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Rating: 
Summary: I read this book too late
Review: As consumers, we assume the FDA protects us against dangerous drugs. But when big money is involved, people tend to look the other way. I was recently "floxed" by a drug called Avelox (Bayer). I suffered bilateral ulnar neuritis, nerve damage in my feet, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, extreme anxiety, tendinopathy, and vasculitis. Symptoms have persisted over 3 months after taking the drug. It took 18 blood tests, 2 EMGs, and several doctors to figure out what was going on. Finally, a rheumatologist said "I've seen this before. It's from the floroquinolones."This book will show you how the seedy back room deals between the pharmacutical industry, government, and physicians, take place. Most doctors are ignorant of the potentially catastrophic side effects these drugs can cause. The drug reps routinely lie and say "I've never seen that before!" To make matters worse, the author points out that in most cases, another, far safer drug could be used. I can only imagine the kickbacks doctors get for dishing out this poison. My sister-in-law is a drug rep. Every Christmas I see the gifts that go out to the doctors -big baskets filled with Screaming Eagle wine ($1400 a bottle), caviar, gift certificates worth thousands, etc. This is an important book. I wash I had read it before taking the Avelox.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent combined investigative and personal reporting
Review: I read this book at least a year ago but am still impressed by the story and the thoroughness of the author. I found it especially chilling because it is something I can imagine happening to me. Like Fried's wife, Diane, I too suffered a mild closed-head injury from an automobile accident as a child. Also like Diane, this injury has never given me problems and so I have never had reason to worry the subject - never considering it might have repercussions, certainly not when it comes time to fill a prescription. The most chilling part is that I can easily imagine a physician doing exactly what Diane's physician did - reading (or glancing at) the bland official Floxin contraindications as Fried has presented them, and deciding the antibiotic will be just fine! Fried's investigation into the drug-approval process was fascinating reading. By looking at one antibiotic in depth, he captured a lot of specific information that can no doubt be applied to the general case of pharmaceutical approval. The appendix to the book suggests how to read a drug insert and is a wonderful bonus - practical information you can use any time you deal with your MD or go to the pharmacy.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read page-turner that may save your life!
Review: Stephen Fried writes of his investigative odyssey to uncover the reasons for the devastating, permanent neurological damage done to his wife, novelist Diane Ayres, by Floxin, an antibiotic prescribed for a minor infection. His wife's trauma led Fried to investigate the deaths and disease following in the wake of the many prescriptions for Floxin, a much-ballyhooed drug, and accompanying other legal, medically prescribed drugs. Recently, the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION published a study demonstrating that adverse drug reactions to such legally prescribed drugs kill an average of more than 100,000 Americans every year. Illegal drugs, against which the government fights so hard, kill from 5,000 to 10,000 Americans annually. Fried's work earned a National Magazine Award and spurred the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate the safety and complications of antibiotics. Well-written, fast-paced, this cautionary tale advises all of us to take a more active role in our own health care. Owning a PDR (Physicians Desk Reference) and PDR Guide to Drug Interactions, Complications, and Side-Effects and looking up every drug before you fill the prescription is one defense. But patients need to be aware that the information in the PDR is provided by the pharmaceutical manufacturers. Patients need to ask their physicians about every prescription they receive--and about all the samples that pharmaceutical representatives provide. Read this book. Buy a copy for every one of your physicians.
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