This is truly a dumb question. Of course eating dirt is both, good for kids and healthy too. Dirt provides many nutrients, essential vitamins and minerals that otherwise they would never get. Quality dirt, mixed with some clay can make a fine meal for any child.
Yes we ate dirt as children and I think our immune systems are much better than the children of today. They frequently get sick and get antibotics from the doctor.As children we rarely went to the doctor.
I thinks we built up an immunity to germs that kids today get sick from. My mother used to say the “You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die” and I think we were much healthier for it. Children who are so sheltered usually get sick all the time because they never have a chance to build up immunites.
As a child, 54 years ago, I ate dirt. I craved it! My grandmother told me my body was craving minerals it lacked. My parents went to the river bank and hauled back a foot-tub of ‘clean’ dirt. Yes, it was clean back then…before we polluted it.
When I was pregnant with my first child, that craving returned. Believe it or not, my OB/GYN told me the same thing! Of course, he adjusted vitamins and that helped. Every once in a while, when it just starts to rain and the dirt is barely damp, the craving returns! Never made me sick!
I first heard this theory in the early 90’s when anti-bacterial products were the new rage. Soon after I read about how dangerous anti-bacterial products were, ie; creating “super” germs and even containing carcinogens. This information wasn’t publicized because it wasn’t good for “business” and didn’t sell products. Over the years I’ve had to seek out the info to share with my friends and have wondered how long it would take to actually receive widespread attention. I didn’t suspect it would take almost 20 years and untold illnesses and deaths as well as an entire generation of immune suppressed children facing lifelong chronic and debilitating diseases.
Again, this information was virtually hidden from the public for only one reason, it wasn’t good for “business”.
i think this is 100% true. i’ve taken my son everywhere with me pretty much since birth. he’s 6 years old now and has had one fever in his whole life .. he’s hardly ever sick. on the other hand, my neighbor is a germaphobe and is always keeping her kids sheltered. they’re sick every other week .. the same with my sister-in-law and nieces. you need to expose your kids to germs for them to build immunities to them.
My wife used Paxil for 10 years and it has destroyed her adrenal gland and is wreaking havoc on her thyroid. She has lost 40 pounds, hair falling out, can’t sleep etc. And this is after being off it for 4 years. Breaking the addiction to this crap is worse than pain killers. To anyone even thinking of using these drugs, DON’T! Depression can be controlled through many natural holistic ways. Accupunture, herbs, tea, vitamins etc. And you don’t get the “side effect” of wanting to kill yourself like these SSR’s do. Go natural!!!!!! The FDA is lying to you. Antidepressents ARE NOT SAFE FOR ANYONE!
Charlie, quit talking out of your rear end. Antidepressants work for millions of people with little to no side effects.
I used Remeron for a few weeks when first diagnosed with major depressive disorder. While it did help me gain back some of the weight I had lost (it does make you voraciously hungry at times), it didn’t do much for my depression. I was then switched to Prozac, and it worked wonders. Plus, Prozac gradually expels itself from your body, so it is easier to quit when therapy is no longer needed.
I’ve been on Lexapro for 6 months and started the process to wean myself off due to side effects. My doctor started me on it to help me sleep. Instead of helping, I’m actually sleeping less, I’ve gained 20 pounds in 6 months, my hair is falling out, and my mouth is always dry.
Drugs have helped me in the past, but aerobic exercise, in particular long-distance bicycling, has always been the best way for me to deal with my depression. A 2-hour or longer ride will help me for 2-3 days, during the summer when I ride at least 1 hour a day, I’m doing great. Winter, I tend towards depression and weight gain.
Charlie is right… Paxil is toxic!! I was on it for six months and I was going crazy! I laughed all the time for no reason, I was moody and I started drinking. When I stopped taking the pill the withdrawal was so bad that I have to be under a watchful eye because I wanted to kill myself. My head hurt a lot. It felt like I was going through shock therepy. It took me two months to get back to myself. I will never ever taking another pill for depression again. Now I just excercise,hang out with my friends and family and cry when needed. Pills don’t work for everyone so I won’t tell anyone not take them. I just won’t be taking them again…
to be effective you must decide if the drug is worth the side affects.
i believe that there are a lot of people who can benefit from the correct usage of the antidepressants; however, not everyone will respond the same way- so, thank goodness there are more than one option. i do not know what’s worse: knowing there is a drug out there that might help or living in the dark ages and being deprived of hope.
my suggestions… find a good doctor, who listens to you. this might prove to be more difficult than finding a pill but in the long run will serve you better.
best hopes to everyone looking for a solution or just for hope.
CC…good points, all drugs react differently to all types of people. not to mention, you’re depressed. addiction is when you start doing something that normally you would never do while not on drugs; if you’re depressed and can handle it, then find safe means to relieve stress and depression ( talking to friends or loved ones, exercise, hobbies,etc)
if you feel that you’re at the end of the road, then medication can be suitable if you know what you’re getting yourself into ( drug addiction, adverse moods and effects, sleeping all the time, etc)
i would change my perception, environment, or lifestyle before i would get involved in the corporate, and government legal drug trade.
I have been suffering with major depression for 49 years. I have been on and off many of the medications over the years. For me, I have found only a couple of them that really work for me. Well actually three. I have experienced weight gain with the medications however they have helped me very much with my illness. I personally cannot get by without the medications, believe me I have tried. But that is me and I think everyone is different. I think it is hard, at least it was for me to find the right medication to do the trick. I have had a long struggle with the illness. I believe like others have mentioned, it is important to have a positive enviornment, interests, support of friends, good relationships, pets help me and lots of light (sun) helps tremendously I have found. Avoid stress, get plenty of sleep, exercise, eat a healthy diet and stay hydrated. Most of all, stay in close touch with our Higher Power!
Zoloft saved my life and I have no side effects. Sometimes I quit taking it for a couple of months and have no withdrawal symptoms at all. I could not work without my Zoloft.
On the other hand, my daughter took Paxil, slept nearly 24/7, lost the HOPE grant because of it. I was 400 miles away and had no idea this was going on. She is off everything now and doing fine, thank goodness.
Someone mentioned Tom Cruise? What an idiot–genuine, 100% idiot.
you didn’t mention Wellbutrin or Zyban (generically known as bupropion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellbutrin) which are norepinephrine and dopamine agents as opposed to serotonin. they work well for some people (myself among them) and don’t have the sexual side effects that SSRIs do (most of what the detractors above have said about them is BS/clueless idiocy but unfortunately this one is fairly common though not universal either).
I am on Cymbalata. Which has helped me tremendously! I had a major depressive event – also known as a nervous breakdown – about a yr ago. The side effects for me getting on this was nausea and drowsiness. So I take this at night so I can sleep and the nausea went away after a few days. The only thing is that when I haven’t taken it in a few days – I know bad patient – I get this “aura” around me. Kind of like a little dizzy spell. I would love to get off of this stuff but I won’t do it w/out a Dr. I suffer from S.A.D. and am just waiting for Spring to come around so that I can try that and get out in the sun and exercise. I personally think that Tom Cruise is an idiot. But…to each it’s own.
All these people saying drugs are garbage have obviously never suffered enough to take medication. I exercise every day and nothing can compare to what medication has done for me. My doctor actually put me on Prozac for major PMS symptoms and it has been a miracle drug for me. I feel fantastic and I am always smiling – something that I have never experienced. It has made the world of difference in not only how I feel inside, but my marriage and my relationship with my children has just gotten better and better every day. I LOVE Prozac. It has literally saved my life!
Just an FYI for you folks out there who think “exercise” or a good book is the answer to severe depression as a solution have obviously been blessed by NOT experiencing depression. It has been scientifically proven that depression is in fact a chemical imbalance in the brain. Sever depression is a chronic disorder and is no different then diabetes. If you do not take insulin as a diabetic you will get sick and eventually end up in the hospital if you do not take depression medication you end up in the hospital if you are fortunate enough to make it to the hospital. To many people end up dying too young because of have a “label” attached to them and they do not seek help! You would think living in the year 2009 that label would have gone away but due to the ignorance of society it has not. Before you pass judgment on someone who is in fact suffering from depression DO YOUR HOMEWORK you might just save a life instead of pushing that person closer to the edge! AS an FYI I have suffered from depression for many years and there are many safe drugs available. It is in fact trial and error however it does make your quality of life so much better.
A good long walk with the dogs does it for me. Watching those tails wag, and seeing how excited they are just to get outside. Exercise is the best cure for depression.
I don’t buy the depression crap. You choose how you feel each and every day.
I work with people who choose to be depressed. They choose to be nasty and hateful to those around them. I don’t know how anyone can live like that. There is so much to be thankful and grateful for. Just walk outside. Look at what you HAVE, not what you don’t have. Don’t worry about what others have that you don’t, just be thankful you wake up every day and have a chance to start fresh……..
I like all the comments from people that don’t have depression and have absolutely no idea what their talking about, but are more than willing to act like Tom Cruise and some wacked out scientologist who declare nobody needs anti-depressants. The great suggestions are to drink yourself to sleep or “just smoke pot”. How pathetic. While exercise helps and a good diet, it’s imperative I take an anti-depressant and it can sometimes take years to find the right “coctail” that works for you and that’s not even getting into the milligram of the particular drug or the frequency. Every body is different and every drug may effect each individual differently. There are horror stories for every drug and wonderful sucess stories for the same drug. Most people want to have this miracle drug that will take away all of their problems. It’s the same as going on a diet. You may need to take a “pill” to help lose the weight but that in and of itself is the not all you will need to do. You’ll need to exercise, sleep right, figure out the frequency of your meals and how much of it depending on your physical condition, etc. Nothing is ever as simple as it may appear to be. If your taking an anti-depressant and you don’t feel it’s working, then tell your doctor. That part of it is not that difficult. I guess I’ll just go down a bottle of Jim Beam and smoke a bunch of weed and I’ll be alright. Stay classy all you drinkers and pot heads.
I agree with others about staying away from Paxil – the major problems with it are well-documented. My doctor put me on in back in ‘04 for anxiety and mild depression. While the drug worked ok while I was on it, getting off of it was a NIGHTMARE – constant nausea, head “zings”… I was sick for months. I’m not on anything and would be hesitant to try any anti-depressants after that. Right now yoga helps.
I know that many people have genuine chemical imbalances in their minds and that drugs do help.
However, I think that many, perhaps even the majority, of people suffering depression are depressed simply because they are trying to fit where they don’t belong. They are trying to live in cubicle farms and little apartments and row houses, spending hours in traffic, worrying over Christmas gifts, popularity, and climbing a corporate ladder. These people were not born to do this. They should be working manual labor, outside. They should not be trying to be something they aren’t. Its a hard pill to swallow when you first realize that your ideas are no more profound than anyone elses. You have been told by your parents and teachers that you were special from an early age, and when you find out that you are just another person trying to find happiness in life, it can be devestating. But eventually you can accept that you are free to do whatever you want for a living, you don’t need the things that you’ve been told you need.
I don’t understand why taking one drug, A pill, is any better than another drug. I am not saying that pills are bad, but it seems odd to think that if one takes a drug to deal with depression, than he is better than someone else who takes a drug to deal with depression, simply because one is legal and one is not.
To all of you armchair psychiatrists out there… depression is a clinical state. Don’t believe me? Fine. Believe the psychology textbook I teach out of – read the mood disorder section:
And yes, while exercise, sunlight, and a positive outlook can snap you out of being down in the dumps, nothing like that can snap you out of being in a major depressive state. That is an issue with the seratonin in your brain being re-uptaken faster than it can be absorbed by it’s receptors, causing depression.
If it weren’t a clinical psychological disorder, it wouldn’t be in the DSM-IV. It’s a shame stupidity isn’t in there too.
Best anti-depressant ? — prayer and reading scripture.
Doest it work ? yes it does, very well might I add.
Has it changed my life ? — yes and for the better, thanks to the grace of God.
Cindy an sd, one does not choose to be depressed. It’s not all in the mind. It does not occur because “you’re hateful and mean” or “trying to live in cubicle farms”. I do not suffer from depression but I know of people who do. Trust me, there is no reaching these people when they feel dispair. It is a very real illness. No one wakes up in the morning and say “I’m going to be sad today”. There are chemical imbalances going on. When a person loses their job and decides to kill the whole family nine times out of ten it is linked to some MAJOR FORM OF DEPRESSION. Please do some research and until then please have some compassion and thank God that you are mentally fit.
***CINDY*** You sound like a major b*^%h. Have you not ever heard of Bipolar II Disorder? Believe it or not it is a legitimate disorder that contains long bouts of severe depression. You should not make fun of other peoples illness’. I work in the psychology field and your nasty comments say LOADS about you. I would love to clue you in them but you probably could not afford my hourly rate..
I’m sorry, I have NO compassion for someone who “chooses” to be depressed. I work with such a person and he just can’t find happiness at all, because he CHOOSES to wallow in self pity. I don’t buy that mental illness crap at all.
You decide each and every morning if its going to be a good day or a bad day. Power of positive thinking.
I use Wellbutrin and it works pretty well. There are side effects such as dry mouth and weight gain. I attempted to come off of it and each time I gained about 6 lbs; normally lose about 3 lbs once I get back on the drug. This drug has helped me tremendously with my mood swings and paranoid behavior. It helps me to calm down and put things in perspective. The only thing I do not like about the drug is trying to gaining the weight. I exercise everyday; normally running for a total of 5 miles per day and I go to the gym for weight training. The exercise does not alleviate the anxiety, but Wellbutrin helps a lot. For those who criticize others about depression, you are totally clueless. Try being a female, and working in a man’s world. I have friends that take some type of drug and they need the help as well. I have other friends that do not take any type of antidepressant because they are just too good for them or they have tried the wrong type and the side effects are bad for them. These friends are throwing objects, distrusting everyone, and talking about how they are not loved. They definitely need to visit a doctor soon. Life for them could be so much better.
Cindy, I guess you didn’t bother to read the post where I cited professional studies that state that depression is a clinical psychological disorder. The power of positive thought can’t control neurotransmitters. Go read Lewinsohn’s studies on depression and go look at PET scans of people with depression and then tell me it’s all about the power of positive thought. Yes, the Social‐Cognitive Perspective impacts depression, but depression is caused by NEUROTRANSMITTERS.
You hit the nail squarely on the head. To you depressed, heavily addicted/medicated individuals: Quit whining and look around you. If you can’t find any beauty in life, maybe you should check out. Life is not pretty all of the time, and those times take a little courage and toughness. Exercise just for the sake of moving something is not the answer. Challenging your mind and body together will set you free, make you feel truly alive. Go and do something. Get off of the couch, out of the house, and stop feeling sorry for yourself.
No, I am not a scientologist and think them to be weak minded as well. Anyone that believes in Zenu, like they do, are just idiots, who might as well believe Lord of the Rings is true.
I was diagnosed with cancer in 1999 and again in 2007. I have been on antidepressant since 2000. I do exercise and I also have a strong faith in God. Until you walk in my shoes or someone else that has a chemical inbalance you don’t even need to be commenting.
Folks, I know this is an open forum, and we’re discussing an interesting topic here. But, please be mindful and a bit courteous. Comments like “Maybe you should check out” is not helping. Thanks.
Some of these responses really make me angry. The reason is that some folks assume that people who are depressed choose it (why would anyone choose depression?) and that positive thoughts, exercise, and diet can cure it all. Sure, maybe some people will be “healed” with these 3 and other suggestions, but a lot of us won’t. I am currently taking Wellbutrin and Lamictal (mood stabilizer – I have bipolar disorder) and I have a very, very good, successful and full life. I probably wouldn’t if I had refused medication. Regardless of how you personally feel about depression, be careful of giving the “get over it” kind of advice to people who want nothing more than an excuse not to get treatment. Also, ask yourself: would I tell a diabetic not to take insulin but just exercise? Would I tell a cancer patient not to take chemo because all he/she needs to do is exercise? If you wouldn’t say that to folks with physical illnesses, then don’t say that to people who have mental illnesses.
I was always a happy, positive person…still am, for the most part. However, after a major life storm (divorce after 30+ years of marriage, loss of friends, and upheaval from life as I knew it), I was an emotional, crying, sad wreck and couldn’t find my way back to the person I was before. I tried Cymbalta for a while but it wasn’t for me, and coming off of it was a nightmare. My head felt as if fireworks were going off all the time. At the urging of concerned friends and family, I finally tried a low dose of Zoloft and it has helped me feel more positive about my life. I don’t plan to be on it forever. For those of you who have the attitude that “anyone who needs a pill to be happy is a weak person”, I just hope that if are faced with a life-altering tragedy that you just can’t get past, that there is someone willing to help you, even with a little pill for a little while.
Cindy that was a horrible remark to make to someone who is suffering from depression, and there is a difference between self pity and depression. Shame on you. You have the compassion of an ant.
The ignorance expressed here is amazing. People still confuse depression with being in a bad mood. This is why thousands of Americans commit suicide each year and and others suffer and never seek help.
A little exercise, playing with the dogs, taking up a hobby and “talking to Jesus about it” are all great ideas. These things are not cures for depression.
Shaggy and Cindy almost make me laugh with their ignorant comments, until I realize how sad it is that they really have no clue what they’re talking about. Good luck practicing medicine without a license.
Shaggy, If you suffer from depression getting out of bed each morning is a task. Excerise is not possible. As for you comment about killing yourself, you must have not had a family member that has killed his self. The ones that actuall do it without any warning are the ones that are depressed and you do not know about it.
I take Wellbutrin use to take Lexapro but the side effects were bad. With Wellbutrin I dont have as many side effects. Also, I can excerise now and enjoy life.
My husband did not know I was taking any thing until I had been on it for over a year. When he did find out if I said anything to him about something he did not like it was “Have you taken you med. today”.
Being a mother of four and caring for a parent, plus having a full time job is hard.
My husband thinks I have been off my meds for six months now. What he does not know wont hurt him.
Shaggy, thank you for your response. I’d like to clarify that this is our forum, everyone’s, actually. All I’m hoping is that we share our opinions with passion, but also with a bit of respect. Yes, Kristy’s name-calling is not considered an ideal example, to say the least. Thanks, everyone.
Enter your comments here
Cindy and Shaggy – it is obvious you have no idea what you are talking about. in fact, Cindy, your co-worker is probably further depressed just having to work with you. Depression is a chemical imbalance that can be further affected by issues of spousal addiction, issues with elderly parents, issues raising teenage grandchildren, and issues from your past that add to all of the above – all coming at you all at once when your neurotransmitters are already out of sync. You are not feeling sorry for yourself! Trust me, you are just trying to deal with your everyday circumstances and not take that first drink after 17 years! I have been on depression medication for many years and have tried many of them – most without any success. I currently take 80mg of prozac and 300mg of welbutrin a day and lately that hasn’t been doing enough. There are side effects but so far they’ve outweighed suicide or homocide.
So, Cindy and Shaggy and all you other non-believers, until you’ve walked in depressed shoes, you don’t have a CLUE. Consider yourselves damn lucky.
You can call me names if you’d like, but I do believe that SOME people choose to be depressed. Obviously, some people are actually mentally ill, but others choose it. Not on a conscious level like, “Ok, I am really going to be sad now”, but rather in their lifestyle choices.
Maybe someone is generally depressed because they have chosen to live a lifestyle that is not conducive to the actual person they are.
I know a guy who chose to be depressed and one day chose not to be. He had gone to an Ivy League School, and got a big time job on Wall Street. He was making millions of dollars within a few years in his career. Up late all the time working. The depression got so bad that he decided to take a month off of work for his health. He went to Montana and he never came back. He now takes tourists fly fishing and he makes a fraction of what he once made. But he is happy. Truly happy.
Thats not for everyone, and some people are truly unbalanced chemically. But many of you just need to quit your job, sell your house and car, move out of the city, and live a minimalist life away from all of this race.
I’ve been to tiny villages in Kenya where people struggle to get enough to eat and drink, but the people are happy. No one is depressed.
Yes some people do choose the “WOO IS ME SYNDROME” However before you judge someone PLEASE remember there are three others judging you!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you never have to deal with depression OR ever have to deal with a loved one with depression!
I think we’ve all gotten a little off track, here. Isn’t this forum about which drugs work best for you, not is depression real? So, let’s assume depression is real and start discussing the drugs used to treat it. For those of you who don’t believe depression is real, start your own blog somewhere else.
Kudos to you. I am glad some people actually get it.
Life is tough, with no guarantees, Life is also short, too short to wander around in a paxil, prozac, etc… daze, a daze that addicts your mind just the same or more than heroin.
I can’t imagine an existence where I can’t feel, because a drug won’t let me. If I had to live like that, I would rather not exist.
I just pulled out my summer climbing pictures and kissed them, thanking my parents for giving me this life and the ability to experience beauty practically everywhere. I believe most everyone else can do the same if they will just open their eyes.
Well, I won’t buy it. I have been through a horrible divorce, raised a kid by myself, the loss of more than one job, and the death of a parent. I’m still here, and I’m not depressed. Don’t need medication to make me “right”. I make myself right.
I have been through just about everything posted on this blog, and I’m not depressed.
IT’S A CHOICE!!! And some of you chose to cry “Oh poor me”.
Hi, Cindy. Thanks for your responses. I’m trying to better understand your point here. Are you saying that we tend to over-medicate ourselves? Or that depression is not actually a medical condition? What about people whom doctors say are clinically depressed? Should they not be treated with anti-depressants? I’m trying to further our debate. Thanks, everyone.
Cyoo – Not Cindy, but one more from shaggy.
I think clinical depression exists is a very small percentage of people, not the millions that drink the cool aid, while needlessly medicating themselves and their children. The doctors and pharm companies set the stage and the media that forces this down the public’s throat are the profiteers in this game. Like my previous post said. It’s the same with ADD ADHD.
Where were all of these millions of “patients” 50 years ago? Why did they mysteriously appear everywhere once a drug(s) was advertised and the BIG story plastered on the news?
I can answer the “where were all these millions of patients 50 years ago” question. They were somewhere not getting treatment and causing hell in their homes. My grandmother suffered from anxiety disorder – undiagnosed and untreated – and she was so jittery that she would actually sweat all day just from the anxiety of something happening. She snapped all the time. She was always looking out the window to see if anything was going on. She was depressed a lot. She was mean as a snake sometimes. “Should” she have had any issues with depression or anxiety? Nope…not based on what some of you say. She didn’t work outside the home, unless you count helping my granddaddy clean offices. She didn’t have to go to the grocery store, pump her own gas, take the car for an oil change. She lived farrrrrr from the ‘rat race’ that is supposedly causing people depression. She kept the house, which of course is not easy, but she was her own boss (and my granddaddy’s) and did as she pleased. But still had issues that could have at least been mitigated, in my opinion, with medication and/or talk therapy. I use both and, as I said before, my life is d@mn good because I am stable.
I’ll bet if you asked your grandmother if she wanted to feel numb instead of truly feeling emotion, she would have bit you like the snake you describe. That generation delt with their lives differently, with courage and respect. That is something I rarely see today.
Something tells me that you would have forcebly medicated grandma, for her own good, so she would smile and be easier to mansge. What did YOU do to make grandma happy? Did you spend time doing what she wanted to do, or did you remain consumed in your own unhappiness, watching her and giving up hope for your own happiness because of her? It’s just a cop out to blame unhappiness on others, even direct family. Your life starts and ends with you.
Shaggy and Cindy, if you don’t believe depression exists, why are you getting involved in a forum about treatments for it? I don’t see what purpose it serves to try to antagonize people who are at the very least acknowledging that they are struggling.
Learn to read posts. It is healthy to understand a point before you attempt to make your own. Why do you think it is antagonization to disagree?
Let me break it down for you:
Too much heavy, addictive, personality altering drugs prescribed by an industry that makes a lot of money on these drugs that suddenly appeared for a much ballyhooed condition shoved down the public’s gullible throat by a profiteering, advertising media.
Signed, “those of us that find beauty everywhere and nowhere at the same time.”
Minimizing someone else’s illness by calling them a “whiner” and suggesting they kill themselves is antagonizing. And not very constructive behavior for someone who claims to see beauty everywhere.
Sorry for the check out thing. However, I firmly believe that unless someone or something has control over your life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, you are in control of your happiness. Living addicted to dubiously approved, costly, and personality changing drugs does not, in my opinion, equate happiness, and yes, I would rather not exist than live like that.
I once loved a woman, a very beautiful, energetic, engaging woman, who went through some life challenges. She thought she needed to see a doctor, because her peers convinced her that she needed help.(not me. I thought she was fine, just going through some tough times) The doctor promptly put her on prozac, one visit, here’s your script. The change in her otherwise vibrant personality was profound and chilling. She was a different person, one who smiled on the outside and was numb on the inside. It was like a high spirited horse that had suddenly been beaten into submission. Yes you could ride it, but it really was only a shadow of its former self. Thankfully, she allowed me to persuade her to see a different doctor (mine), with me there. (it will help this story for you to know that she is my wife) This is an older doctor, who can tell you stories of delivering babies in peoples homes. Old School. Once he found out the whole story, including the hurry up prozac prescription, he first recommended she wean herself off of it. During that time period, his recommendation was to identify things SHE really wanted to do in her life and make achievable plans to do them. It took 9 months for her to get off of that crap, however she ended up clean and is today, doing the things that make HER happy. That energetic, beautiful, intelligent woman was returned to me by her own hand.
So, please excuse my opinionated writing. I have seen this and yes, I was forced to further research it and take action, because I wanted my wife back, not the medicated woman that woke up beside me.
How many of those who choose not to afford health care choose to afford cell phones, cable/satelitte TV, lap top computers, blue ray technology, and other “necessities” in our creature-comfort driven culture?
To me, insurance of any kind, is a legalized scam. You pay and pay and pay for coverage, then when you need it, suddenly you are a high risk and your rates go skyrocketing.
I know ALOT of people, due to the cost, that do not have health insurance. Thankfully, my company pays 100% of our employee health insurance, not just for us, but for our entire family!!!!
I am very thankful to be employed full time, with 100% of my insurance paid for.
You people who think the free market is going to take care of this situation, forget it!!! This is an issue that has to be addressed!! Taxpayer, someone faced with 1000+ per month premium is not gonna be able to pay it if they forgo a 100 cable and cell phone bill. Most people I now without health insurance don’t have “blue ray technology”. I think cable is a total rip off and would never pay for it, however, I don’t see how forgoing it is gonna get anyone health insruance.
Yes. the attrition rate of uninsureds in Georgia does not help our premiums either. if you would like to talk to on of our experts please call 404-378-0015
Sugar, “insurance of any kind is a scam.” That may be the most uneducated statement I’ve ever read. If you own a home and it burns down have fun sleeping in a tent next to the remains. As far as healthcare, which is not my field, it is the uninsured that are causing premiums to increase.
Why are people on this blog. that don’t have depression or believe in taking medicine for mental illness.. yet spewing judgment and negative energy about those that seek treatment. Are you lonely, full of pent up rage, and tired of not being heard? Perhaps, you have a mental illness but are too ignorant to get help for it.
I can’t ever remeber my father making real $$$$. We never went hungry, but when we went shopping for clothes, it was K-mart or the thrift store. I do know that health insurance was never an issue. When we got sick, we went to the doctor and occassionally the emergency room. What can I say, growing up in a family with 4 kids means somebody is going to get hurt.
I was the first one in my father’s family to graduate from college. I have a technical back ground, military experience and skills that I’ve been told are needed. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I am doing better than my parents. In fact, my standard of living and my wages have decreased in the last decade. Last year I was laid off, a first for me, along with everone else in by department. I took the first job I could get and by the time I passed the probationary period, group health indyrance was no longer available. Funny how they never tell you that during the interview. I now have a private policy that doesn’t cover any pre-existing conditions.
Do you know anybody over 40 who doesn’t have a pre-existing condition? I now find myself not going to the doctor because insurance won’t cover it. My prescriptions which I only took when I could afford them have expired and since I can’t afford to see the doctor………..
BTW I paid cash for my car. I have one television that cost $200 when it was bought 2 years ago.
I agree the health insurance market is rough..Going without should be a last resort. The reason the rates go up every year is due to medical costs, and when the uninsured go to the hospital, taxpayers pay for those costs. If you have a condition going on before you get individual coverage, most likely it will be excluded. If someone has credit card debt with visa, they can’t expect mastercard to pay for it if they get a new mastercard. The government needs to step in on pre existing conditions, and not make the insurance companies take the wrap like they are trying to do now. If they are successful, we are looking at almost every carrier folding, more job cuts, and a socialized health care system. Being we are Americans, I don’t think anyone will stand waiting 6 months for a surgery like they do in other countries, then we will be going to Mexico for treatment just like Canadians come here for theirs in many cases. It’s 30 years of mismanagement catching up to us in a big way now, unfortunately.
To Taxpayer: the reality is that computers are now a necessity in order to get a job. rarely can you talk to or meet with anyone in person. As for myself, I do not buy other “luxuries” nor can I afford health insurance. So much of my paycheck goes to keep in car in order. I worked at Kroger full-time recently and was told I would not be offered health insurance until after 7 months of employment. outrageous! so much for taking care of the employee. why should I be a dedicated worker to that?
Complain all you want but to let the government take over healthcare is a big mistake we will all learn to hate quickly. It will turn right into the VA mess and the Medicare problems. Government is not equiped to take care of this and it will ruin the medical care this country has so long enjoyed.
People need to take resonsibility for themselves. Medical savings accounts have been available for ever. One can put money in and if something happens that your are out of work for a time you still have this to fall back on. Nope people would rather complain and take trips and call for the government to help. I for one am tired of helping the lazy welfare bums or even the workers who spend every penny they make and then when trouble hits its my fault and I should help you. Get off your buts and help yourself. Its your problem to take care of yourself not mine.
I do not make 100K per year, not even close. I have car payment that I make and a mortgage every month. I dont have a expensive cell phone nor headphones for it. What I do have is a bank account set so that if I lose my job I have one years payments put away. Yes one year. And I have a little over 6K in a health savings plan. It will stay there and if I lose my job due to economy I can go to the doctor and pay for prescriptions out of it. Yes for a hospital stay I am out, but you know what? I am trying and doing the best I can. Not like a lot of you who are now crying that your bluetooth cant be paid for. Give me a break.
**Insurance Companies (both dental and health) are a big rip off! It’s like some other bloggers already pointed out..you pay into them for years on-end, but when you need them they want to bail out on you! Dental coverage is the REAL SCAM!!!** Insurance coverage should be free for everyone in the U.S.A. that’s an American Citizen!
Yes, there are some people on anti-depressants who don’t really need it just like any other medication. But this should not minimize the people who truly have a chemical imbalance and do require meds to give them a better life. My husband recently went back on meds after being on and off for the last 10 years or so. He did not want to go back on them but got to the point where everyday he would try to convince himself to be happy, focusing on his family, his job, how fortunate he was in every way, but still the depression sank in. He exercises every day, is fit, has a hobby that he finds great emotional release in yet, nothing helped like the meds. He did have issues with a doctor prescribing a dosage that was too high, causing that numb feeling, and was lucky enough to find another doctor who cut the dose in half. He still feels sadness and anger, but these no longer dominate his each and every day.
The key thing is regular sex and not just because of the chemicals that’re produced.No one seems to have brought that subject up. It’s right after Air, water, food and shelter. Back down that Maslow ladder until you’re skipping something. 9 times out of 10 there’s no sex in your life. If I don’t get it I’m depressed as all get out–with it I can tackle anything.
Abstr AcademyHealth Meet. 2004; 21: abstract no. 985.
University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Center for Health Services Research & Dept. of Preventive Medicine, 66 N. Pauline Street, Suite 463, Memphis, TN 38163 Tel. 901.448.5826 Fax 901.448.8009
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: To analyze costs and cost savings associated with various state-level options for universal health care coverage. STUDY DESIGN: Data for the state of Illinois are used to examine reform options. A model of current state health expenditures was developed as a baseline. Four general reform options were postulated and the financial impacts of these changes derived using existing data and databases. POPULATION STUDIED: The population and expenditure patterns of individuals in Illinois. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using decision analysis models, we find that expanding coverage to all residents of Illinois would cost between $2.2 and $4.5 billion in the first year, but that incremental costs would diminish in subsequent years under the single payer approaches, principally due to savings in insurance overhead and administrative costs. By the 5th year of implementation, single payer models providing universal coverage would cost less than the current health care system with 1.7 million uninsured. Using probabilistic sensitivity analyses to allow key parameters to vary simultaneously, we find that single payer reforms are a least-cost strategy in more than 90 % of Monte Carlo iterations by the 8th year of implementation. CONCLUSIONS: State-level reforms appear to be a financially-viable option for attaining universal health care coverage. IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY, DELIVERY OR PRACTICE: The cost savings associated with single payer models are too significant to be ignored. Policies and programs that seek to capture these savings could significantly curb health care cost inflation and produce sufficient additional funding to provide coverage for the uninsured.
I do a daily program of breathing techniques which I learnt in the Art of Living stress management/health promotion program almost 11 years ago – it is my daily medicine, it has no unwanted side-effects, but many fringe benefits. I have very low stress levels, an improved immune system, peace of mind and a general positive and uplifting attitude. My children and I (yes, they do the breathing, too!) very seldom get sick. Research of the program has shown reduced levels of stress; improved immune system; reduced cholesterol; decreased anxiety and depression (mild, moderate and severe); increase in anti-oxidant protection; increase in natural killer cells, and enhanced well-being and peace of mind. I’ve gone through many traumatic events (e.g., a horrible divorce, a difficult move back to the US from Europe, the murder of my daughter’s fiancé and her intense suffering, losing two jobs due to budget cuts and downsizing). I moved through all of these without therapy and without meds and that is a real miracle to me.
I KNOW THAT THE TOPIC IS DEPRESSION, LIKE ME SOME PEOPLE HAVE DEPRESSION AND PANIC DISORDER, I WAS HAVING PANIC ATTACKS DAILY. I FEEL THAT I HAVE DIED A THOUSAND TIMES, THATS WHAT A PANIC ATTACK FEELS LIKE…I WAS DIAGNOSED IN 1989 BUT REFUSED TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS IN MY “MIND”…IT FELT SO PHYSICAL…I AM CURRENTLY ON KLONIPIN 3 MG A DAY AND ZOLOFT 200 MG A DAY…I THINK THESE ARE DAILY MAX DOSAGES
FOR THE COMBINATION OF DEPRESSION AND PANIC DISORDER WHICH I AM DOING WELL ON AT THE TIME BUT THAT COULD CHANGE. THEN BACK TO THE PSYCH HOSPITAL FOR MED EVALUATION AND POSSIBLE CHANGE IN MEDS AGAIN. I HAVE BEEN ON SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY SINCE 2000 FOR THE DEBILITATING PANIC ATTACKS. THEY JUST HAPPEN, NO RHYME OR REASON EXCEPT FOR THE CHEMICAL INBALANCE THAT I WAS TOLD CAUSES THEM, OHYEAH, THERE IS ALSO NO CURE. WHO WOULD “CHOOSE” TO LIVE WITH THIS?
I don’t want to upset you or scare you into a panic, but step away from the caps lock key on your computer. After you stop cyber yelling, you might get some feedback.
Why do people do this anyway? When any post is in caps lock, I usually read about one line and give it up.
Prior to living with a diabetic spouse I would’ve questioned this proposal. After living the cycle of monitoring, testing, watching, testing, waiting, testing. Watching spikes and valleys even on days/weeks where you’ve done everything ‘right’. Where do we sign up?
Maybe the group that was stressed were stressed because they didn’t know the material and knew they would struggle. They clearly have transposed cause and effect here. I would hope someone who has to work in life and death situations would be able to manage stress.
I am diabetic and would love to stop the needles, but there is this fear that I might have the sudden urge to go out and root around the yard, or invade the trash can. Seriously, it is a bit disquieting and may not work for those like me who are severely insulin resistant.
Great! Now can we just get back to injecting babies with levels of organic mercury 100’s of times higher than all safety standards. Our profits have started to slip.
Who would have ever guessed that the U.S. goverment would rule in favor of the drug companies, the CDC, IOM, FDA, HHS, AAP, AMA, NIH and all the other suspects in the case. We’re on our own folks.
Hannah Poling’s case is a red herring; she has a mitochondrial disorder. Mito experts universally recommend vaccination because the diseases they prevent can overwhelm someone w/ a mito defect.
The recent investigation that found Andrew Wakefield falsified data and the omnibus decision are the death nell for the MMR hyopthesis. Also, today’s omnibus decision telegraphs how the court will rule in the thimersol cases as today’s decision considered thimerosal as a component in the causation.
There is a small but committed group of parents who sadly lack scientific literacy and mistake a temporal event for a causal factor. They need to consider that they are mistaken, swallow some pride, and turn their anger toward all those charlatan quacks who have taken advantage of their children. Andrew Wakefield should be enemy #1
[...] has now been charged with faking his study in concert with plaintiffs’ attorneys. Does this end the matter? It should. After all Keith Olbermann has already called Wakefield his “worst person in the world.” [...]
Is Maurice Hilleman a quack? He’s the world famouse vaccine inventor who wrote the internal memo to Merck executives warning about high levels of mercury.
This isn’t a scientific issue at all. It’s an ethics issue. It’s an issue of true informed consent. Not fear tactics and arrogance like Tommy Boy uses. I know he doesn’t know the science because. Come back with some numbers. I’ll come back with more numbers. You’ll come back with some different ones and we’ll go round and round until you say the benefits outweighs the risk. And I’ll say to whom.Public health officials. Vaccine Makers? Individual parents. You’ll talk about disease, I’ll talk about informed consent. Unfortunately, you can’t scientifically say that vaccines are healthy for children. You can only infer from statistics.
Just like the pro-vaccine community would not concede the Hannah Poling case. This doesn’t settle the issue. We don’t even know what was said. What was the evidence? I don’t have a problem with someone vaccinating their child. I have a problem when the state says you have to vaccinate because a bunch of misinformed parents, the pro-vaccine community, and a judge says you have to. And they will not take responsibility if something happens. Are vaccines 100% safe? NO way! So what happens to those who fall in the gap between whatever percentage on 100%. They get dismissed and stonewalled. they say it was your fault you had a genetic condition. Don’t dare say it was my beloved vaccines.
“After all Keith Olbermann has already called Wakefield his “worst person in the world.” Actually he retracted this statement and apologized last night after reading this;
“What the Sunday Times did not report was that the GMC investigation into Wakefield was triggered by a complaint from… Brian Deer, who furnished the allegations against him four years ago. He has thus been reporting upon the hearing into his own complaint. Since when has a reputable paper published a story by a reporter who is actually part of that story himself — without saying so – and who uses information arising from the disciplinary hearing which he himself has instigated and which is investigating allegations he himself made in the first place?”
All I know is that my son is Autistic and no one can tell me why he is. No one can say Vaccines were the cause but no one can say they are not the cause. I and my wife must alone make a gut decision of what is best for our son. I am no suing anyone but I do require the right to raise him the way we feel is best.
RA, your logic is absolutely correct. This often gets reduced to a numbers game. Informed consent is not what happens in most states and Dr. offices b/c the medical community practices to the lowest common denominator. As you said, and science would agree, there is always a risk when a benefit exists but only the most insistant, informed and borderline compulsive parents are given the opportunity to make a true choice.
I have a question below about autism. But first, infants who sleep on their backs compared to infants who sleep on their stomachs have increased rates of:
- Social skills delays at 6 months (Dewey, Fleming, et al, 1998)
- Motor skills delays at 6 months (Dewey, Fleming, et al, 1998)
- Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) (Corvaglia, 2007)
- Milestone delays (Davis, Moon, et al., 1998)
- Plagiocephaly, torticollis, strabismus, etc. etc. etc…
My question is:
If a doctor was presented with a baby that had social skills delays, motor skills delays, and gastroesophageal reflux what would a doctor say if a child had these three things but not too bad. The doctor might tell the parent to be patient and that different kids develop differently. But, what if the case was more severe – what if the kids social skills were worse? The doctor might diagnose him with ADHD. But, what if the kids delays were really far behind – that is the kid had very large delays in social skills and motor skills? The doctor might diagnose him with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I think part (if not all) of the Autism Epidemic is caused by the SIDS Back to Sleep campaign.
BTW, the theoretical reason why back sleep prevents SIDS is because back sleep (aka supine sleep) does not allow an infant to get Deep Sleep (Stage 3/4 NREM sleep) which is when Babies primarily die of SIDS. Stage 3/4 NREM sleep is also when much of a babies plasticity and memory consolidation takes place. This interference with Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) may be the reason why so many infants today have social skills delays and motor skills delays.
Not anti-vaccination. Pro information. Pro choice. Pro science. Pro life.
And… my spouse works for a pharmaceutical company. I didn’t want to get into this debate. I used to despise those vaccine activists. I thought they were a bunch of liberal, hippy, troublemakers that spread disease. I didn’t have any kids. What did I care? But one day I stumbled onto the CDC mortality statistics for the flu and my life and view towards public health authorities changed. I thought something is not right here. This is all one big charade. If they are doing this with the flu vaccine, are pharmaceutical companies and doctors doing the same with childhood vaccines?The answer I discovered was Yes!
You can get vaccinated if you want to. But don’t try to use propaganda to persuade the public that we are too stupid to look at the facts and make a value judgement. Public: don’t give up your right to informed consent. It just may save your life.
this isn’t a debate. A debate is two rational, reasoned arguments comparing the merits of their case, i.e free market vs govt regulation. This is a BELIEF contending with contradicting FACTS.
The special master is right. Vaccines do not cause autism. Autism is simply a term from the psychiatric DSM-IV manual. It’s nothing but a smokescreen. It provides an alibi for the drug companies who added mercury to vaccines at levels 250 times higher than hazardous waste levels (based on toxicity characteristics). It provides an alibi for the CDC, FDA, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the other drug company cronies who are responsible for the safety of our children. It provides an alibi for the people who administered this poison. It provides an alibi for health insurance companies so they don’t have to pay for treatment for these sick kids. It provides an alibi for psychiatrists so they can force powerfull anti-psychotic drugs on these kids who are already terribly confused.
There will never be an identifiable cause for autism. There are though 11 published papers which identify the underlying medical condition of autism as neuroinflammatory disease. My favorite is ‘ Neuroglial activation and Neuroinflammation in the Brain of Patients with Autism’. This was published by John Hopkins University. Now, do you want to debate whether mercury, a known neurotoxin, added to childhood vaccines at levels 250 times higher than what the EPA identifies as hazardous waste, causes neuroinflammatory disease? Do you want to debate whether brain damaged kids behave in a way so that some psychiatrist can label them as somewhere on the ’spectrum’?
Vaccines will never be shown to be the cause of autism, as long as researchers work in silos without communicating. Mercury alone is not the cause of autism… when babies have high levels of lead (obtained inutero) the synergistic effect of lead and mercury renders the mercury more toxic by 100 X. The government and the pharmaceutical companies are correct: “Mercury” is not the cause. LEAD + mercury, however, is a completely different story. It also explains why some babies are born autistic, and others become autistic after a vaccine. Vaccines are not the only source of mercury that unborn and new born babies are exposed to.
Interestingly, another potentiating agent is testosterone… the explanation of why males are disproportionately represented not only in autism popualtions, but in other lead-related neurological damage, such as learning disabilities, ADHD, etc.
Is it time we question if mercury really is toxic? Come on! The EPA says mercury in liquids exceeding 200 ppb is hazardous waste. Today the “special masters” say its alright to inject infants with a solution that contains 50,000 ppb mercury 10 times or more. We need to re-think the mercury toxicity question.
Researcher Corinne Zoli from Syracuse wrote an article in the journal Pediactics about the vaccine issue. The title of the article is “Vaccine Debate as Cultural Symptom of Public Distrust in Medical Institutions.” There is a bigger picture here. People don’t trust Pharmaceutical companies and their motives. Doctors are a major part of the pharmaceutical industry. The majority of their education is influenced by them. Most experts in any medical area have an incestous relationship with pharma companies. They use their presitge and power to shape the standard of practice.
On top of that, their are 2 pharma lobbyist for every congressman. They have never lost in congress. With the wave of conflicts of interest and medically induced deaths that have been surfacing its know wonder that people are skeptical of the medical knowledge base. It won’t change until doctors divorce themselves from industry and stop listening to industry sponsored doctors. Not going to happen though. So… the debate will continue.
Let’s suppose there is a group of people known as the National Planetary Information Center or NPIC that believe the world is flat. Study after study says otherwise. The government has spent millions of dollars, NASA regularly tells people our Earth is indeed round. All the geographers agree. But the NPIC keeps saying the “the earth is flat. It is conspiracy. “Big Travel” wants you to believe the earth is round so they can sell you plane tickets. And the cruise lines and pilots are in on it too. Don’t believe NASA either. People are dying falling off the ends of the earth. ”
This is a weak attempt at humor, and I apologize to all those whose children suffer from autism. But it is also so very sad. There is no link between autism and vaccination. Continuing to argue about it only wastes precious medical resources that could be used to find the true cause of autism and treat these children. Time to move on.
Unfortunately your argument doesn’t solve or end any debate, it just fuels it. This is precisely the one Paul Offit and his lady friend, Dr. Nancy Snyderman use and want the public to use. It’s the authoritarian equivalent of “Because I said so!” Consensus doesn’t always equal truth. It may be the truth. But it doesn’t necessarily equal the truth.
The analogy you used is great because it’s essentially the flat earth analogy. But it’s been taken out of context. A long time ago people thought the earth was flat. Intellectuals said it was flat, Scientist type said it was flat, business people said it was flat. Essentially anyone with any type of “education” said it was flat. Even the evidence said it was flat. Anyone could look at the horizon and determine that was the truth. But someone came along and said that it was round. The majority said it was flat. So it continued to be flat. Eventually the flat earthers died off. They were never persuaeded.
If you study the history of medicine, this is the overlying theme. Some of the Giants of medicine were considered heretics. Mark twain said “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.” The Mass vaccination program should be able to stand up to open scientific questions. Instead of answering the debate, it says “it’s over because I said so!” Not very scientific at all.
Why don’t the pro information and freedom (the ones that are called anti-vaccination by the pro-vacciners) concede to the court rulings? The same reason the AAP, AMA, CDC, Paul Offit and his philosophic followers didn’t concede to the Hannah Poling case.
There are some crucial questions that need to be answered scientifically. Until they are, I’m afraid that no debate will end. Because the truth will be out there. But…science itself will not be able to end this debate because it is an ethical debate just like the Eugenics program. Does anyone remember when Eugenics was actually called a science? It was approved by the AMA and the National Academy of Science. Not until the public rose up and cried did these people crawl back and stop hiding behind the name of science.
I don’t think there is a link between autism and vaccination. This is not scientific; it is merely based on 36 years as a teacher and the observations I have made. The children I see with autism, most I have been around since they were babies, were already showing signs of problems before they had injections (folks around here rarely give their kids the shots at the recommended times). I think the causes of autism are much more varied (as the problem is varied in its manifestation) and much more complex than some folks want to think.
The court ruled that the “crucial questions that need to be answered scientifically” has already happened. Study after study after study shows no link between autism and vaccination. These studies have been published in journals like the New England Journal of Medcine etc etc.
Of course you don’t have to believe the New England Journal or even your own doctor. Just go ask your parents or grandparents. My mom was in high school in the early 1950s and dreaded the first day of school every year because she knew some of her friends would have died over the summer of polio. In the 1960s there tens of thousands of babies born with congential rubella syndrome, which includes deafness and heart defects. My mother in law told me she would bang pans together the first day home with her new baby to be sure that they did not have this problem. It has been several years since a case of this disease has been seen in the United States. And just a month ago a seven month baby died of Hib, a vaccine preventable disease. That seven month had not received any recommended vaccinations. It was the first death from Hib in Minnesota since 1991, about the time vaccine was introduced.
The point about the flat earth is certainly valid – of course everyone believed the earth was flat. Just look at the window, you don’t see the curve of the earth. But to continue to hold that belief after the time of Columbus and John Glenn is not very realistic. And that is the point about autism and vaccination, we need to move on. There are a limited number of tax dollars for medical research and they need to be spent on the true cause and better treatments for the horrible disease of autism.
Measles: Before widespread immunization, measles epidemics occurred every 2 to 3yr, with small localized outbreaks during intervening years. In recent years in the USA, outbreaks have occurred most commonly in PREVIOUSLY IMMUNIZED adolescents and young adults and SOMETIMES in unimmunized preschool aged children. An infant whose mother has had measles receives transplacental passive immunity lasting most of the first year of life , thereafter susceptiblity is high. One attack of measles confers lifelong immunity.
Atypical measles syndrome usually occurs in persons PREVIOUSLY immunized with the original killed virus measles vaccine…atypical syndrome may also follow immunization with live, attenuated measles vaccine…
Prognosis: In healthy, well-nourished children, measles has a low mortality rate unless complications ensue. {Where are all the deaths? Typically in third world type conditions. The question is: should I be allowed to uses this information and make an educated decision about my child’s health? Or will other parent’s tell the govn’t to force me to make a decision based on their fears. If that’s the case, then I don’t need to know any statistics because the CDC, AAP, and DFACS will decide for me.
Polio: According to the PBS special that ran last week there were 20,000 cases of polio per year in 1950. A deadly and paralyzing disease. It then showed people in iron lungs and crippled. By 1960 the cases were down to 3000. (I’m going off memory so correct me if I’m wrong). This clever statement didn’t lie, but it was deceitful. Less than 2% of polio cases were paralytic and permanent. Not 20,000. The Cutter Labs incident caused 40,000 cases of polio from the vaccine. More people die from hospital infections than this. Where’s the outrage on that?
If vaccines were 100% safe, this would be a no-brainer. Everyone should get vaccines. No harm in trying. But, when you inject people with 76 vaccines and ingredients, something bad, known or unknown, is going to happen. Parents should be a part of the decision process and they deserve to know all the facts.
“The court ruled that the “crucial questions that need to be answered scientifically” has already happened. Study after study after study shows no link between autism and vaccination. These studies have been published in journals like the New England Journal of Medcine etc etc.”
I’m still waiting for the controlled trial that compares vaccinated against un-vaccinated complications. Until that trial is done, then how can anyone say that this has been settled scientifically? What’s the problem? The Pro-vacciners say that would be an unethical experiment.
When someone says that a debate is over because they say so is just bullying.
that study has already been done and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002. It involved > 500,000 Danish children and compared vaccinated to unvaccinated. Their conclusion was “this study provides strong evidence against the hypothesis that MMR vaccination causes autism.”
I’ll get back to this study later. Its far from definitive. But let’s suppose it is “hard” science. It’s the scientific consensus. And their conclusion is the truth, not just a scientific opinion (whatever that is).
How dangerous are vaccines? Paul Offit says they are so safe that you could inject a child with 10,000 of them (presumably with mercury because he said that should’t be taken out).
Why not make them over-the-counter. Look at all the benefits and virtually no draw backs. Tylenol has a known track record with liver failure and deaths. Aspirin deaths are much higher than Tylenol. These have never stopped a disease by the millions like vaccines. Besides, according to these experts the only side effects from vaccines are anectdotal and coincidental. VAERS reports are scientifically useless. The only immediate danger would be a flesh wound with a small gauge syringe. Maybe you could poke an eye out. But you could do that with a pencil. Plus the benefits would outweigh the risks anyway.
We need to be more aggressive in our fight to eradicate these killer diseases. I would hate to see a dangerous and vaccine preventable disease like chicken pox come back because of the ignorant and selfish few. If it mutates, we would have no recourse against the Avian Chickenpox. The epidemic would come back and wipe out millions. (Show black and white film of children with sores screaming and running out of school buildings.) What are the draw backs? None, if the vaccines are as safe as the pure in heart doctors are saying. If we don’t do this, we risk millions of lives around the world.
There, you convinced me. I’m on your side now. Let’s campaign for OTC vaccines. Let’s not let doctors stand in the way of science and our children’s health.
I can completely understand why Cindy & Shaggy are expressing their concerns w.r.t. using medication to treat depression in this forum, as I was once felling exactly the same way they do…that was until I was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder – commonly treated with the same anti depressant medications to control neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain…
All I can say is… No, one cannot “think” youselve out of depression or anxiety. Attitude is important, but only if one acts responsibly and use these medications in cases where “mind over matter” won’t “fix things”…
I’ve been on Cipralex for almost 5 months now, and for the first time feel “normal” – the way I used to before my chemicals have gone “haywire”…
Too all those using these medications, well done & good luck with finding the right one.
People always look for “miracles” that would instantly cure their conditions, but never stop to think that these medications are our modern “miracle”, inspired by the knowledge that God has instilled in each and every one of us. Why not use what HE’s been giving us and stop seeing it as the DEVIL…
Only my humble opinion, but I thank GOD everyday for the lessons I’ve learned through this experience. Not judging people who are suffering with depression and/or anxiety. Unless you are in their shoes, do not give advise…
As a type I diabetic of 24 years… I am all for it!!! If this worked, it could potentially save thousands of lives. I was allergic to pork insulin (way back in the day – I am telling my age here!) so I doubt this option would work for me, though. Anyone want to donate a pancreas???
Husband had cancerous tumor removed from sinus cavities almost 5 years ago. Yesterday, during routine checkup, his Dr. said he could see granulation in the sinus cavities? What is granulation? Should we worry?
I’m 100lbs over weight. I’ve tried many diets. I’m ready to explore studies, diet pills. I have HBP and Diabetics Type II for which I’m taking medication for both. I have no known heart conditions (evlauated within the last year.) Can you suggest any weight loss studies, pills, that I may try outside of gastric bypass. Process is too time consuming (all the steps you have to go through) which I’ve gone through before with the exception of pysch evaluation. Please help. I’m desparate.
My heart rate and blood pressure fluctuate depending on my position. For example, my standing heart rate is about 20 points higher and BP is 10-15 points higher as well. I also experience tachycardia when lying flat. What could cause this variance? Is that a common problem? Thank you.
I have 3 older children with ADD. They are in college in Atlanta and some are having a rough time. They are all smart but two are struggling. The one who is not struggling is taking medication. He was on Adderall and has switched to Vyvanse. He has great grades but the meds have bad side effects (loss of appetite, acne, depression). These go away when he is off the meds. The other two do not want to take medicine because of the way it makes them feel. They just cannot seem to focus and their grades have been poor. I realize that this is not a problem that you can fix, but what I’m looking for is some ideas and maybe a referral in the Atlanta area for someone who specializes in ADD. We are just using their family doctor for now and we live outside Atlanta. Please realize that we are struggling financially as I have 3 in college and my husband is unemployed. Thanks for any advice that you can offer.
Yes! I would love to see calories, fat grams, carbs and everything else printed on menus. There are so many hidden calories in some of the food…even those that seem “healthy.” I know that home-cooking is best but with a full-time job, full time school and traveling every weekend it’s hard. I wish they would pass this law in Georgia too!
Of course! However, restaurants don’t want this because sales would go down. I work as a dietitian helping people lose weight. I always direct them to the website http://www.dwlz.com. This is a website that has compiled nutrition information on almost 600 restaurants. People are always shocked by the calories in their choices.
There are so many times I have wondered how many calories I was consuming at a meal in a restaurant. I would love to see this! Why hide the calories and fat and not put it on the menu? Even if they don’t put it on the menu, it should always be offered online.
So much “touchy-feely” s–t here! “Ooohh, I want to see calories on my restaurant menu so I know how much I’m consuming” – bulls–t on that. Go to a restaurant, treat yourself to a good meal, and forget about stressing out for awhile. Next day – eat your granola bar and drink soy milk in the privacy of your home.
I think its a ridiculous thing to require restaurants to do. Its not easy to calculate calories on complex dishes and is asking too much of the owners.
I do think that if a chain restaurant did this on their own, that it might improve sales, but don’t make it a law.
First of all let me say it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have the information avaiable, what is the height of foolishness is to believe passing a law to compel restaurants to do so will do anything more than create another bureaucracy, and another opportunity where people simply want to blame others for their problems and seek compensation. Operationally it would be nearly impossible for a real restaurant (not fast food) to do this accurately and consistently for food made to order. Lisa’s ref in the 831 post is a good idea, though I would like to know who monitors the accuracy of this site, I would bet that another unbiased source visiting the same restaurants would come up with many different results. The fact is government intervention nearly always worsens a situation, if this is a good idea, some restaurants will do it (some already do Seasons 54) and people will go there. Most people don’t look at the labels on grocery store items anyway (and half the people that say they do don’t really make a decision based on it they just make a mental note of which items they need to justify!)
What right does the government have to do this??? If you want the info ask them for it. If they can’t give it to you GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. People need to take responsibility for themselves.
I would love to see calorie info on restaurant menus, but the government should stay out of private business. Let the restaurants decide what they want to put on their menus. Places like Seasons 52 already put the information on the menu and is packed everytime I visit.
I don’t think they should require it. People aren’t stupid. I know that my favorite meal at my favorite Italian restaurant is absolutely terrible for me. That’s why I don’t eat it too often. It’s called moderation!!! I would hope that some restaurants would consider putting the information up on their website for people to view if they choose, but I don’t think that should be required either.
I think that this is a great idea. I look online before I eat at any fast food restaurant and was horrified to find that things like a Market Fresh sandwich from Arby’s is over 700 calories. How can people help themselves if they don’t know. I would love to see sit down restaurants offer calories online, but I don’t think it should be mandated. I would pick a restaurant that willingly offers calories over one that does not.
“a reasonable attempt to curb obesity”
Fast Food Chains, Soft Drinks, Corn Syrup, etc have been around for decades if not longer, but it’s only NOW that we have an epidemic. For those of you at work today look around at your co workers and just watch how many times they snack on “healthy treats” or scarf down a 500 calorie latte. My cube mate is on her 2nd granola bar of the day and it’s not even lunch time and she doesn’t know why she is gaining weight (believes it’s a thyroid issue). It’s not restaurants who are causing obesity; we are “grazing” our way into an early grave.
For crying out loud. Do your homework, people! By definition, fast food (mostly) = unhealthy! At other establishements, caveat emptor. Nutrition info is on products in the grocery stores. The best way to know — apart from growing one’s own food — what’s in it? EAT AT HOME!
It would be a beneficial customer service tactic if restaurants were to publish the calorie-content of their various menu items, but don’t make it a law. (We have way too much regulation and govermental interference in our lives already!) Blame your obesity on yourself – not on the restaurants or anyone else. Take personal responsibility for your health – it doesn’t require a doctoral degree to figure out that a cheeseburger has way more calories than a salad.
Lol, Kristin so true. After reading your post I did look around and everyone was snacking on something. It is funny how people will sit and eat all day and then blame gaining weight on thyroid problems and what not.
Having the calorie and carb count on the menu would greatly help the people who have diseases affected by diet, most notably diabetes. Regulating this will be an incredible logistical NIGHTMARE. Our health department cannot even keep up with the inspections that are needed to monitor food safety in a restaurant, can you imagine how far behind they will be with monitoring the calorie content of a restaurant that changes its menu daily/weekly/monthly even seasonally?
Probably not a good thing to put into legislation….
CommonSenseRules, you would be surprised. You can eat a lot healthier at most fast food places than a sit down place. You can’t get the jumbo drink and the jumbo fries but a sandwich or wrap is frequently better for you than the chicken ceaser salad or pasta dish at a sit down place.
Heck no. Restaurants have a hard enough time becoming successful. This would only hurt the little guy, who doesn’t have the resources to do this. You would never have a “Special of the Day” if this came to pass. Try to educate yourself, first, and ask questions.
OH MAN….This is bad. Let food be food! Please don’t kill the enjoyable experience of a delicious meal by breaking everything on a menu into a list of nutritional statistics! Food is so much more than that. We’ve had this “data” on what every bit of what we eat is comprised of, and we are no healthier for it as a country. In my opinion, this is a completely ineffective and unappetizing initiative.
Yes, my sister in law and her kids go out to eat every single meal, every single day/night. She NEVER cooks, uses her stove as a laundry center. I think if she saw what was going into her body, and the kids’ bodies, she might think twice about going out to eat.
PLEASE HELP ME Government.The restaurants are making me fat! Make them quit ! Help me Barrack and Nancy ! Help !
Don’t let the free market decide to post calories if they want to. Protect me and make them do it. Do it for the children.
This is another example of over-legislation by our government. The law in NY applies to chains only (5 or more locations or something like that), so mom and pop’s and independant restaurants are not included.
The crazy thing is that is that chains are already required to have the nutritional information available in the restaurant. They have leaflets available with all the info. Requiring restaurents to post calorie info on their menu boards and menus is redundant – and costs the restaurants tons of money to do so. Who ultimately pays, we do!
It’s about personal resposibility. People know that a Whopper is not too good for them, but they eat them anyway. If you eat one every day, then your health will suffer. Every now and then though, it’s no big deal. Let’s think and make decisions for ourselves and keep the government out of it.
How rediculous. Once you start forcing them to print the nutritional stats then what’s next? Forcing the restaurants to have “healthy” options or a more healthly menu altogether. Going out to eat is a treat. If you don’t know ahead of time that it may not be low in calories you have your head in the sand. It is supposed to be an endulgence. Yikes, less government is always better.
Let me interject a little bit of fact into this debate so as to dispense with faulty, lofty intent. As a wholesale baker, I must maintain up to date nutritional information on all of my products. Any change in formulation requires the accompanying label change which requires intense scientific analysis to acquire that difficult to obtain information. There is quite a bit of science involved. This laboratory process is lengthy and on average $7000 to $10000 PER item analyzed. As a wholesaler, this price is figured as CODB. In my operation, there is volume so as to easier absorb this premium cost. In one or two location restaurants, there is not the same volume and business patterns can fluctuate wildly. Many of your favorite spots will not find it worthwhile to deal with such onerous regulation. For those remaining brave few, this will kill the ability to regularly rotate the menu and keep their customer base happy. It will be the unmitigated death of the creative chef culture. If you want to see the individual restaurant business dry up with the remaining few being prohibitively expensive for the middle class, go ahead and support this subdued socialism. This is just more nanny-statism run amock, all disguised for ‘the common good.’
I left Atlanta last Spring and moved to NYC (but thankfully am moving back in 16 days!)
Every coffee shop and restaurant has the calories posted and it’s definitely made me change my way of eating. However, what Jason said about how it’s only for chains is correct. I’ve only seen this at places like Starbucks, Applebees, McDonalds etc.
When you see that one entree is 1600 calories and one is 900, It really makes you think. The South is the fattest section of the country. We drive everywhere even if it’s down the street and we eat like crap. Maybe if the calories were posted, it would make people think twice about what they eat. I know people who eat out every single meal and maybe if they saw that they were eating double the calories they should, they would think twice about what they are eating.
Here is an idea for all the fat people. Stop eating bacon cheeseburgers and fries everyday. Try a salad and going on a walk, maybe even a brisk one. I think the states are having enough budget crises without you worry worts trying to cram more expensive regulation down everyone’s throats. As the baker stated earlier, this would knock a whole lot of independant restaurants out of business.
I don’t need the government to tell me what’s bad for me. I already know. I also know that if I eat a fast food burger, I’m going to have to work extra hard on the walk that evening. I will have to walk 4 miles, instead of the usual 3. My poor doggies.
This is why I grow my own veggies, and do my own cooking. I don’t like to go out to eat. Ok, maybe once every third blue moon. I do love a good mexican meal, even if it is not as healthy as eating at home. And once in a while I like to treat myself and be waited on and have someone else clean the dishes. Not often, but once in a while…….
Yes please! This would be so helpful (although I realize cumbersome for the restaurant owner)to ensure that the healthy meal you think you are consuming is actually healthy. Perhaps they could have nutriton facts for the regular printed menu but waive the requirement for the “daily special” as this would be incredibly difficult.
Please don’t waste this space in such general info that says lose weight and exercise for a good heart. Be a little more specific because we all know we need to lose weight and eat correctly. What we need from a medical doctor is information to help us save a trip to see our physician. Things we can do at home. There are so many people in doctor offices now that do not need to be taking up the doctors time that the people that do need to see the doctor have to wait weeks for appointments.
I agree totally with diane. This article did not tell us anything we don’t already know. We need information on new medical reatments/procedures and where to go to get the best care.
3 years ago I started feeling a numbness in both feet. A few months ago this feeling or lack there of moved to my waist. I was numb from the waist down. That lasted a couple of weeks or so. Now it’s back to the feet. Several MRI’s & CATSCAN’s show nothing out the norm. The feeling becomes intense at times. Tested for MS & diabetes both negative. Any ideas?
I am a 29 year old male. I recently had bloodwork done and it reported that my bad cholesterol was high, and my good cholesterol was low. My family has a history of heart disease and diabetes, and I have poor dieting habits, I smoke occasionally, and I do not exercise much. Also, I’m not overweight.
My doctor suggested and prescribed Zocor and come back again in two months to see him. Would this be the best diagnosis? I’m willing to change my diet, and try to make the time to exercise. As hard as this would be to make those changes, I have full support and help from my family. Would I still need to go on medication?
I have non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and my doctor at Emory is just watching it as this time. My question is, is it okay for me to use a natural hair color on my hair? Thanks!
My husband has high blood pressure and sleep apena was recently had an echo cariogram performed, it showed that the right chamber of his heart was damaged and enlarged,and was given medication to slow down his heart rate or there any webisites I can visit to find out more information
As someone who has tried ALL the natural remedies from exercise to positive thinking to fish oil to St. John’s Wort, to meditation, I can tell you that nothing has pulled me out of major depression like Paxil. I took it for 20 months with few side affects. Went off because of weight gain and despite my best efforts fell into another major depression. Paxil didn’t work the second time and now I am in process of finding something else.
I was devastated when I realized that my strong spiritual life and healthy living wouldn’t cure my depression. Then I realized that that is as silly as expecting prayer and exercise to “cure” my husband’s Type I diabetes. Prayer and exercise are extremely important in helping him stay healthy, but they are no substitute for his insulin. Major depression isn’t “feeling sorry for yourself” or being a little blue. It is a very real, very physical illness. Be grateful every day if you have never experienced it.
Oh, let me add, obviously I’m a different Cindy from the one who doesn’t believe in depression as an illness. Just because you go through terrible things in life and don’t get depressed doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist for others. Some people smoke all their long lives and don’t get lung cancer. Does that mean smoking doesn’t cause cancer? Some people are blessed with more serotonin than others. If you are be grateful.
Hello, readers. I’m the online Health editor for ajc.com. First, thank you for your questions. Please keep them coming. The writers are reading all your inquiries and choosing the best topic to blog on each week. Some of the inquiries might be too personal and too specific for the medical professionals to respond to. However, they’ll blog on the topics to which you’re bringing our attention. Some of the blog posts were published because of the sheer time element. Breaking news matters. For example, the Salmonella outbreak is very crucial for us to discuss right now. Please be patient, and keep the questions coming. Thank you.
Great Post. A friend just spent me a link for a free sleep report. It has a bunch of great information about getting a great night’s sleep without drugs. Here is link if you are interested http://www.traversebayfarms.com/sleepreport.htm
I’ve had insomnia since I was a little boy. My mom will testify to that. It has gotten worse over the past year. I’ve seen a sleep doctor and he says there is no reason for me not to sleep well. My primary doctor wants to do a narcolepsy study. I’ve done everything – no tv, exercise regularly, don’t drink caffeine, go to bed at the same time every night, etc. Nothing seems to work. I also have a prescription for the highest dose of Ambien. I always wake up after about three or four hours anyway and can’t go back to sleep. I seem to wake up at night no matter how tired I seem. I’ve tried other sleep aids and they don’t work either. I’m getting very tired of being tired all the time. Also, I have Crohn’s Disease but no one has ever said anthything about the two being related or about the medications as all the side effects are drowsiness and so on and so forth. Any alternate ideas?
Is having a premature infant hereditary? I had a 24 weeker and my baby sister had a 32 weeker; however, my middle sister had a full-term baby. Are we, myself and baby sister, genetically predisposed to having premature babies?
You’d have to be a fool to put any faith in online reviews of doctors. Having worked in a doctor’s office and in the insurance claims field, I know there is just no pleasing some people. The chronic complainers are the ones most likely to post a review. They don’t get the diagnosis they need to inflate a liability claim or the drug they are shopping for just sets them off.
How about the ex girlfriend of wife who wants revenge and posts negative comments?
My wife and I do not sleep in the same room (or spend much time at all in any room together for most of the past decade for that matter, but that’s another story.) She sleeps with the lights on and the television playing. Apparently, she is warding away the bogey man.
I’m in my mid-40’s and I’ve found if I get 4 hours of sleep a night that’s great. I can’t sleep during a full moon. I know it’s in my head, but I haven’t been able to for years. Last night I got a lot of work done!
I’ve had insomnia since I was a little boy. My mom will testify to that. It has gotten worse over the past year. I’ve seen a sleep doctor and he says there is no reason for me not to sleep well. My primary doctor wants to do a narcolepsy study. I’ve done everything – no tv, exercise regularly, don’t drink caffeine, go to bed at the same time every night, etc. Nothing seems to work. I also have a prescription for the highest dose of Ambien. I always wake up after about three or four hours anyway and can’t go back to sleep. I seem to wake up at night no matter how tired I seem. I’ve tried other sleep aids and they don’t work either. I’m getting very tired of being tired all the time. Also, I have Crohn’s Disease but no one has ever said anthything about the two being related or about the medications as all the side effects are drowsiness and so on and so forth. Any alternate ideas?
I blame not being able to sleep on the time change, as soon as I get used to it, the freakin time changes again. When are the powers that be going to do away with this? My dog whining every morning to go out when the sun comes up doesn’t help either. Also, I have a Tempur Pedic and it’s highly overrated. “Oasis” my a$$! My mom says the same about her sleep number bed also.
Dear David, Your dad sent me your Blog…most impressive…
Maybe you or someone you know may be able to HELP ME. I suffer fom chronic pain due to iddypathic periphial neuropthy in both my feet, lehs, hands and arms. Carol and my son , Robbie got my meds whay down, but Im still on 3 50 MGH Fentanyl patches every 2 days; 3 10MG Methidone daily; and now only 1 0r 2 8MG Dilaudid as needed for break through pain. I had also been taking .25MG of Halcion when I really needed it for sleep.
Since we have been down here in Florida for the winter, I don’t think I have had two nights of good sleep in a row. I’m aware of everything..all the twitchig and shooting pain in my legs and arms, pain in my neck and shoulders. The room is usually uit and cool and I generally go to bed a half hour to an hour after Carol, o she can get some needed sleep. Most nights I’m NOT there long….and go back out to atch TV, read, go onto the computer, ec, until I’m ready to fall down with fatigue…and many nights NOT at all.
We eat early, and quite light…I may have a snack and something to drink at about 10P.M.,,,NO Excercise or MEALS.
ANY SUGGESTIONSD or IDEAS? Not only with the insomnia and sleep apnia, but equally important for the Perphial Neurapathy and constant PAIN. Oh yes, I forgot t tell you I also ITCH ALL OVER from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet most days and nights..ALL the time. HELP PLEASE!
Thanks so much… I hope there may be something you might suggest or do for me…I’m at the end of my rope…and Carol is too.
Please give Kim and your beautiful and big children a kiss for me. Our fondest regards to ALL. We’re so proud of YOU!
I am 49 years old with a 5 1/2 and a 8 year old little princess. Yes, I started late in life and have been blessed so much. I have been having these hot flashes for about 3 years now about 3 or 4 times a week in the middle of the night. I really don’t have night sweats on my chest but on my back and my palms get really hot sometimes late at night. It may last up to an hour sometimes. I still have my monthly cycle and it is regular. So, they seem more severe around that time of the month. I also had a test done 3 years ago at my doctors office to see if I was going thru menepause. It came back normal. How long can these hot flashes go on and could it be something else?
Shaggy and cindy are morons….don’t know how they wandered to this page, and wonder why they don’t have anything better to do than talk smack to depressed people….i have been on paxil for 5 years, excercise every day, and take time to breath…works for me
[...] DOCTOR IS IN: ADHD over-diagnosed? | Better Health By Fran Jeffries By Thomas G. Burns, Psy.D., ABPP First, consider these startling facts about the Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The rates of diagnosis for. Better Health – http://blogs.ajc.com/better-health/ [...]
BIll- that is a very ignorant statement. I for one want to learn as much as I can, look for any possible treatment besides medication. I have a nephew that has this condition, I see what it does-
All my life I have had sleeping problems. Tried prescription medicine as well as over the counter nothing worked so I just got use to sleepless nights. A co-worked suggested I try Melatonin which is over the counter. I take it 30 minutes before I want to fall asleep. Worked for me. I may not sleep more then 4 or 5 hours but I do not have to fight anymore with getting to fall asleep.
Take two lashings and call me in the morning. It’s bureaucratic nonesense, doctors, drug makers and insurance carriers are all out to make money. As much as we really want to believe that our moral/values system in in tact we are so far from that!! Tralee your nephew needs an a$$ whipping!
No doubt ignorance would keep Bill from successfully raising a child who actually has this condition. It is obvious that God has not granted him one, or he would never have posted this comment!
I strongly recommend reading the book “Scattered” by Gabor Mate, MD. The doctor himself has ADD, was only diagnosed a few years ago, and used his medical training and knowledge of the scientific literature to investigate the potential causes of impairment. It’s the best book on ADD I have ever read, and as an adult with this condition, I have read a lot. Mate also talks about how parents can re-frame their relationship with their ADD child so that the dynamics are less confrontational and “get this done now!” and more about reassuring the child that they will be loved no matter what their performance is, so that the child feels secure in the parent’s love. It’s a very thoughtful, insightful piece of work. “Scattered: How ADD Originates and What You Can Do about It”, Gabor Mate M.D., 2000
We are all making these statements but has anyone ever looked at the efficacy rate or meds vs. the placebo effect? I willing to put my drug rep job on the line and say you will be blown away by the results!
I will say this as I was diagnosed with ADD in second grade, I am now 31 years old. Without medication I never would have made it through school….or college for that matter. I do not have the behavior problems commonly associated with this condition I really only have the attention problems….but I know for a fact that it is much more difficult for me to concentrate and stay on task without any kind of medication than it is when I am on a medication.
This is nothing more than an attempt to drug our children into submission because all the touchy-feelies have systematically removed any sort of order or discipline in the school. Teachers no longer have any powers to enforce rules so what better way to get the children to behave then to drug them. Nowadays a child could be stabbing their classmate and all the parent will say is something asinine like, “Oh look…my little Johnnie is expressing himself.” Parents who take this “head in the sand” approach to parenting should not be allowed to contribute to the gene pool ever again.
ADHD is over reported at very high rates in school systems. I don’t think it is to sell meds, I think it is because parents lack the ability, or wherewithal to discipline their children. I have students in my class who are very intelligent, who know right from wrong, and still get away with extreme amounts of disobedience because of one mis-diagnosis they had in kindergarten. I have students on BIP’s (Behavior Intervention Plans) because of this Mis-diagnosis. The fact is that all these students really need, is just one parent in the household who is not afraid to discipline their child.
I have had a true ADHD student in my class, and with out his medication it was very sad. He honestly could not stop, and you could see on his face that he wanted to. So to see him, and then see an undisciplined child, with the same diagnosis, it was disheartening.
I had a step granddaughter before that was supposedly diagnosed with this. Ya know what’s really amazing, when you take the time to sit down with the child and help her with homework from school etc. Amazingly it gets done and it didn’t take hours, and she wasn’t trying to get up and run around the room or do 20 other things at once. It was easy, you just need to have patience and the time to spend with her. I think this is a partially convoluted “disease” for parents that don’t want to have to put any effort into taking care of their kids. I know, I have an ex daughter in law that’s like that and ya know her own kids recognize that and they do get resentful, restless, angry that Mommy doesn’t spend alot of time with them. Not to mention that children need ways to expend their energy besides sitting in front of a game console for hours or TV. My sister was given custody of our 2 great nieces 3 years ago. They were terribly misbehaved, one of them diagnosed with ADD, no manners, rude I could go on. Long story short, she literally makes them go outside when the weather permits and makes them to play and do activities outside. Not just sit in the house and do nothing. She has worked with them on their homework to the pint of printing off school work worksheets and having them do them at home. Well guess what 3 years later, the teachers can’t believe it’s the same kids, one of them is on the Honor roll with a 3.5 GPA the other is right behind her. No ADD Medication or anything else other then good old fashioned time patience and understanding and discipline! So please don’t tell me this is always the case with every child diagnosed with it because I’ll tell you you’re full of it!
Its a mathamatical certainty that ADHD is over diagnosed. This is a “condition” that is only diagnosed based on a behavioral comparison to what is considered “normal”. Using standard deviation methodology items within 2 std dev or 95% of the population (are generally considered “normal” the outliers being the remaining 5% (2.5% on either side)The last census says there are 53.2M children between 4-17 yrs, the 4.4M diagnosis represents 8.3% of that population! assuming ADHD is on one side of the distributuion curve, statistically speaking there should be no more than 2.5% of the population diagnosed as outside the normal range not 8.3% Now I realize stats don’t answer everything and real people are involved, but stats also don’t lie and it is a very strong argument that at least half if not more are misdiagnosed. They are probably at one end of the “normal” range. If 8% of individuals really do display these similar characteristics, then quite frankly it is “normal” and nothing to be treated
to the comments that “Gary” made. Successful treatment of ADHD can be done outside of meds. “good old fashioned time patience and understanding and discipline” which is what you said worked, as well as playing outside, will, in fact, work. Dealing with ADHD , behavior therapy is very necessary, and a calm, structured environment is important. Medication should supplement this. THe problem is, that many parents lack the ability,understanding and time needed to let behavior modification work. In the meantime, many kids fall behind in school. The ideal situation is to work on behavior modification while using medication at the same time, with, in many cases, the end result being that the medication is not always necessary anymore.
So the child could still have ADHD, but congrats to your sister for having the patience to deal with it in a non medicated way!
I have to think this is way over-diagnosed. Why hasn’t this been an issue until the last 20 years? How did people deal with it the previous 6000 years of human existence? Corrective methods that include threats, talking to’s, loving advice and yes, spankings. Kids were more polite and respectful. I have 4 very active children ages 3-8. They have done quite a few things that make great stories now but were diffult at the time. They know they are loved but when they start “acting like children” they know there will be consequences for bad behaviour. That doesn’t stop everything, of course, but they can sit still in church for 2 hours without making noise, so I know they can behave in school. However, there was a progression. At 8 months when they start squealing in delight at the discovery of their voice you can’t punish them, but by 18 months they have an idea of when to be quiet and at least understand “shhh” when they made noise. By age 2 they were thumped on the leg for too much noise and by 2.5 were taken back to “the bathroom” for crying or talking. Now my most difficult child the current 3 year old is quiet as a mouse except when she whispers “I have to go potty”. I have witnessed plenty of children at restaurants and playgrounds that their behaviour is out of control and their parents don’t correct them. I suspect they are eventually put on medication because if they act this way in front of parents they are probably worse at school without them.
It takes a parent to truly know if their child has ADHD. It is easy to say all the child needs is a spanking or some time spent with them and thier ADHD will go away. It is like any other medical diagnosis they have good days and bad bays. I do believe that children can learn to ways to cope without meds especially when they are older. Is ADHD overly diagnosed? Yes, I think it is but to argue that it does not exist is another topic.
Gary, that’s wonderful news that your nieces have gotten into a supportive, loving environment and have been able to turn things around without resorting to medication. They sound very lucky to have family members who care so much. Every child diagnosed with ADD deserves that kind of structured assistance; and for children who still don’t improve within a year or so, then perhaps medication might be indicated. Behavioral approaches should always be tried first – however these are much more labor-intensive and from what I have seen, many people would prefer to take the ‘easy’ way out and just pop some meds. Personally speaking, I went on medication only as an adult, in order to be able to work in an office environment (talk about distraction!). But my parents always stood very firm when I was a child and said they didn’t want me on medications (I suspect the only reason the teachers were okay with that is because I was a good student and didn’t require extra work on their part).
I do agree with Bill to a certain extent. I do think stimulant drugs are needed in some cases. As mentioned above there has been a 400% increase in drug usage over 50 years. Times have changed since then.Kids are more exposed to what is going on in the world and it does effect them. There are more divorces and more television watching on now then 50 years ago. There are more children that take stimulant drugs in public schools than private schools (if any kids take stimulant drugs in private schools). There is something wrong with the diagnosing method. There is no neurological evidence to support ADHD/ADD. There needs to be more studies and definitely more behavioral therapy for children.The process of elimination should be applied in the childs situation, it works.
Beyond question, along with another excuse medication, antidepressants, one the most over prescribed and thus abusive medications. Ever wonder why other mammals don’t require these to function all over the planet?
Please take not of the author’s degree–psychology. This profession also consists of some the most bizarre and cerebrally challenged individuals on the planet at 95% of those who choose this course of study are in fact themselves kooks!
Of course there is the rare clinically correct diagnosis, but about 98% of the time it boils down to lazy, worthless parents who rely on the medication to do their job for them so their brat will be quiet and still as they watch soap operas and eat pizza and ice cream!
So Mama Cass are you saying that any physical discipline is “Child Abuse” ? Or just outright beating which I would agree that “Beating” would be abusive.
I have a son, 8, who has ADHD. He was uncontrollable in Kindergarten until he was tested for ADHD. He is in Gifted Program at school, 2nd Grade, now. This is NOT nonsense. You have NO ideas what it is like when your child is not on medicine the problems, behavior issues, etc. Without medication and therapy, my son would be lost. ADHD is a problem that usually exist in Highly intelligent individuals and genetic. Anyone who does not review information about ADHD and does not pay close attention to your child actions, behaviors at home, school, and everywhere else, I would be concern about your parenting skills etc.
I am 49 years old and I was diagnosed with a attention disorder 9 years ago. If I had the medication when I was younger, college might have been a choice. If you don’t have a problem or have a child with a problem, you have no clue what you are talking about..
Mama I would say to you that medicating a child into a desired behaviour is the real child abuse. Yes I do and have used physical discipline on my children but have never beat them. A beating is abuse and is different than physical discipline. The main problem I have with ADHD is that there is no “Test” to say you have it…it is a guess based upon observed behaviour and that there have been no long tetm studies on the long term impacts to the people who get teh meds. Besides show me a teen who goes on a rampage and I bet s/he is on some sort of med for ADHD or Depression. My original statement was meant to be over the top because there are always people who have learning issues but this whole ADHD is nonsense due to a lack of discipline and routine…
I am a mother of an ADHD daughter. I refused to medicate for YEARS. What those of you without a child with this condition fail to understand is that it goes way beyond getting homework done or cleaning their room. My daughter has the impulsive variety: she cut through a lamp cord while it was plugged in. When asked why she did it she said she didn’t know – with all sincerity. She’s set a stick of deorderant on fire. She’s flashed her schoolbus. And a ton of other things ‘normal’ children don’t do. And before you go attacking my parenting – exactly HOW would you stop a child from flashing their schoolbus? Staple their pants to their hips? I have done my best to raise her with love, values, and morals. This is not a ‘made up’ condition…
Ronnie, I don’t have children but was raised in a household with 6 children (I am the oldest) and all children do things like you describe and worse. All of which is quite a normal part of learning and growing up. You never really believe the stove is hot until you find out for your self.
Dan
I agree with your sentiments, but not your analysis. Like most statistical arguments, it begins with the assumption of a normal distribution. We have no basis to assume that ADD follows the normal distribution. In fact, If ADD were not a medical condition, and was merely “outlying” behavior, it would be expected to have a normal distribution. However, if it is a medical condition there is no reason to expect a normal distribution. That would be like assuming a normal distribution of US households being hit by a hurricane, when it is clear that individual circumstances (coastal location, brain chemistry) dictate the probabilities rather than random chance.
Researchers have found genes associated with ADHD behaviors;it’s a real disorder. ADHD may be beneficial for hunter/gatherer hunters.
In a fascinating study done on homogenous tribesmen in Africa, half of whom had settled down and half of whom still lived as hunters, researchers found that those with the ADHD-associated genes did much better as hunters than those without these genes, but the reverse was true with the settled population. In the settled group, having ADHD-associated genes was a liability.
ADHD can be seen on brain scans. However, it also appears to be over-diagnosed. From what I’ve read, only about 10% of kids diagnosed with ADHD actually have it.
Overdiagnosis not only hurts the kids who are misdiagnosed but also those with the problem because their situations and needs are not taken seriously.
Those who are against medication or diagnosis, that’s fine, that’s your opinion. But to call people “liberal” (which is not a bad thing!) or to assume that teenagers who commit crimes are on ADHD medication is ignorant at best. It’s that mentality of “just spank ‘em” and they’ll behave that is detrimental to these kids who DO actually have the disorder. Everyday with my son is a challenge. You have NO IDEA what it is like. And unlike other kids with behavioral or developemental issues, we are treated like bad parents with unruly children. I teach 6th grade. I have many, many slow minded students. Let’s say I just beat ‘em, then they’ll learn. Lazy bums. They just have no discipline….
Amen Bill! I have a child that has been “diagnosed” with this bs. There is nothing wrong with him except he is a normal boy that sometimes does not pay attention and sometimes does stupid things. That’s what kids do, their kids. But my wife (a teacher) decided that he should see a doctor and told the doc she wanted him checked for adhd and what treatments she wanted. The doc told me he had been dealing with this stuff all years because the middle school had hired a new “Counselor” who was telling parents that their children were adhd every time they were in trouble for talking in class. It is a joke. Get the counselors out of the schools and the kids off the meds!! The real problem here is MBPS (Munchausen’s By Proxy Syndrome) and a bunch of “doctor wanna be” counselors trying to justify their salaries.
Let me guess, you teach in a government school, correct? And “liberal” more often than not IS a bad thing! Who do you think relies on more on using medications and a parenting alternative, liberals or consertives?
At the risk of being ridiculed, I believe that we are trying to fit square pegs in round holes. Some people just aren’t cut out for school. I’d rather my child be uneducated in academics and off of drugs, than on drugs and well educated. There will always be labor jobs where high levels of attention are not required. There is nothing wrong with labor jobs. When we decided that EVERYONE should go to college, we started looking for ways to make sure the hyper kids with no attention span could get there too. So we drugged them. In turn, they do graduate, but they are not themselves. Their true selves are wonderfully hyper people who can’t hold the attention to read a book, but they can hammer, and dig, and find happiness in the work of their hands.
Wow! I guess ignorance is bliss! My child was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago. We knew something was wrong and decided to see the pediatrician first. She recommended a child psychiatrist and we learned of his problem. It was never recommended that he receive medication, so that theory is gone for those of you that think that’s the issue. We were given a lot of support and provided a number of strategies to help him.
Yes, we spanked this child many times just as we did the others. It didn’t work. Today she still struggles, but without meds. It’s a hard job but I think it’s something that she has to deal with. She has a therapist and that’s been really helpful. It’s a real problem that has always existed. If you haven’t lived it, you have no idea.
Dr. Amen has done significant work using brain scans and has been able to demonstrate brain activity that is different in a child with ADHD and one without. He also has some interesting theories on why ADD is increasing in our population. These have mostly to do with genetics and the fact that women with ADD reproduce more often and at a younger age. There are always the ignorant that will believe this is just bad parenting. I have three kids – one with ADD and two without- I do not raise them differently and have not spared the rod. My son was on meds for several years and now manages without, as do I. Also, I wonder how much diabetes medications have increased over the same span. It makes sense that medication usage would increase as new meds are discovered.
I am a conservative and have an almost ten year old son who IS well-disciplined at home, but had attention and hyperactivity problems. ADHD medication has done wonders for him. Until you’ve walked a mile in the shoes of a parent with an ADHD child, don’t judge.
Chris first of all good discussion
But the question on the table is over diagnosis, not necessarily the existence of the condition. (although I realize that is also a hot issue)
You can count hurricanes and there is a definitive measure (xxmph winds)
you don’t simply compare two storms and say the stronger one is a hurricane, which is how a comparitive diagnosis would work
This is why I believe a normal distribution is appropriate (if over simplified), primarily because it is not definitive that it is a medical condition. It is a behavioral one, and medical or not (which is subjective), the method of diagnosis is 100% based on comparing the patients behavior to the “norm”. If the % of people diagnosed was 2 or 3 or even 4 maybe, but 8% clearly suggests some people whos behavior is within normal parameters are being diagnosed with an issue. Wheter it is poor Dr’s or lazy parents or both. Ronnies example is a great illustration of normal behavior being blamed on a condition. If you were at a PTA meeting and asked the group have any of your kids cut a lamp cord, set fire to something in the house, or shed cloths in public
you would have 95% of hands go up and the others would be lying LOL
Yet Ronnie thinks they are indications of a problem, I am not picking on Ronnie maybe her child does have a problem, but the examples she chose to use are clearly normal growing up behavior
Exactly Dan. The problem lies in society’s attributing normal behaviors to a “Syndrome”, and then using hearsay interpretations of the behavior as a diagnosis.
This “disorder” is most often diagnosed and treated based on what the parent or teacher/counselor tells the physician. So if the parent thinks the child is adhd, then most likely the doctor will respond accordingly. My child was given meds based on what my wife told the doctor. He never saw one trait or tendency of adhd from my son directly, only what my wife described. My wife was convinced by one person in a school system that had seen my son a couple of times that he was adhd, then she talked to the doctor, now he is “diagnosed” adhd and on meds for little more than not paying attention in class. I have to laugh every time I go to his school and see the sigh out front that says “This school is a “Drug Free Zone.” Percentage wise, their counselors and teachers have now become far worse pushers than any of the street corner thugs ever were. What a joke.
As a mother of 2 daughters and 2 step-daughters, who has had one of each diagnosed with ADHD (before my husband and I met), I KNOW that this condition is over diagnosed AND over medicated. My daughters were raised and disciplined the same yet at 15 months I told the doctors that there was something wrong with my second daughter. She was 14 when she was diagnosed! I still do not believe that ADHD is the problem! The medication has made a world of difference in her behaviour, when she takes it. I can sure tell, within half an hour of her waking up whether or not she has taken her medication. She will be 26 in a month and still has behavioural and mood problems. I have had a psychologist suggest that she is ADHD, but that it is the root of a more serious condition known as Bi-Polar disorder. This I believe. I truly believe that she is Bi-Polar, although she will not seek a positive diagnosis nor treatment for it as she feels this will label her a “freak”. I feel that if she were to seek treatment, whether it be medication or behavioural therapy, that people would see her for the person I know she can be as I have seen that side of her. As it is, most people do consider her a “freak”, or a “waste of space” and she does not realize this. She wastes her time with “friends” who are into drugs and get into trouble with the law. Both of which she has been involved in. In fact, she served 20 months in a prison in Trinidad for trying to transport cocaine back to Toronto. She believes these people are truly her friends, and cannot see that they are just using her (not one of her “friends” returned calls to Foreign Affairs although she was sure they would come to her rescue when she was in Trinidad because they told her they would). She is still “hanging” around with these type of people and has a 23 month old with another on the way. She denies that she has a problem and refuses to help herself, lying to counsellors and doctors about how she is doing.
On the other hand, my step-daughter who has been diagnosed with ADHD, to my belief, does not have the condition. Medication does nothing for her and she complains that it makes her feel ill, so she does not take it. She has had problems in school for years and that is why her father persued the possibility of her having ADHD. I discovered, some time after my husband and I met, that her mother is a huge part of the problem. When my husband would phone to ask why assignments hadn’t been handed in her mother’s reply would be “Well if she doesn’t want to do it, why should she?”. Their younger daughter doesn’t like coming over to our house because when she asked for a video game console for Christmas one year, I said no until she pulled up her grades at school. Her mother bought her one for Christmas and her grades and attendance dropped dramatically. I even had her teachers telling me that they could sure tell by her homework and school work, when she had been at our place or at her mother’s. Luckily, although it took a few years, she realized herself that my requiring her to do her homework was not such a bad thing. At one point, her father wanted her tested for ADHD and I disagreed that it was necessary. This is around the time that she started seeing for herself that her mother’s lack of discipline with her sister was a problem and began to discipline herself. She is now in high school with good grades and the discipline to do her school work without anybody having to tell her.
Again, I do believe that this condition exists and I also believe that it is over diagnosed and over medicated. I also believe that ADHD is an underlying condition for something more serious, or at least that ADHD is part in parcel with other problems. Most people diagnosed with ADHD either are diagnosed with other “behavioural” or “attentive” conditions later in life, or are just plain lazy and have not had the proper discipline to know how to discipline themselves.
Raymond, I wonder the same thing. And why did they have to send her to three hospitals? Was she not getting the treatment she needed at the hospital in Montreal? If not, why not? And with all that pressure building up in her head from the injury, was it safe to put her on a plane??
I think she was brain dead before they put her on the plane so it did not matter by then. She was sent home to have goodbyes and pull the plug. What I don’t understand is how you can suffer such a hard head injury from a bunny slope? I thought maybe she had an aneurism and the fall triggered the bleeding which led to a ruptured blood vessel. We will find out eventually. Really sad and tragic.
WOW! people r so stupid these days.
I mean, if she stayed in the london hospital, they might of helped her there.
I acuse the people that put here on the plane.
Here on the plane ride gave the blood time to do what it was doing and kill her.
I used to be indifferent about helmets and skiing because I only skied Nordic style whenever I did. But the more I think about it, the more I think people should consider wearing helmets on the slope, even if it’s just a bunny slope. Up until today I probably wouldn’t have worn a helmet if I started skiing downhill — but now I probably would. How very sad for Natasha and her family. Bless their hearts.
Hey, so you all know, The CNN medical expert must have also suffered from a brain injury, an epidural bleed is between the dura and the skull, as stated above, however once the bleed breaks the dura,if thats possible, it’s no longer an epiduarl bleed but considered a subduarl bleed. Which would make more sense since subdural account for about 35% for sever brain bleeds. It’s also consistent with Diffuse Axon Injuries or brainstem injuries which is what the doctors apparently are referring to, i just wish they would come out and just say what it is, rather then try and dumb it down. -T
Thank TFL tho for actually correcting some genuises. Don’t get me worng they are but the don’t need to act like were all dumb. But other then that I feel very bad fpr the family and what they’re all going through.
Actually ths is a classic epidural bleed presentation, I mean a text book presentation. The only question left in this regard is did she have a seizure too. The reality of medicine in Canada is that they do not have neurosurgical accomodations, equipment and surgeons at each and every hospital like we do here in the USA. This is a classic socailized medicine scenario that happens there weekly. We will also have this scenario here soon as the government will cut out each hospital from having every speacialty and you will have to go to specific hospitals for specific care. This is considered a cost saving move and more of us will die and suffer as a result. That is why she was taken from hospital to hospital.
By the way the treament for this is usually a CAT scan or MRI of the brain for accurate diagnosis. The CT is much faster followed by placement of a wel positioned bore hole to allow drainage of the blood and relieve pressure followed by cautery of the epidural vessel as needed, usually a small vein partially torn, to tamponade the bleeding and it takes less than 30 minutes. This is truly bad and a waste of a life
My heart aches for her family, especially her children. Life is so fragile. I’m so shaken by the fact that she was alert and talking after the fall and then suddenly slipped into a coma. We should pay special attention when small children and the elderly take a fall.
Thank you Willie. I, too, am concerned that with socialized medicine many will die needlessly because they can’t get the care they need. If in fact the hospital in Montreal didn’t have neurosurgical accomodations, equipment and surgeons to help Natasha, it must have been a terrible frustration for her family, and my heart goes out to them. I wonder if anyone knows the name of the hospital in Montreal.
I do believe that ADD exsits. And I know that there are parents that are “too busy” to get a hold on their child but theter are teachers who are also pushing for the meds to be given to childern with “problems”. My son is just about deaf now. He has had hearing problems since birth. From pre-k till 2nd grade I had teachers telling me, in fact insisting that he was ADD. An yes he showed classic signs for ADD when in fact he was losing his hearing. I kept telling his teachers that he could not hear them properly but they kept at it until they had me convinced that he had ADD when he did not.
Willie, you must be a Republican, because it’s standard Republican policy to use personal medical tragedies to further their political agenda — witness the Terry Schiavo case in Florida last year.
Jessica: to answer your question, the Montreal hospital was Sacre Coeur de Montreal. It is associated with the Universite de Montreal.
Many Americans have been speculating that the hospital did not have the necessary CT scans, etc, to properly diagnose Ms. Richardson, blaming the Canadian universal health care system for not equipping all hospitals with adequate technology. I’ve lived in Montreal and also in very small Canadian cities, and I can assure you that there are CT and MRI capabilities in all Canadian hospitals, with the possible exception of VERY small towns, in which case patients would be airlifted to the nearest large hospital with these technologies. Montreal is a city with a 3.6 million population. Rest assured, Sacre Coeur has CT scans.
From what I’ve read, Ms. Richardson denied initial medical help, and it wasn’t until she developed a severe headache that she allowed for medical attention. She was already brain dead by the time she arrived at Sacre Coeur and the family moved her to New York so that family and friends could see her one last time.
A terrible shame, no doubt. Wear helmets, people. It may not have prevented this tragedy, but it wouldn’t have hurt, either.
Actually I think the best time to bring these things up is when there is proof ot the results of socialized medicine. Simply put it results in longer lines and a drop in quality of care. He stated a fact and you don’t like it, deal with it. Its truly sad to see someone die when they might have been fine with the proper care. Doesn’t this make you think what if that was me I know I would want the best medical care available if this happened to one of my family members.
Willie is your classic ignorant American spouting off about things they have no clue about. Question, Would you stand up in a room full of educated individuals and make a fool out of yourself? Why do it on the internet?
Why don’t you take a trip through Georgia and tell me how many small towns have a Hospital, let alone a trauma unit with a surgical neurologist on staff. I’ve been through more po dunk towns in your state than I care to remember. I would have swore I was in some 3rd world sh*thole in half of them if I didn’t know how to read a map.
Oh, interesting that our health care system give us the same outcomes when it comes to treating diseases as yours; some better, some worse, statistically insignificant differences in all from heart disease to cancer. We live longer up here as well. You pay twice as much for the same standard of care. You can’t even cover everyone and the leading cause of bankruptcy is from medical bills. Yeah, you have the better system.
You guys are always the best even when all evidence slapping you in the head points otherwise. Keep chirping its good for a laugh.
Hey, Bubba here……as a georgia peanut farmer, I gotta admit that I do not wax, and most of the other farmers I know think it’s wrong to send our American dollars to those Brazilians. Most other farmers I know dont wear those thong bikinis…they say they get all chapped from the tractor seat. Cept for my buddy Luke, who says he likes getting all chapped….course Luke was never the same after that mishap involving those sheep and some milking-machine contraption he invented.
Really? Longer than I wait in the emergency room already? Longer than the 6 hours it took for my girlfriend’s father to be seen when he was in the throws of COPD? I experienced socialized medicine in England as an American visitor. I waited less time and was treated no differently than if I had been here in the US. You people need to watch Sicko…it will change your minds on socialized medicine.
As for Ms. Richardson, this is a terrible tragedy, and to use something like this as “proof” socialized medicine doesn’t work, without knowing all of the facts, is typical scare tactics. How about some human sympathy for her family? Leave the politics out of it.
I do believe that this condition exists. But, I also believe that about 90% of these are wrongly diagnosed. First of all, there are the drug reps, who recommend a particular medication to the doctor they are meeting with. Many times the drug reps with get some sort of compensation for pushing a certain drug. The doctors themselves don’t know that much about the drugs, they are just relying on the drug reps to tell them which one is best. Lots of times the doctors will also get some sort of compensation from the drug companies for prescribing a particular medication. It all comes down to greed. People just want to get paid and they don’t really care who they have to hurt to get their money. So, I believe it is overdiagnosed because the pharmaceutical companies are pushing it on the doctors and they are in turn pushing it on the patients. All about marketing…sell, sell, sell…it doesn’t matter if you don’t need it, take it anyways…
I have no idea what a Brazilian wax is. Is that like a Turtle wax? The article could have included a picture. Like we really know what Brazilian wax is!!! This is GEORGIA USA!!!
I would have expected this from a state like Oregon, where they like their girls earthy. Brazilian waxing is a fine art, but perhaps the duct-tape-tied-to-the-bumper method is not sound. Please see a professional.
Interesting comments. My mother and my wife’s grandmother were both treated in a hospital in London (different times) and raved about the care and the medical professionals in attendance. I believe the comments referring to our system over their system is off the mark and not going to get to the answers these comments were suppose to be about. Does anyone know for sure (haven’t checked the news yet) that she was brain dead at the first hospital? The second? Seems to me a couple of you know what you are talking about and it comes down to the timing of her first hospital visit. If she was already brain dead then everything after is personal for the family and a tragedy.
As a former special education teacher in public schools, I definitely feel this condition is over-diagnosed. So many of my students who were labeled ADD/ADHD came from very chaotic homes. However, I also believe it is a real condition. I still think of one student with wonderful, supportive parents. It was truly painful to watch this poor child struggle to take in what was being instructed-you could see on his face and in his eyes how much he wanted to concentrate and participate in the classroom. As a mother of two preschool boys, I am very concerned about the 15-20 minutes of playground time in the public schools. I just do not feel that is enough physical activity for children, especially boys. I wonder how much lack of physical activity affects behavior in the classroom setting.
People, stop blabbing about socialized medicine being the cause of her death. Before you come out with your indoctrinated opinions, travel around the world a bit and get the full perspective. Just thinking that the US is the non plus ultra actually means it is. Furthermore, you ALL have no clue what happened so stop blabbing about that , too. If you do not know the facts keep your mouth shut. This was a tragedy, but that is part of life.
People die every day through lack of medical care, I am sure docs and nurses do their best with limited resources. I am a victim of medical mishap, but just have to get on with life. Whether the person is famous or not, sympathies to the family, her 2 boys, Kirsty Macall, died in similar circumstances, y does someone famous v to die before issues are raised regarding health care, helmets etc. Enough is enough, people are starving, rest in peace all who died today.
Seriously, the things people put themselves through nowadays to be “sexy” is just beyond me. Nowadays, I see women getting their entire face waxed…where does it stop? A trim here and there is one thing….but bald areas like that is for pre-pubescent stages of life…not adulthood.
Why is everyone here trying to lump everyone into one category? The fact is, there is not a “one-size fits all” for these kids. Everyone is different, and that is why some things work for some kids and others don’t. That is also why this is so difficult to accurately diagnose. For some, medication may work well, but for others, the road may be longer, with a combo of intense meds and therapy, some kids may just need regular therapy and learn some behavior modification. So for everyone here to argue this as if it has to be a black or white solution, is just silly. Each parent needs to seek out and do the research themselves, and discover what is going to be the right method of treatment for their child, if in fact they are ADD/ADHD.
Just a side note, my cousin was diagnosed with ADHA, and when his mother took him off sweet cereals, snacks, etc and drastically changed his diet, he was able to go off his meds, and continue with regular behavior therapy, and is much more manageable and pleasant to be around.
The first hospital that Richardson went to was located in a small town (Population 9000) near Mont Tremblant where the accident occurred. They examined her, gave her initial treatment, and then decided to evacuate her via ambulance to Sacre-Coeur Hospital in Montreal (about 65 miles away). This decision was made because Sacre-Coeur has an excellent neurological department and it’s located in one of Canada’s largest cities. It was while she was in Montreal that she was declared to be brain dead.
She wasn’t transferred to New York for medical treatment. The took her to New York for the benefit of her sons and other family members. They wanted to keep her on life support in order for them to be able to give her a final goodbye.
When she left Montreal they knew she wasn’t going to survive.
Apparently, she was told to see a doctor immediately after the accident occurred, and a short time later by her hotel staff, but she declined to go. It was several hours later, when symptoms started to appear that she decided to go to the hospital. Who knows whether she would have survived if she had gone to the hospital right away.
In the end, she probably would not have survived regardless of where the accident occurred.
Les you make some good points every child is different, which also means straying from the norm is not a condition, rather a normal differnce. Your example is perfect! If the “treatment” is not having sweets. THEN IT ISNT A CONDITION! Lots of kids get hopped up on sweets. Good parents take the sweets away, lazy ones call it a condition so it is not their fault
They turned away paramedics on the actual ski hill. If the paramedics had seen her, no doubt she would still be alive. This was walk and die syndrome. Has nothing to do with medical care in Canada which is top notch.
I was watching “Extreme Sports” on cable an watched a woman tumble an entire mile down an extremely steep hill, hitting jutting rocks along the way, hitting her head at least 50 times as she pinwheeled down the embankment. She blacked out half way down.
She ended up with a bruised arm.
Natasha has a mild fall on the bunny hill. All that tells you is that when it’s your time, it’s your time. Period
It’s annoying how ideologues are using this to scare clueless Americans about “socialized medicine.” Yeah, like Canada is such a backwards, 3rd world country. Try visiting other countries and learning about them before making such moronic statements. Canadians wouldn’t put up with our craptastic health care system for two seconds. Richardson got transferred the first time because it was a small town hospital – they took her to a large hospital with a prestigious neurology department for further evaluation, but by then it was too late. She was sent home to NY to die surrounded by her family.
Trust me, you don’t want to have an aneurysm in BumF_k, Georgia and get sent to their little hospital – you’d better pray you’re life-flighted to a major trauma center in time … actually, you’d better pray it happens in the ER with you scrubbed up for surgery. There’s almost NO time in this situation for any delay. This isn’t about socialized medicine, it’s about a freak accident, a tragic treatment delay and possibly, a tragedy that even if everything after the fall had “gone right” – could STILL have ended in her death. Just very sad.
The only reason she wasn’t operated on is unfortunately because of LAW SUITS.
I used to work at a neurosurgical equipment company and learned alot about neurosurgery around
the world. In some countries…albeit rough…a burr hole would have been made to relieve the pressure
and wait-n-see without fear of a lawsuit. BUT here in the US we have conditioned everyone to proceed
much more cautiously due to legal costs. She DIED because of MONEY and GREED.
Don’t forget: The US health insurance industry has approximately 2 millions employees who can act as foot soldiers to beat back attempts at health reform. They’re scared to death of losing their jobs and have a self-interest in painting socialized healthcare as evil, substandard, overpriced, etc.etc.
Nowhere in the US is anyone turned away from a hospital whether they can pay or not. With socialized medicine, you will have rationing of care and what no one is telling you is that socialized medicine will have to be subsidized by the taxpayers. Nothing is free, period.
Exactly Dan. What is most sad about this epidemic of over diagnosis and over medicating is what we’re doing to our children, their budding young minds and potential future inspirations. Had Einstein and Mozart grown up in modern American schools, they would have been diagnosed adhd and drugged with ever-increasing doses until they were lethargic and “normal”. With a school system geared toward parroted rote learning as opposed to actual thinking, it is not surprising that medicated zombies are preferred to spirited individuals.
I also fear the liable state the schools are placing themselves in. In a few years when some objectionable side effect becomes know, it will not only be the drug companies the class action lawyers go after, it will be the schools and their counselors recommending that these children be drugged.
Well, first of all I would to say that who ever wrote this article has a steriotype about brazilians wearing thongs, know their culture frist before you write something like this. They wax the genital areas not to wear a “skimpy thong” like you said; but for them “brazilians” is all about hygiene! If they banned that in New Jersey let it be, let the people rule. I’ll say that whom ever waxed that lady didn’t know what was doing.It’s optional wax if you want to! However to answer your question I say NO! They should not ban Brazilian Wax in GA!
NJYM — She didn’t die from money and greed, she died in a country that treats EVERYONE that walks through the door. It was a tragic delay in treatment, and a tragic outcome that had nothing to do with money or greed. Now, if she had died in the US, I might agree with you.
Get a grip people stop blaming the health care when she was already unconcious and in a coma when arriving at the hospital. Canadian health care is just as good as USA healthcare. If you think social medicine is poor medicine then you are SICK. Listening to too many politicians that don’t know what they are talking about. I have social medicine and it is wonderful and I get all the treatments I need and I pay for it through my taxes instead of going bankrupt. GIVE ME A BREAK. Unless you live in it or experience it then you don’t have a right to say something you don’t know anything about.
I am so proud to be a Georgian after reading these comments. Seriously. Maybe instead of the government getting involved, though, people could try not being stupid.
Reagan once said, “If the Senators from New Jersey are so worried about the wolves in Yellowstone, maybe we should let a bunch of wolves loose in New Jersey.” It’s a shame he was kidding as clearly the herd of politicians in New Jersey needs thinning.
The Brazilian wax makes a woman look like a little girl down there (hey, I had sisters growing up!)…and for me, it’s kind of a turn off—because I have no pedaphillia inclinations. Girls, I ain’t the only guy that thinks so—more men than you realize say it’s no hot. Trim it yes, shave/wax it…no. Besides, when the stubble starts growing back, it is like sandpaper….which scratchs during intimate activity. Did you know that pubic hair actually functions as a form of dry skin lubricant for sex?
Willie you are an idiot!!! Not every hospital in America has specialists, people do need to be transferred alot, hello not every hospital is located in a metropolis!!!
The Ban is not for just full removal of pubic hair as the Brazilian Waxing suggests but it is illegal to even do a trim. If you wax or not, the state should not be dicating if you can or not get groomed. Help us petition to the AG office to overturn this ban. http://www.jairasbrazilianwax.org
Big gathering event on Monday 3/23
I live in Canada, and believe that our healthcare system is in a horrible crisis and will only get worse. Compared to European countries we are number 23 out of 30 in terms of quality of healthcare. That’s nothing to write home about.
According to ER physicians and trauma surgeons, Montreal lacks the capacity to offer an emergency helicopter service. One would think that a city the size of Montreal, dealing with very ill and injured persons would provide an emergency helicopter. Such a service can get someone from a smaller, more remote hospital to one offering trauma service, much more quickly. Longer ambulance rides, can indeed increase fatality rates, in the case of life threatening injury or illness.
Montreal lacks emergency helicopter system
Updated: Wed Mar. 18 2009 6:43:21 PM
ctvmontreal.ca
Montreal is lacking an emergency helicopter system, according to Dr. Tarek Razek, head of the trauma team at the Montreal General Hospital.
“We have no medical helicopter transport system in this region or in western Quebec at all. And it’s the only region I’ve been able to find in the western world,” he said.
He notes that Nova Scotia, which is not a wealthy province, has a medical helicopter.
It is a problem that is frustrating for some of Montreal’s trauma professionals.
“I have a child and I think about what happens if we’re driving in the beautiful countryside and we have a car crash. He can’t– or I won’t be able to– get him to definitive care,” said Dr. Paola Fata, a trauma surgeon at the MUHC.
The problem has come to light after actress Natasha Richardson suffered a tumble on a beginner ski hill at Mont Tremblant on Monday. The fall resulted in a serious brain injury. She was not wearing a helmet.
“If you have a ski crash at Mont Tremblant or in Sutton, I cannot get you to my centre fast enough to have those reductions in mortality. I just can’t. Because we don’t have the mechanisms and the systems in this region to get you there. So– wear a helmet when you ski– because you’re not going to come to me,” said Razek.
I want the people Americans and Canadians who like the Canadian system to see what Canadians are saying about their socialized health care system :
(AP) A letter from the Moncton Hospital to a New Brunswick heart patient in need of an electrocardiogram said the appointment would be in three months. It added: “If the person named on this computer-generated letter is deceased, please accept our sincere apologies.” Americans who flock to Canada for cheap flu shots often come away impressed at the free and first-class medical care available to Canadians, rich or poor. But tell that to hospital administrators constantly having to cut staff for lack of funds, or to the mother whose teenager was advised she would have to wait up to three years for surgery to repair a torn knee ligament.
“It’s like somebody’s telling you that you can buy this car, and you’ve paid for the car, but you can’t have it right now,” said Jane Pelton. Rather than leave daughter Emily in pain and a knee brace, the Ottawa family opted to pay $3,300 for arthroscopic surgery at a private clinic in Vancouver, with no help from the government.
“Every day we’re paying for health care, yet when we go to access it, it’s just not there,” said Pelton.
The average Canadian family pays about 48 percent of its income in taxes each year, partly to fund the health care system. Rates vary from province to province, but Ontario, the most populous, spends roughly 40 percent of every tax dollar on health care, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
The system is going broke, says the federation, which campaigns for tax reform and private enterprise in health care.
What about the availability of healthcare here are the stats
An estimated 4 million of Canada’s 33 million people don’t have family physicians and more than 1 million are on waiting lists for treatment, according to the Canadian Medical Association. Meanwhile, some 200 physicians head to the United States each year, attracted by lower taxes and better working conditions. Canada has 2.1 physicians per 1,000 people, while Belgium has 3.9, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
What about rationing health care does the Canadian system ration? Yes they call it queuing and here it what the Canadian doctors think of it
Queuing
Queuing is a controversial measurement, not least because there may be many explanations for the queuing, many of them medically justifiable, so that aggregate queuing figures may conflate those whose waiting poses no health or other risk with those whose health may be impaired or may suffer pain while waiting.
That being said, in a system in which health services are free at the point of consumption, queuing is the most common form of rationing scarce medical resources. And since patient satisfaction plays no part in determining incomes or other economic rewards for health care providers and administrators in the public system, patients’ time is treated as if it has no value. There are no penalties in the system for making people wait
All of this is due, as I argued in a major paper I co-authored in 2002,10 to the conflict of interest at the heart of Medicare, in which the people who are the ultimate providers of health care services in Canada are also the people charged with regulating the system and quality assurance. Since no one is a competent judge of his or her own performance, and no one likes to be held accountable for his or her work, the result is that the health care system simply does not set tough standards or collect the information that would allow us to hold the system’s administrators accountable for their stewardship of our health care and the billions of dollars that they spend. The people who would collect the information are also the people whose performance would be assessed if useful information were made available. There appears to be no legal obligation on governments actually to supply the services they have promised to the population as their monopoly supplier of health insurance. This is an appalling double standard, as no responsible regulator would permit a private supplier of insurance to behave in this way, as a recent background paper for my Institute makes clear.11
There is more on Queuing and the lack of statistics
“I would also like to point out that while we talk a lot about queuing in the Canadian health care system, and we talk as if we know how many people are waiting and how long they wait, in fact we do not know this at all. Ironically for the largest single program expenditure of governments in Canada, we know astonishingly little about what we get for our money. As my colleague David Zitner, Director of Medical Informatics at Dalhousie University in Halifax and Health Policy Fellow at my Institute, likes to say, no health care institution in Canada can tell you how many people got better, how many people got worse, and how many people’s condition was left unchanged by their contact with their institution. None of them can give you an answer. No one knows how many people died while waiting for needed surgery. No one knows how many people are queuing for any particular procedure or how many people cannot find a family doctor. Mostly we have guesswork, anecdote, and subjective measures, not objective ones (such as the Fraser Institute reports mentioned earlier). We do not even know how long someone has to wait before he or she has waited “too long,” because the health care system does not establish official standards for timely care–although presumably even Mr. Romanow would agree that someone who died while waiting for care may have waited a tad too long.
Natasha would be the person that waited “a tad too long”
What are Canadians saying about MRI’s and CT scans and technology?
Medical technology
With respect to medical technology, Canada’s performance is also unimpressive. In a study12 comparing Canadians’ access to four specific medical technologies (computed tomography [CT] scanners, radiation equipment, lithotriptors, and magnetic resonance imagers [MRI]), with access by citizens of other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Canadians’ access was significantly poorer in three of the four. Despite spending a full 1.6 percent of GDP more on health care than the OECD average, Canadians were well down the league tables in access to CT scanners (21st of 28), lithotriptors (19th out of 22), and MRIs (19th out of 27). Moreover, access to several of these technologies worsened relative to access in other countries over the last decade.
Anything that is free is usually SH#$ Canadians on free health care
“Free” Health Care Empowers the Poor
Everything I want to say about this is summed up in a story that happened to my partner Shelley. Shelley and I are partners in a restaurant, and she actually runs it. She was given an appointment at the hospital for a procedure, and she duly showed up at the appointed time. Two hours later she was still sitting there waiting to be called. Now she was only able to get a two-hour parking meter, and so she approached the desk and asked if she could go and put money in the meter. She was curtly told that she was free to go and put the money in, but that if her name were called while she was away, that her name would fall back to the bottom of the queue. So she just decided that she would take the parking ticket as part of the price of getting the medical service she needed. Another two hours passed, and still she was not called, so she again approached the counter, and very patiently and politely explained (as only Shelley can, because she is the soul of graciousness) that she actually had a small business to run; that she was there at the appointed time for her appointment; that she had waited four hours, which is far longer than she had been led to expect the whole thing would take; that she had other commitments because of the business; and could they possibly at least give her some idea of how much longer she might have to wait?
Well, the woman behind the counter got on her dignity, drew herself up to her full height, glared at Shelley and said, “You’re talking as if you’re some kind of customer!”
There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, the essence of the problem: When the government supplies you with “free” health care, you are not a powerful customer who must be satisfied. They are doing you a favor and you owe the state gratitude and servility in return for this awesome generosity. They can give you the worst service in the world, but because it is free, you are totally disempowered. One of the most important lessons I have learned from my contact with the Canadian Medicare system is that payment makes you powerful. And its absence makes you risible if not invisible.
Will Canadians ever go back to private healthcare? Yes if they can check out below
CMA Head Says Canada’s Health-Care System in Crisis, Needs Change
Posted on: Wednesday, 22 August 2007, 21:15 CDT
By CAMILLE BAINS
VANCOUVER (CP) – The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says the country’s public health-care system is headed for crisis, but a greater role for private health care could be the right prescription.
Dr. Brian Day said in his inaugural speech to Canada’s medical establishment Wednesday that contracting out health services isn’t new and has helped slash wait lists.
“Let’s be clear: Canadians should have the right to private medical insurance when timely access is not available in the public system,” he said to applause from about 270 delegates at the annual convention
What does the Canadian who created the Canadian health care sytem 40 years ago say about it today? Ladies and Gentleman I give you Claude Castonguay
Back in the 1960s, Castonguay chaired a Canadian government committee studying health reform and recommended that his home province of Quebec — then the largest and most affluent in the country — adopt government-administered health care, covering all citizens through tax levies.
The government followed his advice, leading to his modern-day moniker: “the father of Quebec medicare.” Even this title seems modest; Castonguay’s work triggered a domino effect across the country, until eventually his ideas were implemented from coast to coast.
Four decades later, as the chairman of a government committee reviewing Quebec health care this year, Castonguay concluded that the system is in “crisis.”
“We thought we could resolve the system’s problems by rationing services or injecting massive amounts of new money into it,” says Castonguay. But now he prescribes a radical overhaul: “We are proposing to give a greater role to the private sector so that people can exercise freedom of choice.”
Castonguay advocates contracting out services to the private sector, going so far as suggesting that public hospitals rent space during off-hours to entrepreneurial doctors. He supports co-pays for patients who want to see physicians. Castonguay, the man who championed public health insurance in Canada, now urges for the legalization of private health insurance.
What would drive this champion of socialism to the private sector?
Try a health care system so overburdened that hundreds of thousands in need of medical attention wait for care, any care; a system where people in towns like Norwalk, Ontario, participate in lotteries to win appointments with the local family doctor.
Years ago, Canadians touted their health care system as the best in the world; today, Canadian health care stands in ruinous shape.
Sick with ovarian cancer, Sylvia de Vires, an Ontario woman afflicted with a 13-inch, fluid-filled tumor weighing 40 pounds, was unable to get timely care in Canada. She crossed the American border to Pontiac, Mich., where a surgeon removed the tumor, estimating she could not have lived longer than a few weeks more.
The Canadian government pays for U.S. medical care in some circumstances, but it declined to do so in de Vires’ case for a bureaucratically perfect, but inhumane, reason: She hadn’t properly filled out a form. At death’s door, de Vires should have done her paperwork better.
De Vires is far from unusual in seeking medical treatment in the U.S. Even Canadian government officials send patients across the border, increasingly looking to American medicine to deal with their overload of patients and chronic shortage of care.
Critics say these border crossings highlight the dangers of a government-run health care system.
“The Canadian healthcare system has used the United States as a safety net for years,” said Michael Turner of the Cato Institute. “In fact, overall about one out of every seven Canadian physicians sends someone to the United States every year for treatment.”
Neonatal intensive care units in Alberta and Ontario have also been stretched to capacity, she said.
The cost of these airlifts and treatments, paid to U.S. hospitals by the province under Canada’s universal health care system, runs upwards of $1,000 a child.
Well since I started this at least part of it anyway I will add to my previous comments albeit to the chagrin of some of my Canadian brethren. I did tell you exactly what her diagnosis was prior to her autopsy coming out because as I stated earlier this is a textbook case, textbook. I am a physician and surgeon and I do know the Canadian system well and many of your physicians as they all leave as fast as they can from Canada to come down to the U.S. so they can make a living here in the U.S.. I am sorry that you are upset over your socialized system the only other bad news is the people that neglected to take care of Natasha will not be sued into oblivion like they would here for this neglect. That is right neglect this lady is dead and YOUR health care system is at least partly responsible and as you can see a lot of people know all about it and so do I. You see I lived in Michigan and Washington State and Buffalo during my training to be an orthopedic and spinal surgeon, about a total of 19 years including college and research, residency and fellowship years. All of those cities had programs set up to take care of the more affluent Canadians that did not want to wait 8 months to two years for a total joint or an organ transplant. To not have a hospital prepared to take care of serious injuries in proximity to a ski resort is laughable. By the way people who wear helmets get epidural bleeds and concussions too and wearing helmets is no excuse for not having adequate medical facilities. Governments (that includes the USA) cannot manage large sums or even moderate sums of money and they have proven that over and over but the hard core idiots cannot seem to get that through their heads. For example we just gave AIG bailout money to pay off bonuses to people that do not even work there anymore!! How STUPID is that?!?
I truly feel bad for Natasha and her family as this was a useless loss of life and the medical system is mostly to blame. DO NOT BLAME NATASHA ONLY COWARDS BLAME THE VICTIM. All patients when they feel better walk and talk and try to go about their business. The diagnostic period although short and unforgiving is there and she had it, she complained of headaches etc. but no one could act on it because they simply do not have the accommodations and they really should as they are at a ski resort where hundreds and thousands of people will fall every year and they should be prepared to take care of business and they are not and that is it. Typically there are protocols set up for these kinds of disasters because although not very common they do happen and the system should be prepared and clearly it is not. Had she gone to a clinic near the ski resort immediately they still could not have done anything as they plainly do not have the facilities and she would had to been flown somewhere and that takes time and you do not have that much time it has to be done on the timetable of the disease not some failed socialized half baked medical timetable
As far as me getting up in a room and telling people who are “educated” how bad this system is, I can assure you that I have absolutely no qualms or trepidations about telling the truth to anybody, anytime anywhere as there is no fear in my heart, none. The truth is what it is
Willie, I’m asking this with the wide-eyed curiosity of a 2nd-year medical student. I was sucked in to this debate first by my curiosity about the Richardson case, as well as the interesting comments here. As intelligent and experienced as you are, with 19 years of medical training, why would you choose this forum to express your views? I agree with you on most of what you say, and it’s clear you feel very strongly about your beliefs – why then would you spend over an hour commenting on an article that not many people will read? I’m sure you’re an extremely busy person who understands the difference between activity and productivity. Do more productive means exist out there for physicians to express their concerns about our healthcare system? Without us, no one would have any healthcare in the first place. I suppose I’m just wondering… if this is your only place to vent your views and attempt to affect some change, what will practicing medicine be like for my generation?
I completely agree that it is overdiagnosed! I ALSO agree that the condition exists and those with it need help and possibly medication, but faaaaarrrrr too many children are being pumped full of pills and labeled when all they need is some discipline and RECESS!!!!! Does anyone else think it’s insane and inhumane to expect a bunch of elementary school children to sit in a desk all day and behave? When I was in school we got two recesses until 4th grade and then 1 through 6th grade. Kids today need to be outside running off some steam and moving their little lard a$$e$!
This is so unbelievably sad. She and Liam Neeson have been so classy with the way they have handled their careers and raised their children. Besides being an uncommonly talented actress, she was above all a beautiful and caring human being. She will be missed.
Maria what you say is somewhat correct but you have to have a real passion for this profession and as you will learn sometimes you just have to dialogue with people especially when your voracity is being challenged by uneducated lay people. There is nothing wrong with having an opinion even a wrong one and the internet is hit and miss for sure but people use it for education and you should add your voice to the discussion as you are educated. Right now you are studying the second year med school load and you seem to not have enough time and that is normal. However never be too busy to talk to people when you are in practice people especially patients as they need reassurance and just knowing that they can talk to their doctor is huge. I talk to patients all day about surgery and success and failure of treatment. All patients have my cell phone and home phone I am never unavailable to them. I have had seven spinal operations myself 4 on my neck and three on my back, I come from a family of seven physicians and surgeons and I have grown up around medicine my whole entire life. I went to U of M in Ann Arbor played football for Bo Schembechler and then went to Wayne State med school, I was a linebacker in college (part of the cause of the seven spine surgeries later in life) I have always been a fighter and stood up for what was right. The American people are being lied to, again, about health care. I have worked in all types of medical systems city hospitals at Detroit Receiving, County hospitals like LA County USC and LA County Martin Luther King, VA hospitals, and private hospitals well run and not well run.
A well run private hospital with academically oriented leadership is the best health care in the world period. They are provide great health care, they are profitable and provide jobs and a sense of pride for the entire community. By the way there is nothing wrong with making a good living while providing good care and do not let anyone tell you that there is something wrong with you making a good living that is total BS. Everybody wants to have first class health care from a committed physician and surgeon and those people cost money. Bright dedicated hard working people are not free, most of them had to borrow money to go to school and the people they borrowed money from want their money back plus interest.
I did my spine fellowship at William Beaumont in Royal Oak Michigan that is a great hospital and it does all of those things. As far as venting goes I am not venting I am teaching and if I saved just 1 life I did a good job and that is how I see it. The evidence i presented did not require that much time I am an experienced researcher I have written scientific papers, the evidence of this bad health care scenario is overwhelming and this was just a smidgeon of it.
On a personal side learn not to argue with people that know a lot more about something than you do and never insist that you are right when you are clearly wrong in addition to looking like a clown as a physician you will kill somebody. READ the literature most of these people do not read and they just listen to people tell lies and because it sounds good and because it supports their own political and social position they back it up. The Canadian health care system although well intentioned is a huge failure the man who invented it, Claude Castonguay said so himself!!! I mean how much more verification do you need? Now the system represents socialist hypocrisy because it cannot meet the BASIC needs of the people and emergency services are basic needs, and the system failed because it does not require what medicine compels the most RESPONSIBILITY. That is correct no one in the system has to be responsible and they do not want to be responsible because that would mean looking at what they have wrought on the Canadian people.
Finally it is my intention to pursue a law degree. I will do it over the internet. You do not know the depth of the depravity in health care. There is tremendous waste and abuse and I am talking about right here in the U.S. The politics of healthcare revolves around the love of money not truly earned and lies and the people are truly secondary and the physicians are considered as pest, people in the way of the “agenda”. I am just practicing my skills on the internet jury “presenting my case” as it were. When people see my real name I want them to tremble if they have mistreated a patient or a physician. I want their attorneys to tell their clients that “we need to settle if we can because this guy is the real deal and he means it. “
Good Luck Maria I am sure you will do fine just remember always be honest no matter how difficult it is and always be available and people will love you and respect you and you will feel great about your work and yourself.
Anyone on here who denies the existence of depression, has obviously NOT suffered from it. I have been on anti-depressants since the end of 1999, because these things happened to me: I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and underwent emergency surgery during which I nearly died. I was in hospital for 8 weeks. The following year I had further surgery. I have an ileostomy bag for the rest of my life (I’m now 36). I’ve had endless financial problems, my mother died in 2002 and now I’m a full-time carer for my father who has vascular dementia. Depression is an ILLNESS which is caused by problems with neurotransmitters in the brain. Research has shown that people who inherit a certain version of the serotonin transporter gene are susceptible to depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and autism spectrum disorders. Serotinin, dopamine, noradrenaline etc are chemicals in the brain and the body, just as insulin is a chemical.Some of the posters on here really need to think about the rubbish they are coming out with, or they need to experience the same feelings that I’ve experienced: feeling suicidal, not being able to think, not being able to concentrate, feeling overwhelmed with fear which you think you’ll never get over…..paradoxically, a feeling that you really are about to die yet you don’t want to, or that you are falling further and further down a dark pit which you can’t get out of. To anyone who stills refuses to believe in depression: try living my life and THEN see how you feel.
Willie, as a passionate person myself, I appreciate the courage and drive you express in your willingness to take on controversial subjects. Today, many people are afraid to question the wisdom of socialized medicine (or the quality of our health care in the U.S.) for fear of being ridiculed. The practice browbeating others into silence is as old as civilization. Beautiful Natasha has indeed shed light on questions that must be asked – for everyone’s health and well being.
Pity the poor doctors !! What means will people have to be warned of a crappy MD or surgeon? Yeah, it’s always the oddball who complains….. nobody ever posts a legitimate claim/complaint on these sites. I’m just glad we have tort attorneys to protect us from jerks like Jeffrey Segal. Sniff, sniff, boo-hoo !! I guess we should all depend upon the AMA to provide us negative information against self interest !! Yep, that’s the ticket!
I am now 77 and in good health for my age, but concerned to know that my father and his father both
developed dementia at or around age 80. I have experienced intermittent depression since about age 10, and presently take 10 mg of paroxetine. I was hospitalized at VA in Augusta for about 30 days in
1982 for major depression. I am a retired professor from Georgia Southern University, living in Statesboro. I have had some difficulty remembering names for the last 2 or 3 years. I am physically active and play singles tennis once a week. I would be interested in any clinical trials that you under-take.
I would love to be in a trail or test. My dad died of early alzheimer’s. It was diagnosed prior to age 62. I was told to take two ibupron per day. I have not been doing so.
My mother in law is currently undergoing therapy at UAB in Alabama for Alzheimers, she is 80. Bother her parents and all four of her siblings that reached adulthood suffered from the disease. She is the only surviving child of her parents. She can recmember most family members but we know this will end soon. Before long we’ll be strangers to her. She is on a blind study medication now, I don’t see the good effects that my wife seems to see with her mom. My wife has undergone early test for the plaque that builds up in the brain and she was told she has a greater than sixty per-cent chance of developing the disease. Good luck
I intended to say good luck Mr.Fowler, I hope the best for you. I am 55 and I forget names and I have no history of this disease in my family that I am aware of, only by marriage.
I think most of us fear contracting this disease the most. It causes such a huge burden on caregivers who become as almost trapped as those who get this horrible disease with probably the most guilt and frustration it causes to all involved. If there is one disease we should probably work on in finding a cure this might be the one as it taxes both our health care system and families in such huge ways. Give me cancer or heart disease, but absolutely don’t give me Alzheimers.
Not remembering names is not Alzheimers it is when you can’t remember you car key will start your car or forgetting how to get home when you go to your local mall and have done it a many times.
My mom passed last year at 82, with congestive heart failure and pneumonia. However, she had a stroke seven years earlier and suffered some dementia a few years before she died, which according to her physician, was stroke related; regardless it was still hard to see her decline, but thankfully she still knew my sister and I, we were her caregivers. I don’t know the differences between stroke related dementia and alzheimer’s but I wish the mental decline of both types could be treated successfully.
This is the most cogent argument for the importance of early detection that I have see. Thank you Dr. Lah for constructing it. I am directing readers here from http://braintoday.blogspot.com.
I lost my dad to Alzheimers. While the disease slowly took him away from us my mother fought and lost a battle with colon cancer. My family and I were the caregivers and watched them both suffer daily. By far Alzheimers is the most devastating disease in so many respects. I worry daily about my risks and I cringe every time I hear someone say that a friend or love one is afflicted with Alzheimers. From personal experience, Alzheimer’s is devastating to the core!
My father passed away almost 3 years ago from the effects of Alzheimers but we lost him long before that. He no longer knew his family and friends and didn’t even remember who he was. He lost a lifetime of memories before he lost his life. So I guess that’s what it’s like to have your life taken away from you before you die. Very sad.
My father died from alzheimers in 93……………my sister just turned 60 yesterday and has for the past few years been experiencing memory loss……………….I expressed my concern to her husband and her daughter……………………I took matters into my own hands and flew up myself and drove her to the daughter……….long story short I wasn’t pleased with the dr…………..I flew back home………………another 2 weeks her husband took her to another doctore…………………..blood tests were done and she was told to come back in 3 months!! My plan is to go back up and request that further testing be done because her memory is horrible! Any testing that I should request would be appreciated………………..I am not exaggerating the memory………you have to take your health in your own hands, but if you aren’t capable or you’re scared, then a family member must step in !
Absolutely! If they can be treated like adults in criminal matters, why shouldn’t they be able to correct a mistake with a product that they could buy in less than a year’s time?
Kudos to this judge! It’s a great decision! Teens who purchase this product are making a much more responsible decision than having a baby before they’re financially and emotionally responsible enough to raise it. Ideally, they wouldn’t be having sex, but attempts to regulate sexual behavior has never been effective. Teens need access to this drug as well as to abortion without parental consent. This is a great decision.
May be good – May be bad, 17 year olds are very irresponsible and might try to use it as a form of birth control since they are obviously to laze to pop a birth control and/or use contraceptives. I don’t think it is designed to be used as birth control – might be harmful long term.
Bad decision. Why not just take parents further out of the equation. Parents need to be more involved and not less involved. These same teens could use the pill, all they had to do was ask their parents to get it for them. Keeping parents involved is a key to raising kids who will be productive, responsible adults.
Regarding Nona’s message I don’t think Teens should ever be allowed to have abortions without parental consent. I know some older young people who use abortion as a form of birth control and have had numerous abortions because they wouldn’t use birth control. Think of the damage that could possibly be done to your body later in life not to mention what if some medical emergency occurs during the abortion and the parents are not even aware of what is going on. That’s too big of a decision for a Teen to handle.
Absolutely they should allow the morning after pill to be bought. By no stretch of the imagination does that “promote” sex. They are going to have sex regardless of what options are available. In the heat of the moment I highly doubt they think “Wait, I don’t have to worry, I can get the morning after pill!”
This is one issue in which I cannot understand the Republican viewpoint on. As a Republican/conservative I want to prevent abortions and this pill does just that. A 17, even 16 year old child will abort a baby if it is allowed to develop. The pill stops that issue from taking place. We have to agree, at some point where or when to call a cell a baby, I don’t believe we can do that within 24 hours of actually having sex !
I do not think that it’s a good idea, because what if the child is allergic to something in the pill? It will be the “PARENTS” responsibility to take care of that childs medical bills if someting happens. I feel that if the government is passing this law, then when something happens they need to take care of the child if something goes wrong.
A 17-year old who was unfortunate – or misinformed – enough to require emergency contraception should be given access to it as immediately as possible. Particularly considering that they wouldn’t necessarily have time to get their parents involved.
I want to add another comment – a 17 year old is an adult in the eyes of the law as far as being arrested is concerned and as far as taking the parents further out of the equation? Most teens that have sex do not tell their parents and too many teens, while considered adults in some areas, are not responsible enough to remember to take the pill everyday and other birth control options, like Morena which my 20 year old daughter uses, are very expensive.
how can a girl be too young and immature to know well enough about themselves and their futures to decide whether or not to take the morning after pill, and at the same time be mature enough to be a parent 9 months later?
As a young adult I have a very important newsflash:
A) Not necessary most, but a LARGE percentage of YOUR children will have had sex by the time they are 18
B) Even smart kids (like me who graduated with a 3.8 from college) have sex before they are 18; to this day the parents still think they are angels
C)If you are smart enough to know that it is not an intelligent decision to have a child while you are still growing up, more power to you. Parents aren’t consulted before the act of sex, they shouldn’t be forced into a situation afterwords. Has anybody considered the fact that sometimes the parents are CRAZY and bringing them in the situation would just make things a thousand times worse?
Good idea as long as the product can not advertise towards minors. I would prefer to see this product have the same advertising restrictions as cigarettes.
Anybody who still thinks abstinence programs work need to retire to the beachfront property in Nebraska. If it helps curtail the number of illegitimate parents, I say go for it. Hell, I’d rather my tax money go towards the morning-after pill and abortions than Viagra, which is asinine that Medicare pays for.
I think parents should be more involved with their kids lives. Kids may not be responsible enough to take the pill every night or even have the money to pay for it but it only takes common sense to use a condom. I don’t think the morning after pill should be used as birth control like abortions have become. Ok, so we let 17 year olds get it, what next 11 year olds. As a parent would you want your 11 year old to get pregnant and you never know about it? Plus this pill I am sure is not meant to be used all the time and there may be severe side effcts if abused but kids are not going to think about things like that. If a teen has sex with no protection once and the consequences don’t exist then they are going to continue to do it and that puts the risk of AIDS and other STD higher. 17 is OK, but I don’t think they should let it go any further then that. I was having sex at 17 and was mature enough to use a condom.
I support this decision. If a 17 year old can make a decision to have sex, and then decide that she does not want to become pregnant, I think she is doing the most responsible thing she can do at that time – Not complete the pregnancy. Of course, she should have taken measures to prevent the pregnancy in the first place but that’s another subject. If a 17 year old doesn’t want a baby, why make her have it????
Imagine…. you’ve had sex “in the heat of the moment” and weren’t on the pill…. or, your partner wore a condom that broke/failed… or you were raped… or you forgot to take your birth control pill that morning (or maybe you took it, but haven’t taken it regularly enough to be effective). Sound familiar to anyone?
These scenarios aren’t limited to teens, they happen to plenty of adults too–so why should the morning after pill to only be available to adults but exclude teens? You can’t legislate responsible behavior into law, but what you CAN do is give both teens and adults a responsible OPTION if they do make a mistake so that they can correct it. Plus if teens are as irresponsible as the media make them out to be, then shouldn’t they have MORE options than adults available to deal with their mistakes because they ARE immature, and consequently shouldn’t adults be the ones to haver fewer options (because if the argument is that adults are more responsible, then we should be able to have a much easier time avoiding these situations, right???)
Yes absolutely! I would rather 17 year olds be able to end the pregnancy rather than become dependent on the medicaid/WIC system for the first five years of the unwanted child’s life.
When I was in college I knew several girls that used an abortion as a form of birth control. One girl has three done in the two years I knew here. Would the morning after pill been better than an abortion? Yes. But she didn’t even bother with birth control because she knew she could go to the clinic and get it taken care of. Why should we make it easier for teens to be irresponsible? We should make them own up to their mistakes and learn from them– not make it easier for them to cover up mistakes.
EJ, your response is not very well thought out or intelligent. Why not just ban abortions? That seems to be what you are saying. Only problem is women and girls will turn to back alley abortions and coat hangers. Great, not only will the fetus (not yet a baby) die, but the mother might as well. Great job. You just want to control all women.
So a recurring theme here is ‘what if it is misused, abused, or the user not smart enough use it right or to make a good decision on when to use something like this’. How about we get on the boat and finally decide that COMPREHENSIVE sex education is missing here in GA. How about a curriculum that includes abstinence, sex, birth control, relationships, pregnancy, STD’s and prevention (including condoms and other barriers), values and on and on… available to all teens in GA school, but maybe as an elective so that those who are just dead against it can opt out. I would love to see what happens to teen pregnancy rates 5 years after something like that was offered and delivered the right way. A labor and delivery RN can only dream…
Deepdiver, I am not saying to ban abortions. I am saying that if someone who is old enough to be in college can’t be responsible enough to use proper birth control, how can we assume that teens will be responsible enough to only use the morning after pill only as a last resort?
Teens will see this as a free pass. They may not use another other form of birth control and rely on this instead.
Well, here is yet again another clear indicator of the failing morals in this country. Perhaps these “Young” adults should be taught some morals and or ethics and more useful; some self control. Maybe they should be taught to take responsibility for their choices. Teach them it’s “Not all about them” and that some things are not ok.
If we could do away with abstinence only education across this state…then this might be less of an issue. Teaching kids that condoms are not being effective could be the reason they aren’t using them and are instead seeking the morning after pill. Why can’t we teach our children about their bodies at an early age? Why can’t we provide the necessary health services to keep them from certain poverty or….even to lift them out of poverty? This isn’t rocket science. I educated my children early on about their bodies and reproductive health. Unfortunately, many parents are not equipped to do the same. This is the issue. Whether a parent is in jail, believes sex ed goes against Jesus’teachings or sticks his head in the sand…the outcome is the same—kids are not getting the necessary tools to make good decisions, prevent pregnany and disease. Knowledge is power. There is a total lack of regard for health promotion and prevention in this state…THIS KIND OF THINKING MUST CHANGE IN ORDER FOR GEORGIA TO MOVE FORWARD AND ON TO OTHER ISSUES NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE OF THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES.
EJ, responsible teens using proper birth control can have the same problems that responsible adults have. Condoms break. They can slip off. You can forget the pill. Let teens have the chance to correct a situation if a mistake is made, whether it’s their fault or not.
Those saying that the morning after pill is not abortion need to examine the science a bit. It contains a lot of the same drugs that the birth control pill contains and, depending on your definition of abortion, both may actually cause abortions via interruption of the implantation process.
Those saying that buying the morning after pill is the responsible thing to do hear this. Unfortunately, society, largely influenced by secular-progressive liberals, has taught kids that they are not responsible for their actions. They can always blame somebody else for what happens to them. But you’re really telling me that they had no idea of the possible consequences of their actions? No amount of sex ed is ever going to stop kids from doing dumb things. The responsible thing to do would be to carry it to term. Take responsibility for your actions. If you have no means at all of taking care of the child, then put it up for adoption (everybody liked Juno, right?).
To those that would reflexively retort: Well then what are you views on the death penalty, huh? Even though there are obvious differences between a convicted killer and an unborn infant that render this argument useless, I would answer that I am not really for the death penalty. Believe me, I could really care less when it’s used. I just believe that there are punishments worse than death for monsters like Brian Nichols. If it was up to me, it would be solitary confinement to life. But what do you care, I’m just a crazy conservative.
The elderly are required to engage in some ’sporting activities’ to stay active and for ’soft landing’, and to consume more comfortable to digest diets such as fruits and veggies, which are instrumental for their metabolism and blood stream, from my perspective.
Michael, you need to examine the science. If a woman takes the pill the morning after, the egg hasn’t had a chance to implant, so, since it is an undifferentiated cell, it is not, cannot possibly, be a human by even the most ignorant religious conservative. Most people in the world don’t think you are a human until you’re born. So, don’t use your narrow-minded philosophy to dictate what any woman should or should not do with her body. No one has that right. And I have to say, your comments sort of smack of “let’s punish the slut for sinning by having her carry a baby nine months and then have to make the wrenching decision to keep the child or not”. When you are ready to adopt an illegitimate child, you can have an opinion, until then, keep your philosophy to yourself, and stop messing with the scientific facts. The morning after pill cannot possibly cause an abortion, because if the egg has implanted, it won’t work. ‘Nuff said. Now if you are one of the religious nut jobs that don’t believe in contraception, that is a whole other discussion. And again, it is not one that you are allowed to have an opinion on until you are able to get pregnant yourself.
Who is going to be responsible if the CHILD (yes, child) has an adverse or allergic reaction to this pill? The parents should know what the child has taken in order to tell EMS/doctors what was going on. It could save precious minutes/hours in saving the child’s life instead of them trying to figure out what the child took with tests, etc., which we all know can take HOURS in a hospital.
Instead of giving them a “easy out” (I guess killing a baby is an easy out) which will PROMOTE sex in teens, give them birth control and educate them…PARENTS.
the age of consent in Georgia is 16. If, by law, you are of legal age to have consensual sex…shouldn’t you ALSO be old enough to get emergency contraception?
Kids can already be treated with other drugs without the parent being around if a kid is found unconcious and they don’t know who the parents are. Your arguement is moronic. Plus there are plenty of irresponsible parents out there, not to mention kids are having sex no matter what their parents want to believe. Why make a second mistake by having a baby that probably can not be taken care of. That sounds like a stupid lesson that society will be paying instead of the kid who initially made the mistake of having sex without a condom or birth control.
Yes of course they should, we treat them like adults for criminal matters, why not this?? I would make sure they require the minor to read the materials on HOW to use the pill and sign that they read it and understand HOW TO USE IT before giving it to them. Those names of who received the pill should not be released to anyone but a the pharmaceutical company, business establishment selling, and government officials. NOT PARENTS!
Emphatically yes. When underage sex stops, i’ll stop agreeing……as long as there is underage sex, then better to let them not get unnecessarily pregnant.
Plan B should be available for 17 year old teens. How many people do you know who was comfortable about talking about sex with their parent at that age. At seventeren years of age, you would have wanted this pill. Mistakes happen. Condoms are 99.90%. However, there is a 17% chance that they make break! How about that statistic? Condoms are only effective when they do not break.
These pills cost like $40 a piece. I don’t think they’re going to be ‘overused’ they’re prohibitively expensive. The government should be giving these away for free to keep unwanted kids and abortions at bay.
Nan is right. Has anyone here noticed that stupid people seem to breed more than anyone else? I believe you should have a license to breed. Gotta have a license to drive, hunt, & fish. People need to be “fixed” at puberty & only when they have passed a certain age & a test that determins your mental capability of raising another human then you get your license. Most idiots I know have more kids than anybody & they can’t take care of themselves, much less the kids. They can’t seem to figure out what makes babies.
Absurd, you can’t have your teeth cleaned without parental consent, the ignorance of people who emphatically state that parents should not be informed is astounding (Obama mama) are you kidding me.
absolutely!! I agree with the point about if they can be tried as adults while minors, why not let them buy the morning after pill. Plus, I’d much rather my daughter take the morning after pill behind my back then come home and announce that she is pregnant at 15 or 16. Finally, I don’t think it’s any more abortion than taking the pill regularly is. It’s a preventative.
Most definitely; you will hear good and bad about the morning after pill; there are responsible and irresponsible teens and adults, but that does not stop either from having sex. I was against giving my daughter birth control pills at 16, but as the female doctor said, “you can talk until you are blue in the face and that does not stop harmones from flowing and people from having sex, safe or not.” She told me about a 16 year old who had already had 3 abortions because her mom’s religion was getting in the way of the mom doing the right thing by giving her daughter birth control and counseling her about sex. As the doctor said, If something feels good, are you going to quit doing it?” Heck no, this applies to anything in life such as eating, sleeping and most of all sex. So people, wake up, get your head out of the sand, be real, think real. And yes, I realize some teen may die from the morning after pill, but sometimes teens die while having a botched abortion or an unwanted, un-prepared for baby too. That is life….
“Parents should be more involved with their children’s lives.”
“They might use it as their only birth control.”
“What if they’re allergic to it?”
“If we taught kids morals they wouldn’t have sex in the first place.”
In the end analysis, absolutely NONE of these “shoulds” and “what ifs” are sufficient to deny a teen access to this pill. We have irresponsible kids- we also have irresponsible adults–and what, pray tell, is the intellectual difference between a 17 year old and a 19 or 20 year old? It’s often not as much as we’re trying to make it.
For that matter, I think any female who faces an unwanted pregnancy at any age should be able to access this option. Yes, even 11, and I don’t think that parental consent is always the best way to go either. I would be satisfied if someone under the age of 16 had to seek out the assistance of any trusted adult- teacher, pastor, counselor, family friend. Why? Because, unfortunately, things like rape and incest exist, and unfortunately, some kids can’t just go to their parents. We can’t expect that an 11-year old would feel comfortable telling her mother, for instance, that Daddy got her pregnant. If you think it’s an outlandish example, think again- it happens far more often than we want to believe.
Moreover, this rhetoric about teen girls needing to accept the “consequences” of their mistakes? Are you really implying that it is better to force young women to birth and care for children that they are not financially/emotionally/otherwise unprepared to have than to head this tragedy off at the pass? It seems to me it would not even be so much a punishment to the mother than to the poor children whose physical and emotional well-being could be compromised because of our insistence on teaching the mother a “lesson.”
And, for what it’s worth, isn’t it interesting that no one has ever suggested that we try to develop a drug that might temporarily block teen boys from making sperm? I love how we villainize teen girls and their sexual “bad behavior” while letting the guys off the hook completely.
I love the argument that kids are going to have sex anyways so we should allow them to make the “responsible” decision of something like the morning after pill. Well Kids are going to lie too…so we should not even bother to tell them not to…Oh yeah they are going to drink, cheat, bully, and be disrespectful of others…so there is no need to tell them not to do those things, instead we need to educate them on their rights, on how many times they can get into trouble before “really getting into trouble’, on someone coming behind them to clean up there mess. Not saying I have all the answers but that argument holds no water either.
There is no big difference between 17 and 18. None. And for all of the folks asking why these ‘girls’ aren’t smart enough to use condoms I have a news flash for you: this pill is for when your birth control FAILS. So you were smart enough to use birth control but something went wrong. But if young women are coerced into sex or their parents are too conservative to discuss sex with them then this is a great thing. A lot of young women CANNOT go to their parents when they start being sexually active. Unfortunately we do not live in a Utopian society where people will react the way we want them to. And for whoever said that there could be reactions to the medication that the parents will responsible for must think something magical happens when your 18th birthday rolls around. You will be just as allergic at 18 as you are at 17. And most 18 year olds I know would still be cared for by parents.
Oh, and BTW…abortions are NOT being used as a prominent form of birth control, especially by teens. The majority of abortions are for women in their mid 20-early 30s.
Heather–your comments symbolize all the nonsense of those who defend abortion, and yes, contrary to a lie from another poster, the morning-after pill is equivalent to abortion: Who SAYS a 17-year-old is ready to be a mother to begin with? That issue isn’t the point, anyway, at this juncture, which is something you and your pro-choice friends overlook, probably conveniently, as the mother in question already HAS a child.
What that mother does NOT have, contrary to judicial tyranny, is the right to terminate a pregnancy. This effort is just the latest attempt by pro-choice advocates and the Left in general to hide from consequences. They don’t want sexual abstinence taught in schools; they want contraceptives distributed, and they say that promoting a moral approach is somehow a violation of “Separation of Church and State”, which is untrue (not surprisingly, they totally misinterpret that phrase, probably conveniently again).
No woman has the right to an abortion or the morning-after pill, regardless of age, and we need people to stand up and speak out against all the lies we’re infested with in our culture. Take Planned Parenthood, for example: It infests young girls with so many lies that I don’t know where to start, such as the myth that abortion isn’t murder, the myth that there is no post-abortion guilt, etc.. One lie leads to another, and these people are nothing but a collective circle of dishonesty.
We don’t need the Left preaching its nonsense, promoting all the irresponsibility in the world, even to the point of blatantly attacking responsibility, and then acting as though those who oppose its tyrannical views are unconstitutional. What utter nonsense. Fact: If you’re going to get pregnant, you need to be responsible and see the pregnancy through, and if you’re not ready to support the child in question, give him up for adoption. I’m tired of all this nonsense where people get pregnant and act like they somehow have the right to terminate a pregnancy. (This “logic” is absolutely no different than saying, “Oh, I didn’t want to go to work last month. Therefore, I have the right to steal to pay my bills.”)
By the way, I posted a very-similar response last night, which ajc.com didn’t post. Not the first time this website has done so in regard to one of my posts. Gotta love the “objective” liberal media, huh? Perhaps I should make a phone call, and not to ajc.com, either.
Well Ronald, once you get pregnant and carry a baby to term you can tell people what the responsible thing to do is.
Until then, please understand that not all sex is consensual, especially when teens and young girls are concerned. And NO, the morning after pill is not abortion. It is IREESPONSIBLE to force a young woman to go through with a pregnancy based on some morality that not EVERYONE follows. Everyone has a different situation and pregnant women require a lot of care. And as soon as a baby comes into the picture who needs constant care because the mother was in no position to be a mother in the first place I know who will start complaining first about having to support that baby.
“escapee”–What utter nonsense you just typed. Don’t misuse freedom of speech to type your babble, and don’t give me any misogynistic babble about abortion allegedly being a female issue (oh, the morning-after pill IS the same as abortion, whether in-denial folks like yourself will attest to this fact of not).
Keep your excuses to yourself. You pro-choice advocates have as many excuses as you do lunatical arguments, which is saying something. You try to justify abortion because the female in question isn’t the right age or doesn’t have enough income, etc.. The nonsense and lies go on and on and on, and the level of responsibility is in inverse correlation. All excuses aside, you promote not only murder but all the irresponsibility in the world, in an effort to promote more of the same for others.
Although I disagree with you completely I understand that everyone has his or her own opinion. And you should live by your convictions. That being said, your particular dogma should not be what governs the lives and bodies of everyone else.
If you disagree with something then by all means don’t do it. Abortion is bad? Don’t get one. Sex outside of wedlock is wrong? Don’t do it.
I’m with QueDog on the overdiagnosis. A lack of proper parental discipline is a major factor in the behavior of many ADHD “diagnosed” kids! Also, in my opinion, a direct by-product of the “give them anything they want and they’ll grow up to be happy people” parental generation(s). (ie; No Discipline!)
As for my “dogma”, every individual is dogmatic, my friend, so don’t pull that left-wing trick that I referred to earlier where you try to stigmatize falsely the Christian principles this nation was founded upon.
You can tell your pro-choice friends not to try to maintain their dogma into law.
You support, whether you realize your doing so or not, the myth that the individual decides what’s true. To say, for example, to abortion opponents, “…don’t have one.” is like saying the exact, same thing to opponents of drive-by shootings, whether you’d like to admit this fact or not.
As for the morning-after pill, no one should have access to it, and to no surprise, all it does is promote more and more of the irresponsibility I’ve referred to earlier, and “safe sex” isn’t the answer, either.
“Given the magnitude of the impending threat, successful drugs are likely to become multibillion-dollar blockbusters for big pharma. I encourage, support, and participate in these efforts”, THIS STATEMENT IS A BIG CONCERN TO ME along with possible side effects of the drugs. We are well aware that pharmaceuticals are very profitiable – sometimes at the cost of health and wellness. If I’m “still kicking rear ends at bridge clubs”, I wouldn’t want to take anything that might hinder that “kickingness” even if it means a better quality of life later on. AND, if I’m 88 with few physical ailments, taking a drug that might decrease my physical condition would not be welcomed. I agree that the 3-minute MCI test is not enough. I experienced this first hand with my mother. I was even sent out of the room. It should be common knowledge that some cognitive impaired indiv. can answer some of those simple questions well enough to pass that test. I could have given them a more accurate picture of what was actually going on. AND this happened at a geriatric clinic. But, I’m sure we all agree, a lot needs to be done.
Alpen, you doubtless keep up to date with allergy medication and air purification; have you seen a new development called a liquid Ioniser? It clears the air, even in remote corners of the room by spraying partially charged liquidions. It doesn’t need to move the air with a noisey fan and is as effective as many fan based air purifiers. One real benefit from the technology is that once it has knocked the allergen from the air it locks it out for good so it doesn’t re-enter the airspace even if you disturb the furnishings in your room. This also means that there is no need to carry our a major refit of your home to rid it of carpets and curtains.
I have terrible seasonal allergies, but this year I beat them. I started taking Zyrtek and Flonaise (spray) all through the winter. I also tried allergy shots for over three years and I believe that this helped me tremendously.
Leave it to the ENTs to claim that sublingual immunotherapy is as effective as traditional injection immunotherapy. If it were indeed equally good, safer, and more convenient, wouldn’t the FDA have approved a sublingual product for use in the US? Wouldn’t every allergist offer it in his/her office? The fact is, most sublingual studies have been conducted in Europe, where there are different populations with different genes exposed to different pollens, and study designs have used widely varying doses and in some cases no or poorly chosen controls. Not surprisingly there have been mixed and irreproducible results. There is a lack of data from rigorously designed clinical trials in US populations and until then it is irresponsible to claim that this therapy is equally efficacious.
But this is what you get when you see a surgeon for a medical problem. Dr. Patel’s profile on emoryhealthcare.org includes on his list of clinical interests epilepsy, facial paralysis, neck pain, parathyroid surgery, tongue malignancies, and trauma among many others. Consulting a physician like this for allergies is like taking your broken lawnmower to an auto mechanic.
Bottom line – if you are one of the many millions who suffer from allergic disease, you are far better off seeing a board certified allergist who spent 3 years in subspecialty training to actually understand how the immune system works.
YES. I am 13 years old and cannot stand my period. its just more plumbing to be maintained. It is stupid that there is aquestion about it ! Some girls love it, i think.. and some girls like me hate it.
Or they could be of course buying it for sexual reasons. I think anyone that has their period should be allowed to take it.
That should become a loaw of some type!
No kidding ! ask any girll and i bet you they will not say they enjoy having their period!
ITS NOT FAIR!
I suffer from what is called Night Time Easting Syndrom. It is where you get up in the middle of the night to eat, sometimes three or four times during the night. Does anyone have this problem??? It is causing a weight problem PLEASE HELP
The goal of socialized medicine is to reduce costs and deliver only the medical care that is needed. So they play a numbers game – if a treatment of disgnostic tool results in positive benefits a lot of the time then it will be considered – otherwise forget it. The facilities for expensive treatments are not available at as many hospitals as they are in the US because of this.
I used to live in Canada and I’ve had some experience of this – rather than go down the hall to get an x-ray (as would happen at my GP’s in Atlanta) I’ve had to go across town to a centralized facility.
SO my child had a concussion last fall here in Atlanta, was knocked out for a short while and very confused for several hours; he got a CT scan – which showed no internal bleeding. Because of the possbility of negative results of the CT scan, the Canadian medical plans would likely not have done this. And because of the complaints about “two-tier access to medicine” that came up in the past, I would not have been able to get to ANY facility in Canada and pay CASH to get the test. I would have had to wait until the damage was done before I could escalate treatment. In the majority of cases the injury would not cause death – it’s a numbers game.
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
So many experts, so little time. I don’t believe that it is overdiagnosed, I believe there is more of an awareness now. As a teacher and the parent of a child with ADD, if they truly are ADD-the meds work, if they aren’t-they don’t. You wouldn’t deny your child medication for any other condition, why do them this disservice? It’s not that the parents won’t and the teachers can’t, it’s that the child wants to (work, focus, finish a task) but can’t find a way. And John, I believe the saying is:
Those who can-teach, those who can’t- go into some insignificant line of work.
I understand why you want to ban it, but I do not think you should. I am 11 and once bought a pack of the counter, they never asked for my age. I think that we should be able to buy it because you can actually get pregnant without sex. I dont know how but it happened tomy best friend and twin sister , Bella, and she tells me everything. I know that she never had sex, but she still got pregnant. We did not tell the press cos it would shame the family if we did,, but she did get pregnant without havihg sex, so it is possible people! Luckly I managed to buy the pills for her without any trouble or it would have becam a big thing.
How about we quit filling up the jails with petty crimes like marijuana possession and lock these jackholes up for a few years. Then when they get cranky they can pick a fight with a 300lb cellmate who hasn’t had any action in quite some time. That’ll make him think twice about being a big man who is so manly he only beats up women and children.
Why is it you need a license to drive, fish, hunt, own a gun, cut hair, be an accountant, get married, etc….but any idiot off the street can knock up some slut and pop out a kid 7-9 months later? There needs to be a process where people have to be approved to bring a child into the world. Crazy.
As a teacher I see a lot of neglect. When reported, I doubt it gets sent up to DFACS–someone deems it “not significant”. If it does go to DFACS, nothing seems to happen. I have been told “we cannot interfere with the way people raise their children”, like THAT is supposed to solve the child’s misery. Teachers are held accountable; I’d like to see others in the chain also held accountable TO THE TEACHERS who have reported.
Please please please consider volunteering with your local CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) groups. As the number of abuse cases go up, that means the number of volunteers needed to support these kids need to go up too. It doesn’t take much of your time and does a world of good for these kids that need a stable caring adult in their life. http://www.nationalcasa.org/
It is unfortunate that many in the community are unaware of the procedures used by the Department of Family and Children Services. DFCS in and of itself can be a very intrusive process when a family becomes involved. There are no doubt times when one may think there should be involvement, however without that concrete proof there can be no more involvement. Many things that others may feel is neglect or maltreatment often times are due to the families economic level which may not be that of those around them. Unfortunately many people in the community may look down on others who are less fortunate and feel they are neglecting/abusing their children because those children have less than others. There is no doubt there are exceptions however, many times they may not have the perfect living situation but their basic needs are met (food, clothing, shelter). I wish that all could understand that DFCS is to help those in the community to ensure that the family can stay together whenever possible and not take away children. DFCS should never be involved with a family unless there is true risk or true abuse and neglect, not just because someone “thinks” that something is not right. Unfortunately it is impossible for any one agency to keep every child safe when there is so much negativity and education about what it is that DFCS does with the community. It would be very helpful that all who work with children get education about what child abuse and neglect looks like and how to identify without letting our own personal filters come into play.
Excuses, excuses. People who abuse kids don’t need an excuse, just an opportunity. What’s next, to blame Bush? Too bad we aren’t more pro-active in our laws and not allow some people to procreate. We all know that some people just aren’t fit to be a parent, period….no way, no how but my goodness can you imagine the ACLU and others who’d be on the pavement screaming about people’s rights. DFACS? You’d subject a child to that confederacy of dunces? That, in itself is child abuse.
I actually reported that a student was living in filth (there was dog feces in the house when I made a home visit). He would also be so hungry on Monday mornings that I kept crackers in my desk to feed him. I reported it to DFACS and they said it wasn’t enough neglect for them to investigate.
Also, I was sexually abused as a child by my father and some of his friends. This was in the ’60’s. We were not rich but we never hurt for money. What was his excuse?
[...] mind you that the teacher and the child doctor also reported it – to date nothing has been done. DOCTOR IS IN: Bad economic times means more child abuse | Better Health __________________ Mahogany [...]
God help these poor children. As a proud parent of a young son, I hope any parent that neglects or abuses a child is severly repremanded. I’m going to check out the above mentioned websites/organizations and see how I can get involved.
In response to all those people that think ADHD is crap. I have one question “What are your credentials and academic background?” I too once thought ADD/ ADHD was just an excuss for bad behavior. When decicding to become a parent I gave up a career in Radiation Therapy and became a full time mother. My son scores in the 98 percentile on achievement tests, and makes straight A’s at one of the most academically challenging schools in the country. Yet, the child can not sit still or follow more than one direction at a time. After musch reaserch it has been scientifically proven that a CT of a brain of an ADHD child is significantly different in the cerebral cortex area (area of attention and focus) than that of a child without ADHD. Explain that one Mr. Me.
The literature supporting allergy drops is very impressive. There are more than 400 citations in Pub Med including 100 double blind studies and four meta-analysis. That sublingual immunotherapy works and is safe and cost effective is undeniable. There are important benefits such as a four-fold decrease in asthma as reported by Novembre et al. There is no medication that can do this. Sublingual immunotherapy has equivalent efficacy to injection therapy yet is safer, has better compliance and costs less.
The limitation on the use of sublingual immunotherapy is a lack of expertise. Tucker et al reported that less than 6% of Allergists have any experience with this form of immunotherapy. There are more ENTs prescribing allergy drops than Allergists and this gap in expertise will continue to grow. The Allergist’s approach of prescribing medications as first line treatment rather than prescribing a safe form of immunotherapy means that patients will go where they can get help.
RE: Mercury and vaccines
February 15th, 2009
11:56 am
“mercury is not in vaccines anymore…. autism rates continue to go up.”
Actually, independent random checks on “Thimerosol-free” vaccines are turning up trace amounts in some samples. The manufacturers use it in the production process and the remove it.
But the bigger issue is that vaccines are one of many sources of mercury that newborns and young children are exposed to. And there are countless other ways an expectant mother can come in contact with it.
And then there is the synergistic effect ( AKA potentiation) between lead and mercury. It is a key piece of the autism puzzle that is being missed.
For the full story, you can read LEAD BABIES, a new book that ties mercury to autism, without being blown off course by the vaccination debate. http://www.nomoreleadbabies.com.
This is an important issue, and the good news is that awareness is increasing, and there are more resources than ever to address the problems of abuse. For anyone who wants to learn more or to get involved, consider being training in the Darkness to Light child sexual abuse prevention training, led in Georgia by the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy. For $15 and 3 hours adults can learn how to prevent their children from becoming an easy target for pedophiles. People can also get involved by helping support organizations like the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy that respond to sexual and physical abuse by providing free services to child victims and education programs for adults. For more information, visit: http://www.GeorgiaCenterforChildAdvocacy.org.
I wanted to let everyone know as one of the Leaders at Spark Georgia-The Offical Team. Spark Georgia-The Official Team at SparkPeople is having their first Spark Rally across the entire state of Georgia. We have a little over 86,000 members at Spark Georgia. This will give some members the opportunity to meet the leaders and to gather together, maybe even get a spark buddy to team up with in their local area. We are coordinating these rallies in Lithia Springs at Sweet Water Park, Buford Dam, Augusta, St. Simon Island, and Valdosta. They are all being held on April 25th at 10:30 am. Please come to SparkPeople.come on the Spark Georgia Team for more details. We are also hoping that we can get coverage from AJC with this event.
I was a SLIT patient in Conn. for about a year, and it did help me. However, the cost $1200/year was too damn expensive. I know it can work because I was better able to cope with the symptoms.
I think the big hurdle to it in the USA is the FDA. Had it been approved by the FDA, my insurance would have picked it up, but why should the FDA approve it especially when they are controlled by the pharmaceutical companies who make tremendous profits from their pills. To me, that is corruption!
If anyone knows of a reasonable cost supplier of SLIT (for Tree Pollen), please let me know! radpublishing@yahoo.com
Urmm Tina I’m sorry but that’s impossible, I think your friend has been lying to you or has got the wrong idea. It is a scientifically known fact that sexual intercourse is need to become pregnant. And Ronald it is rude to force your opinions up on other people, they have just as much right to their opinion as you do to yours. This is a DISCUSSION there is no right or wrong answer. However I think that young people aged 17 are just as much of an adult and just as mature and responsible as people aged one or two years older. The same problems happen to teenagers as they do to everyone else, why blame them and not the rest of the population who have experience unplanned pregnancies?
TC GREAT OBSERVATION!!!! THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THAT IF THE GOVERNMENT ALLOWS OUR CHILDREN TO PUT HANDS IN A PILL LIKE THE MORNING AFTER PILL, THEN, THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BILLS TO PAID. THEY RULE AND WE “PARENTS” PAID! ALL PEOPLE DO IS SHOUT AT PARENTS FOR MORE RESPONSIBILITY OVER THEIR OWN CHILDREN, HOW CAN WE DO THAT? IF THEY ARE ALLOW TO EVERYTHING WITHOUT OUR CONSENT! THESE KIDS ARE CLAIMING CHILD SUPORT AND PROTECT FROM THE GOVERNMENT DCS, BUT THEY ARE ALLOW TO PURCHASE SUCH PILL, HAVE SEX AND ANYTHING THAT THEY CAN GET HANDS ON! ARE THEY CHILDREN OR ADULTS?! I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THIS COUNTRY HAS THE MOST INNOCENT SYSTEM THAT IS OUT THERE TO BE! CHILDRENS ARE PROTECTED WHEN A PARENT PUT A HAND ON THEM AND CAN CLAIM CHILD SUPPORT, TO ME IF A CHILD IS HAVING SEX, YOU ARE NOT A CHILD ANYMORE!!! YOU ARE OLD ENOUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT CONDONS, SEX AND PLAN B PILLS, YOU ARE AN ADULT AND SHOULD BE STOP CLAIMING CHILD SUPPORT AND BE PROTECTED BY DCS BY BEING TREATED FULLY AS AN ADULT! PERIOD!
I have read multiple posts regarding this issue: Pros and Cons. Both valid points; however the one point that is assumed in the Pro side is that parental involvement is a given. Coming from an extremely disfunctional family w/absolutely NO parental involvement I had no “parent” to turn to. So, what was the solution? Where was/is the paretnal involvement when the sex act is being committed? Look at the “Palins”. Strong parental involvement after the fact. Kudos for them. My girlfriend, who got pregnant at 17 had “strong” parental involvement. Because she came from a VERY supportive family, she was able to keep her baby and live at home w/Kristy being brought up not only by my girlfriend, but by all family members. I wish the solution was black and white…but it isn’t.
As a physician, I am very worried about the increasing loss of health insurance that my patients are enduring. They are avoiding necessary medications, treatments, and procedures. They are being admitted to the hospital instead of controlling chronic conditions as outpatients, leaving the hospitals and taxpayers to foot the (much higher) bills. Patients often must change their primary care provider when their insurance stops or changes, leading to redundant testing and increased costs. The government must be involved in shaping the health care coverage industry in the U.S., because if not, we leave ourselves to the mercy of profit-driven corporations. Many physicians in the U.S. support a public health insurance option and universal health coverage.
My best friend of 21 years left for Cancun Saturday morning. I am worried about her. I hate to say this and I know how it sounds but I won’t be going around her for a couple of weeks when she get’s back. If I was her, I would come home. But I know her and I’m sure she’s sitting on the Beach drinking her Corona and not worrying about it! For the comment from John; Maybe you need to go get tested & treated. I wouldn’t take any chances.
My family and I get our flu shots every year and we see the doctor if we are sick. Swine flu responds very well to anti-viral meds but you have to get them within the first 48 hours. If there is an outbreak we should quarantine. I am not worried about this but I am glad we got our shots. My doc says the shot will provide some protection. Also, this looks like a pretty weak strain that is hitting the US. Be cautious, take care of yourself, but don’t panic.
My poor mother gets panicked everytime this type of thing is reported. She is concerned we may have to cancel our trip to New York the end of May because she is convinced this one will go pandemic! She’s 81, so I cut her some slack. Everyone just needs to remain level-headed, take your vitamins, wash your hands and keep away from those displaying any flu-like symptoms. I will admit, videos I saw earlier of Mexico cities looked pretty dismal with no one on the streets.
I bet as soon as someone in the U.S. dies from this, or at least if the death toll here is in the low 10’s, we’ll have mandatory vaccinations. Huh. All there is to do is hope for the best–for those in this country and elsewhere.
Amoz, Asian might worry about you as this is starting in the U.S. and Mexico, not the other way around–actually, maybe that’s what you’re asking. I dunno, hopefully this will fizzle out and turn out to be less of a big deal than the world fears, but just keep an eye out.
“I bet as soon as someone in the U.S. dies from this, or at least if the death toll here is in the low 10’s, we’ll have mandatory vaccinations. Huh.”
Um, vaccinated with what, exactly? THERE IS NO VACCINE. They’ve never seen this particular virus before. Any vaccine developed for this new virus will take six months to manufacture.
“Besser said officials were already taking preliminary steps toward manufacturing a vaccine against the influenza strain responsible for swine flu. There is currently no vaccine that protects against it.
“We’ve created that seed stock, we’ve identified that virus, and discussions are underway so that should we decide to work on manufacturing a vaccine, we can work towards that goal very quickly,” Besser said.
This could mean incorporating a swine flu vaccine into the annual seasonal flu vaccine already in production, he said.”
The seasonal flu vaccine comes out in October, that is the EARLIEST that a vaccine will be available for this thing.
To the person who says that they will be avoiding their friend when she returns from Mexico: you are very smart. Stay away for about two weeks, which is how long it takes for symptoms to develop. Call her on the phone to say welcome back!
Well, I’m glad someone didn’t think it was snobby of me to say I would stay away from my friend who is currently in Cancun. I don’t know how my friend will take it but she’ll get over it. I will be calling her, just not seeing her. I just can’t chance it. One question…..Does anyone know if she will have a hard time getting back to the US?
It’s Obama’s fault. He’s an idiot. Why hold a press conference to say “Don’t be alarmed?” The fact that he held a press conference about it is enough to create mass hysteria.
I hate shots, and I definitely do not trust new and experimental shots – which will be definitely offered door to door in the next year. I respect people who run out and get vaxed, but I wish they’d in turn respect those who’d rather wear face masks, self quarantine, and emergency home school who don’t believe in miracle cures. There’s no religious exemption to vaccination during a health emergency – only a doctor’s affidavit. What doctor’s going to sign an affidavit? They’re more worried about their medical license and believe EVERYTHING they read in a book without thinking of who wrote the book and why. Why does a doctor get to say what I can do with my body instead of me taking my own personal responsibility and reading my own medical materials and considering the risks and benefits of the 2 week old vaccine myself (why would a doctor know any more than me if the vaccine’s new and experimental? A doctor’s just more indoctrinated). I wish there was a religious exemption or a self quarantine exemption to the health emergency vaccination law. Last time I checked, my body’s not owned by the crown.
O.C.G.A. 31-12-3
(a) The department and all county boards of health are empowered to require, by appropriate rules and regulations, persons located within their respective jurisdictions to submit to vaccination against contagious or infectious disease where the particular disease may occur, whether or not the disease may be an active threat. The department may, in addition, require such other measures to prevent the conveyance of infectious matter from infected persons to other persons as may be necessary and appropriate. The department shall promulgate appropriate rules and regulations for the implementation of the provisions for the Code section in the case of a declaration of a public health emergency and shall include provisions permitting consideration of the opinion of a person’s personal physician as to whether the vaccination is medically appropriate or advisable for such person.
Art: You are trying to blame this on Obama? LOL Given all the media coverage and developing hysteria, getting on television and addressing these concerns was the responsible thing for him to do.
My 3 year old daughter is home with my husband sick today. Although her her fever is not that high, I am very concerned. I will see how it plays out and take her to the dr for screening if it gets any worse. The daycare that I take her to, has a bunch of Mexicans working there, I am hoping they did not contract anything from their relatives and bring it to the daycare center.
GG: Unless they have been to Mexico in the last two months (which most of them don’t go back and forth on a regular basis as it costs too much especially in this day, age and economy), then you have nothing to worry about with your daughter. It’s probably just a cold or allergies.
Normally, 36,000 people die from the flu each year in the US. Just an interesting tidbit. In 1918, St. Louis shut down schools, theatres, outdoor festivals, etc, Philadelphia did not. Very impressive data suggests shutting down schools, etc works wonder. Hopefully, it won’t get to that point.
We get sick and die while O’Bumble fiddles. This unbelievably weak response by the Obamanation will make Katrina look like a week at the beach.. Change.. from bad.. to worse..
Eric, don’t be an idiot. You cannot compare the two. Over 1,800 people died in Hurricane Katrina (not including the 705 that are still listed as “missing”) and 1 person (that was not even an American citizen, but was visiting here from Mexico where they contracted the disease) has died here. Plus Bush & Brown completely botched the whole response. Most people (with the exception of people like you who obviously voted for McCain and who is such a sore loser) believe that President Obama and his administration are doing at the very least a very good job of handling this. But then again you’re probably the type of person that would still find something negative to say about Obama even if killed Osama Bin Laden himself. Get over your petty vindictiveness.
Wash your hands. Keep your hands away from your face. Shield coughs and sneezes in your elbow. Avoid sick people. This should get you through the Swine Panic, as well as any other contagious disease. Just good practice.
A question for Eric: what exactly do you propose that President Obama, his administration, the CDC, the WHO, etc do that you don’t think they haven’t done already? I am curious to know what you think they have failed to do because from what I can tell they have done everything in their power already and are continuing to do it.
I was just over at CNN’s website and they did a survey (a report card actually) of his first 100 days and the people they surveyed gave him a grade of B+ on his handling of the swine flu outbreak.
JEEEEEZZZZZ…just how many of you folks work at the CDC, are MDs, are RNs or work in infection control. I bet few if any. But here you are on a blog spouting your uneducated opinion. CD…yes the gov can force you to be vaccinated..IF THERE WERE A VACCINE…WHICH THERE ISN’T. So you folks just go ahead…scare the hell out of each other but try to remember…IT IS JUST THE FLU, JUST LIKE WE HAVE EVERY YEAR, JUST A DIFFERNET STRAIN AND IS PROBABLY WEAKER THAN THE ONES WE HAVE DELT WITH IN THE PAST…..
As usual, the press is creating a panic. At any given point in time, X number of people have the flu. I don’t see as much press about women and children being raped and murdered around the world, and more suffer from that than are now suffering from the flu.
My grandson is in middle school and was thrown out of school today for wearing a surgical mask that his mother insisted he wear to protect himself after reading the CDC’s announcement that deaths are expected in Georgia from the swine flu. Not only did the school require that she take him home for wearing the mask (calling it a “distraction”), the personnel in the school office laughed at him and ridiculed him for wearing it, embarrassing him in front of teachers and classmates. This morning the CDC confirmed a case of swine flu in Georgia–the very day my grandson is thrown out of school for wearing a mask.
Very true, Wanda, very true! Neither our past President or our current President is to blame for this. And it should be said as a reminder that this started in Mexico, anyways and not in the U.S.
Hey Bob, shut the hell up. This isn’t a political issue at all, and your boy Obama, with the help of the Congress, now has every single American owing the government 37k….even the unborn, so get off your soapbox already. The fact is this. Only the weak will die from it, and with proper treatment, it can be knocked out with the proper meds. But like most recent events, it’s blown out of proportion by the media. 36,000 people die from influenza yearly….just imagine is the US had socialized medicine when this broke out….we’d be screwed.
is=if…sorry for the typo. Why on Earth are you people sending your kids and grandkids to school with masks on? Kids and adults catch the flu more often by not washing their hands. You don’t have to be OCD about it, but try and use some common sense.
To everyone that is freaking out: Listen, I’m not going to sit here and bash on all the people that are getting concerned about the new strain of the flu. Its human nature to be cautious when something happens we don’t quite understand. Yes, the flu sucks, and this new strain just means that your body is more prone to catch it. The majority of the time you get sick, you feel like !@#%, and you take the medicine in between.After a couple of days of your anti-bodies kicking the crap out of the virus, you get better. Sometimes, (generally in elderly folk, and newborns) it gets a little worse, and if the proper care isn’t taken, death could be a serious possibility. But you have to understand something, things like that happen all the time. Its a sad fact in the pages of history. But people are not dying off left and right from this, they are simply getting sick. In a couple of days, (God forbid someone dies, because like I said, it is a possibility) when the majority of the so called “outbreak” patients are returned to their homes, feeling better and ready to return to their every day lives, I hope everyone that freaked out just sits back and laughs, and thinks to themselves “Well, that wasn’t so bad. I should be more level-headed next time.”
Go ahead and get all the waxing you want. Worse comes to worse you have waxing parties with friends. Me on the other hand…I just enjoy dying my bikini area. Don’t have to worry about the government banning that.
Funny, I looked at an outfit that I bought 7 years ago and swore I would lose the weight to fit into it. It’s still sitting there with price tag on it!
no matter what the size is,it’s always refreshing especially for women to buy something new. realistically if you have children they don’t get any younger and neither do we. if people are still hanging on to yesterday then tomorrow is lost.
Well, I agree with this artical. I can’t tell you how many women I see at work, or just out in public and there back (love handles) are not only struggling to get out of there super tight jeans but their shirts are too short as well and its like the skin is just sticking out. I’m like why would you want to wear such restrictive clothing? Secondly, do you not see that when you look in the mirror? It’s really something to see.
Funny, I have the opposite problem. I am losing the weight and have a closet full of clothes that don’t fit. I wish I had a few things from 10 years ago when I was my current weight, since it’s expensive to buy all new things.
I agree with many of the tenets of the article:
1. Losing weight doesn’t make you happy. You have to be happy with yourself whatever weight you are.
2. Get rid of the old clothes. If you do lose weight, they’ll probably be out-of-style anyway.
I like to keep a pair of skinny jeans around for the same reason that most people do. When you don’t fit in them anymore, it is time to hit the treadmill. Sometimes your loved ones (and you) have a hard time saying that you are getting a bit chunky. The ’skinny’ jeans, although harsh, speak without saying a word. They keep you in check. Isn’t there some advice out there about not weighing oneself everyday, but to instead judge your weight gain or loss by the clothes you wear? It is better to make sure that those ’skinny’ jeans are never truly labeled ’skinny’. Instead, label them ‘healthy’ jeans. Find a pair that fit you when you are in tip top shape and aim to wear them. The closer you are to them, the better.
I love the idea behind this: Embracing and making the most of who you are and the body you have today. What’s most important is taking good care of your health.
Dara Chadwick
Author
You’d Be So Pretty If…: Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies — Even When We Don’t Love Our Own http://www.youdbesoprettyif.com
I think some of these comments have derailed from the intent of the article. This article is not about “people should wear clothes that fit,” it’s about how we set up unrealistic standards for our present and our future based on our past. Ms Howard makes the strong point that health is not directly proportionate to numbers on a scale, or the size tag on a piece of clothing.
Fred: comment boards are not the appropriete place to express your negativeity and dissatisfaction about your life.
The articles suggest that extensive therapy can help a child with Autism. Well these therapies are expensive and can drive the average family to the brink of bankrupcy as in my family’s case. These therapies were helping my son, but the money ran out. There was a bill before the Georgia Senate and House to force insurance companies to assist parents paying for these therapies. Our legislators table the bill for further study. South Carolina and Florida already have such bills, I guess they did not feel they could rely on their finding or are they protecting insurance company profits in this state.
The problem isn’t the Doctors! The problem is the Doctor is just an Specialist in his field. Most of the Doctors here Atlanta are great at what they do. It lack of the patient understanding of all the side effects that may occur during the operation. As a husband of wife who just had an operation on her knee. The Doctor who perform the operation was great and he did an excellent job and my wife can stand up and walk with the assit of an walker. But what happen to the patient after the operation at the hospital and at Rehabitation Center creates very confused public on the information provided by the Doctor.
I breastfeed all three of my children. My first was breastfed until she was 23 months!! Needless to say breastfeeding is not good birth control because I was 5 months pregnant with the second before I even realized I was expecting. Which brings me to my comment about weight lose and breastfeeding. Other than the few pounds I lost after having my first child I never got back to my pre-prenancy weight of 115 lbs. I hovered around 135-140 and then I was pregnant again. Had my second child, nursed her and really watched what i ate and again, no real weight loss and the same with my son? So I’m not too convinced that breastfeeding really helps that much with weight loss UNLESS you really watch your diet because for some of us you just can’t go back to eating like you used to before you started having kids In any event BREAST FEEDING IS THE BEST!!!!
I shared an 8 month breastfeeding relationship with my first. Then six years later, I breastfed my daughter for over 2 years. Breastfeeding is good for Mom and baby both. It creates a bond that I cannot describe in words. It is that beautiful to me.
The biggest help with breastfeeding is to create a network of support. And do your research. If you are modest, there are aids to help you preserve your modesty. If you aren’t modest, well….as my husband always said – “If they stare, they have the problem!” If there are health issues or breast reduction, there are still ways that you can work around that problem. And if there are problems for the baby…well there are always pumps. My sister in law exclusively pumped for her special needs baby for over a year. So, my encouragement is to find a way to make it work…don’t just give up.
Join La Leche or another breastfeeding or mom’s support group that endorses breastfeeding. Surrounding yourself with positive makes all the difference in your ability to continue longterm. Society loves to tell us what rules we are supposed to “obey”. But society has often and continues to display a lot of ignorance regarding breastfeeding.
I experienced a surprise pregnancy at age 42! So breastfeeding was my only option, as I was not even considering the cost of formula. I breastfed my daughter for 26 months. It was VERY difficult to ween her off. I thought I had done so when she was 19 months…but then she becam sick and I started producing milk again. (Someone referred to this as “mercy” milk…a new one on me). Anyway, she wouldn’t take anything but breast milk. She got well and sort of just weened herself off…Nature is really unexplainable…but my daughter has so few colds…She is now five! I am a true proponent of breastfeeding. (and I agree that weight loss is not something I EVER experienced LOL)
Breastfeeding is extremely hard to do if you are working. I could not get as much milk out pumping as I needed to and eventually my milk just dried up. Not to mention, it was a battle at my company just to find a space to pump!
Breastfeeding my children has been the best experience. I nursed my first son, now 12 years old, for 19 months. I am currently breastfeeding my 18 month old son. I found that breastfeeding was both economical and convenient.
Although I stay at home now, I worked for the phone company when nursing the first child. It was somewhat difficult securing a room to pump, but the benefits to my son far outweighed the struggle.
I just did not feel comfortable giving my children formula. I am proud to say that both of my children are very healthy. The most serious illness has been a cold.
Admittedly, I have and continue to struggle with my post-pregnancy weight. I guess my body did not get the memo about weight loss and breastfeeding.
I try my best to encourage new mothers to nurse their children. For so long breastfeeding has been seen as time consuming and somewhat obscene. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is what your breasts are intended to do.
Cindy, in the previous post, offered great advice. What is needed most is a good support system. Joining a group of other breastfeeding mom’s is a wonderful idea. She is right, anyone who complains about your decision to breastfeed has the problem.
I have been breastfeeding for 10 years straight (4 children, NOT one for 10 years!), and I have to say that there is NOTHING better for both mom and baby. I wouldn’t trade that sweet, special time for anything in the world, and as my youngest (18 months) comes close to weaning I know I will be sad to be finally finished. It is most definitely a relationship, and nothing else will be similar to it later. My daughter, for example, who at 18 months loves her bottles of milk, will literally throw the bottle aside with flair in favor of brestfeeding when available. She knows my milk, but in addition, she knows the warmth and smell of my body and takes extreme comfort from closeness with me. Also, breastmilk is a living, organic substance. What I mean is that it actually responds to baby’s needs and changes throughout a feeding and as baby grows. We all know about supply and demand with BF– the more your baby drinks, the more milk you make. But also, the longer the baby drinks, the fattier and more protein-filled the milk is. In the early days, when baby cries you find milk leaking all over your shirt. I have filled with milk when she cried when I wasn’t even home– it was after filling with milk that I called home and found she was crying.
I will say that I never lost much weight breastfeeding, no matter how I’ve tried… and pumping is hard work, so it does take a lot of commitment for working moms. But the convenience and lack of cost cannot be emphasized enough– why pay for inferior food when God gives you the superior stuff for free? If you can BF, you should, for the health and happiness of both mother and baby. It is also designed to get your body ready for motherhood and recovered from birth (recovery of the uterus as well as hormonal regulation of moods). I would say it didn’t do much for birth control, since I was fertile again at 4 months, but the truth is maybe I would have been fertile at 2 without it… I’ll never know… I fully encourage mothers who are able to BF their babies, because I can’t imagine passing up on this special gift– for both of you.
I breastfed my son for 11.5 months. I’m extremely proud of myself for hanging in that long. Although I luckily had a very cozy closet to pump in at work, it was definitely not fun having to lug all of that stuff back and forth daily. My son was (and still is) a voracious eater, so I will admit that it was tiring at times. But I loved the contact and bonding and will definitely do it again with #2.
However, we have not experienced all of the health benefits. He is in daycare and is very healthy, but he has continuously had colds and ear infections starting around 6 months of age. He even had tonsillitis around 10 months of age, which is almost unheard of. We just had tubes put in his ears last month. We just haven’t seen all of the “he’s never sick” benefits that supposedly occur. A friend of mine did not breastfeed her first who is now 2.5. He has never been sick. Her second baby is now 7 months and has been exclusively breastfed. Just like my son, she has already suffered numerous colds and ear infections. It is definitely an interesting observation.
Women who do not breast feed are stupid. Seriously. Think about it. The whole purpose of breasts is to produce milk for a baby. Why would you substitute some corporate chemical crap for what you are made to do?
This is akin to women who “insist” in C-Sections, because it is convenient. Idiots.
Sorry to sound beligerent, but I just can’t stand the ignorance of some.
And yes, I breast fed my children for more than one year each.
As a father of two beautiful little girls I want to lend my support to all mom’s who breastfeed. Not only does it do all the wonderful things you ladies state but it is impossible for a dad to help out in this role which means no getting up in the middle of the night, no formula budget and the relaxing joy of just sitting back and watching TV as the kid’s get fed. I promote breastfeeding to any prospective fathers and remind them of these facts.
My only regret is that there is no way to bottle the stuff and sell in on Ebay. My girls have had ZERO colds and by all accounts are the healthiest kids we know. Granted my 2 3/4 year old still indulges and that is beginning to wear on Mommy, but if it keeps us away from the ER then I say “suckle on.” God had the right idea when he gave women the ability to do this, if men had been given the responsibility the human race would have gone the route of the dinosaurs a loooong time ago.
I breastfed my children (now 22 and 19) for nearly two years each, even though I worked full time.
I pumped until my oldest was about 11 months. I finally realized that even though our society pushes breastfeeding, we are still taught that the bottle is important, and many moms wean to a bottle. That didn’t make sense to me.
My daughter was eating food and drinking out of a cup during the day, so I realized there was no reason to give her bottles of expressed milk. My milk adjusted to produce less during the day, she continued to nurse when I was with her, and ate and drank normal food when I wasn’t.
I stayed home with my son until he was 6 months old. He was eating and drinking regular food during the day, and I continued to nurse him in the morning and evening. It worked out perfectly for us, he never had bottles. BTW, his teeth are perfect. No one believes me that he never had braces.
I really enjoyed that time right after work when my babies wanted to nurse. It forced me to put me feet up and reconnect with them and put everything else aside.
I have breastfed five children (still feeding the 19 month-old), and I realize that I have been breastfeeding babies for about 12 years total! (Oh my!)
I just wanted to say that breastfeeding is a very personal decision. I know there are some women who just can’t breastfeed, and I am not going to judge them or make them feel bad. You are the mom. Make the decisions, do what you need to do, and your child will be OK. For goodness sakes, a lot of us were fed with bottles and we survived. There are a lot of things to feel guilt about in this world. Don’t beat yourself up over this.
However . . .
If you want to breastfeed, you can, and it can be wonderful. I highly recommend going to a few months of Le Leche league meetings before you give birth the first time so that you can have their support from the start (by the way the meetings are about more than breastfeeding–they are also about how to cope with motherhood, common problems babies have like diaper rash and crying, how to deal with the stress of the in-laws telling you how to do everything, etc. It’s just nice to get to know people going through the same things you are going through–you don’t have to feel alone!!)
Good luck with whatever you do, be happy, and remember that the best piece of advice is to ignore everyone’s advice!
Elaina- I guess I’m just stupid (in your opinion). 2 children- 1 emergency c -section, the other induced to prevent possible seizure/death for both of us…and my poor “little” 40DDD’s…never produced milk-EVER. Perhaps tatas can be only for pleasure vs. functionality. Try not to be so narrow-minded. And no- they ar
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Herb T. Kornfeld
January 30th, 2009
6:41 pm
This is truly a dumb question. Of course eating dirt is both, good for kids and healthy too. Dirt provides many nutrients, essential vitamins and minerals that otherwise they would never get. Quality dirt, mixed with some clay can make a fine meal for any child.
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Lynda
January 30th, 2009
6:56 pm
Yes we ate dirt as children and I think our immune systems are much better than the children of today. They frequently get sick and get antibotics from the doctor.As children we rarely went to the doctor.
I thinks we built up an immunity to germs that kids today get sick from. My mother used to say the “You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die” and I think we were much healthier for it. Children who are so sheltered usually get sick all the time because they never have a chance to build up immunites.
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Dianne
January 30th, 2009
8:55 pm
As a child, 54 years ago, I ate dirt. I craved it! My grandmother told me my body was craving minerals it lacked. My parents went to the river bank and hauled back a foot-tub of ‘clean’ dirt. Yes, it was clean back then…before we polluted it.
When I was pregnant with my first child, that craving returned. Believe it or not, my OB/GYN told me the same thing! Of course, he adjusted vitamins and that helped. Every once in a while, when it just starts to rain and the dirt is barely damp, the craving returns! Never made me sick!
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dan w
January 30th, 2009
9:14 pm
Yes I do beleave we have become too clean for our own bodies good, but unfortunatly our dirt (earth) isn’t much good for worm’s anymore:/
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katie alexander
January 30th, 2009
9:33 pm
what how is eating dirt good for kids???????
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M.B.
February 1st, 2009
3:42 am
Eating dirt when I was a kid never hurt me. I dont think. Some might say different.
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D Adams
February 1st, 2009
9:26 am
I first heard this theory in the early 90’s when anti-bacterial products were the new rage. Soon after I read about how dangerous anti-bacterial products were, ie; creating “super” germs and even containing carcinogens. This information wasn’t publicized because it wasn’t good for “business” and didn’t sell products. Over the years I’ve had to seek out the info to share with my friends and have wondered how long it would take to actually receive widespread attention. I didn’t suspect it would take almost 20 years and untold illnesses and deaths as well as an entire generation of immune suppressed children facing lifelong chronic and debilitating diseases.
Again, this information was virtually hidden from the public for only one reason, it wasn’t good for “business”.
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Gary
February 1st, 2009
9:36 am
I agree. Eat more dirt!
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kellie
February 1st, 2009
7:25 pm
i think this is 100% true. i’ve taken my son everywhere with me pretty much since birth. he’s 6 years old now and has had one fever in his whole life .. he’s hardly ever sick. on the other hand, my neighbor is a germaphobe and is always keeping her kids sheltered. they’re sick every other week .. the same with my sister-in-law and nieces. you need to expose your kids to germs for them to build immunities to them.
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Charlie
February 2nd, 2009
2:56 pm
My wife used Paxil for 10 years and it has destroyed her adrenal gland and is wreaking havoc on her thyroid. She has lost 40 pounds, hair falling out, can’t sleep etc. And this is after being off it for 4 years. Breaking the addiction to this crap is worse than pain killers. To anyone even thinking of using these drugs, DON’T! Depression can be controlled through many natural holistic ways. Accupunture, herbs, tea, vitamins etc. And you don’t get the “side effect” of wanting to kill yourself like these SSR’s do. Go natural!!!!!! The FDA is lying to you. Antidepressents ARE NOT SAFE FOR ANYONE!
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Brad
February 2nd, 2009
8:53 pm
Charlie, quit talking out of your rear end. Antidepressants work for millions of people with little to no side effects.
I used Remeron for a few weeks when first diagnosed with major depressive disorder. While it did help me gain back some of the weight I had lost (it does make you voraciously hungry at times), it didn’t do much for my depression. I was then switched to Prozac, and it worked wonders. Plus, Prozac gradually expels itself from your body, so it is easier to quit when therapy is no longer needed.
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Rayna
February 2nd, 2009
9:09 pm
I’ve been on Lexapro for 6 months and started the process to wean myself off due to side effects. My doctor started me on it to help me sleep. Instead of helping, I’m actually sleeping less, I’ve gained 20 pounds in 6 months, my hair is falling out, and my mouth is always dry.
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Mike D
February 2nd, 2009
9:18 pm
Vodka tonics until I don’t feel anything have always worked for me.
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Tom
February 2nd, 2009
9:37 pm
Drugs have helped me in the past, but aerobic exercise, in particular long-distance bicycling, has always been the best way for me to deal with my depression. A 2-hour or longer ride will help me for 2-3 days, during the summer when I ride at least 1 hour a day, I’m doing great. Winter, I tend towards depression and weight gain.
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Sally
February 2nd, 2009
9:58 pm
Charlie is right… Paxil is toxic!! I was on it for six months and I was going crazy! I laughed all the time for no reason, I was moody and I started drinking. When I stopped taking the pill the withdrawal was so bad that I have to be under a watchful eye because I wanted to kill myself. My head hurt a lot. It felt like I was going through shock therepy. It took me two months to get back to myself. I will never ever taking another pill for depression again. Now I just excercise,hang out with my friends and family and cry when needed. Pills don’t work for everyone so I won’t tell anyone not take them. I just won’t be taking them again…
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CC
February 2nd, 2009
10:26 pm
to be effective you must decide if the drug is worth the side affects.
i believe that there are a lot of people who can benefit from the correct usage of the antidepressants; however, not everyone will respond the same way- so, thank goodness there are more than one option. i do not know what’s worse: knowing there is a drug out there that might help or living in the dark ages and being deprived of hope.
my suggestions… find a good doctor, who listens to you. this might prove to be more difficult than finding a pill but in the long run will serve you better.
best hopes to everyone looking for a solution or just for hope.
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Keith
February 2nd, 2009
10:30 pm
No question. Regular sex, preferably with a partner.
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Vince
February 2nd, 2009
10:39 pm
Just smoke some pot like Phelps. It’s all natural, and the pharmaceutical companies don’t get any money!
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Antonio
February 2nd, 2009
10:41 pm
CC…good points, all drugs react differently to all types of people. not to mention, you’re depressed. addiction is when you start doing something that normally you would never do while not on drugs; if you’re depressed and can handle it, then find safe means to relieve stress and depression ( talking to friends or loved ones, exercise, hobbies,etc)
if you feel that you’re at the end of the road, then medication can be suitable if you know what you’re getting yourself into ( drug addiction, adverse moods and effects, sleeping all the time, etc)
i would change my perception, environment, or lifestyle before i would get involved in the corporate, and government legal drug trade.
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Kat
February 3rd, 2009
12:06 am
I get the feeling that a lot of responders to this article have the last name of Cruise.
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chief
February 3rd, 2009
12:31 am
Weed is the all-natural painkiller. There are so many reasons why it should be legal.
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Karen Lei Provo
February 3rd, 2009
2:21 am
I have been suffering with major depression for 49 years. I have been on and off many of the medications over the years. For me, I have found only a couple of them that really work for me. Well actually three. I have experienced weight gain with the medications however they have helped me very much with my illness. I personally cannot get by without the medications, believe me I have tried. But that is me and I think everyone is different. I think it is hard, at least it was for me to find the right medication to do the trick. I have had a long struggle with the illness. I believe like others have mentioned, it is important to have a positive enviornment, interests, support of friends, good relationships, pets help me and lots of light (sun) helps tremendously I have found. Avoid stress, get plenty of sleep, exercise, eat a healthy diet and stay hydrated. Most of all, stay in close touch with our Higher Power!
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Peachy
February 3rd, 2009
5:57 am
Zoloft saved my life and I have no side effects. Sometimes I quit taking it for a couple of months and have no withdrawal symptoms at all. I could not work without my Zoloft.
On the other hand, my daughter took Paxil, slept nearly 24/7, lost the HOPE grant because of it. I was 400 miles away and had no idea this was going on. She is off everything now and doing fine, thank goodness.
Someone mentioned Tom Cruise? What an idiot–genuine, 100% idiot.
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Tom
February 3rd, 2009
7:02 am
you didn’t mention Wellbutrin or Zyban (generically known as bupropion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellbutrin) which are norepinephrine and dopamine agents as opposed to serotonin. they work well for some people (myself among them) and don’t have the sexual side effects that SSRIs do (most of what the detractors above have said about them is BS/clueless idiocy but unfortunately this one is fairly common though not universal either).
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Better
February 3rd, 2009
7:07 am
I suffer mild depression. I use St. Johns Wort twice per day. It keeps me off of that slippery slope that would make me crash before.
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jm
February 3rd, 2009
7:30 am
I am on Cymbalata. Which has helped me tremendously! I had a major depressive event – also known as a nervous breakdown – about a yr ago. The side effects for me getting on this was nausea and drowsiness. So I take this at night so I can sleep and the nausea went away after a few days. The only thing is that when I haven’t taken it in a few days – I know bad patient – I get this “aura” around me. Kind of like a little dizzy spell. I would love to get off of this stuff but I won’t do it w/out a Dr. I suffer from S.A.D. and am just waiting for Spring to come around so that I can try that and get out in the sun and exercise. I personally think that Tom Cruise is an idiot. But…to each it’s own.
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brolaw
February 3rd, 2009
7:36 am
All of these drugs are garbage. Have never taken any of them. Exercise is key, a good hobby helps too, like golf.
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Michelle
February 3rd, 2009
7:50 am
All these people saying drugs are garbage have obviously never suffered enough to take medication. I exercise every day and nothing can compare to what medication has done for me. My doctor actually put me on Prozac for major PMS symptoms and it has been a miracle drug for me. I feel fantastic and I am always smiling – something that I have never experienced. It has made the world of difference in not only how I feel inside, but my marriage and my relationship with my children has just gotten better and better every day. I LOVE Prozac. It has literally saved my life!
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CM
February 3rd, 2009
8:08 am
Just an FYI for you folks out there who think “exercise” or a good book is the answer to severe depression as a solution have obviously been blessed by NOT experiencing depression. It has been scientifically proven that depression is in fact a chemical imbalance in the brain. Sever depression is a chronic disorder and is no different then diabetes. If you do not take insulin as a diabetic you will get sick and eventually end up in the hospital if you do not take depression medication you end up in the hospital if you are fortunate enough to make it to the hospital. To many people end up dying too young because of have a “label” attached to them and they do not seek help! You would think living in the year 2009 that label would have gone away but due to the ignorance of society it has not. Before you pass judgment on someone who is in fact suffering from depression DO YOUR HOMEWORK you might just save a life instead of pushing that person closer to the edge! AS an FYI I have suffered from depression for many years and there are many safe drugs available. It is in fact trial and error however it does make your quality of life so much better.
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Cindy
February 3rd, 2009
8:29 am
A good long walk with the dogs does it for me. Watching those tails wag, and seeing how excited they are just to get outside. Exercise is the best cure for depression.
I don’t buy the depression crap. You choose how you feel each and every day.
I work with people who choose to be depressed. They choose to be nasty and hateful to those around them. I don’t know how anyone can live like that. There is so much to be thankful and grateful for. Just walk outside. Look at what you HAVE, not what you don’t have. Don’t worry about what others have that you don’t, just be thankful you wake up every day and have a chance to start fresh……..
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Steve
February 3rd, 2009
8:33 am
I like all the comments from people that don’t have depression and have absolutely no idea what their talking about, but are more than willing to act like Tom Cruise and some wacked out scientologist who declare nobody needs anti-depressants. The great suggestions are to drink yourself to sleep or “just smoke pot”. How pathetic. While exercise helps and a good diet, it’s imperative I take an anti-depressant and it can sometimes take years to find the right “coctail” that works for you and that’s not even getting into the milligram of the particular drug or the frequency. Every body is different and every drug may effect each individual differently. There are horror stories for every drug and wonderful sucess stories for the same drug. Most people want to have this miracle drug that will take away all of their problems. It’s the same as going on a diet. You may need to take a “pill” to help lose the weight but that in and of itself is the not all you will need to do. You’ll need to exercise, sleep right, figure out the frequency of your meals and how much of it depending on your physical condition, etc. Nothing is ever as simple as it may appear to be. If your taking an anti-depressant and you don’t feel it’s working, then tell your doctor. That part of it is not that difficult. I guess I’ll just go down a bottle of Jim Beam and smoke a bunch of weed and I’ll be alright. Stay classy all you drinkers and pot heads.
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Mary
February 3rd, 2009
8:46 am
I agree with others about staying away from Paxil – the major problems with it are well-documented. My doctor put me on in back in ‘04 for anxiety and mild depression. While the drug worked ok while I was on it, getting off of it was a NIGHTMARE – constant nausea, head “zings”… I was sick for months. I’m not on anything and would be hesitant to try any anti-depressants after that. Right now yoga helps.
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sd
February 3rd, 2009
8:49 am
I know that many people have genuine chemical imbalances in their minds and that drugs do help.
However, I think that many, perhaps even the majority, of people suffering depression are depressed simply because they are trying to fit where they don’t belong. They are trying to live in cubicle farms and little apartments and row houses, spending hours in traffic, worrying over Christmas gifts, popularity, and climbing a corporate ladder. These people were not born to do this. They should be working manual labor, outside. They should not be trying to be something they aren’t. Its a hard pill to swallow when you first realize that your ideas are no more profound than anyone elses. You have been told by your parents and teachers that you were special from an early age, and when you find out that you are just another person trying to find happiness in life, it can be devestating. But eventually you can accept that you are free to do whatever you want for a living, you don’t need the things that you’ve been told you need.
Live simple, be happy.
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sd
February 3rd, 2009
9:03 am
Steve,
I don’t understand why taking one drug, A pill, is any better than another drug. I am not saying that pills are bad, but it seems odd to think that if one takes a drug to deal with depression, than he is better than someone else who takes a drug to deal with depression, simply because one is legal and one is not.
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hildymac
February 3rd, 2009
9:31 am
To all of you armchair psychiatrists out there… depression is a clinical state. Don’t believe me? Fine. Believe the psychology textbook I teach out of – read the mood disorder section:
http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/myers8e/content/cat_570/PDFs/Chapter%2016.pdf
And yes, while exercise, sunlight, and a positive outlook can snap you out of being down in the dumps, nothing like that can snap you out of being in a major depressive state. That is an issue with the seratonin in your brain being re-uptaken faster than it can be absorbed by it’s receptors, causing depression.
If it weren’t a clinical psychological disorder, it wouldn’t be in the DSM-IV. It’s a shame stupidity isn’t in there too.
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inBallGround
February 3rd, 2009
9:32 am
Best anti-depressant ? — prayer and reading scripture.
Doest it work ? yes it does, very well might I add.
Has it changed my life ? — yes and for the better, thanks to the grace of God.
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Pamela
February 3rd, 2009
9:33 am
Government legal drug trade…..NO THANKS!!!!….My body, my decision….LOVE MY DEALER!!!!!….Side effects-NONE!!!!!..
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Reg
February 3rd, 2009
9:34 am
Prayer and exercise. I tell Jesus my problems and get moving. It has worked for almost 50 years.
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sharon
February 3rd, 2009
9:38 am
Cindy an sd, one does not choose to be depressed. It’s not all in the mind. It does not occur because “you’re hateful and mean” or “trying to live in cubicle farms”. I do not suffer from depression but I know of people who do. Trust me, there is no reaching these people when they feel dispair. It is a very real illness. No one wakes up in the morning and say “I’m going to be sad today”. There are chemical imbalances going on. When a person loses their job and decides to kill the whole family nine times out of ten it is linked to some MAJOR FORM OF DEPRESSION. Please do some research and until then please have some compassion and thank God that you are mentally fit.
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Kristy
February 3rd, 2009
9:49 am
***CINDY*** You sound like a major b*^%h. Have you not ever heard of Bipolar II Disorder? Believe it or not it is a legitimate disorder that contains long bouts of severe depression. You should not make fun of other peoples illness’. I work in the psychology field and your nasty comments say LOADS about you. I would love to clue you in them but you probably could not afford my hourly rate..
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Cindy
February 3rd, 2009
9:49 am
I’m sorry, I have NO compassion for someone who “chooses” to be depressed. I work with such a person and he just can’t find happiness at all, because he CHOOSES to wallow in self pity. I don’t buy that mental illness crap at all.
You decide each and every morning if its going to be a good day or a bad day. Power of positive thinking.
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Rhonda
February 3rd, 2009
9:52 am
I use Wellbutrin and it works pretty well. There are side effects such as dry mouth and weight gain. I attempted to come off of it and each time I gained about 6 lbs; normally lose about 3 lbs once I get back on the drug. This drug has helped me tremendously with my mood swings and paranoid behavior. It helps me to calm down and put things in perspective. The only thing I do not like about the drug is trying to gaining the weight. I exercise everyday; normally running for a total of 5 miles per day and I go to the gym for weight training. The exercise does not alleviate the anxiety, but Wellbutrin helps a lot. For those who criticize others about depression, you are totally clueless. Try being a female, and working in a man’s world. I have friends that take some type of drug and they need the help as well. I have other friends that do not take any type of antidepressant because they are just too good for them or they have tried the wrong type and the side effects are bad for them. These friends are throwing objects, distrusting everyone, and talking about how they are not loved. They definitely need to visit a doctor soon. Life for them could be so much better.
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hildymac
February 3rd, 2009
9:55 am
Cindy, I guess you didn’t bother to read the post where I cited professional studies that state that depression is a clinical psychological disorder. The power of positive thought can’t control neurotransmitters. Go read Lewinsohn’s studies on depression and go look at PET scans of people with depression and then tell me it’s all about the power of positive thought. Yes, the Social‐Cognitive Perspective impacts depression, but depression is caused by NEUROTRANSMITTERS.
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shaggy
February 3rd, 2009
10:12 am
Cindy,
You hit the nail squarely on the head. To you depressed, heavily addicted/medicated individuals: Quit whining and look around you. If you can’t find any beauty in life, maybe you should check out. Life is not pretty all of the time, and those times take a little courage and toughness. Exercise just for the sake of moving something is not the answer. Challenging your mind and body together will set you free, make you feel truly alive. Go and do something. Get off of the couch, out of the house, and stop feeling sorry for yourself.
No, I am not a scientologist and think them to be weak minded as well. Anyone that believes in Zenu, like they do, are just idiots, who might as well believe Lord of the Rings is true.
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Wanda
February 3rd, 2009
10:15 am
I was diagnosed with cancer in 1999 and again in 2007. I have been on antidepressant since 2000. I do exercise and I also have a strong faith in God. Until you walk in my shoes or someone else that has a chemical inbalance you don’t even need to be commenting.
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G Natural
February 3rd, 2009
10:17 am
Cannibis + music = instant “state” change! Natural, and one of the oldest known anti-depressants!
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cyoo
February 3rd, 2009
10:18 am
Folks, I know this is an open forum, and we’re discussing an interesting topic here. But, please be mindful and a bit courteous. Comments like “Maybe you should check out” is not helping. Thanks.
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Denise
February 3rd, 2009
10:20 am
Some of these responses really make me angry. The reason is that some folks assume that people who are depressed choose it (why would anyone choose depression?) and that positive thoughts, exercise, and diet can cure it all. Sure, maybe some people will be “healed” with these 3 and other suggestions, but a lot of us won’t. I am currently taking Wellbutrin and Lamictal (mood stabilizer – I have bipolar disorder) and I have a very, very good, successful and full life. I probably wouldn’t if I had refused medication. Regardless of how you personally feel about depression, be careful of giving the “get over it” kind of advice to people who want nothing more than an excuse not to get treatment. Also, ask yourself: would I tell a diabetic not to take insulin but just exercise? Would I tell a cancer patient not to take chemo because all he/she needs to do is exercise? If you wouldn’t say that to folks with physical illnesses, then don’t say that to people who have mental illnesses.
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Lynnette
February 3rd, 2009
10:28 am
I was always a happy, positive person…still am, for the most part. However, after a major life storm (divorce after 30+ years of marriage, loss of friends, and upheaval from life as I knew it), I was an emotional, crying, sad wreck and couldn’t find my way back to the person I was before. I tried Cymbalta for a while but it wasn’t for me, and coming off of it was a nightmare. My head felt as if fireworks were going off all the time. At the urging of concerned friends and family, I finally tried a low dose of Zoloft and it has helped me feel more positive about my life. I don’t plan to be on it forever. For those of you who have the attitude that “anyone who needs a pill to be happy is a weak person”, I just hope that if are faced with a life-altering tragedy that you just can’t get past, that there is someone willing to help you, even with a little pill for a little while.
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KB
February 3rd, 2009
10:28 am
Cindy that was a horrible remark to make to someone who is suffering from depression, and there is a difference between self pity and depression. Shame on you. You have the compassion of an ant.
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Ken
February 3rd, 2009
10:29 am
The ignorance expressed here is amazing. People still confuse depression with being in a bad mood. This is why thousands of Americans commit suicide each year and and others suffer and never seek help.
A little exercise, playing with the dogs, taking up a hobby and “talking to Jesus about it” are all great ideas. These things are not cures for depression.
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sonny
February 3rd, 2009
10:30 am
Shaggy and Cindy almost make me laugh with their ignorant comments, until I realize how sad it is that they really have no clue what they’re talking about. Good luck practicing medicine without a license.
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dkjones3
February 3rd, 2009
10:40 am
Shaggy, If you suffer from depression getting out of bed each morning is a task. Excerise is not possible. As for you comment about killing yourself, you must have not had a family member that has killed his self. The ones that actuall do it without any warning are the ones that are depressed and you do not know about it.
I take Wellbutrin use to take Lexapro but the side effects were bad. With Wellbutrin I dont have as many side effects. Also, I can excerise now and enjoy life.
My husband did not know I was taking any thing until I had been on it for over a year. When he did find out if I said anything to him about something he did not like it was “Have you taken you med. today”.
Being a mother of four and caring for a parent, plus having a full time job is hard.
My husband thinks I have been off my meds for six months now. What he does not know wont hurt him.
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cyoo
February 3rd, 2009
10:46 am
Shaggy, thank you for your response. I’d like to clarify that this is our forum, everyone’s, actually. All I’m hoping is that we share our opinions with passion, but also with a bit of respect. Yes, Kristy’s name-calling is not considered an ideal example, to say the least. Thanks, everyone.
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Lynn
February 3rd, 2009
10:58 am
Enter your comments here
Cindy and Shaggy – it is obvious you have no idea what you are talking about. in fact, Cindy, your co-worker is probably further depressed just having to work with you. Depression is a chemical imbalance that can be further affected by issues of spousal addiction, issues with elderly parents, issues raising teenage grandchildren, and issues from your past that add to all of the above – all coming at you all at once when your neurotransmitters are already out of sync. You are not feeling sorry for yourself! Trust me, you are just trying to deal with your everyday circumstances and not take that first drink after 17 years! I have been on depression medication for many years and have tried many of them – most without any success. I currently take 80mg of prozac and 300mg of welbutrin a day and lately that hasn’t been doing enough. There are side effects but so far they’ve outweighed suicide or homocide.
So, Cindy and Shaggy and all you other non-believers, until you’ve walked in depressed shoes, you don’t have a CLUE. Consider yourselves damn lucky.
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sd
February 3rd, 2009
11:21 am
You can call me names if you’d like, but I do believe that SOME people choose to be depressed. Obviously, some people are actually mentally ill, but others choose it. Not on a conscious level like, “Ok, I am really going to be sad now”, but rather in their lifestyle choices.
Maybe someone is generally depressed because they have chosen to live a lifestyle that is not conducive to the actual person they are.
I know a guy who chose to be depressed and one day chose not to be. He had gone to an Ivy League School, and got a big time job on Wall Street. He was making millions of dollars within a few years in his career. Up late all the time working. The depression got so bad that he decided to take a month off of work for his health. He went to Montana and he never came back. He now takes tourists fly fishing and he makes a fraction of what he once made. But he is happy. Truly happy.
Thats not for everyone, and some people are truly unbalanced chemically. But many of you just need to quit your job, sell your house and car, move out of the city, and live a minimalist life away from all of this race.
I’ve been to tiny villages in Kenya where people struggle to get enough to eat and drink, but the people are happy. No one is depressed.
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CM
February 3rd, 2009
11:38 am
Yes some people do choose the “WOO IS ME SYNDROME” However before you judge someone PLEASE remember there are three others judging you!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you never have to deal with depression OR ever have to deal with a loved one with depression!
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rl
February 3rd, 2009
12:16 pm
I think we’ve all gotten a little off track, here. Isn’t this forum about which drugs work best for you, not is depression real? So, let’s assume depression is real and start discussing the drugs used to treat it. For those of you who don’t believe depression is real, start your own blog somewhere else.
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shaggy
February 3rd, 2009
12:56 pm
sd,
Kudos to you. I am glad some people actually get it.
Life is tough, with no guarantees, Life is also short, too short to wander around in a paxil, prozac, etc… daze, a daze that addicts your mind just the same or more than heroin.
I can’t imagine an existence where I can’t feel, because a drug won’t let me. If I had to live like that, I would rather not exist.
I just pulled out my summer climbing pictures and kissed them, thanking my parents for giving me this life and the ability to experience beauty practically everywhere. I believe most everyone else can do the same if they will just open their eyes.
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rl
February 3rd, 2009
1:03 pm
Oh, this is easy. I just lay in the tanning bed!
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Cindy
February 3rd, 2009
3:38 pm
Well, I won’t buy it. I have been through a horrible divorce, raised a kid by myself, the loss of more than one job, and the death of a parent. I’m still here, and I’m not depressed. Don’t need medication to make me “right”. I make myself right.
I have been through just about everything posted on this blog, and I’m not depressed.
IT’S A CHOICE!!! And some of you chose to cry “Oh poor me”.
I don’t buy it!
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cyoo
February 3rd, 2009
3:57 pm
Hi, Cindy. Thanks for your responses. I’m trying to better understand your point here. Are you saying that we tend to over-medicate ourselves? Or that depression is not actually a medical condition? What about people whom doctors say are clinically depressed? Should they not be treated with anti-depressants? I’m trying to further our debate. Thanks, everyone.
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shaggy
February 3rd, 2009
4:08 pm
Cyoo – Not Cindy, but one more from shaggy.
I think clinical depression exists is a very small percentage of people, not the millions that drink the cool aid, while needlessly medicating themselves and their children. The doctors and pharm companies set the stage and the media that forces this down the public’s throat are the profiteers in this game. Like my previous post said. It’s the same with ADD ADHD.
Where were all of these millions of “patients” 50 years ago? Why did they mysteriously appear everywhere once a drug(s) was advertised and the BIG story plastered on the news?
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Denise
February 3rd, 2009
5:37 pm
I can answer the “where were all these millions of patients 50 years ago” question. They were somewhere not getting treatment and causing hell in their homes. My grandmother suffered from anxiety disorder – undiagnosed and untreated – and she was so jittery that she would actually sweat all day just from the anxiety of something happening. She snapped all the time. She was always looking out the window to see if anything was going on. She was depressed a lot. She was mean as a snake sometimes. “Should” she have had any issues with depression or anxiety? Nope…not based on what some of you say. She didn’t work outside the home, unless you count helping my granddaddy clean offices. She didn’t have to go to the grocery store, pump her own gas, take the car for an oil change. She lived farrrrrr from the ‘rat race’ that is supposedly causing people depression. She kept the house, which of course is not easy, but she was her own boss (and my granddaddy’s) and did as she pleased. But still had issues that could have at least been mitigated, in my opinion, with medication and/or talk therapy. I use both and, as I said before, my life is d@mn good because I am stable.
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shaggy
February 3rd, 2009
7:56 pm
Denise,
I’ll bet if you asked your grandmother if she wanted to feel numb instead of truly feeling emotion, she would have bit you like the snake you describe. That generation delt with their lives differently, with courage and respect. That is something I rarely see today.
Something tells me that you would have forcebly medicated grandma, for her own good, so she would smile and be easier to mansge. What did YOU do to make grandma happy? Did you spend time doing what she wanted to do, or did you remain consumed in your own unhappiness, watching her and giving up hope for your own happiness because of her? It’s just a cop out to blame unhappiness on others, even direct family. Your life starts and ends with you.
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LC
February 3rd, 2009
8:01 pm
Shaggy and Cindy, if you don’t believe depression exists, why are you getting involved in a forum about treatments for it? I don’t see what purpose it serves to try to antagonize people who are at the very least acknowledging that they are struggling.
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shaggy
February 3rd, 2009
8:19 pm
LC,
Learn to read posts. It is healthy to understand a point before you attempt to make your own. Why do you think it is antagonization to disagree?
Let me break it down for you:
Too much heavy, addictive, personality altering drugs prescribed by an industry that makes a lot of money on these drugs that suddenly appeared for a much ballyhooed condition shoved down the public’s gullible throat by a profiteering, advertising media.
Signed, “those of us that find beauty everywhere and nowhere at the same time.”
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LC
February 3rd, 2009
10:32 pm
Minimizing someone else’s illness by calling them a “whiner” and suggesting they kill themselves is antagonizing. And not very constructive behavior for someone who claims to see beauty everywhere.
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shaggy
February 4th, 2009
7:07 am
LC,
Sorry for the check out thing. However, I firmly believe that unless someone or something has control over your life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, you are in control of your happiness. Living addicted to dubiously approved, costly, and personality changing drugs does not, in my opinion, equate happiness, and yes, I would rather not exist than live like that.
I once loved a woman, a very beautiful, energetic, engaging woman, who went through some life challenges. She thought she needed to see a doctor, because her peers convinced her that she needed help.(not me. I thought she was fine, just going through some tough times) The doctor promptly put her on prozac, one visit, here’s your script. The change in her otherwise vibrant personality was profound and chilling. She was a different person, one who smiled on the outside and was numb on the inside. It was like a high spirited horse that had suddenly been beaten into submission. Yes you could ride it, but it really was only a shadow of its former self. Thankfully, she allowed me to persuade her to see a different doctor (mine), with me there. (it will help this story for you to know that she is my wife) This is an older doctor, who can tell you stories of delivering babies in peoples homes. Old School. Once he found out the whole story, including the hurry up prozac prescription, he first recommended she wean herself off of it. During that time period, his recommendation was to identify things SHE really wanted to do in her life and make achievable plans to do them. It took 9 months for her to get off of that crap, however she ended up clean and is today, doing the things that make HER happy. That energetic, beautiful, intelligent woman was returned to me by her own hand.
So, please excuse my opinionated writing. I have seen this and yes, I was forced to further research it and take action, because I wanted my wife back, not the medicated woman that woke up beside me.
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Cindy
February 4th, 2009
7:35 am
Shaggy very well written. And congrats!!!
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taxpayer
February 4th, 2009
8:55 am
How many of those who choose not to afford health care choose to afford cell phones, cable/satelitte TV, lap top computers, blue ray technology, and other “necessities” in our creature-comfort driven culture?
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Sugar
February 4th, 2009
8:58 am
To me, insurance of any kind, is a legalized scam. You pay and pay and pay for coverage, then when you need it, suddenly you are a high risk and your rates go skyrocketing.
I know ALOT of people, due to the cost, that do not have health insurance. Thankfully, my company pays 100% of our employee health insurance, not just for us, but for our entire family!!!!
I am very thankful to be employed full time, with 100% of my insurance paid for.
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Doris
February 4th, 2009
10:07 am
You people who think the free market is going to take care of this situation, forget it!!! This is an issue that has to be addressed!! Taxpayer, someone faced with 1000+ per month premium is not gonna be able to pay it if they forgo a 100 cable and cell phone bill. Most people I now without health insurance don’t have “blue ray technology”. I think cable is a total rip off and would never pay for it, however, I don’t see how forgoing it is gonna get anyone health insruance.
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hudson rouse
February 4th, 2009
10:22 am
Yes. the attrition rate of uninsureds in Georgia does not help our premiums either. if you would like to talk to on of our experts please call 404-378-0015
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reservoirDAWG
February 4th, 2009
10:38 am
Sugar, “insurance of any kind is a scam.” That may be the most uneducated statement I’ve ever read. If you own a home and it burns down have fun sleeping in a tent next to the remains. As far as healthcare, which is not my field, it is the uninsured that are causing premiums to increase.
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sue
February 4th, 2009
11:07 am
Why are people on this blog. that don’t have depression or believe in taking medicine for mental illness.. yet spewing judgment and negative energy about those that seek treatment. Are you lonely, full of pent up rage, and tired of not being heard? Perhaps, you have a mental illness but are too ignorant to get help for it.
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bellle
February 4th, 2009
11:21 am
I can’t ever remeber my father making real $$$$. We never went hungry, but when we went shopping for clothes, it was K-mart or the thrift store. I do know that health insurance was never an issue. When we got sick, we went to the doctor and occassionally the emergency room. What can I say, growing up in a family with 4 kids means somebody is going to get hurt.
I was the first one in my father’s family to graduate from college. I have a technical back ground, military experience and skills that I’ve been told are needed. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I am doing better than my parents. In fact, my standard of living and my wages have decreased in the last decade. Last year I was laid off, a first for me, along with everone else in by department. I took the first job I could get and by the time I passed the probationary period, group health indyrance was no longer available. Funny how they never tell you that during the interview. I now have a private policy that doesn’t cover any pre-existing conditions.
Do you know anybody over 40 who doesn’t have a pre-existing condition? I now find myself not going to the doctor because insurance won’t cover it. My prescriptions which I only took when I could afford them have expired and since I can’t afford to see the doctor………..
BTW I paid cash for my car. I have one television that cost $200 when it was bought 2 years ago.
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droz35
February 4th, 2009
11:24 am
I agree the health insurance market is rough..Going without should be a last resort. The reason the rates go up every year is due to medical costs, and when the uninsured go to the hospital, taxpayers pay for those costs. If you have a condition going on before you get individual coverage, most likely it will be excluded. If someone has credit card debt with visa, they can’t expect mastercard to pay for it if they get a new mastercard. The government needs to step in on pre existing conditions, and not make the insurance companies take the wrap like they are trying to do now. If they are successful, we are looking at almost every carrier folding, more job cuts, and a socialized health care system. Being we are Americans, I don’t think anyone will stand waiting 6 months for a surgery like they do in other countries, then we will be going to Mexico for treatment just like Canadians come here for theirs in many cases. It’s 30 years of mismanagement catching up to us in a big way now, unfortunately.
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Eric
February 4th, 2009
11:37 am
To Taxpayer: the reality is that computers are now a necessity in order to get a job. rarely can you talk to or meet with anyone in person. As for myself, I do not buy other “luxuries” nor can I afford health insurance. So much of my paycheck goes to keep in car in order. I worked at Kroger full-time recently and was told I would not be offered health insurance until after 7 months of employment. outrageous! so much for taking care of the employee. why should I be a dedicated worker to that?
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Sharon
February 4th, 2009
11:47 am
Complain all you want but to let the government take over healthcare is a big mistake we will all learn to hate quickly. It will turn right into the VA mess and the Medicare problems. Government is not equiped to take care of this and it will ruin the medical care this country has so long enjoyed.
People need to take resonsibility for themselves. Medical savings accounts have been available for ever. One can put money in and if something happens that your are out of work for a time you still have this to fall back on. Nope people would rather complain and take trips and call for the government to help. I for one am tired of helping the lazy welfare bums or even the workers who spend every penny they make and then when trouble hits its my fault and I should help you. Get off your buts and help yourself. Its your problem to take care of yourself not mine.
I do not make 100K per year, not even close. I have car payment that I make and a mortgage every month. I dont have a expensive cell phone nor headphones for it. What I do have is a bank account set so that if I lose my job I have one years payments put away. Yes one year. And I have a little over 6K in a health savings plan. It will stay there and if I lose my job due to economy I can go to the doctor and pay for prescriptions out of it. Yes for a hospital stay I am out, but you know what? I am trying and doing the best I can. Not like a lot of you who are now crying that your bluetooth cant be paid for. Give me a break.
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Pamela
February 4th, 2009
11:55 am
**Insurance Companies (both dental and health) are a big rip off! It’s like some other bloggers already pointed out..you pay into them for years on-end, but when you need them they want to bail out on you! Dental coverage is the REAL SCAM!!!** Insurance coverage should be free for everyone in the U.S.A. that’s an American Citizen!
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droz35
February 4th, 2009
11:56 am
Sharon is right. With u there.
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shaggy
February 4th, 2009
12:58 pm
sue,
How can you type when your hands are shaking uncontrollably and spittle is getting on the keyboard from gritting your teeth while hissing?
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droz35
February 4th, 2009
1:10 pm
If we want free insurance, then be ready to pay 55-60% taxes, nothing is free! Taxes would double in the next 2-5 years! No one thinks of that.
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married to it
February 4th, 2009
1:21 pm
Yes, there are some people on anti-depressants who don’t really need it just like any other medication. But this should not minimize the people who truly have a chemical imbalance and do require meds to give them a better life. My husband recently went back on meds after being on and off for the last 10 years or so. He did not want to go back on them but got to the point where everyday he would try to convince himself to be happy, focusing on his family, his job, how fortunate he was in every way, but still the depression sank in. He exercises every day, is fit, has a hobby that he finds great emotional release in yet, nothing helped like the meds. He did have issues with a doctor prescribing a dosage that was too high, causing that numb feeling, and was lucky enough to find another doctor who cut the dose in half. He still feels sadness and anger, but these no longer dominate his each and every day.
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married to it
February 4th, 2009
1:29 pm
oh, and he hated paxil. zoloft has worked much better with minimal side effects.
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Rick
February 4th, 2009
1:41 pm
The key thing is regular sex and not just because of the chemicals that’re produced.No one seems to have brought that subject up. It’s right after Air, water, food and shelter. Back down that Maslow ladder until you’re skipping something. 9 times out of 10 there’s no sex in your life. If I don’t get it I’m depressed as all get out–with it I can tackle anything.
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bellle
February 4th, 2009
4:09 pm
Perhaps they do the math and calculate that with what were are paying for insurance and co-pays/deductibles it makes financial sense.
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maybe
February 4th, 2009
4:12 pm
The Cost of State-Based Universal Health Care Coverage.
Waters T, Budetti P, Perloff L; AcademyHealth. Meeting (2004 : San Diego, Calif.).
Abstr AcademyHealth Meet. 2004; 21: abstract no. 985.
University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Center for Health Services Research & Dept. of Preventive Medicine, 66 N. Pauline Street, Suite 463, Memphis, TN 38163 Tel. 901.448.5826 Fax 901.448.8009
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: To analyze costs and cost savings associated with various state-level options for universal health care coverage. STUDY DESIGN: Data for the state of Illinois are used to examine reform options. A model of current state health expenditures was developed as a baseline. Four general reform options were postulated and the financial impacts of these changes derived using existing data and databases. POPULATION STUDIED: The population and expenditure patterns of individuals in Illinois. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using decision analysis models, we find that expanding coverage to all residents of Illinois would cost between $2.2 and $4.5 billion in the first year, but that incremental costs would diminish in subsequent years under the single payer approaches, principally due to savings in insurance overhead and administrative costs. By the 5th year of implementation, single payer models providing universal coverage would cost less than the current health care system with 1.7 million uninsured. Using probabilistic sensitivity analyses to allow key parameters to vary simultaneously, we find that single payer reforms are a least-cost strategy in more than 90 % of Monte Carlo iterations by the 8th year of implementation. CONCLUSIONS: State-level reforms appear to be a financially-viable option for attaining universal health care coverage. IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY, DELIVERY OR PRACTICE: The cost savings associated with single payer models are too significant to be ignored. Policies and programs that seek to capture these savings could significantly curb health care cost inflation and produce sufficient additional funding to provide coverage for the uninsured.
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Asha Mulchan
February 4th, 2009
8:46 pm
I do a daily program of breathing techniques which I learnt in the Art of Living stress management/health promotion program almost 11 years ago – it is my daily medicine, it has no unwanted side-effects, but many fringe benefits. I have very low stress levels, an improved immune system, peace of mind and a general positive and uplifting attitude. My children and I (yes, they do the breathing, too!) very seldom get sick. Research of the program has shown reduced levels of stress; improved immune system; reduced cholesterol; decreased anxiety and depression (mild, moderate and severe); increase in anti-oxidant protection; increase in natural killer cells, and enhanced well-being and peace of mind. I’ve gone through many traumatic events (e.g., a horrible divorce, a difficult move back to the US from Europe, the murder of my daughter’s fiancé and her intense suffering, losing two jobs due to budget cuts and downsizing). I moved through all of these without therapy and without meds and that is a real miracle to me.
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texasian
February 6th, 2009
11:17 am
as my dad always told me (in chinese) “big germs eat little germs”
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JO LEWIS
February 8th, 2009
4:12 pm
I KNOW THAT THE TOPIC IS DEPRESSION, LIKE ME SOME PEOPLE HAVE DEPRESSION AND PANIC DISORDER, I WAS HAVING PANIC ATTACKS DAILY. I FEEL THAT I HAVE DIED A THOUSAND TIMES, THATS WHAT A PANIC ATTACK FEELS LIKE…I WAS DIAGNOSED IN 1989 BUT REFUSED TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS IN MY “MIND”…IT FELT SO PHYSICAL…I AM CURRENTLY ON KLONIPIN 3 MG A DAY AND ZOLOFT 200 MG A DAY…I THINK THESE ARE DAILY MAX DOSAGES
FOR THE COMBINATION OF DEPRESSION AND PANIC DISORDER WHICH I AM DOING WELL ON AT THE TIME BUT THAT COULD CHANGE. THEN BACK TO THE PSYCH HOSPITAL FOR MED EVALUATION AND POSSIBLE CHANGE IN MEDS AGAIN. I HAVE BEEN ON SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY SINCE 2000 FOR THE DEBILITATING PANIC ATTACKS. THEY JUST HAPPEN, NO RHYME OR REASON EXCEPT FOR THE CHEMICAL INBALANCE THAT I WAS TOLD CAUSES THEM, OHYEAH, THERE IS ALSO NO CURE. WHO WOULD “CHOOSE” TO LIVE WITH THIS?
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JO LEWIS
February 8th, 2009
4:16 pm
PLEASE GIVE ME SOME FEED BACK. NOTHING UGLY, HURTFUL OR NASTY PLEASE???
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joey
February 8th, 2009
8:09 pm
Jo,
I don’t want to upset you or scare you into a panic, but step away from the caps lock key on your computer. After you stop cyber yelling, you might get some feedback.
Why do people do this anyway? When any post is in caps lock, I usually read about one line and give it up.
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MShea
February 10th, 2009
12:30 pm
Prior to living with a diabetic spouse I would’ve questioned this proposal. After living the cycle of monitoring, testing, watching, testing, waiting, testing. Watching spikes and valleys even on days/weeks where you’ve done everything ‘right’. Where do we sign up?
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Dan
February 10th, 2009
1:55 pm
Maybe the group that was stressed were stressed because they didn’t know the material and knew they would struggle. They clearly have transposed cause and effect here. I would hope someone who has to work in life and death situations would be able to manage stress.
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Randy Terrell
February 10th, 2009
3:16 pm
I am diabetic and would love to stop the needles, but there is this fear that I might have the sudden urge to go out and root around the yard, or invade the trash can. Seriously, it is a bit disquieting and may not work for those like me who are severely insulin resistant.
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Dr. Marks
February 12th, 2009
12:53 pm
Great! Now can we just get back to injecting babies with levels of organic mercury 100’s of times higher than all safety standards. Our profits have started to slip.
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Jerry
February 12th, 2009
12:57 pm
Who would have ever guessed that the U.S. goverment would rule in favor of the drug companies, the CDC, IOM, FDA, HHS, AAP, AMA, NIH and all the other suspects in the case. We’re on our own folks.
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MNmommy
February 12th, 2009
1:06 pm
It should, but it won’t.
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Tom
February 12th, 2009
1:32 pm
Hannah Poling’s case is a red herring; she has a mitochondrial disorder. Mito experts universally recommend vaccination because the diseases they prevent can overwhelm someone w/ a mito defect.
The recent investigation that found Andrew Wakefield falsified data and the omnibus decision are the death nell for the MMR hyopthesis. Also, today’s omnibus decision telegraphs how the court will rule in the thimersol cases as today’s decision considered thimerosal as a component in the causation.
There is a small but committed group of parents who sadly lack scientific literacy and mistake a temporal event for a causal factor. They need to consider that they are mistaken, swallow some pride, and turn their anger toward all those charlatan quacks who have taken advantage of their children. Andrew Wakefield should be enemy #1
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ZDNet Healthcare mobile edition
February 12th, 2009
1:52 pm
[...] has now been charged with faking his study in concert with plaintiffs’ attorneys. Does this end the matter? It should. After all Keith Olbermann has already called Wakefield his “worst person in the world.” [...]
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RA
February 12th, 2009
1:52 pm
Is Maurice Hilleman a quack? He’s the world famouse vaccine inventor who wrote the internal memo to Merck executives warning about high levels of mercury.
This isn’t a scientific issue at all. It’s an ethics issue. It’s an issue of true informed consent. Not fear tactics and arrogance like Tommy Boy uses. I know he doesn’t know the science because. Come back with some numbers. I’ll come back with more numbers. You’ll come back with some different ones and we’ll go round and round until you say the benefits outweighs the risk. And I’ll say to whom.Public health officials. Vaccine Makers? Individual parents. You’ll talk about disease, I’ll talk about informed consent. Unfortunately, you can’t scientifically say that vaccines are healthy for children. You can only infer from statistics.
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RA
February 12th, 2009
2:01 pm
Just like the pro-vaccine community would not concede the Hannah Poling case. This doesn’t settle the issue. We don’t even know what was said. What was the evidence? I don’t have a problem with someone vaccinating their child. I have a problem when the state says you have to vaccinate because a bunch of misinformed parents, the pro-vaccine community, and a judge says you have to. And they will not take responsibility if something happens. Are vaccines 100% safe? NO way! So what happens to those who fall in the gap between whatever percentage on 100%. They get dismissed and stonewalled. they say it was your fault you had a genetic condition. Don’t dare say it was my beloved vaccines.
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Jerry
February 12th, 2009
2:07 pm
“After all Keith Olbermann has already called Wakefield his “worst person in the world.” Actually he retracted this statement and apologized last night after reading this;
“What the Sunday Times did not report was that the GMC investigation into Wakefield was triggered by a complaint from… Brian Deer, who furnished the allegations against him four years ago. He has thus been reporting upon the hearing into his own complaint. Since when has a reputable paper published a story by a reporter who is actually part of that story himself — without saying so – and who uses information arising from the disciplinary hearing which he himself has instigated and which is investigating allegations he himself made in the first place?”
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David
February 12th, 2009
2:08 pm
All I know is that my son is Autistic and no one can tell me why he is. No one can say Vaccines were the cause but no one can say they are not the cause. I and my wife must alone make a gut decision of what is best for our son. I am no suing anyone but I do require the right to raise him the way we feel is best.
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Tom
February 12th, 2009
2:17 pm
RA is a great spokesperson for anti-vaccinationists.
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concerned parent
February 12th, 2009
2:17 pm
RA, your logic is absolutely correct. This often gets reduced to a numbers game. Informed consent is not what happens in most states and Dr. offices b/c the medical community practices to the lowest common denominator. As you said, and science would agree, there is always a risk when a benefit exists but only the most insistant, informed and borderline compulsive parents are given the opportunity to make a true choice.
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Tom
February 12th, 2009
2:32 pm
I have a question below about autism. But first, infants who sleep on their backs compared to infants who sleep on their stomachs have increased rates of:
- Social skills delays at 6 months (Dewey, Fleming, et al, 1998)
- Motor skills delays at 6 months (Dewey, Fleming, et al, 1998)
- Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) (Corvaglia, 2007)
- Milestone delays (Davis, Moon, et al., 1998)
- Plagiocephaly, torticollis, strabismus, etc. etc. etc…
My question is:
If a doctor was presented with a baby that had social skills delays, motor skills delays, and gastroesophageal reflux what would a doctor say if a child had these three things but not too bad. The doctor might tell the parent to be patient and that different kids develop differently. But, what if the case was more severe – what if the kids social skills were worse? The doctor might diagnose him with ADHD. But, what if the kids delays were really far behind – that is the kid had very large delays in social skills and motor skills? The doctor might diagnose him with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I think part (if not all) of the Autism Epidemic is caused by the SIDS Back to Sleep campaign.
BTW, the theoretical reason why back sleep prevents SIDS is because back sleep (aka supine sleep) does not allow an infant to get Deep Sleep (Stage 3/4 NREM sleep) which is when Babies primarily die of SIDS. Stage 3/4 NREM sleep is also when much of a babies plasticity and memory consolidation takes place. This interference with Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) may be the reason why so many infants today have social skills delays and motor skills delays.
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RA
February 12th, 2009
2:37 pm
Not anti-vaccination. Pro information. Pro choice. Pro science. Pro life.
And… my spouse works for a pharmaceutical company. I didn’t want to get into this debate. I used to despise those vaccine activists. I thought they were a bunch of liberal, hippy, troublemakers that spread disease. I didn’t have any kids. What did I care? But one day I stumbled onto the CDC mortality statistics for the flu and my life and view towards public health authorities changed. I thought something is not right here. This is all one big charade. If they are doing this with the flu vaccine, are pharmaceutical companies and doctors doing the same with childhood vaccines?The answer I discovered was Yes!
You can get vaccinated if you want to. But don’t try to use propaganda to persuade the public that we are too stupid to look at the facts and make a value judgement. Public: don’t give up your right to informed consent. It just may save your life.
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peter syms
February 12th, 2009
2:57 pm
this isn’t a debate. A debate is two rational, reasoned arguments comparing the merits of their case, i.e free market vs govt regulation. This is a BELIEF contending with contradicting FACTS.
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Jerry
February 12th, 2009
3:53 pm
The special master is right. Vaccines do not cause autism. Autism is simply a term from the psychiatric DSM-IV manual. It’s nothing but a smokescreen. It provides an alibi for the drug companies who added mercury to vaccines at levels 250 times higher than hazardous waste levels (based on toxicity characteristics). It provides an alibi for the CDC, FDA, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the other drug company cronies who are responsible for the safety of our children. It provides an alibi for the people who administered this poison. It provides an alibi for health insurance companies so they don’t have to pay for treatment for these sick kids. It provides an alibi for psychiatrists so they can force powerfull anti-psychotic drugs on these kids who are already terribly confused.
There will never be an identifiable cause for autism. There are though 11 published papers which identify the underlying medical condition of autism as neuroinflammatory disease. My favorite is ‘ Neuroglial activation and Neuroinflammation in the Brain of Patients with Autism’. This was published by John Hopkins University. Now, do you want to debate whether mercury, a known neurotoxin, added to childhood vaccines at levels 250 times higher than what the EPA identifies as hazardous waste, causes neuroinflammatory disease? Do you want to debate whether brain damaged kids behave in a way so that some psychiatrist can label them as somewhere on the ’spectrum’?
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RA
February 12th, 2009
4:07 pm
The facts are the same. The a priori is different. The same as with political ideology.
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Dr. Cottingham
February 12th, 2009
9:48 pm
Vaccines will never be shown to be the cause of autism, as long as researchers work in silos without communicating. Mercury alone is not the cause of autism… when babies have high levels of lead (obtained inutero) the synergistic effect of lead and mercury renders the mercury more toxic by 100 X. The government and the pharmaceutical companies are correct: “Mercury” is not the cause. LEAD + mercury, however, is a completely different story. It also explains why some babies are born autistic, and others become autistic after a vaccine. Vaccines are not the only source of mercury that unborn and new born babies are exposed to.
Interestingly, another potentiating agent is testosterone… the explanation of why males are disproportionately represented not only in autism popualtions, but in other lead-related neurological damage, such as learning disabilities, ADHD, etc.
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Dr. Profit
February 12th, 2009
10:16 pm
Is it time we question if mercury really is toxic? Come on! The EPA says mercury in liquids exceeding 200 ppb is hazardous waste. Today the “special masters” say its alright to inject infants with a solution that contains 50,000 ppb mercury 10 times or more. We need to re-think the mercury toxicity question.
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RA
February 13th, 2009
10:41 am
Researcher Corinne Zoli from Syracuse wrote an article in the journal Pediactics about the vaccine issue. The title of the article is “Vaccine Debate as Cultural Symptom of Public Distrust in Medical Institutions.” There is a bigger picture here. People don’t trust Pharmaceutical companies and their motives. Doctors are a major part of the pharmaceutical industry. The majority of their education is influenced by them. Most experts in any medical area have an incestous relationship with pharma companies. They use their presitge and power to shape the standard of practice.
On top of that, their are 2 pharma lobbyist for every congressman. They have never lost in congress. With the wave of conflicts of interest and medically induced deaths that have been surfacing its know wonder that people are skeptical of the medical knowledge base. It won’t change until doctors divorce themselves from industry and stop listening to industry sponsored doctors. Not going to happen though. So… the debate will continue.
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Concerned
February 14th, 2009
8:20 am
Let’s suppose there is a group of people known as the National Planetary Information Center or NPIC that believe the world is flat. Study after study says otherwise. The government has spent millions of dollars, NASA regularly tells people our Earth is indeed round. All the geographers agree. But the NPIC keeps saying the “the earth is flat. It is conspiracy. “Big Travel” wants you to believe the earth is round so they can sell you plane tickets. And the cruise lines and pilots are in on it too. Don’t believe NASA either. People are dying falling off the ends of the earth. ”
This is a weak attempt at humor, and I apologize to all those whose children suffer from autism. But it is also so very sad. There is no link between autism and vaccination. Continuing to argue about it only wastes precious medical resources that could be used to find the true cause of autism and treat these children. Time to move on.
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RA
February 14th, 2009
11:07 pm
Dear concerned,
Unfortunately your argument doesn’t solve or end any debate, it just fuels it. This is precisely the one Paul Offit and his lady friend, Dr. Nancy Snyderman use and want the public to use. It’s the authoritarian equivalent of “Because I said so!” Consensus doesn’t always equal truth. It may be the truth. But it doesn’t necessarily equal the truth.
The analogy you used is great because it’s essentially the flat earth analogy. But it’s been taken out of context. A long time ago people thought the earth was flat. Intellectuals said it was flat, Scientist type said it was flat, business people said it was flat. Essentially anyone with any type of “education” said it was flat. Even the evidence said it was flat. Anyone could look at the horizon and determine that was the truth. But someone came along and said that it was round. The majority said it was flat. So it continued to be flat. Eventually the flat earthers died off. They were never persuaeded.
If you study the history of medicine, this is the overlying theme. Some of the Giants of medicine were considered heretics. Mark twain said “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.” The Mass vaccination program should be able to stand up to open scientific questions. Instead of answering the debate, it says “it’s over because I said so!” Not very scientific at all.
Why don’t the pro information and freedom (the ones that are called anti-vaccination by the pro-vacciners) concede to the court rulings? The same reason the AAP, AMA, CDC, Paul Offit and his philosophic followers didn’t concede to the Hannah Poling case.
There are some crucial questions that need to be answered scientifically. Until they are, I’m afraid that no debate will end. Because the truth will be out there. But…science itself will not be able to end this debate because it is an ethical debate just like the Eugenics program. Does anyone remember when Eugenics was actually called a science? It was approved by the AMA and the National Academy of Science. Not until the public rose up and cried did these people crawl back and stop hiding behind the name of science.
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catlady
February 15th, 2009
9:21 am
I don’t think there is a link between autism and vaccination. This is not scientific; it is merely based on 36 years as a teacher and the observations I have made. The children I see with autism, most I have been around since they were babies, were already showing signs of problems before they had injections (folks around here rarely give their kids the shots at the recommended times). I think the causes of autism are much more varied (as the problem is varied in its manifestation) and much more complex than some folks want to think.
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Still Concerned
February 15th, 2009
9:54 am
The court ruled that the “crucial questions that need to be answered scientifically” has already happened. Study after study after study shows no link between autism and vaccination. These studies have been published in journals like the New England Journal of Medcine etc etc.
Of course you don’t have to believe the New England Journal or even your own doctor. Just go ask your parents or grandparents. My mom was in high school in the early 1950s and dreaded the first day of school every year because she knew some of her friends would have died over the summer of polio. In the 1960s there tens of thousands of babies born with congential rubella syndrome, which includes deafness and heart defects. My mother in law told me she would bang pans together the first day home with her new baby to be sure that they did not have this problem. It has been several years since a case of this disease has been seen in the United States. And just a month ago a seven month baby died of Hib, a vaccine preventable disease. That seven month had not received any recommended vaccinations. It was the first death from Hib in Minnesota since 1991, about the time vaccine was introduced.
The point about the flat earth is certainly valid – of course everyone believed the earth was flat. Just look at the window, you don’t see the curve of the earth. But to continue to hold that belief after the time of Columbus and John Glenn is not very realistic. And that is the point about autism and vaccination, we need to move on. There are a limited number of tax dollars for medical research and they need to be spent on the true cause and better treatments for the horrible disease of autism.
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Mercury and vaccines
February 15th, 2009
11:56 am
mercury is not in vaccines anymore…. autism rates continue to go up.
unbiased information at http://www.immunizationinfo.org/thimerosal_mercury_issues.cfm
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RA
February 15th, 2009
12:36 pm
Let’s look at what the Merck manual says:
Measles: Before widespread immunization, measles epidemics occurred every 2 to 3yr, with small localized outbreaks during intervening years. In recent years in the USA, outbreaks have occurred most commonly in PREVIOUSLY IMMUNIZED adolescents and young adults and SOMETIMES in unimmunized preschool aged children. An infant whose mother has had measles receives transplacental passive immunity lasting most of the first year of life , thereafter susceptiblity is high. One attack of measles confers lifelong immunity.
Atypical measles syndrome usually occurs in persons PREVIOUSLY immunized with the original killed virus measles vaccine…atypical syndrome may also follow immunization with live, attenuated measles vaccine…
Prognosis: In healthy, well-nourished children, measles has a low mortality rate unless complications ensue. {Where are all the deaths? Typically in third world type conditions. The question is: should I be allowed to uses this information and make an educated decision about my child’s health? Or will other parent’s tell the govn’t to force me to make a decision based on their fears. If that’s the case, then I don’t need to know any statistics because the CDC, AAP, and DFACS will decide for me.
Polio: According to the PBS special that ran last week there were 20,000 cases of polio per year in 1950. A deadly and paralyzing disease. It then showed people in iron lungs and crippled. By 1960 the cases were down to 3000. (I’m going off memory so correct me if I’m wrong). This clever statement didn’t lie, but it was deceitful. Less than 2% of polio cases were paralytic and permanent. Not 20,000. The Cutter Labs incident caused 40,000 cases of polio from the vaccine. More people die from hospital infections than this. Where’s the outrage on that?
If vaccines were 100% safe, this would be a no-brainer. Everyone should get vaccines. No harm in trying. But, when you inject people with 76 vaccines and ingredients, something bad, known or unknown, is going to happen. Parents should be a part of the decision process and they deserve to know all the facts.
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RA
February 16th, 2009
8:04 pm
“The court ruled that the “crucial questions that need to be answered scientifically” has already happened. Study after study after study shows no link between autism and vaccination. These studies have been published in journals like the New England Journal of Medcine etc etc.”
I’m still waiting for the controlled trial that compares vaccinated against un-vaccinated complications. Until that trial is done, then how can anyone say that this has been settled scientifically? What’s the problem? The Pro-vacciners say that would be an unethical experiment.
When someone says that a debate is over because they say so is just bullying.
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Concerned
February 17th, 2009
7:28 am
that study has already been done and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002. It involved > 500,000 Danish children and compared vaccinated to unvaccinated. Their conclusion was “this study provides strong evidence against the hypothesis that MMR vaccination causes autism.”
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RA
February 17th, 2009
8:05 am
Thanks. I’ll check it out. I haven’t heard of any study that compared the two.
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RA
February 17th, 2009
2:45 pm
I’ll get back to this study later. Its far from definitive. But let’s suppose it is “hard” science. It’s the scientific consensus. And their conclusion is the truth, not just a scientific opinion (whatever that is).
How dangerous are vaccines? Paul Offit says they are so safe that you could inject a child with 10,000 of them (presumably with mercury because he said that should’t be taken out).
Why not make them over-the-counter. Look at all the benefits and virtually no draw backs. Tylenol has a known track record with liver failure and deaths. Aspirin deaths are much higher than Tylenol. These have never stopped a disease by the millions like vaccines. Besides, according to these experts the only side effects from vaccines are anectdotal and coincidental. VAERS reports are scientifically useless. The only immediate danger would be a flesh wound with a small gauge syringe. Maybe you could poke an eye out. But you could do that with a pencil. Plus the benefits would outweigh the risks anyway.
We need to be more aggressive in our fight to eradicate these killer diseases. I would hate to see a dangerous and vaccine preventable disease like chicken pox come back because of the ignorant and selfish few. If it mutates, we would have no recourse against the Avian Chickenpox. The epidemic would come back and wipe out millions. (Show black and white film of children with sores screaming and running out of school buildings.) What are the draw backs? None, if the vaccines are as safe as the pure in heart doctors are saying. If we don’t do this, we risk millions of lives around the world.
There, you convinced me. I’m on your side now. Let’s campaign for OTC vaccines. Let’s not let doctors stand in the way of science and our children’s health.
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Isabelle
February 18th, 2009
6:21 am
I can completely understand why Cindy & Shaggy are expressing their concerns w.r.t. using medication to treat depression in this forum, as I was once felling exactly the same way they do…that was until I was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder – commonly treated with the same anti depressant medications to control neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain…
All I can say is… No, one cannot “think” youselve out of depression or anxiety. Attitude is important, but only if one acts responsibly and use these medications in cases where “mind over matter” won’t “fix things”…
I’ve been on Cipralex for almost 5 months now, and for the first time feel “normal” – the way I used to before my chemicals have gone “haywire”…
Too all those using these medications, well done & good luck with finding the right one.
People always look for “miracles” that would instantly cure their conditions, but never stop to think that these medications are our modern “miracle”, inspired by the knowledge that God has instilled in each and every one of us. Why not use what HE’s been giving us and stop seeing it as the DEVIL…
Only my humble opinion, but I thank GOD everyday for the lessons I’ve learned through this experience. Not judging people who are suffering with depression and/or anxiety. Unless you are in their shoes, do not give advise…
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Kurtis G Dirtblower
February 19th, 2009
4:32 pm
Yeah….feed em dirt…it cheaper than veggies….little rug rats gonna get dirty anyway…might as well get something out of it.
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Christine
February 19th, 2009
5:00 pm
As a type I diabetic of 24 years… I am all for it!!! If this worked, it could potentially save thousands of lives. I was allergic to pork insulin (way back in the day – I am telling my age here!) so I doubt this option would work for me, though. Anyone want to donate a pancreas???
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Mary
February 20th, 2009
9:56 am
Husband had cancerous tumor removed from sinus cavities almost 5 years ago. Yesterday, during routine checkup, his Dr. said he could see granulation in the sinus cavities? What is granulation? Should we worry?
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Anne
February 20th, 2009
10:02 am
I’m 100lbs over weight. I’ve tried many diets. I’m ready to explore studies, diet pills. I have HBP and Diabetics Type II for which I’m taking medication for both. I have no known heart conditions (evlauated within the last year.) Can you suggest any weight loss studies, pills, that I may try outside of gastric bypass. Process is too time consuming (all the steps you have to go through) which I’ve gone through before with the exception of pysch evaluation. Please help. I’m desparate.
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Kate
February 20th, 2009
11:45 am
My heart rate and blood pressure fluctuate depending on my position. For example, my standing heart rate is about 20 points higher and BP is 10-15 points higher as well. I also experience tachycardia when lying flat. What could cause this variance? Is that a common problem? Thank you.
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Rebecca
February 20th, 2009
12:34 pm
I have 3 older children with ADD. They are in college in Atlanta and some are having a rough time. They are all smart but two are struggling. The one who is not struggling is taking medication. He was on Adderall and has switched to Vyvanse. He has great grades but the meds have bad side effects (loss of appetite, acne, depression). These go away when he is off the meds. The other two do not want to take medicine because of the way it makes them feel. They just cannot seem to focus and their grades have been poor. I realize that this is not a problem that you can fix, but what I’m looking for is some ideas and maybe a referral in the Atlanta area for someone who specializes in ADD. We are just using their family doctor for now and we live outside Atlanta. Please realize that we are struggling financially as I have 3 in college and my husband is unemployed. Thanks for any advice that you can offer.
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Melanie
February 24th, 2009
8:27 am
Yes! I would love to see calories, fat grams, carbs and everything else printed on menus. There are so many hidden calories in some of the food…even those that seem “healthy.” I know that home-cooking is best but with a full-time job, full time school and traveling every weekend it’s hard. I wish they would pass this law in Georgia too!
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Lisa Stillman
February 24th, 2009
8:31 am
Of course! However, restaurants don’t want this because sales would go down. I work as a dietitian helping people lose weight. I always direct them to the website http://www.dwlz.com. This is a website that has compiled nutrition information on almost 600 restaurants. People are always shocked by the calories in their choices.
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Andrea
February 24th, 2009
8:31 am
There are so many times I have wondered how many calories I was consuming at a meal in a restaurant. I would love to see this! Why hide the calories and fat and not put it on the menu? Even if they don’t put it on the menu, it should always be offered online.
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Fuggedaboudit
February 24th, 2009
8:49 am
So much “touchy-feely” s–t here! “Ooohh, I want to see calories on my restaurant menu so I know how much I’m consuming” – bulls–t on that. Go to a restaurant, treat yourself to a good meal, and forget about stressing out for awhile. Next day – eat your granola bar and drink soy milk in the privacy of your home.
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sd
February 24th, 2009
8:54 am
I think its a ridiculous thing to require restaurants to do. Its not easy to calculate calories on complex dishes and is asking too much of the owners.
I do think that if a chain restaurant did this on their own, that it might improve sales, but don’t make it a law.
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shahsi
February 24th, 2009
8:54 am
YES! YES! YES!
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Dan
February 24th, 2009
8:58 am
First of all let me say it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have the information avaiable, what is the height of foolishness is to believe passing a law to compel restaurants to do so will do anything more than create another bureaucracy, and another opportunity where people simply want to blame others for their problems and seek compensation. Operationally it would be nearly impossible for a real restaurant (not fast food) to do this accurately and consistently for food made to order. Lisa’s ref in the 831 post is a good idea, though I would like to know who monitors the accuracy of this site, I would bet that another unbiased source visiting the same restaurants would come up with many different results. The fact is government intervention nearly always worsens a situation, if this is a good idea, some restaurants will do it (some already do Seasons 54) and people will go there. Most people don’t look at the labels on grocery store items anyway (and half the people that say they do don’t really make a decision based on it they just make a mental note of which items they need to justify!)
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DM
February 24th, 2009
9:19 am
What right does the government have to do this??? If you want the info ask them for it. If they can’t give it to you GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. People need to take responsibility for themselves.
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Russell
February 24th, 2009
9:43 am
I would love to see calorie info on restaurant menus, but the government should stay out of private business. Let the restaurants decide what they want to put on their menus. Places like Seasons 52 already put the information on the menu and is packed everytime I visit.
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Lori
February 24th, 2009
10:16 am
I don’t think they should require it. People aren’t stupid. I know that my favorite meal at my favorite Italian restaurant is absolutely terrible for me. That’s why I don’t eat it too often. It’s called moderation!!! I would hope that some restaurants would consider putting the information up on their website for people to view if they choose, but I don’t think that should be required either.
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Kiddo
February 24th, 2009
10:52 am
I think that this is a great idea. I look online before I eat at any fast food restaurant and was horrified to find that things like a Market Fresh sandwich from Arby’s is over 700 calories. How can people help themselves if they don’t know. I would love to see sit down restaurants offer calories online, but I don’t think it should be mandated. I would pick a restaurant that willingly offers calories over one that does not.
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kristin
February 24th, 2009
10:52 am
“a reasonable attempt to curb obesity”
Fast Food Chains, Soft Drinks, Corn Syrup, etc have been around for decades if not longer, but it’s only NOW that we have an epidemic. For those of you at work today look around at your co workers and just watch how many times they snack on “healthy treats” or scarf down a 500 calorie latte. My cube mate is on her 2nd granola bar of the day and it’s not even lunch time and she doesn’t know why she is gaining weight (believes it’s a thyroid issue). It’s not restaurants who are causing obesity; we are “grazing” our way into an early grave.
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Politically Correct
February 24th, 2009
10:53 am
Happy “weight-challenged” Tuesday, everybody! Laissez les bon temps rouler.
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CommonSenseRules
February 24th, 2009
11:04 am
For crying out loud. Do your homework, people! By definition, fast food (mostly) = unhealthy! At other establishements, caveat emptor. Nutrition info is on products in the grocery stores. The best way to know — apart from growing one’s own food — what’s in it? EAT AT HOME!
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Koz
February 24th, 2009
11:14 am
I’m not usually for any government involvement in our lives but this is one thing I would like to see happen.
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Rchard
February 24th, 2009
11:15 am
Enter your comments here
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Oh please!!!
February 24th, 2009
11:18 am
It would be a beneficial customer service tactic if restaurants were to publish the calorie-content of their various menu items, but don’t make it a law. (We have way too much regulation and govermental interference in our lives already!) Blame your obesity on yourself – not on the restaurants or anyone else. Take personal responsibility for your health – it doesn’t require a doctoral degree to figure out that a cheeseburger has way more calories than a salad.
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Kiddo
February 24th, 2009
11:31 am
Lol, Kristin so true. After reading your post I did look around and everyone was snacking on something. It is funny how people will sit and eat all day and then blame gaining weight on thyroid problems and what not.
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F&B Guy
February 24th, 2009
12:09 pm
Having the calorie and carb count on the menu would greatly help the people who have diseases affected by diet, most notably diabetes. Regulating this will be an incredible logistical NIGHTMARE. Our health department cannot even keep up with the inspections that are needed to monitor food safety in a restaurant, can you imagine how far behind they will be with monitoring the calorie content of a restaurant that changes its menu daily/weekly/monthly even seasonally?
Probably not a good thing to put into legislation….
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DM
February 24th, 2009
12:46 pm
CommonSenseRules, you would be surprised. You can eat a lot healthier at most fast food places than a sit down place. You can’t get the jumbo drink and the jumbo fries but a sandwich or wrap is frequently better for you than the chicken ceaser salad or pasta dish at a sit down place.
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RK
February 24th, 2009
12:51 pm
Heck no. Restaurants have a hard enough time becoming successful. This would only hurt the little guy, who doesn’t have the resources to do this. You would never have a “Special of the Day” if this came to pass. Try to educate yourself, first, and ask questions.
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Peter
February 24th, 2009
1:09 pm
OH MAN….This is bad. Let food be food! Please don’t kill the enjoyable experience of a delicious meal by breaking everything on a menu into a list of nutritional statistics! Food is so much more than that. We’ve had this “data” on what every bit of what we eat is comprised of, and we are no healthier for it as a country. In my opinion, this is a completely ineffective and unappetizing initiative.
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Nixon
February 24th, 2009
1:10 pm
Yes, my sister in law and her kids go out to eat every single meal, every single day/night. She NEVER cooks, uses her stove as a laundry center. I think if she saw what was going into her body, and the kids’ bodies, she might think twice about going out to eat.
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James
February 24th, 2009
1:22 pm
PLEASE HELP ME Government.The restaurants are making me fat! Make them quit ! Help me Barrack and Nancy ! Help !
Don’t let the free market decide to post calories if they want to. Protect me and make them do it. Do it for the children.
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Jason
February 24th, 2009
1:40 pm
This is another example of over-legislation by our government. The law in NY applies to chains only (5 or more locations or something like that), so mom and pop’s and independant restaurants are not included.
The crazy thing is that is that chains are already required to have the nutritional information available in the restaurant. They have leaflets available with all the info. Requiring restaurents to post calorie info on their menu boards and menus is redundant – and costs the restaurants tons of money to do so. Who ultimately pays, we do!
It’s about personal resposibility. People know that a Whopper is not too good for them, but they eat them anyway. If you eat one every day, then your health will suffer. Every now and then though, it’s no big deal. Let’s think and make decisions for ourselves and keep the government out of it.
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Ykcir
February 24th, 2009
2:14 pm
How rediculous. Once you start forcing them to print the nutritional stats then what’s next? Forcing the restaurants to have “healthy” options or a more healthly menu altogether. Going out to eat is a treat. If you don’t know ahead of time that it may not be low in calories you have your head in the sand. It is supposed to be an endulgence. Yikes, less government is always better.
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thaDeetz
February 24th, 2009
2:20 pm
Let me interject a little bit of fact into this debate so as to dispense with faulty, lofty intent. As a wholesale baker, I must maintain up to date nutritional information on all of my products. Any change in formulation requires the accompanying label change which requires intense scientific analysis to acquire that difficult to obtain information. There is quite a bit of science involved. This laboratory process is lengthy and on average $7000 to $10000 PER item analyzed. As a wholesaler, this price is figured as CODB. In my operation, there is volume so as to easier absorb this premium cost. In one or two location restaurants, there is not the same volume and business patterns can fluctuate wildly. Many of your favorite spots will not find it worthwhile to deal with such onerous regulation. For those remaining brave few, this will kill the ability to regularly rotate the menu and keep their customer base happy. It will be the unmitigated death of the creative chef culture. If you want to see the individual restaurant business dry up with the remaining few being prohibitively expensive for the middle class, go ahead and support this subdued socialism. This is just more nanny-statism run amock, all disguised for ‘the common good.’
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Lynette
February 24th, 2009
2:47 pm
I left Atlanta last Spring and moved to NYC (but thankfully am moving back in 16 days!)
Every coffee shop and restaurant has the calories posted and it’s definitely made me change my way of eating. However, what Jason said about how it’s only for chains is correct. I’ve only seen this at places like Starbucks, Applebees, McDonalds etc.
When you see that one entree is 1600 calories and one is 900, It really makes you think. The South is the fattest section of the country. We drive everywhere even if it’s down the street and we eat like crap. Maybe if the calories were posted, it would make people think twice about what they eat. I know people who eat out every single meal and maybe if they saw that they were eating double the calories they should, they would think twice about what they are eating.
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reservoirDAWG
February 24th, 2009
2:53 pm
Here is an idea for all the fat people. Stop eating bacon cheeseburgers and fries everyday. Try a salad and going on a walk, maybe even a brisk one. I think the states are having enough budget crises without you worry worts trying to cram more expensive regulation down everyone’s throats. As the baker stated earlier, this would knock a whole lot of independant restaurants out of business.
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Janie
February 24th, 2009
3:04 pm
I don’t need the government to tell me what’s bad for me. I already know. I also know that if I eat a fast food burger, I’m going to have to work extra hard on the walk that evening. I will have to walk 4 miles, instead of the usual 3. My poor doggies.
This is why I grow my own veggies, and do my own cooking. I don’t like to go out to eat. Ok, maybe once every third blue moon. I do love a good mexican meal, even if it is not as healthy as eating at home. And once in a while I like to treat myself and be waited on and have someone else clean the dishes. Not often, but once in a while…….
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JimBob
February 24th, 2009
3:14 pm
Yes, that and the amount of Carbs.
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Caroline
February 24th, 2009
3:20 pm
Yes please! This would be so helpful (although I realize cumbersome for the restaurant owner)to ensure that the healthy meal you think you are consuming is actually healthy. Perhaps they could have nutriton facts for the regular printed menu but waive the requirement for the “daily special” as this would be incredibly difficult.
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diane
February 25th, 2009
5:29 am
Please don’t waste this space in such general info that says lose weight and exercise for a good heart. Be a little more specific because we all know we need to lose weight and eat correctly. What we need from a medical doctor is information to help us save a trip to see our physician. Things we can do at home. There are so many people in doctor offices now that do not need to be taking up the doctors time that the people that do need to see the doctor have to wait weeks for appointments.
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Gail
February 25th, 2009
9:09 am
I agree totally with diane. This article did not tell us anything we don’t already know. We need information on new medical reatments/procedures and where to go to get the best care.
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Rob
February 25th, 2009
12:18 pm
I am 40 years old, 185 lbs 6.2. Dont drink, smoke. I do exercise. I take cholestrol medicine lipitor
My blood pressure id 150/100. Is it time for me to go to medication or I can try bringing it down by diet
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KC
February 25th, 2009
12:27 pm
3 years ago I started feeling a numbness in both feet. A few months ago this feeling or lack there of moved to my waist. I was numb from the waist down. That lasted a couple of weeks or so. Now it’s back to the feet. Several MRI’s & CATSCAN’s show nothing out the norm. The feeling becomes intense at times. Tested for MS & diabetes both negative. Any ideas?
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B. J.
February 25th, 2009
12:30 pm
To: Anne
There is a new product called SENSA. Check it out on the internet. I have been using it for two weeks and it works.
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CB
February 25th, 2009
1:20 pm
I am a 29 year old male. I recently had bloodwork done and it reported that my bad cholesterol was high, and my good cholesterol was low. My family has a history of heart disease and diabetes, and I have poor dieting habits, I smoke occasionally, and I do not exercise much. Also, I’m not overweight.
My doctor suggested and prescribed Zocor and come back again in two months to see him. Would this be the best diagnosis? I’m willing to change my diet, and try to make the time to exercise. As hard as this would be to make those changes, I have full support and help from my family. Would I still need to go on medication?
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Sandra
February 25th, 2009
1:34 pm
I have non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and my doctor at Emory is just watching it as this time. My question is, is it okay for me to use a natural hair color on my hair? Thanks!
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cheryl
February 25th, 2009
2:31 pm
My husband has high blood pressure and sleep apena was recently had an echo cariogram performed, it showed that the right chamber of his heart was damaged and enlarged,and was given medication to slow down his heart rate or there any webisites I can visit to find out more information
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mystery poster
February 25th, 2009
2:56 pm
Oh, Please!!!
Your comment is exactly why this information needs to be made publicly available:
…”it doesn’t require a doctoral degree to figure out that a cheeseburger has way more calories than a salad.”
McDonald’s Southwest Salad: 400 calories
McDonald’s Cheeseburger: 310 calories
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mark jones
March 3rd, 2009
1:18 am
Im 52 and need to find a doctor to have a phyical at a reason cost. can you help
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Mike Stempek
March 3rd, 2009
5:44 pm
Enter your comments here
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Cindy
March 3rd, 2009
9:13 pm
As someone who has tried ALL the natural remedies from exercise to positive thinking to fish oil to St. John’s Wort, to meditation, I can tell you that nothing has pulled me out of major depression like Paxil. I took it for 20 months with few side affects. Went off because of weight gain and despite my best efforts fell into another major depression. Paxil didn’t work the second time and now I am in process of finding something else.
I was devastated when I realized that my strong spiritual life and healthy living wouldn’t cure my depression. Then I realized that that is as silly as expecting prayer and exercise to “cure” my husband’s Type I diabetes. Prayer and exercise are extremely important in helping him stay healthy, but they are no substitute for his insulin. Major depression isn’t “feeling sorry for yourself” or being a little blue. It is a very real, very physical illness. Be grateful every day if you have never experienced it.
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Cindy
March 3rd, 2009
9:21 pm
Oh, let me add, obviously I’m a different Cindy from the one who doesn’t believe in depression as an illness. Just because you go through terrible things in life and don’t get depressed doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist for others. Some people smoke all their long lives and don’t get lung cancer. Does that mean smoking doesn’t cause cancer? Some people are blessed with more serotonin than others. If you are be grateful.
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anonymous
March 4th, 2009
7:28 pm
After many months of Salmonella in the news, now you publish the symptoms?
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KNF
March 6th, 2009
9:28 am
anonymous – did you ask before now?
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KC
March 10th, 2009
9:09 am
I thought that there would be answers to the questions posted here. If not, this may be a missed opportunity.
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Charles Yoo
March 10th, 2009
9:25 am
Hello, readers. I’m the online Health editor for ajc.com. First, thank you for your questions. Please keep them coming. The writers are reading all your inquiries and choosing the best topic to blog on each week. Some of the inquiries might be too personal and too specific for the medical professionals to respond to. However, they’ll blog on the topics to which you’re bringing our attention. Some of the blog posts were published because of the sheer time element. Breaking news matters. For example, the Salmonella outbreak is very crucial for us to discuss right now. Please be patient, and keep the questions coming. Thank you.
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Fran
March 11th, 2009
8:40 am
Great Post. A friend just spent me a link for a free sleep report. It has a bunch of great information about getting a great night’s sleep without drugs. Here is link if you are interested http://www.traversebayfarms.com/sleepreport.htm
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What's sleep?
March 11th, 2009
11:46 am
Falling asleep isn’t my problem. Waking up between 3:30a-4:30a everyday. Now THAT’S a problem.
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Ronald
March 11th, 2009
12:05 pm
I’ve had insomnia since I was a little boy. My mom will testify to that. It has gotten worse over the past year. I’ve seen a sleep doctor and he says there is no reason for me not to sleep well. My primary doctor wants to do a narcolepsy study. I’ve done everything – no tv, exercise regularly, don’t drink caffeine, go to bed at the same time every night, etc. Nothing seems to work. I also have a prescription for the highest dose of Ambien. I always wake up after about three or four hours anyway and can’t go back to sleep. I seem to wake up at night no matter how tired I seem. I’ve tried other sleep aids and they don’t work either. I’m getting very tired of being tired all the time. Also, I have Crohn’s Disease but no one has ever said anthything about the two being related or about the medications as all the side effects are drowsiness and so on and so forth. Any alternate ideas?
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MV
March 11th, 2009
12:43 pm
Is having a premature infant hereditary? I had a 24 weeker and my baby sister had a 32 weeker; however, my middle sister had a full-term baby. Are we, myself and baby sister, genetically predisposed to having premature babies?
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Sherri
March 11th, 2009
12:45 pm
You’d have to be a fool to put any faith in online reviews of doctors. Having worked in a doctor’s office and in the insurance claims field, I know there is just no pleasing some people. The chronic complainers are the ones most likely to post a review. They don’t get the diagnosis they need to inflate a liability claim or the drug they are shopping for just sets them off.
How about the ex girlfriend of wife who wants revenge and posts negative comments?
Do your homework.
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Mac
March 11th, 2009
12:50 pm
My wife and I do not sleep in the same room (or spend much time at all in any room together for most of the past decade for that matter, but that’s another story.) She sleeps with the lights on and the television playing. Apparently, she is warding away the bogey man.
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Kim
March 11th, 2009
2:07 pm
I’m in my mid-40’s and I’ve found if I get 4 hours of sleep a night that’s great. I can’t sleep during a full moon. I know it’s in my head, but I haven’t been able to for years. Last night I got a lot of work done!
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Ronald
March 11th, 2009
2:40 pm
I’ve had insomnia since I was a little boy. My mom will testify to that. It has gotten worse over the past year. I’ve seen a sleep doctor and he says there is no reason for me not to sleep well. My primary doctor wants to do a narcolepsy study. I’ve done everything – no tv, exercise regularly, don’t drink caffeine, go to bed at the same time every night, etc. Nothing seems to work. I also have a prescription for the highest dose of Ambien. I always wake up after about three or four hours anyway and can’t go back to sleep. I seem to wake up at night no matter how tired I seem. I’ve tried other sleep aids and they don’t work either. I’m getting very tired of being tired all the time. Also, I have Crohn’s Disease but no one has ever said anthything about the two being related or about the medications as all the side effects are drowsiness and so on and so forth. Any alternate ideas?
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JS
March 11th, 2009
4:46 pm
I blame not being able to sleep on the time change, as soon as I get used to it, the freakin time changes again. When are the powers that be going to do away with this? My dog whining every morning to go out when the sun comes up doesn’t help either. Also, I have a Tempur Pedic and it’s highly overrated. “Oasis” my a$$! My mom says the same about her sleep number bed also.
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Stephen Shapiro
March 11th, 2009
6:20 pm
Dear David, Your dad sent me your Blog…most impressive…
Maybe you or someone you know may be able to HELP ME. I suffer fom chronic pain due to iddypathic periphial neuropthy in both my feet, lehs, hands and arms. Carol and my son , Robbie got my meds whay down, but Im still on 3 50 MGH Fentanyl patches every 2 days; 3 10MG Methidone daily; and now only 1 0r 2 8MG Dilaudid as needed for break through pain. I had also been taking .25MG of Halcion when I really needed it for sleep.
Since we have been down here in Florida for the winter, I don’t think I have had two nights of good sleep in a row. I’m aware of everything..all the twitchig and shooting pain in my legs and arms, pain in my neck and shoulders. The room is usually uit and cool and I generally go to bed a half hour to an hour after Carol, o she can get some needed sleep. Most nights I’m NOT there long….and go back out to atch TV, read, go onto the computer, ec, until I’m ready to fall down with fatigue…and many nights NOT at all.
We eat early, and quite light…I may have a snack and something to drink at about 10P.M.,,,NO Excercise or MEALS.
ANY SUGGESTIONSD or IDEAS? Not only with the insomnia and sleep apnia, but equally important for the Perphial Neurapathy and constant PAIN. Oh yes, I forgot t tell you I also ITCH ALL OVER from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet most days and nights..ALL the time. HELP PLEASE!
Thanks so much… I hope there may be something you might suggest or do for me…I’m at the end of my rope…and Carol is too.
Please give Kim and your beautiful and big children a kiss for me. Our fondest regards to ALL. We’re so proud of YOU!
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RTM
March 12th, 2009
2:15 pm
Hi,
I am 49 years old with a 5 1/2 and a 8 year old little princess. Yes, I started late in life and have been blessed so much. I have been having these hot flashes for about 3 years now about 3 or 4 times a week in the middle of the night. I really don’t have night sweats on my chest but on my back and my palms get really hot sometimes late at night. It may last up to an hour sometimes. I still have my monthly cycle and it is regular. So, they seem more severe around that time of the month. I also had a test done 3 years ago at my doctors office to see if I was going thru menepause. It came back normal. How long can these hot flashes go on and could it be something else?
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Brandy
March 17th, 2009
2:57 pm
Shaggy and cindy are morons….don’t know how they wandered to this page, and wonder why they don’t have anything better to do than talk smack to depressed people….i have been on paxil for 5 years, excercise every day, and take time to breath…works for me
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ADHD Strategies Dr. Phil Looking For ADHD Couples to Film Show - Immediately … «
March 17th, 2009
7:07 pm
[...] DOCTOR IS IN: ADHD over-diagnosed? | Better Health By Fran Jeffries By Thomas G. Burns, Psy.D., ABPP First, consider these startling facts about the Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The rates of diagnosis for. Better Health – http://blogs.ajc.com/better-health/ [...]
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Bill
March 18th, 2009
10:48 am
A made up illness for parents who won’t and teachers who can’t.
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Tralee
March 18th, 2009
10:54 am
BIll- that is a very ignorant statement. I for one want to learn as much as I can, look for any possible treatment besides medication. I have a nephew that has this condition, I see what it does-
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db
March 18th, 2009
10:57 am
All my life I have had sleeping problems. Tried prescription medicine as well as over the counter nothing worked so I just got use to sleepless nights. A co-worked suggested I try Melatonin which is over the counter. I take it 30 minutes before I want to fall asleep. Worked for me. I may not sleep more then 4 or 5 hours but I do not have to fight anymore with getting to fall asleep.
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Me
March 18th, 2009
11:01 am
Take two lashings and call me in the morning. It’s bureaucratic nonesense, doctors, drug makers and insurance carriers are all out to make money. As much as we really want to believe that our moral/values system in in tact we are so far from that!! Tralee your nephew needs an a$$ whipping!
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Cranberry
March 18th, 2009
11:04 am
No doubt ignorance would keep Bill from successfully raising a child who actually has this condition. It is obvious that God has not granted him one, or he would never have posted this comment!
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Mama Cass
March 18th, 2009
11:06 am
I strongly recommend reading the book “Scattered” by Gabor Mate, MD. The doctor himself has ADD, was only diagnosed a few years ago, and used his medical training and knowledge of the scientific literature to investigate the potential causes of impairment. It’s the best book on ADD I have ever read, and as an adult with this condition, I have read a lot. Mate also talks about how parents can re-frame their relationship with their ADD child so that the dynamics are less confrontational and “get this done now!” and more about reassuring the child that they will be loved no matter what their performance is, so that the child feels secure in the parent’s love. It’s a very thoughtful, insightful piece of work. “Scattered: How ADD Originates and What You Can Do about It”, Gabor Mate M.D., 2000
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Me
March 18th, 2009
11:09 am
We are all making these statements but has anyone ever looked at the efficacy rate or meds vs. the placebo effect? I willing to put my drug rep job on the line and say you will be blown away by the results!
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ManOfTeal
March 18th, 2009
11:24 am
I will say this as I was diagnosed with ADD in second grade, I am now 31 years old. Without medication I never would have made it through school….or college for that matter. I do not have the behavior problems commonly associated with this condition I really only have the attention problems….but I know for a fact that it is much more difficult for me to concentrate and stay on task without any kind of medication than it is when I am on a medication.
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bigEdoggy
March 18th, 2009
11:27 am
This is nothing more than an attempt to drug our children into submission because all the touchy-feelies have systematically removed any sort of order or discipline in the school. Teachers no longer have any powers to enforce rules so what better way to get the children to behave then to drug them. Nowadays a child could be stabbing their classmate and all the parent will say is something asinine like, “Oh look…my little Johnnie is expressing himself.” Parents who take this “head in the sand” approach to parenting should not be allowed to contribute to the gene pool ever again.
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QueDogTeaching
March 18th, 2009
11:32 am
ADHD is over reported at very high rates in school systems. I don’t think it is to sell meds, I think it is because parents lack the ability, or wherewithal to discipline their children. I have students in my class who are very intelligent, who know right from wrong, and still get away with extreme amounts of disobedience because of one mis-diagnosis they had in kindergarten. I have students on BIP’s (Behavior Intervention Plans) because of this Mis-diagnosis. The fact is that all these students really need, is just one parent in the household who is not afraid to discipline their child.
I have had a true ADHD student in my class, and with out his medication it was very sad. He honestly could not stop, and you could see on his face that he wanted to. So to see him, and then see an undisciplined child, with the same diagnosis, it was disheartening.
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Gary
March 18th, 2009
11:33 am
I had a step granddaughter before that was supposedly diagnosed with this. Ya know what’s really amazing, when you take the time to sit down with the child and help her with homework from school etc. Amazingly it gets done and it didn’t take hours, and she wasn’t trying to get up and run around the room or do 20 other things at once. It was easy, you just need to have patience and the time to spend with her. I think this is a partially convoluted “disease” for parents that don’t want to have to put any effort into taking care of their kids. I know, I have an ex daughter in law that’s like that and ya know her own kids recognize that and they do get resentful, restless, angry that Mommy doesn’t spend alot of time with them. Not to mention that children need ways to expend their energy besides sitting in front of a game console for hours or TV. My sister was given custody of our 2 great nieces 3 years ago. They were terribly misbehaved, one of them diagnosed with ADD, no manners, rude I could go on. Long story short, she literally makes them go outside when the weather permits and makes them to play and do activities outside. Not just sit in the house and do nothing. She has worked with them on their homework to the pint of printing off school work worksheets and having them do them at home. Well guess what 3 years later, the teachers can’t believe it’s the same kids, one of them is on the Honor roll with a 3.5 GPA the other is right behind her. No ADD Medication or anything else other then good old fashioned time patience and understanding and discipline! So please don’t tell me this is always the case with every child diagnosed with it because I’ll tell you you’re full of it!
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Dan
March 18th, 2009
11:36 am
Its a mathamatical certainty that ADHD is over diagnosed. This is a “condition” that is only diagnosed based on a behavioral comparison to what is considered “normal”. Using standard deviation methodology items within 2 std dev or 95% of the population (are generally considered “normal” the outliers being the remaining 5% (2.5% on either side)The last census says there are 53.2M children between 4-17 yrs, the 4.4M diagnosis represents 8.3% of that population! assuming ADHD is on one side of the distributuion curve, statistically speaking there should be no more than 2.5% of the population diagnosed as outside the normal range not 8.3% Now I realize stats don’t answer everything and real people are involved, but stats also don’t lie and it is a very strong argument that at least half if not more are misdiagnosed. They are probably at one end of the “normal” range. If 8% of individuals really do display these similar characteristics, then quite frankly it is “normal” and nothing to be treated
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Laura
March 18th, 2009
11:36 am
Bill- WOW.. as a teacher and a parent, I am just amazed at how ignorant some people can be!!
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mom-2-ADHD
March 18th, 2009
11:44 am
to the comments that “Gary” made. Successful treatment of ADHD can be done outside of meds. “good old fashioned time patience and understanding and discipline” which is what you said worked, as well as playing outside, will, in fact, work. Dealing with ADHD , behavior therapy is very necessary, and a calm, structured environment is important. Medication should supplement this. THe problem is, that many parents lack the ability,understanding and time needed to let behavior modification work. In the meantime, many kids fall behind in school. The ideal situation is to work on behavior modification while using medication at the same time, with, in many cases, the end result being that the medication is not always necessary anymore.
So the child could still have ADHD, but congrats to your sister for having the patience to deal with it in a non medicated way!
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Considering
March 18th, 2009
11:44 am
I have to think this is way over-diagnosed. Why hasn’t this been an issue until the last 20 years? How did people deal with it the previous 6000 years of human existence? Corrective methods that include threats, talking to’s, loving advice and yes, spankings. Kids were more polite and respectful. I have 4 very active children ages 3-8. They have done quite a few things that make great stories now but were diffult at the time. They know they are loved but when they start “acting like children” they know there will be consequences for bad behaviour. That doesn’t stop everything, of course, but they can sit still in church for 2 hours without making noise, so I know they can behave in school. However, there was a progression. At 8 months when they start squealing in delight at the discovery of their voice you can’t punish them, but by 18 months they have an idea of when to be quiet and at least understand “shhh” when they made noise. By age 2 they were thumped on the leg for too much noise and by 2.5 were taken back to “the bathroom” for crying or talking. Now my most difficult child the current 3 year old is quiet as a mouse except when she whispers “I have to go potty”. I have witnessed plenty of children at restaurants and playgrounds that their behaviour is out of control and their parents don’t correct them. I suspect they are eventually put on medication because if they act this way in front of parents they are probably worse at school without them.
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CC
March 18th, 2009
11:48 am
It takes a parent to truly know if their child has ADHD. It is easy to say all the child needs is a spanking or some time spent with them and thier ADHD will go away. It is like any other medical diagnosis they have good days and bad bays. I do believe that children can learn to ways to cope without meds especially when they are older. Is ADHD overly diagnosed? Yes, I think it is but to argue that it does not exist is another topic.
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Mama Cass
March 18th, 2009
11:48 am
Gary, that’s wonderful news that your nieces have gotten into a supportive, loving environment and have been able to turn things around without resorting to medication. They sound very lucky to have family members who care so much. Every child diagnosed with ADD deserves that kind of structured assistance; and for children who still don’t improve within a year or so, then perhaps medication might be indicated. Behavioral approaches should always be tried first – however these are much more labor-intensive and from what I have seen, many people would prefer to take the ‘easy’ way out and just pop some meds. Personally speaking, I went on medication only as an adult, in order to be able to work in an office environment (talk about distraction!). But my parents always stood very firm when I was a child and said they didn’t want me on medications (I suspect the only reason the teachers were okay with that is because I was a good student and didn’t require extra work on their part).
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Jacqueline
March 18th, 2009
11:49 am
I do agree with Bill to a certain extent. I do think stimulant drugs are needed in some cases. As mentioned above there has been a 400% increase in drug usage over 50 years. Times have changed since then.Kids are more exposed to what is going on in the world and it does effect them. There are more divorces and more television watching on now then 50 years ago. There are more children that take stimulant drugs in public schools than private schools (if any kids take stimulant drugs in private schools). There is something wrong with the diagnosing method. There is no neurological evidence to support ADHD/ADD. There needs to be more studies and definitely more behavioral therapy for children.The process of elimination should be applied in the childs situation, it works.
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Larry
March 18th, 2009
11:51 am
Beyond question, along with another excuse medication, antidepressants, one the most over prescribed and thus abusive medications. Ever wonder why other mammals don’t require these to function all over the planet?
Please take not of the author’s degree–psychology. This profession also consists of some the most bizarre and cerebrally challenged individuals on the planet at 95% of those who choose this course of study are in fact themselves kooks!
Of course there is the rare clinically correct diagnosis, but about 98% of the time it boils down to lazy, worthless parents who rely on the medication to do their job for them so their brat will be quiet and still as they watch soap operas and eat pizza and ice cream!
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Mama Cass
March 18th, 2009
12:05 pm
To all the geniuses who are recommending beating a child as a method of behavior modification:
CHILD ABUSE CAUSES BRAIN DAMAGE
And that has been proven.
Abuse Leaves Its Mark on the Brain
(http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/223/1)
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Larry
March 18th, 2009
12:16 pm
Mama,
No one’s suggesting a beating. It’s called discipline, obedience and structure. Ever heard of this as a proven alternative to drugs?
Let me guess, a liberal!
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Gary
March 18th, 2009
12:18 pm
So Mama Cass are you saying that any physical discipline is “Child Abuse” ? Or just outright beating which I would agree that “Beating” would be abusive.
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Donna
March 18th, 2009
12:22 pm
I have a son, 8, who has ADHD. He was uncontrollable in Kindergarten until he was tested for ADHD. He is in Gifted Program at school, 2nd Grade, now. This is NOT nonsense. You have NO ideas what it is like when your child is not on medicine the problems, behavior issues, etc. Without medication and therapy, my son would be lost. ADHD is a problem that usually exist in Highly intelligent individuals and genetic. Anyone who does not review information about ADHD and does not pay close attention to your child actions, behaviors at home, school, and everywhere else, I would be concern about your parenting skills etc.
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Mel
March 18th, 2009
12:26 pm
I am 49 years old and I was diagnosed with a attention disorder 9 years ago. If I had the medication when I was younger, college might have been a choice. If you don’t have a problem or have a child with a problem, you have no clue what you are talking about..
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Bill
March 18th, 2009
12:29 pm
Mama I would say to you that medicating a child into a desired behaviour is the real child abuse. Yes I do and have used physical discipline on my children but have never beat them. A beating is abuse and is different than physical discipline. The main problem I have with ADHD is that there is no “Test” to say you have it…it is a guess based upon observed behaviour and that there have been no long tetm studies on the long term impacts to the people who get teh meds. Besides show me a teen who goes on a rampage and I bet s/he is on some sort of med for ADHD or Depression. My original statement was meant to be over the top because there are always people who have learning issues but this whole ADHD is nonsense due to a lack of discipline and routine…
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Mama Cass
March 18th, 2009
12:30 pm
Gary,
I am referring to outright beating, not briefly spanking a child.
Interestingly, similar patterns of brain damage have also been found in adults who were subjected to severe verbal abuse as children.
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Ronnie
March 18th, 2009
12:37 pm
I am a mother of an ADHD daughter. I refused to medicate for YEARS. What those of you without a child with this condition fail to understand is that it goes way beyond getting homework done or cleaning their room. My daughter has the impulsive variety: she cut through a lamp cord while it was plugged in. When asked why she did it she said she didn’t know – with all sincerity. She’s set a stick of deorderant on fire. She’s flashed her schoolbus. And a ton of other things ‘normal’ children don’t do. And before you go attacking my parenting – exactly HOW would you stop a child from flashing their schoolbus? Staple their pants to their hips? I have done my best to raise her with love, values, and morals. This is not a ‘made up’ condition…
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Ken
March 18th, 2009
12:40 pm
ADHD is a made up “illness”..Learn to discipline your children. Just another way for doctors to make a buck as well as medicine manufacturers.
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Dan
March 18th, 2009
12:42 pm
Ronnie, I don’t have children but was raised in a household with 6 children (I am the oldest) and all children do things like you describe and worse. All of which is quite a normal part of learning and growing up. You never really believe the stove is hot until you find out for your self.
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Chris
March 18th, 2009
12:45 pm
Dan
I agree with your sentiments, but not your analysis. Like most statistical arguments, it begins with the assumption of a normal distribution. We have no basis to assume that ADD follows the normal distribution. In fact, If ADD were not a medical condition, and was merely “outlying” behavior, it would be expected to have a normal distribution. However, if it is a medical condition there is no reason to expect a normal distribution. That would be like assuming a normal distribution of US households being hit by a hurricane, when it is clear that individual circumstances (coastal location, brain chemistry) dictate the probabilities rather than random chance.
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Mary
March 18th, 2009
12:46 pm
Researchers have found genes associated with ADHD behaviors;it’s a real disorder. ADHD may be beneficial for hunter/gatherer hunters.
In a fascinating study done on homogenous tribesmen in Africa, half of whom had settled down and half of whom still lived as hunters, researchers found that those with the ADHD-associated genes did much better as hunters than those without these genes, but the reverse was true with the settled population. In the settled group, having ADHD-associated genes was a liability.
ADHD can be seen on brain scans. However, it also appears to be over-diagnosed. From what I’ve read, only about 10% of kids diagnosed with ADHD actually have it.
Overdiagnosis not only hurts the kids who are misdiagnosed but also those with the problem because their situations and needs are not taken seriously.
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Diane
March 18th, 2009
12:49 pm
Those who are against medication or diagnosis, that’s fine, that’s your opinion. But to call people “liberal” (which is not a bad thing!) or to assume that teenagers who commit crimes are on ADHD medication is ignorant at best. It’s that mentality of “just spank ‘em” and they’ll behave that is detrimental to these kids who DO actually have the disorder. Everyday with my son is a challenge. You have NO IDEA what it is like. And unlike other kids with behavioral or developemental issues, we are treated like bad parents with unruly children. I teach 6th grade. I have many, many slow minded students. Let’s say I just beat ‘em, then they’ll learn. Lazy bums. They just have no discipline….
Some of you are so uninformed that you’re scary.
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Diane
March 18th, 2009
12:52 pm
And Mary, you’re insightful research is too much for some of these posters. It probably reads like Sanskrit to them.
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Greg
March 18th, 2009
12:52 pm
Amen Bill! I have a child that has been “diagnosed” with this bs. There is nothing wrong with him except he is a normal boy that sometimes does not pay attention and sometimes does stupid things. That’s what kids do, their kids. But my wife (a teacher) decided that he should see a doctor and told the doc she wanted him checked for adhd and what treatments she wanted. The doc told me he had been dealing with this stuff all years because the middle school had hired a new “Counselor” who was telling parents that their children were adhd every time they were in trouble for talking in class. It is a joke. Get the counselors out of the schools and the kids off the meds!! The real problem here is MBPS (Munchausen’s By Proxy Syndrome) and a bunch of “doctor wanna be” counselors trying to justify their salaries.
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Larry
March 18th, 2009
12:59 pm
Mary,
Touche!
Daine,
Let me guess, you teach in a government school, correct? And “liberal” more often than not IS a bad thing! Who do you think relies on more on using medications and a parenting alternative, liberals or consertives?
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sd
March 18th, 2009
1:07 pm
At the risk of being ridiculed, I believe that we are trying to fit square pegs in round holes. Some people just aren’t cut out for school. I’d rather my child be uneducated in academics and off of drugs, than on drugs and well educated. There will always be labor jobs where high levels of attention are not required. There is nothing wrong with labor jobs. When we decided that EVERYONE should go to college, we started looking for ways to make sure the hyper kids with no attention span could get there too. So we drugged them. In turn, they do graduate, but they are not themselves. Their true selves are wonderfully hyper people who can’t hold the attention to read a book, but they can hammer, and dig, and find happiness in the work of their hands.
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ADHD MOM
March 18th, 2009
1:18 pm
Wow! I guess ignorance is bliss! My child was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago. We knew something was wrong and decided to see the pediatrician first. She recommended a child psychiatrist and we learned of his problem. It was never recommended that he receive medication, so that theory is gone for those of you that think that’s the issue. We were given a lot of support and provided a number of strategies to help him.
Yes, we spanked this child many times just as we did the others. It didn’t work. Today she still struggles, but without meds. It’s a hard job but I think it’s something that she has to deal with. She has a therapist and that’s been really helpful. It’s a real problem that has always existed. If you haven’t lived it, you have no idea.
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ADHD MOM
March 18th, 2009
1:19 pm
Ooops! I first referred to my daugher as a “he”! She’s definitely a girl!!
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Rik
March 18th, 2009
1:23 pm
Dr. Amen has done significant work using brain scans and has been able to demonstrate brain activity that is different in a child with ADHD and one without. He also has some interesting theories on why ADD is increasing in our population. These have mostly to do with genetics and the fact that women with ADD reproduce more often and at a younger age. There are always the ignorant that will believe this is just bad parenting. I have three kids – one with ADD and two without- I do not raise them differently and have not spared the rod. My son was on meds for several years and now manages without, as do I. Also, I wonder how much diabetes medications have increased over the same span. It makes sense that medication usage would increase as new meds are discovered.
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Mark
March 18th, 2009
1:43 pm
I am a conservative and have an almost ten year old son who IS well-disciplined at home, but had attention and hyperactivity problems. ADHD medication has done wonders for him. Until you’ve walked a mile in the shoes of a parent with an ADHD child, don’t judge.
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Bill
March 18th, 2009
3:16 pm
What were we talking about….
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Dan
March 18th, 2009
3:43 pm
Chris first of all good discussion
But the question on the table is over diagnosis, not necessarily the existence of the condition. (although I realize that is also a hot issue)
You can count hurricanes and there is a definitive measure (xxmph winds)
you don’t simply compare two storms and say the stronger one is a hurricane, which is how a comparitive diagnosis would work
This is why I believe a normal distribution is appropriate (if over simplified), primarily because it is not definitive that it is a medical condition. It is a behavioral one, and medical or not (which is subjective), the method of diagnosis is 100% based on comparing the patients behavior to the “norm”. If the % of people diagnosed was 2 or 3 or even 4 maybe, but 8% clearly suggests some people whos behavior is within normal parameters are being diagnosed with an issue. Wheter it is poor Dr’s or lazy parents or both. Ronnies example is a great illustration of normal behavior being blamed on a condition. If you were at a PTA meeting and asked the group have any of your kids cut a lamp cord, set fire to something in the house, or shed cloths in public
you would have 95% of hands go up and the others would be lying LOL
Yet Ronnie thinks they are indications of a problem, I am not picking on Ronnie maybe her child does have a problem, but the examples she chose to use are clearly normal growing up behavior
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Bill
March 18th, 2009
4:01 pm
I have a combo disorder….ASHDOCD…I forgot what I am compulsive about….
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Greg
March 18th, 2009
5:52 pm
Exactly Dan. The problem lies in society’s attributing normal behaviors to a “Syndrome”, and then using hearsay interpretations of the behavior as a diagnosis.
This “disorder” is most often diagnosed and treated based on what the parent or teacher/counselor tells the physician. So if the parent thinks the child is adhd, then most likely the doctor will respond accordingly. My child was given meds based on what my wife told the doctor. He never saw one trait or tendency of adhd from my son directly, only what my wife described. My wife was convinced by one person in a school system that had seen my son a couple of times that he was adhd, then she talked to the doctor, now he is “diagnosed” adhd and on meds for little more than not paying attention in class. I have to laugh every time I go to his school and see the sigh out front that says “This school is a “Drug Free Zone.” Percentage wise, their counselors and teachers have now become far worse pushers than any of the street corner thugs ever were. What a joke.
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John
March 18th, 2009
8:34 pm
Those who cant….teach
Those who cant teach…administrate
Those who cant administrate have tenure….
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Raymond Brusstar
March 18th, 2009
8:42 pm
Did they operate? She was sent to three hospitals and still died so since all this is known about the head injury why wasn’t the pressure relieved?
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Patricia
March 18th, 2009
8:43 pm
This is very sad and unexpected. I really feel for this family.
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Ann
March 18th, 2009
9:35 pm
As a mother of 2 daughters and 2 step-daughters, who has had one of each diagnosed with ADHD (before my husband and I met), I KNOW that this condition is over diagnosed AND over medicated. My daughters were raised and disciplined the same yet at 15 months I told the doctors that there was something wrong with my second daughter. She was 14 when she was diagnosed! I still do not believe that ADHD is the problem! The medication has made a world of difference in her behaviour, when she takes it. I can sure tell, within half an hour of her waking up whether or not she has taken her medication. She will be 26 in a month and still has behavioural and mood problems. I have had a psychologist suggest that she is ADHD, but that it is the root of a more serious condition known as Bi-Polar disorder. This I believe. I truly believe that she is Bi-Polar, although she will not seek a positive diagnosis nor treatment for it as she feels this will label her a “freak”. I feel that if she were to seek treatment, whether it be medication or behavioural therapy, that people would see her for the person I know she can be as I have seen that side of her. As it is, most people do consider her a “freak”, or a “waste of space” and she does not realize this. She wastes her time with “friends” who are into drugs and get into trouble with the law. Both of which she has been involved in. In fact, she served 20 months in a prison in Trinidad for trying to transport cocaine back to Toronto. She believes these people are truly her friends, and cannot see that they are just using her (not one of her “friends” returned calls to Foreign Affairs although she was sure they would come to her rescue when she was in Trinidad because they told her they would). She is still “hanging” around with these type of people and has a 23 month old with another on the way. She denies that she has a problem and refuses to help herself, lying to counsellors and doctors about how she is doing.
On the other hand, my step-daughter who has been diagnosed with ADHD, to my belief, does not have the condition. Medication does nothing for her and she complains that it makes her feel ill, so she does not take it. She has had problems in school for years and that is why her father persued the possibility of her having ADHD. I discovered, some time after my husband and I met, that her mother is a huge part of the problem. When my husband would phone to ask why assignments hadn’t been handed in her mother’s reply would be “Well if she doesn’t want to do it, why should she?”. Their younger daughter doesn’t like coming over to our house because when she asked for a video game console for Christmas one year, I said no until she pulled up her grades at school. Her mother bought her one for Christmas and her grades and attendance dropped dramatically. I even had her teachers telling me that they could sure tell by her homework and school work, when she had been at our place or at her mother’s. Luckily, although it took a few years, she realized herself that my requiring her to do her homework was not such a bad thing. At one point, her father wanted her tested for ADHD and I disagreed that it was necessary. This is around the time that she started seeing for herself that her mother’s lack of discipline with her sister was a problem and began to discipline herself. She is now in high school with good grades and the discipline to do her school work without anybody having to tell her.
Again, I do believe that this condition exists and I also believe that it is over diagnosed and over medicated. I also believe that ADHD is an underlying condition for something more serious, or at least that ADHD is part in parcel with other problems. Most people diagnosed with ADHD either are diagnosed with other “behavioural” or “attentive” conditions later in life, or are just plain lazy and have not had the proper discipline to know how to discipline themselves.
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Jessica
March 18th, 2009
10:21 pm
Raymond, I wonder the same thing. And why did they have to send her to three hospitals? Was she not getting the treatment she needed at the hospital in Montreal? If not, why not? And with all that pressure building up in her head from the injury, was it safe to put her on a plane??
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marilynn
March 18th, 2009
10:58 pm
I think she was brain dead before they put her on the plane so it did not matter by then. She was sent home to have goodbyes and pull the plug. What I don’t understand is how you can suffer such a hard head injury from a bunny slope? I thought maybe she had an aneurism and the fall triggered the bleeding which led to a ruptured blood vessel. We will find out eventually. Really sad and tragic.
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Makda
March 18th, 2009
11:11 pm
WOW! people r so stupid these days.
I mean, if she stayed in the london hospital, they might of helped her there.
I acuse the people that put here on the plane.
Here on the plane ride gave the blood time to do what it was doing and kill her.
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Cng
March 18th, 2009
11:36 pm
Makada, You are so stupid. What medical training have you had?
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lth
March 19th, 2009
12:02 am
She wasn’t IN London. She was skiing in Canada !!!!
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Susan
March 19th, 2009
12:56 am
I used to be indifferent about helmets and skiing because I only skied Nordic style whenever I did. But the more I think about it, the more I think people should consider wearing helmets on the slope, even if it’s just a bunny slope. Up until today I probably wouldn’t have worn a helmet if I started skiing downhill — but now I probably would. How very sad for Natasha and her family. Bless their hearts.
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TLF
March 19th, 2009
1:02 am
Hey, so you all know, The CNN medical expert must have also suffered from a brain injury, an epidural bleed is between the dura and the skull, as stated above, however once the bleed breaks the dura,if thats possible, it’s no longer an epiduarl bleed but considered a subduarl bleed. Which would make more sense since subdural account for about 35% for sever brain bleeds. It’s also consistent with Diffuse Axon Injuries or brainstem injuries which is what the doctors apparently are referring to, i just wish they would come out and just say what it is, rather then try and dumb it down. -T
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Trapshooter
March 19th, 2009
1:15 am
Thank TFL tho for actually correcting some genuises. Don’t get me worng they are but the don’t need to act like were all dumb. But other then that I feel very bad fpr the family and what they’re all going through.
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Trapshooter
March 19th, 2009
1:16 am
TLF* my bad.
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Gerhard
March 19th, 2009
1:42 am
She was likely brain dead before she left Montreal: not much point in moving her if there is any hope of survival.
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Willie
March 19th, 2009
4:32 am
Actually ths is a classic epidural bleed presentation, I mean a text book presentation. The only question left in this regard is did she have a seizure too. The reality of medicine in Canada is that they do not have neurosurgical accomodations, equipment and surgeons at each and every hospital like we do here in the USA. This is a classic socailized medicine scenario that happens there weekly. We will also have this scenario here soon as the government will cut out each hospital from having every speacialty and you will have to go to specific hospitals for specific care. This is considered a cost saving move and more of us will die and suffer as a result. That is why she was taken from hospital to hospital.
By the way the treament for this is usually a CAT scan or MRI of the brain for accurate diagnosis. The CT is much faster followed by placement of a wel positioned bore hole to allow drainage of the blood and relieve pressure followed by cautery of the epidural vessel as needed, usually a small vein partially torn, to tamponade the bleeding and it takes less than 30 minutes. This is truly bad and a waste of a life
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sharon
March 19th, 2009
7:13 am
My heart aches for her family, especially her children. Life is so fragile. I’m so shaken by the fact that she was alert and talking after the fall and then suddenly slipped into a coma. We should pay special attention when small children and the elderly take a fall.
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Jessica
March 19th, 2009
7:36 am
Thank you Willie. I, too, am concerned that with socialized medicine many will die needlessly because they can’t get the care they need. If in fact the hospital in Montreal didn’t have neurosurgical accomodations, equipment and surgeons to help Natasha, it must have been a terrible frustration for her family, and my heart goes out to them. I wonder if anyone knows the name of the hospital in Montreal.
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BirdLady
March 19th, 2009
8:35 am
I do believe that ADD exsits. And I know that there are parents that are “too busy” to get a hold on their child but theter are teachers who are also pushing for the meds to be given to childern with “problems”. My son is just about deaf now. He has had hearing problems since birth. From pre-k till 2nd grade I had teachers telling me, in fact insisting that he was ADD. An yes he showed classic signs for ADD when in fact he was losing his hearing. I kept telling his teachers that he could not hear them properly but they kept at it until they had me convinced that he had ADD when he did not.
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Jonas
March 19th, 2009
10:19 am
Willie, you must be a Republican, because it’s standard Republican policy to use personal medical tragedies to further their political agenda — witness the Terry Schiavo case in Florida last year.
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Tee
March 19th, 2009
10:31 am
Jessica: to answer your question, the Montreal hospital was Sacre Coeur de Montreal. It is associated with the Universite de Montreal.
Many Americans have been speculating that the hospital did not have the necessary CT scans, etc, to properly diagnose Ms. Richardson, blaming the Canadian universal health care system for not equipping all hospitals with adequate technology. I’ve lived in Montreal and also in very small Canadian cities, and I can assure you that there are CT and MRI capabilities in all Canadian hospitals, with the possible exception of VERY small towns, in which case patients would be airlifted to the nearest large hospital with these technologies. Montreal is a city with a 3.6 million population. Rest assured, Sacre Coeur has CT scans.
From what I’ve read, Ms. Richardson denied initial medical help, and it wasn’t until she developed a severe headache that she allowed for medical attention. She was already brain dead by the time she arrived at Sacre Coeur and the family moved her to New York so that family and friends could see her one last time.
A terrible shame, no doubt. Wear helmets, people. It may not have prevented this tragedy, but it wouldn’t have hurt, either.
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Trey
March 19th, 2009
10:49 am
Actually I think the best time to bring these things up is when there is proof ot the results of socialized medicine. Simply put it results in longer lines and a drop in quality of care. He stated a fact and you don’t like it, deal with it. Its truly sad to see someone die when they might have been fine with the proper care. Doesn’t this make you think what if that was me I know I would want the best medical care available if this happened to one of my family members.
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Troy
March 19th, 2009
12:00 pm
Willie is your classic ignorant American spouting off about things they have no clue about. Question, Would you stand up in a room full of educated individuals and make a fool out of yourself? Why do it on the internet?
Why don’t you take a trip through Georgia and tell me how many small towns have a Hospital, let alone a trauma unit with a surgical neurologist on staff. I’ve been through more po dunk towns in your state than I care to remember. I would have swore I was in some 3rd world sh*thole in half of them if I didn’t know how to read a map.
Oh, interesting that our health care system give us the same outcomes when it comes to treating diseases as yours; some better, some worse, statistically insignificant differences in all from heart disease to cancer. We live longer up here as well. You pay twice as much for the same standard of care. You can’t even cover everyone and the leading cause of bankruptcy is from medical bills. Yeah, you have the better system.
You guys are always the best even when all evidence slapping you in the head points otherwise. Keep chirping its good for a laugh.
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Brad Steel
March 19th, 2009
12:00 pm
What will I do for throw rugs?
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Bubba
March 19th, 2009
12:00 pm
Hey, Bubba here……as a georgia peanut farmer, I gotta admit that I do not wax, and most of the other farmers I know think it’s wrong to send our American dollars to those Brazilians. Most other farmers I know dont wear those thong bikinis…they say they get all chapped from the tractor seat. Cept for my buddy Luke, who says he likes getting all chapped….course Luke was never the same after that mishap involving those sheep and some milking-machine contraption he invented.
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kim
March 19th, 2009
12:02 pm
Really? Longer than I wait in the emergency room already? Longer than the 6 hours it took for my girlfriend’s father to be seen when he was in the throws of COPD? I experienced socialized medicine in England as an American visitor. I waited less time and was treated no differently than if I had been here in the US. You people need to watch Sicko…it will change your minds on socialized medicine.
As for Ms. Richardson, this is a terrible tragedy, and to use something like this as “proof” socialized medicine doesn’t work, without knowing all of the facts, is typical scare tactics. How about some human sympathy for her family? Leave the politics out of it.
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Rudy
March 19th, 2009
12:28 pm
Yeeeeeeowwwwww! That’s gotta hurt!!
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JP
March 19th, 2009
12:40 pm
I do believe that this condition exists. But, I also believe that about 90% of these are wrongly diagnosed. First of all, there are the drug reps, who recommend a particular medication to the doctor they are meeting with. Many times the drug reps with get some sort of compensation for pushing a certain drug. The doctors themselves don’t know that much about the drugs, they are just relying on the drug reps to tell them which one is best. Lots of times the doctors will also get some sort of compensation from the drug companies for prescribing a particular medication. It all comes down to greed. People just want to get paid and they don’t really care who they have to hurt to get their money. So, I believe it is overdiagnosed because the pharmaceutical companies are pushing it on the doctors and they are in turn pushing it on the patients. All about marketing…sell, sell, sell…it doesn’t matter if you don’t need it, take it anyways…
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Harold
March 19th, 2009
12:42 pm
I have no idea what a Brazilian wax is. Is that like a Turtle wax? The article could have included a picture. Like we really know what Brazilian wax is!!! This is GEORGIA USA!!!
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Chris
March 19th, 2009
12:48 pm
I would have expected this from a state like Oregon, where they like their girls earthy. Brazilian waxing is a fine art, but perhaps the duct-tape-tied-to-the-bumper method is not sound. Please see a professional.
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Tracy
March 19th, 2009
12:55 pm
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Brazilian+Wax+Image
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Millwood
March 19th, 2009
1:05 pm
If you outlaw genital waxing, only outlaws will have waxed genitals.
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Raymond Brusstar
March 19th, 2009
1:07 pm
Interesting comments. My mother and my wife’s grandmother were both treated in a hospital in London (different times) and raved about the care and the medical professionals in attendance. I believe the comments referring to our system over their system is off the mark and not going to get to the answers these comments were suppose to be about. Does anyone know for sure (haven’t checked the news yet) that she was brain dead at the first hospital? The second? Seems to me a couple of you know what you are talking about and it comes down to the timing of her first hospital visit. If she was already brain dead then everything after is personal for the family and a tragedy.
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twoboys
March 19th, 2009
1:07 pm
As a former special education teacher in public schools, I definitely feel this condition is over-diagnosed. So many of my students who were labeled ADD/ADHD came from very chaotic homes. However, I also believe it is a real condition. I still think of one student with wonderful, supportive parents. It was truly painful to watch this poor child struggle to take in what was being instructed-you could see on his face and in his eyes how much he wanted to concentrate and participate in the classroom. As a mother of two preschool boys, I am very concerned about the 15-20 minutes of playground time in the public schools. I just do not feel that is enough physical activity for children, especially boys. I wonder how much lack of physical activity affects behavior in the classroom setting.
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NoHairDownThere
March 19th, 2009
1:45 pm
Nothing says sexy like a hairless pubic portion!!! Wifey and I stay lean and clean!! Get with the program people!!
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Allan J Krueger
March 19th, 2009
1:48 pm
The SOCIALIZED MEDICINE comments always come from individuals who have top notch coverage and do not pay one dime for it. FUBAR!
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Janet
March 19th, 2009
1:52 pm
People, stop blabbing about socialized medicine being the cause of her death. Before you come out with your indoctrinated opinions, travel around the world a bit and get the full perspective. Just thinking that the US is the non plus ultra actually means it is. Furthermore, you ALL have no clue what happened so stop blabbing about that , too. If you do not know the facts keep your mouth shut. This was a tragedy, but that is part of life.
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Spud
March 19th, 2009
1:58 pm
People die every day through lack of medical care, I am sure docs and nurses do their best with limited resources. I am a victim of medical mishap, but just have to get on with life. Whether the person is famous or not, sympathies to the family, her 2 boys, Kirsty Macall, died in similar circumstances, y does someone famous v to die before issues are raised regarding health care, helmets etc. Enough is enough, people are starving, rest in peace all who died today.
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Ka'ai
March 19th, 2009
2:24 pm
I was thinking the same thing. Couldn’t they have done something quick?!
My thoughts and prayers to Liam Neeson and sons. Much Aloha!!
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LA
March 19th, 2009
2:27 pm
Seriously, the things people put themselves through nowadays to be “sexy” is just beyond me. Nowadays, I see women getting their entire face waxed…where does it stop? A trim here and there is one thing….but bald areas like that is for pre-pubescent stages of life…not adulthood.
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les
March 19th, 2009
2:55 pm
Why is everyone here trying to lump everyone into one category? The fact is, there is not a “one-size fits all” for these kids. Everyone is different, and that is why some things work for some kids and others don’t. That is also why this is so difficult to accurately diagnose. For some, medication may work well, but for others, the road may be longer, with a combo of intense meds and therapy, some kids may just need regular therapy and learn some behavior modification. So for everyone here to argue this as if it has to be a black or white solution, is just silly. Each parent needs to seek out and do the research themselves, and discover what is going to be the right method of treatment for their child, if in fact they are ADD/ADHD.
Just a side note, my cousin was diagnosed with ADHA, and when his mother took him off sweet cereals, snacks, etc and drastically changed his diet, he was able to go off his meds, and continue with regular behavior therapy, and is much more manageable and pleasant to be around.
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New Jersey May Ban Bikini Waxing | Guanabee
March 19th, 2009
2:57 pm
[...] A ban on ‘Brazilian’ bikini waxing? [AJC] [...]
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Marcel
March 19th, 2009
3:04 pm
The first hospital that Richardson went to was located in a small town (Population 9000) near Mont Tremblant where the accident occurred. They examined her, gave her initial treatment, and then decided to evacuate her via ambulance to Sacre-Coeur Hospital in Montreal (about 65 miles away). This decision was made because Sacre-Coeur has an excellent neurological department and it’s located in one of Canada’s largest cities. It was while she was in Montreal that she was declared to be brain dead.
She wasn’t transferred to New York for medical treatment. The took her to New York for the benefit of her sons and other family members. They wanted to keep her on life support in order for them to be able to give her a final goodbye.
When she left Montreal they knew she wasn’t going to survive.
Apparently, she was told to see a doctor immediately after the accident occurred, and a short time later by her hotel staff, but she declined to go. It was several hours later, when symptoms started to appear that she decided to go to the hospital. Who knows whether she would have survived if she had gone to the hospital right away.
In the end, she probably would not have survived regardless of where the accident occurred.
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Dan
March 19th, 2009
3:17 pm
Les you make some good points every child is different, which also means straying from the norm is not a condition, rather a normal differnce. Your example is perfect! If the “treatment” is not having sweets. THEN IT ISNT A CONDITION! Lots of kids get hopped up on sweets. Good parents take the sweets away, lazy ones call it a condition so it is not their fault
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Mei2
March 19th, 2009
3:38 pm
If a Brazilian bikini wax ‘breaks bad’, you could always get a merkin…
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tCOM
March 19th, 2009
3:52 pm
Oh noes! wut will i do now?
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Snipes25
March 19th, 2009
3:54 pm
I agree with this. Open genital sores is how I contracted the HIV.
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RightToLifeHomer
March 19th, 2009
4:02 pm
It is responsibility of gov’t to protect those that would be endangered by this cruel act.
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RightToCleanPieHomer
March 19th, 2009
4:06 pm
RightToLifeHomer you suck:
I think it should be the WOMAN’S CHOICE!! The gov’t doesn’t need to get involved in EVERYTHING!!
:koolaidman
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JohnnyMack
March 19th, 2009
4:17 pm
They turned away paramedics on the actual ski hill. If the paramedics had seen her, no doubt she would still be alive. This was walk and die syndrome. Has nothing to do with medical care in Canada which is top notch.
I was watching “Extreme Sports” on cable an watched a woman tumble an entire mile down an extremely steep hill, hitting jutting rocks along the way, hitting her head at least 50 times as she pinwheeled down the embankment. She blacked out half way down.
She ended up with a bruised arm.
Natasha has a mild fall on the bunny hill. All that tells you is that when it’s your time, it’s your time. Period
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Pat
March 19th, 2009
4:21 pm
It’s annoying how ideologues are using this to scare clueless Americans about “socialized medicine.” Yeah, like Canada is such a backwards, 3rd world country. Try visiting other countries and learning about them before making such moronic statements. Canadians wouldn’t put up with our craptastic health care system for two seconds. Richardson got transferred the first time because it was a small town hospital – they took her to a large hospital with a prestigious neurology department for further evaluation, but by then it was too late. She was sent home to NY to die surrounded by her family.
Trust me, you don’t want to have an aneurysm in BumF_k, Georgia and get sent to their little hospital – you’d better pray you’re life-flighted to a major trauma center in time … actually, you’d better pray it happens in the ER with you scrubbed up for surgery. There’s almost NO time in this situation for any delay. This isn’t about socialized medicine, it’s about a freak accident, a tragic treatment delay and possibly, a tragedy that even if everything after the fall had “gone right” – could STILL have ended in her death. Just very sad.
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Magenta
March 19th, 2009
4:33 pm
Wax any part of YOUR body you like. But come near me with that stuff, you better pray.
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NJYM
March 19th, 2009
5:07 pm
The only reason she wasn’t operated on is unfortunately because of LAW SUITS.
I used to work at a neurosurgical equipment company and learned alot about neurosurgery around
the world. In some countries…albeit rough…a burr hole would have been made to relieve the pressure
and wait-n-see without fear of a lawsuit. BUT here in the US we have conditioned everyone to proceed
much more cautiously due to legal costs. She DIED because of MONEY and GREED.
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G Natural
March 19th, 2009
5:07 pm
Tax the Wax! Seriously…a few pictures for illustration purposes would have been educational.
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Marcusan
March 19th, 2009
5:07 pm
Don’t forget: The US health insurance industry has approximately 2 millions employees who can act as foot soldiers to beat back attempts at health reform. They’re scared to death of losing their jobs and have a self-interest in painting socialized healthcare as evil, substandard, overpriced, etc.etc.
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JJennifer
March 19th, 2009
5:34 pm
Nowhere in the US is anyone turned away from a hospital whether they can pay or not. With socialized medicine, you will have rationing of care and what no one is telling you is that socialized medicine will have to be subsidized by the taxpayers. Nothing is free, period.
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Greg
March 19th, 2009
5:39 pm
Exactly Dan. What is most sad about this epidemic of over diagnosis and over medicating is what we’re doing to our children, their budding young minds and potential future inspirations. Had Einstein and Mozart grown up in modern American schools, they would have been diagnosed adhd and drugged with ever-increasing doses until they were lethargic and “normal”. With a school system geared toward parroted rote learning as opposed to actual thinking, it is not surprising that medicated zombies are preferred to spirited individuals.
I also fear the liable state the schools are placing themselves in. In a few years when some objectionable side effect becomes know, it will not only be the drug companies the class action lawyers go after, it will be the schools and their counselors recommending that these children be drugged.
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Brazil
March 19th, 2009
5:55 pm
Well, first of all I would to say that who ever wrote this article has a steriotype about brazilians wearing thongs, know their culture frist before you write something like this. They wax the genital areas not to wear a “skimpy thong” like you said; but for them “brazilians” is all about hygiene! If they banned that in New Jersey let it be, let the people rule. I’ll say that whom ever waxed that lady didn’t know what was doing.It’s optional wax if you want to! However to answer your question I say NO! They should not ban Brazilian Wax in GA!
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kim
March 19th, 2009
6:23 pm
NJYM — She didn’t die from money and greed, she died in a country that treats EVERYONE that walks through the door. It was a tragic delay in treatment, and a tragic outcome that had nothing to do with money or greed. Now, if she had died in the US, I might agree with you.
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marley
March 19th, 2009
6:41 pm
This wax is essential in achieving the proper shine on Brazilian wood (banisters)
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Cheryl
March 19th, 2009
8:22 pm
Get a grip people stop blaming the health care when she was already unconcious and in a coma when arriving at the hospital. Canadian health care is just as good as USA healthcare. If you think social medicine is poor medicine then you are SICK. Listening to too many politicians that don’t know what they are talking about. I have social medicine and it is wonderful and I get all the treatments I need and I pay for it through my taxes instead of going bankrupt. GIVE ME A BREAK. Unless you live in it or experience it then you don’t have a right to say something you don’t know anything about.
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Cheryl
March 19th, 2009
8:31 pm
I also would like to add as I got carried away. My thought and prayers go to her and her family. So sorry.
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Astraea
March 19th, 2009
8:49 pm
I am so proud to be a Georgian after reading these comments. Seriously. Maybe instead of the government getting involved, though, people could try not being stupid.
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Cur
March 19th, 2009
10:09 pm
Reagan once said, “If the Senators from New Jersey are so worried about the wolves in Yellowstone, maybe we should let a bunch of wolves loose in New Jersey.” It’s a shame he was kidding as clearly the herd of politicians in New Jersey needs thinning.
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DB
March 19th, 2009
10:19 pm
Wax on, wax off, now they will want a bailout.
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inagalaxy_faraway
March 19th, 2009
10:23 pm
Uh oh. Does this mean I can no longer wear thong bathing suits? I am a guy.
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GaTechStudent
March 19th, 2009
10:37 pm
Girls have hair down there? Really? I never knew…
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Thogwummpy
March 19th, 2009
11:31 pm
The Brazilian wax makes a woman look like a little girl down there (hey, I had sisters growing up!)…and for me, it’s kind of a turn off—because I have no pedaphillia inclinations. Girls, I ain’t the only guy that thinks so—more men than you realize say it’s no hot. Trim it yes, shave/wax it…no. Besides, when the stubble starts growing back, it is like sandpaper….which scratchs during intimate activity. Did you know that pubic hair actually functions as a form of dry skin lubricant for sex?
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Theresa
March 20th, 2009
1:12 am
Willie you are an idiot!!! Not every hospital in America has specialists, people do need to be transferred alot, hello not every hospital is located in a metropolis!!!
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BrazilianwaxNJ
March 20th, 2009
1:30 am
The Ban is not for just full removal of pubic hair as the Brazilian Waxing suggests but it is illegal to even do a trim. If you wax or not, the state should not be dicating if you can or not get groomed. Help us petition to the AG office to overturn this ban.
http://www.jairasbrazilianwax.org
Big gathering event on Monday 3/23
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Jen
March 20th, 2009
1:41 am
I live in Canada, and believe that our healthcare system is in a horrible crisis and will only get worse. Compared to European countries we are number 23 out of 30 in terms of quality of healthcare. That’s nothing to write home about.
According to ER physicians and trauma surgeons, Montreal lacks the capacity to offer an emergency helicopter service. One would think that a city the size of Montreal, dealing with very ill and injured persons would provide an emergency helicopter. Such a service can get someone from a smaller, more remote hospital to one offering trauma service, much more quickly. Longer ambulance rides, can indeed increase fatality rates, in the case of life threatening injury or illness.
Montreal lacks emergency helicopter system
http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090318/mtl_helicopter_090318/20090318/?hub=MontrealHome
Montreal lacks emergency helicopter system
Updated: Wed Mar. 18 2009 6:43:21 PM
ctvmontreal.ca
Montreal is lacking an emergency helicopter system, according to Dr. Tarek Razek, head of the trauma team at the Montreal General Hospital.
“We have no medical helicopter transport system in this region or in western Quebec at all. And it’s the only region I’ve been able to find in the western world,” he said.
He notes that Nova Scotia, which is not a wealthy province, has a medical helicopter.
It is a problem that is frustrating for some of Montreal’s trauma professionals.
“I have a child and I think about what happens if we’re driving in the beautiful countryside and we have a car crash. He can’t– or I won’t be able to– get him to definitive care,” said Dr. Paola Fata, a trauma surgeon at the MUHC.
The problem has come to light after actress Natasha Richardson suffered a tumble on a beginner ski hill at Mont Tremblant on Monday. The fall resulted in a serious brain injury. She was not wearing a helmet.
“If you have a ski crash at Mont Tremblant or in Sutton, I cannot get you to my centre fast enough to have those reductions in mortality. I just can’t. Because we don’t have the mechanisms and the systems in this region to get you there. So– wear a helmet when you ski– because you’re not going to come to me,” said Razek.
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Willie
March 20th, 2009
2:55 am
I want the people Americans and Canadians who like the Canadian system to see what Canadians are saying about their socialized health care system :
(AP) A letter from the Moncton Hospital to a New Brunswick heart patient in need of an electrocardiogram said the appointment would be in three months. It added: “If the person named on this computer-generated letter is deceased, please accept our sincere apologies.” Americans who flock to Canada for cheap flu shots often come away impressed at the free and first-class medical care available to Canadians, rich or poor. But tell that to hospital administrators constantly having to cut staff for lack of funds, or to the mother whose teenager was advised she would have to wait up to three years for surgery to repair a torn knee ligament.
“It’s like somebody’s telling you that you can buy this car, and you’ve paid for the car, but you can’t have it right now,” said Jane Pelton. Rather than leave daughter Emily in pain and a knee brace, the Ottawa family opted to pay $3,300 for arthroscopic surgery at a private clinic in Vancouver, with no help from the government.
“Every day we’re paying for health care, yet when we go to access it, it’s just not there,” said Pelton.
The average Canadian family pays about 48 percent of its income in taxes each year, partly to fund the health care system. Rates vary from province to province, but Ontario, the most populous, spends roughly 40 percent of every tax dollar on health care, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
The system is going broke, says the federation, which campaigns for tax reform and private enterprise in health care.
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Willie
March 20th, 2009
2:56 am
What about the availability of healthcare here are the stats
An estimated 4 million of Canada’s 33 million people don’t have family physicians and more than 1 million are on waiting lists for treatment, according to the Canadian Medical Association. Meanwhile, some 200 physicians head to the United States each year, attracted by lower taxes and better working conditions. Canada has 2.1 physicians per 1,000 people, while Belgium has 3.9, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
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Willie
March 20th, 2009
2:59 am
What about rationing health care does the Canadian system ration? Yes they call it queuing and here it what the Canadian doctors think of it
Queuing
Queuing is a controversial measurement, not least because there may be many explanations for the queuing, many of them medically justifiable, so that aggregate queuing figures may conflate those whose waiting poses no health or other risk with those whose health may be impaired or may suffer pain while waiting.
That being said, in a system in which health services are free at the point of consumption, queuing is the most common form of rationing scarce medical resources. And since patient satisfaction plays no part in determining incomes or other economic rewards for health care providers and administrators in the public system, patients’ time is treated as if it has no value. There are no penalties in the system for making people wait
All of this is due, as I argued in a major paper I co-authored in 2002,10 to the conflict of interest at the heart of Medicare, in which the people who are the ultimate providers of health care services in Canada are also the people charged with regulating the system and quality assurance. Since no one is a competent judge of his or her own performance, and no one likes to be held accountable for his or her work, the result is that the health care system simply does not set tough standards or collect the information that would allow us to hold the system’s administrators accountable for their stewardship of our health care and the billions of dollars that they spend. The people who would collect the information are also the people whose performance would be assessed if useful information were made available. There appears to be no legal obligation on governments actually to supply the services they have promised to the population as their monopoly supplier of health insurance. This is an appalling double standard, as no responsible regulator would permit a private supplier of insurance to behave in this way, as a recent background paper for my Institute makes clear.11
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Willie
March 20th, 2009
3:02 am
There is more on Queuing and the lack of statistics
“I would also like to point out that while we talk a lot about queuing in the Canadian health care system, and we talk as if we know how many people are waiting and how long they wait, in fact we do not know this at all. Ironically for the largest single program expenditure of governments in Canada, we know astonishingly little about what we get for our money. As my colleague David Zitner, Director of Medical Informatics at Dalhousie University in Halifax and Health Policy Fellow at my Institute, likes to say, no health care institution in Canada can tell you how many people got better, how many people got worse, and how many people’s condition was left unchanged by their contact with their institution. None of them can give you an answer. No one knows how many people died while waiting for needed surgery. No one knows how many people are queuing for any particular procedure or how many people cannot find a family doctor. Mostly we have guesswork, anecdote, and subjective measures, not objective ones (such as the Fraser Institute reports mentioned earlier). We do not even know how long someone has to wait before he or she has waited “too long,” because the health care system does not establish official standards for timely care–although presumably even Mr. Romanow would agree that someone who died while waiting for care may have waited a tad too long.
Natasha would be the person that waited “a tad too long”
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Willie
March 20th, 2009
3:04 am
What are Canadians saying about MRI’s and CT scans and technology?
Medical technology
With respect to medical technology, Canada’s performance is also unimpressive. In a study12 comparing Canadians’ access to four specific medical technologies (computed tomography [CT] scanners, radiation equipment, lithotriptors, and magnetic resonance imagers [MRI]), with access by citizens of other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Canadians’ access was significantly poorer in three of the four. Despite spending a full 1.6 percent of GDP more on health care than the OECD average, Canadians were well down the league tables in access to CT scanners (21st of 28), lithotriptors (19th out of 22), and MRIs (19th out of 27). Moreover, access to several of these technologies worsened relative to access in other countries over the last decade.
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Willie
March 20th, 2009
3:09 am
Anything that is free is usually SH#$ Canadians on free health care
“Free” Health Care Empowers the Poor
Everything I want to say about this is summed up in a story that happened to my partner Shelley. Shelley and I are partners in a restaurant, and she actually runs it. She was given an appointment at the hospital for a procedure, and she duly showed up at the appointed time. Two hours later she was still sitting there waiting to be called. Now she was only able to get a two-hour parking meter, and so she approached the desk and asked if she could go and put money in the meter. She was curtly told that she was free to go and put the money in, but that if her name were called while she was away, that her name would fall back to the bottom of the queue. So she just decided that she would take the parking ticket as part of the price of getting the medical service she needed. Another two hours passed, and still she was not called, so she again approached the counter, and very patiently and politely explained (as only Shelley can, because she is the soul of graciousness) that she actually had a small business to run; that she was there at the appointed time for her appointment; that she had waited four hours, which is far longer than she had been led to expect the whole thing would take; that she had other commitments because of the business; and could they possibly at least give her some idea of how much longer she might have to wait?
Well, the woman behind the counter got on her dignity, drew herself up to her full height, glared at Shelley and said, “You’re talking as if you’re some kind of customer!”
There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, the essence of the problem: When the government supplies you with “free” health care, you are not a powerful customer who must be satisfied. They are doing you a favor and you owe the state gratitude and servility in return for this awesome generosity. They can give you the worst service in the world, but because it is free, you are totally disempowered. One of the most important lessons I have learned from my contact with the Canadian Medicare system is that payment makes you powerful. And its absence makes you risible if not invisible.
Anything that is “Free” is usually SH#$
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Willie
March 20th, 2009
3:12 am
Will Canadians ever go back to private healthcare? Yes if they can check out below
CMA Head Says Canada’s Health-Care System in Crisis, Needs Change
Posted on: Wednesday, 22 August 2007, 21:15 CDT
By CAMILLE BAINS
VANCOUVER (CP) – The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says the country’s public health-care system is headed for crisis, but a greater role for private health care could be the right prescription.
Dr. Brian Day said in his inaugural speech to Canada’s medical establishment Wednesday that contracting out health services isn’t new and has helped slash wait lists.
“Let’s be clear: Canadians should have the right to private medical insurance when timely access is not available in the public system,” he said to applause from about 270 delegates at the annual convention
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Willie
March 20th, 2009
3:30 am
What does the Canadian who created the Canadian health care sytem 40 years ago say about it today? Ladies and Gentleman I give you Claude Castonguay
Back in the 1960s, Castonguay chaired a Canadian government committee studying health reform and recommended that his home province of Quebec — then the largest and most affluent in the country — adopt government-administered health care, covering all citizens through tax levies.
The government followed his advice, leading to his modern-day moniker: “the father of Quebec medicare.” Even this title seems modest; Castonguay’s work triggered a domino effect across the country, until eventually his ideas were implemented from coast to coast.
Four decades later, as the chairman of a government committee reviewing Quebec health care this year, Castonguay concluded that the system is in “crisis.”
“We thought we could resolve the system’s problems by rationing services or injecting massive amounts of new money into it,” says Castonguay. But now he prescribes a radical overhaul: “We are proposing to give a greater role to the private sector so that people can exercise freedom of choice.”
Castonguay advocates contracting out services to the private sector, going so far as suggesting that public hospitals rent space during off-hours to entrepreneurial doctors. He supports co-pays for patients who want to see physicians. Castonguay, the man who championed public health insurance in Canada, now urges for the legalization of private health insurance.
What would drive this champion of socialism to the private sector?
Try a health care system so overburdened that hundreds of thousands in need of medical attention wait for care, any care; a system where people in towns like Norwalk, Ontario, participate in lotteries to win appointments with the local family doctor.
Years ago, Canadians touted their health care system as the best in the world; today, Canadian health care stands in ruinous shape.
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Willie
March 20th, 2009
3:35 am
What about the women and children?
Sick with ovarian cancer, Sylvia de Vires, an Ontario woman afflicted with a 13-inch, fluid-filled tumor weighing 40 pounds, was unable to get timely care in Canada. She crossed the American border to Pontiac, Mich., where a surgeon removed the tumor, estimating she could not have lived longer than a few weeks more.
The Canadian government pays for U.S. medical care in some circumstances, but it declined to do so in de Vires’ case for a bureaucratically perfect, but inhumane, reason: She hadn’t properly filled out a form. At death’s door, de Vires should have done her paperwork better.
De Vires is far from unusual in seeking medical treatment in the U.S. Even Canadian government officials send patients across the border, increasingly looking to American medicine to deal with their overload of patients and chronic shortage of care.
Critics say these border crossings highlight the dangers of a government-run health care system.
“The Canadian healthcare system has used the United States as a safety net for years,” said Michael Turner of the Cato Institute. “In fact, overall about one out of every seven Canadian physicians sends someone to the United States every year for treatment.”
Neonatal intensive care units in Alberta and Ontario have also been stretched to capacity, she said.
The cost of these airlifts and treatments, paid to U.S. hospitals by the province under Canada’s universal health care system, runs upwards of $1,000 a child.
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Willie
March 20th, 2009
4:10 am
Well since I started this at least part of it anyway I will add to my previous comments albeit to the chagrin of some of my Canadian brethren. I did tell you exactly what her diagnosis was prior to her autopsy coming out because as I stated earlier this is a textbook case, textbook. I am a physician and surgeon and I do know the Canadian system well and many of your physicians as they all leave as fast as they can from Canada to come down to the U.S. so they can make a living here in the U.S.. I am sorry that you are upset over your socialized system the only other bad news is the people that neglected to take care of Natasha will not be sued into oblivion like they would here for this neglect. That is right neglect this lady is dead and YOUR health care system is at least partly responsible and as you can see a lot of people know all about it and so do I. You see I lived in Michigan and Washington State and Buffalo during my training to be an orthopedic and spinal surgeon, about a total of 19 years including college and research, residency and fellowship years. All of those cities had programs set up to take care of the more affluent Canadians that did not want to wait 8 months to two years for a total joint or an organ transplant. To not have a hospital prepared to take care of serious injuries in proximity to a ski resort is laughable. By the way people who wear helmets get epidural bleeds and concussions too and wearing helmets is no excuse for not having adequate medical facilities. Governments (that includes the USA) cannot manage large sums or even moderate sums of money and they have proven that over and over but the hard core idiots cannot seem to get that through their heads. For example we just gave AIG bailout money to pay off bonuses to people that do not even work there anymore!! How STUPID is that?!?
I truly feel bad for Natasha and her family as this was a useless loss of life and the medical system is mostly to blame. DO NOT BLAME NATASHA ONLY COWARDS BLAME THE VICTIM. All patients when they feel better walk and talk and try to go about their business. The diagnostic period although short and unforgiving is there and she had it, she complained of headaches etc. but no one could act on it because they simply do not have the accommodations and they really should as they are at a ski resort where hundreds and thousands of people will fall every year and they should be prepared to take care of business and they are not and that is it. Typically there are protocols set up for these kinds of disasters because although not very common they do happen and the system should be prepared and clearly it is not. Had she gone to a clinic near the ski resort immediately they still could not have done anything as they plainly do not have the facilities and she would had to been flown somewhere and that takes time and you do not have that much time it has to be done on the timetable of the disease not some failed socialized half baked medical timetable
As far as me getting up in a room and telling people who are “educated” how bad this system is, I can assure you that I have absolutely no qualms or trepidations about telling the truth to anybody, anytime anywhere as there is no fear in my heart, none. The truth is what it is
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Maria
March 20th, 2009
10:13 am
Willie, I’m asking this with the wide-eyed curiosity of a 2nd-year medical student. I was sucked in to this debate first by my curiosity about the Richardson case, as well as the interesting comments here. As intelligent and experienced as you are, with 19 years of medical training, why would you choose this forum to express your views? I agree with you on most of what you say, and it’s clear you feel very strongly about your beliefs – why then would you spend over an hour commenting on an article that not many people will read? I’m sure you’re an extremely busy person who understands the difference between activity and productivity. Do more productive means exist out there for physicians to express their concerns about our healthcare system? Without us, no one would have any healthcare in the first place. I suppose I’m just wondering… if this is your only place to vent your views and attempt to affect some change, what will practicing medicine be like for my generation?
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JATL
March 20th, 2009
11:25 am
I completely agree that it is overdiagnosed! I ALSO agree that the condition exists and those with it need help and possibly medication, but faaaaarrrrr too many children are being pumped full of pills and labeled when all they need is some discipline and RECESS!!!!! Does anyone else think it’s insane and inhumane to expect a bunch of elementary school children to sit in a desk all day and behave? When I was in school we got two recesses until 4th grade and then 1 through 6th grade. Kids today need to be outside running off some steam and moving their little lard a$$e$!
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tony
March 20th, 2009
12:00 pm
This is so unbelievably sad. She and Liam Neeson have been so classy with the way they have handled their careers and raised their children. Besides being an uncommonly talented actress, she was above all a beautiful and caring human being. She will be missed.
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Willie
March 20th, 2009
1:21 pm
Maria what you say is somewhat correct but you have to have a real passion for this profession and as you will learn sometimes you just have to dialogue with people especially when your voracity is being challenged by uneducated lay people. There is nothing wrong with having an opinion even a wrong one and the internet is hit and miss for sure but people use it for education and you should add your voice to the discussion as you are educated. Right now you are studying the second year med school load and you seem to not have enough time and that is normal. However never be too busy to talk to people when you are in practice people especially patients as they need reassurance and just knowing that they can talk to their doctor is huge. I talk to patients all day about surgery and success and failure of treatment. All patients have my cell phone and home phone I am never unavailable to them. I have had seven spinal operations myself 4 on my neck and three on my back, I come from a family of seven physicians and surgeons and I have grown up around medicine my whole entire life. I went to U of M in Ann Arbor played football for Bo Schembechler and then went to Wayne State med school, I was a linebacker in college (part of the cause of the seven spine surgeries later in life) I have always been a fighter and stood up for what was right. The American people are being lied to, again, about health care. I have worked in all types of medical systems city hospitals at Detroit Receiving, County hospitals like LA County USC and LA County Martin Luther King, VA hospitals, and private hospitals well run and not well run.
A well run private hospital with academically oriented leadership is the best health care in the world period. They are provide great health care, they are profitable and provide jobs and a sense of pride for the entire community. By the way there is nothing wrong with making a good living while providing good care and do not let anyone tell you that there is something wrong with you making a good living that is total BS. Everybody wants to have first class health care from a committed physician and surgeon and those people cost money. Bright dedicated hard working people are not free, most of them had to borrow money to go to school and the people they borrowed money from want their money back plus interest.
I did my spine fellowship at William Beaumont in Royal Oak Michigan that is a great hospital and it does all of those things. As far as venting goes I am not venting I am teaching and if I saved just 1 life I did a good job and that is how I see it. The evidence i presented did not require that much time I am an experienced researcher I have written scientific papers, the evidence of this bad health care scenario is overwhelming and this was just a smidgeon of it.
On a personal side learn not to argue with people that know a lot more about something than you do and never insist that you are right when you are clearly wrong in addition to looking like a clown as a physician you will kill somebody. READ the literature most of these people do not read and they just listen to people tell lies and because it sounds good and because it supports their own political and social position they back it up. The Canadian health care system although well intentioned is a huge failure the man who invented it, Claude Castonguay said so himself!!! I mean how much more verification do you need? Now the system represents socialist hypocrisy because it cannot meet the BASIC needs of the people and emergency services are basic needs, and the system failed because it does not require what medicine compels the most RESPONSIBILITY. That is correct no one in the system has to be responsible and they do not want to be responsible because that would mean looking at what they have wrought on the Canadian people.
Finally it is my intention to pursue a law degree. I will do it over the internet. You do not know the depth of the depravity in health care. There is tremendous waste and abuse and I am talking about right here in the U.S. The politics of healthcare revolves around the love of money not truly earned and lies and the people are truly secondary and the physicians are considered as pest, people in the way of the “agenda”. I am just practicing my skills on the internet jury “presenting my case” as it were. When people see my real name I want them to tremble if they have mistreated a patient or a physician. I want their attorneys to tell their clients that “we need to settle if we can because this guy is the real deal and he means it. “
Good Luck Maria I am sure you will do fine just remember always be honest no matter how difficult it is and always be available and people will love you and respect you and you will feel great about your work and yourself.
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Jacqui
March 20th, 2009
2:29 pm
Anyone on here who denies the existence of depression, has obviously NOT suffered from it. I have been on anti-depressants since the end of 1999, because these things happened to me: I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and underwent emergency surgery during which I nearly died. I was in hospital for 8 weeks. The following year I had further surgery. I have an ileostomy bag for the rest of my life (I’m now 36). I’ve had endless financial problems, my mother died in 2002 and now I’m a full-time carer for my father who has vascular dementia. Depression is an ILLNESS which is caused by problems with neurotransmitters in the brain. Research has shown that people who inherit a certain version of the serotonin transporter gene are susceptible to depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and autism spectrum disorders. Serotinin, dopamine, noradrenaline etc are chemicals in the brain and the body, just as insulin is a chemical.Some of the posters on here really need to think about the rubbish they are coming out with, or they need to experience the same feelings that I’ve experienced: feeling suicidal, not being able to think, not being able to concentrate, feeling overwhelmed with fear which you think you’ll never get over…..paradoxically, a feeling that you really are about to die yet you don’t want to, or that you are falling further and further down a dark pit which you can’t get out of. To anyone who stills refuses to believe in depression: try living my life and THEN see how you feel.
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Clark
March 21st, 2009
10:18 am
we are now seeing reports that Quebec does not have emergency helicopters …. is this deficit a result of having a nationalized health care system?
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Jessica
March 22nd, 2009
2:31 pm
Willie, as a passionate person myself, I appreciate the courage and drive you express in your willingness to take on controversial subjects. Today, many people are afraid to question the wisdom of socialized medicine (or the quality of our health care in the U.S.) for fear of being ridiculed. The practice browbeating others into silence is as old as civilization. Beautiful Natasha has indeed shed light on questions that must be asked – for everyone’s health and well being.
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Barney Strickland
March 25th, 2009
8:08 am
Pity the poor doctors !! What means will people have to be warned of a crappy MD or surgeon? Yeah, it’s always the oddball who complains….. nobody ever posts a legitimate claim/complaint on these sites. I’m just glad we have tort attorneys to protect us from jerks like Jeffrey Segal. Sniff, sniff, boo-hoo !! I guess we should all depend upon the AMA to provide us negative information against self interest !! Yep, that’s the ticket!
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Paul D. Fowler
March 25th, 2009
9:09 am
I am now 77 and in good health for my age, but concerned to know that my father and his father both
developed dementia at or around age 80. I have experienced intermittent depression since about age 10, and presently take 10 mg of paroxetine. I was hospitalized at VA in Augusta for about 30 days in
1982 for major depression. I am a retired professor from Georgia Southern University, living in Statesboro. I have had some difficulty remembering names for the last 2 or 3 years. I am physically active and play singles tennis once a week. I would be interested in any clinical trials that you under-take.
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Trish Gates
March 25th, 2009
9:54 am
I would love to be in a trail or test. My dad died of early alzheimer’s. It was diagnosed prior to age 62. I was told to take two ibupron per day. I have not been doing so.
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Earl
March 25th, 2009
10:06 am
My mother in law is currently undergoing therapy at UAB in Alabama for Alzheimers, she is 80. Bother her parents and all four of her siblings that reached adulthood suffered from the disease. She is the only surviving child of her parents. She can recmember most family members but we know this will end soon. Before long we’ll be strangers to her. She is on a blind study medication now, I don’t see the good effects that my wife seems to see with her mom. My wife has undergone early test for the plaque that builds up in the brain and she was told she has a greater than sixty per-cent chance of developing the disease. Good luck
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Earl
March 25th, 2009
10:08 am
I intended to say good luck Mr.Fowler, I hope the best for you. I am 55 and I forget names and I have no history of this disease in my family that I am aware of, only by marriage.
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Dave
March 25th, 2009
11:16 am
I think most of us fear contracting this disease the most. It causes such a huge burden on caregivers who become as almost trapped as those who get this horrible disease with probably the most guilt and frustration it causes to all involved. If there is one disease we should probably work on in finding a cure this might be the one as it taxes both our health care system and families in such huge ways. Give me cancer or heart disease, but absolutely don’t give me Alzheimers.
Not remembering names is not Alzheimers it is when you can’t remember you car key will start your car or forgetting how to get home when you go to your local mall and have done it a many times.
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kay
March 25th, 2009
11:22 am
My mom passed last year at 82, with congestive heart failure and pneumonia. However, she had a stroke seven years earlier and suffered some dementia a few years before she died, which according to her physician, was stroke related; regardless it was still hard to see her decline, but thankfully she still knew my sister and I, we were her caregivers. I don’t know the differences between stroke related dementia and alzheimer’s but I wish the mental decline of both types could be treated successfully.
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Big Juicy
March 25th, 2009
11:28 am
Don’t know; I seem to have forgotten —
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D
March 25th, 2009
12:07 pm
What was the question?
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Dennis Fortier
March 25th, 2009
12:17 pm
This is the most cogent argument for the importance of early detection that I have see. Thank you Dr. Lah for constructing it. I am directing readers here from http://braintoday.blogspot.com.
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Jeff
March 25th, 2009
12:19 pm
I lost my dad to Alzheimers. While the disease slowly took him away from us my mother fought and lost a battle with colon cancer. My family and I were the caregivers and watched them both suffer daily. By far Alzheimers is the most devastating disease in so many respects. I worry daily about my risks and I cringe every time I hear someone say that a friend or love one is afflicted with Alzheimers. From personal experience, Alzheimer’s is devastating to the core!
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Steve
March 25th, 2009
12:32 pm
There is a link between vaccines and Alzheimer’s. Why don’t they publish that?
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Elaine
March 25th, 2009
1:25 pm
My father passed away almost 3 years ago from the effects of Alzheimers but we lost him long before that. He no longer knew his family and friends and didn’t even remember who he was. He lost a lifetime of memories before he lost his life. So I guess that’s what it’s like to have your life taken away from you before you die. Very sad.
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Jo Ann
March 25th, 2009
2:11 pm
My father died from alzheimers in 93……………my sister just turned 60 yesterday and has for the past few years been experiencing memory loss……………….I expressed my concern to her husband and her daughter……………………I took matters into my own hands and flew up myself and drove her to the daughter……….long story short I wasn’t pleased with the dr…………..I flew back home………………another 2 weeks her husband took her to another doctore…………………..blood tests were done and she was told to come back in 3 months!! My plan is to go back up and request that further testing be done because her memory is horrible! Any testing that I should request would be appreciated………………..I am not exaggerating the memory………you have to take your health in your own hands, but if you aren’t capable or you’re scared, then a family member must step in !
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Kathy Bruce
March 25th, 2009
5:41 pm
Absolutely! If they can be treated like adults in criminal matters, why shouldn’t they be able to correct a mistake with a product that they could buy in less than a year’s time?
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Nona
March 25th, 2009
5:45 pm
Kudos to this judge! It’s a great decision! Teens who purchase this product are making a much more responsible decision than having a baby before they’re financially and emotionally responsible enough to raise it. Ideally, they wouldn’t be having sex, but attempts to regulate sexual behavior has never been effective. Teens need access to this drug as well as to abortion without parental consent. This is a great decision.
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Carolyn J.
March 25th, 2009
5:52 pm
May be good – May be bad, 17 year olds are very irresponsible and might try to use it as a form of birth control since they are obviously to laze to pop a birth control and/or use contraceptives. I don’t think it is designed to be used as birth control – might be harmful long term.
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Carolyn J.
March 25th, 2009
5:53 pm
Before anyone says anything YES, I misspelled laze – I stand corrected. Should be “lazy”.
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EJ
March 25th, 2009
5:57 pm
Bad decision. Why not just take parents further out of the equation. Parents need to be more involved and not less involved. These same teens could use the pill, all they had to do was ask their parents to get it for them. Keeping parents involved is a key to raising kids who will be productive, responsible adults.
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Delta
March 25th, 2009
5:57 pm
Of course not. How would a 17 year old be wise enough to make a decision like that?
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Carolyn J.
March 25th, 2009
5:59 pm
Regarding Nona’s message I don’t think Teens should ever be allowed to have abortions without parental consent. I know some older young people who use abortion as a form of birth control and have had numerous abortions because they wouldn’t use birth control. Think of the damage that could possibly be done to your body later in life not to mention what if some medical emergency occurs during the abortion and the parents are not even aware of what is going on. That’s too big of a decision for a Teen to handle.
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Vic
March 25th, 2009
6:01 pm
Absolutely they should allow the morning after pill to be bought. By no stretch of the imagination does that “promote” sex. They are going to have sex regardless of what options are available. In the heat of the moment I highly doubt they think “Wait, I don’t have to worry, I can get the morning after pill!”
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Mike
March 25th, 2009
6:01 pm
This is one issue in which I cannot understand the Republican viewpoint on. As a Republican/conservative I want to prevent abortions and this pill does just that. A 17, even 16 year old child will abort a baby if it is allowed to develop. The pill stops that issue from taking place. We have to agree, at some point where or when to call a cell a baby, I don’t believe we can do that within 24 hours of actually having sex !
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TC
March 25th, 2009
6:02 pm
I do not think that it’s a good idea, because what if the child is allergic to something in the pill? It will be the “PARENTS” responsibility to take care of that childs medical bills if someting happens. I feel that if the government is passing this law, then when something happens they need to take care of the child if something goes wrong.
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sedimenjerry
March 25th, 2009
6:07 pm
Sure, go ahead. Lets just hope that some people don’t abuse this.
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Lucas
March 25th, 2009
6:10 pm
A 17-year old who was unfortunate – or misinformed – enough to require emergency contraception should be given access to it as immediately as possible. Particularly considering that they wouldn’t necessarily have time to get their parents involved.
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donna outlaw
March 25th, 2009
6:14 pm
YES!
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donna outlaw
March 25th, 2009
6:18 pm
I want to add another comment – a 17 year old is an adult in the eyes of the law as far as being arrested is concerned and as far as taking the parents further out of the equation? Most teens that have sex do not tell their parents and too many teens, while considered adults in some areas, are not responsible enough to remember to take the pill everyday and other birth control options, like Morena which my 20 year old daughter uses, are very expensive.
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Janis
March 25th, 2009
6:25 pm
Yes!
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Heather
March 25th, 2009
6:28 pm
how can a girl be too young and immature to know well enough about themselves and their futures to decide whether or not to take the morning after pill, and at the same time be mature enough to be a parent 9 months later?
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Brooke
March 25th, 2009
6:34 pm
As a young adult I have a very important newsflash:
A) Not necessary most, but a LARGE percentage of YOUR children will have had sex by the time they are 18
B) Even smart kids (like me who graduated with a 3.8 from college) have sex before they are 18; to this day the parents still think they are angels
C)If you are smart enough to know that it is not an intelligent decision to have a child while you are still growing up, more power to you. Parents aren’t consulted before the act of sex, they shouldn’t be forced into a situation afterwords. Has anybody considered the fact that sometimes the parents are CRAZY and bringing them in the situation would just make things a thousand times worse?
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MEB
March 25th, 2009
6:34 pm
Yes…this is a far better option than abortion and there are too many unwanted pregnancies already.
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bob
March 25th, 2009
6:46 pm
Good idea as long as the product can not advertise towards minors. I would prefer to see this product have the same advertising restrictions as cigarettes.
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null
March 25th, 2009
6:56 pm
Anybody who still thinks abstinence programs work need to retire to the beachfront property in Nebraska. If it helps curtail the number of illegitimate parents, I say go for it. Hell, I’d rather my tax money go towards the morning-after pill and abortions than Viagra, which is asinine that Medicare pays for.
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herbK
March 25th, 2009
7:01 pm
Oh, absolutely! Mustn’t have the little trollops birthing crotch fruit. We have enough trike motors as it is.
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Kiddo
March 25th, 2009
7:12 pm
I think parents should be more involved with their kids lives. Kids may not be responsible enough to take the pill every night or even have the money to pay for it but it only takes common sense to use a condom. I don’t think the morning after pill should be used as birth control like abortions have become. Ok, so we let 17 year olds get it, what next 11 year olds. As a parent would you want your 11 year old to get pregnant and you never know about it? Plus this pill I am sure is not meant to be used all the time and there may be severe side effcts if abused but kids are not going to think about things like that. If a teen has sex with no protection once and the consequences don’t exist then they are going to continue to do it and that puts the risk of AIDS and other STD higher. 17 is OK, but I don’t think they should let it go any further then that. I was having sex at 17 and was mature enough to use a condom.
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K.
March 25th, 2009
7:25 pm
I support this decision. If a 17 year old can make a decision to have sex, and then decide that she does not want to become pregnant, I think she is doing the most responsible thing she can do at that time – Not complete the pregnancy. Of course, she should have taken measures to prevent the pregnancy in the first place but that’s another subject. If a 17 year old doesn’t want a baby, why make her have it????
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Nono
March 25th, 2009
7:47 pm
Imagine…. you’ve had sex “in the heat of the moment” and weren’t on the pill…. or, your partner wore a condom that broke/failed… or you were raped… or you forgot to take your birth control pill that morning (or maybe you took it, but haven’t taken it regularly enough to be effective). Sound familiar to anyone?
These scenarios aren’t limited to teens, they happen to plenty of adults too–so why should the morning after pill to only be available to adults but exclude teens? You can’t legislate responsible behavior into law, but what you CAN do is give both teens and adults a responsible OPTION if they do make a mistake so that they can correct it. Plus if teens are as irresponsible as the media make them out to be, then shouldn’t they have MORE options than adults available to deal with their mistakes because they ARE immature, and consequently shouldn’t adults be the ones to haver fewer options (because if the argument is that adults are more responsible, then we should be able to have a much easier time avoiding these situations, right???)
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J
March 25th, 2009
8:22 pm
Yes absolutely! I would rather 17 year olds be able to end the pregnancy rather than become dependent on the medicaid/WIC system for the first five years of the unwanted child’s life.
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EJ
March 25th, 2009
8:27 pm
When I was in college I knew several girls that used an abortion as a form of birth control. One girl has three done in the two years I knew here. Would the morning after pill been better than an abortion? Yes. But she didn’t even bother with birth control because she knew she could go to the clinic and get it taken care of. Why should we make it easier for teens to be irresponsible? We should make them own up to their mistakes and learn from them– not make it easier for them to cover up mistakes.
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B
March 25th, 2009
8:42 pm
How many that agree with it are against the death penalty?
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Lulu
March 25th, 2009
8:45 pm
Allowed? How ’bout requiring it?
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Deepdiver
March 25th, 2009
8:52 pm
EJ, your response is not very well thought out or intelligent. Why not just ban abortions? That seems to be what you are saying. Only problem is women and girls will turn to back alley abortions and coat hangers. Great, not only will the fetus (not yet a baby) die, but the mother might as well. Great job. You just want to control all women.
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RN
March 25th, 2009
9:02 pm
So a recurring theme here is ‘what if it is misused, abused, or the user not smart enough use it right or to make a good decision on when to use something like this’. How about we get on the boat and finally decide that COMPREHENSIVE sex education is missing here in GA. How about a curriculum that includes abstinence, sex, birth control, relationships, pregnancy, STD’s and prevention (including condoms and other barriers), values and on and on… available to all teens in GA school, but maybe as an elective so that those who are just dead against it can opt out. I would love to see what happens to teen pregnancy rates 5 years after something like that was offered and delivered the right way. A labor and delivery RN can only dream…
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RN
March 25th, 2009
9:02 pm
Enter your comments here
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EJ
March 25th, 2009
9:18 pm
Deepdiver, I am not saying to ban abortions. I am saying that if someone who is old enough to be in college can’t be responsible enough to use proper birth control, how can we assume that teens will be responsible enough to only use the morning after pill only as a last resort?
Teens will see this as a free pass. They may not use another other form of birth control and rely on this instead.
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M
March 25th, 2009
9:20 pm
It hasn’t been said much (yet), but I just want to point out that the morning-after pill is NOT equivalent to abortion. Thank you.
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Jo
March 25th, 2009
9:26 pm
Well, here is yet again another clear indicator of the failing morals in this country. Perhaps these “Young” adults should be taught some morals and or ethics and more useful; some self control. Maybe they should be taught to take responsibility for their choices. Teach them it’s “Not all about them” and that some things are not ok.
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Phil
March 25th, 2009
10:07 pm
EJ That may be the most idiotic statement ever. Taking responsibility for ones own reproductive descisions is taking responsibility
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OPRAH C
March 25th, 2009
10:18 pm
If we could do away with abstinence only education across this state…then this might be less of an issue. Teaching kids that condoms are not being effective could be the reason they aren’t using them and are instead seeking the morning after pill. Why can’t we teach our children about their bodies at an early age? Why can’t we provide the necessary health services to keep them from certain poverty or….even to lift them out of poverty? This isn’t rocket science. I educated my children early on about their bodies and reproductive health. Unfortunately, many parents are not equipped to do the same. This is the issue. Whether a parent is in jail, believes sex ed goes against Jesus’teachings or sticks his head in the sand…the outcome is the same—kids are not getting the necessary tools to make good decisions, prevent pregnany and disease. Knowledge is power. There is a total lack of regard for health promotion and prevention in this state…THIS KIND OF THINKING MUST CHANGE IN ORDER FOR GEORGIA TO MOVE FORWARD AND ON TO OTHER ISSUES NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE OF THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES.
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M
March 25th, 2009
10:41 pm
EJ, responsible teens using proper birth control can have the same problems that responsible adults have. Condoms break. They can slip off. You can forget the pill. Let teens have the chance to correct a situation if a mistake is made, whether it’s their fault or not.
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Michael
March 25th, 2009
11:50 pm
Those saying that the morning after pill is not abortion need to examine the science a bit. It contains a lot of the same drugs that the birth control pill contains and, depending on your definition of abortion, both may actually cause abortions via interruption of the implantation process.
Those saying that buying the morning after pill is the responsible thing to do hear this. Unfortunately, society, largely influenced by secular-progressive liberals, has taught kids that they are not responsible for their actions. They can always blame somebody else for what happens to them. But you’re really telling me that they had no idea of the possible consequences of their actions? No amount of sex ed is ever going to stop kids from doing dumb things. The responsible thing to do would be to carry it to term. Take responsibility for your actions. If you have no means at all of taking care of the child, then put it up for adoption (everybody liked Juno, right?).
To those that would reflexively retort: Well then what are you views on the death penalty, huh? Even though there are obvious differences between a convicted killer and an unborn infant that render this argument useless, I would answer that I am not really for the death penalty. Believe me, I could really care less when it’s used. I just believe that there are punishments worse than death for monsters like Brian Nichols. If it was up to me, it would be solitary confinement to life. But what do you care, I’m just a crazy conservative.
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HSR0601
March 26th, 2009
12:14 am
The elderly are required to engage in some ’sporting activities’ to stay active and for ’soft landing’, and to consume more comfortable to digest diets such as fruits and veggies, which are instrumental for their metabolism and blood stream, from my perspective.
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deborahinAthens
March 26th, 2009
6:52 am
Michael, you need to examine the science. If a woman takes the pill the morning after, the egg hasn’t had a chance to implant, so, since it is an undifferentiated cell, it is not, cannot possibly, be a human by even the most ignorant religious conservative. Most people in the world don’t think you are a human until you’re born. So, don’t use your narrow-minded philosophy to dictate what any woman should or should not do with her body. No one has that right. And I have to say, your comments sort of smack of “let’s punish the slut for sinning by having her carry a baby nine months and then have to make the wrenching decision to keep the child or not”. When you are ready to adopt an illegitimate child, you can have an opinion, until then, keep your philosophy to yourself, and stop messing with the scientific facts. The morning after pill cannot possibly cause an abortion, because if the egg has implanted, it won’t work. ‘Nuff said. Now if you are one of the religious nut jobs that don’t believe in contraception, that is a whole other discussion. And again, it is not one that you are allowed to have an opinion on until you are able to get pregnant yourself.
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Children, please!
March 26th, 2009
7:58 am
Who is going to be responsible if the CHILD (yes, child) has an adverse or allergic reaction to this pill? The parents should know what the child has taken in order to tell EMS/doctors what was going on. It could save precious minutes/hours in saving the child’s life instead of them trying to figure out what the child took with tests, etc., which we all know can take HOURS in a hospital.
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Grammaw
March 26th, 2009
8:00 am
Instead of giving them a “easy out” (I guess killing a baby is an easy out) which will PROMOTE sex in teens, give them birth control and educate them…PARENTS.
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Mara
March 26th, 2009
8:07 am
the age of consent in Georgia is 16. If, by law, you are of legal age to have consensual sex…shouldn’t you ALSO be old enough to get emergency contraception?
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Deepdiver
March 26th, 2009
8:40 am
Children, please!,
Kids can already be treated with other drugs without the parent being around if a kid is found unconcious and they don’t know who the parents are. Your arguement is moronic. Plus there are plenty of irresponsible parents out there, not to mention kids are having sex no matter what their parents want to believe. Why make a second mistake by having a baby that probably can not be taken care of. That sounds like a stupid lesson that society will be paying instead of the kid who initially made the mistake of having sex without a condom or birth control.
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Timma
March 26th, 2009
10:26 am
I’d lay it on all the girls I sleep with night stand on the way out. I’m a love machine. skeet…skeet…skeet
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Timma
March 26th, 2009
10:30 am
If a girl tells me she’s pregnant I punch her in the stomach until she’s not.
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ObamaMama
March 26th, 2009
10:30 am
Yes of course they should, we treat them like adults for criminal matters, why not this?? I would make sure they require the minor to read the materials on HOW to use the pill and sign that they read it and understand HOW TO USE IT before giving it to them. Those names of who received the pill should not be released to anyone but a the pharmaceutical company, business establishment selling, and government officials. NOT PARENTS!
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Nan
March 26th, 2009
10:32 am
Yes. As other commentators have noted, if they’re considered adults when it comes to crime, they’re adults when it comes to sex.
Unfortunately, the ones smart enough to get the pills probably aren’t the ones out there doing the nasty and ending up possibly pregnant.
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Straight to the point
March 26th, 2009
10:32 am
Emphatically yes. When underage sex stops, i’ll stop agreeing……as long as there is underage sex, then better to let them not get unnecessarily pregnant.
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Jasmine
March 26th, 2009
10:34 am
Plan B should be available for 17 year old teens. How many people do you know who was comfortable about talking about sex with their parent at that age. At seventeren years of age, you would have wanted this pill. Mistakes happen. Condoms are 99.90%. However, there is a 17% chance that they make break! How about that statistic? Condoms are only effective when they do not break.
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Bob
March 26th, 2009
10:38 am
These pills cost like $40 a piece. I don’t think they’re going to be ‘overused’ they’re prohibitively expensive. The government should be giving these away for free to keep unwanted kids and abortions at bay.
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Tony
March 26th, 2009
10:38 am
Nan is right. Has anyone here noticed that stupid people seem to breed more than anyone else? I believe you should have a license to breed. Gotta have a license to drive, hunt, & fish. People need to be “fixed” at puberty & only when they have passed a certain age & a test that determins your mental capability of raising another human then you get your license. Most idiots I know have more kids than anybody & they can’t take care of themselves, much less the kids. They can’t seem to figure out what makes babies.
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Dan
March 26th, 2009
10:40 am
Absurd, you can’t have your teeth cleaned without parental consent, the ignorance of people who emphatically state that parents should not be informed is astounding (Obama mama) are you kidding me.
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Lauren
March 26th, 2009
10:45 am
YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The world does not need anymore unwanted babies!
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beverly
March 26th, 2009
10:48 am
absolutely!! I agree with the point about if they can be tried as adults while minors, why not let them buy the morning after pill. Plus, I’d much rather my daughter take the morning after pill behind my back then come home and announce that she is pregnant at 15 or 16. Finally, I don’t think it’s any more abortion than taking the pill regularly is. It’s a preventative.
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SusieQ
March 26th, 2009
10:55 am
Most definitely; you will hear good and bad about the morning after pill; there are responsible and irresponsible teens and adults, but that does not stop either from having sex. I was against giving my daughter birth control pills at 16, but as the female doctor said, “you can talk until you are blue in the face and that does not stop harmones from flowing and people from having sex, safe or not.” She told me about a 16 year old who had already had 3 abortions because her mom’s religion was getting in the way of the mom doing the right thing by giving her daughter birth control and counseling her about sex. As the doctor said, If something feels good, are you going to quit doing it?” Heck no, this applies to anything in life such as eating, sleeping and most of all sex. So people, wake up, get your head out of the sand, be real, think real. And yes, I realize some teen may die from the morning after pill, but sometimes teens die while having a botched abortion or an unwanted, un-prepared for baby too. That is life….
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MJG
March 26th, 2009
10:59 am
“Parents should be more involved with their children’s lives.”
“They might use it as their only birth control.”
“What if they’re allergic to it?”
“If we taught kids morals they wouldn’t have sex in the first place.”
In the end analysis, absolutely NONE of these “shoulds” and “what ifs” are sufficient to deny a teen access to this pill. We have irresponsible kids- we also have irresponsible adults–and what, pray tell, is the intellectual difference between a 17 year old and a 19 or 20 year old? It’s often not as much as we’re trying to make it.
For that matter, I think any female who faces an unwanted pregnancy at any age should be able to access this option. Yes, even 11, and I don’t think that parental consent is always the best way to go either. I would be satisfied if someone under the age of 16 had to seek out the assistance of any trusted adult- teacher, pastor, counselor, family friend. Why? Because, unfortunately, things like rape and incest exist, and unfortunately, some kids can’t just go to their parents. We can’t expect that an 11-year old would feel comfortable telling her mother, for instance, that Daddy got her pregnant. If you think it’s an outlandish example, think again- it happens far more often than we want to believe.
Moreover, this rhetoric about teen girls needing to accept the “consequences” of their mistakes? Are you really implying that it is better to force young women to birth and care for children that they are not financially/emotionally/otherwise unprepared to have than to head this tragedy off at the pass? It seems to me it would not even be so much a punishment to the mother than to the poor children whose physical and emotional well-being could be compromised because of our insistence on teaching the mother a “lesson.”
And, for what it’s worth, isn’t it interesting that no one has ever suggested that we try to develop a drug that might temporarily block teen boys from making sperm? I love how we villainize teen girls and their sexual “bad behavior” while letting the guys off the hook completely.
My two cents- take it or leave it.
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Barry
March 26th, 2009
10:59 am
Everyone under the age of 21 should be fitted with a chastity belt.
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Stan
March 26th, 2009
10:59 am
I love the argument that kids are going to have sex anyways so we should allow them to make the “responsible” decision of something like the morning after pill. Well Kids are going to lie too…so we should not even bother to tell them not to…Oh yeah they are going to drink, cheat, bully, and be disrespectful of others…so there is no need to tell them not to do those things, instead we need to educate them on their rights, on how many times they can get into trouble before “really getting into trouble’, on someone coming behind them to clean up there mess. Not saying I have all the answers but that argument holds no water either.
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Escapee
March 26th, 2009
11:00 am
There is no big difference between 17 and 18. None. And for all of the folks asking why these ‘girls’ aren’t smart enough to use condoms I have a news flash for you: this pill is for when your birth control FAILS. So you were smart enough to use birth control but something went wrong. But if young women are coerced into sex or their parents are too conservative to discuss sex with them then this is a great thing. A lot of young women CANNOT go to their parents when they start being sexually active. Unfortunately we do not live in a Utopian society where people will react the way we want them to. And for whoever said that there could be reactions to the medication that the parents will responsible for must think something magical happens when your 18th birthday rolls around. You will be just as allergic at 18 as you are at 17. And most 18 year olds I know would still be cared for by parents.
Oh, and BTW…abortions are NOT being used as a prominent form of birth control, especially by teens. The majority of abortions are for women in their mid 20-early 30s.
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Escapee
March 26th, 2009
11:02 am
And to MJG….Well said.
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Ronald Millsaps
March 26th, 2009
11:36 am
Heather–your comments symbolize all the nonsense of those who defend abortion, and yes, contrary to a lie from another poster, the morning-after pill is equivalent to abortion: Who SAYS a 17-year-old is ready to be a mother to begin with? That issue isn’t the point, anyway, at this juncture, which is something you and your pro-choice friends overlook, probably conveniently, as the mother in question already HAS a child.
What that mother does NOT have, contrary to judicial tyranny, is the right to terminate a pregnancy. This effort is just the latest attempt by pro-choice advocates and the Left in general to hide from consequences. They don’t want sexual abstinence taught in schools; they want contraceptives distributed, and they say that promoting a moral approach is somehow a violation of “Separation of Church and State”, which is untrue (not surprisingly, they totally misinterpret that phrase, probably conveniently again).
No woman has the right to an abortion or the morning-after pill, regardless of age, and we need people to stand up and speak out against all the lies we’re infested with in our culture. Take Planned Parenthood, for example: It infests young girls with so many lies that I don’t know where to start, such as the myth that abortion isn’t murder, the myth that there is no post-abortion guilt, etc.. One lie leads to another, and these people are nothing but a collective circle of dishonesty.
We don’t need the Left preaching its nonsense, promoting all the irresponsibility in the world, even to the point of blatantly attacking responsibility, and then acting as though those who oppose its tyrannical views are unconstitutional. What utter nonsense. Fact: If you’re going to get pregnant, you need to be responsible and see the pregnancy through, and if you’re not ready to support the child in question, give him up for adoption. I’m tired of all this nonsense where people get pregnant and act like they somehow have the right to terminate a pregnancy. (This “logic” is absolutely no different than saying, “Oh, I didn’t want to go to work last month. Therefore, I have the right to steal to pay my bills.”)
By the way, I posted a very-similar response last night, which ajc.com didn’t post. Not the first time this website has done so in regard to one of my posts. Gotta love the “objective” liberal media, huh? Perhaps I should make a phone call, and not to ajc.com, either.
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Escapee
March 26th, 2009
1:33 pm
Well Ronald, once you get pregnant and carry a baby to term you can tell people what the responsible thing to do is.
Until then, please understand that not all sex is consensual, especially when teens and young girls are concerned. And NO, the morning after pill is not abortion. It is IREESPONSIBLE to force a young woman to go through with a pregnancy based on some morality that not EVERYONE follows. Everyone has a different situation and pregnant women require a lot of care. And as soon as a baby comes into the picture who needs constant care because the mother was in no position to be a mother in the first place I know who will start complaining first about having to support that baby.
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Ronald Millsaps
March 26th, 2009
7:52 pm
“escapee”–What utter nonsense you just typed. Don’t misuse freedom of speech to type your babble, and don’t give me any misogynistic babble about abortion allegedly being a female issue (oh, the morning-after pill IS the same as abortion, whether in-denial folks like yourself will attest to this fact of not).
Keep your excuses to yourself. You pro-choice advocates have as many excuses as you do lunatical arguments, which is saying something. You try to justify abortion because the female in question isn’t the right age or doesn’t have enough income, etc.. The nonsense and lies go on and on and on, and the level of responsibility is in inverse correlation. All excuses aside, you promote not only murder but all the irresponsibility in the world, in an effort to promote more of the same for others.
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Escapee
March 27th, 2009
1:51 pm
Although I disagree with you completely I understand that everyone has his or her own opinion. And you should live by your convictions. That being said, your particular dogma should not be what governs the lives and bodies of everyone else.
If you disagree with something then by all means don’t do it. Abortion is bad? Don’t get one. Sex outside of wedlock is wrong? Don’t do it.
Let other folks worry about themselves.
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Kyle
March 29th, 2009
10:49 pm
I’m with QueDog on the overdiagnosis. A lack of proper parental discipline is a major factor in the behavior of many ADHD “diagnosed” kids! Also, in my opinion, a direct by-product of the “give them anything they want and they’ll grow up to be happy people” parental generation(s). (ie; No Discipline!)
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Ronald Millsaps
March 30th, 2009
1:50 am
“escapee”–Just now checking this blog again.
As for my “dogma”, every individual is dogmatic, my friend, so don’t pull that left-wing trick that I referred to earlier where you try to stigmatize falsely the Christian principles this nation was founded upon.
You can tell your pro-choice friends not to try to maintain their dogma into law.
You support, whether you realize your doing so or not, the myth that the individual decides what’s true. To say, for example, to abortion opponents, “…don’t have one.” is like saying the exact, same thing to opponents of drive-by shootings, whether you’d like to admit this fact or not.
As for the morning-after pill, no one should have access to it, and to no surprise, all it does is promote more and more of the irresponsibility I’ve referred to earlier, and “safe sex” isn’t the answer, either.
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Cal
April 1st, 2009
12:10 pm
“Given the magnitude of the impending threat, successful drugs are likely to become multibillion-dollar blockbusters for big pharma. I encourage, support, and participate in these efforts”, THIS STATEMENT IS A BIG CONCERN TO ME along with possible side effects of the drugs. We are well aware that pharmaceuticals are very profitiable – sometimes at the cost of health and wellness. If I’m “still kicking rear ends at bridge clubs”, I wouldn’t want to take anything that might hinder that “kickingness” even if it means a better quality of life later on. AND, if I’m 88 with few physical ailments, taking a drug that might decrease my physical condition would not be welcomed. I agree that the 3-minute MCI test is not enough. I experienced this first hand with my mother. I was even sent out of the room. It should be common knowledge that some cognitive impaired indiv. can answer some of those simple questions well enough to pass that test. I could have given them a more accurate picture of what was actually going on. AND this happened at a geriatric clinic. But, I’m sure we all agree, a lot needs to be done.
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Mike Edwards
April 2nd, 2009
10:24 am
Alpen, you doubtless keep up to date with allergy medication and air purification; have you seen a new development called a liquid Ioniser? It clears the air, even in remote corners of the room by spraying partially charged liquidions. It doesn’t need to move the air with a noisey fan and is as effective as many fan based air purifiers. One real benefit from the technology is that once it has knocked the allergen from the air it locks it out for good so it doesn’t re-enter the airspace even if you disturb the furnishings in your room. This also means that there is no need to carry our a major refit of your home to rid it of carpets and curtains.
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mrstarmoney@yahoo.com
April 2nd, 2009
12:07 pm
Tyler:
Interesting article! You might try a shower at night if your allergies get bad!
Love
Dad
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Steve
April 2nd, 2009
2:13 pm
I have terrible seasonal allergies, but this year I beat them. I started taking Zyrtek and Flonaise (spray) all through the winter. I also tried allergy shots for over three years and I believe that this helped me tremendously.
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Skeptic
April 2nd, 2009
10:57 pm
Leave it to the ENTs to claim that sublingual immunotherapy is as effective as traditional injection immunotherapy. If it were indeed equally good, safer, and more convenient, wouldn’t the FDA have approved a sublingual product for use in the US? Wouldn’t every allergist offer it in his/her office? The fact is, most sublingual studies have been conducted in Europe, where there are different populations with different genes exposed to different pollens, and study designs have used widely varying doses and in some cases no or poorly chosen controls. Not surprisingly there have been mixed and irreproducible results. There is a lack of data from rigorously designed clinical trials in US populations and until then it is irresponsible to claim that this therapy is equally efficacious.
But this is what you get when you see a surgeon for a medical problem. Dr. Patel’s profile on emoryhealthcare.org includes on his list of clinical interests epilepsy, facial paralysis, neck pain, parathyroid surgery, tongue malignancies, and trauma among many others. Consulting a physician like this for allergies is like taking your broken lawnmower to an auto mechanic.
Bottom line – if you are one of the many millions who suffer from allergic disease, you are far better off seeing a board certified allergist who spent 3 years in subspecialty training to actually understand how the immune system works.
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Megan
April 3rd, 2009
5:11 am
YES. I am 13 years old and cannot stand my period. its just more plumbing to be maintained. It is stupid that there is aquestion about it ! Some girls love it, i think.. and some girls like me hate it.
Or they could be of course buying it for sexual reasons. I think anyone that has their period should be allowed to take it.
That should become a loaw of some type!
No kidding ! ask any girll and i bet you they will not say they enjoy having their period!
ITS NOT FAIR!
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Anne
April 3rd, 2009
8:44 am
I suffer from what is called Night Time Easting Syndrom. It is where you get up in the middle of the night to eat, sometimes three or four times during the night. Does anyone have this problem??? It is causing a weight problem PLEASE HELP
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The explanation
April 4th, 2009
1:39 pm
The goal of socialized medicine is to reduce costs and deliver only the medical care that is needed. So they play a numbers game – if a treatment of disgnostic tool results in positive benefits a lot of the time then it will be considered – otherwise forget it. The facilities for expensive treatments are not available at as many hospitals as they are in the US because of this.
I used to live in Canada and I’ve had some experience of this – rather than go down the hall to get an x-ray (as would happen at my GP’s in Atlanta) I’ve had to go across town to a centralized facility.
SO my child had a concussion last fall here in Atlanta, was knocked out for a short while and very confused for several hours; he got a CT scan – which showed no internal bleeding. Because of the possbility of negative results of the CT scan, the Canadian medical plans would likely not have done this. And because of the complaints about “two-tier access to medicine” that came up in the past, I would not have been able to get to ANY facility in Canada and pay CASH to get the test. I would have had to wait until the damage was done before I could escalate treatment. In the majority of cases the injury would not cause death – it’s a numbers game.
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Sarah
April 6th, 2009
12:40 am
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Sarah
http://blanket.ws
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Sweet Samba
April 6th, 2009
1:56 am
Brazilian waxing is popular Atlanta, Georgia thanks to spa’s like Sweet Samba. http://www.sweetsamba.com
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Kristi
April 6th, 2009
9:22 am
So many experts, so little time. I don’t believe that it is overdiagnosed, I believe there is more of an awareness now. As a teacher and the parent of a child with ADD, if they truly are ADD-the meds work, if they aren’t-they don’t. You wouldn’t deny your child medication for any other condition, why do them this disservice? It’s not that the parents won’t and the teachers can’t, it’s that the child wants to (work, focus, finish a task) but can’t find a way. And John, I believe the saying is:
Those who can-teach, those who can’t- go into some insignificant line of work.
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Tina
April 6th, 2009
2:15 pm
I understand why you want to ban it, but I do not think you should. I am 11 and once bought a pack of the counter, they never asked for my age. I think that we should be able to buy it because you can actually get pregnant without sex. I dont know how but it happened tomy best friend and twin sister , Bella, and she tells me everything. I know that she never had sex, but she still got pregnant. We did not tell the press cos it would shame the family if we did,, but she did get pregnant without havihg sex, so it is possible people! Luckly I managed to buy the pills for her without any trouble or it would have becam a big thing.
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Name (required)
April 8th, 2009
8:24 am
How about we quit filling up the jails with petty crimes like marijuana possession and lock these jackholes up for a few years. Then when they get cranky they can pick a fight with a 300lb cellmate who hasn’t had any action in quite some time. That’ll make him think twice about being a big man who is so manly he only beats up women and children.
Why is it you need a license to drive, fish, hunt, own a gun, cut hair, be an accountant, get married, etc….but any idiot off the street can knock up some slut and pop out a kid 7-9 months later? There needs to be a process where people have to be approved to bring a child into the world. Crazy.
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catlady
April 8th, 2009
8:49 am
As a teacher I see a lot of neglect. When reported, I doubt it gets sent up to DFACS–someone deems it “not significant”. If it does go to DFACS, nothing seems to happen. I have been told “we cannot interfere with the way people raise their children”, like THAT is supposed to solve the child’s misery. Teachers are held accountable; I’d like to see others in the chain also held accountable TO THE TEACHERS who have reported.
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Jade
April 8th, 2009
9:20 am
Please please please consider volunteering with your local CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) groups. As the number of abuse cases go up, that means the number of volunteers needed to support these kids need to go up too. It doesn’t take much of your time and does a world of good for these kids that need a stable caring adult in their life. http://www.nationalcasa.org/
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Concerned
April 8th, 2009
9:33 am
It is unfortunate that many in the community are unaware of the procedures used by the Department of Family and Children Services. DFCS in and of itself can be a very intrusive process when a family becomes involved. There are no doubt times when one may think there should be involvement, however without that concrete proof there can be no more involvement. Many things that others may feel is neglect or maltreatment often times are due to the families economic level which may not be that of those around them. Unfortunately many people in the community may look down on others who are less fortunate and feel they are neglecting/abusing their children because those children have less than others. There is no doubt there are exceptions however, many times they may not have the perfect living situation but their basic needs are met (food, clothing, shelter). I wish that all could understand that DFCS is to help those in the community to ensure that the family can stay together whenever possible and not take away children. DFCS should never be involved with a family unless there is true risk or true abuse and neglect, not just because someone “thinks” that something is not right. Unfortunately it is impossible for any one agency to keep every child safe when there is so much negativity and education about what it is that DFCS does with the community. It would be very helpful that all who work with children get education about what child abuse and neglect looks like and how to identify without letting our own personal filters come into play.
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SAR
April 8th, 2009
9:53 am
Excuses, excuses. People who abuse kids don’t need an excuse, just an opportunity. What’s next, to blame Bush? Too bad we aren’t more pro-active in our laws and not allow some people to procreate. We all know that some people just aren’t fit to be a parent, period….no way, no how but my goodness can you imagine the ACLU and others who’d be on the pavement screaming about people’s rights. DFACS? You’d subject a child to that confederacy of dunces? That, in itself is child abuse.
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Sarah G
April 8th, 2009
10:06 am
I actually reported that a student was living in filth (there was dog feces in the house when I made a home visit). He would also be so hungry on Monday mornings that I kept crackers in my desk to feed him. I reported it to DFACS and they said it wasn’t enough neglect for them to investigate.
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Sarah G
April 8th, 2009
10:07 am
Also, I was sexually abused as a child by my father and some of his friends. This was in the ’60’s. We were not rich but we never hurt for money. What was his excuse?
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Bad economic times means more child abuse
April 8th, 2009
10:36 am
[...] mind you that the teacher and the child doctor also reported it – to date nothing has been done. DOCTOR IS IN: Bad economic times means more child abuse | Better Health __________________ Mahogany [...]
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Jason
April 8th, 2009
11:13 am
God help these poor children. As a proud parent of a young son, I hope any parent that neglects or abuses a child is severly repremanded. I’m going to check out the above mentioned websites/organizations and see how I can get involved.
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Doshanay
April 8th, 2009
12:29 pm
we need to help thes kids they need help..as sooon as possible
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Yvette Garrett
April 9th, 2009
12:51 pm
In response to all those people that think ADHD is crap. I have one question “What are your credentials and academic background?” I too once thought ADD/ ADHD was just an excuss for bad behavior. When decicding to become a parent I gave up a career in Radiation Therapy and became a full time mother. My son scores in the 98 percentile on achievement tests, and makes straight A’s at one of the most academically challenging schools in the country. Yet, the child can not sit still or follow more than one direction at a time. After musch reaserch it has been scientifically proven that a CT of a brain of an ADHD child is significantly different in the cerebral cortex area (area of attention and focus) than that of a child without ADHD. Explain that one Mr. Me.
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The Nerd
April 9th, 2009
8:42 pm
God help the young!
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Princess Runny
April 10th, 2009
8:50 pm
The literature supporting allergy drops is very impressive. There are more than 400 citations in Pub Med including 100 double blind studies and four meta-analysis. That sublingual immunotherapy works and is safe and cost effective is undeniable. There are important benefits such as a four-fold decrease in asthma as reported by Novembre et al. There is no medication that can do this. Sublingual immunotherapy has equivalent efficacy to injection therapy yet is safer, has better compliance and costs less.
The limitation on the use of sublingual immunotherapy is a lack of expertise. Tucker et al reported that less than 6% of Allergists have any experience with this form of immunotherapy. There are more ENTs prescribing allergy drops than Allergists and this gap in expertise will continue to grow. The Allergist’s approach of prescribing medications as first line treatment rather than prescribing a safe form of immunotherapy means that patients will go where they can get help.
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aaron
April 13th, 2009
4:47 pm
wooow
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Dr. Cottingham
April 14th, 2009
3:06 am
RE: Mercury and vaccines
February 15th, 2009
11:56 am
“mercury is not in vaccines anymore…. autism rates continue to go up.”
Actually, independent random checks on “Thimerosol-free” vaccines are turning up trace amounts in some samples. The manufacturers use it in the production process and the remove it.
But the bigger issue is that vaccines are one of many sources of mercury that newborns and young children are exposed to. And there are countless other ways an expectant mother can come in contact with it.
And then there is the synergistic effect ( AKA potentiation) between lead and mercury. It is a key piece of the autism puzzle that is being missed.
For the full story, you can read LEAD BABIES, a new book that ties mercury to autism, without being blown off course by the vaccination debate. http://www.nomoreleadbabies.com.
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LaVann
April 15th, 2009
1:53 pm
This is an important issue, and the good news is that awareness is increasing, and there are more resources than ever to address the problems of abuse. For anyone who wants to learn more or to get involved, consider being training in the Darkness to Light child sexual abuse prevention training, led in Georgia by the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy. For $15 and 3 hours adults can learn how to prevent their children from becoming an easy target for pedophiles. People can also get involved by helping support organizations like the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy that respond to sexual and physical abuse by providing free services to child victims and education programs for adults. For more information, visit: http://www.GeorgiaCenterforChildAdvocacy.org.
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Marilyn Peavy
April 19th, 2009
8:22 am
I wanted to let everyone know as one of the Leaders at Spark Georgia-The Offical Team. Spark Georgia-The Official Team at SparkPeople is having their first Spark Rally across the entire state of Georgia. We have a little over 86,000 members at Spark Georgia. This will give some members the opportunity to meet the leaders and to gather together, maybe even get a spark buddy to team up with in their local area. We are coordinating these rallies in Lithia Springs at Sweet Water Park, Buford Dam, Augusta, St. Simon Island, and Valdosta. They are all being held on April 25th at 10:30 am. Please come to SparkPeople.come on the Spark Georgia Team for more details. We are also hoping that we can get coverage from AJC with this event.
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Ray From Connecticut
April 19th, 2009
8:27 am
I was a SLIT patient in Conn. for about a year, and it did help me. However, the cost $1200/year was too damn expensive. I know it can work because I was better able to cope with the symptoms.
I think the big hurdle to it in the USA is the FDA. Had it been approved by the FDA, my insurance would have picked it up, but why should the FDA approve it especially when they are controlled by the pharmaceutical companies who make tremendous profits from their pills. To me, that is corruption!
If anyone knows of a reasonable cost supplier of SLIT (for Tree Pollen), please let me know!
radpublishing@yahoo.com
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Laura
April 22nd, 2009
2:19 pm
Urmm Tina I’m sorry but that’s impossible, I think your friend has been lying to you or has got the wrong idea. It is a scientifically known fact that sexual intercourse is need to become pregnant. And Ronald it is rude to force your opinions up on other people, they have just as much right to their opinion as you do to yours. This is a DISCUSSION there is no right or wrong answer. However I think that young people aged 17 are just as much of an adult and just as mature and responsible as people aged one or two years older. The same problems happen to teenagers as they do to everyone else, why blame them and not the rest of the population who have experience unplanned pregnancies?
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MRS. M
April 22nd, 2009
7:00 pm
TC GREAT OBSERVATION!!!! THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THAT IF THE GOVERNMENT ALLOWS OUR CHILDREN TO PUT HANDS IN A PILL LIKE THE MORNING AFTER PILL, THEN, THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BILLS TO PAID. THEY RULE AND WE “PARENTS” PAID! ALL PEOPLE DO IS SHOUT AT PARENTS FOR MORE RESPONSIBILITY OVER THEIR OWN CHILDREN, HOW CAN WE DO THAT? IF THEY ARE ALLOW TO EVERYTHING WITHOUT OUR CONSENT! THESE KIDS ARE CLAIMING CHILD SUPORT AND PROTECT FROM THE GOVERNMENT DCS, BUT THEY ARE ALLOW TO PURCHASE SUCH PILL, HAVE SEX AND ANYTHING THAT THEY CAN GET HANDS ON! ARE THEY CHILDREN OR ADULTS?! I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THIS COUNTRY HAS THE MOST INNOCENT SYSTEM THAT IS OUT THERE TO BE! CHILDRENS ARE PROTECTED WHEN A PARENT PUT A HAND ON THEM AND CAN CLAIM CHILD SUPPORT, TO ME IF A CHILD IS HAVING SEX, YOU ARE NOT A CHILD ANYMORE!!! YOU ARE OLD ENOUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT CONDONS, SEX AND PLAN B PILLS, YOU ARE AN ADULT AND SHOULD BE STOP CLAIMING CHILD SUPPORT AND BE PROTECTED BY DCS BY BEING TREATED FULLY AS AN ADULT! PERIOD!
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Intown Suburbanite
April 24th, 2009
12:10 pm
Enter your comments here
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Sheri
April 25th, 2009
9:50 am
I have read multiple posts regarding this issue: Pros and Cons. Both valid points; however the one point that is assumed in the Pro side is that parental involvement is a given. Coming from an extremely disfunctional family w/absolutely NO parental involvement I had no “parent” to turn to. So, what was the solution? Where was/is the paretnal involvement when the sex act is being committed? Look at the “Palins”. Strong parental involvement after the fact. Kudos for them. My girlfriend, who got pregnant at 17 had “strong” parental involvement. Because she came from a VERY supportive family, she was able to keep her baby and live at home w/Kristy being brought up not only by my girlfriend, but by all family members. I wish the solution was black and white…but it isn’t.
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Rupali
April 27th, 2009
11:41 am
As a physician, I am very worried about the increasing loss of health insurance that my patients are enduring. They are avoiding necessary medications, treatments, and procedures. They are being admitted to the hospital instead of controlling chronic conditions as outpatients, leaving the hospitals and taxpayers to foot the (much higher) bills. Patients often must change their primary care provider when their insurance stops or changes, leading to redundant testing and increased costs. The government must be involved in shaping the health care coverage industry in the U.S., because if not, we leave ourselves to the mercy of profit-driven corporations. Many physicians in the U.S. support a public health insurance option and universal health coverage.
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John
April 27th, 2009
12:17 pm
I’m sick since Saturday… Maybe I have it. Georgia State student.
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Amoz
April 27th, 2009
12:20 pm
Going to Asia May 30th. Should I be concerned?
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Karmann
April 27th, 2009
12:33 pm
My best friend of 21 years left for Cancun Saturday morning. I am worried about her. I hate to say this and I know how it sounds but I won’t be going around her for a couple of weeks when she get’s back. If I was her, I would come home. But I know her and I’m sure she’s sitting on the Beach drinking her Corona and not worrying about it! For the comment from John; Maybe you need to go get tested & treated. I wouldn’t take any chances.
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Karmann
April 27th, 2009
12:35 pm
Amoz,
May 30th is a month away. I wouldn’t worry. We will know alot more by then.
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Brainstorm
April 27th, 2009
12:53 pm
I am not worried, but most people tend to panic when things like this come along. Remember Y2K and the Alar threat, just to name two?
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Laura
April 27th, 2009
2:02 pm
My family and I get our flu shots every year and we see the doctor if we are sick. Swine flu responds very well to anti-viral meds but you have to get them within the first 48 hours. If there is an outbreak we should quarantine. I am not worried about this but I am glad we got our shots. My doc says the shot will provide some protection. Also, this looks like a pretty weak strain that is hitting the US. Be cautious, take care of yourself, but don’t panic.
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just me
April 27th, 2009
2:48 pm
Don’t forget to wash your hands!
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Marsha
April 27th, 2009
3:25 pm
My poor mother gets panicked everytime this type of thing is reported. She is concerned we may have to cancel our trip to New York the end of May because she is convinced this one will go pandemic! She’s 81, so I cut her some slack. Everyone just needs to remain level-headed, take your vitamins, wash your hands and keep away from those displaying any flu-like symptoms. I will admit, videos I saw earlier of Mexico cities looked pretty dismal with no one on the streets.
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Nan
April 27th, 2009
3:41 pm
Less than 100 known cases in this country, most of them mild, out of a population of over 300 million people? I’m not worried at all.
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Pierce Randall
April 27th, 2009
3:48 pm
I bet as soon as someone in the U.S. dies from this, or at least if the death toll here is in the low 10’s, we’ll have mandatory vaccinations. Huh. All there is to do is hope for the best–for those in this country and elsewhere.
Amoz, Asian might worry about you as this is starting in the U.S. and Mexico, not the other way around–actually, maybe that’s what you’re asking. I dunno, hopefully this will fizzle out and turn out to be less of a big deal than the world fears, but just keep an eye out.
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Mama Cass
April 27th, 2009
4:11 pm
“I bet as soon as someone in the U.S. dies from this, or at least if the death toll here is in the low 10’s, we’ll have mandatory vaccinations. Huh.”
Um, vaccinated with what, exactly? THERE IS NO VACCINE. They’ve never seen this particular virus before. Any vaccine developed for this new virus will take six months to manufacture.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17031-us-taking-action-to-minimise-swine-flu-impact.html
“Besser said officials were already taking preliminary steps toward manufacturing a vaccine against the influenza strain responsible for swine flu. There is currently no vaccine that protects against it.
“We’ve created that seed stock, we’ve identified that virus, and discussions are underway so that should we decide to work on manufacturing a vaccine, we can work towards that goal very quickly,” Besser said.
This could mean incorporating a swine flu vaccine into the annual seasonal flu vaccine already in production, he said.”
The seasonal flu vaccine comes out in October, that is the EARLIEST that a vaccine will be available for this thing.
To the person who says that they will be avoiding their friend when she returns from Mexico: you are very smart. Stay away for about two weeks, which is how long it takes for symptoms to develop. Call her on the phone to say welcome back!
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Crystal
April 27th, 2009
4:45 pm
Why are we still letting flights land here from Mexico? If we know this is coming from Mexico, we should leave it there. Close the borders now.
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Karmann
April 27th, 2009
5:13 pm
Mama Cass,
Well, I’m glad someone didn’t think it was snobby of me to say I would stay away from my friend who is currently in Cancun. I don’t know how my friend will take it but she’ll get over it. I will be calling her, just not seeing her. I just can’t chance it. One question…..Does anyone know if she will have a hard time getting back to the US?
Thanks!
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Paolo
April 27th, 2009
6:37 pm
About .000006% of the U.S. population has contracted this “raging epidemic”…obviously that calls for mass hysteria all over the country, right?
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Larry
April 27th, 2009
7:13 pm
I think this was done intentional somehow…
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art
April 27th, 2009
9:16 pm
It’s Obama’s fault. He’s an idiot. Why hold a press conference to say “Don’t be alarmed?” The fact that he held a press conference about it is enough to create mass hysteria.
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CD
April 27th, 2009
9:34 pm
I hate shots, and I definitely do not trust new and experimental shots – which will be definitely offered door to door in the next year. I respect people who run out and get vaxed, but I wish they’d in turn respect those who’d rather wear face masks, self quarantine, and emergency home school who don’t believe in miracle cures. There’s no religious exemption to vaccination during a health emergency – only a doctor’s affidavit. What doctor’s going to sign an affidavit? They’re more worried about their medical license and believe EVERYTHING they read in a book without thinking of who wrote the book and why. Why does a doctor get to say what I can do with my body instead of me taking my own personal responsibility and reading my own medical materials and considering the risks and benefits of the 2 week old vaccine myself (why would a doctor know any more than me if the vaccine’s new and experimental? A doctor’s just more indoctrinated). I wish there was a religious exemption or a self quarantine exemption to the health emergency vaccination law. Last time I checked, my body’s not owned by the crown.
O.C.G.A. 31-12-3
(a) The department and all county boards of health are empowered to require, by appropriate rules and regulations, persons located within their respective jurisdictions to submit to vaccination against contagious or infectious disease where the particular disease may occur, whether or not the disease may be an active threat. The department may, in addition, require such other measures to prevent the conveyance of infectious matter from infected persons to other persons as may be necessary and appropriate. The department shall promulgate appropriate rules and regulations for the implementation of the provisions for the Code section in the case of a declaration of a public health emergency and shall include provisions permitting consideration of the opinion of a person’s personal physician as to whether the vaccination is medically appropriate or advisable for such person.
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SD
April 27th, 2009
10:48 pm
Art: You are trying to blame this on Obama? LOL Given all the media coverage and developing hysteria, getting on television and addressing these concerns was the responsible thing for him to do.
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GG
April 28th, 2009
1:25 pm
My 3 year old daughter is home with my husband sick today. Although her her fever is not that high, I am very concerned. I will see how it plays out and take her to the dr for screening if it gets any worse. The daycare that I take her to, has a bunch of Mexicans working there, I am hoping they did not contract anything from their relatives and bring it to the daycare center.
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LMS
April 28th, 2009
2:04 pm
GG: Unless they have been to Mexico in the last two months (which most of them don’t go back and forth on a regular basis as it costs too much especially in this day, age and economy), then you have nothing to worry about with your daughter. It’s probably just a cold or allergies.
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LMS
April 28th, 2009
2:05 pm
Amen SD! I couldn’t agree with you more.
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My Amazing Weight Loss Story
April 28th, 2009
10:27 pm
Great post! Just wanted to let you know you have a new subscriber- me!
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CL
April 29th, 2009
8:09 am
I was on a cruise last week and was in Cozumel on Thursday but I cannot find anywhere about any cases from Cozumel? Has anyone else?
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Troupcounty
April 29th, 2009
5:54 pm
Normally, 36,000 people die from the flu each year in the US. Just an interesting tidbit. In 1918, St. Louis shut down schools, theatres, outdoor festivals, etc, Philadelphia did not. Very impressive data suggests shutting down schools, etc works wonder. Hopefully, it won’t get to that point.
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Blaze
April 29th, 2009
8:25 pm
The vaccine in deadly! Go to infowars.com for the truth!
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Eric
April 30th, 2009
9:22 am
We get sick and die while O’Bumble fiddles. This unbelievably weak response by the Obamanation will make Katrina look like a week at the beach.. Change.. from bad.. to worse..
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Georgia Native
April 30th, 2009
10:04 am
Eric, don’t be an idiot. You cannot compare the two. Over 1,800 people died in Hurricane Katrina (not including the 705 that are still listed as “missing”) and 1 person (that was not even an American citizen, but was visiting here from Mexico where they contracted the disease) has died here. Plus Bush & Brown completely botched the whole response. Most people (with the exception of people like you who obviously voted for McCain and who is such a sore loser) believe that President Obama and his administration are doing at the very least a very good job of handling this. But then again you’re probably the type of person that would still find something negative to say about Obama even if killed Osama Bin Laden himself. Get over your petty vindictiveness.
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itsme
April 30th, 2009
10:38 am
Wash your hands. Keep your hands away from your face. Shield coughs and sneezes in your elbow. Avoid sick people. This should get you through the Swine Panic, as well as any other contagious disease. Just good practice.
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LMS
April 30th, 2009
10:44 am
A question for Eric: what exactly do you propose that President Obama, his administration, the CDC, the WHO, etc do that you don’t think they haven’t done already? I am curious to know what you think they have failed to do because from what I can tell they have done everything in their power already and are continuing to do it.
I was just over at CNN’s website and they did a survey (a report card actually) of his first 100 days and the people they surveyed gave him a grade of B+ on his handling of the swine flu outbreak.
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The Voice
April 30th, 2009
10:56 am
JEEEEEZZZZZ…just how many of you folks work at the CDC, are MDs, are RNs or work in infection control. I bet few if any. But here you are on a blog spouting your uneducated opinion. CD…yes the gov can force you to be vaccinated..IF THERE WERE A VACCINE…WHICH THERE ISN’T. So you folks just go ahead…scare the hell out of each other but try to remember…IT IS JUST THE FLU, JUST LIKE WE HAVE EVERY YEAR, JUST A DIFFERNET STRAIN AND IS PROBABLY WEAKER THAN THE ONES WE HAVE DELT WITH IN THE PAST…..
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lukhg
April 30th, 2009
10:57 am
we should be more woried about the swine running the government than the flu
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bob
April 30th, 2009
10:59 am
when will someone tell the truth and acknowledge that this is the fault of george bush
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Allyana
April 30th, 2009
11:02 am
As usual, the press is creating a panic. At any given point in time, X number of people have the flu. I don’t see as much press about women and children being raped and murdered around the world, and more suffer from that than are now suffering from the flu.
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sara
April 30th, 2009
11:14 am
just wondering.. how did george bush get invloved in this??
genius
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Wanda
April 30th, 2009
11:35 am
I don’t think we can blame Bush or Obama for this one. Please don’t make swine flu political.
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Alma
April 30th, 2009
12:29 pm
My grandson is in middle school and was thrown out of school today for wearing a surgical mask that his mother insisted he wear to protect himself after reading the CDC’s announcement that deaths are expected in Georgia from the swine flu. Not only did the school require that she take him home for wearing the mask (calling it a “distraction”), the personnel in the school office laughed at him and ridiculed him for wearing it, embarrassing him in front of teachers and classmates. This morning the CDC confirmed a case of swine flu in Georgia–the very day my grandson is thrown out of school for wearing a mask.
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Shannon
April 30th, 2009
3:56 pm
Very true, Wanda, very true! Neither our past President or our current President is to blame for this. And it should be said as a reminder that this started in Mexico, anyways and not in the U.S.
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SG
May 1st, 2009
8:18 pm
Hey Bob, shut the hell up. This isn’t a political issue at all, and your boy Obama, with the help of the Congress, now has every single American owing the government 37k….even the unborn, so get off your soapbox already. The fact is this. Only the weak will die from it, and with proper treatment, it can be knocked out with the proper meds. But like most recent events, it’s blown out of proportion by the media. 36,000 people die from influenza yearly….just imagine is the US had socialized medicine when this broke out….we’d be screwed.
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SG
May 1st, 2009
8:23 pm
is=if…sorry for the typo. Why on Earth are you people sending your kids and grandkids to school with masks on? Kids and adults catch the flu more often by not washing their hands. You don’t have to be OCD about it, but try and use some common sense.
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Goliath
May 2nd, 2009
2:19 am
To everyone that is freaking out: Listen, I’m not going to sit here and bash on all the people that are getting concerned about the new strain of the flu. Its human nature to be cautious when something happens we don’t quite understand. Yes, the flu sucks, and this new strain just means that your body is more prone to catch it. The majority of the time you get sick, you feel like !@#%, and you take the medicine in between.After a couple of days of your anti-bodies kicking the crap out of the virus, you get better. Sometimes, (generally in elderly folk, and newborns) it gets a little worse, and if the proper care isn’t taken, death could be a serious possibility. But you have to understand something, things like that happen all the time. Its a sad fact in the pages of history. But people are not dying off left and right from this, they are simply getting sick. In a couple of days, (God forbid someone dies, because like I said, it is a possibility) when the majority of the so called “outbreak” patients are returned to their homes, feeling better and ready to return to their every day lives, I hope everyone that freaked out just sits back and laughs, and thinks to themselves “Well, that wasn’t so bad. I should be more level-headed next time.”
But hey, if I’m wrong…
RUNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!
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Bikini Hair Dye
May 5th, 2009
12:30 pm
Go ahead and get all the waxing you want. Worse comes to worse you have waxing parties with friends. Me on the other hand…I just enjoy dying my bikini area. Don’t have to worry about the government banning that.
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RJ
May 7th, 2009
12:31 pm
Funny, I looked at an outfit that I bought 7 years ago and swore I would lose the weight to fit into it. It’s still sitting there with price tag on it!
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d chambers
May 7th, 2009
2:12 pm
no matter what the size is,it’s always refreshing especially for women to buy something new. realistically if you have children they don’t get any younger and neither do we. if people are still hanging on to yesterday then tomorrow is lost.
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James
May 7th, 2009
2:23 pm
Well, I agree with this artical. I can’t tell you how many women I see at work, or just out in public and there back (love handles) are not only struggling to get out of there super tight jeans but their shirts are too short as well and its like the skin is just sticking out. I’m like why would you want to wear such restrictive clothing? Secondly, do you not see that when you look in the mirror? It’s really something to see.
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Savvy
May 7th, 2009
4:49 pm
James, I feel your pain. Maybe these ‘fluffy’ women should invest in a full length mirror instead of skinny jeans.
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Wells
May 7th, 2009
6:15 pm
When will people understand that you look better (and slimmer) in clothes that fit properly.
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AtlantaFan
May 7th, 2009
6:48 pm
Funny, I have the opposite problem. I am losing the weight and have a closet full of clothes that don’t fit. I wish I had a few things from 10 years ago when I was my current weight, since it’s expensive to buy all new things.
I agree with many of the tenets of the article:
1. Losing weight doesn’t make you happy. You have to be happy with yourself whatever weight you are.
2. Get rid of the old clothes. If you do lose weight, they’ll probably be out-of-style anyway.
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Idefer
May 7th, 2009
7:39 pm
I like to keep a pair of skinny jeans around for the same reason that most people do. When you don’t fit in them anymore, it is time to hit the treadmill. Sometimes your loved ones (and you) have a hard time saying that you are getting a bit chunky. The ’skinny’ jeans, although harsh, speak without saying a word. They keep you in check. Isn’t there some advice out there about not weighing oneself everyday, but to instead judge your weight gain or loss by the clothes you wear? It is better to make sure that those ’skinny’ jeans are never truly labeled ’skinny’. Instead, label them ‘healthy’ jeans. Find a pair that fit you when you are in tip top shape and aim to wear them. The closer you are to them, the better.
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Dara Chadwick
May 8th, 2009
9:56 am
I love the idea behind this: Embracing and making the most of who you are and the body you have today. What’s most important is taking good care of your health.
Dara Chadwick
Author
You’d Be So Pretty If…: Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies — Even When We Don’t Love Our Own
http://www.youdbesoprettyif.com
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Sam
May 8th, 2009
5:07 pm
I think some of these comments have derailed from the intent of the article. This article is not about “people should wear clothes that fit,” it’s about how we set up unrealistic standards for our present and our future based on our past. Ms Howard makes the strong point that health is not directly proportionate to numbers on a scale, or the size tag on a piece of clothing.
Fred: comment boards are not the appropriete place to express your negativeity and dissatisfaction about your life.
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James Kurtz
May 9th, 2009
9:56 pm
The articles suggest that extensive therapy can help a child with Autism. Well these therapies are expensive and can drive the average family to the brink of bankrupcy as in my family’s case. These therapies were helping my son, but the money ran out. There was a bill before the Georgia Senate and House to force insurance companies to assist parents paying for these therapies. Our legislators table the bill for further study. South Carolina and Florida already have such bills, I guess they did not feel they could rely on their finding or are they protecting insurance company profits in this state.
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Maurice Larner
May 11th, 2009
6:35 am
The problem isn’t the Doctors! The problem is the Doctor is just an Specialist in his field. Most of the Doctors here Atlanta are great at what they do. It lack of the patient understanding of all the side effects that may occur during the operation. As a husband of wife who just had an operation on her knee. The Doctor who perform the operation was great and he did an excellent job and my wife can stand up and walk with the assit of an walker. But what happen to the patient after the operation at the hospital and at Rehabitation Center creates very confused public on the information provided by the Doctor.
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Tracee aka TiTi @ 47
May 12th, 2009
10:42 am
I breastfeed all three of my children. My first was breastfed until she was 23 months!! Needless to say breastfeeding is not good birth control because I was 5 months pregnant with the second before I even realized I was expecting. Which brings me to my comment about weight lose and breastfeeding. Other than the few pounds I lost after having my first child I never got back to my pre-prenancy weight of 115 lbs. I hovered around 135-140 and then I was pregnant again. Had my second child, nursed her and really watched what i ate and again, no real weight loss and the same with my son? So I’m not too convinced that breastfeeding really helps that much with weight loss UNLESS you really watch your diet because for some of us you just can’t go back to eating like you used to before you started having kids
In any event BREAST FEEDING IS THE BEST!!!!
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Tracee aka TiTi @ 47
May 12th, 2009
10:43 am
Oops! Typo. . . I should read “I breastfed (not feed) LOL!!!
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Cindy
May 12th, 2009
10:55 am
I shared an 8 month breastfeeding relationship with my first. Then six years later, I breastfed my daughter for over 2 years. Breastfeeding is good for Mom and baby both. It creates a bond that I cannot describe in words. It is that beautiful to me.
The biggest help with breastfeeding is to create a network of support. And do your research. If you are modest, there are aids to help you preserve your modesty. If you aren’t modest, well….as my husband always said – “If they stare, they have the problem!” If there are health issues or breast reduction, there are still ways that you can work around that problem. And if there are problems for the baby…well there are always pumps. My sister in law exclusively pumped for her special needs baby for over a year. So, my encouragement is to find a way to make it work…don’t just give up.
Join La Leche or another breastfeeding or mom’s support group that endorses breastfeeding. Surrounding yourself with positive makes all the difference in your ability to continue longterm. Society loves to tell us what rules we are supposed to “obey”. But society has often and continues to display a lot of ignorance regarding breastfeeding.
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Alice
May 12th, 2009
12:37 pm
I experienced a surprise pregnancy at age 42! So breastfeeding was my only option, as I was not even considering the cost of formula. I breastfed my daughter for 26 months. It was VERY difficult to ween her off. I thought I had done so when she was 19 months…but then she becam sick and I started producing milk again. (Someone referred to this as “mercy” milk…a new one on me). Anyway, she wouldn’t take anything but breast milk. She got well and sort of just weened herself off…Nature is really unexplainable…but my daughter has so few colds…She is now five! I am a true proponent of breastfeeding. (and I agree that weight loss is not something I EVER experienced LOL)
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Amy
May 12th, 2009
12:46 pm
Breastfeeding is extremely hard to do if you are working. I could not get as much milk out pumping as I needed to and eventually my milk just dried up. Not to mention, it was a battle at my company just to find a space to pump!
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Scarlett
May 12th, 2009
1:29 pm
Breastfeeding my children has been the best experience. I nursed my first son, now 12 years old, for 19 months. I am currently breastfeeding my 18 month old son. I found that breastfeeding was both economical and convenient.
Although I stay at home now, I worked for the phone company when nursing the first child. It was somewhat difficult securing a room to pump, but the benefits to my son far outweighed the struggle.
I just did not feel comfortable giving my children formula. I am proud to say that both of my children are very healthy. The most serious illness has been a cold.
Admittedly, I have and continue to struggle with my post-pregnancy weight. I guess my body did not get the memo about weight loss and breastfeeding.
I try my best to encourage new mothers to nurse their children. For so long breastfeeding has been seen as time consuming and somewhat obscene. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is what your breasts are intended to do.
Cindy, in the previous post, offered great advice. What is needed most is a good support system. Joining a group of other breastfeeding mom’s is a wonderful idea. She is right, anyone who complains about your decision to breastfeed has the problem.
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Mary
May 12th, 2009
1:46 pm
I have been breastfeeding for 10 years straight (4 children, NOT one for 10 years!), and I have to say that there is NOTHING better for both mom and baby. I wouldn’t trade that sweet, special time for anything in the world, and as my youngest (18 months) comes close to weaning I know I will be sad to be finally finished. It is most definitely a relationship, and nothing else will be similar to it later. My daughter, for example, who at 18 months loves her bottles of milk, will literally throw the bottle aside with flair in favor of brestfeeding when available. She knows my milk, but in addition, she knows the warmth and smell of my body and takes extreme comfort from closeness with me. Also, breastmilk is a living, organic substance. What I mean is that it actually responds to baby’s needs and changes throughout a feeding and as baby grows. We all know about supply and demand with BF– the more your baby drinks, the more milk you make. But also, the longer the baby drinks, the fattier and more protein-filled the milk is. In the early days, when baby cries you find milk leaking all over your shirt. I have filled with milk when she cried when I wasn’t even home– it was after filling with milk that I called home and found she was crying.
I will say that I never lost much weight breastfeeding, no matter how I’ve tried… and pumping is hard work, so it does take a lot of commitment for working moms. But the convenience and lack of cost cannot be emphasized enough– why pay for inferior food when God gives you the superior stuff for free? If you can BF, you should, for the health and happiness of both mother and baby. It is also designed to get your body ready for motherhood and recovered from birth (recovery of the uterus as well as hormonal regulation of moods). I would say it didn’t do much for birth control, since I was fertile again at 4 months, but the truth is maybe I would have been fertile at 2 without it… I’ll never know… I fully encourage mothers who are able to BF their babies, because I can’t imagine passing up on this special gift– for both of you.
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CartersMom
May 12th, 2009
1:57 pm
I breastfed my son for 11.5 months. I’m extremely proud of myself for hanging in that long. Although I luckily had a very cozy closet to pump in at work, it was definitely not fun having to lug all of that stuff back and forth daily. My son was (and still is) a voracious eater, so I will admit that it was tiring at times. But I loved the contact and bonding and will definitely do it again with #2.
However, we have not experienced all of the health benefits. He is in daycare and is very healthy, but he has continuously had colds and ear infections starting around 6 months of age. He even had tonsillitis around 10 months of age, which is almost unheard of. We just had tubes put in his ears last month. We just haven’t seen all of the “he’s never sick” benefits that supposedly occur. A friend of mine did not breastfeed her first who is now 2.5. He has never been sick. Her second baby is now 7 months and has been exclusively breastfed. Just like my son, she has already suffered numerous colds and ear infections. It is definitely an interesting observation.
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Elaina
May 12th, 2009
3:06 pm
Women who do not breast feed are stupid. Seriously. Think about it. The whole purpose of breasts is to produce milk for a baby. Why would you substitute some corporate chemical crap for what you are made to do?
This is akin to women who “insist” in C-Sections, because it is convenient. Idiots.
Sorry to sound beligerent, but I just can’t stand the ignorance of some.
And yes, I breast fed my children for more than one year each.
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Daddy Mark = yep, a guy
May 12th, 2009
3:18 pm
As a father of two beautiful little girls I want to lend my support to all mom’s who breastfeed. Not only does it do all the wonderful things you ladies state but it is impossible for a dad to help out in this role which means no getting up in the middle of the night, no formula budget and the relaxing joy of just sitting back and watching TV as the kid’s get fed. I promote breastfeeding to any prospective fathers and remind them of these facts.
My only regret is that there is no way to bottle the stuff and sell in on Ebay. My girls have had ZERO colds and by all accounts are the healthiest kids we know. Granted my 2 3/4 year old still indulges and that is beginning to wear on Mommy, but if it keeps us away from the ER then I say “suckle on.” God had the right idea when he gave women the ability to do this, if men had been given the responsibility the human race would have gone the route of the dinosaurs a loooong time ago.
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mystery poster
May 12th, 2009
7:49 pm
I breastfed my children (now 22 and 19) for nearly two years each, even though I worked full time.
I pumped until my oldest was about 11 months. I finally realized that even though our society pushes breastfeeding, we are still taught that the bottle is important, and many moms wean to a bottle. That didn’t make sense to me.
My daughter was eating food and drinking out of a cup during the day, so I realized there was no reason to give her bottles of expressed milk. My milk adjusted to produce less during the day, she continued to nurse when I was with her, and ate and drank normal food when I wasn’t.
I stayed home with my son until he was 6 months old. He was eating and drinking regular food during the day, and I continued to nurse him in the morning and evening. It worked out perfectly for us, he never had bottles. BTW, his teeth are perfect. No one believes me that he never had braces.
I really enjoyed that time right after work when my babies wanted to nurse. It forced me to put me feet up and reconnect with them and put everything else aside.
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Michelle
May 12th, 2009
7:57 pm
I have breastfed five children (still feeding the 19 month-old), and I realize that I have been breastfeeding babies for about 12 years total! (Oh my!)
I just wanted to say that breastfeeding is a very personal decision. I know there are some women who just can’t breastfeed, and I am not going to judge them or make them feel bad. You are the mom. Make the decisions, do what you need to do, and your child will be OK. For goodness sakes, a lot of us were fed with bottles and we survived. There are a lot of things to feel guilt about in this world. Don’t beat yourself up over this.
However . . .
If you want to breastfeed, you can, and it can be wonderful. I highly recommend going to a few months of Le Leche league meetings before you give birth the first time so that you can have their support from the start (by the way the meetings are about more than breastfeeding–they are also about how to cope with motherhood, common problems babies have like diaper rash and crying, how to deal with the stress of the in-laws telling you how to do everything, etc. It’s just nice to get to know people going through the same things you are going through–you don’t have to feel alone!!)
Good luck with whatever you do, be happy, and remember that the best piece of advice is to ignore everyone’s advice!
All the best!
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Justmy2cents
May 12th, 2009
7:59 pm
Elaina- I guess I’m just stupid (in your opinion). 2 children- 1 emergency c -section, the other induced to prevent possible seizure/death for both of us…and my poor “little” 40DDD’s…never produced milk-EVER. Perhaps tatas can be only for pleasure vs. functionality. Try not to be so narrow-minded. And no- they ar