Latest news with #TherapeuticGoodsAdministration
Sky News AU
19 hours ago
- Health
- Sky News AU
The Project star Meshel Laurie reveals whopping 60kg weight loss as she pleads for government to add Ozempic to PBS
Meshel Laurie has got candid about her whopping 60kg weight loss as she called for a controversial obesity medication to be added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). The Project panellist, 51, has been open about her extreme physical transformation after undergoing gastric bypass surgery in 2016, which resulted in the TV host looking completely unrecognisable. Meshel appeared on the Kyle and Jackie O show on Tuesday, where she admitted to having recently taken weight loss medication Mounjaro and credited the drug with helping her lower the scale. She called on the Albanese government to add the GLP-1 injectable drug, similar to Ozempic, to the PBS to subsidise the cost and make it more affordable for Australians, describing the effects as "amazing" and "life-changing". "I have to make a plea to the government to add this medication to the PBS, please, because it costs over $600 a month," she said. "For a lot of people, it's prohibitive." "If obesity costs Australia about $12 billion a year, then surely, we can afford to make this medication more affordable." Mounjaro was initially used for treating type 2 diabetes until it gained popularity for its weight loss effects in recent years. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in 2024 expanded the drug's usage to encompass obese or overweight Australians with weight-related health issues like high blood pressure, heart disease or sleep apnoea. Speaking about the reported side effects, including stomach pains, Mishel said she hasn't experienced any. She said even if she had, it would be "worth it" to continue achieving a physical transformation while bypassing any "exercise" in the process. "As I said, I did everything else before. So, I lost a bit of weight, I lost about 30kg. "And then about a year ago, I started using Mounjaro. "And that has not only knocked off the next 30-40kgs, but it has absolutely dealt with the problem. Like, I don't think about food anymore." Elsewhere in the wide-ranging interview, Meshel opened up about the personal heartbreak that spurred her to lose weight in the first place. 'My dad died of Type 2 Diabetes (in) 2019,' she said. 'But for the five years before that he lived with the kids and I. 'I was watching (him suffer) in real time, out the kitchen window, because he was in a granny flat. I didn't put him in the driveway; he had a flat.' The media personality was a regular on Ten's The Project from 2014 to 2018, after which she was sacked while on leave for her father's health. Meshel said she was ready to go back to work after 12 weeks, only to be told all the "spots were filled for the next couple of months" 'In fact, I was never notified that I was being let go," she said on Instagram. Meshel subsequently carved out a career as an author and published her bestselling novel, Buddhism for the Unbelievably Busy, in 2017, followed by CSI Told You Lies: Giving Victims a Voice Through Forensics in 2021. In Buddhism for the Unbelievably Busy, Meshel declared she was "embarrassed" about having had surgery to lose weight. "Yes, it's embarrassing to have to go to that length to rein my body in, but I'd rather be embarrassed than unable to walk," she wrote. "In a way, I feel lucky to have had such clear signals from my body that I needed to turn my health burner back on, when I still had time to do something about it."
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- Health
- The Advertiser
For 10 years, Penny was treating her symptoms with the very thing poisoning her
Penny Thompson spent nearly 13 years and thousands of dollars trying to get a diagnosis for her "mystery illness", which paralysed her vocal cords, damaged her nerves and left her unable to work, socialise or study. Finally, last year, with a litany of specialists left scratching their heads, the NSW Illawarra region woman began to suspect that the very things she had been using to ease her symptoms were actually poisoning her. Now, grieving and overwhelmed by all she has lost over more than a decade, Ms Thompson, 61, of Wollongong, south of Sydney, has registered her interest in a class action against supplement giant Blackmores, as health practitioners and patients begin to realise the extent of vitamin B6 poisoning. "Before this happened, I was a bloody fitness instructor and now I struggle to work," she said. "I haven't been out socially at night for 10 years. I can't drive for more than 20 minutes. I can't go travelling, I can't go bushwalking. "I struggle to work in my garden at home and it took me nine-and-a-half years to complete a three year university degree. "I just feel overwhelmed, I get angry, I get full of grief for all I've lost." In recent months, there have been growing reports of toxicity related to vitamin B6, which is naturally found in meat, fruit and vegetables but which is also now added to many vitamin supplements, shakes and energy drinks and is present in thousands of products on the Australian market.. According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, taking too much can cause nerve damage, which many people experience as peripheral neuropathy - or numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes. After an increase in reports about this condition, the regulator recently recommended stricter regulations and stronger warnings. It has also noted that there is no consensus on a safe level of B6. In May, Melbourne's Polaris Lawyers announced it was pursuing a class action investigation against Blackmores, on behalf of anyone who has suffered injuries after taking its supplements "containing higher than recommended levels of vitamin B6". A Blackmores spokesperson said the company was committed to the highest standards of product quality and consumer safety. "All our products, including those containing vitamin B6, are developed in strict accordance with the regulatory requirements of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)," they said. They said the company would "ensure full compliance" with any changes the regulator makes. Ms Thompson's health struggles began back in 2012, when she went to the GP complaining of numbness in her hands and feet. She had recently moved back to Australia, and was busy and tired working three jobs and buying a house, so started taking vitamin supplements "to give me energy". "I just didn't feel right and my hands and feet were a bit numb but my GP said it was my age, or probably menopause," she said. "I said, 'I've seemed to lose weight', and he just went, 'fancy a woman in her 40s complaining of losing weight, ha ha ha', so I just left it." "But I was getting more and more fatigued and so, in 2013, I started keeping a really detailed health diary because I thought maybe I had a food allergy because I thought I was being poisoned." That kicked off a "pretty expensive" 10-year journey of seeing specialists, including neurologists, ENT doctors, cardiologists, pain specialists, rheumatologists and having nerve conduction studies or tests for heavy metals poisoning. "I was always very thorough when I saw them, because I was studying science, and I was keeping these diaries and they'd always ask you on the new patient form, please list all your medications, prescription and non-prescription so I'd write this huge list of stuff down, but none of them said anything." By late 2019, when she was working as an English teacher at TAFE, she noticed her voice changing. "I was working about three days a week and I just noticed that my voice was starting to get very, very soft, very weak, very tired," she said. "It was when the drought was happening and there were lots of bushfires, smoke and dust and I thought that's what was causing it. "But that winter I'd had a doctor who said taking zinc was good for preventing respiratory disease - I wanted to choose the best and so I bought Blackmores Bio Zinc, but what I didn't realise was that it had 50mg of B6 in it." "I was popping these things every day, and I can see now that my symptoms - like headaches and migraines and gut pain and constipation were adding up, and by September my voice had become really weak and strained. "I just thought it was the dust and the bushfires and I just kept taking the B6, and then I'd lost my voice completely and had to give up work." As COVID hit, she was diagnosed with a completely paralysed left vocal cord, but was left without medical support. She began experiencing cramps, and started taking another supplement called Super Magnesium. "It also had 50 mg of B6 and, because I was getting all these migraines and I was pretty stressed because I'd lost my job and the whole COVID crap was starting, I was also taking Blackmores Executive Stress, which had another 25 milligrams of B6," Ms Thompson said. "At one stage that I was taking 125mg per day of B6, and just feeling worse and worse and worse." Years and many more appointments on, in September 2024, Ms Thompson saw a warning on the Therapeutic Goods Administration that made her suspect that her vitamins may have been poisoning her. She stopped taking them. "Magically, the gut pain, the constipation, the food intolerances all just disappeared within a couple of months," she said. "The anxiety lifted, the migraines eased off, the twitching and all that stuff just disappeared." "I've still got a base level of numb hands and feet, my voice hasn't improved and the fatigue hasn't improved. The weight loss and the muscle wasting has, in fact, got worse. "So I still can't work because I'm so fatigued and my voice is pretty crappy." In January, B6 poisoning hit the news, with the ABC's 730 running a report featuring patients who had similar symptoms and experiences to Ms Thompson. "I recognised my story and I just went, 'oh God, that's it'," she said. "I went back through all my diaries, 10 years of diaries, with orange highlighter and calculated all the B6 and just went, 'Oh my God'." Then, armed with a print-out of an Illawarra Mercury -an ACM mastheadarticle on the issue, in which Fairy Meadow, Wollongong, GP Kate McCullough issued a warning about high doses of the vitamin, she managed to convince her doctor to run a test. She has since been diagnosed with "B6 hypervitaminosis", and in recent months registered her interest in Polaris' proposed class action, which she hopes might stop others from going through her ordeal. Already the law firm says its has received more than 900 inquiries about the class action. "I just remember at one point, my doctor said, 'oh gee, Penny, I hate to think we're missing something'," Ms Thompson said. "Of course, I'd given him all the big lists of all the supplements I was taking, but he didn't know anything about it. None of the specialists knew about it." "Despite all the media coverage this year, and repeated alerts from the TGA, most doctors and allied health professionals are still completely unaware of B6 toxicity, how serious the resulting symptoms can be and how widespread it is becoming. "I'm really hoping the class action will generate enough publicity to turn this issue around." "And I'm hoping that this kicks up so much of a stink that all of these vitamin companies and the energy drink companies and the processed food manufacturers, they all stop putting more than the recommended daily dose into their products. "I want everybody to know about it, so every doctor in Australia knows about it and we can stop the tide of this epidemic of poisoning." A Blackmores spokesperson said it had received no formal legal claim, but was aware of reports about the class action. Penny Thompson spent nearly 13 years and thousands of dollars trying to get a diagnosis for her "mystery illness", which paralysed her vocal cords, damaged her nerves and left her unable to work, socialise or study. Finally, last year, with a litany of specialists left scratching their heads, the NSW Illawarra region woman began to suspect that the very things she had been using to ease her symptoms were actually poisoning her. Now, grieving and overwhelmed by all she has lost over more than a decade, Ms Thompson, 61, of Wollongong, south of Sydney, has registered her interest in a class action against supplement giant Blackmores, as health practitioners and patients begin to realise the extent of vitamin B6 poisoning. "Before this happened, I was a bloody fitness instructor and now I struggle to work," she said. "I haven't been out socially at night for 10 years. I can't drive for more than 20 minutes. I can't go travelling, I can't go bushwalking. "I struggle to work in my garden at home and it took me nine-and-a-half years to complete a three year university degree. "I just feel overwhelmed, I get angry, I get full of grief for all I've lost." In recent months, there have been growing reports of toxicity related to vitamin B6, which is naturally found in meat, fruit and vegetables but which is also now added to many vitamin supplements, shakes and energy drinks and is present in thousands of products on the Australian market.. According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, taking too much can cause nerve damage, which many people experience as peripheral neuropathy - or numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes. After an increase in reports about this condition, the regulator recently recommended stricter regulations and stronger warnings. It has also noted that there is no consensus on a safe level of B6. In May, Melbourne's Polaris Lawyers announced it was pursuing a class action investigation against Blackmores, on behalf of anyone who has suffered injuries after taking its supplements "containing higher than recommended levels of vitamin B6". A Blackmores spokesperson said the company was committed to the highest standards of product quality and consumer safety. "All our products, including those containing vitamin B6, are developed in strict accordance with the regulatory requirements of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)," they said. They said the company would "ensure full compliance" with any changes the regulator makes. Ms Thompson's health struggles began back in 2012, when she went to the GP complaining of numbness in her hands and feet. She had recently moved back to Australia, and was busy and tired working three jobs and buying a house, so started taking vitamin supplements "to give me energy". "I just didn't feel right and my hands and feet were a bit numb but my GP said it was my age, or probably menopause," she said. "I said, 'I've seemed to lose weight', and he just went, 'fancy a woman in her 40s complaining of losing weight, ha ha ha', so I just left it." "But I was getting more and more fatigued and so, in 2013, I started keeping a really detailed health diary because I thought maybe I had a food allergy because I thought I was being poisoned." That kicked off a "pretty expensive" 10-year journey of seeing specialists, including neurologists, ENT doctors, cardiologists, pain specialists, rheumatologists and having nerve conduction studies or tests for heavy metals poisoning. "I was always very thorough when I saw them, because I was studying science, and I was keeping these diaries and they'd always ask you on the new patient form, please list all your medications, prescription and non-prescription so I'd write this huge list of stuff down, but none of them said anything." By late 2019, when she was working as an English teacher at TAFE, she noticed her voice changing. "I was working about three days a week and I just noticed that my voice was starting to get very, very soft, very weak, very tired," she said. "It was when the drought was happening and there were lots of bushfires, smoke and dust and I thought that's what was causing it. "But that winter I'd had a doctor who said taking zinc was good for preventing respiratory disease - I wanted to choose the best and so I bought Blackmores Bio Zinc, but what I didn't realise was that it had 50mg of B6 in it." "I was popping these things every day, and I can see now that my symptoms - like headaches and migraines and gut pain and constipation were adding up, and by September my voice had become really weak and strained. "I just thought it was the dust and the bushfires and I just kept taking the B6, and then I'd lost my voice completely and had to give up work." As COVID hit, she was diagnosed with a completely paralysed left vocal cord, but was left without medical support. She began experiencing cramps, and started taking another supplement called Super Magnesium. "It also had 50 mg of B6 and, because I was getting all these migraines and I was pretty stressed because I'd lost my job and the whole COVID crap was starting, I was also taking Blackmores Executive Stress, which had another 25 milligrams of B6," Ms Thompson said. "At one stage that I was taking 125mg per day of B6, and just feeling worse and worse and worse." Years and many more appointments on, in September 2024, Ms Thompson saw a warning on the Therapeutic Goods Administration that made her suspect that her vitamins may have been poisoning her. She stopped taking them. "Magically, the gut pain, the constipation, the food intolerances all just disappeared within a couple of months," she said. "The anxiety lifted, the migraines eased off, the twitching and all that stuff just disappeared." "I've still got a base level of numb hands and feet, my voice hasn't improved and the fatigue hasn't improved. The weight loss and the muscle wasting has, in fact, got worse. "So I still can't work because I'm so fatigued and my voice is pretty crappy." In January, B6 poisoning hit the news, with the ABC's 730 running a report featuring patients who had similar symptoms and experiences to Ms Thompson. "I recognised my story and I just went, 'oh God, that's it'," she said. "I went back through all my diaries, 10 years of diaries, with orange highlighter and calculated all the B6 and just went, 'Oh my God'." Then, armed with a print-out of an Illawarra Mercury -an ACM mastheadarticle on the issue, in which Fairy Meadow, Wollongong, GP Kate McCullough issued a warning about high doses of the vitamin, she managed to convince her doctor to run a test. She has since been diagnosed with "B6 hypervitaminosis", and in recent months registered her interest in Polaris' proposed class action, which she hopes might stop others from going through her ordeal. Already the law firm says its has received more than 900 inquiries about the class action. "I just remember at one point, my doctor said, 'oh gee, Penny, I hate to think we're missing something'," Ms Thompson said. "Of course, I'd given him all the big lists of all the supplements I was taking, but he didn't know anything about it. None of the specialists knew about it." "Despite all the media coverage this year, and repeated alerts from the TGA, most doctors and allied health professionals are still completely unaware of B6 toxicity, how serious the resulting symptoms can be and how widespread it is becoming. "I'm really hoping the class action will generate enough publicity to turn this issue around." "And I'm hoping that this kicks up so much of a stink that all of these vitamin companies and the energy drink companies and the processed food manufacturers, they all stop putting more than the recommended daily dose into their products. "I want everybody to know about it, so every doctor in Australia knows about it and we can stop the tide of this epidemic of poisoning." A Blackmores spokesperson said it had received no formal legal claim, but was aware of reports about the class action. Penny Thompson spent nearly 13 years and thousands of dollars trying to get a diagnosis for her "mystery illness", which paralysed her vocal cords, damaged her nerves and left her unable to work, socialise or study. Finally, last year, with a litany of specialists left scratching their heads, the NSW Illawarra region woman began to suspect that the very things she had been using to ease her symptoms were actually poisoning her. Now, grieving and overwhelmed by all she has lost over more than a decade, Ms Thompson, 61, of Wollongong, south of Sydney, has registered her interest in a class action against supplement giant Blackmores, as health practitioners and patients begin to realise the extent of vitamin B6 poisoning. "Before this happened, I was a bloody fitness instructor and now I struggle to work," she said. "I haven't been out socially at night for 10 years. I can't drive for more than 20 minutes. I can't go travelling, I can't go bushwalking. "I struggle to work in my garden at home and it took me nine-and-a-half years to complete a three year university degree. "I just feel overwhelmed, I get angry, I get full of grief for all I've lost." In recent months, there have been growing reports of toxicity related to vitamin B6, which is naturally found in meat, fruit and vegetables but which is also now added to many vitamin supplements, shakes and energy drinks and is present in thousands of products on the Australian market.. According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, taking too much can cause nerve damage, which many people experience as peripheral neuropathy - or numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes. After an increase in reports about this condition, the regulator recently recommended stricter regulations and stronger warnings. It has also noted that there is no consensus on a safe level of B6. In May, Melbourne's Polaris Lawyers announced it was pursuing a class action investigation against Blackmores, on behalf of anyone who has suffered injuries after taking its supplements "containing higher than recommended levels of vitamin B6". A Blackmores spokesperson said the company was committed to the highest standards of product quality and consumer safety. "All our products, including those containing vitamin B6, are developed in strict accordance with the regulatory requirements of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)," they said. They said the company would "ensure full compliance" with any changes the regulator makes. Ms Thompson's health struggles began back in 2012, when she went to the GP complaining of numbness in her hands and feet. She had recently moved back to Australia, and was busy and tired working three jobs and buying a house, so started taking vitamin supplements "to give me energy". "I just didn't feel right and my hands and feet were a bit numb but my GP said it was my age, or probably menopause," she said. "I said, 'I've seemed to lose weight', and he just went, 'fancy a woman in her 40s complaining of losing weight, ha ha ha', so I just left it." "But I was getting more and more fatigued and so, in 2013, I started keeping a really detailed health diary because I thought maybe I had a food allergy because I thought I was being poisoned." That kicked off a "pretty expensive" 10-year journey of seeing specialists, including neurologists, ENT doctors, cardiologists, pain specialists, rheumatologists and having nerve conduction studies or tests for heavy metals poisoning. "I was always very thorough when I saw them, because I was studying science, and I was keeping these diaries and they'd always ask you on the new patient form, please list all your medications, prescription and non-prescription so I'd write this huge list of stuff down, but none of them said anything." By late 2019, when she was working as an English teacher at TAFE, she noticed her voice changing. "I was working about three days a week and I just noticed that my voice was starting to get very, very soft, very weak, very tired," she said. "It was when the drought was happening and there were lots of bushfires, smoke and dust and I thought that's what was causing it. "But that winter I'd had a doctor who said taking zinc was good for preventing respiratory disease - I wanted to choose the best and so I bought Blackmores Bio Zinc, but what I didn't realise was that it had 50mg of B6 in it." "I was popping these things every day, and I can see now that my symptoms - like headaches and migraines and gut pain and constipation were adding up, and by September my voice had become really weak and strained. "I just thought it was the dust and the bushfires and I just kept taking the B6, and then I'd lost my voice completely and had to give up work." As COVID hit, she was diagnosed with a completely paralysed left vocal cord, but was left without medical support. She began experiencing cramps, and started taking another supplement called Super Magnesium. "It also had 50 mg of B6 and, because I was getting all these migraines and I was pretty stressed because I'd lost my job and the whole COVID crap was starting, I was also taking Blackmores Executive Stress, which had another 25 milligrams of B6," Ms Thompson said. "At one stage that I was taking 125mg per day of B6, and just feeling worse and worse and worse." Years and many more appointments on, in September 2024, Ms Thompson saw a warning on the Therapeutic Goods Administration that made her suspect that her vitamins may have been poisoning her. She stopped taking them. "Magically, the gut pain, the constipation, the food intolerances all just disappeared within a couple of months," she said. "The anxiety lifted, the migraines eased off, the twitching and all that stuff just disappeared." "I've still got a base level of numb hands and feet, my voice hasn't improved and the fatigue hasn't improved. The weight loss and the muscle wasting has, in fact, got worse. "So I still can't work because I'm so fatigued and my voice is pretty crappy." In January, B6 poisoning hit the news, with the ABC's 730 running a report featuring patients who had similar symptoms and experiences to Ms Thompson. "I recognised my story and I just went, 'oh God, that's it'," she said. "I went back through all my diaries, 10 years of diaries, with orange highlighter and calculated all the B6 and just went, 'Oh my God'." Then, armed with a print-out of an Illawarra Mercury -an ACM mastheadarticle on the issue, in which Fairy Meadow, Wollongong, GP Kate McCullough issued a warning about high doses of the vitamin, she managed to convince her doctor to run a test. She has since been diagnosed with "B6 hypervitaminosis", and in recent months registered her interest in Polaris' proposed class action, which she hopes might stop others from going through her ordeal. Already the law firm says its has received more than 900 inquiries about the class action. "I just remember at one point, my doctor said, 'oh gee, Penny, I hate to think we're missing something'," Ms Thompson said. "Of course, I'd given him all the big lists of all the supplements I was taking, but he didn't know anything about it. None of the specialists knew about it." "Despite all the media coverage this year, and repeated alerts from the TGA, most doctors and allied health professionals are still completely unaware of B6 toxicity, how serious the resulting symptoms can be and how widespread it is becoming. "I'm really hoping the class action will generate enough publicity to turn this issue around." "And I'm hoping that this kicks up so much of a stink that all of these vitamin companies and the energy drink companies and the processed food manufacturers, they all stop putting more than the recommended daily dose into their products. "I want everybody to know about it, so every doctor in Australia knows about it and we can stop the tide of this epidemic of poisoning." A Blackmores spokesperson said it had received no formal legal claim, but was aware of reports about the class action. Penny Thompson spent nearly 13 years and thousands of dollars trying to get a diagnosis for her "mystery illness", which paralysed her vocal cords, damaged her nerves and left her unable to work, socialise or study. Finally, last year, with a litany of specialists left scratching their heads, the NSW Illawarra region woman began to suspect that the very things she had been using to ease her symptoms were actually poisoning her. Now, grieving and overwhelmed by all she has lost over more than a decade, Ms Thompson, 61, of Wollongong, south of Sydney, has registered her interest in a class action against supplement giant Blackmores, as health practitioners and patients begin to realise the extent of vitamin B6 poisoning. "Before this happened, I was a bloody fitness instructor and now I struggle to work," she said. "I haven't been out socially at night for 10 years. I can't drive for more than 20 minutes. I can't go travelling, I can't go bushwalking. "I struggle to work in my garden at home and it took me nine-and-a-half years to complete a three year university degree. "I just feel overwhelmed, I get angry, I get full of grief for all I've lost." In recent months, there have been growing reports of toxicity related to vitamin B6, which is naturally found in meat, fruit and vegetables but which is also now added to many vitamin supplements, shakes and energy drinks and is present in thousands of products on the Australian market.. According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, taking too much can cause nerve damage, which many people experience as peripheral neuropathy - or numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes. After an increase in reports about this condition, the regulator recently recommended stricter regulations and stronger warnings. It has also noted that there is no consensus on a safe level of B6. In May, Melbourne's Polaris Lawyers announced it was pursuing a class action investigation against Blackmores, on behalf of anyone who has suffered injuries after taking its supplements "containing higher than recommended levels of vitamin B6". A Blackmores spokesperson said the company was committed to the highest standards of product quality and consumer safety. "All our products, including those containing vitamin B6, are developed in strict accordance with the regulatory requirements of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)," they said. They said the company would "ensure full compliance" with any changes the regulator makes. Ms Thompson's health struggles began back in 2012, when she went to the GP complaining of numbness in her hands and feet. She had recently moved back to Australia, and was busy and tired working three jobs and buying a house, so started taking vitamin supplements "to give me energy". "I just didn't feel right and my hands and feet were a bit numb but my GP said it was my age, or probably menopause," she said. "I said, 'I've seemed to lose weight', and he just went, 'fancy a woman in her 40s complaining of losing weight, ha ha ha', so I just left it." "But I was getting more and more fatigued and so, in 2013, I started keeping a really detailed health diary because I thought maybe I had a food allergy because I thought I was being poisoned." That kicked off a "pretty expensive" 10-year journey of seeing specialists, including neurologists, ENT doctors, cardiologists, pain specialists, rheumatologists and having nerve conduction studies or tests for heavy metals poisoning. "I was always very thorough when I saw them, because I was studying science, and I was keeping these diaries and they'd always ask you on the new patient form, please list all your medications, prescription and non-prescription so I'd write this huge list of stuff down, but none of them said anything." By late 2019, when she was working as an English teacher at TAFE, she noticed her voice changing. "I was working about three days a week and I just noticed that my voice was starting to get very, very soft, very weak, very tired," she said. "It was when the drought was happening and there were lots of bushfires, smoke and dust and I thought that's what was causing it. "But that winter I'd had a doctor who said taking zinc was good for preventing respiratory disease - I wanted to choose the best and so I bought Blackmores Bio Zinc, but what I didn't realise was that it had 50mg of B6 in it." "I was popping these things every day, and I can see now that my symptoms - like headaches and migraines and gut pain and constipation were adding up, and by September my voice had become really weak and strained. "I just thought it was the dust and the bushfires and I just kept taking the B6, and then I'd lost my voice completely and had to give up work." As COVID hit, she was diagnosed with a completely paralysed left vocal cord, but was left without medical support. She began experiencing cramps, and started taking another supplement called Super Magnesium. "It also had 50 mg of B6 and, because I was getting all these migraines and I was pretty stressed because I'd lost my job and the whole COVID crap was starting, I was also taking Blackmores Executive Stress, which had another 25 milligrams of B6," Ms Thompson said. "At one stage that I was taking 125mg per day of B6, and just feeling worse and worse and worse." Years and many more appointments on, in September 2024, Ms Thompson saw a warning on the Therapeutic Goods Administration that made her suspect that her vitamins may have been poisoning her. She stopped taking them. "Magically, the gut pain, the constipation, the food intolerances all just disappeared within a couple of months," she said. "The anxiety lifted, the migraines eased off, the twitching and all that stuff just disappeared." "I've still got a base level of numb hands and feet, my voice hasn't improved and the fatigue hasn't improved. The weight loss and the muscle wasting has, in fact, got worse. "So I still can't work because I'm so fatigued and my voice is pretty crappy." In January, B6 poisoning hit the news, with the ABC's 730 running a report featuring patients who had similar symptoms and experiences to Ms Thompson. "I recognised my story and I just went, 'oh God, that's it'," she said. "I went back through all my diaries, 10 years of diaries, with orange highlighter and calculated all the B6 and just went, 'Oh my God'." Then, armed with a print-out of an Illawarra Mercury -an ACM mastheadarticle on the issue, in which Fairy Meadow, Wollongong, GP Kate McCullough issued a warning about high doses of the vitamin, she managed to convince her doctor to run a test. She has since been diagnosed with "B6 hypervitaminosis", and in recent months registered her interest in Polaris' proposed class action, which she hopes might stop others from going through her ordeal. Already the law firm says its has received more than 900 inquiries about the class action. "I just remember at one point, my doctor said, 'oh gee, Penny, I hate to think we're missing something'," Ms Thompson said. "Of course, I'd given him all the big lists of all the supplements I was taking, but he didn't know anything about it. None of the specialists knew about it." "Despite all the media coverage this year, and repeated alerts from the TGA, most doctors and allied health professionals are still completely unaware of B6 toxicity, how serious the resulting symptoms can be and how widespread it is becoming. "I'm really hoping the class action will generate enough publicity to turn this issue around." "And I'm hoping that this kicks up so much of a stink that all of these vitamin companies and the energy drink companies and the processed food manufacturers, they all stop putting more than the recommended daily dose into their products. "I want everybody to know about it, so every doctor in Australia knows about it and we can stop the tide of this epidemic of poisoning." A Blackmores spokesperson said it had received no formal legal claim, but was aware of reports about the class action.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Health
- Japan Today
Is spinal cord stimulation safe? Does it work? Here's what you need to know if you have back pain
By Caitlin Jones and Christopher Maher Spinal cord stimulators are electrical devices that are surgically implanted in the body to treat long-term pain. They have a battery pack and leads that deliver electrical impulses directly to the spinal cord. The devices are thought to work by providing electrical impulses that interfere with how the brain senses pain. Spinal cord stimulators are mainly used to treat chronic back pain, especially when other less invasive treatments have not worked. They also aim to reduce people's reliance on risky pain medicines. These include opioids, which research shows are ineffective and harmful for low-back pain. But research, including our own, shows spinal cord stimulators work no better than a placebo. And they can also carry risks. Do they work? In a 2023 Cochrane review, researchers reviewed data from 13 randomized controlled trials on low-back pain and found no benefits in the short and medium term. These international reviews draw together the most robust evidence to provide a detailed summary of what we know on a particular topic. Only one of the trials in the review tested efficacy in the longer term (six months). That trial found no benefits of spinal cord stimulation. An earlier Cochrane review looked at the evidence of spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain in general, including for neck pain. Reviewers looked at 15 randomised controlled trials and couldn't be certain about its benefits, largely due to the quality and reliability of the available trials. Are there side effects? Aside from disappointing results for pain relief, there are risks and side effects to consider. We co-authored an analysis of 520 adverse events reported to Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). We found 79% of reported events were rated as severe, with 13% life-threatening. The same research found 80% of events required surgery to correct. Our recent analysis in the Medical Journal of Australia looked at data from private health insurers. These cover 90% of spinal cord stimulation implants in Australia. Five major insurers, which covered 76% of privately insured people, contributed de-identified data. We found about one-quarter of people who had a spinal cord stimulator implanted needed corrective surgery afterwards. These surgeries occurred within a median of about 17 months. This indicates these surgeries are not routine or expected interventions, such as to replace batteries, which are meant to last five to ten years. Our previous research shows the sorts of reasons for corrective surgery. These include to replace a malfunctioning device, or the person was in more pain, had an infection, or a puncture of the delicate tissues covering the spinal cord. However, even our latest findings are likely to underestimate the risk of these devices. Sometimes the lead delivering the electrical current moves away from the spinal cord to elsewhere in the body. This requires surgery to reposition the lead, but does not necessarily require new hardware, such as a brand new lead. So this type of corrective surgery is not counted in the data from the private health insurance companies. How much does it cost? We found spinal cord stimulators cost about A$55,000 per patient, including the device, its insertion, and managing any associated additional surgeries. For people who only had a 'trial' – where the leads are implanted temporarily but the battery pack remains outside the body – this cost was about $14,000 per patient. These figures do not include any out-of-pocket costs. What do regulators say about the devices? In 2022 the TGA began a review of spinal cord stimulators on the market because of safety and performance concerns. As a result, several devices were removed from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods – that is, they were banned from use in Australia, but existing stock could still be used. The rest of the devices had conditions imposed, such as the manufacturers being required to collect and report safety data to the TGA at regular time points. Should I do my own online research? Yes, but be careful. Unfortunately not all online information about spinal cord stimulators is correct. Look for sites independent of those who manufacture or implant these devices. Government agencies, health departments and universities that have no financial interests in this area may be a better option. The Cochrane Library is also a reliable and independent source for trustworthy health information. What shall I ask my doctor? The Australian health department provides useful advice for consumers about medical implants. It says medical implants 'are considered higher-risk therapeutic goods, and the decision to get one should not be taken lightly'. It recommends asking your health professional these questions: do I really need this medical implant? what are the risks/benefits? is the medical implant approved? where can I get more information? what happens if I experience an adverse event? What else could I do for my back pain? There are other treatment options that are effective and have fewer risks than spinal cord stimulation. For example, education about how to manage your pain yourself, exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy (a type of psychological therapy), and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (such as ibuprofen) all have solid evidence to back them. All offer benefits that are not outweighed by their potential risks. Research has shown other types of therapy – such as sensorimotor retraining and cognitive functional therapy – are also effective. You can discuss these and other options with your health professional. Spinal cord stimulation is a good example of a treatment that got ahead of the evidence. Although the devices have been around since the 1960s, we've only had reliable trials to test whether they work in recent years. Everyone wants to find ways to help people with chronic pain, but we must ensure medical care is grounded in reliable science. Caitlin Jones is Postdoctoral Research Associate in Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney. Christopher Maher is Professor, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney. The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. External Link © The Conversation
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
What is vitamin B6 toxicity and what are the symptoms of taking too much?
In January Guardian Australia told the story of Simon Bogemann who developed a nerve condition known as peripheral neuropathy after consuming excessive vitamin B6 from multivitamin and magnesium supplements. Since then, the potential of these over-the-counter supplements to cause harm has attracted increasing attention. An interim decision from the Therapeutic Goods Administration proposes changes that could see products containing more than 50mg of vitamin B6 become pharmacist-only medicines. A potential class action against Blackmores is also being considered for excessive B6 levels in the company's vitamin supplements. As the regulator considers further action, here's what you need to know about vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 toxicity occurs when people consume excessive amounts of B6-containing supplements and have levels in their blood higher than what the body needs. Dr Terri-Lynne South, a GP, dietician and spokesperson for the Royal College of General Practitioners, says: 'Back in the day, B6 was what we would call a water-soluble vitamin, and the wisdom was you can't overdose on water-soluble vitamins … But we found, certainly with B6, that's not the case, that it is stored in the body.' Higher than normal amounts of B6 stored in the blood can have damaging effects, South says, 'particularly to some of our peripheral nerves – nerves in the extremities'. It can cause dysfunction, including pain, pins and needles, loss of sensation and loss of motor function in extreme cases. Vitamin B6 is found naturally in many foods including fish, non-citrus fruits and starchy vegetables. High intake of B6 from natural sources have not been reported to cause adverse effects. Sign up: AU Breaking News email B6 is also found in many supplements, including magnesium, multivitamins, zinc, and B-complex formulas, as well as fortified foods, including energy drinks, breakfast cereals and weight loss shakes. B6 toxicity occurs when people consume excessive amounts of B6 from these non-natural sources. People only need about 1mg of B6, so it can be very easy to consume too much, South says. 'Part of the problem is that B6 is known by different names [including] pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and so it can be difficult for people to actually know how much B6 they're getting from all sources.' People should be mindful if they are taking vitamin or mineral supplements, or using products with B6 such as energy drinks. The symptoms of B6 toxicity which lead to peripheral neuropathy are not very specific, meaning they could have many causes, South says. If people have pins and needles in the hands and feet, or a burning sensation, numbness or difficulty with balance or walking, 'I wouldn't necessarily jump to say that it's B6 toxicity.' Be aware of the many sources B6 is found in, as well as its numerous names including pyridoxine, pyridoxal or pyridoxamine, South says. 'Work out how much you might be having a day,' South says. If it's greater than 50mg, South recommends talking to a GP or pharmacist about your consumption. Even if people don't have symptoms, they should not be taking more than 50mg a day, she says. There is still some conjecture about whether amounts even lower than 50mg can cause toxicity. 'It is very individual at what point in time someone who's having excessive sources of B6 may get symptoms of toxicity,' South says. If people do experience symptoms, a blood test could help work out whether it is B6 toxicity or something else, she says.
The Australian
4 days ago
- Health
- The Australian
Spike in adverse event reports for ADHD medication Vyvanse
Authorities are investigating a spike in incidents involving one of Australia's most widely used ADHD medications. Adverse event reports linked to medication Vyvanse have spiked massively this year, and the manufacturer says no changes in the chemical production have been made. 'The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is currently investigating a potential safety signal associated with Vyvanse, including independent testing of the medicine through the TGA Laboratories,' a spokesperson told NewsWire. 'The investigation is the result of a recent increase in adverse event notifications relating to concerns about the quality, safety, and reduced effectiveness of the drug.' The TGA issued an alert about a typo on the Vyvanse label earlier this year. Picture: TGA 'There are no compliance signals currently under investigation for the facilities used in the manufacture of this product.' A 'signal' is detection of a pattern which requires further investigation. While not formally a pattern in the TGA's eyes, reports of adverse events such as anxiety, ineffectiveness and insomnia have increased massively this year. There have also been 88 reports of issues with the medicines label, which was flagged by the TGA earlier this year for minor typos; however, one of the typos added an extra 'S' to the word capsule; 'Each capsules contains 60mg lisdexamfetamine dimesilate'. The TGA maintains the Database of Adverse Event Notifications, where people report issues with medications. There have been 320 adverse events linked to Vyvanse in the first half of this year, compared to nine reports in the second half of 2024. Inclusion in the database does not confirm the incident is caused by the medication. Reports of ineffective Vyvanse have hit 150 so far this year, along with 88 reports of anxiety, and 73 reports that the therapeutic response has decreased. Last year, 1.8m Vyvanse prescriptions were written in Australia, excluding Department of Veterans' Affairs patients, over-the-counter drugs, private prescriptions and public inpatient prescriptions. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman Prescriptions of Vyvanse have been steadily increasing for the past few years. More than 958,000 scripts were written by public system health workers in 2022, rising to 1.4 million in 2023, and then 1.8m last year, government data shows. In a statement, supplier Takeda Pharmaceuticals Australia said a change of manufacturing facility in 2024 did not alter the chemical composition of the medicine. 'There have been no changes to the formulation,' a Takeda spokesperson told the ABC. Vyvanse was produced with strict quality controls, in line with Australia's Therapeutics Goods Act, the spokesperson said. The labelling typo did not affect the quality of the medication, they said. Blair Jackson Reporter Blair's journalism career has taken him from Perth, to New Zealand, Queensland and now Melbourne. Blair Jackson
