When I was in pharmacy school, I participated in several clinical trials run by the research facility at a major university hospital. My sister, a research nurse, helped manage the studies and always gave me a heads-up when the high-paying ones were starting. This was great income for a poor student, and I knew enough pharmacology to avoid drugs with bad adverse or side effects .
However, I was concerned when a fellow participant (the son of the hospital’s chief of cardiology) died a week into one in-house study. But, it was later determined that he passed away due to a preexisting condition.
One study involved collecting my feces in plastic bags . It was quite embarrassing bringing my weekly output to the hospital by bus. Let’s just say the bags weren’t exactly odor-free .
As a student, I befriended a nurse in clinical studies who did this for me! She helped me become a normal control for a psychiatric institute’s sleep studies which paid very well. Turns out I had no trouble sleeping with EEG, ECG, and a mercury stretch gauge for nocturnal penile tumescence determination.
I did this too but not with the penis gage. I had an IV hooked up to me and they fed me a drug or placebo. Spent the nights in the inpatient psych ward at the VA. Everyone there was there for depression.
The penis gauge bumped the pay from $125 a night to $325, I assume due to embarrassment. One night it was bumped higher because a picture was taken during the night, supposedly for a publication in a journal.
Another study involved an IV line that ran from my arm, through gasket in the wall. They took blood hourly overnight, looking at 24 hour variations in growth hormone levels. Because each time involved a 24 hour stay and a IV, the pay was excellent.
Meanwhile, people I knew were taking unknown meds and collecting all their urine for a week for $65.
For some reasons specific to me, I’m not too worried about efficacy, unless it thins too much, which definitely would be bad, but they will be doing more frequent blood work initially.
The reason I’m less concerned about stroke is that a few months ago they put me on Flecainide, which seems to have stopped all perceptible AFib occurrences. They may still be happening on a micro level but I don’t notice them.
As an aside, I’d consider the Watchman procedure, but even post-op it still takes quite a few months to wean off the thinners.
30ish years ago, when living and working in Manhattan, I had to bring such a sample to a doctor’s office. All I could think of, as I hoofed it uptown, was “I don’t want to get my purse snatched in New York. But if it is EVER to happen, today would be the perfect day!” as I imagined a thief rifling through it… and finding a jar of poo.
Back to the OP: Sounds like a win situation: you will possibly get your current med (in which case, no risk), you may possibly get the newer one (with increased monitoring, to catch problems early), and you get cash! I’ve done one or two medical studies but none that involved medication.
You list it last, and indeed it is the least of the reasons, at least for this study; $50 per visit is something, but doesn’t sway me much. Still, better than a sharp stick in the eye, and pays for lunch and gas.
I want to thank everyone for their feedback; it has been very helpful to me. My only remaining sticking point is logistical: we have intentions to do more travel in the next 24 months, as yet unscheduled; I need to learn how precise the study visit schedule is. If it needs to be, say, exactly 3 months, give or take 2 days, and that happens to fall on a 2-week out-of-town vacation for us, will that be a problem…that’s what I need to find out from them.
Otherwise, I think I’m “in”. Thank you again to everyone. (they are supposed to contact me, but haven’t yet; I’ll give them until mid next week and call them if I don’t hear back)
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. It was quite embarrassing bringing my weekly output to the hospital by bus. Let’s just say the bags weren’t exactly odor-free 
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