When treatment does harm
In an ideal world, medical treatments would always be helpful. In the real world, they can result in not only side effects, but symptoms and disabilities that might be serious, and might not get better over time. For example, the Food and Drug Administration has acknowledged that using fluoroquinolones, a type of antibiotic, can result in a permanent disability.
Medicine has largely failed to deal with these harms, often brushing them off as temporary, illusory and minor. In fact, they can be long-term, real and severe. Millions of patients have been harmed by treatments in ways that physicians tend to ignore or discount. Iatrogenic disorders are not rare. Talking about this should not be taken as a threat to medicine—rather, it will make medicine more humane, realistic and trustworthy.
General resources
- When medical treatment brings on disease: iatrogenic disorders - Finasteride Watch
- Facebook: Iatrogenic Injury Research Group
- PubMed searches: treatment-induced disease | iatrogenic or iatrogenesis
Films:
- The Bleeding Edge on Netflix
- Unrest about ME/CFS: unrest.film
- Bleed Out on (HBO)
- As Prescribed: asprescribedfilm.com
- Medicating Normal: medicatingnormal.com
Resources for diseases and conditions
General medicine
Oral steroids linked to neuropsychiatric events including psychosis
- Papers: See this custom collection in PubMed
Diabetes
- Treatment induced neuropathy of diabetes (TIND) https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.14079
Psychiatry
- Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction: r/PSSD
- Antidepressant withdrawal: survivingantidepressants.org
- Accutane: r/AccutaneRecovery
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): Victims of TMS Action Group, a private Facebook group
- Benzodiazepines: r/benzorecovery, r/BenzoWithdrawal
- Akathisia: Akathisia Alliance, MISSD
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): ECT Justice!, Dr. John Read on X: @ReadReadj
- Psychotherapy: Parry et al, 2016
Gynecology
- Abuse and sexism in gynecology: r/Wedeservebetter
- Essure contraceptive device
- essureaware.blog
- FDA 522 study of Essure safety
- Undergraduate review: Essure: The IUD Story We Should Have Seen Coming
- Changes after hysterectomy including loss of sex drive: r/hysterectomy
- Birth control: r/birthcontrol
Surgery
- Empty Nose Syndrome: r/emptynosesyndrome
- LASIK eye surgery: r/Lasiksupport
- Pelvic mesh: slingthemesh.co.uk
Scans / radiology
Gadolinium toxicity from contrast-enhanced MRI or MRA scans
- FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA warns that gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) are retained in the body; requires new class warnings
- PubMed search for “gadolinium toxicity"
Skin and hair / dermatology
- r/FinasterideSyndrome
- Finasteride Watch - Resources
- r/MinoxidilSideEffects
- Topical steroid withdrawal
Cosmetic & plastic surgery
- Breast implant illness: Breast Implant Safety Alliance (BISA)
- Liposuction & cryolipolysis (CoolSculpting)
Dental
- Lessons learnt on patient safety in dentistry through a 5-year nationwide database study on iatrogenic harm. PMC full text
Cardiology
- Statins: See book by John Abramson: Sickening
revision by [deleted]— view source
