Confessions of an rx drug pusher free book download

The contents of this book are hard to stomach. She is denouncing the industry for being about making money rather than helping people get better and illustrating how the two mostly collide, how captive audiences in care homes are exploited, how addiction is fostered, side effects welcomed as opportunities to sell mo The contents of this book are hard to stomach.

She is denouncing the industry for being about making money rather than helping people get better and illustrating how the two mostly collide, how captive audiences in care homes are exploited, how addiction is fostered, side effects welcomed as opportunities to sell more drugs, scientific research rigged, the FDA ineffectual, congress corrupt and so on and so forth.

Anyone in doubt about the effects of a private health sector ought to read this book. What I found particularly harrowing was the way SSRIs are pushed, the censoring of knowledge of their effects, and a thread that started appearing as I was reading, linking the use of certain SSRIs with random, out of character acts of violence of the sort that, despite recognisable patterns linking the type of drug rather than its takers, always seems to get buried under some diagnosis of mental illness.

The author is tactful about the overworked drug dealers the doctors and even about the hyper-money-driven-high-on-drugs drug pushers like she was; she understandably points the finger at big pharma and a sleepy government.

Much of it is mixed with autobiographical information as she was motivated to write the book by the death of her niece. Glad she did. Aug 25, Alessandra Fissinger rated it it was amazing. It's really too too bad that this book is pretty much only read by the victims and families of the casualties after this knowledge was learned the hard way and it's too late It's really too too bad that this book is pretty much only read by the victims and families of the casualties after this knowledge was learned the hard way and it's too late Informative book about the effects of prescription meds, especially those used for mental illness.

Often the side effects are much worse than the condition they are prescribed for, and often allowed on the market without proper testing and pushed through too quickly by the FDA. I recommend this one for anyone who has family members on any medication or anyone just seeking knowledge of the truth of big pharma in the US. Sep 18, Gwen Henson rated it liked it. The book turned out to be a little more biographical and not as thorough in facts about drugs as I anticipated, but was very informative nonetheless.

It focused heavily on effects of psychiatric meds. The author is very open and sincere, as well as smart and compassionate. Good read. Aug 25, Jaclyn rated it did not like it. Mar 16, Max Lapin rated it liked it. May 01, Nancy Rector rated it liked it. Written by a gal who was a pharmaceutical rep for 15 years and saw up close and personal the deceptions and lies used to sell their wares Proves is is not about healing but about keeping folks ill to profit off them.

May 10, Karen Branson rated it really liked it. I highly recommend this informative book with eye-opening information on the pharmaceutical industry and anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds in particular.

Kudos to Gwen Olsen! View 1 comment. Andrew McCreary rated it really liked it Jul 10, Jenna Gall rated it it was amazing Oct 08, Andrea rated it liked it Apr 16, Kirsten rated it it was ok Apr 22, N rated it it was amazing Jan 08, Karen Woods rated it did not like it Jun 04, Jun 13, Chrisi McGlone rated it liked it.

Scarey but hopeful. Miyoshi rated it liked it Aug 08, Lesley Writes rated it liked it Jun 23, Mkronenb rated it really liked it Apr 03, Michele Rodgers rated it liked it Apr 26, Jen rated it really liked it Apr 25, Marti Babb rated it it was amazing Nov 05, Samantha Groves rated it really liked it Apr 25, Craig rated it it was amazing Apr 30, Justin rated it it was amazing Aug 12, Cynthia LaBrecque rated it it was amazing Aug 25, Miranda Patel rated it liked it Dec 10, There are no discussion topics on this book yet.

She is also a contributing author to three books, Drugging Our Children by Dr. Ben Lerner et al. Gwen is a passionate health activist, writer, and dynamic speaker who devotes much of her time to mental health and child advocacy.

Most recently, she is the founder of the Mental Health Alchemists, and provides one-on-one health coaching services and retreats for people who want to reclaim their mental and physical health without drugs. A Human Rights Award recipient, she is sought after internationally as a speaker and media resource, and has testified numerous times before Congress and the FDA.

She was a hospital rep and specialist rep for the majority of her career, educating residents in hospital teaching settings and selling prescription drugs to doctors in obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, cardiology, neurology, endocrinology and psychiatry. For over a decade, Gwen has made hundreds of appearances and presentations and has been interviewed and featured on national and international television, radio, on-line and print media, documentary films, etc.

She is currently featured in the award-winning documentary,Prescription Thugs. Addeddate Artist Dr. Their goal is to keep you buying their drugs, preferably for life. In her mind-blowing book, Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher , Olsen tells her story beginning with her life as a drug representative, her own foray into mental illness and psychiatric drugs, and ultimately the tragedy that befell her teenage niece — a young woman who committed suicide by setting herself on fire, ending her tortured life as a victim of the adverse effects of prescription drugs.

In the following passage from Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher , she reveals her first true moral quandary as a pharmaceutical sales rep:. Out of all of the drugs I had sold over the years in various specialties, the only drug that ever really challenged my moral ethics was Haldol, particularly Haldol decanoate.

It made me cringe while learning about this newest form of Haldol during the launch meeting when I envisioned the possible torture in store for some patients.

As I indicated earlier, patient non-compliance was a fairly common drawback with Haldol treatment. The side effects of neuroleptic drugs can be absolutely unbearable. As a hospital rep, I would frequently see institutionalized patients pacing frantically back and forth in waiting rooms, hallways, and outside in foyers.

Some would literally wear the soles off of their house shoes. Patients frequently drooled, sat staring into space, experienced facial grimacing, or continually made pill-rolling motions between their thumbs and forefingers.

I soon realized many of the bizarre behaviors and movements I had previously identified with schizophrenia and other mental illness were entirely the fault of the medications the patients were taking. They were not a manifestation of these disorders. His eyes had rolled into the back of his head and locked there.

This is known as an oculogyric crisis. However, where my heart really went out was to the poor, little elderly patients in the Veterans Administration VA hospital, the nursing homes, and the psychiatric wards. They seemed to suffer the most on Haldol. I heard constant reports about excessive dry mouth, blurry vision, painful constipation, and urinary retention. Nurses even complained about fecal impacts associated with chronic neuroleptic use. These side effects are known as anticholinergic effects, and my training had actually consisted of a little rhyme to assist me in learning them.

Reps were instructed to minimize these side effects by encouraging the doctor to simply administer an anticholinergic drug simultaneously with Haldol. Still, the most dreaded side effect by patients and doctors alike remained akathisia.

A patient with agitated akathisia could not only be self-injurious, but was also a danger to other patients and staff. These observations led me to question the medical prudence and moral ethics behind giving a long-acting, irreversible neuroleptic like Haldol decanoate, especially because Haldol was documented to have a huge potential to cause negative side effects.

Once this drug was on board and a patient reacted to it, there was absolutely nothing doctors could do except give additional drugs to manage the side effects while the patient rode out the three weeks the injection was intended to last. Of course, three weeks was only the half-life of the drug. There would be remaining drug residual for some time after that. Traditional oral medications could not ensure patient compliance in the absence of an institutional setting.