Clinical trials

Ok I was debating whether to post this here or in the health section but either way I hope I get a few responses!

I just wanted to know if anyone here has ever done clinical trials? A friend of mine done it last year and enjoyed it, now another friend has signed up and asked me if I was interested.

When my friend originally told me he was doing it last year I was pretty sceptical, but after speaking to him I kinda changed my mind. I imagined it as being pretty dodgy as I expect many of you will, but it's actually much safer than you probably think. The worst side affects are usually vomitting, which doesn't happen very often. Of course there is a risk involved and you will probably remember a few years back a group of people who got seriously ill during a clinical trial. The thing is since that one occasion I have never heard of a trial going bad, and these things are going on all year round!

Now down to the important bit, MONEY! Knowing that i'm starting uni later this year and have basically nothing saved up, this would come in very handy. For those of you who don't know these things pay about £2500 and you have to attend for about 12 days over a month.

Anyway any feedback is welcome I haven't made my decision yet! Thx xx

Reply 1

dh00001

16

chances are trials often go wrong but they just dont make the news.
its alot of money so i would be tempted

Reply 2

Jamesb283

Hmm.. I'd take the money to be a human guinea pig, but it depends what stuff they are testing to be honest.

Reply 3

esm

OP

This particular one is a medicine for huntington's disease, to prevent muscle wastage I think. So basically they have to make sure it doesn't have any side effects before releasing it.

Reply 4

DodgyTrousers

7

I wouldn't. The more I read about the pharm companies, the more I doubt their ability to provide a truly safe testing environment. Or indeed, to take care of you if their drug screws you up.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,1230239,00.html

http://www.vioxx-lawsuit-info.com/vioxx-problems.shtml

http://www.drugresearcher.com/news/ng.asp?n=74922-tegenero-parexel-drug-trial-tgn-monoclonal-antibody

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9f00e5db1430f936a35752c0a9619c8b63

Those are the sort of people you're indirectly dealing with.

There was another, horrifying case that I can't find a link for now. It concerned another bungled test that left a portion of the subjects on their deathbeds, and the article pointed out how the company's lawyers were purposefully dragging their feet and delaying the procedures, waiting for several of the plaintiffs to die.

Reply 5

kateyrib

saves an animal..and you earn some money..for a bit of vomiting..id do it

Reply 6

El Scotto

15

esm

Ok I was debating whether to post this here or in the health section but either way I hope I get a few responses!

I just wanted to know if anyone here has ever done clinical trials? A friend of mine done it last year and enjoyed it, now another friend has signed up and asked me if I was interested.

When my friend originally told me he was doing it last year I was pretty sceptical, but after speaking to him I kinda changed my mind. I imagined it as being pretty dodgy as I expect many of you will, but it's actually much safer than you probably think. The worst side affects are usually vomitting, which doesn't happen very often. Of course there is a risk involved and you will probably remember a few years back a group of people who got seriously ill during a clinical trial. The thing is since that one occasion I have never heard of a trial going bad, and these things are going on all year round!

Now down to the important bit, MONEY! Knowing that i'm starting uni later this year and have basically nothing saved up, this would come in very handy. For those of you who don't know these things pay about £2500 and you have to attend for about 12 days over a month.

Anyway any feedback is welcome I haven't made my decision yet! Thx xx

I was considering this the other week... I keep seeing the adverts on gumtree ! but then i remembered the images of those guys who got bloaty head as a side-effect, and lost their fingers.

Reply 7

SuperDaz

13

Oddly enough I'll be doing it this week. Going in wednesday and coming out sunday.

PM me after I come out and I'll answer any questions you may have :smile:

Reply 8

No Future

17

kateyrib

saves an animal..and you earn some money..for a bit of vomiting..id do it

Um, not necessarily... Often tested on animals before humans, y'know to minimize risks to human health.

Reply 9

edd8990

Signed up, went to the premedical screening.

Unfortunately, that came two days after the download festival.

Anyone want to guess how my drugs test came back?

Reply 10

No Future

17

One must be very careful if choosing to take part. Of course no company wants the trials to go wrong and probably takes every possible precaution before testing in humans & how trials are carried out (e.g. dosage), the uncertainties lie in the vast complexity of living cells and organisms. Indeed, drugs are tested on animals first in most cases, but the biochemistry of animals and the effect of a drug on one species may not reflect that of such on another. One cannot predict or even know of what happens when a drug is given to a human, hence the initial trials. Read what happened to the participants in the Northwick Park trail last year, I distinctly remember one man on television, his fingers black and crumbled away, unable to walk, go to work or do much at all. I'd imagine the risk lessens at later phases, but the higher paying trials seem to be the earlier phases (yes, I did consider this for myself). Personally, I wouldn't feel happy taking part unless I understood the science behind it and even then there would be (great) risks involved. Whilst a bit a cash for a few days sounds like easy money, the risk to my health is too high a price to pay. You can't buy back your health. I'd rather be the couple of grand poorer whilst a student.

Reply 11

Clubber Lang

15

i wouldn't do it - you can't really moan either if it all goes wrong

If you got paid £2500 but lost a leg (for example) how could you live with? Mind you people take risks everyday so I can see your reasoning - I just think it could be too much of a blatant risk.

Reply 12

20083

2

There are two main points here. Firstly, by the time the drugs get to this stage of the process, they have already been well tested. This should be the final stage before they go on the shelves.

The other point is, if they were definitely safe, they wouldn't do the testing.

The main problem I can see is that there is no come back if it does go all wrong. If you were to lose you sight in any other industrial accident you would get thousands of pounds compensation. If you were to lose your sight here you would get a pat on the back and told "sorry, but, you knew the risks."

Reply 13

No Future

17

Nessyfencer

If you were to lose your sight here you would get a pat on the back and told "sorry, but, you knew the risks."

Isn't the point that your eyesight (health) is invaluable and a few thousand pounds would hardly compensate you?

Reply 14

No Future

17

Nessyfencer

The other point is, if they were definitely safe, they wouldn't do the testing.

That's it.

And even when a drug is deemed to be safe after trials, unexpected harmful effects may emerge as has done before.

Reply 15

Vohamanah

16

kateyrib

saves an animal

Animal testing and human testing are different things done at different stages in the approval process. They can't be substituted for each other, so no animals will be 'saved' by signing up to clinical trials.

I say go for it, OP. I've done 2 and they were very boring, but paid pretty well.

There is a reason the story about that test going so wrong was all over the press: They don't go wrong very often.

dh00001

chances are trials often go wrong but they just dont make the news.

If another one went seriously wrong after that one, do you really think it wouldn't be all over the press? There was enough outrage about that single trial, imagine what all the red tops would write about the 'terrible danger' people are putting themselves in :s-smilie:

Reply 16

o-e-s-j

2

DodgyTrousers

I wouldn't. The more I read about the pharm companies, the more I doubt their ability to provide a truly safe testing environment. Or indeed, to take care of you if their drug screws you up.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,1230239,00.html

http://www.vioxx-lawsuit-info.com/vioxx-problems.shtml

http://www.drugresearcher.com/news/ng.asp?n=74922-tegenero-parexel-drug-trial-tgn-monoclonal-antibody

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9f00e5db1430f936a35752c0a9619c8b63

Those are the sort of people you're indirectly dealing with.

There was another, horrifying case that I can't find a link for now. It concerned another bungled test that left a portion of the subjects on their deathbeds, and the article pointed out how the company's lawyers were purposefully dragging their feet and delaying the procedures, waiting for several of the plaintiffs to die.

these are only a few cases - you don't stop crossing the street upon hearing of a road accident do you?

they use such a small dose in the early stages of these trials that even if they fed you what they knew to poisonous you'd live most of the time.

i'd definitely do it, how'd you find out about these things anyway?

Reply 17

o-e-s-j

2

kateyrib

saves an animal..and you earn some money..for a bit of vomiting..id do it

lqtm. it wont save any animals - they test thoroughly on animals before these drugs make it anywhere near a human - they obviously need to do this to check that there's no unpredicted side effects [humans and chimps aren't exactly the same afterall :smile:

]

Reply 18

DodgyTrousers

7

these are only a few cases - you don't stop crossing the street upon hearing of a road accident do you?

Oh indeed, but it's not the frequency of things going wrong that I think is the issue, it's how the company treat you afterwards if they do.

On the off chance you are one of the poor sods whose fingers fall off (or whatever), then they use every resource in their trillion dollar companies to make sure you get sod all for it. After disqualifying your results on some/any technicality.

Allegedly!

Nice sig by the way :smile:

Reply 19

o-e-s-j

2

DodgyTrousers

Oh indeed, but it's not the frequency of things going wrong that I think is the issue, it's how the company treat you afterwards if they do.

On the off chance you are one of the poor sods whose fingers fall off (or whatever), then they use every resource in their trillion dollar companies to make sure you get sod all for it. After disqualifying your results on some/any technicality.

Allegedly!

Nice sig by the way :smile:

thanks

Clinical trials

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