FDA panel advises more testing of 'shock-therapy' devices Washington Post
"An expert panel advising the Food and Drug Administration decided Friday that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) machines should undergo the same rigorous testing as new medical devices coming onto the market - a decision that could drastically affect the future of psychiatry's most controversial treatment."
AND
"The majority of the 18-member committee said not enough is known about ECT, also known as "electroshock" or simply "shock" therapy, to allow the devices to be used without more research into its usefulness and hazards.
If the agency follows the panel's advice, which it usually does, the two companies whose machines are used in the United States will have to provide evidence of the therapy's safety and effectiveness either from existing research or new studies. If the FDA isn't convinced, the devices could be removed from use.
The panel's opinion is the latest chapter in ECT's seven-decade history, during which the treatment has been lauded as a lifesaver, villified as a form of legally sanctioned torture, and has seen its popularity rise in recent years after a long decline."
---
7 decades of use without rigourous testing!!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Made in China: lead paint contaminates art exhibit
Monday, January 31, 2011-Pharmagossip news
Oh the irony! BBC News - New health scare over Chinese Sunflower Seeds exhibition at the Tate Modern
via bbc.co.uk
The BBC has learned that the installation of 100 million porcelain "sunflower seeds" was made in China using paint containing lead.
Oh the irony! BBC News - New health scare over Chinese Sunflower Seeds exhibition at the Tate Modern
via bbc.co.uk
The BBC has learned that the installation of 100 million porcelain "sunflower seeds" was made in China using paint containing lead.
Timothy Wilens investigated by Grassley with Biederman for COI, STILL taking pharma income!
Timothy Wilens, one of the psychiatrists at Mass General investigated by Senator Charles Grassley for pocketing and not reporting income from drug companies is STILL taking money from pharma.*Added note: it appears Thomas Spencer is also still taking money from pharma: $5,000 from Eli Lilly . Something stinks at Mass General!
Dr. Timothy Wilens is in the ProPublica Dollars for Docs database. Clearly, the investigation from Grassley did nothing to change the way Wilens does business.
Dollars for Docs:
ELI LILLY, makers of Zyprexa, Prozac
Payee TIMOTHY WILENS
Listed Name WILENS, TIMOTHY E.
City WINCHESTER
State MA
Number of activities 2
Patient Education Programs 0.00
Healthcare Professional Education Programs 0.00
Advising/Consulting and International Education Programs 9250.00
Total 9250.00
---
Boston .com June 2008
"Three Harvard psychiatrists facing a US Senate inquiry got a vote of confidence from their hospital as "beloved and trusted by thousands of grateful children and families." Senator Charles Grassley is looking into the doctors' failure to report payments of more than a million dollars in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007.
A memo from top officials at Massachusetts General Hospital obtained by the Globe praised Drs. Joseph Biederman, Timothy Wilens, and Thomas Spencer as "pioneers in the field of child mental health" while also endorsing "closely managed" collaboration with industry and promising a review of conflict-of-interest policies.
AND
"Our ultimate hope is that after such a comprehensive review, our processes will be further enhanced, strengthened and streamlined. We will no doubt learn a great deal from this experience – as difficult as it may be – and we must be willing to share the insights and perspectives we gain to improve conflict-of-interest processes not just here, but at academic institutions nationwide.
Peter L. Slavin, MD, President, MGHDavid F. Torchiana, MD, Chairman and CEO, MGPO"-June 2008
Do you think they learned from it yet?
Dr. Timothy Wilens is in the ProPublica Dollars for Docs database. Clearly, the investigation from Grassley did nothing to change the way Wilens does business.
Dollars for Docs:
ELI LILLY, makers of Zyprexa, Prozac
Payee TIMOTHY WILENS
Listed Name WILENS, TIMOTHY E.
City WINCHESTER
State MA
Number of activities 2
Patient Education Programs 0.00
Healthcare Professional Education Programs 0.00
Advising/Consulting and International Education Programs 9250.00
Total 9250.00
---
Boston .com June 2008
"Three Harvard psychiatrists facing a US Senate inquiry got a vote of confidence from their hospital as "beloved and trusted by thousands of grateful children and families." Senator Charles Grassley is looking into the doctors' failure to report payments of more than a million dollars in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007.
A memo from top officials at Massachusetts General Hospital obtained by the Globe praised Drs. Joseph Biederman, Timothy Wilens, and Thomas Spencer as "pioneers in the field of child mental health" while also endorsing "closely managed" collaboration with industry and promising a review of conflict-of-interest policies.
AND
"Our ultimate hope is that after such a comprehensive review, our processes will be further enhanced, strengthened and streamlined. We will no doubt learn a great deal from this experience – as difficult as it may be – and we must be willing to share the insights and perspectives we gain to improve conflict-of-interest processes not just here, but at academic institutions nationwide.
Peter L. Slavin, MD, President, MGHDavid F. Torchiana, MD, Chairman and CEO, MGPO"-June 2008
Do you think they learned from it yet?
Psychopharmacology Bulletin Editor, Michael Thase:$60,000 from PHARMA
James La Rossa, Jr. is the publisher of the Psychopharmacology Bulletin and a long time support of mine here and in comments at the Carlat blog. James has always stepped up to show support for me and my daughter and we've had interesting and lively discussions in comment sections--though our opinions of medication use can differ, we both speak from personal experience, and I hold a high esteem for La Rossa. But...
Unfortunately, I have found a conflict that James may be aware of or not--with his Editor Michael Thase. Thase is well-known in the bipolar treatment world--a KOL who has his hand in the pharma cash cookie jar.
Thase is in the ProPublica Dollars for Docs database.
MONEY TAKEN FROM ASTRAZENECA, ELI LILLY AND GSK (makers of Seroquel ,Zyprexa and Paxil just to name a few)
THASE, MICHAEL EDWARD Pa. Pittsburgh
Eli Lilly $20,325 2009
Q1-Q4 Healthcare Professional Education Programs: $20325.0
THASE, MICHAEL EDWARD
Thase, Michael Pa. Moylan AstraZeneca $39,750 2010
Q1-Q2 Speaker compensation MICHAEL THASE WESTERN PSYCH INST & CLINIC
Thase, Michael Pa. Philadelphia GSK $250 2009
Q2-Q4 Consulting: $0.00 Speaking: $250 Michael Thase
--
In 1997, Thase was course director of the Second International Conference on Bipolar Disorder along with conflicted KOL Joseph Biederman, another participant. With heavy pharma influence via personal bank accounts, would you consider their opinion on the treatment of bipolar disorder to be unbiased? or pro-medication? Think about it.
Another article featuring Thase from Furious Seasons-blog on hiatus.
Unfortunately, I have found a conflict that James may be aware of or not--with his Editor Michael Thase. Thase is well-known in the bipolar treatment world--a KOL who has his hand in the pharma cash cookie jar.
Thase is in the ProPublica Dollars for Docs database.
MONEY TAKEN FROM ASTRAZENECA, ELI LILLY AND GSK (makers of Seroquel ,Zyprexa and Paxil just to name a few)
THASE, MICHAEL EDWARD Pa. Pittsburgh
Eli Lilly $20,325 2009
Q1-Q4 Healthcare Professional Education Programs: $20325.0
THASE, MICHAEL EDWARD
Thase, Michael Pa. Moylan AstraZeneca $39,750 2010
Q1-Q2 Speaker compensation MICHAEL THASE WESTERN PSYCH INST & CLINIC
Thase, Michael Pa. Philadelphia GSK $250 2009
Q2-Q4 Consulting: $0.00 Speaking: $250 Michael Thase
--
In 1997, Thase was course director of the Second International Conference on Bipolar Disorder along with conflicted KOL Joseph Biederman, another participant. With heavy pharma influence via personal bank accounts, would you consider their opinion on the treatment of bipolar disorder to be unbiased? or pro-medication? Think about it.
Another article featuring Thase from Furious Seasons-blog on hiatus.
Off-label use of Neurontin & Trileptal for bipolar: you were duped and scammed sucker!
TWO major drug companies are in the NEWS today-Pfizer is one of them for marketing off-label promotions of drugs for bipolar disorder treatment. Novartis is the other. -VIA Pharmagossip
Trileptal is an antiepileptic drug people have been prescribed for use of the treatment of bipolar disorder, and Neurontin is an antiepileptic drug used in off-label for pain as well as bipolar disorder treatment. The drugs are often touted by psychiatrists as ones that quell mania, or that they simply just 'help' without knowing why they work.
The most recent (October 2010) off-label use drug rx'd to my daughter by an inpatient quack was Trileptal, though I warned she is drug sensitive, trialed them all and didn't need drugs for a condition they called 'manic' when she started to TALK again! the drug was removed immediately by another doctor once out of that place and she has not been on it since and definitely did not need it! Talking again is not mania, stop symptomizing everything and drugging it!
To all of the quacks and doctors who promote these drugs based on pharmaceutical hearsay and no facts: %@# YOU. Now how do you justify the use to your patients?
PZIZER and NOVARTIS duped, suckered and rolled you doc!
"Monday, January 31, 2011
Novartis ordered to pay $422.5 million fine for off-label marketing Philadelphia Inquirer
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. was officially ordered today to pay $422.5 million in civil and criminal fines for promoting an antiepileptic drug for non-approved uses, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia announced.
The company had pleaded guilty Nov. 2 to marketing Trileptal, which had federal approval as an epilepsy drug, for additional uses that included bipolar disorder and neuropathic pain, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not approved those latter uses."
---
Monday, January 31, 2011
"Pfizer ordered to pay $142.1M for Neurontin ads violating U.S. racketeering laws - Crain's New York Business
Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, was ordered to pay a total of $142.1 million in damages for violating U.S. racketeering laws in the marketing of its epilepsy drug Neurontin.
U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Boston on Thursday upheld a jury’s finding that Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals deserved the award over the companies’ claims that Pfizer illegally promoted Neurontin for unapproved uses. Ms. Saris tripled the jury’s award of $47.3 million under a provision of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970."
"Kaiser officials alleged they were duped into believing that migraines and bipolar disorder could be treated effectively with Neurontin, approved in 1993 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for epilepsy."
Trileptal is an antiepileptic drug people have been prescribed for use of the treatment of bipolar disorder, and Neurontin is an antiepileptic drug used in off-label for pain as well as bipolar disorder treatment. The drugs are often touted by psychiatrists as ones that quell mania, or that they simply just 'help' without knowing why they work.
The most recent (October 2010) off-label use drug rx'd to my daughter by an inpatient quack was Trileptal, though I warned she is drug sensitive, trialed them all and didn't need drugs for a condition they called 'manic' when she started to TALK again! the drug was removed immediately by another doctor once out of that place and she has not been on it since and definitely did not need it! Talking again is not mania, stop symptomizing everything and drugging it!
To all of the quacks and doctors who promote these drugs based on pharmaceutical hearsay and no facts: %@# YOU. Now how do you justify the use to your patients?
PZIZER and NOVARTIS duped, suckered and rolled you doc!
"Monday, January 31, 2011
Novartis ordered to pay $422.5 million fine for off-label marketing Philadelphia Inquirer
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. was officially ordered today to pay $422.5 million in civil and criminal fines for promoting an antiepileptic drug for non-approved uses, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia announced.
The company had pleaded guilty Nov. 2 to marketing Trileptal, which had federal approval as an epilepsy drug, for additional uses that included bipolar disorder and neuropathic pain, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not approved those latter uses."
---
Monday, January 31, 2011
"Pfizer ordered to pay $142.1M for Neurontin ads violating U.S. racketeering laws - Crain's New York Business
Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, was ordered to pay a total of $142.1 million in damages for violating U.S. racketeering laws in the marketing of its epilepsy drug Neurontin.
U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Boston on Thursday upheld a jury’s finding that Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals deserved the award over the companies’ claims that Pfizer illegally promoted Neurontin for unapproved uses. Ms. Saris tripled the jury’s award of $47.3 million under a provision of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970."
"Kaiser officials alleged they were duped into believing that migraines and bipolar disorder could be treated effectively with Neurontin, approved in 1993 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for epilepsy."
Sunday, January 30, 2011
i can see for miles
the math:
then:
56m one way=112 RT (round trip)
X 4 X wk=448 m per wk
X 4 wks=1792miles MO (month)
-----
vs.
NOW
7 miles one way=14 RT
X4 wk=56 m wk
X 4 wks=224 per MO
--
8 tanks of gas vs 1 per month= approx $400.00 per month savings now toward rent/expenses
--
in minutes
90 minutes one way vs. 15 minutes one way
time spent together: priceless
then:
56m one way=112 RT (round trip)
X 4 X wk=448 m per wk
X 4 wks=1792miles MO (month)
-----
vs.
NOW
7 miles one way=14 RT
X4 wk=56 m wk
X 4 wks=224 per MO
--
8 tanks of gas vs 1 per month= approx $400.00 per month savings now toward rent/expenses
--
in minutes
90 minutes one way vs. 15 minutes one way
time spent together: priceless
i'll take 60 on 14 to win
60 minutes on dryer number 14 ! part of my new routine, waiting to do laundry early morning when no one is in the laundry facility on site here, but not to worry all those windows of people saw me walking through the parking lot in my green frog pattern PJ's anyway! gotta love it. quarters have a whole new meaning now!
Civil Liberties lost: Canadian woman denied flight to U.S.due to past suicide attempt
VIA the star:
"When Lois Kamenitz arrived at Pearson International Airport in November, hoping to board a flight to California, she was stunned to learn that U.S. border officials were barring her entry. The reason: Years ago, she attempted suicide."
AND
"How and why her personal information was passed to a foreign government is extremely troubling, say advocates for civil rights and the rights of psychiatric patients, who believe Kamenitz's privacy rights were invaded.
It's not an isolated incident, says Ryan Fritsch, legal counsel for the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office. He has heard of about eight similar cases in the past year, all involving non-criminal contact between police and people with mental health issues records of contact that end up at the Department of Homeland Security."
Read the rest HERE.
MORE on this topic at Borepatch blog.
"When Lois Kamenitz arrived at Pearson International Airport in November, hoping to board a flight to California, she was stunned to learn that U.S. border officials were barring her entry. The reason: Years ago, she attempted suicide."
AND
"How and why her personal information was passed to a foreign government is extremely troubling, say advocates for civil rights and the rights of psychiatric patients, who believe Kamenitz's privacy rights were invaded.
It's not an isolated incident, says Ryan Fritsch, legal counsel for the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office. He has heard of about eight similar cases in the past year, all involving non-criminal contact between police and people with mental health issues records of contact that end up at the Department of Homeland Security."
Read the rest HERE.
MORE on this topic at Borepatch blog.
Friday, January 28, 2011
quote of the day
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
--Winston Churchill
--Winston Churchill
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Rogues Gallery: DOJ Lists the Worst-Behaved Drug Companies of 2010: BNET-Jim Edwards
Rogues Gallery: DOJ Lists the Worst-Behaved Drug Companies of 2010- Jim Edwards
Here are the 16 worst-behaved drug and medical device companies in 2010, ranked by the size of the settlements or awards extracted by the DOJ:
Allergan, $600 million, mismarketing of Botox
AstraZeneca, $520 million, mismarketing of Seroquel
Novartis, $422.5 million, mismarketing of Trileptal and others
Forest Labs, $313 million, mismarketing of Lovothroid and Celexa
Mylan/UDL Labs/AZ and Johnson & Johnson, $124 million, underpaid rebates to Medicaid
Teva, $100 million, inflated prices
J&J, $81 million, mismarketing of Topamax
Novartis, $72.5 million, mismarketing of TOBI for cystic fibrosis
Alpharma, $42.5 million, mismarketing of Kadian
KV Pharmaceutical, $27.5 million, oversized pills
Biovail, $24.7 million, mismarketing of Cardizem
Boston Scientific, $22 million, kickbacks on defibrillators
Cardinal Health and Bindley Western, $5.5 million, overcharging the DOD
Spectranetics Corporation, $4.9 million, marketing unapproved medical devices
Atricure, $3.7 million, mismarketing surgical devices
Sandoz, $3.5 million, fraudulent reimbursement for nitroglycerin tablets
You can see previous years’ reports here.
HAT TIP
PHARMAGOSSIP
Here are the 16 worst-behaved drug and medical device companies in 2010, ranked by the size of the settlements or awards extracted by the DOJ:
Allergan, $600 million, mismarketing of Botox
AstraZeneca, $520 million, mismarketing of Seroquel
Novartis, $422.5 million, mismarketing of Trileptal and others
Forest Labs, $313 million, mismarketing of Lovothroid and Celexa
Mylan/UDL Labs/AZ and Johnson & Johnson, $124 million, underpaid rebates to Medicaid
Teva, $100 million, inflated prices
J&J, $81 million, mismarketing of Topamax
Novartis, $72.5 million, mismarketing of TOBI for cystic fibrosis
Alpharma, $42.5 million, mismarketing of Kadian
KV Pharmaceutical, $27.5 million, oversized pills
Biovail, $24.7 million, mismarketing of Cardizem
Boston Scientific, $22 million, kickbacks on defibrillators
Cardinal Health and Bindley Western, $5.5 million, overcharging the DOD
Spectranetics Corporation, $4.9 million, marketing unapproved medical devices
Atricure, $3.7 million, mismarketing surgical devices
Sandoz, $3.5 million, fraudulent reimbursement for nitroglycerin tablets
You can see previous years’ reports here.
HAT TIP
PHARMAGOSSIP
out in the Universe
i'm enjoying being out of the woods and in town, maybe that will wear off eventually but for now i like it. i'm enjoying a change of scenery, and i have a peace of mind. the move was super grueling and a lot of hauling and bagging of garbage (LOTS, more than imaginable) and as with that tossing out now i enjoy the streamlining of what i brought with me. donating more clothes and organizing files and things on the list this week. i love the apartment, its WARM LOL the heater works and isn't even needed! i have a little cute porch/balcony with windchimes and a potted blooming primroses. this is it, the new chapter already turning pages in my life and i like it. i'm grateful beyond words.
Stop Medicare FRAUD widget
Has anyone approached you in a public area and offered FREE services, groceries, or other items in exchange for your Medicare number?
JUST WALK AWAY!
Has someone called you for a "health survey," then asked you to provide your Medicare number over the phone?
SIMPLY HANG UP THE PHONE!
Have you found suspicious charges such as high-priced medical services or diagnostic tests on your medical bills? These could be fraudulent charges.
Call 1-800-MEDICARE AND REPORT IT!
Have doctors, health care providers, or suppliers told you that the equipment or service is free, it won't cost you anything, and they only need your Medicare number for their records?
JUST SAY NO THANKS!
Guard your Medicare and Social Security Numbers. Report Fraud to the Office of the Inspector General.
1-800-HHS-TIPS
(1-800-447-8477)
VIA PHARMAGOSSIP
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Monday, January 24, 2011
sea air, sea birds
i'm liking this apartment, it's bright and i like the layout. now am near sea water and seagulls, lots of new things to look at and less driving to my daughter! we've already had a great spaghetti dinner here, and slowly are catching up on sleep and getting settled in. the pets are adjusting and happy and the dog has a new big dog park to go run and play.
One favorite doctor links to another favorite doctor--Dr. X and 1 Boring Old Man
DR. X has been one of my all time favorite blogs and doctor buddies in blogging for a long time, he is a psychologist who has now linked up to my latest favorite doctor blog, 1 Boring Old Man is a retired psychiatrist who has been a hot blogger the last months exposing the dirty laundry of Emory's scandalous Charles Nemeroff and also does a great job picking apart SEROQUEL studies and advertising.
Go take a look! bookmark both blogs, you won't be disappointed.
Go take a look! bookmark both blogs, you won't be disappointed.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
change of scenery
while becoming acclimated to my new environment, and adjusting to my first apartment lifestyle and recovering sleep and resting my weary soul from the move, blogging will be sporadic.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
ruby room
is where i will be donating 2 prom dresses that i brought with me, that were my daughter's. the dresses will be donated for girls in high school who cannot afford a prom dress. many items,that i chose to leave behind, donate or keep were items such as this, where time has taken a crossroad to a new future--and the 2 dresses in garment bags in my car will be a new memory for 2 young women.
-------
Dress Drive
There's never been a better reason to clean out your closet!
When: March, 5 from 11am - 2pm
Where: Ruby Room Boutique 1634 11th Ave.Seattle, WA 98122
If you have any new or used dresses, dress shoes, jewelry, or shawls - we will be accepting donations at the Boutique on March 5th, between 11am - 2pm. (We are specifically in need of Plus sized dresses).Dresses should be on hangers. Jewelry in plastic bags. But, that's it - we'll do the rest.
---
If you don't live in the Seattle area, there are organizations around the country (and Canada) that can help you find your perfect dress.
http://www.rubyroomseattle.org/websites.html
-------
Dress Drive
There's never been a better reason to clean out your closet!
When: March, 5 from 11am - 2pm
Where: Ruby Room Boutique 1634 11th Ave.Seattle, WA 98122
If you have any new or used dresses, dress shoes, jewelry, or shawls - we will be accepting donations at the Boutique on March 5th, between 11am - 2pm. (We are specifically in need of Plus sized dresses).Dresses should be on hangers. Jewelry in plastic bags. But, that's it - we'll do the rest.
---
If you don't live in the Seattle area, there are organizations around the country (and Canada) that can help you find your perfect dress.
http://www.rubyroomseattle.org/websites.html
got duct tape?
what happens when you trip and fall in the moving truck onto the boxes stacked for removal with your computer tower on the top of the stack? the tower shoots out of the truck at high speed, crashing to the ground, and the person (me) lands into the boxes face down. it still works!!!DONE MOVING!!!!!!!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
moving week
packing list:
foot cream
hand cream
nah, how about a full body massage on a beach
chocolate
dark chocolate
whine
wine
see ya when it's over, God willing!
foot cream
hand cream
nah, how about a full body massage on a beach
chocolate
dark chocolate
whine
wine
see ya when it's over, God willing!
*photo from 1-12-11 early morning snow and 5 inch cougar paw prints. apparently the cougar must have wanted to give me a nice front porch greeting and fond farewell, as i depart the wooded area! yeah. very big cat indeed!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Pharma Marketing Blog :Top 10 Pharma Marketing highlights
John Mack, known on Twitter as @pharmaguy has highlighted his Top 10 Pharma Marketing stories for 2010 in a yearbook.
Many interesting stories have kept me busy reading and commenting there and on Twitter with many of the people in those stories. I even spotted my Twitter pic in a collage ;) here -Part one on pdf of the YearBook along with @Fiddaman ! Go check it out!
Many interesting stories have kept me busy reading and commenting there and on Twitter with many of the people in those stories. I even spotted my Twitter pic in a collage ;) here -Part one on pdf of the YearBook along with @Fiddaman ! Go check it out!
Pharmalot news: Should Health Advocacy Groups Disclose Funding? YES
VIA PHARMALOT
Should Health Advocacy Groups Disclose Funding?
VOTE in poll at Pharmalot
"...“Remember, none of these companies are giving money to these organizations because they’re nice guys. They’re in business and they believe they can help them. If their advocacy succeeds, Lilly makes money. It’s not a straight line, but it’s so close I think there has to be disclosure. And if they don’t want to disclose maybe they should mandate to disclose.” What do you think?" (read the entire article at Pharmalot)
$$$$$$$$$ profit before patients $$$$$$
Should Health Advocacy Groups Disclose Funding?
VOTE in poll at Pharmalot
"...“Remember, none of these companies are giving money to these organizations because they’re nice guys. They’re in business and they believe they can help them. If their advocacy succeeds, Lilly makes money. It’s not a straight line, but it’s so close I think there has to be disclosure. And if they don’t want to disclose maybe they should mandate to disclose.” What do you think?" (read the entire article at Pharmalot)
$$$$$$$$$ profit before patients $$$$$$
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
one hurdle down
i represented myself in court and part of my case was to highlight to the judge i was never personally served the lawsuit paperwork, and the judge found errors in the filing of it. he extended the case and then i struck a deal with the plaintiff's attorney to give me the date and time i requested per our phone conversations and he agreed, also made sure he entered it in court in wording to dismiss entire case and its all documented. one thing ive learned over this last few years is how to rep self in court, files and papers and statements. hope i dont have to many more times in my life.
now i have 10 days to find somewhere to live and be vacated completely.
that's the next hurdle.
thanks for support, keep the prayers coming, i appreciate it.
now i have 10 days to find somewhere to live and be vacated completely.
that's the next hurdle.
thanks for support, keep the prayers coming, i appreciate it.
Thank You for comments
I would like to thank all of you reading and leaving comments and sending emails with much gratitude. The support and kind thoughts have been a great comfort and inspiration. Many of you have shared personal stories or assured how things will be different, but how it will (I will) be OK. I've heard from many readers that I didn't know still read the blog, many from Furious Seasons blog. I thank you all for following my life here and for the kind and generous support as I navigate this planet alongside my daughter and in my own life.
Life for me, is going to be better, boxing up the past has been at times a guttural emotional experience and therefore at the same time a cleansing one. Once the box is sealed it's a lot easier than when i was packing the items. A personal growth and awareness is unraveling and this life lesson is a pavement to my future of good days ahead.
Some have asked and some may wonder how my daughter is doing these days
She is not in the hospital, she is in a rehabilitative setting. A transitional setting where she has a weekday small job, she does daily self-care every day and her presence is a calm and content face when she smiles, no longer tense or lost in appearance. She communicates her needs in small sentences when she needs something. We go out several times a week, and look at pet shops, eat lunch together, take small drives, shop and walk near a lake and go to a dog park. On Christmas Day, she was home all day until late evening. She played games with me, colored and ate a lot of candy! On her birthday, I took her to a restaurant she chose and handled the crowd fine. They sang to her and brought her ice cream cake and balloons. She is predominantly non verbal, but the few words and sentences always make sense and are specific to her needs. She has smiled a lot and is doing better than she has in years. It's a slow process and we all take it one day at a time. It has taken months of hard work on our end (my friend and her advocate and myself). She has twice a month blood draws and it took a while to streamline that with staff to ensure she has a smooth blood draw while mom isn't there, then it's planned the same day I do arrive for outings ( I go on designated days so she knows when to look for me, and keep a structured schedule which is helping, I think). I have a candy bar with a note on it set up for blood draw success reward and that's been going great. She participates with peers, goes on outings with groups (BIG success and new transition positive!), she goes to movies and she orders her snacks by talking to the clerk! she goes on drives, plays basketball and has started to spend time with peers in the living room area. She has her own bedroom with posters on the walls and LOVES having her own room. She is titrating down slowing in VERY slow micro doses of the Clozaril and as it is lowered the speech has been returning, and her advocate and I had some serious talks about the connection of lack of speech ability and Clozaril (side effect) due to times she has gone off of it and she becomes more verbal. It's been a long haul we are still behind the scenes a LOT pushing for future services, and lots of no need for medication talks. Her doctor listens to all of it and is super on with listening to it. This is the last drug after all those drugs to be removed, and withdrawals in the past in large amounts have proven to be difficult if not impossible without consequence of self care decline etc. so this time around all are on board and watch her diligently for any change in behaviors and it's going slow but sure. It's a joy to see her, i arrive and she is smiling, gets her coat and we go out. It's good news for her and the future for all of us is bright. She has responded to appropriate care level and placement, environment and the rest will unfold how it does, one day at a time. I'm looking forward to my move being completed, and Spring and maybe a trip to the Zoo. I do write less about her as she is pretty much back out in the world, out and about and doing things so the personal privacy level for me here has increased.
Life for me, is going to be better, boxing up the past has been at times a guttural emotional experience and therefore at the same time a cleansing one. Once the box is sealed it's a lot easier than when i was packing the items. A personal growth and awareness is unraveling and this life lesson is a pavement to my future of good days ahead.
Some have asked and some may wonder how my daughter is doing these days
She is not in the hospital, she is in a rehabilitative setting. A transitional setting where she has a weekday small job, she does daily self-care every day and her presence is a calm and content face when she smiles, no longer tense or lost in appearance. She communicates her needs in small sentences when she needs something. We go out several times a week, and look at pet shops, eat lunch together, take small drives, shop and walk near a lake and go to a dog park. On Christmas Day, she was home all day until late evening. She played games with me, colored and ate a lot of candy! On her birthday, I took her to a restaurant she chose and handled the crowd fine. They sang to her and brought her ice cream cake and balloons. She is predominantly non verbal, but the few words and sentences always make sense and are specific to her needs. She has smiled a lot and is doing better than she has in years. It's a slow process and we all take it one day at a time. It has taken months of hard work on our end (my friend and her advocate and myself). She has twice a month blood draws and it took a while to streamline that with staff to ensure she has a smooth blood draw while mom isn't there, then it's planned the same day I do arrive for outings ( I go on designated days so she knows when to look for me, and keep a structured schedule which is helping, I think). I have a candy bar with a note on it set up for blood draw success reward and that's been going great. She participates with peers, goes on outings with groups (BIG success and new transition positive!), she goes to movies and she orders her snacks by talking to the clerk! she goes on drives, plays basketball and has started to spend time with peers in the living room area. She has her own bedroom with posters on the walls and LOVES having her own room. She is titrating down slowing in VERY slow micro doses of the Clozaril and as it is lowered the speech has been returning, and her advocate and I had some serious talks about the connection of lack of speech ability and Clozaril (side effect) due to times she has gone off of it and she becomes more verbal. It's been a long haul we are still behind the scenes a LOT pushing for future services, and lots of no need for medication talks. Her doctor listens to all of it and is super on with listening to it. This is the last drug after all those drugs to be removed, and withdrawals in the past in large amounts have proven to be difficult if not impossible without consequence of self care decline etc. so this time around all are on board and watch her diligently for any change in behaviors and it's going slow but sure. It's a joy to see her, i arrive and she is smiling, gets her coat and we go out. It's good news for her and the future for all of us is bright. She has responded to appropriate care level and placement, environment and the rest will unfold how it does, one day at a time. I'm looking forward to my move being completed, and Spring and maybe a trip to the Zoo. I do write less about her as she is pretty much back out in the world, out and about and doing things so the personal privacy level for me here has increased.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
bacon jam recipe
Slow-Cooker Bacon Jam
Makes 3 cups
1 1/2 pounds sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
2 medium yellow onions, diced small
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup brewed coffee
1. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet (reserve fat for another use); add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup and coffee and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Add bacon and stir to combine.
2. Transfer mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered, until liquid is syrupy, about 3 1/2 hours to 4 hours. Transfer to a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers and use within a couple of weeks.
*from the seattle times
hey Borepatch, ! whatcha think! bacon jam!
i'm going to try it once i am moved.the fragrance while cooking must be yummy!
Makes 3 cups
1 1/2 pounds sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
2 medium yellow onions, diced small
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup brewed coffee
1. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet (reserve fat for another use); add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup and coffee and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet with a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Add bacon and stir to combine.
2. Transfer mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered, until liquid is syrupy, about 3 1/2 hours to 4 hours. Transfer to a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers and use within a couple of weeks.
*from the seattle times
hey Borepatch, ! whatcha think! bacon jam!
i'm going to try it once i am moved.the fragrance while cooking must be yummy!
inspiration from my daughter
the house is nearly packed and i've began my daughter's room. there are layers of things in baskets depicting years of coming and going in and out of hospital settings and the brutal reality for me to finally accept was the timeline. the last calendar on the wall is 2007 and the rest is time capsule of drawings and of a person who is not the same. life has moved on and the seasons have come and gone. i was the last one, it seems to see the truth. life has come and gone and she is here, she is doing well but yes, she is not that same person. so its time i accept that and as i used to tell my kids "all problems have a solution and some times they solve themselves whether we like it or not and it may not be how we want it solved.". oh yes, words of wisdom from me if only i had listened to my self talk.
on one of her drawings i found tonight as i boxed up her room:
"Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs" -Henry Ford
i found that drawing with the quote she wrote about 6 years ago and took a thumbtack and placed it on the wall where i was working. amazed how my daughter had so much of that in her--she still does i think. i'm glad i knew her before she became silent, her words and drawings she left behind (brutal reality) are priceless.
---
packing
massive hefty bags on the porch. it's snowing right now at 9:30pm. earlier i had a free tow service tire change from flat to the spare. the tire had a screw in it. got that repaired this afternoon so the wing and a prayer oil guzzler is back on the road.
planning on standing tall in court in the morning.
on one of her drawings i found tonight as i boxed up her room:
"Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs" -Henry Ford
i found that drawing with the quote she wrote about 6 years ago and took a thumbtack and placed it on the wall where i was working. amazed how my daughter had so much of that in her--she still does i think. i'm glad i knew her before she became silent, her words and drawings she left behind (brutal reality) are priceless.
---
packing
massive hefty bags on the porch. it's snowing right now at 9:30pm. earlier i had a free tow service tire change from flat to the spare. the tire had a screw in it. got that repaired this afternoon so the wing and a prayer oil guzzler is back on the road.
planning on standing tall in court in the morning.
Feds sue NYC: Medicaid FRAUD
VIA PharmaGossip:
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Feds sue NYC, say city committed Medicaid fraud - MiamiHerald.com
NEW YORK -- The federal government is suing the city of New York, saying the city fraudulently overcharged the Medicaid program for 24-hour care services over the last 10 years.
In the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan, the government seeks civil penalties and damages against the city. It says the city routinely reauthorized 24-hour continuous personal care services for applicants without getting the required local medical evaluation. It also says city administrators overruled the local medical director when the director decided continued care was inappropriate.
A federal prosecutor described the practice as "a systemic failure to responsibly administer the Medicaid program." A message left with a spokeswoman for the city law office was not immediately returned.
via miamiherald.com
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Feds sue NYC, say city committed Medicaid fraud - MiamiHerald.com
NEW YORK -- The federal government is suing the city of New York, saying the city fraudulently overcharged the Medicaid program for 24-hour care services over the last 10 years.
In the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan, the government seeks civil penalties and damages against the city. It says the city routinely reauthorized 24-hour continuous personal care services for applicants without getting the required local medical evaluation. It also says city administrators overruled the local medical director when the director decided continued care was inappropriate.
A federal prosecutor described the practice as "a systemic failure to responsibly administer the Medicaid program." A message left with a spokeswoman for the city law office was not immediately returned.
via miamiherald.com
loss of faith in human beings
journal
this is what it does to a person. at least for me. the impending court date tomorrow where a judge will say get out now or in a week happens. Ive been feverishly packing as long as my body lasts. its boiling down to 30 years of belongings and raising of children along with my things from life before then, essentially this is 51 years of "stuff". material items are what they are, the photos are priceless and i keep finding volumes of them. the disarray from the last 7 year snowball on a wingless plane in a nosedive is evident as i pack. i think I'm approaching 100 enormous hefty bags full of garbage and each time there is a box packed its about 2-3 bags of throw away.i woke up today with crippling anxiety a fear washed over me like nothing ever before. as if it is groundhog day again i remind myself to not give in to the fear and the "what ifs" about court outcome and stay mono-focused on packing. to keep the fear of the sheriff removing me and my items at bay has been the mind fuck this system gives a person in this situation. i think people like the one who bought my house and the attorney enjoy the pain and suffering of others somehow, because to just not care would be plain evil.
no human being with any human kindness, empathy or compassion does not listen to a human side of a case number story and continue in court. to have contact with the person (me) and then push it into court knowing i have nothing--I'm bankrupt--and working my ass of to get out of here, well i think the face of evil is playing a role here.
eye on the prize
just keep your eye on the prize is the phrase running through my head when i pack and feel a surge of emotion coming up or i cant think when looking at items and feel overwhelmed at the task of packing. 'just get it in a box' i say to myself, just do it. just move, pack don't think. no emotions. do not allow them to break you. you will get through this. when i pack i try not to think at all, because the list is overwhelming. i think of a lot of things. its blood draw week for my daughter, my car tire is flat and needing repair, i have court...then the heart races, it flips and flops and the panic is absolute raw in nature. push it down.
false hope and faith in humanity
a fool. yes that is what it is for someone like me to have never imagined someone go this far to remove a person from a house. i read about it in news, but of course it wouldn't happen to me. no more of that. no more trust in basic mankind. people are evil, and money backs their greed. the world is lost to greed. there are those who have and those who do not, and in America, its getting worse. there are no more middle class citizens. the poor are higher in numbers than ever before. i qualified for low income food stamps. in my reality, my life time--i never imagined that happening. i was always the one on the volunteer side of the food bank counter. not the receiving end. I've just packed the framed certificate from the hundreds of hours of volunteer work. same with humane society. it's all in boxes. meaningless certificates in the real world. those are papers the judge doesn't care about. he wont care about my daughter or how i got to this point. i am a number on a case file in superior court. tomorrow my face will be known to the judge. what will he see? a woman , at his mercy asking for a week of time to get her life belongings out and find a place to live? will he see just another case number person to stamp a decision on in the long day of faces that will come and go? i pray for mercy and compassion to enter his soul.
WITNESS TO AN ACT OF HUMAN KINDNESS AND COMPASSION
in the midst of all of this i watched a person move an enormous amount of my items into a truck yesterday. one man, my friend-- with a spirit based on human compassion and caring about others. knowing how the world is harsh and cold, this person did this for me. the bitter reality of evil working in the situation was lessened a bit while i watched in awe, this friend moving objects and working his ass off to help me. The magnitude of thanks and gratitude is overwhelming.
the anxiety level as i write has now increased, logging off to go pack.
by the grace of God today, i go.
this is what it does to a person. at least for me. the impending court date tomorrow where a judge will say get out now or in a week happens. Ive been feverishly packing as long as my body lasts. its boiling down to 30 years of belongings and raising of children along with my things from life before then, essentially this is 51 years of "stuff". material items are what they are, the photos are priceless and i keep finding volumes of them. the disarray from the last 7 year snowball on a wingless plane in a nosedive is evident as i pack. i think I'm approaching 100 enormous hefty bags full of garbage and each time there is a box packed its about 2-3 bags of throw away.i woke up today with crippling anxiety a fear washed over me like nothing ever before. as if it is groundhog day again i remind myself to not give in to the fear and the "what ifs" about court outcome and stay mono-focused on packing. to keep the fear of the sheriff removing me and my items at bay has been the mind fuck this system gives a person in this situation. i think people like the one who bought my house and the attorney enjoy the pain and suffering of others somehow, because to just not care would be plain evil.
no human being with any human kindness, empathy or compassion does not listen to a human side of a case number story and continue in court. to have contact with the person (me) and then push it into court knowing i have nothing--I'm bankrupt--and working my ass of to get out of here, well i think the face of evil is playing a role here.
eye on the prize
just keep your eye on the prize is the phrase running through my head when i pack and feel a surge of emotion coming up or i cant think when looking at items and feel overwhelmed at the task of packing. 'just get it in a box' i say to myself, just do it. just move, pack don't think. no emotions. do not allow them to break you. you will get through this. when i pack i try not to think at all, because the list is overwhelming. i think of a lot of things. its blood draw week for my daughter, my car tire is flat and needing repair, i have court...then the heart races, it flips and flops and the panic is absolute raw in nature. push it down.
false hope and faith in humanity
a fool. yes that is what it is for someone like me to have never imagined someone go this far to remove a person from a house. i read about it in news, but of course it wouldn't happen to me. no more of that. no more trust in basic mankind. people are evil, and money backs their greed. the world is lost to greed. there are those who have and those who do not, and in America, its getting worse. there are no more middle class citizens. the poor are higher in numbers than ever before. i qualified for low income food stamps. in my reality, my life time--i never imagined that happening. i was always the one on the volunteer side of the food bank counter. not the receiving end. I've just packed the framed certificate from the hundreds of hours of volunteer work. same with humane society. it's all in boxes. meaningless certificates in the real world. those are papers the judge doesn't care about. he wont care about my daughter or how i got to this point. i am a number on a case file in superior court. tomorrow my face will be known to the judge. what will he see? a woman , at his mercy asking for a week of time to get her life belongings out and find a place to live? will he see just another case number person to stamp a decision on in the long day of faces that will come and go? i pray for mercy and compassion to enter his soul.
WITNESS TO AN ACT OF HUMAN KINDNESS AND COMPASSION
in the midst of all of this i watched a person move an enormous amount of my items into a truck yesterday. one man, my friend-- with a spirit based on human compassion and caring about others. knowing how the world is harsh and cold, this person did this for me. the bitter reality of evil working in the situation was lessened a bit while i watched in awe, this friend moving objects and working his ass off to help me. The magnitude of thanks and gratitude is overwhelming.
the anxiety level as i write has now increased, logging off to go pack.
by the grace of God today, i go.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
compassion
i've packed a lot and have a lot to go.this is my chance to unwind and write a ramble before sleeping. the piano was hauled over to the neighbors house by my friend and the neighbors and up stairs over there to boot. the kids are already playing and having fun with it. it gives me gratefulness that they have the piano. i bought it when mine were all young, defining the 'before the youngest had the demise'-time and era. they all could play the piano. i'm not musical at all. i had purchased the piano used, always offering the kids opportunities for what i called 'unleash your hidden talents'. i decided that one might never know if they have talent until it's presented--the piano. well one of my kids can play any song she hears by ear. she had to learn how to listen and read music by site, because she could play w/out music sheets. (and i mean any song).they all went on to play other instruments. violin, cello, clarinet. all were in orchestra and choir.
--
the footnotes
i'd never buy a house from a foreclosure situation. it's the most horrific event to deal with and it comes in layers of first struggling to make payments, then negotiating to save the home, then float a while then demise happens and its in foreclosure process. during that time, the house is constantly watched by creeps, people who want to rip you off. one man had a 2 ft camera lens on me when i pulled up the shade one morning in my pajamas. he returned another day where i read him a riot act and told him police would be called for being a stalker and to get the hell out of the neighborhood. he claimed he was taking pics of the "roof". then there are the papers always taped to the house. the intense burning anxiety, the looking over your shoulder. the auction kept getting postponed all the way from august through december. one never knew when it would happen. the sale did happen. now the person is suing me for not being out yet. i have to go to court unless they negotiate a deal to allow me a couple more weeks as they offered but i never heard back. so court is still on the calendar, and in the midst of packing it's damn hard to not be freaked out and remain focused. i'm not asking for a lot. just more time, i just need a couple of weeks, i dont have a place to live yet. i feverishly pack the items, and have tons of photos and stuff. i have at times sobbed while packing. i have hated myself while packing, i am living the end result of a bad fall out in my life, it just keeps going. why do they not have compassion. i'm not a criminal, i have lost my home, my daughter is disabled, all i want is to get the fuck out of here and find a rental. i'm working as hard as i can. yesterday the car tire laid there flat. i burst out crying and packed boxes. the wing and a prayer car HAS to last to get me to the next stop. i am only human. i am not a foreclosure property case number. the word gives me a knot in my stomach and has for months. i have been immersed in garbage bags, regrets, tears, anger, sadness, despair,loss,boxes photos and this post will be just another page in a chapter i hope to shut, slam down hard and never experience again ever. EVER. I thank God for my friend and my daughters and my mother.
--
the footnotes
i'd never buy a house from a foreclosure situation. it's the most horrific event to deal with and it comes in layers of first struggling to make payments, then negotiating to save the home, then float a while then demise happens and its in foreclosure process. during that time, the house is constantly watched by creeps, people who want to rip you off. one man had a 2 ft camera lens on me when i pulled up the shade one morning in my pajamas. he returned another day where i read him a riot act and told him police would be called for being a stalker and to get the hell out of the neighborhood. he claimed he was taking pics of the "roof". then there are the papers always taped to the house. the intense burning anxiety, the looking over your shoulder. the auction kept getting postponed all the way from august through december. one never knew when it would happen. the sale did happen. now the person is suing me for not being out yet. i have to go to court unless they negotiate a deal to allow me a couple more weeks as they offered but i never heard back. so court is still on the calendar, and in the midst of packing it's damn hard to not be freaked out and remain focused. i'm not asking for a lot. just more time, i just need a couple of weeks, i dont have a place to live yet. i feverishly pack the items, and have tons of photos and stuff. i have at times sobbed while packing. i have hated myself while packing, i am living the end result of a bad fall out in my life, it just keeps going. why do they not have compassion. i'm not a criminal, i have lost my home, my daughter is disabled, all i want is to get the fuck out of here and find a rental. i'm working as hard as i can. yesterday the car tire laid there flat. i burst out crying and packed boxes. the wing and a prayer car HAS to last to get me to the next stop. i am only human. i am not a foreclosure property case number. the word gives me a knot in my stomach and has for months. i have been immersed in garbage bags, regrets, tears, anger, sadness, despair,loss,boxes photos and this post will be just another page in a chapter i hope to shut, slam down hard and never experience again ever. EVER. I thank God for my friend and my daughters and my mother.
the boxes
Artichoke dip
bake 375 pie pan til golden (glass pie pan)
serve w crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips, sourdough bread chunks
2 cans whole artichoke heart--in water--chopped
3/4 cup fresh parmesean, grated
2 cups shredded mozerella
3-4 cloves pressed garlic
3/4-1 cup mayonaise
1 cup sour cream
salt/pepper
mix all, top w more parmesean, bake at 375 for 30 minutes or golden.
---
the box is packed that has the cookbooks in it and i found my favorite hot dip recipe (my own creation) note taped to the inside of a kitchen cupboard. where to put it? where else? my blog for safe keeping.
---
am awake at 1am , some anxiety, sore knees and more packing to do all day sunday. saturday very productive day. car has a flat as pancake tire. I thank God for my friend.am giving my neighbor the piano. may her children create the delight in their hearts that mine did. somethings are hard but i'm processing it and letting it go. life is going to be better, it's already better in my heart.
bake 375 pie pan til golden (glass pie pan)
serve w crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips, sourdough bread chunks
2 cans whole artichoke heart--in water--chopped
3/4 cup fresh parmesean, grated
2 cups shredded mozerella
3-4 cloves pressed garlic
3/4-1 cup mayonaise
1 cup sour cream
salt/pepper
mix all, top w more parmesean, bake at 375 for 30 minutes or golden.
---
the box is packed that has the cookbooks in it and i found my favorite hot dip recipe (my own creation) note taped to the inside of a kitchen cupboard. where to put it? where else? my blog for safe keeping.
---
am awake at 1am , some anxiety, sore knees and more packing to do all day sunday. saturday very productive day. car has a flat as pancake tire. I thank God for my friend.am giving my neighbor the piano. may her children create the delight in their hearts that mine did. somethings are hard but i'm processing it and letting it go. life is going to be better, it's already better in my heart.
Friday, January 07, 2011
it's packing time
blogging will be sporadic while i'm getting my shit together. see ya on the other side of surviving foreclosure.
enjoy packing boxes music in the meantime.
PharmaGossip news
VIA PharmaGossip, here's news of the day:
Friday, January 07, 2011
Newer Antipsychotics overused
Newer antipsychotics overused, U.S. study suggests - CNBC
CHICAGO - Although first approved to treat schizophrenia, new antipsychotic medications are increasingly being prescribed for a host of other uses, even when there is little evidence they work, U.S. researchers said on Friday.
The drugs, known as "atypical antipsychotics," have quickly eclipsed older-generation or "typical" antipsychotics and are increasingly used to treat conditions like bipolar disorder, depression and even autism.
"What we see is wide adoption for the use of these medications far beyond the evidence base to support it," said Dr. Caleb Alexander of the University of Chicago and a consultant for IMS Health, a company that collects data on prescription drugs.
He said more than half of all atypical antipsychotic prescriptions written in 2008 were based on flimsy evidence.
"We're talking millions of prescriptions a year for antipsychotics in settings where there is uncertain evidence to support them," said Alexander, whose study appears in the journal Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.
The drugs are not harmless, Alexander said in a telephone interview. They can cause weight gain, diabetes and heart disease and are far more costly than the older antipsychotics, which cause disorders such as involuntary movements.
Atypical antipsychotics accounted for more than $10 billion in U.S. retail pharmacy drug costs in 2008 -- nearly 5 percent of all prescription drug spending.
They include Johnson & Johnson's Risperdal, known generically as risperidone; Eli Lilly and Co's Zyprexa or olanzapine; Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co's Abilify or aripiprazole; and AstraZeneca's Seroquel or quetiapine. (more article in link)
---
The Last Psychiatrist blog on the autismWakefield scandal
Via PharmaGossip:
Friday, January 07, 2011
The Last Psychiatrist: Wakefield And The Autism Fraud-- The Other Part Of The Story
"I get it: Wakefield's evil. A Big Legal schill who faked the data to enhance his testimony and own profits. He probably thought-- and this is in fact what happened-- that it would be a small enough study that no doctor would care about it, but he could use it in court to say "there is evidence to support the notion that..." And, indeed, no one read that paper until 2 years later, when Wakefield pressed his luck by writing more articles citing that study."--
--read more at the link and read the "Last Psychiatrist" blog --good blog by a doctor, great humor and smart about antipsychotics.
Friday, January 07, 2011
Newer Antipsychotics overused
Newer antipsychotics overused, U.S. study suggests - CNBC
CHICAGO - Although first approved to treat schizophrenia, new antipsychotic medications are increasingly being prescribed for a host of other uses, even when there is little evidence they work, U.S. researchers said on Friday.
The drugs, known as "atypical antipsychotics," have quickly eclipsed older-generation or "typical" antipsychotics and are increasingly used to treat conditions like bipolar disorder, depression and even autism.
"What we see is wide adoption for the use of these medications far beyond the evidence base to support it," said Dr. Caleb Alexander of the University of Chicago and a consultant for IMS Health, a company that collects data on prescription drugs.
He said more than half of all atypical antipsychotic prescriptions written in 2008 were based on flimsy evidence.
"We're talking millions of prescriptions a year for antipsychotics in settings where there is uncertain evidence to support them," said Alexander, whose study appears in the journal Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.
The drugs are not harmless, Alexander said in a telephone interview. They can cause weight gain, diabetes and heart disease and are far more costly than the older antipsychotics, which cause disorders such as involuntary movements.
Atypical antipsychotics accounted for more than $10 billion in U.S. retail pharmacy drug costs in 2008 -- nearly 5 percent of all prescription drug spending.
They include Johnson & Johnson's Risperdal, known generically as risperidone; Eli Lilly and Co's Zyprexa or olanzapine; Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co's Abilify or aripiprazole; and AstraZeneca's Seroquel or quetiapine. (more article in link)
---
The Last Psychiatrist blog on the autismWakefield scandal
Via PharmaGossip:
Friday, January 07, 2011
The Last Psychiatrist: Wakefield And The Autism Fraud-- The Other Part Of The Story
"I get it: Wakefield's evil. A Big Legal schill who faked the data to enhance his testimony and own profits. He probably thought-- and this is in fact what happened-- that it would be a small enough study that no doctor would care about it, but he could use it in court to say "there is evidence to support the notion that..." And, indeed, no one read that paper until 2 years later, when Wakefield pressed his luck by writing more articles citing that study."--
--read more at the link and read the "Last Psychiatrist" blog --good blog by a doctor, great humor and smart about antipsychotics.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
quote of the day
In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer. -Camus
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
loss of faith in humanity
as the recipient of the inside view deep into the mental health system for over a decade, i have witnessed more than the average person does in one lifetime of the injustice and poor care based on a drug paradigm of care for patients.
the memories of patients treated without dignity and witnessing forced injections has done a grave harm to my soul. as a mother, i have witnessed countless ills against my daughter, held her as she had drool pouring from her mouth from a forced injection of Haldol. i've been with her to witness my brilliant and witty child turn into a drugged-up and forced medicated zombie and into a silent and lost person. i have stood my ground and told countless crews to unstrap her wrists while the straps dug into her flesh. i've seen her wet her pants in fear in locked down psych wards. i've testified in court to remove all psychiatric labels.
at times, feeling alone and brutally so while driving hundreds upon hundreds of miles over the last 5 years since she entered the adult system at age 18. countless staff, doctors and social workers. witness to poor housing conditions. dealt with incompetent people defending their jobs for a paycheck at the expense of patient care. finding crisis plans with severe and alarming errors that depicted my daughter as a violent criminal needing locking up.
as a medicaid patient she has received poor and less than adequate care from the mental health system, a face lost in the crowd, a case number in a file, a police report subject and a mental health court judge's declaration of being a vulnerable citizen with possible harm from society who then proceeded to remedy that by locking her up in a mental hospital.
---
i have been the recipient of the worse side of society. the dark and stigmatized world of mental illness. as a mother always watching for people to look out for my daughter in the community. witnessing a police officer have her in the back of a squad car handcuffed and bullied. having a police officer find her when lost for hours on a dark winter's night, half-clothed and standing by a car that looked identical to my own. the only object my mute and vulnerable daughter who was in the care of a mental heath residential facility could find that night, that depicts looking for mom and home. confused and cold, barefoot. the facility had refused to call the police. i did. that's how i found her after driving for hours alongside my friend and daughter's advocate and the police department.
---
my daughter's mental health advocate has been the recipient of the enormous injustice in the professional mental health world. a licensed psychiatric technician who worked to help others inside the system have a voice and care for those most vulnerable was attacked by a patient, while at work inside a locked psychiatric ward. several blows to the head and face left this worker with a concussion and post-concussive symptoms, as well as PTSD deemed by a review panel doctor for workman's comp. The worker was terminated from the job 2 weeks after the assault, and paperwork afterward was re-dated the very day after the assault. This person, with a psychiatric background, a licensed professional and years of experience with violent predators in prisons and mental health hospitals was fired from their job and left without income, insurance or medical care. Over 2.5 years has past since that attack and the workman's comp system is still fighting the care, and payment due to the worker. No legal representative has been of significant help to this date.
it caused anguish when i read how the state budget would be cut by hundreds of millions of dollars at the expense of the mental health system that i knew was already poor in ability to care for those in need. to find the article today showing the internal stigma i have witnessed be fueled by the health workers of a union that care for these people on the brochure has completed disgusted me and left me deflated, once again.
AMERICA, has lost its way. our society has lost track of what it is to care for vulnerable populations. Corporate greed has taken place of the FDA doing what it should be doing for the drug approval process.
America has turned into a corporate nation. Children are being given potent chemicals--antipsychotics--as young as toddlers. doctors who write the prescriptions are being paid by the drug companies in gross amounts of money directly into their personal bank accounts. the very doctors who influence the treatment protocol of mental health patients across the country have tainted backgrounds and life...just keeps going on, and on and on. this substandard care we have tolerated in this country has become the norm, the given, the unquestioned way.
the people who speak up and out against the gross injustices are silenced in one way or another. the mental health care worker fired from his job now deals with a cover up situation where the insurance company and workman's comp are working hand in hand with the county to make sure whistle blowers don't get paid or justice. out of sight out of mind. the poor conditions of the workplace remain, unsafe work environment remains and the patients come and go, the workers get injured and fired. it's a racket.
the wa state mental health care system is a gross revolving door, where medicaid patients go between 2 hospitals, back and forth back and forth as unknown witness to the countless injustices that happen behind closed doors day in and day out. no outside advocates are present and being shuttled between the hospital and mental health court 5 minutes away is $1000.00 one way--billed to medicaid. once at court there are no outside attorneys. they are 'free' appointed attorneys whose hands are tied to help their clients because the doctors, hospitals and judge are all one-sided in decision making to deem patients 'gravely disabled' and lock them up for 14 days to 90 days then onto the state hospital where they are then ordered for 6 months at a time to remain locked up. no outside advocates are welcome there, outspoken people are looked down upon, the violence on the wards of which i have been witness to 4 separate wards--directly reflects doctor care. one ward placed my daughter in a violent roommate situation. it took months to remedy that. the doctor in that ward was a loaded weapon full of hate and hostility, hands down the worst setting and doctor i ever encountered in a decade. that is not care.
there are forgotten souls in psychiatric wards. you drive past these places, you should know the sadness that is in the reflection of the eyes of the patients i have met.
the hope for the future of those people depends on us. humanity, is lost in America.
the memories of patients treated without dignity and witnessing forced injections has done a grave harm to my soul. as a mother, i have witnessed countless ills against my daughter, held her as she had drool pouring from her mouth from a forced injection of Haldol. i've been with her to witness my brilliant and witty child turn into a drugged-up and forced medicated zombie and into a silent and lost person. i have stood my ground and told countless crews to unstrap her wrists while the straps dug into her flesh. i've seen her wet her pants in fear in locked down psych wards. i've testified in court to remove all psychiatric labels.
at times, feeling alone and brutally so while driving hundreds upon hundreds of miles over the last 5 years since she entered the adult system at age 18. countless staff, doctors and social workers. witness to poor housing conditions. dealt with incompetent people defending their jobs for a paycheck at the expense of patient care. finding crisis plans with severe and alarming errors that depicted my daughter as a violent criminal needing locking up.
as a medicaid patient she has received poor and less than adequate care from the mental health system, a face lost in the crowd, a case number in a file, a police report subject and a mental health court judge's declaration of being a vulnerable citizen with possible harm from society who then proceeded to remedy that by locking her up in a mental hospital.
---
i have been the recipient of the worse side of society. the dark and stigmatized world of mental illness. as a mother always watching for people to look out for my daughter in the community. witnessing a police officer have her in the back of a squad car handcuffed and bullied. having a police officer find her when lost for hours on a dark winter's night, half-clothed and standing by a car that looked identical to my own. the only object my mute and vulnerable daughter who was in the care of a mental heath residential facility could find that night, that depicts looking for mom and home. confused and cold, barefoot. the facility had refused to call the police. i did. that's how i found her after driving for hours alongside my friend and daughter's advocate and the police department.
---
my daughter's mental health advocate has been the recipient of the enormous injustice in the professional mental health world. a licensed psychiatric technician who worked to help others inside the system have a voice and care for those most vulnerable was attacked by a patient, while at work inside a locked psychiatric ward. several blows to the head and face left this worker with a concussion and post-concussive symptoms, as well as PTSD deemed by a review panel doctor for workman's comp. The worker was terminated from the job 2 weeks after the assault, and paperwork afterward was re-dated the very day after the assault. This person, with a psychiatric background, a licensed professional and years of experience with violent predators in prisons and mental health hospitals was fired from their job and left without income, insurance or medical care. Over 2.5 years has past since that attack and the workman's comp system is still fighting the care, and payment due to the worker. No legal representative has been of significant help to this date.
it caused anguish when i read how the state budget would be cut by hundreds of millions of dollars at the expense of the mental health system that i knew was already poor in ability to care for those in need. to find the article today showing the internal stigma i have witnessed be fueled by the health workers of a union that care for these people on the brochure has completed disgusted me and left me deflated, once again.
AMERICA, has lost its way. our society has lost track of what it is to care for vulnerable populations. Corporate greed has taken place of the FDA doing what it should be doing for the drug approval process.
America has turned into a corporate nation. Children are being given potent chemicals--antipsychotics--as young as toddlers. doctors who write the prescriptions are being paid by the drug companies in gross amounts of money directly into their personal bank accounts. the very doctors who influence the treatment protocol of mental health patients across the country have tainted backgrounds and life...just keeps going on, and on and on. this substandard care we have tolerated in this country has become the norm, the given, the unquestioned way.
the people who speak up and out against the gross injustices are silenced in one way or another. the mental health care worker fired from his job now deals with a cover up situation where the insurance company and workman's comp are working hand in hand with the county to make sure whistle blowers don't get paid or justice. out of sight out of mind. the poor conditions of the workplace remain, unsafe work environment remains and the patients come and go, the workers get injured and fired. it's a racket.
the wa state mental health care system is a gross revolving door, where medicaid patients go between 2 hospitals, back and forth back and forth as unknown witness to the countless injustices that happen behind closed doors day in and day out. no outside advocates are present and being shuttled between the hospital and mental health court 5 minutes away is $1000.00 one way--billed to medicaid. once at court there are no outside attorneys. they are 'free' appointed attorneys whose hands are tied to help their clients because the doctors, hospitals and judge are all one-sided in decision making to deem patients 'gravely disabled' and lock them up for 14 days to 90 days then onto the state hospital where they are then ordered for 6 months at a time to remain locked up. no outside advocates are welcome there, outspoken people are looked down upon, the violence on the wards of which i have been witness to 4 separate wards--directly reflects doctor care. one ward placed my daughter in a violent roommate situation. it took months to remedy that. the doctor in that ward was a loaded weapon full of hate and hostility, hands down the worst setting and doctor i ever encountered in a decade. that is not care.
there are forgotten souls in psychiatric wards. you drive past these places, you should know the sadness that is in the reflection of the eyes of the patients i have met.
the hope for the future of those people depends on us. humanity, is lost in America.
Healthcare Union uses violence as scare tactic for WA State budget cuts in mental health services
THIS STORY from Washington State local online newspaper Crosscut should be headlining the mental health news blog Furious Seasons, but the author, Philip Dawdy past Seattle Weekly journalist has gone dark--on hiatus.
Therefore,I feel a duty of my own as a mental health blogger to report this story.
I have witnessed internal stigma within the mental health system in Washington state for over a decade.
I've witnessed ambulance crews transporting people to and from mental health court saying:
"I wish you were in jail." -to a confused older man strapped to a gurney asking if he was in jail, and where "am I?" while in mental health court.
"What's dignity"? -to a mother who asked that they not transport her adult daughter down the center of James street to preserve her dignity.
When the transport crew person asked me that question, I made sure my daughter was never transported that way again, and the person learned from me the explanation of the word dignity.
I have witnessed a vulnerable victim of society --deemed a vulnerable person who could be a victim FROM society by a mental health court judge-- be found lost, confused after being missing in the dark winter night missing half of her clothing--and in the ER watching a man be left in the hallway for stats and work up, never given a room as other patients were, left as if no one cared and that is a fact--so many are treated as second class citizens.
-------
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Challenging society perception: mental illness is not a leading cause of violence: Archives of General Psychiatry - soulful sepulcher blog
A study/survey results are out that challenges society's perception that mental illness is a leading cause of violence.
The Abstract,'The Intricate Link Between Violence and Mental Disorder can be found in the-Archives of General Psychiatry February 2009
FROM the abstract/article:
"Conclusions
Because severe mental illness did not independently predict future violent behavior, these findings challenge perceptions that mental illness is a leading cause of violence in the general population. Still, people with mental illness did report violence more often, largely because they showed other factors associated with violence. Consequently, understanding the link between violent acts and mental disorder requires consideration of its association with other variables such as substance abuse, environmental stressors, and history of violence."
---
Crosscut has an article about the recent local budget cut ($over 200 million dollars taken from services for mental health and developmental disabled programs and more) and the scare tactics being used by a HealthCare Union--promoting violent stories from the headlines as reason not to cut state budget money from mental health care.
The very people that take care of people in mental health settings are directly fueling internal stigma connecting mental illness with violence, and giving a negative view of anyone with a mental health label.
There are thousands of people in the mental health care system in WA state, and countless crimes against them happen every single day.
These are the most vulnerable citizens of our society, they deserve better care--they deserve funding for proper housing and medical care, they do not deserve a smear campaign fueled by fear mongering scare tactics by the group of people who care for them.
They deserve dignity and respect.
The Washington state governor is in the hot seat for this budget cut, and the HealthCare Union has done a disservice to the very people they claim to want to help with more funding.
On a daily basis approximately 800 people with mental illness are locked away in the state institution, many without a voice, without advocates or family to help them navigate the system.
They are there for 6 months at a time,(court order) and all (most) are medicated. The medications themselves often carry aggression and agitation as a side effect listed in the drug manufacturer's information literature.
To take a few grim and unfortunate stories and use it as hype to create fear to the government officials for purpose of lobbying for income and budget is shameful.
----
FROM CROSSCUT -January 5, 2011
"Early in December, the state's SEIU Healthcare union delivered a report to the legislature predicting the tragic impact of cuts to mental health care services. The cover imagery of “Don’t Look Away” was literally ripped from the headlines of news stories about murders committed by people with mental illnesses.
The not-so-subtle message was, “Don’t Look Away or you might be killed,” said Jennifer Stuber at the UW’s Washington State Coalition to Improve Mental Health Reporting. The coalition sent union officials a letter of concern about the report, signed by nearly 300 Washington mental health professionals, advocates, and clients. Stuber, a UW assistant professor of social work, said, “I think it’s really important to change the discourse within the mental health community and model what we’re hoping journalists will do. There are other effective ways to argue why these services are important."
*The Crosscut article has the image of the front cover of the brochure "Don't Look Away". It reads as negative hype similar to the Fuller Torrey,TAC -Treatment Advocacy Center theme.
Therefore,I feel a duty of my own as a mental health blogger to report this story.
I have witnessed internal stigma within the mental health system in Washington state for over a decade.
I've witnessed ambulance crews transporting people to and from mental health court saying:
"I wish you were in jail." -to a confused older man strapped to a gurney asking if he was in jail, and where "am I?" while in mental health court.
"What's dignity"? -to a mother who asked that they not transport her adult daughter down the center of James street to preserve her dignity.
When the transport crew person asked me that question, I made sure my daughter was never transported that way again, and the person learned from me the explanation of the word dignity.
I have witnessed a vulnerable victim of society --deemed a vulnerable person who could be a victim FROM society by a mental health court judge-- be found lost, confused after being missing in the dark winter night missing half of her clothing--and in the ER watching a man be left in the hallway for stats and work up, never given a room as other patients were, left as if no one cared and that is a fact--so many are treated as second class citizens.
-------
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Challenging society perception: mental illness is not a leading cause of violence: Archives of General Psychiatry - soulful sepulcher blog
A study/survey results are out that challenges society's perception that mental illness is a leading cause of violence.
The Abstract,'The Intricate Link Between Violence and Mental Disorder can be found in the-Archives of General Psychiatry February 2009
FROM the abstract/article:
"Conclusions
Because severe mental illness did not independently predict future violent behavior, these findings challenge perceptions that mental illness is a leading cause of violence in the general population. Still, people with mental illness did report violence more often, largely because they showed other factors associated with violence. Consequently, understanding the link between violent acts and mental disorder requires consideration of its association with other variables such as substance abuse, environmental stressors, and history of violence."
---
Crosscut has an article about the recent local budget cut ($over 200 million dollars taken from services for mental health and developmental disabled programs and more) and the scare tactics being used by a HealthCare Union--promoting violent stories from the headlines as reason not to cut state budget money from mental health care.
The very people that take care of people in mental health settings are directly fueling internal stigma connecting mental illness with violence, and giving a negative view of anyone with a mental health label.
There are thousands of people in the mental health care system in WA state, and countless crimes against them happen every single day.
These are the most vulnerable citizens of our society, they deserve better care--they deserve funding for proper housing and medical care, they do not deserve a smear campaign fueled by fear mongering scare tactics by the group of people who care for them.
They deserve dignity and respect.
The Washington state governor is in the hot seat for this budget cut, and the HealthCare Union has done a disservice to the very people they claim to want to help with more funding.
On a daily basis approximately 800 people with mental illness are locked away in the state institution, many without a voice, without advocates or family to help them navigate the system.
They are there for 6 months at a time,(court order) and all (most) are medicated. The medications themselves often carry aggression and agitation as a side effect listed in the drug manufacturer's information literature.
To take a few grim and unfortunate stories and use it as hype to create fear to the government officials for purpose of lobbying for income and budget is shameful.
----
FROM CROSSCUT -January 5, 2011
"Early in December, the state's SEIU Healthcare union delivered a report to the legislature predicting the tragic impact of cuts to mental health care services. The cover imagery of “Don’t Look Away” was literally ripped from the headlines of news stories about murders committed by people with mental illnesses.
The not-so-subtle message was, “Don’t Look Away or you might be killed,” said Jennifer Stuber at the UW’s Washington State Coalition to Improve Mental Health Reporting. The coalition sent union officials a letter of concern about the report, signed by nearly 300 Washington mental health professionals, advocates, and clients. Stuber, a UW assistant professor of social work, said, “I think it’s really important to change the discourse within the mental health community and model what we’re hoping journalists will do. There are other effective ways to argue why these services are important."
*The Crosscut article has the image of the front cover of the brochure "Don't Look Away". It reads as negative hype similar to the Fuller Torrey,TAC -Treatment Advocacy Center theme.
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
U.S.Military kids : increase in use of psychiatric medications
VIA Army Times:
A 12 year old prescribed the antidepressants Celexa & Wellbutrin hanged himself
"A psychiatrist at Fort Hood’s Darnall Army Medical Center prescribed the antidepressant Celexa. Daniel also saw a psychologist there. Doctors added to and changed Daniel’s drug regimen, but his problems grew worse, said his mother, Tricia Radenz.
Daniel started cutting himself and once used his own blood to write “the end” on a bathroom wall at school. One day in band class, he began hallucinating and ran into the hall, where teachers found him crouched and hitting and scratching his face.
On June 9, 2009, Daniel hanged himself from a bunk bed in his home.
“I really feel the drugs played a significant role in Daniel’s death,” said Tricia Radenz, a 41-year-old emergency-room nurse.
It’s impossible to know precisely why a 12-year-old chose to take his own life. But the boy’s problems — and the use of powerful psychiatric drugs to treat them — highlight a concern for a growing number of military families who are struggling with the impact of long, frequent deployments on their children left at home.
The use of psychiatric medications by military children is on the rise. Overall, in 2009, more than 300,000 prescriptions for psychiatric drugs were provided to children under 18 who are Tricare beneficiaries.
That’s up 18 percent since 2005, according to data provided to Military Times — a period when the under-18 population increased by less than 1 percent. And some drug categories have shown even higher rates of increase — antipsychotic drugs are up about 50 percent and anti-anxiety drugs are up about 40 percent.
That mirrors a similar trend in the active-duty force, which has seen a 76 percent increase in prescriptions for psychiatric medications since the start of the war in Afghanistan".
AND
"Tricia Radenz said nobody ever warned her about the suicide risks associated with the drugs her son was taking.
“The psychiatrist never once told me Celexa was a risk. He said he’d had great success with this drug,” Radenz said in an interview.
“Any antidepressant carries the warning, but I didn’t find out the seriousness until after he died,” she said.
Celexa, along with Wellbutrin, which Daniel was also taking at the time of his death, carry “black box” warnings from the Food and Drug Administration — the FDA’s most serious warning — about increased risks for suicidal thoughts and behavior.
Moreover, neither drug is recommended for children, although doctors may legally prescribe them after determining that they may benefit individual patients."
HAT TIP PharmaGossip
A 12 year old prescribed the antidepressants Celexa & Wellbutrin hanged himself
"A psychiatrist at Fort Hood’s Darnall Army Medical Center prescribed the antidepressant Celexa. Daniel also saw a psychologist there. Doctors added to and changed Daniel’s drug regimen, but his problems grew worse, said his mother, Tricia Radenz.
Daniel started cutting himself and once used his own blood to write “the end” on a bathroom wall at school. One day in band class, he began hallucinating and ran into the hall, where teachers found him crouched and hitting and scratching his face.
On June 9, 2009, Daniel hanged himself from a bunk bed in his home.
“I really feel the drugs played a significant role in Daniel’s death,” said Tricia Radenz, a 41-year-old emergency-room nurse.
It’s impossible to know precisely why a 12-year-old chose to take his own life. But the boy’s problems — and the use of powerful psychiatric drugs to treat them — highlight a concern for a growing number of military families who are struggling with the impact of long, frequent deployments on their children left at home.
The use of psychiatric medications by military children is on the rise. Overall, in 2009, more than 300,000 prescriptions for psychiatric drugs were provided to children under 18 who are Tricare beneficiaries.
That’s up 18 percent since 2005, according to data provided to Military Times — a period when the under-18 population increased by less than 1 percent. And some drug categories have shown even higher rates of increase — antipsychotic drugs are up about 50 percent and anti-anxiety drugs are up about 40 percent.
That mirrors a similar trend in the active-duty force, which has seen a 76 percent increase in prescriptions for psychiatric medications since the start of the war in Afghanistan".
AND
"Tricia Radenz said nobody ever warned her about the suicide risks associated with the drugs her son was taking.
“The psychiatrist never once told me Celexa was a risk. He said he’d had great success with this drug,” Radenz said in an interview.
“Any antidepressant carries the warning, but I didn’t find out the seriousness until after he died,” she said.
Celexa, along with Wellbutrin, which Daniel was also taking at the time of his death, carry “black box” warnings from the Food and Drug Administration — the FDA’s most serious warning — about increased risks for suicidal thoughts and behavior.
Moreover, neither drug is recommended for children, although doctors may legally prescribe them after determining that they may benefit individual patients."
HAT TIP PharmaGossip
Pushing pills & sickness in America: You are a marketing target for profit
*my photos of various ads in magazines and of DTC literature found in doctors offices over the years, and the famous Abilify phone booth ad that was in Seattle in 2007, the Cymbalta hand sanitizer was in mental health court.
Monday, January 03, 2011
International Bipolar Foundation Pepsi Project Fundraiser: Scientific Advisor Robert Friedman: pharma income $34,950 Eli Lilly
The International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF) Scientific Advisory board's Dr.Robert Friedman is in the ProPublica Dollars for Docs database.
The International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF)
"International Bipolar Foundation is a not for profit organization based in San Diego whose mission is to eliminate Bipolar Disorder through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support services for all affected; and to erase associated stigma through public education."
Dr.Robert Friedman
"He is a founding partner, President and CEO of PsyCare, Inc., a behavioral healthcare provider group with seven offices throughout San Diego. Dr Friedman is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry, San Diego, providing clinical supervision to training child and adolescent psychiatrists. Dr. Friedman is a member of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists. "
IBPF quest for $5000 from The Pepsi Refresh contest -through January 31,2011
•To provide a book for those with Bipolar and their caregivers
•To create 500 copies of "Healthy Living with Bipolar Disorder"
•To distribute 250 copies to mental health agencies and hospitals
•To distribute 250 copies to city libraries and universities
•To educate people how to live a healthy and successful life
ProPublica Dollars for Docs
Eli Lilly payments to California doctors
FRIEDMAN, ROBERT A San Diego $11,700 2010
Q1-Q2 Healthcare Professional Education Programs: $11700 FRIEDMAN, ROBERT A
FRIEDMAN, ROBERT A. San Diego $23,250 2009
Q1-Q4 Healthcare Professional Education Programs: $23250.0 FRIEDMAN, ROBERT A.
Total: $34,950.00
--
One must question the direct influence of a Scientific Advisor for a mental health organization who takes personal income from a pharmaceutical company that makes and sells psychiatric medications such as Cymbalta,Zyprexa and more.
Do bipolar-depression support groups such as IBPF and CABF have an ethical responsibility to its members to ensure the advisors on their scientific advisory boards do not have conflict of interest?
In my opinion, yes.
The International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF)
"International Bipolar Foundation is a not for profit organization based in San Diego whose mission is to eliminate Bipolar Disorder through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support services for all affected; and to erase associated stigma through public education."
Dr.Robert Friedman
"He is a founding partner, President and CEO of PsyCare, Inc., a behavioral healthcare provider group with seven offices throughout San Diego. Dr Friedman is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry, San Diego, providing clinical supervision to training child and adolescent psychiatrists. Dr. Friedman is a member of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists. "
IBPF quest for $5000 from The Pepsi Refresh contest -through January 31,2011
•To provide a book for those with Bipolar and their caregivers
•To create 500 copies of "Healthy Living with Bipolar Disorder"
•To distribute 250 copies to mental health agencies and hospitals
•To distribute 250 copies to city libraries and universities
•To educate people how to live a healthy and successful life
ProPublica Dollars for Docs
Eli Lilly payments to California doctors
FRIEDMAN, ROBERT A San Diego $11,700 2010
Q1-Q2 Healthcare Professional Education Programs: $11700 FRIEDMAN, ROBERT A
FRIEDMAN, ROBERT A. San Diego $23,250 2009
Q1-Q4 Healthcare Professional Education Programs: $23250.0 FRIEDMAN, ROBERT A.
Total: $34,950.00
--
One must question the direct influence of a Scientific Advisor for a mental health organization who takes personal income from a pharmaceutical company that makes and sells psychiatric medications such as Cymbalta,Zyprexa and more.
Do bipolar-depression support groups such as IBPF and CABF have an ethical responsibility to its members to ensure the advisors on their scientific advisory boards do not have conflict of interest?
In my opinion, yes.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
"This case goes right to the heart of patient safety" :GSK whistleblower, Cheryl Eckard interview
Taken from my Twitter timeline tonight, listen to Cheryl Eckard the GSK whistleblower that caused me to say "Brava!"after her interview, she brought tears to my eyes. The money she was awarded ($96 Million)came at a personal cost over years of time spent in litigation, her life won't ever be the same again, but she hopes the medicine your family takes will be safer as a result of her actions to BLOW THE WHISTLE ON PHARMA'S DIRTY SECRETS.
Listen to GSK whistleblower #CherylEckard interviewed for 60 Minutes: (go to post for audio link) audio link for Cheryl Eckard podcast, at PharmaGossip
BRAVA! #CHERYLECKARD BRAVA!
"This case goes right to the heart of patient safety" http://bit.ly/dRWgQN podcast #CherylEckard #GSK #whistleblower
-------
"why aren't you crying?" #CherylEckard
----
PAXIL LABELED 10 MG WERE ACTUALLY 25MG @Fiddaman @pharmagossip @thinkshrink whistleblower #CherylEckard http://bit.ly/dRWgQN podcast
-----
PAXIL AND AVANDIA MIX UP SCANDAL: LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST 60 Min Drug co GSK whistleblower #CherylEckard http://bit.ly/dRWgQN
*WATCH the 60 Minutes program HERE.
Listen to GSK whistleblower #CherylEckard interviewed for 60 Minutes: (go to post for audio link) audio link for Cheryl Eckard podcast, at PharmaGossip
BRAVA! #CHERYLECKARD BRAVA!
"This case goes right to the heart of patient safety" http://bit.ly/dRWgQN podcast #CherylEckard #GSK #whistleblower
-------
"why aren't you crying?" #CherylEckard
----
PAXIL LABELED 10 MG WERE ACTUALLY 25MG @Fiddaman @pharmagossip @thinkshrink whistleblower #CherylEckard http://bit.ly/dRWgQN podcast
-----
PAXIL AND AVANDIA MIX UP SCANDAL: LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST 60 Min Drug co GSK whistleblower #CherylEckard http://bit.ly/dRWgQN
*WATCH the 60 Minutes program HERE.
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