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6376. thoughtful - 11/24/2004 7:15:21 PM I think it's a grand conspiracy to get people to accept everything on faith as facts become mutable and truth undiscernible.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that its widely publicized estimate that 400,000 Americans die each year from being too fat is wrong and that it will submit a new, lower figure to the medical journal that published its original estimate last March....
Dr. Glantz estimates that the number of deaths from obesity to be more like 100,000 than 400,000. And the inflated numbers of obesity deaths, he added, represent " a very, very fundamental mistake that was made in the paper, which they have done nothing to address."
6377. thoughtful - 12/22/2004 4:09:50 PM Now there's this whole celebrex brohaha.
The tracings go back to a more rapid drug approval process that was designed to bring drugs on line faster for terminal patients like AIDS victims who would die anyway, with the thought that this would give them a better chance at survival. Of course it's since morphed into bringing all drugs on line faster than before with the general population being the lab rats.
Now i recognize that all drugs are toxic...duh. That's why they require a prescription from a doc. I also recognize that they carry risks. That's why a medical professional is supposed to help you through the process and help analyze the risks and benefits.
But this celebrex thing is over the top. Sounds more like corporate espionage to me. The study was done at higher doses than recommended for purposes not recommended and so why should the be surprised at results not expected?
So some are blaming it on ads to consumers. I have never gone to a doc and requested a drug I saw on tv. Ever. Rather I try to avoid the new ones as they are often insufficiently tested and extremely expensive. I often request the older drugs if I need any at all...though it's difficult to even get the docs to prescribe them.
Rather, the docs choose the drugs, usually based on the free samples stocked in their ample closets provided by the detail men. Patients wait unattended in the dr's office while docs meet with the detail men. Benefit to poor patients of the free samples, yes, but who's minding the cost of continuing the rx when the samples run out and they are stuck paying 10x or more for the drug that last year's generic handled well.
I'm not happy about the entire situation, but see little hope of anything improving. 6378. alistairconnor - 12/22/2004 4:48:46 PM I have never gone to a doc and requested a drug I saw on tv. Ever.
Of course, you are not the typical consumer. Otherwise they wouldn't bother to advertise on TV.
Over here, a doctor is not allowed to give drugs to a patient -- other than administering them on the spot in an emergency. Prescription, pharmacy. That seems a good, clear-cut rule that limits somewhat the corruptive effect of the drug pushers. 6379. PelleNilsson - 12/22/2004 5:35:48 PM Same here. Also, last year saw some serious efforts to clean up the unhealthy and corrupt symbiosis between doctors and the pharmaceutical industry in the form of lavish entertainment, consultancy fees and so forth. 6380. wonkers2 - 12/22/2004 11:06:57 PM The "ethical" drug industry is out of control, like the investment banking and mutual fund industry has been, not to mention Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Enron, WorldCom, et al ad infinitum. What an idiot the CEO of Pfizer appeared to be on television a couple of days ago. He doesn't even know how to speak correct English, let alone speak convincingly. 6381. Ulgine Barrows - 12/23/2004 10:02:32 AM The "ethical" drug industry is out of control
wonkers2, you are a delight.
I was taking some 'stuff' for my asthma, and my doctor abruptly switched me to something else, muttering "it changes the structure of the lungs." 6382. Ulgine Barrows - 12/23/2004 10:04:50 AM She didn't want to talk about the old medicine that changed the structure of my lungs, I did note.
The words 'class action suit' ran through my head briefly.
Then I decided to breathe. 6383. thoughtful - 1/6/2005 3:24:41 PM Pick a diet...stick to it
Recent study comparing 4 popular diets found all promoted weight loss though the regimen of the ornish and atkins made them more difficult to follow and stay with. The weight loss seemed to be the more important driver of improving cholesterol levels rather than which type of diet you followed. 6384. thoughtful - 1/20/2005 10:20:42 PM Skip worrying about your cholesterol folks....eat your broccoli instead.
Heart Disease No longer #1 killer
For the first time, cancer has surpassed heart disease as the top killer of Americans under 85, health officials said Wednesday. The good news is that deaths from both are falling, but improvement has been more dramatic for heart disease.
6385. thoughtful - 2/8/2005 5:11:54 PM Metaboloic syndrome or syndrome x is nothing to fool around with.
See here
The metabolic syndrome, probably caused by a fundamental malfunctioning of the body's system for storing and burning energy, is defined by having a cluster of risk factors such as elevated blood pressure, poor blood sugar control, high levels of fats in the blood called triglycerides and low HDL, or "good" cholesterol. Individually, each factor may not be highly dangerous, but together they appear to sharply boost the danger of major health problems, notably heart disease, diabetes and, possibly, certain types of cancer.
At least 64 million Americans -- nearly a third of adults age 20 and older -- probably meet the federal government's criteria for the syndrome, and the rate approaches 50 percent among the elderly. Mexican Americans and African American women appear to be especially prone. It also turns up in people who are not obese but have recently put on a lot of weight around their middles, and in an increasing number of overweight children....
Experts disagree about how much the syndrome boosts the risk of serious illness beyond that of the separate risk factors. But some estimate it may give a person five times the risk of diabetes and more than double the risk of heart disease in the next decade. Evidence has also been accumulating that the syndrome heightens the danger of colon and prostate tumors and some other cancers.
6386. thoughtful - 2/9/2005 9:45:55 PM I think i may be running into gall bladder problems...any one here have any? Anyone ever heard of or tried the gall bladder flush??? 6387. Magoseph - 2/9/2005 10:32:51 PM I had gallbladder problems year ago--what are your symptoms so far? 6388. thoughtful - 2/10/2005 3:28:12 PM My apologies in advance for the graphic nature of this post.
Well I thought I had the stomach flu..no vomiting though but lots of the other stuff, which imodium seemed to take care of and my stomach just ached. The next day I was feeling better and ate more normally all day. The following a.m. I woke up feeling like i just finished a full restaurant meal and I had some bkfst and felt full and queasy the rest of the day. Only had 3 carrot sticks for lunch. Also my stools have been getting much lighter, almost yellowish.
So now I'm trying a fat free diet to see if that makes me feel better. I'll add fat back in and if I feel a lot worse, that'll be another clue.
But I haven't had that pain the right quadrant radiating around to the back, and I don't have a fever or anything.
Both parents and all 4 grandparents had gall stones.
I've also had funny blood work results on my bilirubin over the years. My thinking is it's time to head to the doc and get it checked again. 6389. Magoseph - 2/10/2005 5:04:19 PM
So now I'm trying a fat free diet to see if that makes me feel better.
Excellent move from my point of view--when I had problems with the gallbladder, the doctor put me on a fat free diet, which, naturally, I broke a few times, only to have again the same symptoms—queasiness and nausea followed by spewing out bile. 6390. judithathome - 2/10/2005 5:21:48 PM Sounds like diverticulitis to me...have you had a colonoscopy done? 6391. thoughtful - 2/10/2005 7:30:33 PM J@h, no I haven't (not old enough yet!) but i don't think it's diverticulitis because the pain is not lower. The pain is right up by the solar plexus....now that i think about it, the other day my upper back on the right side was bothersome...felt like i had a rib out of place....
6392. thoughtful - 2/10/2005 7:33:55 PM I'm not 100%, but feeling better since I started the no fat diet...not that that's particularly tasty. 6393. judithathome - 2/10/2005 9:22:02 PM When I get diverticulitis, the pain is above the waist, right below my ribs and slightly above the belly button. It's not just me thinking I have it...the doctor who did my colon scan and removed the polyps diagnosed it. It's weird...I thought it was an ulcer. 6394. thoughtful - 2/10/2005 9:31:32 PM That's interesting...I always think of that as further down and would never have assoc that pain with the colon. Good insight. I know that's nothing to fool around with. Ex sec'y had it which out of the blue led to significant hemorrhaging. She ended up in the hospital. Not fun.
Come to think of it my bro had it at a relatively early age...they thought he had appendicitis...opened him up and found his appendix was fine but his colon had an issue. But I always assoc that with his abysmal diet and health care. 6395. wonkers2 - 2/10/2005 10:51:20 PM Study shows half of health care spending is wasted Here
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