Anyone watching Dopesick? (title edited by MNHQ at request of OP)

[Biggfarmer]

So I've been watching this on iplayer (about the opioid scandal/catastrophe in the US) and so many things seem to relate to what has happened with puberty blockers - obviously the huge money involved for invested companies, the overly simplistic charts which are used to get people to agree they feel like that, the language used to plough through safeguarding/good doctors, the constantly staying ahead of people trying to stop it, the fight back and chaos when the pharmaceutical company realises people realise it's not all cool... It's so depressing, anyone else had a similar feeling? I know some of this is how pharmaceutical companies operate and always have, but the striking thing with this is that they know they can get away with this because the US doesn't have the regulations of Europe (specifically Germany in this), but with puberty blockers that doesn't seem to have stopped anyone (until now [UK]). Any thoughts welcome (it's an excellent series either way 😬, Michael Keaton is great)

I've had a bit of a special interest in the opioid epidemic for a while. This series is absolutely brilliant and very very true to life. I'm so glad it's reaching a wider audience as the injustice of it all keeps me awake at night. Once you start looking at the way medical products are marketed you can see parallels in many places. I believe there is another big scandal brewing, but it will take years to come out.

Doctors believed that 'study' that proved Oxycontin was non addictive, yet the evidence was just a letter published in a journal.

Apparently Tramadol was developed as a non-addictive opiate.
I’m surprised more doctors don’t know that there’s no such thing as a non-addictive opiate.

OxyContin, OxyNorm (oxycodone basically) are widely used in the NHS to this day. They have replaced morphine/diamorphine in many places in the UK for the treatment of acute pain or in palliative care.

Lots of UK doctors have been convinced over the last few years that oxycodone cause less side effects than the traditional morphine and prescribe it in all the places morphine used to be used. Big pharma strikes again.....

I think opioids have their place in palliative care and very short term acute pain use. There are a lot of people in the UK addicted to codine and OTC painkillers but they are obviously not as easily lethal as oxy.

Sorry Sloejelly, the doctor (GP) I'm referring to was at the beginning end of the chain, not able to refuse to refer children to gender identity services as there were no other appropriate services (I don't really see how they could just say no to referring to the only available service?) but knowing that the service was the opposite of just letting them go through puberty. As far as onward prescription of puberty blockers goes, you have just said it is an example of corruption and abuse. My original point was how puberty blockers have made their way into being an accessible prescribed drug and we are all now not only asking how did we get here, but also realising how we did. I know lovely young people on hormones (previously on puberty blockers) and they are still very immature kids (because of puberty blockers).

Ah, I thought you meant they were prescribing themselves. Yes it would be very hard to turn away patients who want to be referred to a service which is meant to provide specialist services within the NHS. You might be able to buy time by referring to CAMHS first but it would just be buying time.

Did anyone see the article in yesterday’s Guardian (quelle surprise) about the trans lobby mounting a legal challenge to the ban on puberty blockers? The description of puberty blockers by the journalist involved was something to “buy time” on “symptoms of puberty like facial hair” and was clearly written to minimise of any dangers involved so that anyone reading this would think a challenge entirely reasonable.
Not one word of balance.

Yes I saw that Blackcats7, obviously deliberately heavy language about criminalisation but I was also struck by the way it would both say PB's give time to think, but also keeping calling them young trans people as a forgone conclusion.

Oh, called them once, in a quote, not kept calling them.

Is that GLP again? I saw on Twitter that someone had reported one of his other crowdfunders to the ASA because it did not make clear what the case actually was and it was an apparent duplicate of another one that raised £30k then disappeared without anything being done. That crowdfund was taken down.

GLP seeems to be more about a vehicle to raise income through crowdfunding than a serious legal entity.

Ooh interesting, yes it is, along with TransActual

Agree with the recommendation upthread for Demon Copperhead, it is a phenomenal book!

I watched it last year so can't remember all of it but I do remember being shocked at the level of coercion and corruption that took place. So many people let down by those that they trusted to help them.

I'm actually watching Painkiller on Netflix, a fictionalized account and I agree, the parallels are striking. Using young, pretty women, just out of college to sell it to doctors, using a cute fluffy toy to promote it in pharmacies. Lying about how addictive the drug is. " You're a drug dealer with a ponytail " shouts one ethical Dr who actually knows that what they're pushing is basically heroin...

Made me think that one day they will make a film about how puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, mastectomies and castration was sold to confused young people in the name of ' gender affirming care'. Utterly immoral. Thank you OP for highlighting this.

Just not sure how long it will take for the world to wake up to this appalling medical scandal....

Speaking of antidepressants: Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale was on 2 of them.

Next to these remarks, Hale illustrated the words, “Everything Hurts,” which she used repeatedly throughout the journal.

While the source of Hale’s purported discomfort is unclear, musculoskeletal pain is a possible side effect of a medication The Star learned was prescribed to Hale by staff at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).

In addition to musculoskeletal pain, the National Institutes of Health explains side effects for that medication, the anti-anxiety drug Buspirone, include abnormal dreams, outbursts of anger, tremors, and physical weakness.

Hale was additionally prescribed Escitalopram, better known as Lexapro, and Medical News Today explains that using the depression drug with Buspirone could “increase the risk of side effects” for both medications.

Interesting that the article doesn't use preferred pronouns.

https://tennesseestar.com/justice/covenant-killer-audrey-hale-declared-herself-most-unhappy-boy-alive-in-recovered-journal/tpappert/2024/06/07/

An update

Supreme Court rejects plan to shield Sacklers in Purdue opioid deal - BBC News