Comments: New Details Of How Lilly Sold Zyprexa To PCPs
Whatever happened to doing a proper workup before prescribing all these pills? Oh, that's right - Pharma donates money to universities and so can dictate what students learn.
Posted by Lilly NC at August 19, 2008 02:43 AM
And see, the doctor gave all those yummy Reese's to the patients, and THAT'S why they gained weight, not the drug ....
Philip, I know the Pulitzers still are too troglodyte for your stuff, but I think you can self-nominate to the IRE Awards from the University of Missouri, which cover online work. G-d knows you deserve it.
As an aside, my own Zyprexa story -- gained 30 pounds in three months several years ago that I only lost in the last year. (With no particular improvement in mood, either.)
Yeah, that was three months too long given that I have a family history of diabetes, but at least I wasn't stuck like a guy I know on one of my online support groups. He's in the public health system, has gained 70 pounds in six months (not a typo) -- but can't get another drug because Zyprexa is the formulary in his area for schizoaffective disorder. And the poor guy honestly thinks its his fault for overeating ....
PLEASE keep fighting the good fight, Philip.
Posted by Larry at August 19, 2008 05:30 AM
This just all strikes me as the lowest of the low. To treat agitation from SSRIs by giving Zyprexa has just got to be one of the biggest jokes around, only it's far from funny. (How about lowering the dose of SSRI or better yet, getting off it altogether -- not adding Zyprexa?!!) And to claim that being on a cocktail of psych drugs might make you feel "well enough to exercise" -- that is a howler. Finally giving Reese's peanut butter cups to sell an antipsychotic -- what are we coming to here? Do you notice the incredibly short term focus of all these individuals? Just like the shareholder interests they are really serving, not the patients. This just demonstrates that doctors are little puppets in the hands of big pharma and drug reps. And darn naive puppets too. This is playing with lives -- it is truly disgusting and has nothing at all to do with healing people and making them better. The less one has to do with the medical profession as far as I'm concerned the better. It is a disgrace what has happened to what was once an honorable career. Because this kind of thing is not limited to psychiatry even if they are the worst abusers.
Posted by Sara at August 19, 2008 07:46 AM
Does not cause weight gain??? DOES NOT CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN?!?!?
Sort of like what my psy.d. said when he put me on it - "it might make you eat a little bit." uh...ONLY LIKE A PREGNANT WOMAN IN THE THIRD TRIMESTER! and my metabolism hasn't been the same since. i was only on it 6 months and gained 60 pounds.
i believe that the atypical antipsychotics are this generation's answer to tricyclic / MAOI antidepressants. this generation are the guinea pigs for antipsychotic drugs - i can only hope somebody, somewhere has learned something from all this.
Posted by anon for this one at August 19, 2008 09:18 AM
It is a shame that Lilly downplayed the side effects of Zyprexa out of paranoia (maybe the execs need to be taking it) about how well it would compete with other atypicals. Obviously it should have been forthcoming about the metabolic side effects and recommending an appropriate diet for those who found everything else to be ineffective (like me). It is not as if dietary restrictions with psychiatric medicines are anything new (re: the highly effective MAOi's). My doctor was upfront with me about Zyprexa. Through careful diet, I have not gained weight (and have lost some), and my blood sugar has been kept in check. Maybe I am the exception.
Does Zyprexa have it's problems: hell yes. But for some like me, it is the only thing that has stopped the madness. Take the bad with the good.
Phil, thanks for bringing to light what Lilly has tried to hide.
Posted by Tony at August 19, 2008 09:41 AM
This is sick. My 11 yr old in 1999 was given 15mg of Zyprexa while on 150mg of Zoloft; she never changed her eating habits, and gained 100 lbs in one year. The pdoc told her to "take a walk and stop drinking soda". She didn't drink soda! and she DID walk.
She is the victim of a crime that's all I can put this into in my mind now.
Posted by Stephany at August 19, 2008 09:42 AM
Here's another thing that can happen as a result of taking Zyprexa Metabolic Syndrome.
Posted by Stephany at August 19, 2008 09:45 AM
"Really work Zyprexa via patient whose symptoms are aggravated by an SSRI, emphasize Zyprexa as a mood stabilizer."
So Lilly is admitting there are problems with thier SSRIs?... but saying "please docs, trust us this time, we promise we aren't hiding anything from you like we did with our marketing of the very ssris that are now causing patients to become so aggravated that you're diagnosising them Bipolar."
WTF? and docs fall for it again!
See, THAT is why I have little faith left in doctors, especialy psych docs, and haven't bothered seeing a psych specialist in quite some time. And to boot I am hooked on Seroquel and can't find anyone who knows how to help me get off the stuff (at least the wieght gain has FINALY stopped after gaining 75pounds!)... so I am stuck with just seeing my GP and having him give me what I ask for, which includes continueing the Seroquel since I can't function without it. AT least my GP doesn't think he knows EVERYTHING in the universe like psych docs do and will listen to me when I tell him that a certain drug has a certain unmentioned by the sales reps side effect. He thinks I have a brain amazingly! Feels nice to be able to share what you know with your doctor, such as: "champix has been making people suicidal and nuttso doc so I really don't think it's a good med for me to try, especially since it seems to have THAT in common with SSRI which we both know are my worst enemy."... and have the doctor respond "Oh, I didn't know that, I will have to look into it". Instead of "You're just being a paraniod crazy person to second guess my suggestions for you".
Personaly I think PCPs GPs etc are easier to work with as an educated patient than shrinks. But they are also probably easier to dupe when it comes to beng told what drugs to rx, just they aren't getting the kickbacks for psych meds in the same way so they are also easier to reason with if you have some good info.
Really I think with PCPs and GPs they CARE about they're patients more because they aren't operating from the assumption that you are a crazy person and that is all you are. I think GPs and PCPs probably catch on easier that thier patients are atually having bad reactions to certain drugs rather than to blame it on the patient and the illness to the extent that psych docs do.... least that's been my experience.
... I bet you though, if you checked the adverse events reporting site and the doctors who make these reports have to list what they practice, well I bet you will find more GPs report adverse events where most psychs just attribute these responses to the patients illness and don't generaly make reports.
I dunno, I'll have to go take a look at the site again and see what the trend is, if it's published.
Posted by BipolarBunny at August 19, 2008 10:14 AM
Does not cause weight gain??? DOES NOT CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN?!?!?
Sort of like what my psy.d. said when he put me on it - "it might make you eat a little bit."
Posted by anon for this one at August 19, 2008 09:18 AM
The pdoc told her to "take a walk and stop drinking soda". She didn't drink soda! and she DID walk.
Posted by Stephany at August 19, 2008 09:42 AM
This is the main reason why I have trouble with psychiatrist or even GPs.
Till today they deny side effects. Even when it's even reported in the directions.
They remain silent.
I cannot take it.
Or they... lie.
"-No! Its not side effect!" "-No! My other patients don't have these side effects."
They say it for drugs that are around for more than a decade and that they have already have clinical evidences.
I don't understand.
Posted by Ana at August 19, 2008 11:40 AM
re: my daughter's 100lb weight gain: she lost all of it w/out trying once the Zyprexa was gone.
Posted by Stephany at August 19, 2008 01:36 PM
During my last mental health hospitalization, the pdoc I had at the time wanted to put me on Zyprexa, despite the fact that I have put that drug (and several others) in my advanced directive. I stated I would never ever take these drugs.
The pdoc in question, a kind man really in his 60s but a piss poor shrink, wanted to know why I refused to take this drug and placed it in my advanced directive.
I asked permission to go online, and showed them all the Zyprexa docs on this site.
The doc said he didn't have the time or the inclination to read the docs here. Then he made a disparaging comment that I haven't heard in psychiatry since Freud and his hysterical women.
And then had the chutzpah to tell my parents that I wasn't getting any better and he wanted me to go to a state hospital for a year to work things out with my meds.
I fired him on the spot. The thing is, most pdocs around here don't care about any drugs side effects other than rashes from lamictal.
But then, sigh, it's my fault I guess for living in part of the country where, according to one of NJ's papers, 18 out of the 24 USA headquarters are, and just think of all those "poor"" drug reps who would be out of work- not to mention all those donuts from Dunkin Donuts I have seen them bring in for the pdocs staff.....
Posted by susan at August 19, 2008 10:38 PM
Love your blog,damn Zyprexa took it for PTSD 1996-2000 worthless for symptoms cost $250 month co-pay got diabetes.
Posted by Daniel Haszard at August 21, 2008 12:01 PM
oh, and! the dr who took over my care from the other dr (original rx was from dr at a hospital) asked me at EVERY APPOINTMENT if i'd lost any weight. not only had i NOT lost any weight, i was GAINING, thanks to the zyprexa. and i was going to the gym daily, reating a restricted diet as part of my general treatment plan. didn't make a dent. didn't even slow it down. and this mofo is asking me every appointment in his accent, "hev you lozzt any vveiight?"
eventually i called his office one day and said that the side effects of this medication were outweighing (LITERALLY) their intended effects. he took me off the drug immediately. go fig.
but the weight question continued. i finally told him that i did not care to hear that question anymore, that i would discuss it with my GP if i felt the need, that i would let him know if i was looking for suggestions, and that it really made me feel as if he wasn't listening to me when he kept asking that question.
the very next appt. "hev you lozzt any vveiight?"
dropped him for a new (female) nurse practitioner. i think this one actually sees me as a human being. well, pretty sure.
Posted by anon again at August 21, 2008 12:05 PM
Lilly hid the Zyprexa lethal side effects, plus the clinical trial deaths (see Bob Whitaker's book "Mad in America" - excellent - because they wanted to have a blockbuster come bursting forth from their pipeline. It is this conscious sin of omission that makes them eligible for a criminal trial. Please write your member(s) of Congress or state/federal AG and tell them to get on the stick. Second degree murder or manslaughter. There are plenty of families of those who died (unexpectedly; no warning) who will testify.
Posted by Sorrowful at August 21, 2008 12:36 PM
What can my doctor perscribe instead of zyprexa?
Posted by deborah at September 4, 2009 07:49 AM