed Andy a few years ago, I recall that.

Andy is a good guy and a good friend. I hate to see my friends screwed. Maybe they are wooing him because the movie is supposed to start filming soon, and they got a real couple of hunks supposedly in it.

Thank heaven Abilify is one of the few drugs I haved never been on.

Posted by: susan at January 31, 2009 03:08 AM

Video - Stephen Fry interviews Electroboy:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=1tYr6iH4aIw

Posted by: Lilly NC at January 31, 2009 12:17 PM

I don't think that absolutely everyone with an alleged mental disorder is as naive as Behrman says

No, not naive although some number would not help but be.. A word that fits what does happen eludes me just now, though.. The (other) words that do come to Mind are sterotypically offensive.. Ack..

Best I can do is..... their defenses are down because they are cognitively unaware of their surroundings, likely barely functioning at rote daily tasks, let alone able to comprehend the implications a doctor's Rx presents or to ask the appropriate questions under duress.. Speaking from personal experience, those are people who get led into this kind of thing..

The, well, one form of "balance" would come in developing a circle of support who goes with and advocates on one's behalf with a person's blessings.. This occurs by following wishes expressed, protectively (preferably) in writing, drawn out in (previous) intimate round circles where the circumstances are less pressing, where decisions aren't being forced with the forever hurried doctor's backside already to us as he rushes off to see the next [patient].....

Funny about bp Hope.. And you mentioned esperanza.. I've seen that one come in on keywords.. Visited a few times and don't now.. Hm.

Just thinking out loud for no particular reason :: Scruples be dogged, it's seen as totally acceptable in marketing circles to set up a website/blog that looks to be one thing but that really *instead* subtlely promotes an entity and/or their agenda.. Backers advertise for writers hired to write fluff pieces focused on one topic to draw in that special interest but the real intent is solely to feed on the Human subconscious via the surrounding advertising..

Haven't seen it as much lately but it seemed not a day went by that some one or another pharmaceutical company television commercial wasn't advertising some type of informative website viewers must go visit now.. Really "cute" was how, repeatedly, the website domain name in no way reflected whose interest was behind the site.. Every time I see those commercials, I wonder how often people stumble upon them in Internet searches and have no idea who they're patronizing..

On the Times, been for some time now following "Times Watch Tracker".. Hadn't realized it was only covering politics until just now with your mention above.. Too bad.. Sounds that they'd do well to expand their horizons a bit.. :wink:

Peace and best wishes from North Georgia.. :)

Posted by: Cindy Sue Causey at January 31, 2009 03:18 PM

Hi Cindy, I am down to one station on TV and can't figure out how to hook up that new box I got to be part of analog. But guess what? Unless I get a TIVO to zap every commercial, I plan not to watch TV ever again. Netflix will have to do.

Pharma is everywhere. I think of it as an octopus, pushing its fake, off-label ways into every possible new market, preying on the weakest and most vulnerable, outright lying at every possible occasion, buying front groups and doctors and our government. We need to think up some new ways to fight back. Don't think I haven't sent Obama 20 emails on his website.

We had a great demo in 2005 in Lafayette Park - for a week. Unfortunately, all the critters were out of town except the Secret Service which kept harrassing us. The best part of it was meeting up with others; many of whom are my pals to this day. I am exploring to see if we can get this together again. Coming up again in Congress is the horrible "Mothers Act" - a pharma pusher bill designed to get pregnant and new mothers on SSRIs. So gross, and so never-ending.

I have some new energy. Tired of big headlines about settlements (Lilly-Zyprexa 1.4 bil for off label marketing and a misdemeanor). Not a MENTION of the dead and maimed from this drug, and no justice for all those harmed and killed. This will be one of my new warpaths.

Phew~happy to get that blast off my chest!

Posted by: Sorrowful at January 31, 2009 10:46 PM

Just checked in on "esperanza" magazine on depression and anxiety. Their feature celebrity of the month is DOROTHY HAMILL. Yep, the same Dorothy Hamill featured in the most infamous Pharma marketing blitz of all time... for Vioxx! Has she no shame? Or has she lost her memory to some mysterious side-effect? Unbelievable.

To be fair, Dorothy does not flak a specific drug in this interview... I get the impression all "esperanza's" articles are coy and soft-focus in this regard. She does, however, report that she used to lay off her antidepressants when she was feeling better. She is now a wiser woman, or a good-er girl, who will take them for life.

Posted by: Johanna at February 2, 2009 04:58 PM

Sorrowful,
We don't have cable so we've only had one station for years. About 8 months ago we splashed out and bought a brand new 24" flat screen telly because I was no longer able to see the 13" one. We figured we'd be ready for digital and we do watch a lot of DVDs and Netflix stuff and stuff on the network sites by hooking my laptop up to the telly.

Well, we had a huge power outage in December all across New England. Mr. Duck and I were out of power, hauling water, reading by kerosene and cooking on the wood stove for a week. At the end of that time we realized we hadn't missed the television at all. I'd always hated that blank eye staring at me so I was only too happy to take the damned thing down and put it face to the wall in a corner.

Since then we still haven't missed it. We watch pretty much anything we want via Netflix and going to the various network sites (I have a crush on Gordon Ramsey). Mr. Duck has a really nice monitor on his desktop so we sit on the futon in the office and watch quite comfortably. The picture is actually much better than on the expensive tv.

Now we find out that we probably won't even be able to get that one channel with the expensive digital tv we bought. No one told us this little factoid and I'm pretty pissed about that. They can take their television and shove it where the sun don't shine as far as I'm concerned. I'll be damned if anyone's going to push me into paying for television by making it impossible to get any reception without cable. Screw 'em. I'll go read a book. Or stare at the wall. Or talk to Mr. Duck.

Nice to know we're not the only people who've made this decision, Sorrowful.
Sherry

Posted by: Sherry at February 2, 2009 07:56 PM

Sherry- for what it's worth and totally off topic

I have a crush on Gordon Ramsay too. If I had a million dollars I would go to his restaurant.....

And I am watching more and more TV via the internet.

Posted by: susan at February 2, 2009 09:00 PM

"Is your antidepressant not working? Maybe you should add Abilify."
My answer:
"Hey, Pharma,isn't there enough money in your pocket? Maybe you should add another drug and there will be more."

Posted by: Katrina at February 3, 2009 02:58 PM