The suicide squeeze (Part 2) Last Daily Dose, I spilled a story that many in the medical mainstream (and the drug companies they're slaves to) would no doubt love to keep under wraps: A possible link between antidepressant drugs and suicide in depressed juveniles. But the ironic part of the story was that the red flag on this potential link is being hoisted not by a marquis medical journal, some big-name investigative reporter, or even a law firm representing a class action suit on the matter - but rather by the ponderous U.S. Food and Drug Administration, normally the willing handmaiden of the prescription drug industry. Which should lead you to ask: Why? To understand the answer to this question, you need to know how the FDA finds out about a drug's side effects. It might surprise you to learn (but probably not) that after the approval process - during which a drug's side effects are disclosed by the selfless and honorable drug makers themselves - the only way the FDA EVER DISCOVERS the side effects of any particular drug is if individual doctors take the time to document and report them from the field. That's right. If sufficient numbers of doctors don't squawk about the unknown (or undisclosed) side effects of an approved drug, the FDA won't find out about them. And even once they do know about these downsides, how likely do you think it is that they'll sound the alarm about a drug's dangers, knowing full well that the egg will be on their face - along with a bunch of lawsuits? The way I see it, such a disclosure would ONLY HAPPEN if the public danger were significant enough for the FDA to feel the need to control their own liability by preventing additional cases from occurring. It's a simple dollars and cents equation. If it'll cost them less to stay quiet than to sound the alarm, then mum's the word. If not, they notify doctors and the Associated Press. But the scariest part of it all is this: The FDA has no real idea of the scope of the antidepressant/suicide link. In fact, it's a wonder they learned of it at all. After all, how many doctors do you think are likely to willingly volunteer the fact that one or more of their patients killed themselves after taking antidepressants they prescribed - especially if it's a medication other than the one drug currently approved for juvenile depression? This tells me that the risks are very real, and much greater than they appear. Thank God there are a few honest doctors out there who still believe in their oath and their duty to their fellow man enough to speak out about it. I tip my hat to them… ***********************************************
Drive-by eye surgery? I can't believe I'm really feeling the need to issue this warning, but in light of some recent news stories, here goes: Don't let people who drive up in a truck operate on you. Sound like common sense? It does to me, too. But the siren song of discounted prices and no-appointment convenience has got many people boarding mobile surgery clinics to undergo delicate eye operations. Yep, you read that right. There are growing numbers of road-going surgeons (fully licensed and totally reputable, though, I'm sure) on our nation's highways, cruising around from city to city in giant trucks or trailers to ply their wares: Cut-rate laser vision correction surgery. Never mind that this type of vision surgery sometimes requires a significant degree of follow-up care. Forget about the fact that post-procedure complications sometimes occur. And don't sweat the small details, like the chance of blindness or permanent vision impairment. The handy little liability waiver takes care of all that! Even though this sounds like something out of a bad science fiction novel, believe it or not, this is really happening. But what's next, I wonder? As the technology advances to make other kinds of procedures easier, faster, and cheaper, will we soon see drive-up vasectomies, breast augmentations, hair transplantation, and liposuction? Where's it end? Look, I'm all for free-market capitalism as the primary driving force behind medicine, but parking-lot surgery of any type crosses the line. Much as I hate to say it, I think some regulation on the state level may be needed on this. Now. Running the "health" gypsies out of town,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD | 
