I’ll Share with you: Where I get the “Good Stuff” for my blogs

 I am constantly asked where do I get all this good information about Life-Health-Wellness and such.  So I have decided to share some of my resources with you. 

        You may or may not choose to use them, but at least know that this type of information is available to you also.

The first site can be very informative. 

It demonstrates by: Year (1997-2006), by Prescription Drug, and by State,

• the consumption of the drug per person
• the ranking per capita in each state vs the nation
• the percentage higher or lower than the national average
• the percentage change from 1997 to 2006

Suppose you wanted to know if the consumption of Metadone in Florida had increased over the past several years.  And where does Florida rank in comparison to Alabama?  Well you can get all that information in an easy to use interactive visual map.   Give it a try…..

Here’s the site to click on: Prescription Narcotic Consumption

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 Another great resource is The National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI)

Here’s what they have to say:

The National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI) invites your questions on the subject of prescription drug abuse.

Prescription drug abuse represents almost 30% of the overall drug problem in the United States. It is a close second only to marijuana. There are many experts in this country who feel that the extent of prescription drug abuse is much higher. Although it receives little attention, the death and devastation that this type of abuse can leave behind is every bit as extensive as illicit drugs.

Prescription drug abuse is a major problem, and NADDI would like to offer you the opportunity to ask questions that will be fielded by some of the top authorities in the world on this subject. This site can assist the general public, with legitimate questions, on a wide variety of topics relating to prescription drug abuse.

NADDI also provides this site as a potential educational resource for students, health professionals, law enforcement, substance abuse counselors, human resource employees, and any other profession dealing with the problems associated with prescription drug abuse.

So, check them out if you have an interest or if you are involved in human resources, law enforcement, the health professions, or even a student needing information on writing a paper.

I have used their information on several occasions.

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Another great resource comes from the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Here’s their information:

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), a component of the Executive Office of the President, was established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.

The principal purpose of ONDCP is to establish policies, priorities, and objectives for the Nation’s drug control program. The goals of the program are to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing, and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences. To achieve these goals, the Director of ONDCP is charged with producing the National Drug Control Strategy. The Strategy directs the Nation’s anti-drug efforts and establishes a program, a budget, and guidelines for cooperation among Federal, State, and local entities.

I have found this site to be quite helpful in understanding the illicit drug industry and what the USA is doing to help curtail it.

Their site is: Office of National Drug Control Policy.

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Medical ID Bracelet-Worth Taking a Look

 

I just received this email about the Medical ID Bracelet.

I don’t know anything about the product or the company.

However the concept is great and it may save someone’s life.

You may want to check it out: Link to MD Bracelet

Alert: Tamiflu may not work with this year’s flu-bug

 

 According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the main anti-flu medications may not be helpful.

TAMIFLU is a prescription medication that may help fight the severity of the flu if it’s given within 2 days of “catching the flu”.

But……

The latest information from the CDC says that the flu strain this year -H1N1- is resistant to Tamiflu.

In fact, 49 of 50 samples of the H1N1 strain showed risistance to Tamiflu!

So- rather than waste your money, ask your doctor if you have the H1N1 strain before getting a prescription for Tamiflu.

Here’s the link to the full article  

It’s about half way down the page for week #50: 2008-2009 Influenza Season Week 50 ending December 13, 2008

Now the FDA says Mercury is Safe–Last week it was Toxic!

 Well…Here WE GO!!!

Last week, Mercury, according to the FDA was highly toxic and should be avoided…especially true for infants and children, and expectant mothers.

However, today, the FDA has changed its advice and now says Mercury is safe.

Here’s a little history…..

In March of 2004 the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) sent out an advisory warning that Tuna consumption should be limited to 6 ounces a week. They also advised that shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish should be completely avoided by children and expectant women.  This was because it was felt that those fish were deemed to have an excessive amount of mercury.

Now the FDA has apparently reversed itself and says that just about every child and most adults with heart disease would probably benefit it they ate MORE FISH…INCLUDING THOSE PREVIOUSLY LISTED AS HIGH IN MERCURY!!!)

The FDA goes on to say:

“the net effect on fetal neurodevelopment from eating commercial fish containing methylmercury…is not necessarily adverse and could in fact be beneficial”

Click here for the complete article

If you recall, last week the FDA said that small amounts of MELAMINE were safe in baby formulas. Previously they said that no amount of Melamine was safe for infants.

Click here for the full article

And a few weeks ago the FDA said that Bisphenol-A, a chemical used in plastic bottles, was OK for infants to ingest as it leached from their plastic baby bottles.

Full article-click here

What is going on?

Why does the FDA keep reversing its opinions?

Remember my 2 concepts on how I evaluate….

1. Statistics don’t lie, but statisticians do
2. Follow the money..

I’ll leave it up to you to figure out who “Gets the Money” …..

I Forgot About DARWIN and Evolution

I just finished reading a book titled “Why We Get Sick-The New Science of Darwinian Medicine by Randolph Nesse, M.D. and George WIlliams, Ph.D.

Wow!

What a great book—It really opened my eyes about the reality of our lives.

If you have been reading my posts, I’m sure you have come upon my TRIANGLE OF HEALTH Concept where I speak of the three ingredients to health and longevity. 

They are:

1. Proper Exercise
2. Proper Nutrition
3. Attitude and Mental Health

If you’ll apply those 3 concepts to your life, I guarantee that you’ll maximize your potential to a good-strong-healthy-rewarding lifetime.

But here’s where I missed one key ingredient.

Namely, it’s your GENETICS that ultimately determine your destiny….See, if you have a gene that’s programmed to fail when you reach 60, then all the good food, exercise, and attitude won’t change the failure of that gene, and unfortunately your health and longevity will suffer.

So again, all we can do are those things that will maximize our potential for health…eat right, exercise, and have the right attitude.  And when it’s our time to go,  well there’s not much we can do to change it—but at least we will have lived our lives to the fullest. 

So, therefore, I am re-doing my triangle of health concept. 

My triangle now is balanced on a pole made up of our genetics. The repesentation is that if our pole of support is pre-destined to fail, or break, or fall at a certain time, then the whole of life fails with it.  Kinda scary, but that’s the reality.

Get the book. It’s not a hard read and once you start, you’ll have trouble putting it down.

Ever Wonder Why Your Prescriptions Cost SO MUCH$$$$…?

 Did you ever wonder why your prescriptions cost so much?

Why are some medications $10 a pill and more?

Who benefits?

Well, check this out!!!

According to a memo from the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission),  Schering-Plough has decided to increase the salary of one of it’s lawers/general counsel to $857,000!!

AND A SPECIAL CASH REWARD OF $500,000!!!

Tom Sabatino is the above lawyer.

In September, Schering-Plough gave the head of their research divison, Tom Koestler, a salary of over $860,000!!!

Well, there you go—-so that’s why your drugs cost so much!

Memo from the SEC

How Can This Be??

 

According to a recent memo by the Center for Disease Control, the vaccine, Gardasil, for prevention of cervical cancer is safe.

But, by July 2008 there were over 8,000 reports to the CDC of adverse reactions to the Gardasil  vaccine! …including 10 confirmed deaths…

How in the world can a vaccine be called “Safe” when there are so many adverse reactions?

Does something not seem right?  Check it out for yourself.

Washington Post Article

Prescription Drugs Can KILL YOU!!!

This goes out as a warning to all the people who take prescription medications…

THEY CAN KILL YOU!!

Yes, according to the Florida Medical Examiners Commission, in 2007 the rate of death from PRESCRIPTION DRUGS  was THREE TIMES times the rate of death from ALL ILLICIT DRUGS COMBINED!!

What?

How can this be? 

I bet you always heard about the dangers of illegal drugs on the street….Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Heroin. RIght?

The fact is, about 7 million Americans are abusing prescription drugs. They range from Hydrocodone products like Vicodin and Lortab to the Oxycodone products like OxyContin. The list also includes the Benzodiazepine products such as Valium, and Xanax.

These drugs have an “addictive” quality to them, and it takes more and more to get the same results whether it be pain control or anxiety.  As people continue taking these meds—even if they are necessary—the toxicities tend to build up and the results can be devastating. If you combine these drugs with other medications or alcohol-death is certainly a possibility.

Where do people get these drugs? For most individuals they see one doctor who monitors their prescriptions.

BUT—

• Today there is the Internet where you can buy almost anything. 
• Some individuals have become what is called “Doctor Shopprs”. These people go from doctor to doctor sometimes with fake ID’s and get prescriptions
• There are doctors in most communities who are known to write a prescription for almost anything if you have the money. Some doctors masquerade as “Pain Management” specialists and write more narcotics than is reasonable. 

With all these narcotic prescriptions being filled, people will actually sell their drugs to others, and unfortunately get to our children.

My solutions:

•  Crack down on these doctors who write narcotics without a justifiable reason—-send them to jail!!
• Encourage your state legislators to approve a “prescription drug monitoring program” if one doesn’t exist.
• Encourage your federal legislators to ban internet sales of narcotics
• Participate with your local law enforcement agencies to get into the schools and alert our children as to the dangers drugs pose…not just the illegal drugs.  We need to educate our kids!
• If you take narcotics legally, be sure to discuss their dangers with your Pharmacist.

 

Obesity Site–See Where Your State Ranks

 

A new report shows that obesity increased in 37 states in the past year!!!

It shows that more than 25% of adults are considered obese in 28 states.

What to do?  Follow my triangle of health and… Exercise and Eat Right!

See Where Your State Ranks

Been There…Done That…Got a Tshirt (Beach Towel)

 

 I mentioned in a previous blog about how Merck ran ads about it’s HPV vaccine at the movies…well here’s one that so crazy—-Be sure to read the comments. Beach Towel

Now Merck is running specials…reminds me of Buy One/Get One Free

Seriously, Merck will now give your Doctor a FREE Gardasil Vaccine is the patient’s insurance won’t pay for it!

Here’s the article: Buy One-GetOneFree