Side-effect alert for all statin users
At last, new health warnings are to be issued about statins. Can you believe that more than 6m adults in the UK (that’s over 12% of our adult population) are on these very lucrative drugs? (Lipitor...
View ArticleThe Pill, Sugar and Scary Headlines
I hope you enjoyed the mid week dissection of the low fat dairy and diabetes headlines. I was genuinely shocked to see 'researchers' try to position "no association whatsoever in five types of dairy"...
View ArticleMass medication and the real choice to be made
Last week, a report by the Health and Social Care Information Centre was published. It was widely reported by the media with the headline “Nearly 50% take prescription drugs”. The figures were...
View ArticleAnd now for diet injections
Saturday’s Daily Mail had a front page advert for a Danish pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk. It wasn’t an advert placed by the company, but the headline “Miracle of Daily Diet Jab” is probably...
View ArticleParacetamol, Pain, Pleasure, Prozac and Weight
A couple of years ago, an active 60 something neighbour shared that she had been suffering chronic pain, but she had been prescribed something called amitriptyline and it was helping noticeably. I was...
View ArticlePolypharmacy – time to cut drugs!
On May 13th (2015), an excellent initiative was launched with an article in the BMJ. The authors were: Dr Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist; Dr Daniel Maughan, a fellow of the Royal College of...
View ArticleA GPs view of mass medication
Following this story last week, I am delighted to say that we have a GP writing this week’s note to give an at-the-coal-face insight into this topic. Dr Joanne McCormack wrote on my blog last year,...
View ArticleThree revelations about statins
I posted last Monday’s note about National Cholesterol Month as a blog and it has already been shared more than any other blog I have written. It also attracted many blog comments, which fall into...
View Article
