Paid Clinical Trials, Ever Done One?

Clinical trials in Australia seem to pay about $300 a day. I did one like 15 years ago and just finished one now and forgot how easy a way it is to make money. I work from home so I can work in a hospital ward. It's really not for everyone, a month trial might pay $8,000 but that's effectively a one month prison sentence if you can't leave the ward. And not just prison, but torture with uncaring nurses messing with your canulla all day. Not to mention having a drug tested on you.

It's also a strange experience, when everyone needs to pee into clear jugs and hand it to a nurse, so you see people walking around with piss jugs all day. You become familiar with how hydrated everyone is. And when a team of advanced life car staff roll into the ward you know someone is testing some pretty risky drugs.

Anyway I guess it's not such an easy way to make money and most people would pay money to avoid the experience, but just wondering if anyone here has ever done one, or regularly does them? Talking to the people in the trial a lot of them seem to treat clinical trials like their jobs. One guy next to me had irregular bloods in his last trial and this one and the way the doctor talked to him it was like watching someone get fired from their career.

Poll Options

  • 8
    Yes I do them all the time
  • 1
    I did it once and never again
  • 34
    I've never done it but am interested
  • 28
    I'd never do it, sound stupid

Comments

  • +2

    Seems like a good way to make money if you pass all the sceening criteria.

    • I was surprised I still did. I treat my body like a dumpster.

      • +3

        I treat my body like a dumpster.

        I can tell.

        • And if someone is doing these trials regularly and there's an adverse reaction that doesn't become apparent for months later, how would they know which drug is to blame?

          • -2

            @Pete10001: There's a good chance you get the placebo in any trial. If you're in the sentinel group in a first in human trial then there's a 50% chance you get the placebo.

            You have to assume that with the dozens of health and drug experts working at the clinical trial company, plus the drug companies themselves, that between them they can figure out which drug did it.

      • where do u actually go to find out about these trials and what trials have u done

        • +1

          I can't remember where I first found out about them. But I imagine if you google "clinical trials [your city]" then it should be a top result, I bet every capital city in Australia runs them.

    • -6

      Based on the disasterous outcomes (Vaccine injuries) for many people after the COVID19 vaccines Id never take part in a clinical trial.
      You may get what seems to be a tidy sum, but if that trial vaccine completely stuffs up your body (as the COVID19 vaccine did for mine) you likely have no recourse for compensation

      • +3

        You have recourse for compensation - https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/covid-19-vaccine-claims-s…

        Medical trials should be insured too.

        • No I dont!

          You need to have been hospitalised to get compensation
          Then its only for expenses. The scheme sucks big time!

          But thats not the point

          if an "approved" vaccine such as Pfizer or Astra Zeneca can do so much damage to so many people image what damage a trial vaccine can do.

          I can tell you in the fine print they will have exclusion clauses regarding responsibiltiy and compensation just as all the COVID19 vaccine producers did.

          So ensure you read all the FINE PRINT and ask if not sure

          All the totally uninformed people here negative voting MY TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE need a reality check!
          Shame on you all!

      • -1

        Funny that people love to spend vote your comment when you're telling the truth.
        People don't want to hear facts

        • Correct…They are living inside a shell

  • +5

    Also talking to participants everyone is obviously motivated by and focused on the money. But it is an important job too. Science is coming up with all sorts of amazing drugs, like gene therapies that may treat or effectively cure a lot of terrible diseases within decades, but not unless they can test and develop the drugs with the help with volunteers. Without volunteers these wonder drugs won't exist in the near future.

  • You should have done an AMA when you were held prisoner in the hospital.

    If you had done one my question would have been…

    • Do the hot nurses give you a bed bath everyday?
    • +1

      There was one particularly hot nurse, but sadly he did not offer either sponge or spray. You have to shower with a plastic sleeve around your cannula or injection site area or whatever isn't allowed to get wet.

    • +1

      held prisoner

      Someone is the rat in the prisoner’s dilemma to be doing time in the hospital lab.

      • +2

        You're right. $300 a day, so if you were in a one year trial that's only $110k. Most people wouldn't dream of agreeing to go to prison for a year for $110k. Even a nice prison with good food where you can access the internet and play games all day.

        I've heard some European trials pay a lot more, but the risk is probably greater. Someone in my last trial claimed they travelled to Europe specifically for a high paying trial and it paid so much they holidayed for a few months more. They really do think of like a job…

  • +5

    The amount of money they pay is pathetically small based on the potential risk.

    • +2

      Yes, but the majority of the population will never make $300 a day. For most people it is good money. And apparently the risk is low in Australia compared to many other countries, our safety standards are higher than most.

      • my son only gets $640pf on centrelink so $300 a day is ok

        • +1

          That's a good point. For people on Centrelink this is a good break. For people who have never had a job before this is a huge break.

        • Personally I would rather have my family members pick another job to earn a crust

  • +3

    Are you not worried that these trials could cause adverse/negative impacts on your health? I initially thought about doing a clinical trial but then backed out as the thought of personal health is more important than a few hundred dollars stopped me.

    • +1

      Nah. I'll swallow random pills someone offers me a party, so an experimental drug that the drug company knows exactly what's in it is no problem. Though these new gene therapies can apparently potentially affect children if you get someone pregnant, but fortunately for me men can't get pregnant.

      • +1

        fortunately for me men can't get pregnant.

        That could be next month's clinical trial :)

      • +1

        Hey OP, you know how you said we know what we are doing, well….

        Turns out you grew a uterus….

        and you're pregnant….

        and we don't know what it is.

        Thanks for the signed waivers and NDAs, and in good spirit here's another $300

      • -7

        but fortunately for me men can't get pregnant.

        Wrong, bigot. https://www.advocate.com/news/2008/03/14/labor-love

        • Lots of science haters in here.

  • +1

    I had friends who did a snake bite treatment one. They stuffed up the radioactive tracer drug and gave them a higher dose than they were meant to have. They had to take iodine.

  • +5

    brought to you by pfizer

    • Don't be crazy..can't be
      We pay Pfizer to do clinical trials on people, not the other way around…..

      /s

    • It was hilarious that during covid the amount of clinal trial ads on facebook and instagram went through the roof. They were all for covid vaccines and they struggled to get participants.

  • +1

    My brother did a sleep trial 6 months ago. Got paid $3k a week.

    • +3

      where do i sign up for that one

  • There are many variations of Trials, and so far I have done mine as multiple visits only after work. Ticks on the bucket List.
    But an in house stay is more $$, ok food and all you can eat WiFi. Just the single visit to qualify or be excluded is also big payer.
    A short holiday if it works for you, a working holiday for others, and for some what ever it means to them.
    Another benefit, is multiple free in depth medicals. Oh, the Qld staff and nurses so far have been wonderful in my experiences.

    I did some and will again.

    • where did u find out about these trials ? i’m in nsw so obviously different location to you but just wondering where you go to find out where these trials are

    • The phantom negger strikes again.

  • +1

    i signed my 15 year old son up for a trial for kids with autism trial that gave a tablet daily and it was only paying like $50 when you had to travel to the hospital but i was doing it for the trial not so much the money but then they told me i had to collect his poo in a cup and when i heard that i was out ..

  • Great documentary on what could happen sometimes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9_sX93RHOk&t=1s

  • What, do I look like a guinea pig

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