Catch up: A 101-year-old Canadian heroine dies and Other Stories You May Have Missed (Thalidomide)

The Globe and Mail ^

[nickcarraway]

Canadian doctor who kept thalidomide out of U.S. dies

Frances Kelsey, the Canadian doctor who spared the United States from one of the worst drug disasters in history, died on Friday morning. She was 101.

As Ingrid Peritz reports, Dr. Kelsey is regarded as a heroine for her role in the early 1960s opposing thalidomide, a drug then generally promoted as a safe sedative for pregnant women, but which caused an epidemic of birth defects around the world, including Canada.

Dr. Kelsey died less than 24 hours after receiving the Order of Canada for her role in stopping thalidomide.

[Smokin' Joe]

May Almighty God Bless her soul. My mother was prescribed Thalidomide. Thankfully she flushed it rather than take it, and I developed normally. Had it not been for her ‘cussed independent streak’ (something she passed on to her children), my life could have been very different.

[Ditter]

I went to your link and watched a video of 2 women who were deformed by this drug. Sad so sad. I have met a woman who was born with almost no arms, I didn’t ask but I feel like she is one of these.

[Tax-chick]

I remember reading a biography of her when I was in junior high school.

[Gay State Conservative]

I once worked with a guy who was born and raised in Canada in the 1950’s/1960’s who was a Thalidomide baby.Very sad indeed.But he did soldier on and refused to let his situation hold him back.In his situation I think I would have drowned in self pity.

[Captain7seas]

Thankfully we have the FDA to protect us now. (Sarc)

[GailA]

If you looked up most drugs the FDA approves you’d flush them too.

ALL OP drugs are Flagged, with Foreto being the highest with a Black Box for Bone Cancer.

Safety update for osteoporosis drugs, bisphosphonates, and atypical femur fractures, A FIB, Jaw Degeneration, Kidney failure deaths. RECLAST is NOT to be given to Asthma patients. It is the worst of the drugs as it NEVER leaves your system.
http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/drugsafetypodcasts/ucm229800.htm

Black box warning Foreto
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=21853

OA drugs will ruin your GI Tract, and the PPI will they use to control the GERD it causes will ruin your Bones. Some small studies are cropping up that PPI’s will cause Gastroparesis very painful Slow Motility, and the drugs for it are Black Box labeled and restricted to 12 days.
Neurological side effects that can be permanent. The drug is Reglan. The other drug is Domperidone, and it was Black Boxed in Europe in 2015 for Heart Disease, restricted to 12 days. GP is a life long nasty GI health issue.

These drugs cause ANGER the popular sleep aid Lunesta does.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/167075-what-drugs-cause-aggressive-behavior/

[oh8eleven]

Dr. Kelsey died less than 24 hours after receiving the Order of Canada for her role in stopping thalidomide.
Why did they wait until she was on her deathbed? Couldn't they have given her the award on her 100th birthday or better yet, 90th?

[lee martell]

I wondered about that too. It didn’t help that the article is not clear in establishing sequences. I recall those days, seeing the poor children on the covers of Life and Look.

[Gay State Conservative]

There's not a drug on the market today that doesn't involve a least *some* risk for *some* people.That includes everything from the most cutting edge cancer or heart medication all the way down to aspirin,Mortin and Tylenol.

Next time you develop a life threatening pneumonia try telling the doctor that you're refusing penicillin because you *might* be the 1 in 10,000 people that develop kidney failure because of it.

[Squawk 8888]

Canada Ping!

[oh8eleven]

I recall those days, seeing the poor children on the covers of Life and Look.
Yeah, me too, I was in my early teens.

[Smokin' Joe]

We're careful about any pharmaceuticals in our family, and Mom was the original standard bearer. I got my first PDR as a college student (that's another story) and had EMT training by then, and have learned a little about medicine since.

With the exception of antibiotics, we believe firmly in the 'least effective dose' of any drug, OTC or prescription, and always read through the possible side effects. Doing so has enabled me to recognize a serum retention toxicity problem with one relative, and an interaction with another (Prednisone/antibiotic) which the doctor had ignored.

Good medicine starts at home, and thankfully we aren't taking any routine medication. When you consider we have eight great-grandkids, we get strange looks from doctors when they ask 'What medication are you taking?" and we tell them "None".