Posted by Cecilia on June 30, 2005, at 1:41:58
I`ve been reading an interesting book, "Overdose:the case against the drug companies" by Jay S. Cohen. It`s got some pretty scary info about the the drug companies and their bedmates, the FDA. He says the drug companies recommended doses are often way too high. For example, he says Lilly`s own studies showed, before Prozac was ever approved, that 54% respond to only 5 mg, 64% to 20 mg, and 65% to 40 mg. Yet because they wanted that 64% statistic in order to get FDA approval they never mentioned that 5 out of 6 responders only needed 5 mg and only marketed a one size fits all 20 mg capsule. As one of the many people who tried Prozac soon after it first came out and said I would never touch the stuff again because of side effects, now about 30 drugs later I`m wondering if I should go back and try a small dose. Anyway, the author has a lot of similar info about many drugs, such as those for hypertension and high cholesterol, all recommended by the drug companies in doses much too high for many people. (An exception, he says is Claritin , where the dose recommended is too low for many people, all because the manufacturer didn`t want to have to list sedation as a side effect!) Basically, it`s all about marketing, first to the FDA, to get approval, and then to the doctors who want one size fits all formulations so they don`t have to think. Cecilia
poster:Cecilia
thread:521397
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050627/msgs/521397.html