Is 1 In 500 Really A 'very Small Number Of People'?

[sandyRoe]

"Drugs used to treat seizures increase the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior. LYRICA may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people, about 1 in 500."
The above is from a web page giving information on a drug.

[237SJ]

Well, I would think it is - 0.2 in 100 is quite a small risk. I suppose it depends how much you need the drug but I would talke the risk if I needed it.

[pixie373]

Yes, it's quite a small number, and it only says "may". In fact the first sentence and second don't really make sense together.

[Prudie]

For a potentially life threatening and terrifying side effect I think it's a risk not worth taking and actually a high proportion.

[sandyRoe]

Somebody mentioned today that they'd been taking this. The above came up when I googled it. I don't know much about drugs but I would have thought that was a fairly high proportion of users that might find themselves with additional problems.

[237SJ]

Ultimately, you have to look at whether the benefits outweight the risks and if they do, then the risk is worth taking IMO

[237SJ]

*outweigh*

[sandyRoe]

I suppose they must have talked it over with their GP and weighed up the pros and cons.

[pixie373]

Seizures can be dangerous themselves. I would expect that people are monitored properly on medications, so any risks or problems could be dealt with immediately. 499/500 aren't affected this way. Should they miss out?

[Peter Pedant]

.

if it controlled the seizure - yes I would.

There is an industry on how people perceive risk. They are terrible at estimating v small risk. crossing a road being much more dangerous than flying for example

[jomifl]

It is a bit vague..over how long a period would this be?

[237SJ]

My Mum had to have a procedure at the Marsden where there was a 10% risk of nerve damage (due to overlapping radiotherapy fields). She took an awful lot of persuading to go there when she found out about the risk she was adamant that she wasn`t going. It took a lot of persuading from me and the radiotherapy people to get her there but the consequences of her not going could have been a fracture of her arm. The benefit outweighed the risk and she was in the 90% of people who have no problem. Sometimes it`s best to listen to the experts and not look at statistics.

[DTCwordfan]

One of those "yes and no" numbers as perspective is needed to understand what it means..........and then there is the question of which camp you are in. 'I have suicidal thoughts or whatever' - well 'I' may see 1 in 500 as an acceptable risk to take.

[sandyRoe]

I've asked that this post be pulled. It might stop someone who should be taking this medicine from doing so.

[DTCwordfan]

I think that the chance of that happening, sandy, to be very , very low and I could quip, far less than 1 in 500.......seriously, I don't think that there is cause to withdraw it.

[DTCwordfan]

After all, the doctors should have covered this and the medication would come with supporting documentation.........

[237SJ]

I wouldn`t worry that the thread needs to be pulled. There isn`t a drug in this world that doesn`t have side effects.

[Prudie]

I would hope anyone taking this would have thoroughly discussed it with their doctor rather than taking notice of us lot. Out of interest I've also now looked it up on the net and it has a host of nasty side effects.

[Sqad]

\\\\ Sometimes it`s best to listen to the experts and not look at statistics\\\

Exactly...SJ's whole post should be "Best Answer"...............in my opinion.

[emmie]

one of the meds i was given, the leaflet said can result in death, not much you could do after that i thought.

[jno]

it's like any other side effect, I suppose: you and your doctor should know it could happen, and monitor it. If you suddenly felt like killing yourself, stop taking the treatment at once and go back to the doctor. (I have no idea how feasible this is, but it sounds as if it can be done.)