TOPIC:

This is my personal opinion, but I don't understand why you are consulting a lawyer. Actually, reading this whole thread has made me quite upset.

First, relating people smoking cigarettes to people taking experimental drugs to help achieve remission from an autoimmune disease is ridiculous. Completely ridiculous.

Second, I received Rituxin as treatment for my ITP. This is why I am in remission. Prior to my doctor and I deciding jointly that this was the next step we would make, I was informed that this is an experimental treatment -- as are most treatments for ITP. Prior to each infusion, I was given a packet of information explaining the risks of the treatment. As patients, we receive information from our doctors and pharmacists prior to receiving any new medication, and it is our responsibility to educate and inform ourselves -- with, at minimum, the information that doctors and pharmacists provide.

What would you solve by suing a drug company besides forcing them (if you win) to divert some of their profits into your pocket as opposed to funding development to create new drugs and to create better drugs to help people with ITP and thousands of other illnesses?

Dean - I'm not arguing with you, just trying to understand. First, is it a fact that low serotonin causes depression? How could one person escape depression from low serotonin and another not? It's a medical condition.

Second, if platelets are low and therefore serotonin is too, again, how could some people not be depressed and others are? Serotonin is a measured chemical so the levels probably dictate how a person reacts to a degree.

Third, I think it's hard to distinguish whether a person is depressed because they have to deal with ITP or the depression is a direct result of the ITP. You can take two people both diagnosed with counts of 5k. One cries and frets and the other shrugs and thinks it's no big deal. I have always thought that attitude dictated more than serotonin.

Now please understand, I was also one who cried and worried and can honestly say that I did get depressed, but I also know it was after the ITP diagnosis and I was depressed because of the diagnosis. Well, maybe not depressed, but scared. I did become depressed after high Prednisone doses and that was considered steroid-induced depression. After I was on Celexa for a while though, I was fine. I also changed my attitude about ITP and went with the flow. No more depression after that.

I'd still like to see some sort of clinical article about low platelets and serotonin.

I am not arguing either Sandi. Just expressing my opinions. The human body is complex and continuously changing. We all react differently to chemical fluctuations in our bodies.
No hard feelings!!