There’s a fairly well-known joke, You Might Work In The ER If… that includes “you believe in an aerial spraying of Prozac.”
Apparently, Eli Lilly took that a bit too seriously.
It’s appalling that this happened. What a huge breach of patient confidentiality! Not to mention a medical disaster waiting to happen. People have had strong reactions to Prozac, and some are absentminded enough to actually believe their doctor would change their prescription and just sort of let them know through the mail.
For them to say, “stop taking your current antidepressant today and start weekly Prozac tomorrow!” is nothing short of stupidity. Some anti-d’s (MAO inhibitors) take weeks to completely clear your system and can react very badly to an SSRI (selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitor - apparently treating depressing is allll about inhibiting) to the point of serious medical emergency.
So, remember this: take your meds, but not the ones that randomly show up in your mailbox. :)
I have been an Intensive Care nurse for 11 years. This blog is about my experiences as a nurse, and the experiences of others in the healthcare system - patients, nurses, doctors, paramedics. We all have stories!
Comments
Quoting part of the CBS article:
Says LaCorte: “It was called a win, win, win situation. The patient got a free course of therapy. The doctor looked like a hero to his patient because he was updating them on the most new and improved medication. And Eli Lilly got a win because they’ve got a sale, at least one sale on Prozac.”
I can’t believe someone could possibly think that. It’s as if I’m reading an Onion article.
added by dave on 02.21.03 12:49 pm | Permalink
Utterly amazing. I’m taking Zoloft and Wellbutrin, which are SSRI antidepressants. If some company randomly sent me a MAO inhibitor antidepressant, and I started taking that immediately, it could kill me. Mixing those 2 drug types without letting 2 weeks go by to clear the drug out of your system is suicidal.
Doesn’t surprise me too much about Eli Lilly though. My father used to work for one of their divisions and was less than impressed with the integrity of the management.
added by Anne Haight on 08.06.03 5:05 pm | Permalink
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