Tag Archives: Prescription drugs

What is America’s most dangerous prescription drug?

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It’s not Adderall or Oxy. It’s Klonopin. And doctors are doling it out like candy, causing a surge of hellish withdrawals, overdoses and deaths.

Klonopin is the brand name for the generic clonazepam, which was originally brought to market in 1975 as a medication for epileptic seizures. Since then, Klonopin, along with the other drugs in this class, has become a prescription of choice for drug abusers from Hollywood to Wall Street. In the process, these substances have also earned the dubious distinction of being second only to opioid painkillers like OxyContin as our nation’s most widely abused class of drug.

Klonopin is used as an anti-anxiety drug, in the class of drugs that are also called minor tranquilizers, benzodiazepines or sedative hypnotics. Daily use of these drugs is associated with physical dependence, and addiction can occur after only 14 days of regular use. The typical consequences of withdrawal are anxiety, depression, sweating, cramps, nausea, psychotic reactions and seizures. There is also a “rebound effect” where the individual experiences even worse symptoms than they started with as a result of chemical dependency.

Alcoholics and drug addicts are most likely to run into Klonopin during detox, when it is used to prevent seizures and control the symptoms of acute withdrawal. Klonopin takes longer to metabolize and passes through the system more slowly than other benzodiazepines, so in theory you don’t need to take it so frequently. But if you like the high it gives you, and keep increasing your dosage, the addictive effects of the drug accumulate quickly and can often be devastating. The drug’s label clearly specifies that it is “recommended” only for short-term use—say, seven to 10 days—but once exposed to the pill’s seductive side-effects, many patients come back for more. And not surprisingly, many doctors are happy to refill prescriptions to meet this consumer demand.

Read much more about this at

http://www.cchrint.org/2011/06/02/americas-most-dangerous-pill-klonopin/

and find out more about psychiatric drug side effects at

http://www.cchrstl.org/sideeffects.shtml.

Prescription Drug Abuse

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Protecting Loved Ones from Prescription Drug Abuse or Overdoses Starts at Home

Vol. 14 Issue 8

Prescription drug abuse may be one of the most hidden types of substance abuse ever. There’s no liquor bottles in the trash, no needles hidden in a box under the bed, no little baggie of green leaves or white powder in the backpack. In fact, everything may look normal at first glance.

Maybe the first sign of a problem is that you lift a prescription bottle of your own or a family member’s and it seems a little light. You look inside and note that the supply is lower than you thought and make a note to get a refill soon. Maybe the prescription is hydrocodone (Vicodin or Lortab) left over from some dental work or minor surgery or maybe you have a bottle of over-the-counter cough medicine from a child’s illness last winter.

According to national surveys, more than 75 percent of teenage prescription drug abusers say they got those drugs from friends or family. It’s easy enough to slip into the bathroom and lift a few pills from someone’s bottle of OxyContin, Xanax or Valium. And even if your children would never do this (or you don’t have children), visitors or workmen to your house or your aging mother’s house could check the medicine cabinet while using the bathroom or working on the house. Once someone has your medication (or perhaps the medication of a family member you are caring for) then it’s up for grabs.

About 9 percent of high school seniors admit to abusing a narcotic drug other than heroin – mostly prescription opiates and opioids like methadone, OxyContin, Percocet, or Vicodin. And approximately 40 percent of these students feel that it is “easy” or “very easy” to get their hands on these drugs.

The answer is very simple: lock prescriptions away. It can be as easy as stopping by an office supply store and getting a small locking box. Place your medications in the box, keep it in a drawer and keep the keys well hidden elsewhere. This will prevent casual theft. Or you can locate a locking medicine cabinet easily enough. They are available online for $100 to $200 plus an installation charge if you have a handyman mount it in the bathroom.

And if you have prescriptions that are no longer needed, don’t hold onto them. Rather than flushing them down the toilet, which adds them to the water supply, check with local pharmacies to see if they will dispose of them for you or contact your local waste service company and ask about hazardous waste disposal.

A very little bit of work on your part can help keep these drugs out of circulation in your community.

Source: Testimony of Stephen J. Pasierf, Abuse of Prescription and Over the Counter Drug, March 1, 2008, http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/About/NewsReleases/International_Narcotics
Source: Monitoring the Future Study, 2009, http://monitoringthefuture.org/data/09data/fig09_10.pdf
Source: Proper Disposal of Prescription Drugs, October 2009, http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/prescrip_disposal.pdf

Are Flu Shots Necessary for your Family?

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DO YOU KNOW ENOUGH TO DECIDE IF YOUR FAMILY SHOULD GET FLU SHOTS?

Vol. 6 Issue 132

With flu season soon upon us, you should consider the following information before deciding if your family will get the flu shot.

Each year a “flu shot” is prepared based on the guess-work of Federal health agency officials, who try to determine which of three flu strains will be prevalent in the U.S. during the following year, so they can select which strain to include in the vaccine.

The flu vaccine is prepared from fluids of chick embryos that have been inoculated with a specific type of influenza virus. The virus is then activated with formaldehyde and preserved with thimerosal — a derivative of mercury.

If health officials select the correct strain of the virus, the vaccine is thought to be 70-80% effective in preventing the flu in healthy persons under 65 years of age — the efficacy drops to only 30-40% among those over 65 years. Health officials don’t always make the right prediction, which lowers the effectiveness for that year.

According to the National Vaccine Information Center’s fact sheet, “Influenza is a respiratory infection that produces fever, chills, sore throat, muscle aches and cough.” Symptoms can last for a week or longer and can be deadly for the elderly or those suffering from diabetes, kidney dysfunction and heart disease.

The vaccine does not protect against throat, respiratory, gastrointestinal and ear infections caused by bacteria or other kinds of viruses; it serves only to provide temporary immunity against the three specific viral strains included in the year’s vaccine.

Adverse reactions typically being within 12 hours of vaccination and last for several days; these include fever, fatigue, painful joints and headaches. The most serious reaction, which occurs within two to four weeks of vaccination is Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which is characterized by muscle weakness, unsteady gait, numbness, tingling, pain and sometimes paralysis of one or more limbs or the face.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, those at high-risk include any person who is sick with a fever, has an impaired immune system, has an egg or mercury allergy, and has a history of Guillian-Barre Syndrome. Pregnant women should be aware the flu vaccine contains the mercury-derivative thimerosal, which has been linked to causing brain damage and developmental delays in babies whose mothers were exposed to high levels of mercury during pregnancy.

SOURCE: National Vaccine Information Center, NVIC, www.909shot.com/Diseases/influenzafacts.htm; 800-909-shot.

Vaccinations for Profit, Not Safety

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Standard Vaccination Schedule For Profit, Not Safety

Vol. 14 Issue 43

The immunization schedule in this country keeps growing ever more complex as time goes on. (Or, we might say, as “Big Pharma” finds more and more ways to make a profit.)

Thirty years ago, infants were only vaccinated against five diseases – diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, rotavirus and polio. Now, according to standard immunization schedules, healthy infants are scheduled to receive immunizations against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, varicella, and pneumococcus.

The CDC’s recommended vaccination schedule now states that American children should receive 25 to 30 vaccines before they are 5 years old. But look at the grid for these immunizations: When your tiny, helpless baby is just 2 months old, he or she could visit the doctor and be immunized for – all in one day – Hepatitis B, rotavirus, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Haemophilus influenza B, pneumococcal and polio. At 12 months, the list is even more horrible.

And while an adult may have more strength with which to fight back, the assault does not stop. What vaccines would the CDC recommend for healthy adults? The Singer Health Report writer, an exceedingly healthy female of 58 years, consulted the CDC’s quiz, What Vaccines Do You Need? (http://www2.cdc.gov/nip/adultImmSched). Answering the questions (not living in a nursing home, don’t plan to travel internationally soon, etc.) the writer found that she needs a booster of Tetanus, Diptheria and Pertussis and a seasonal flu shot. By receiving these shots, she would receive 50 mcg. of thimerosal, and doses of aluminum, hydrochloric acid and formaldehyde!

Next, the quiz was consulted for an extremely healthy 45-year-old male who travels internationally for business and who lives with his mother-in-law from Venezuela. He would need the following vaccines: Measles, mumps and rubella, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, seasonal flu, Meningococcal and the Tetanus, Diptheria and Pertussis booster. This healthy person, if he caught up on his vaccinations before his next international trip, would receive 75 mcg of thimerosal plus multiple doses of aluminum, hydrochloric acid, monosodium glutamate and formaldehyde.

To understand this assault on health from this multiplicity of vaccines, it would be necessary to go much further than just an analysis of the effects of thimerosal. The effects of all the other additives and the forms of the viruses themselves – and the sheer volume of confusing and challenging material to the immune system – must be examined in detail before this subject is put to bed.

Source: National Academy of Sciences, Infant Immunizations Not Shown to Be Harmful to Children’s Immune Systems, February 20, 2010, http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=10306

Source: Centers for Disease Control, Recommended Immunization Schedule for Persons Aged 0 Through 6 Years, 2010, http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/2010/10_0-6yrs-schedule-pr.pdf

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, What Vaccines Do You Need?, January 12, 2010, http://www2.cdc.gov/nip/adultImmSched/

Source: Institute for Vaccine Safety, Thimerosal Content in Some US Licensed Vaccines, February 23, 2010, http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm

Effectiveness of Flu Shots

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Flu Vaccine Posts Dismal Performance

Vol. 13 Issue 31

The results are in regarding the effectiveness of flu vaccinations for the year 2007, and the statistics are not very good for the drug companies. During this year, the effectiveness of the vaccine in protecting Americans dropped way down to just 44 percent.

Not only did the effectiveness of the shots drop, but so did public demand for the number of doses produced. According to information released by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, 18 million of the 121 million produced for the 2006-07 flu season went unused. The following year for the 2007-08 season, 27 million of the 140 million doses produced where never delivered.

Given this dismal rate of success, and with more and more information coming out on the potentially harmful side effects of vaccinations, wouldn’t it seem logical that doctors and government advisors would be guiding Americans to alternative flu-fighting solutions?

Unfortunately this is not the case, mainly because flu shots are a multi-billion dollar annual business in the United States and worldwide. Consider this projection: By the year 2012, the global vaccine market is expected to top $23.8 billion.

What the government and doctors did was get together with drug company representatives to see if they could come up with ways to sell the public on getting more flu shots. The American Medical Association, together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) held a 2-day “National Influenza Vaccine Summit” that was also attended by representatives of the five pharmaceutical companies that sell flu vaccine in the United States.

One idea that came out of this conference was that doctors should become much more aggressive in “suggesting” to their patients that they get their flu shots. One attending physician said this is how his office became more proactive in making sure their patients received the shot. “When the patient signs in, the lady who is taking their information asks, ‘Have you had the flu vaccine this year?,’ and if the answer is ‘No,’ we say, “Well, today you are getting it.’”

One such aggressive effort was naming the week following Thanksgiving “National Influenza Vaccination Week” and urging people to get their flu shot. Regardless of such hype, Americans didn’t respond to this public information campaign according to CDC. Public use did not increase during this time.

It’s good to see that Americans did not respond to this added pressure to get their flu shots and that drug companies were left with millions of unused vaccine doses in their warehouses.

Americans would be wise to learn more about non-drugging means to protect themselves during the flu season. Simply staying well-rested, well-hydrated by drinking ample water, and keeping their body defense mechanisms up through good nutrition and additional vitamin intake as needed, could offer the best defense against getting the flu.

Source: The World Chiropractic Alliance. “Flu Vaccine Success Rate Down to 44% in 2007.” November 2008. http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcj/2008/nov/a.htm

Former Glaxo Lawyer in Trouble

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Former Glaxo Lawyer Indicted

A former vice president and associate general counsel for the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline was just indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on charges of making false statements and obstructing a federal investigation into illegal drug marketing. [Read the full article here.]

Lauren C. Stevens of Durham, N.C. is accused of lying to the Food and Drug Administration by denying that Glaxo had promoted the antidepressant Wellbutrin for off-label use as a weight loss treatment.

Doctors are free to use any approved drug for any use they see fit, but pharmaceutical companies are prohibited from marketing the drugs for uses that have not been approved by the F.D.A.

In October GlaxoSmithKline had agreed to pay $750 million to settle civil and criminal complaints that it sold defective drugs, including the antidepressant Paxil, manufactured in Puerto Rico.

While psychiatrists cry about “reducing stigma,” it is their labels and treatment that initially create the stigma. And now, they are pushing depression drugs for people who want to lose weight.

[Editorial Comment: Talk about creating stigma -- "you must be depressed if you want to lose weight;" give me a break!]

People are labeled “mentally ill” with diagnoses that are completely subjective and then subjected to dangerous and addictive mind-altering drugs in order to change their behavior. It’s pretty clear where the “stigmatization” is coming from. It’s coming from the mental health monopoly that stands to profit at the sake of people seeking help.

Click here for more information about the harmful effects of Wellbutrin (buproprion HCL) and Paxil (paroxetine).

Click here for more information about psychiatric fraud.

Click here for more information about the alternatives to psychiatric drugging.

Volunteer for CCHR STL

chiropractor carbondale Former Glaxo Lawyer in Trouble

They invent the problem. They develop the product. And sell it for billions. The perfect formula for making a killing … literally.
Brutally factual, this 90-minute documentary exposes the greatest financial con this planet has ever seen.
The facts are hard to believe, but fatal to ignore.

chiropractor carbondale Former Glaxo Lawyer in Trouble

This is the story of the high-income partnership between psychiatry and drug companies that has created an $80 billion psychotropic drug profit center. But appearances are deceiving. How valid are psychiatrists’ diagnoses-and how safe are their drugs? So the question is: How did psychotropic drugs, with no target illness, no known curative powers and a long and extensive list of side effects, become the go-to treatment for every kind of psychological distress? And how did the psychiatrists espousing these drugs come to dominate the field of mental treatment? Click here to find out.

MedWatch is your source for timely safety information on drugs regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and for reporting adverse reactions (side effects.)

http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/

MedWatch is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) program for reporting serious reactions, product quality problems and product use errors with human medical products, such as drugs and medical devices.

If you think you or someone in your family has experienced a serious reaction to a medical product or drug, or to electric shock, you can take the reporting form to your doctor (who is not required to report adverse reactions) or you may complete the Online Reporting Form yourself via the internet. Let us know if you do this!

Public Service Announcement
PSYCHIATRY KILLS
Have you or someone you know ever been abused or harmed by psychiatric or other mental health treatment?
Report psychiatric abuse – it’s a crime!
Call CCHR St. Louis (314) 727-8307.
All information will be held in strict confidence.
Visit www.CCHRSTL.org

Are Flu Shots Necessary?

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FLU SHOTS IN ELDERLY DON’T CUT MORTALITY RATE

Vol. 9 Issue 144

The assumed impact of flu shots in preventing death in the elderly population is in serious doubt following the release of results of an extensive statistical study.

A group of researchers under the leadership of Dr. Lone Simonsen of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases collected and analyzed massive amounts of data on flu related mortality dating from 1968 to 2001. The aim of the research was to see if observational studies claiming that flu vaccinations reduced winter mortality risk by up to 50% in the elderly population were indeed accurate.

Analyzing the data was quite a task and did involve some statistical corrective techniques to correlate the increased numbers of seniors, reported death rates in this population and increased numbers of seniors receiving inoculations.

Prior to 1980, only 15-20% of the population over 65 years of age received flu shots. By 2001, this figure had risen toward 65%. Subsequently, flu related deaths should have declined as a result. Factually, flu related deaths continued to rise as well during this period.

The only declining mortality rate statistic noted during this period was following a particularly tough flu season of 1968 and extending to the early 1980s. Researchers concluded that the decline during this time had to do with higher immunities following exposures in 1968.

However, following the early 1980s through 2001, flu related mortality figures remained constant in the 65-74 age groups despite a major rise in the number of persons receiving vaccinations. Surprisingly, mortality rates remained flat in the over 85 population throughout the years of the study.

Basically, the researchers concluded that previous observational studies had greatly overstated the benefits of influenza vaccinations. Statistically, they could not correlate declining death rates in any portion of the elderly population to increased vaccination protection. These findings should ease potential panic in the elderly population if flu shots were either unavailable or the person did not get one.

SOURCE:www.fic.nih.gov/news/inthenews/simonsenarchives.pdf

Psychiatric Drugs

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chiropractor carbondale Psychiatric Drugs

This searing documentary exposes how devastating-and deadly-psychiatric drugs can be for children and families.

Psychiatrists claim their drugs are safe for children?

Once you hear what eight brave mothers, their families, health experts, drug counselors and doctors have to say instead, you will come away convinced of one thing…

Psychiatrists are DEAD WRONG.

Watch the Dead Wrong documentary now online at http://www.cchr.org/.

Order the DVD to show to your family and friends.

Volunteer for CCHR STL

chiropractor carbondale Psychiatric Drugs

They invent the problem. They develop the product. And sell it for billions. The perfect formula for making a killing … literally.
Brutally factual, this 90-minute documentary exposes the greatest financial con this planet has ever seen.
The facts are hard to believe, but fatal to ignore.

chiropractor carbondale Psychiatric Drugs

This is the story of the high-income partnership between psychiatry and drug companies that has created an $80 billion psychotropic drug profit center. But appearances are deceiving. How valid are psychiatrists’ diagnoses-and how safe are their drugs? So the question is: How did psychotropic drugs, with no target illness, no known curative powers and a long and extensive list of side effects, become the go-to treatment for every kind of psychological distress? And how did the psychiatrists espousing these drugs come to dominate the field of mental treatment? Click here to find out.

MedWatch is your source for timely safety information on drugs regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and for reporting adverse reactions (side effects.)

http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/

MedWatch is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) program for reporting serious reactions, product quality problems and product use errors with human medical products, such as drugs and medical devices.

If you think you or someone in your family has experienced a serious reaction to a medical product or drug, or to electric shock, you can take the reporting form to your doctor (who is not required to report adverse reactions) or you may complete the Online Reporting Form yourself via the internet. Let us know if you do this!

Weight Gain With Children

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WEIGHT GAIN, OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS CAUSED BY MEDICATIONS GIVEN TO CHILDREN

November 13, 2009 — More research appears to confirm recent results of a large, prospective cohort study that the use of atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) increases the risk of significant weight gain and varied metabolic changes in children and adolescents with mental illness and behavioral disturbances. According to Dr. Panagiotopoulos, a growing body of evidence in adults demonstrating that AAPs cause significant weight gain, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance has raised concerns among the medical community in general, and the psychiatric community in particular, about whether these drugs may increase the risk of premature cardiovascular disease in children and adolescents. [http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/712079]

Chiropractic Better Solution

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Chiropractic Brings ADHD Relief, Offers Much Safer Solution than Drugs!

Volume 12 Issue 14

Evidence continues to mount in favor of Chiropractic intervention having the ability to bring relief from the symptoms that have now commonly been lumped into the label of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This is especially evident cases when an accident or injury has occurred to a child or adult who previously showed no signs of any of the difficulties with concentration associated with ADHD.

Case in point of this study involves a child of 6 years of age, a person of any age could suffer the same lack of concentration ability following an accident or a severe blow. This could occur through an auto mishap, a slip-and-fall injury, sports contact or even a work-related trauma that is part of daily life. While drugs are now frequently prescribed by the medical community to handle the ensuing “attention” problems, a Chiropractic adjustment may really be all that is necessary for normal function to return.

A case discussing the events that happened to this child who struck his head while on the playground was recently presented by an Australian-American Chiropractic group. The child was knocked unconscious by the impact and, in the months that followed, his teachers noted his concentration problems, inattentiveness and even disruptive behavior. The boy developed all of the classic symptoms so commonly labeled as ADHD. He was unable to sit still in the classroom and his grades began to plunge.

Drugs were a main part of the medical prescription for handling the boy. Unfortunately, but expectedly, these did not bring any lasting relief or help to the child. In spite of the powerful drugs, his headaches and neck pains persisted. Finally, 18 months after the accident, his mother brought him to a chiropractor.

It may seem remarkable, but the boy only required 3 visits to the chiropractor over a 3 week period to put him back on the road to good health and classroom success. The diagnosis was a subluxation, a partial dislocation of the vertebrae. He continued with regular checkups and after 9 months continued to do very well.

An accident or blow which involves the head, neck and back being in pain is increasingly being documented as a trigger or aggravating factor to ADHD. This evidence and case studies such as this one can be of great value in spreading the word that drugs are not the universal solution for the handling of ADHD as has become so common in the world today. When drugs are administered, the concentration problems that are not handled can even lead to further accidents and more subluxations. Thus, the drugging solution could lead to a vicious circle that includes more injuries, more subluxations and an continued worsening of the ADHD symptoms.

However, when the symptoms of ADHD are handled through Chiropractic, tremendous benefits frequently occur. First off, the pain and discomfort is either reduced or eliminated for the patient. Next, the relief provided to the nervous system through the correction of the subluxation are also extremely beneficial. Concentration ability often returns quickly, and the person gets more enjoyment out of life while doing better at school or at work, whatever the case may be.

Chiropractic adjustments of the person suffering from, so called, ADHD can lead to a better overall state of health and increased productivity without drug intervention. Again, the simple motto for handling such ADHD issues should resound, “Say no to drug and say yes to Chiropractic!”

Source: Dynamic Chiropractic. “Pain Relief. Safe Behind the Wheel.” January 2008. http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/26/02/15.html