One way to look at neurological challenges is to look at first person accounts written by persons who had a surprising, positive response (not a cure) to a FDA approved medicine. For some reason, there are very few accounts written. Two accounts which I am aware of are a Remarkable Medicine book by Jack Dreyfus about the epilepsy medicine, Dilantin (not a cure) and a How To Cure (part of the misunderstanding/ignorance surrounding) Hyperactivity book by C. Thomas Wild about FDA approved medicines Tirend, NoDoz, and Bonine (not cures). In contrast to these very rare, first person accounts, there is an almost endless array of fictional (aka second party, third party, hearsay) accounts which come from pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and the news media which extol the almost unlimited benefits (continual advertising) of medicines on a daily basis. The first person accounts can provide some understanding (not a cure) into the whole area of what FDA medicines do/can't do and so on it seems to me. Apparently FDA approved medicines do actually work a little for a few users - enough so that it motivated Dreyfus and Wild to write accounts about their experiences with FDA approved medicines.
Topic: Autism, Asperger, ADHD, Epilepsy Politics, Activism, and Media Representation
04 Sep 2010, 9:57 am
