
First Digital Pill Approved - prostoalex
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/health/digital-pill-fda.html?_r=0
======
tcj_phx
Shouldn't they use this with antibiotics first, to better make sure that
people take the full course of their prescription?

> Abilify is an arguably unusual choice for the first sensor-embedded
> medicine. It is prescribed to people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder
> and, in conjunction with an antidepressant, major depressive disorder.

> Many patients with these conditions do not take medication regularly, often
> with severe consequences. But symptoms of schizophrenia and related
> disorders can include paranoia and delusions, so some doctors and patients
> wonder how widely digital Abilify will be accepted.

Abilify is a "partial dopamine agonist" \- the other anti-psychotics are
stronger dopamine agonists, and are much more effective at inducing akathasia
[0] ("inner restlessness"). This class of drugs are palliative medications
that don't address the causes of a patient's symptoms.

[0] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akathisia#Drug-
induced](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akathisia#Drug-induced)

When my friend's sixth hospitalization put her on Abilify, she got worse as
the week progressed. The day before she was released she was as delusional as
she'd ever been. I was certain they'd send her to another hospital, but they
released her anyways. I got a call the next day, and had to drive 5 hours to
retrieve her from Las Vegas, where she'd ditched the 'friends' who'd talked
her into going to California.

There is no controversy about Abilify causing compulsive behaviors:

[https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm498662.htm](https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm498662.htm)

[https://www.thedailybeast.com/patients-say-abilify-turned-
th...](https://www.thedailybeast.com/patients-say-abilify-turned-them-into-
compulsive-gamblers-and-sex-addicts)

The only way to escape from maintenance meds like Abilify is to taper off. If
the digital pill is tattling on the patient, it only makes their recovery more
difficult.

