Now don’t get me wrong – there is a place for SOME drugs that have been developed and Lord knows our society in general is healthier because of the wonders of drugs…right.. er.. well maybe not. But at least we don’t get the Plague and we have practically eliminated the scourge of germs killing us off for the most part… right?  Er.. well maybe not.

Well anyway, there really ARE some good things about pharmaceutical drugs but the problem is – we can’t trust what the FDA is approving and what the drug companies are “studying” any longer. More proof of that came out today about Merck’s Singulair.  I paid particular attention to this since I am taking Serevent, which is similar to Singulair in what it treats. However the underlying chemical is not the same.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. health regulators are probing a possible connection between Merck & Co Inc’s blockbuster Singulair asthma drug and suicidal behavior in adults and children, the Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday.

The FDA said it is reviewing the issue after receiving reports of mood and behavior changes, suicidal thinking and suicide in patients who took the drug, which is used to treat stuffy nose, sneezing and other allergy symptoms, as well as asthma.

Full article here 

I guess now we will find out that yet again, the pharmaceutical company making this drug lied about the test results or covered up some adverse effects yet again – so they could make gobs of money selling to unsuspecting consumers. I believe they calculate the risk of the expected lawsuits when people find out about this corruption and decide the money they will make will offset this cost.

This is what is wrong with the world today. It is profits and greed over humanity and if evolution really works as intended, we are pretty much doing our own species in through it.  The harm these greedy pharmaceutical companies do to consumers harms all of us – it harms our trust – it harms the health of many and it ultimately will harm people in their very own family.

In my opinion, ALL drugs, whether prescribed by a doctor or bought at the drugstore off the shelf, should be used like they could hurt you and used in moderation. Another thing taht is worrisome is the fact that many of these drugs are not tested in combination with many other common drugs – for example maybe Advil or an antibiotic or blood pressure medicine. What is the effect when you mix 3 or 4 of these drugs together? Well that’s just too damn hard to study so we are ALL just guinea pigs to the pharmaceutical industry and when an interaction is discovered that they DIDN’T expect, they say WHOOPS!  But maybe it’s too late for your mother or father or child now that you have proven a drug interaction. Nothing like being a pioneer eh?

Another drug-gone-wrong story I read recently is about the antibiotic Ketek. Apparently, the drug makers covered up the fact that it can damage the liver. Whoops!

SEP-24-07: The antibiotic Ketek was approved by the FDA more than three years ago, ostensibly to be used for respiratory tract infections. There was no mention of side effects such as liver damage and/or liver failure. Since that time, scandals and treachery—mainly involving study 3014–seem to have held no bounds regarding the drug, its manufacturer and the FDA.   Read more

More articles on Ketek and it’s maker Sanofi-Aventis

This is really out of hand, don’t ya think?  If this doesn’t make you stop and think twice before being among the first to try a new drug or enroll in a “study” I don’t know what will!

Welcome to my spot on the Internet where I can RANT about the things that just piss me off or just plain give me a laugh or amaze me. Perhaps you are on the same page and can get a kick out of what I find out there in the world and bring here for all to see.

A little about me. I’m born and raised in Pennsylvania.  I’m mostly conservative and have been a registered Republican but am now registered Independent. I have NEVER been a registered Democrat.

I was academic in school and started out majoring in Biology. Now I am a computer nerd and have my own very small computer consulting biz.  My interests are all over the place. Over time you will see the general trend.

I am a dog lover although I used to be allergic to everything with fur, as well as pollen, dust, mold and practically everything else in the air besides oxygen. I could never go into a pet shop longer than 10 minutes before starting to sneeze.  I was allergic to Christmas Trees so every December I would be sick with a cold after we put up the Christmas Tree.

Now I have two dogs and after 5 years of allergy shots I am not as allergic and in fact my life is more normal in that regard than it’s ever been. I am now over 50. The first 25 years of my life I spent on Contact, Organidin,  Nyquil and the precursor to Albuterol.  I was sick a LOT as a kid.

I’ve worked as a disc jockey on college radio and in small bars where people danced. I have been a waitress, a bartender, a secretary (VERY briefly) along with various summer jobs like working at a 7-Eleven.

Recently, I had to deal with a breast lump that doctors wanted badly to cut out of me and then dose with radiation for five weeks. I was already a borderline health nut but after that I went off the deep end so to speak. Now, 3 years after first discovering that lump, and without surgery, radiation or chemo, the lump was declared to be “scar tissue” and I no longer feel like a cancer “patient”.

You will see a lot of posts on alternative health and my disgust with  allopathic medicine. It has its place but mostly for putting us back together after an accident. I don’t believe allopathic medicine knows ANYTHING about making us healthy. They are like a car repair shop.  They aren’t going to tell you how to keep your car out of the repair shop. In fact, they are happy if you come all the time since it gives them business. It is up to you to keep your car healthy and out of the repair shop.

I eat organic food and try to avoid chemicals in my food as much as possible. It takes a lot of effort to NOT eat convenience foods and the regular stuff at the food market because, well, it IS so convenient and let’s face it, it just tastes good a lot of the time.

In the first year of dealing with the breast lump I think I spent $15,000 on health items outside the normal allopathic and insurance-covered route. But in the long run, it was worth it to have them declare the lump as “scar tissue”.  I hope to someday see that lump of scar tissue go away completely.

Some of the things I am into now for my health are The Budwig Protocol for example and getting sunlight for my health vs just tanning.

That’s the short story… enjoy the posts!