Take A Pill!
70
FDA Takes Heat Over Heparin
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There is a new business emerging which has been flourishing in recent years. Struggling law firms who used to focus on chasing ambulances are now chasing the victims of the pharmaceutical corporations. They're representing the people (or their surviving family) who are suffering sickness, disease and death due to the horrific side effects of some of the pills they've been ingesting.
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One of the current favorites of attorneys is Heparin. This is a blood-thinning substance prescribed mainly to dialysis patients to prevent blood clots. If you type "heparin" into a search engine you'll come up with over 13-million entries, beginning with numerous law firm links (here's one of them) offering to assist victims of Heparin with their cases. The listed side effects of Heparin are: Bleeding episodes; easy bruising; nose bleed; blood in urine or stool; hives; itching; burning skin; difficulty breathing; swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat; numbness or weakness (particularly on one side of the body); sudden headaches; confusion; problems with vision, speech or balance; pain or swelling in one or both legs; fever; chills; runny nose; watery eyes.
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If you are amazed by this long list of possible side effects, don't be. It is typical of prescribed and OTC medications. There is a growing suspicion among the scientific and medical community - and now backed by the Alzheimer's Foundation - that the steady, life long ingestion of pills and medications are resulting in the microscopic residual build up of chemicals in the brain and causing dementia disorders such as Alzheimer's.
(I've been warning people about this for years!)
And who's to blame for this state of events? Well, in this case, the buck stops here. There "here" being the individual you see in the mirror. No one forces these victims to take these pills. The possible side effects are told to them in the commercials which hawk them. They're listed on the bottles and in the literature which comes with them. And hopefully, they're explained by the doctor who prescribes them.
That being said, there actually is a second party who is to blame: The FDA.
If you look up the FDA on Wikipedia, you'll find this: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of foods, dietary supplements, drugs, vaccines, biological medical products, blood products, medical devices, radiation-emitting devices, veterinary products, and cosmetics.
With an agency such as this in place, how - you might ask, I know I do - are all of these dangerous and deadly drugs getting onto the market?
That is the million dollar question, isn't it?
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When Jenny McCarthy's son was diagnosed with autism, she refused to quietly sit back and accept it as a fact which she could do nothing about. Through tireless research and a specified diet, Jenny made it possible for her son to recover from autism.
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Please watch this video. It is an intellegent, balanced narration by a D.C., C.C.N. (Chiropractor and Certified Nutritionist)
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When a pharmaceutical company markets a new drug it is aware of the possible harmful and/or deadly side effects, and it knows there will be lawsuits as a result. These numbers are taken into account and if the projected profits are high enough, after these expected lawsuits, the drug is marketed anyway.
And again, the million dollar question: Where is the FDA?
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"The thing that bugs me is that people think the FDA is protecting them. It isn't. What the FDA is doing and what the public thinks it's doing are as different as night and day." -Herbert Ley, Jr.(1923-2001), quoted from the San Francisco Chronicle, January 2, 1970
I jotted down just a few of the drugs I see advertised incessantly on TV, and later looked up the side-effects. This took a total of two mouse clicks on the Yahoo search engine. Looky what I found! (The side effects are listed in order of the possible occurrence - that is, the most likely are listed first.)
Levitra (Vardenafil) A muscle relaxer used for erectile dysfunction. Possible Side effects: Sudden vision loss; hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of face, lips, tongue or throat; during sexual activity: dizzy or nauseated - pain, numbness, tingling in chest, arms neck or jaw; ringing in ears or sudden hearing loss; chest pain or heavy feeling; pain spreading to shoulder or arm (isn't that a heart attack?!) sweating; general ill feeling; irregular heartbeat; swelling in hands, ankles or feet; shortness of breath; light-headed or fainting; painful erection that lasts four hours or longer.
Ambien (Zolpidem) A sedative/hypnotic, affecting chemicals in the brain which may become unbalanced. Used to treat insomnia. Possible Side effects: Hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of face, lips, tongue or throat; worsening sleep problems; depression; thoughts of hurting yourself; unusual risk-taking behavior; decreased inhibitions; no fear of danger; aggression; agitation; hallucinations; confusion; loss of personality; daytime drowsiness; dizziness; weakness; feeling "drugged"; amnesia; forgetfulness; vivid or abnormal dreams; diarrhea; nausea; vomiting; headache; muscle pain; blurred vision.
Abilify (Aripiprazole) An anti-psychotic, works by changing the chemicals in the brain. Used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Advertised to treat depression. Possible Side effects: The typical swelling of face, lips, tongue or throat; fever; stiff muscles; confusion; sweating; fast or uneven heartbeats; jerky and uncontrollable muscle movement; numbness or weakness; headache; problem with vision, speech or balance; increased thirst or urination; loss of appetite; fruity breath odor; drowsiness; dry skin; nausea; vomiting; seizure; thoughts of hurting yourself; feeling of passing out; jaundice; choking or trouble swallowing; weakness; constipation; mild upset stomach; anxiety; insomnia; weight gain.
Humira (Adalimumap) Prescribed for treatment of rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Also used to treat Crohn's disease. Advertised for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Possible side effects: Emergency help is recommended for signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of face, lips, tongue or throat. Serious and sometimes fatal infections may occur duing treatment with adalimumab. Contact your doctor right away if you have signs of infection such as: fever; chills; sore throat; flu symptoms; weight loss; joint pain or swelling with fever; swollen glands; muscle aches; nausea; vomiting; unusual thoughts or behavior and/or seizure (convulsions); patchy skin color; red spots; butterfly-shaped skin rash over cheeks and nose (worsens in sunlight); chest pain; ongoing cough; coughing up blood; easy bruising or bleeding; pale skin; unusual weakness; short of breath - even with mild exertion; swelling of ankles or feet; mouth sores; confusion; pain or burning during urination; numbness or tingly feeling; weakness in legs; jaundice; itching; headache; stuffy nose; sinus pain; stomach pain. "This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur."
Symbicort(Budesonide and Formoterol) An inhaler prescribed for asthma. Possible side effects: Sinus infection; runny nose; throat pain; headaches; upset stomach; flu symptoms; back pain; nausea or vomiting; thrush; diarrhea; voice change; muscle spasms; urinary tract or bladder infection; dizziness; migraines and tension headaches; arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat); worsening breathing problems; high blood pressure; agitation, aggression or anxiety; depression; frequent or severe infection of any type.
Reclast(Zoledronic acid) Prescribed for bone density, calcium deficiency and osteoporosis. Possible Side effects: Headaches; dizziness; bone pain; joint pain; fever; high blood pressure; muscle pain; extremity pain; flu-like symptoms; neck, shoulder or chest pain; lethargy; swelling of ankles or feet; burning or tingling; abdominal pain; bloating; muscle stiffness; arthritis; diarrhea; nausea; vomiting; anemia; weakness; fatigue; vertigo; heartburn; muscle spasms; dehydration; loss of appetite; low calcium levels; kidney damage; severe bone, muscle or joint pain; jaw or tooth problems; rapid or irregular heartbeat.
Zicam A nasal cold gel:Zicam has been link to a condition know as Anosmia (the loss of sense of smell). Click here to read more about that.
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We Americans are permanently damaging and killing ourselves with the illresponsible ingestion of pills and medications - be they prescribed or OTC. We cannot trust the FDA to regulate the safety of these chemicals, any more than we can always trust in physicians and/or pharmacists to inform us of the possible dangers and side effects. The buck stops in the mirror. You are ultimately responsible for what goes into you body.
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Comments
Great Hub. Somebody needs to hold Big Pharma's feet to the fire. They've been bribing our doctors, fudging drug trials and overcharging customers for too long.
Thank you, Pam. I agree with your insights. When I was injured it was one of my greatest fears that I would be prescribed a lietime medication. Thankfully, I was given no meds what-so-ever. (???)
Those who are required to take medication, with no other choices, are indeed the ones I feel for. All I can say is, if it were me (and had I been put in that position) I would be relentlessly looking for an alternative treatment. Specific diets actually can fix more than we can imagine. Jenny McCarthy cured her son's Autism through tireless research and a very specific diet. It's true! Check it out: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/02/mccarthy.autsimtr
Thanks Ralph. It's true, and the FDA has GOT to be taking payoffs. How else could the pharms get away with legally marketing dangerous and deadly drugs?
It's absolutely amazing the conditions that little pills can cure... and cause. It's also very frightening to hear about clinical trial results that are fudged, known side effects that are covered up, and the deaths of innocent people who just wanted to be able to better their quality of life.
Great hub, CW.
You are absolutely right, Em. It's tragic... and largely AVOIDABLE. We must take responsibility for own health. To do otherwise is what we are seeing today.
Thank you for reading.
Hi, CW,
thanks for the great hub. One can't be too cautious with taking medications. This hub serves as a great reminder that we are the ultimate defender of ourselves.
cheers.
OMG I never knew that about Zicam. It was something my whole family has always used when we got sick. The stuff we have in the fridge now is getting tossed!
Great informative hub, Constant. I can only cringe when I think about the animals that are being used in drug testing before these pills come out in the market. And what more of the innocent people. Sadly, it's commerce as usual that reigns in the pharma industry and that most people remain suckers for quick fixes. It really pays to be discriminating and vigilant where one's health is concerned. Thanks for sounding the alarm :D
-Benson. I was dreading hearing from an MD, but you were diplomatically kind! Thank you, and thank you for reading.
-Mellas. I became aware of Zicam through my research to help myself recover from post-traumatic Anosmia. We need to research the side effects of all medications (prescribed and OTC) before putting them into out bodies, so we can make informed decisions on whether we still want to ingest them. With the Internet, this is now very easy and quick to do. I'm glad you benefited from this piece.
Thanks Cris. I hope this hub calls attention to what is going on... at least for a few.
CW, great and informative hub. I have to say that I have taken ambien and I had horrible nightmares, it was crazy. My husband took them once and me and my children had to carry him to bed, they did not have that effect on me. My husband has to take pills for his blood pressure and I take a sleep aid. I worry about the side effects of the pills I take but it seems to be the only way for me. I had went for many years without being abe to sleep for more than a few hours and sometimes not getting any sleep at all during a night. It interfered with my life and made me have terrible headaches. The current medication I am on does make me have a headache when I wake up but I figure I would have one anyway without getting the sleep I need, but at least now I feel rested and my mind isn't so cloudy from fatigue. I tried many alternatives before I got on the medication, like diet, exercise, limiting my caffiene intake and other things and found no relief. It was a last resort for me. I do have to add that I suffered from migraines for a very long time and I finally found a chiropractor who gave my neck and adjustment and I have not had any problems since then. I think that we should al try to find alternative to prescriptions and only use them as a last resort but know the facts and what you might be getting yourself into.
Sorry for the rambling, After I reread it I didn't have the heart to go back and rework my comment.
I'm glad you didn't, Gwendy. I have to leave my TV on all night (real low) or I'll be waking up constantly and then wouldn't be able to go back to sleep because my brain is working overtime. I discovered this trick about 15 years ago and have been sleeping good ever since.
Sometimes I only sleep 5 to 6 hours. Other times I'll sleep as many as 9. Crazy!
Excellent hub, and a timely warning. One other nasty thing that's happened over the last 10 years -- big conglomerates that include big pharma have purchased the publishing companies that publish many of the medical journals. Oops! Objectivity? What's that?
Thanks, CW.
You're kidding! Jesus! So, is there any source of honest, unbiased medical informarion?
It goes back to our food source, its chemical crap and to combat crap they give us different chemical crap.
Great hub, Constant Walker! I don't trust pharmaceutical companies at all. I had to take some pain killers for a wisdom tooth I had pulled last year and all they did was make me violently ill. I don't even take Tylenol or Advil anymore. I am all about herbal remedies now and drinking lots of tea. Too often, we're programmed to think that all our problems can be solved with a simple pill, but as you've shown here, the laundry list of negative side effects cancels out any positive "benefits," which are generally simply bandages anyway, and don't strike at the root of an issue.
Great video also, and thanks for the link to the autism story!
Ah, thank you for putting a voice to a topic that is seldom heard. I use a sublingual melatonin for sleep.. works amazingly well :)
I agree with the above comments and your analysis, great information that needs to be heeded and that our society is far too dependent on the medical profession to fix what we are doing to our own bodies rather than changing the way we live to create the same effect on a long-term scale.
On the other hand, the listed possible side-affects are just that: only possible. Just because it's on the list does not mean that you will indeed suffer the affects listed or even a single one of them. The list is each and every symptom that any single person in the drug trial experience while on the drug and (ideally) nothing else, so it should be somewhat taken with a grain of salt.
I did just think of an interesting question about the lists of side-affects. Does the order in which the affects are listed have any relevenace or is it just a random list? In other words, is it like food ingredient labels (which lists ingredients by proportion so that the first ingredient is what makes up the majority of the food's content and the last makes up the least) so that the first side-affect is the highest-reported one and the last is the least-reported one?
You're right, GT. The only way I know of to avoid that "chemical crap" is to grow, hunt and fish your own food. Barring that (for the majority of us that isn't feasible), go with the lesser of the "craps." That is, avoid fast food like the plague. It's simple, but has so far been working for me.
Thank you Melissa. You've obviously caught on. This "love of the pill" began 2 to 3 generations ago (as far as I can tell), when pills were thought of as "wonder drugs," and in many cases they were - particularly antibiotics, penicillin, etc.. Then, of course, we abused the wonder drugs. Antibiotics were prescribed for EVERYTHING. Now the germs and viruses they were initially developed to kill have evolved resistances to them. I think we need to take more cues from Asian medicine. After all, they've got thousands of years on us.
Your very welcome, Lisa. It's been bugging for a long time. I had to look up "sublingual melatonin." I recognized both of the terms seperatly, but together, it threw me. Could you give a little info? It sounds great, and best of all, NOT-DEADLY. Also, I'm going to pass this on to Gwendymom. Thank you!
Hey Scott. Good to hear from you here! Yes, the listed effects are "possible." I thought that would be assumed, so I didn't specifically type that. But they obviously DID occur, and had to be included.
And yes, the effects are listed in the order of possible occurance - good question!. The last effects listed have the least possibility of occuring.
-Scott, I added a couple notations: First - that the effects are listed in order of possible occurance, and second - I added "Possible" to each medication's side effect list.
Now stop whining ;-)
I don't wanna and YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! 8-D
P.S.: Thanks for fixing your silly omissions. Dum-dum! 8-P
I can! I'll TELL YOUR WIFE and she'll kick your arss!
No fair! Now I'm sad. 8-((
LOL, okay, I'm done clogging your comments section with silliness. Are you done clogging the Hub Pages with yours yet? Oh, BURN!!
Not bad... and I'm telling for sure, now. And, hell no, I'm not done clogging Hub Pages with my dribble! (Psst, these guys think I can really write!)
CW, thanks for the email about the sleep aid. I have not tried that, maybe I should. Thanks again for being so sweet and thinking about me, and btw you can write very well I might add.
Thanks for the link you gave earlier about Jenny and her son. I went and read it, and I'm amazed. It's bookmarked for sure. :)
I'm following gwendy all around like a puppy. lol! Where we goin' now gwendy?? lol!
Thanks, Gwendy. (don't tell anybody) Let me know if you try sublingual melatonin and it works, OK? I'm very interested in alternative medicines and I store everything positive in my computer... I mean brain.
Pam, you're welcome. Amazing story, isn't it. I first heard her tell that story a couple years ago on Discovery Channel, and I suspect there's a whole lot we could do with foods that we can't yet even imagine.
Ha-ha! Marisue and I used to do that. We joined HP about the same time and nobody else would talk to us.
On to the hubjacking Pam. follow me.
Constant Walker,
I often think that I would rather have whatever illness I am suffering from than the side effects listed on the medication some Dr. gave me to treat my sickness, at least I know what I am dealing with.
One time a Dr. prescribed me with some shit that made me suicidal within a few weeks of taking it everyday and I felt like I was going totally crazy. When I called to ask about stopping they told me it could cause me to have seizures if I quit cold turkey. They said I had to wean myself off of it. That was the end of Drs. and the beginning of alternative treatments for me.
I will see a Dr. but it has to be for certain things and my mental state is not one of them. I think that the fact is...Doctors are licensed to practice medicine and practice is the key word here.
Good heads up here.
C.S., well said. A problem here, with western medicine (but in fairness I believe this might be improving), is doctors and nurses are trained to TREAT illnesses, not PREVENT them.
Medications are focused on treating the symptoms (preferably over a lifetime) but I never, ever hear anything about curing the CauSE of the symptoms.
Understandable, I guess... much less money in actually CURING things.
Great hub. I'm a homoeopath and am amazed how well my remedies work with no side effects or harm. I hate taking prescription drugs, and would never touch over the counter (OTC) ones. Most symptoms are just that - symptoms not a disease. A cold is your body trying to get virus out of your system. Sometimes we just need to have the bug and deal with it, training our immune systems as to what to do. It's well known we're raising sicker kids by the minute, yet our "health system" is getting "better" and "more advanced" by the minute.
Bravo, Julie! The only OTC I trust and will take when needed is Ny-Quil. I rarely get sick, but when I do I stay down, take my medicine, watch TV and let it run its course. Then it's done! Ny-Quil just makes the experience a little miserable and helps me sleep through it.
A couple years ago, I had all the symptoms of a urinary tract infection Instead of going to the doc and asking for drugs, I did a little online research. I then started drinking cranberry juice and, in less than a week, it was gone.
Glad you liked the hub!
Good hub Constant. I have many RX pills to take daily, I'd die if I didn't. I am monitored frequently by 6 physicians and am on a blood thinner for life, not the one you have mentioned. Been on it since 2000 xmas. I'm very thankful for waht the pahrmeceutical companies have done for me. Likewise i in return have helped others by participating in some clinical trials. I have been pumped full of all kinds of terrible things from chemo treatments. I should have been dead many years ago. Not long ago most people died from congestive heart failure, I have survived three. I have the best Dr's in the world at the Cleveland Clinic, I think, and I must trust them, so far it's working, and has been since 1993.
Thanks again for a heads up for some problems with drugs.
C.C I'm so glad you're beating the odds. You're proof that there are those who truly need medications and have their life to thank for them. Unfortunately, all the drugs being ingested aren't as necessary.
Thanks for reading.
nice little hub here. I was on a handful of prescritions since the age of 11 till i was about 18. In that time, i had more problems then i had answers, the doctors couldn't stop throwing new meds at me to see if they made my depression and anxiety any better. in that time i attempted suicide 5 times. since i've stopped taking meds i've had some bouts of major depression, but nothing that ever made me act out on myself and try to end it all. I was broke, homeless, lonely, and in bad shape all around, yet I never tried to kill myself.
Now adays I may have thoughts of wishing I were dead but thats a far far better way to spend my time then actually writing suicide notes and planning ways to hurt myself. America needs to stop trusting everything the pharma corps throw at them, especially the pills that are there for "mood stabalization."
Thanks for your input, Streetwise. Very thoughtful and much appreciated. I must say that being "broke, homeless, lonely, and in bad shape all around" would make anyone depressed. But, you got through it, and that says lots of positive things about you.
I am clinically depressed myself (but refuse to live on pills) and have recently been through the wringer - in a big way, ...but here I am. This is going to sound vomit-corny, but I keep myself happy and postive by being stubborn as hell, staying healthy and fit, being grateful for the good things in my life, looking ahead and refusing to let anything but me decide how I feel.
Again, thanks for stopping by.
Pam Roberson says:
10 months ago
Oh gosh CW, before I say anything specific, I want to say that I agree totally. You'd think by now medicine would have advanced to a point where people can get medication to help with chronic physical and mental conditions that won't also make them have horrible side effects. :( Sometimes the side effects are worse than the condition.
With that said, I feel so sorry for people who have conditions that absolutely require medicine and they really don't have much choice if they want to live or at least live a productive life. Thyroid conditions, heart conditions, blood pressure are all examples of conditions that most often can't be cured or controlled by healthy living and alternative medicine. Some people are going to have blood pressure problems no matter what they do or don't do. Thyroid conditions are never helped with diet and exercise or herbs. It's like not really having much choice.
I know, for example, two people with schizophrenia. One takes medication, an anti-psychotic, and has some of those side effects, but she is at least able to live a fairly productive life and hold down a job. If she didn't take it, she'd still be thinking her coffee pot is talking to her and giving her messages from God. The other person doesn't take medication, and her life is a very sad tangled web of delusion. It's heart breaking. :(
I don't know what the answer is, but it seems obvious that if you have a minor problem, pills aren't the best option unless you've exhausted all other means of finding a solution.
Good job and very nice hub CW. :)