“During the day, I could ease my inner restlessness a little by walking in the park, sometimes for five or six hours at a time. However, there was nothing I could do about the insomnia at night because something would jolt me awake as soon as I started to drift off into sleep. It felt like a mini explosion or electric shock that ran through my body from head to foot. It was hard to describe in words…”

This thorough personal account of akathisia is well worth reading: https://ryanelliot.medium.com/three-seasons-in-hell-384a07a80a96

Dr. David Healy’s latest book examines our changing environment through a healthcare lens and explores how we arrived at our present point of peril. MISSD believes a better understanding of such can improve healthcare and reduce adverse drug events, which is the fourth leading cause of death.

“The people best placed to grasp what is going wrong and force our ‘betters’ to justify the distinctions that have been bestowed on them are those whose lives have been touched by what is going wrong in healthcare,” said Healy, a psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, author and scientist.

Read the blog at https://davidhealy.org/shipwreck-of-the-singular-healthcares-castaways/ and buy the book at https://www.amazon.com/Shipwreck-Singular-Healthcares-David-Healy/dp/1989963145/

Filmmaker Michael Gier’s new documentary, “Wounded Heroes,” explores suicidality, polypharmacy harms and alternative, non-drug treatments among veterans and active-duty military members.

One veteran was prescribed more than 15 different drugs. “I was given what they called medically-induced apathy, which only made my PTSD worse,” said the vet.

“There has to be something better than just handing out a bunch of drugs,” Gier said. “Especially when he said the drugs weren’t working — they were just a Band-Aid.” Read the full article at https://kdhnews.com/fort_hood_herald/across_the_fort/upcoming-documentary-highlights-programs-helping-to-end-veteran-suicide/article_b25c7fbe-665a-11eb-86ca-3371dd57d5a8.html

A new study finds more than 20% of youths prescribed psychoactive drugs may be misusing them. Also important to note is that quickly stopping these drugs, or even missing a dose, can cause akathisia and precipitate iatrogenic deaths.

Read the full article at https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/02/health/psychoactive-drugs-misuse-study-wellness/index.html

Having conversations about suicidality and suicide can help people who may be suffering from akathisia, as well as those who are struggling with mental health challenges. “Sharing personal stories on blogs and social media represents an important tool for those struggling…”

Read the full article at https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/opening-up-about-suicide and listen to MISSD’s Akathisia Stories podcasts at https://www.studiocchicago.com/akathisia-stories

“If you want to increase medication safety, you need to know its adverse effects” and which medicines should not be taken together.

Read the full list at https://www.influencive.com/10-facts-about-medication-safety/

Andy Miles interviews social worker, Chris Paige, in this latest episode of the MISSD Akathisia Stories podcast series. Paige, who developed akathisia after being prescribed a benzodiazepine and antibiotic, shares his story to help others be more aware of akathisia and related iatrogenic injuries.

Listen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZheGDfku-Z8

Judge orders Propecia drug info must be unsealed. It is “alleged that the company did not fully disclose on Propecia’s label the incidence and duration of sexual dysfunction in men who took the drug in clinical trials.”

A Reuter’s investigation found that “hundreds of thousands of Americans have been killed or seriously injured in recent decades by allegedly defective products — drugs, cars, medical devices and other products — while evidence that could have alerted consumers and regulators to potential danger remained hidden.”

Read the full article at https://www.reuters.com/article/merck-propecia-ruling/judge-orders-merck-documents-on-anti-baldness-drug-propecia-unsealed-idUSL4N2K04D0

“The harmful effects of withdrawal from psychiatric drugs are beginning to be recognized in the research literature. Still, the shift has not necessarily made its way all the way to frontline clinicians.

In the US, by 2014, 12.7% of the population was prescribed an antidepressant. Researchers have recently estimated that 56% of users will experience withdrawal when they try to stop, and 46% of those who experience withdrawal will have “severe” withdrawal symptoms.”

Read the full article at https://www.madinamerica.com/2021/01/facebook-groups-provide-psychiatric-drug-withdrawal-help-doctors-dont/?mc_cid=f4e865d474&mc_eid=ddd7b4b2cc

In light of rising concerns over mental health in the current milieu, it’s wise to review the many drug-drug interactions (DDIs) that psychotropic drugs can have with each other and with drugs for other common conditions.

Here’s an overview of DDIs and 20 interactions to be aware of: https://www.mdlinx.com/article/the-drug-interaction-threat-all-doctors-must-know-about/2phavEODDgDL2kjnLTYDQt