Received this email and it is a dreadful truth I am hearing more and more people who are being treated for various problems not associated with psychotic symptoms using these drugs. Seroquel is the most common prescribed for simple insomnia and it is a terrible thing due to the side effects which includes diabetes. People really need to do their research before accepting this treatment. It is like substance abuse and the unaware patient is at risk Hate to see this sort of thing but at least it is being addressed by some.
Anti-psychotic drugs given for wrong illnesses: Half of prescriptions are for conditions that are not mental illnesses
- Elderly are twice as likely to be given the drugs, despite risk of death
- They may be used to control agitation to make life easier for care workers
- In 2004 doctors were told not to use anti-psychotics except as a last resort
More than half of prescriptions for anti-psychotic drugs in Britain are for conditions other than serious mental illnesses, say researchers.
And the elderly are twice as likely to be prescribed the drugs as people in their 40s, even though they are linked to a higher risk of premature death in older people.
The drugs, often dubbed the ‘chemical cosh’ because they are wrongly used to sedate dementia patients, are licensed for serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Dignity for the elderly: The elderly are twice as likely to be prescribed anti-psychotic drugs as people in their 40s, even though they are linked to a higher risk of premature death in older people. File picture
But a study of GPs’ prescriptions between 2007 and 2011, using an electronic database of anonymous patient records, found that less than half were prescribed the drugs for these conditions.
Often they were handed out for anxiety, sleep problems and personality disorders, as well as dementia, even though doctors have been told to prescribe them only as a last resort.
This ‘off label’ or unlicensed prescribing resulted in older people with conditions such as dementia and anxiety getting them, says the study published online by the journal BMJ Open.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2879902/Anti-psychotic-drugs-given-wrong-illnesses-Half-prescriptions-conditions-not-mental-illnesses.html#ixzz3MXlBx1EM
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