Neuroleptics

I recently wrote a post called: Do Major Tranquilizers Make Things Worse? The post was based on a study by Drs. Harrow and Jobe in which they speculated that the high relapse rate of “schizophrenics” who stop taking their drugs may have more to do with drug withdrawal than the supposed drug efficacy. Monica, at BeyondMeds, pointed out that these drugs should not be called tranquilizers because some of their effects (e.g. akathisia, tardive dyskinesia, etc.) are anything but tranquil. And this, of course, is a good point. ...

In the late 80’s, I worked for a while in an addictions unit that was located on the grounds of a State Hospital in West Virginia. Clients would arrive on 72-hour holding committals from the counties, and if the psychiatrist felt that the client needed to stay longer than that (which was almost always the case), then either the client had to convert to voluntary status, which is what happened in most cases, or the hospital had to arrange for a hearing in front of a judge. For convenience, a local judge would come in and the hearing would be held in the hospital. ...