Prescriptions for drugs marketed as anti-anxiety, anti-insomnia and anti-depression treatments has increased since the COVID19 epidemic began. People who are experiencing normal stress in response to the COVID19 epidemic and decide to start taking these drugs should ask their doctors to discuss risks vs. possible benefits and be aware of signs of akathisia.

MISSD has long publicized that “caregivers and patients should pay close attention to any sudden changes in mood, behaviors, thoughts and feelings when an antidepressant medicine is started or when the dosage is changed.”

Read the full article at https://www.ktva.com/story/42130648/fda-adds-zoloft-to-drug-shortage-list-as-35-of-americans-reporting-anxiety-depression

The FDA updated its warning label for Singulair, a drug marketed by Merck for asthma. The drug carries a black box warning (also called a boxed warning), which is the FDA’s strongest warning. The National Center for Health Research is helping to better inform the public that “the black box warning for Singulair describes psychiatric side effects such as aggression, depression, agitation, sleep disturbances, suicidal thoughts, and suicide.”

Read the full article at http://www.center4research.org/new-warnings-on-singulair-allergy-and-asthma-drug/?fbclid=IwAR3CKQAZVPS5l8HBnX8AsfZNVo5snDN6tDxofVBofaec_BVslzUc3a9Ifc4

A new study out of Australia finds suicide prevention organizations and key opinion leaders with ties to pharma ignored key findings & minimized the importance of FDA warnings about suicidality as an adverse effect of drugs marketed as antidepressants.

As more teens are prescribed SSRIs off label, the risk of iatrogenic harms precipitated by akathisia also likely increases. Get the full story at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00478/full?fbclid=IwAR0tRGKGFAxUrjveP3OV_PIt9R6eMYMqWKvX3XOx19kzPPthHVFmBBsQErc

A news study published in the BMJ and made freely available to the public, explores what patients want and want to know when receiving informed consent. Informed consent regarding risks vs. benefits can play a key role in reducing adverse drug effects and identifying drug-induced disorders, such as akathisia, before it’s too late.

Read the full article at https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/9/7/e028957.full.pdf

Take our accredited, free Akathisia 101 course at MISSD.LearnUpon.com. In just 1 hour, you can learn more about akathisia to reduce avoidable suffering and help save lives.

Comments from course completers include:

“I feel much more competent in supporting my clients as a result of taking this course. I work primarily with veterans struggling to cope with PTSD.”

“Course material was interesting, explanatory, easy to understand.”

Researchers spotlight “rebound” symptoms, many of which are the same symptoms associated with prescription-drug-induced akathisia:
“Rebound with SSRIs entails worsening anxiety, insomnia, agitation, obsessions and compulsions, with peak onset between 36 and 96 hours. The timeframe for rebound relates to the duration of drug action (ie, half-life) and can last up to 6 weeks.”

Read the full article at https://www.mdlinx.com/article/are-these-common-drugs-worth-prescribing/5V1uIGBjfUgWbbvuz7rceZ

Prescriptions for psych drugs are skyrocketing in response to Covid-19 induced anxiety but medical experts point out “Many physicians have a low threshold for prescribing them. It’s very problematic,” says Bruce J. Schwartz, deputy chair and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. “Many people do develop a dependency on these medications.”https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-people-are-taking-drugs-for-anxiety-and-insomnia-and-doctors-are-worried-11590411600?mod=hp_featst_pos1

Issues in Science and Technology highlights that professionals searching for a coronavirus cure must not “abandon the prime dictum of medicine, to do no harm, and rush into treatments that not only may not work but may well cause serious harm.”

Read the full article at https://issues.org/pandemic-science-out-of-control/

Healthcare providers and consumers can benefit from these tips to reduce normal anxiety and stress during these abnormal COVID-19 times.

See MedPage article at: https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/85660?xid=nl_popmed_2020-05-20&eun=g1045428d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CoronaBreak_052020&utm_term=NL_Daily_Breaking_News_Active

The corona virus and a search for treatments is increasing the public’s awareness of drug side effects–something more people need to be aware of when taking any medication, whether by prescription or over-the-counter.

“Scientists, journalists and politicians have been “pointing out the drug’s ineffectiveness against the coronavirus in a few recent studies and long list of potentially dangerous side effects.” Read the full article at https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/05/19/coronavirus-side-effects-taking-hydroxychloroquine-covid-19/5218956002/