The Continuing Psychiatric Persecution of Andrew MacVicar
By Christine MacVicar
With permission Age of Autism reproduces an edited letter by Christine MacVicar describing the continued persecution of her 53 year-old son by the psychiatric system in Scotland. This outrageous case comes at time when Scotland's politicians are in further danger of entrenching autism as a mental illness through misconceived legislation. Andrew’s case acquired public notoriety three years ago when Christine and Andrew temporarily removed to Spain.
My son is Sectioned again, as a direct result of being forced to take Risperidal .
You will remember that we absconded to Spain while Andrew was under a Community Treatment order. While in Spain, still on Risperidal, Andrew got ill again. It is characterised by really odd behaviour, moving things and very smelly urine. The doc in Spain had this analysed and Andrew had acidosis. We already knew this perhaps ten years ago after Ken Aitken suggested we test it. GP then would do nothing and, even when he has the classic Kaussmaul's breathing, he is refused care now.
In January 2014 we had Andrew at the Breakspear Hospital to see Prof Puri. The minute he saw the gasping, he had him on an ECG. The trace is suggestive of a pulmonary blockage. They were going to do bicarbonate IV, but had none in stock.
The letter to the GP from the Prof, states that Andrew would need this intervention in an emergency and gave a Diagnosis of mitochondrial dysfunction, acidosis, detoxification deficit as described by Dr Lathe and Prof St Clair and underlying infection, possibly bacterial.
This has been completely ignored in contravention of our Patient's charter and even after the instructions, he was again refused emergency treatment for the acidosis. He does not have diabetes, so this must be metabolic.
In early Spring, prof Puri agreed to try Andrew with helicobacter treatment, and after odd behaviour while taking the meds, was greatly improved. This lasted for five/ six weeks or so and then the panting came back. We have given up asking for help and try bicarbonates by mouth, charcoal etc. he has very smelly urine and he is very restless when he is like this and has pressured speech and says walking helps. If it is untreated, i believe it causes toxicity and brain inflammation. Andrew was being weaned off Risperidal and was better than he had been with it.
About 8/9 weeks ago, we had a return appointment to the cardiologist. Andrew was very hard to reach, sweating and his eyes were red. Doc advised A&E and Andrew was kept in. He was found to have a urine infection which was again treated with amoxicillin. His behaviour was really weird when we got him at discharge, but they just shrugged this off because of his ASD.
His face was like a marshmallow and when I gave him .5 of Risperidal, he collapsed on the floor.
He was unable to sleep and moved all the neighbours bikes, which are stored in a shed behind the building, to the new rack at the cycle track- a dozen bikes at five o'clock in the morning. The next morning he was pouring paint over his own bike at the same time, in the rain,
He had got it all over the paving slabs over our rented house. I had to ask Social Work for some help until this passed, which it did and the support was put back to the old level.
Then the psychiatrist arrived, not having seen my son since September 2013, and declared that he was ill because he lacked Risperidal. Andrew is a nightmare on even a small amount of this drug and it gives him the aggression, psychosis etc all reported as side effects. He was suicidal on high doses before we went to Spain.
A meeting was arranged and I thought, fine, he can see how good Andrew is. Andrew was ignored and I was taken into a room without a witness and threatened that Andrew would be Sectioned unless I gave him the Drug.
I did this and both Of Andrew's care workers saw the deterioration. On top of this the smelly urine was back. A new GP agreed to get his urine checked out. He urinates in public when he is like this and had come to the attention of the police before this. Sure enough, they appeared at my door a week last Sunday and I explained the fix we were in. By this time, having contacted a new MSP, we had the complaints people from our Health Board involved.
After hearing what Andrew had been doing, I locked him in with me and took him off the Risperidal, giving vit C, charcoal, enzymes, pectin, and loads of water. Gradually he was surfacing. On the Wednesday morning the psychiatrist appeared to Section Andrew, despite the fact that he had been given the drug - the police officer told him that I said that he was not taking the drug.
Without checking whether Risperidal is in his blood, Andrew was forcibly injected with twice the amount the manufacturers recommend for problem patients. His heart problem has been dismissed and and his breathing dismissed as a bad habit. The last time he was admitted they said it was anxiety!
He is in a terrible state and is now having Larazepam to cover up the mess the Risperidal is making.
We have Ros Waring's report, a forensic pharmacologist's report and the report mentioned by
Prof Puri, all warning of Andrew's very poor detox and these are being dismissed as no evidence.
At least it is not just me who saw all of this, as Andrew has support workers who have been aghast at what has happened.
Richard Lathe, who has until now been very supportive, has written that Andrew's condition is one in a million. That may be the case for his detox problem, but the Mercury, gut imbalance, glutathione and vitamin levels, just fits the scenario that Derrick McFabe describes http://www.drperlmutter.com/autism-fundamental-role-gut-bacteria/ . We even found HPHPA.
Both the psychiatrist and the GP both admitted that they do not understand the complex diagnosis, but insist that they are still capable of prescribing!
Andrew and I both agree that there is intent to damage him.
My autistic brother has been put on aripizole. He’s nearly 73
Posted by: Ep | March 27, 2019 at 07:04 AM
Just to bring this up to date. Andrew has now collapsed two days running and the hospital says it can find nothing wrong with him.
My son is terrified that he will die and angry that this is being done to him. The UN clearly states that this is torture.
Posted by: Christine MacVicar | August 02, 2015 at 10:09 AM
Antipsychotics should be banned for people with autism. Autistic patients aren't mentally ill. Stop the madness. When oh when will the medical community wake up and realize that autism is not a psychiatric disorder?
Posted by: Becca | July 22, 2015 at 02:09 AM
Just been told by the mental Welfare Commission for Scotland that they will not intervene to stop this abuse. They do have this power.
Posted by: Christine NacVicar | July 20, 2015 at 10:10 AM
@Denise Anderstrom Douglass,
What do these elderly people on Risperdal who can't swallow look like? Do they have a lot of spit they can't get rid of? I ask because I know a young woman on the spectrum recently put on Risperdal who is spitting all the time. When she sleeps, she just spits on her carpeted floor all night long. Her relatives think she is doing it to get attention. I'm sure it's biomedical, and I wondered if it had to do with mitochondria, Risperdal, and probably more vaccines. Maybe some antibiotics as well. For some reason, the "mycin" antibiotics are particularly tough on mitochondrial function. I hate it when issues that are obviously biomedical to me are considered psychiatric to everyone else. Her family is full of medical types - doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and the like. Poor girl! Maybe a consultation with Dr. Frye would be helpful for my young friend and for Andrew as well.
Posted by: Betty Bona | July 18, 2015 at 04:22 PM
Dr. Richard Frye is finding that a large percentage of the children he sees in his autism clinic have mitochondrial dysfunction. I don't remember the percentage, but I think it was 30% or higher. I don't remember where I heard the specifics, but it might have been in his talk at the 1st Annual Symposium on the Microbiome (with a focus on Autism). I think many doctors completely ignore a label of mitochondrial dysfunction (unless it is one of the few known genetic mitochondrial diseases). This is a shame, since health could be improved in these kids by improving the micrdobiome, avoiding further toxic and heavy metal exposure, and avoiding pharmaceutical drugs that hinder the mitochondria - and there are a multitude of drugs that put a big strain on mitochondria, Risperdal being one of them. Dr. Gary Kohls wrote an interesting paper, Mitochondrial "Collateral Damage" Thanks to Big Pharma, where he discusses the vaccine damage to mitochondria and the damage done by certain drugs. He suggests that any drug should be put through safety testing to determine impact on mitochondria before approval. I'm sure Risperdal would have problems with approval if submitted to this safety test. http://www.globalresearch.ca/mitochondrial-collateral-damage-thanks-to-big-pharma/5447650 .
Posted by: Betty Bona | July 18, 2015 at 04:09 PM
https://hal.inria.fr/hal-00739371/document
Causes Encephalophathy.
My son has urine that looks like cold chicken soup and green/ yellow stools. Had episodes like this for years. Sometimes vomiting as well. Absolutely out of it! Nobody would help.
Posted by: Christine Maczvicar | July 18, 2015 at 03:34 PM
I offer support here: http://goo.gl/sMnJ6y Do not stay indifferent. Ultimately this need all. Just open your eyes and it will become obvious.
Posted by: Demit | July 18, 2015 at 01:55 PM
In 2013 Johnson & Johnson were fined $2,2 billion for making fraudulent claims, one of which was, that Risperidone, was 'safe and effective for symptoms of various childhood disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism.'
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/johnson-johnson-pay-more-22-billion-resolve-criminal-and-civil-investigations
’Until late in 2006, Risperdal was not approved for use in children for any purpose, and the FDA repeatedly advised the company that promoting its use in children was problematic and could be evidence of a violation of the law.’
http://sharylattkisson.com/risperdal-the-little-known-story-of-janssen-pharmaceuticals-fraud/
A recent study from Thailand found that 44% of people with autism showed elevated prolactin when on Risperdal.
http://www.autismdailynewscast.com/hyperprolactinemia-risperidone-use-autism/23870/paulwhiteley/
Since it causes high prolactin, male patients can grow breasts. Johnson and Johnson & Johnson have recently faced another big payout because of this.
https://www.drugjustice.com/johnson-johnson-to-pay-136-million-risperdal-penalty/
Posted by: Seonaid | July 17, 2015 at 08:17 PM
This story upsets me in the worst way. I have seen elderly people be put on Risperol (Generic is Risperidol) and once on it suddenly lose their ability to swallow. Sometimes the swallow reflex came back and sometimes it didn't. I have seen nursing home patients die fast on Risperidol. It is now not recommended in the elderly. Now they like to prescribe it for: children. Thank you for writing, Christine, and thank you AOA.
Posted by: Denise Anderstrom Douglass | July 17, 2015 at 06:32 PM
Our family have a glucuronidation deficit. Larazepam uses this pathway, I have been told. I have no control over the damage they are inflicting.
Posted by: Christine MacVicar | July 17, 2015 at 02:20 PM
Not sure how it is in Scotland but
the ability to understand basic, simple science is a bit lacking in our American Congress...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs23CjIWMgA
Posted by: go Rand | July 17, 2015 at 01:48 PM
Christine, you mention using Lorazepam to reduce the effects of the Risperdal. I hope you are aware of the potential for dependance and withdrawal symptoms in extended use. We were using a similar drug Triazolam frequently to get our son in to his frequent appointments (he has developed a hatred of going into any medical establishment - we're working on it). At the time he was being treated with weekly allergy shots and we had quite a few other appointments. We started to see dependance and withdrawal symptoms - insomnia, headaches, irritability etc. in a big guy that can be very aggressive to start with. Needless to say we had to severely cut back the use of triazolam and find other ways to get him into his appointments, eventually getting permission for myself to be trained to give the allergy shots at home.
Best wishes to you and Andrew. We know how big a battle you have and we know the type of love you have that will move mountains because there is hope for a better future.
Posted by: Peter Miles | July 17, 2015 at 01:00 PM
Linda
"Since when do governments determine through legislation the definition, diagnosis and treatment of disease?"
I think the wretched politicians want to delegate ever having to think about it, and are perfectly willing to pay unlimited sums of our money just so they don't. What is true is that I am sure that even within the present awful dispensation there are more humane and more thoughtful psychiatrists than this.
Posted by: John Stone | July 17, 2015 at 12:39 PM
Christine,
You and your husband are remarkable parents. I'm so sorry that your family has been subject to this horrific abuse.
The Pharma Cartel has a reign of terror here too and while these drugs are given inappropriately, our FDA does nothing and instead goes after dedicated, honest physicians working on novel therapies.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/feds-pay-for-drug-fraud-9_b_6966454.html
There is also no shortage of lawsuits in the US over Risperidal.
Posted by: Linda1 | July 17, 2015 at 12:18 PM
Since when do governments determine through legislation the definition, diagnosis and treatment of disease? I'm not talking about quasi-medical governmental organizations like the FDA. Autism is unique in this regard - that governments are taking control of the condition and its care. Is that because they know they are the cause? They legislate uptake of vaccines and then legislate damage control.
Posted by: Linda1 | July 17, 2015 at 11:45 AM
My adult son was taking seizure medication and responded poorly to everything. His neurologist and psychopharm both refused to acknowledge that the drugs were at fault. When I had to lock myself in the bathroom to keep safe from him and then he almost lost it on the subway, which was very dangerous, I began weaning him off the drugs very slowly. It's taken several years to get him close to normal. He has serious detox issues and charcoal helps quite a bit. Doctors need to review how science works. Too many of them are just selling snake oil. I also have no evidence that my son ever had a seizure, although he does seem to subclinical issues. He spent 18 very hard months on medication that was not needed.
Posted by: Margaret | July 17, 2015 at 11:23 AM
So very well put Benedetta, John
Posted by: John Stone | July 17, 2015 at 09:53 AM
I am so sorry that this mess; protecting you child from your own government and - the beast (medical) has just gone on, and on, and on.
There is something wrong with mankind -- the very thing that is suppose to be the epitome of our humanity - human kindness, human caring --- care for our sick, heal them if we can - the medical - medicine has turned out to be the beast that roams the land devouring us all.
Posted by: Benedetta | July 17, 2015 at 09:48 AM
I should have explained better. When Andrew had recovered from the urine infection and Amoxicillin, he was as good as he gets without the acidosis being treated. This is when I was forced, against Andrew's wishes to give him Risperidal again. The psychiatrist has never seen him without it. He haD the opportunity but ignored him. Things came to a head about two/three weeks into this, when the police arrived on the Sunday night.
I then confirmed Andrew and detoxes him. When the police arrived with the psychiatrist to Section him, I was told that the police had told the psychiatrist that the Risperidal had not been restarted.
My husband and I are wondering if the fact that Andrew is worse will get through to them!
Probably not as he is off on holiday and my son has lost his freedom.
Posted by: Christine MacVicar | July 17, 2015 at 09:36 AM
There really ought to be an inquiry into this. It is really beyond belief that any doctor could prescribe a drug like risperdal/risperidone without the greatest caution. That this could be administered without the agreement of the patient is also truly terrifying. A list of the appalling possible side effects of this product can be found in the package insert:
http://www.janssenpharmaceuticalsinc.com/assets/risperdal.pdf
A particular practical/ethical problem is administering psychiatric medications to persons who may not be able to articulate fully about their effects, or whose views may be too easily disregarded.
Thank you Christine for speaking up.
Posted by: John Stone | July 17, 2015 at 08:59 AM
This amazing mother has read extensively, consulted with experts in the field of autism, and produced test results indicating exactly what is going on with her son, yet mainstream medics turn their backs on the evidence. How on earth can we get psychiatry to take on board that physical conditions in ASD can manifest as mental illness? ASD is not primarily a mental disorder and should not be treated as such. It should NOT be included in the Mental Health Act. Recent attempts by Autism Rights Scotland to have ASD and LD removed from the Mental Health Act did not get approval in the Scottish parliament. So ASD adults are trapped in a system, which has little or no understanding of the comorbid conditions that exist in ASDs. They need genetic experts, metabolic experts, toxicologists and immunologists! Not psychiatrists who are unwilling to take advice from outwith the profession, and rely solely on psychiatric drugs, which in many cases exacerbate underlying conditions.
But to react by prescribing a depot drug was so unwise. It will take weeks for that drug to seep out of Andrew’s system, and who knows what harm it will do in the process. Power and control – that’s what it boils down to. It’s long past time for change - too many adults are suffering needlessly.
Lead on Christine, you are a beacon to so many ASD adults trapped within a system that has already lost it’s way.
Posted by: Seonaid | July 17, 2015 at 08:43 AM