© MMXIII V.1.0.1
posted by Morley Evans
Big Pharma promotes itself as the leader of health care. What would we do without them? Heavens to Mergatroyd! Here's what they are up to this year:
6 New Ways Big Pharma Is Scheming to Make Billions at the Expense of Your Health
With many of Big Pharma's biggest hits going off patent, the industry is looking for new ways to deliver earnings to Wall Street.
April 25, 2013
by Martha Rosenberg
http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/6-new-ways-big-pharma-scheming-make-billions-expense-your-health?page=0%2C1&paging=off
The blockbuster pill profit party is over for Big Pharma. Bestselling pills like Lipitor, Seroquel, Zyprexa, Singular and Concerta have gone off patent and sites which their ads sustained are withering on the vine. WebMD, for example, the voice of Pharma on the Web, with a former Pfizer exec serving as CEO, announced it would cut 250 positions in December.
But don't worry, Wall Street. Pharma isn't going to deliver disappointing earnings just because it has little or no new drugs coming online and has failed at the very reason for its existence. Here are six new Pharma marketing initiatives that are guaranteed to keep investor expectations high along with our insurance premiums. The secret? Recycling old and discredited drugs and marketing diseases to sell the few new ones.
1) Repurposing Ritalin
Now that Pharma's succeeded in getting five million children and four to eight million adults diagnosed with ADHD, it's looking for new markets for the drugs. One new use for Ritalin (methylphenidate), the grandfather of ADHD drugs, could be for eating disorders. Researchers say a woman who suffered from bulimia nervosa, bipolar I disorder, cocaine and alcohol dependence, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and panic disorder "achieved a sustained (>1 year) remission" when methylphenidate was added to her other drugs.
Then there's pregnant women. A new paper suggests that taking away a women's methylphenidate during pregnancy may "may present a significant risk" and that, "In all cases, children developed normally and no adverse effects were reported," though they were exposed in utero. Yes, kids can be given ADHD meds at even younger ages--as fetuses.
Pharma is also looking at the elderly as a new market for ADHD drugs. Methylphenidate may "improve gait function in older adults," researchers wrote recently. And a major clinical trial sponsored by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is underway to see if methylphenidate can reduce apathy in Alzheimer patients. Of course many Alzheimer patients don't have apathy but agitation and aggression; they will be excluded.
2) Male Hormone Replacement
Women over 40 might feel a rush of medical justice over the big push to treat men's "Low T," a recent "disease" now aggressively marketed, with replacement testosterone. For over 50 years, medical journals were relentless in telling women they were "outliving their ovaries" (a real ad) and the only hope to keep their looks, their husbands and their sanity was hormone replacement. Now men are hearing that their decreased sex drive and energy, reduced muscle and growing fat put them in the same position. Missing in both marketing campaigns is the fact that people don't get old because they lose hormones; they lose hormones because they get old.
Many testosterone replacement products have been approved by the FDA from pills, injections and patches to gels and solutions that are applied topically. In November, the first underarm testosterone replacement product was approved which is applied like deodorant.
The male HRT products are not without their risks. They can worsen benign prostate problems, heart failure, sleep apnea, cause liver toxicity and possibly stimulate prostate cancer though it remains a theoretical risk. Injected testosterone has been associated with embolisms and extreme allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) both of which can be fatal. Men who take Propecia for hair loss can especially have low testosterone, which may not be reversible, because it reduces an enzyme involved in testosterone synthesis.
3) Calling Alcoholics and Addicts Mentally Ill and In Need of Vaccines
One of the few good things about alcoholism and drug addiction is they can be treated for free. Twelve-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous use peer support instead of drugs, trained personnel or insurance -- and they work. It's no surprise that the millions of people recovering without Pharma's help are its latest target as it tries to shore up revenues. Pharma is increasingly pressuring rehab facilities and doctors to add a mental illness diagnoses to recovering patients to sell expensive pills. Ka-ching!
Worse, Nora Volkow, the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is conducting cruel experiments on primates to develop a vaccine for alcoholic or addicts. Is there an alcoholic or addict in the world who would take such a vaccine? Doesn't she know that drinking and drugging are fun (until they aren't) and that no one wants to quit before the party's over? Doesn't she know that when drinking and drugging cease to be fun, a thing called denial kicks in and alcoholics and addict still won't take her vaccine?
These alcoholic/addict vaccines will be marketed for people "at risk" of addiction on the basis of their family histories and brain scans which sounds a little, well, non-voluntary. Marketing early aggressive treatment for diseases people don't even have yet ("pre-osteoporosis," "pre-diabetes," "pre-asthma" and "pre" mental illness) is a foolproof business model for Pharma because people will never know if they even needed the drugs--or need them now.
4) Pathologizing Insomnia
Insomnia has been a goldmine to Big Pharma. To goose the insomnia market, Pharma has created subcategories of insomnia -- chronic, acute, transient, initial, delayed-onset and middle-of-the-night as well as early-morning wakening non-restful sleep. Your insomnia is as unique as you are! It is also no coincidence that "wakefulness" medications cause insomnia and insomnia drugs, because of their hangover, create a market for wakefulness drugs.
Now Pharma is announcing that insomnia is actually a "risk" factor for depression and "that treating insomnia can help treat depression." The American Psychiatric Association's new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) due in May also newly pathologizes sleep. Considered the Bible of psychiatric drug treatments that end up being funded by insurers, the latest DSM has revised the way insomnia is diagnosed and classified. "If sleep disturbance is persistent and impairs daytime functioning, then it should be recognized and treated," write authors in a paper in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
5) "Selling" Chronic Immune Disorders
Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and plaque psoriasis are rare disorders, but you wouldn’t know it from Pharma's latest marketing efforts. The autoimmune conditions are increasingly treated with genetically engineered, injected drugs like Humira, Remicide, Enbrel and Cimzia which can make Pharma $20,000 per year per patient. No wonder a recent ad campaign tries to convince people with back pain "that doesn’t go away" that they really have ankylosing spondylitis. No wonder "RA" (rheumatoid arthritis) ads are everywhere and ads for plaque psoriasis drugs promise "clearer skin" like beauty creams. In Chicago, ads for the expensive, injected drugs have appeared in college newspapers, as if they are for the general population instead of people with uncommon diseases.
Because such drugs, called TNF blockers, suppress the immune system, they invite super bacterial and fungal infections, herpes and rare cancers, the latter especially in children. They are linked to increasing hospitalizations, extreme allergic reactions and cardiovascular events, all of which Pharma tries to downplay. TNF blockers are also marketed for thinning bones and asthma, conditions that would rarely warrant their risks. Xolair, marketed for asthma despite its FDA warnings. has recently gotten buzz as a great treatment for chronic itch.
6) Recycling Neurontin
The seizure drug Neurontin (gabapentin) has not been Pharma's finest hour. A division of Pfizer Inc., pleaded guilty in 2008 to illegally promoting it for bipolar disorder, pain, migraine headaches, and drug and alcohol withdrawal when it was only approved for postherpetic neuralgia, pain after shingles and epilepsy, paying $430 million. Oops. Pfizer actually promoted the illegal uses while under probation for illegal activities related to Lipitor and later promoted illegal uses for a similar drug, Lyrica, while under the Neurontin agreement! See: incorrigible.
To sell Neurontin, Pfizer's Parke-Davis launched an elaborate "publication plan" to get marketing papers disguised as science in medical journals. In just three years, Parke-Davis planted 13 ghostwritten articles in medical journals promoting off-label uses for Neurontin including a supplement to the prestigious Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine that Parke-Davis made into 43,000 reprints for its reps to disseminate. See Doc, it says right here....
And there was more duplicity. In 2011, three years after its $430 million settlement, Pfizer's STEPS trial (“Study of Neurontin: Titrate to Effect, Profile of Safety”) was reported to also be a con and not a scientific study; it was a sales tool created to inspire the 772 investigators participating in the trail to personally prescribe Neurontin. Recently, the new uses of Neurontin for chronic cough, menopause and insomnia are appearing in scientific literature. Why does no one seem to believe them?
Martha Rosenberg is an investigative health reporter and the author of Born With a Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp The Public Health (Prometheus Books).
BUY HER BOOK!!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Low Carb Diet
© MMXIII V.1.0.9
posted by Morley Evans
Dr. Mary Vernon, MD
specializes in bariatric medicine.
Interviewed by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, M.D.
"What I was taught to tell people — eat a fat-free, low sodium, calorie-restricted diet — does not work."
"I couldn't find anything [in the scientific papers] that showed that a low-fat diet worked." Dr. Vernon found answers in the lay press.
The biology textbook Dr. Vernon studied in medical school said:
"The job of insulin is to stop fat burning and start fat storage."
The next line in that biology textbook said:
"The primary secretagogue of insulin is dietary carbohydrate."
Dr. Vernon left medical school with the opposite message firmly planted.
A light bulb in Dr. Vernon's head came on years after she had graduated!
Q: "Who needs to count calories?"
A: "Nobody needs to count calories."
The bottom line:
Protein should be a percentage of your body weight (30 grams = 1.06 ounces and one chicken egg = 6 to 7 ounces of protein or more than 170 grams of protein — plus fat and cholesterol which you need.)
Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate our minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in kilograms by .8, or weight in pounds by .37. This is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day, a 200-pound person should get 74 grams, and a 250-pound person should eat 92 grams;
Fat should be included "as mother nature bundled it with protein" in meat, fowl, fish and dairy. (If you want to be thin — and healthy — eat fat and avoid starch and sugar.) The century-long War on Fat (and cholesterol) has created a public health disaster in Western countries;
Fruits and Vegetables should be most of what we eat. Load up. Take Juice PLUS+;
Vitamin D Nearly everyone is deficient in this most important nutrient.
Tend the Garden in your Gut. If you don't, nothing will work and you will get sick. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.
Starchy foods (such as potatoes) and all grains (especially bread) should be restricted by how much one can tolerate. If one is obese or diabetic, one must eat no starchy food. Everyone should eat much less starchy food than is commonly eaten today. The food industry sells starchy food because it is cheap to produce, lasts forever on the shelf, and it makes one hungry so one buys and eats more — good for them, bad for you;
Sugar and all sweeteners (especially HFCS) should be eliminated from everyone's diet.
NO BREAD NO BREAD NO VEGETABLE OILS (except olive oil)
NEVER DRINK ANYTHING FROM COCA-COLA OR PEPSI (not even water)
NO DRUGS, including over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs.
https://www.myimsonline.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Atkins_(nutritionist)
The New Atkins for a New You
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/nutrition/a/protein.htm
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/prediabetesanddiabetes/a/vernoninterview.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bariatrics
posted by Morley Evans
Dr. Mary Vernon, MD
specializes in bariatric medicine.
Interviewed by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, M.D.
"What I was taught to tell people — eat a fat-free, low sodium, calorie-restricted diet — does not work."
"I couldn't find anything [in the scientific papers] that showed that a low-fat diet worked." Dr. Vernon found answers in the lay press.
The biology textbook Dr. Vernon studied in medical school said:
"The job of insulin is to stop fat burning and start fat storage."
The next line in that biology textbook said:
"The primary secretagogue of insulin is dietary carbohydrate."
Dr. Vernon left medical school with the opposite message firmly planted.
A light bulb in Dr. Vernon's head came on years after she had graduated!
Q: "Who needs to count calories?"
A: "Nobody needs to count calories."
The bottom line:
Protein should be a percentage of your body weight (30 grams = 1.06 ounces and one chicken egg = 6 to 7 ounces of protein or more than 170 grams of protein — plus fat and cholesterol which you need.)
Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate our minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in kilograms by .8, or weight in pounds by .37. This is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day, a 200-pound person should get 74 grams, and a 250-pound person should eat 92 grams;
Fat should be included "as mother nature bundled it with protein" in meat, fowl, fish and dairy. (If you want to be thin — and healthy — eat fat and avoid starch and sugar.) The century-long War on Fat (and cholesterol) has created a public health disaster in Western countries;
Fruits and Vegetables should be most of what we eat. Load up. Take Juice PLUS+;
Vitamin D Nearly everyone is deficient in this most important nutrient.
Tend the Garden in your Gut. If you don't, nothing will work and you will get sick. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.
Starchy foods (such as potatoes) and all grains (especially bread) should be restricted by how much one can tolerate. If one is obese or diabetic, one must eat no starchy food. Everyone should eat much less starchy food than is commonly eaten today. The food industry sells starchy food because it is cheap to produce, lasts forever on the shelf, and it makes one hungry so one buys and eats more — good for them, bad for you;
Sugar and all sweeteners (especially HFCS) should be eliminated from everyone's diet.
NO BREAD NO BREAD NO VEGETABLE OILS (except olive oil)
NEVER DRINK ANYTHING FROM COCA-COLA OR PEPSI (not even water)
NO DRUGS, including over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs.
https://www.myimsonline.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Atkins_(nutritionist)
The New Atkins for a New You
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/nutrition/a/protein.htm
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/prediabetesanddiabetes/a/vernoninterview.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bariatrics
_______________________________________________________
Friday, April 26, 2013
Points to Ponder
© MMCIII V.1.1.1
by Morley Evans
Politicians are always prepared to investigate wrongdoings committed by their opponents or by someone over whom their opponents have responsibility, when they are not in power and can do nothing. When they are in power, and can actually do something, they will thank you for bringing something to their attention and refer you to someone else. It doesn't matter who you are or what the issue is. A politician's only motivation is getting into power and staying in power. Period. Politicians are not in office to help anyone except those skillful grafters who can give rewards without offending a politician's scruples. Politicians want to believe they are "honorable" and upright. Politicians may implement their own hair-brained schemes, when they can, if they have any. Some people will benefit from what politicians do and other people will be harmed by what they do. As long as everyone gets the same treatment, it is immaterial what happens to any individual. This is considered Justice.
The media does not exist to discover and broadcast truth or bring about justice. The media exists to make money. It makes money by selling advertising to people who believe the media has an audience that will see their advertisements. The media builds an audience by attracting attention, so it may publicize scandal -- the media don't particularly care about what it publicizes one way or the other.
Control (getting what you want) can be brought about if politicians believe they will not be elected unless they do something or other. The 435 U.S. Representatives and 100 U.S. Senators support the State of Israel, for example, because they know they will be defeated if they do not support the State of Israel. Thus a handful of super rich Americans, who happen to love the State of Israel, own these 535 politicians and the 310,000,000 American people they represent. These same super rich individuals also own the U.S. media that shapes what the people think in the United States and around the world. And they control the Federal Reserve System and Wall Street too.
The super rich seem to have covered all the bases, but:
The end of the current system will come when the U.S. dollar is no longer the world reserve currency (which means that every country will no longer accept payment in US Dollars) and when everything is manufactured by people who don't live in the United States (or Canada). "Made in America" will be the label of overpriced junk that nobody wants. These developments are nearly complete already. Having the "most powerful military the world has ever seen" will be of no use to us whatsoever — especially if we continue to operate as the toughest gangster the world has ever seen. Believe it or not, the United States hasn't won a war since The Great Victory of '45 — despite wreaking havoc and killing millions to "defend freedom and democracy." Tough times for Americans (and Canadians) ominously loom. Our bubble economy is about to pop. It won't go Bang like 1929. The economy has a slow leak and will soon be out of air. Plop. The super rich will have already made plans to save their own skins. In fact, their plans are part of the problem. What will the middle-class and the lower-classes do?
REMEMBER: That the Soviet Union evaporated when no one believed in it anymore and fewer-and-fewer believe the U.S. Dollar is "as good as gold" anymore — People are checking out without even looking at the dark side of the USA and that is very dark.
Save yourself and those you love:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00859KSLE/ref=kics_hp_typ_dp
by Morley Evans
Politicians are always prepared to investigate wrongdoings committed by their opponents or by someone over whom their opponents have responsibility, when they are not in power and can do nothing. When they are in power, and can actually do something, they will thank you for bringing something to their attention and refer you to someone else. It doesn't matter who you are or what the issue is. A politician's only motivation is getting into power and staying in power. Period. Politicians are not in office to help anyone except those skillful grafters who can give rewards without offending a politician's scruples. Politicians want to believe they are "honorable" and upright. Politicians may implement their own hair-brained schemes, when they can, if they have any. Some people will benefit from what politicians do and other people will be harmed by what they do. As long as everyone gets the same treatment, it is immaterial what happens to any individual. This is considered Justice.
The media does not exist to discover and broadcast truth or bring about justice. The media exists to make money. It makes money by selling advertising to people who believe the media has an audience that will see their advertisements. The media builds an audience by attracting attention, so it may publicize scandal -- the media don't particularly care about what it publicizes one way or the other.
Control (getting what you want) can be brought about if politicians believe they will not be elected unless they do something or other. The 435 U.S. Representatives and 100 U.S. Senators support the State of Israel, for example, because they know they will be defeated if they do not support the State of Israel. Thus a handful of super rich Americans, who happen to love the State of Israel, own these 535 politicians and the 310,000,000 American people they represent. These same super rich individuals also own the U.S. media that shapes what the people think in the United States and around the world. And they control the Federal Reserve System and Wall Street too.
The super rich seem to have covered all the bases, but:
The end of the current system will come when the U.S. dollar is no longer the world reserve currency (which means that every country will no longer accept payment in US Dollars) and when everything is manufactured by people who don't live in the United States (or Canada). "Made in America" will be the label of overpriced junk that nobody wants. These developments are nearly complete already. Having the "most powerful military the world has ever seen" will be of no use to us whatsoever — especially if we continue to operate as the toughest gangster the world has ever seen. Believe it or not, the United States hasn't won a war since The Great Victory of '45 — despite wreaking havoc and killing millions to "defend freedom and democracy." Tough times for Americans (and Canadians) ominously loom. Our bubble economy is about to pop. It won't go Bang like 1929. The economy has a slow leak and will soon be out of air. Plop. The super rich will have already made plans to save their own skins. In fact, their plans are part of the problem. What will the middle-class and the lower-classes do?
REMEMBER: That the Soviet Union evaporated when no one believed in it anymore and fewer-and-fewer believe the U.S. Dollar is "as good as gold" anymore — People are checking out without even looking at the dark side of the USA and that is very dark.
Save yourself and those you love:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00859KSLE/ref=kics_hp_typ_dp
______________________________________________
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
A Big Fat Lie?
© MMXIII V.1.0.3
by Morley Evans
What should we eat? What should we avoid?
Discussion on LinkedIn
Morley Evans • Dear fellow fans of fruits, berries and vegetables,
Judging from the preceding comments, I conclude that everyone here subscribes to the idea that abstinence from animal products leads to health and vitality. The movie everyone loves certainly says that. What if that message is wrong? Protein can be sourced from plants. Fat cannot. What if fat is an essential nutrient that is required to metabolize all those micronutrients found in fruits, berries and vegetables? Dr. Esselstyn insists plant-derived oils be avoided. Evidence suggests that plant-derived oils and man-made fat-like products cause CHD and cancer. What if the century-long war on fat has all been a big fat lie? Even more disturbing, what if the 60-year-long war on germs is as misguided — a mistake endangering our health and the planet itself? We are doomed to lose those wars.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/20/what-if-its-all-been-a-big-fat-lie-part-1.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riXoANHWYPQ
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/31/dr-natasha-campbell-mcbride-on-gaps-nutritional-program.aspx
Somehow, people got the idea that animal fat (and then cholesterol) is evil. How very odd. People have been eating animal fat for millennia. We would not be here if fat is evil or deleterious to human health.
Morley Evans • Dr. Esselstyn says: "NO OIL! Not even olive oil, which goes against a lot of other advice out there about so-called good fats. The reality is that oils are extremely low in terms of nutritive value. They contain no fiber, no minerals and are 100% fat calories. And above all they contain saturated fat which immediately injures the endothelial lining of the arteries when eaten. It doesn't matter whether it's olive oil, corn oil, coconut il or any other kind , avoid ALL oil. This is so important I have detailed oil in Chapter 10."
Dr. Esselstyn doesn't say to avoid avocado, nuts, flax seed. He says to avoid OIL made from plants. That might be the essence of his cure combined with the thousands of micronutrients in fruits, berries and vegetables and the avoidance of sugar and foods that convert instantly into sugar. Frankenfoods like HFCS and other chemistry from the labs must be completely avoided too, of course. Dr. Esselstyn doesn't like animal fat either. To emphasize, his diet may work because his patients do not eat plant oils (which he confuses with animal fat) and they do eat fruits and vegetables. This calls for some rigorous clinical trials.
I am learning about the GAPS diet recommended by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride to cultivate a healthy gut and create a healthy body. Broth made from animal bones is a staple (beef, fowl, fish). Of course there are problems with our food. It is next-to-impossible to avoid everything. One can only do the best one can. Tower Garden is an excellent choice if one wants high quality nutrient dense unadulterated food with no shipping and storage! If one gets sick, God forbid, medicine is no help. I am doing well with chicken broth. My psoriasis is disappearing since I started making some of the adjustments Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends.
by Morley Evans
What should we eat? What should we avoid?
Discussion on LinkedIn
Morley Evans • Dear fellow fans of fruits, berries and vegetables,
Judging from the preceding comments, I conclude that everyone here subscribes to the idea that abstinence from animal products leads to health and vitality. The movie everyone loves certainly says that. What if that message is wrong? Protein can be sourced from plants. Fat cannot. What if fat is an essential nutrient that is required to metabolize all those micronutrients found in fruits, berries and vegetables? Dr. Esselstyn insists plant-derived oils be avoided. Evidence suggests that plant-derived oils and man-made fat-like products cause CHD and cancer. What if the century-long war on fat has all been a big fat lie? Even more disturbing, what if the 60-year-long war on germs is as misguided — a mistake endangering our health and the planet itself? We are doomed to lose those wars.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/20/what-if-its-all-been-a-big-fat-lie-part-1.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riXoANHWYPQ
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/31/dr-natasha-campbell-mcbride-on-gaps-nutritional-program.aspx
Somehow, people got the idea that animal fat (and then cholesterol) is evil. How very odd. People have been eating animal fat for millennia. We would not be here if fat is evil or deleterious to human health.
Morley Evans • Dr. Esselstyn says: "NO OIL! Not even olive oil, which goes against a lot of other advice out there about so-called good fats. The reality is that oils are extremely low in terms of nutritive value. They contain no fiber, no minerals and are 100% fat calories. And above all they contain saturated fat which immediately injures the endothelial lining of the arteries when eaten. It doesn't matter whether it's olive oil, corn oil, coconut il or any other kind , avoid ALL oil. This is so important I have detailed oil in Chapter 10."
Dr. Esselstyn doesn't say to avoid avocado, nuts, flax seed. He says to avoid OIL made from plants. That might be the essence of his cure combined with the thousands of micronutrients in fruits, berries and vegetables and the avoidance of sugar and foods that convert instantly into sugar. Frankenfoods like HFCS and other chemistry from the labs must be completely avoided too, of course. Dr. Esselstyn doesn't like animal fat either. To emphasize, his diet may work because his patients do not eat plant oils (which he confuses with animal fat) and they do eat fruits and vegetables. This calls for some rigorous clinical trials.
I am learning about the GAPS diet recommended by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride to cultivate a healthy gut and create a healthy body. Broth made from animal bones is a staple (beef, fowl, fish). Of course there are problems with our food. It is next-to-impossible to avoid everything. One can only do the best one can. Tower Garden is an excellent choice if one wants high quality nutrient dense unadulterated food with no shipping and storage! If one gets sick, God forbid, medicine is no help. I am doing well with chicken broth. My psoriasis is disappearing since I started making some of the adjustments Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Secret World of Gold
© MMXIII V.1.0.2
by Morley Evans
The link below takes you to an exposé of the secret world of gold. It was aired on CBC as a feature of Doc Zone on 20 April 2013. Canadians should be horrified that its central bank, the Bank of Canada, has no gold. Canada's gold reserves were all sold off under Liberal and Conservative governments over the last thirty years. The CBC usually is the last to know, or at least the last to tell anyone what it knows. So we can expect the worst soon since processes are far advanced by the time we find out about them.
"The golden rule is: He who has the gold, rules," and we don't have any.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2380466502/
We are in the hands of crooks. The evidence is everywhere.
by Morley Evans
The link below takes you to an exposé of the secret world of gold. It was aired on CBC as a feature of Doc Zone on 20 April 2013. Canadians should be horrified that its central bank, the Bank of Canada, has no gold. Canada's gold reserves were all sold off under Liberal and Conservative governments over the last thirty years. The CBC usually is the last to know, or at least the last to tell anyone what it knows. So we can expect the worst soon since processes are far advanced by the time we find out about them.
"The golden rule is: He who has the gold, rules," and we don't have any.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2380466502/
We are in the hands of crooks. The evidence is everywhere.
________________________________________________
Thursday, April 18, 2013
No Guts, No Glory!
© MMXIII V.1.0.3
by Morley Evans
I am learning about the GAPS diet recommended by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. It is similar to the paleo diet. Dr. Campbell-McBride's goal is to create healthy guts. She thinks that everything we have been taught about food for a century is wrong. Dead wrong. We need animal protein and animal fat. We also need fresh fruits and vegetables. We don't need sugar and starchy foods that convert instantly into sugar. We don't want much very grain and no vegetable oils (except olive oil but don't cook with it). We want real food cooked like great-grandma cooked it. Fat is in. Fermented foods like sauerkraut and kefir are in. Pepsi and Crisco are out.
by Morley Evans
I am learning about the GAPS diet recommended by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. It is similar to the paleo diet. Dr. Campbell-McBride's goal is to create healthy guts. She thinks that everything we have been taught about food for a century is wrong. Dead wrong. We need animal protein and animal fat. We also need fresh fruits and vegetables. We don't need sugar and starchy foods that convert instantly into sugar. We don't want much very grain and no vegetable oils (except olive oil but don't cook with it). We want real food cooked like great-grandma cooked it. Fat is in. Fermented foods like sauerkraut and kefir are in. Pepsi and Crisco are out.
As a survivor of statin drugs and the morons who prescribe and sell them while preaching zero fat and zero cholesterol, I am very interested in what she says. Dr. Campbell-McBride thinks we would be well-served if we made our purpose in life keeping the flora in our gut happy and healthy. Tarzan, Hercules and every paleolithic hero had a healthy gut. They were strong. They were not fat. They had healthy teeth, clear eyes and sharp minds. No guts, No glory!
We need fat to be thin! We need cholesterol to be healthy. We need the micronutrients and antioxidants in fruits, berries and vegetables. We need Juice PLUS+, exercise and Vitamin D.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Buffalo Springfield
© MMXIII V.1.0.0
by Morley Evans
For what it's worth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Springfield
by Morley Evans
For what it's worth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Springfield
OHIO by Neil Young
© MMXIII V.1.0.0
by Morley Evans
This was 1970. Where is the protest today? Things are much worse today. Hohum, you say? Do you see that light at the end of the tunnel? What do you think it is?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_young
by Morley Evans
This was 1970. Where is the protest today? Things are much worse today. Hohum, you say? Do you see that light at the end of the tunnel? What do you think it is?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_young
Monday, April 15, 2013
Begin the Beguine
© MMXIII V.1.0.3
by Morley Evans
This version by Artie Shaw and his orchestra is one of the best renditions of "Begin the Beguine" I've heard. Cole Porter wrote it in 1935 while he was on a cruise of the south Pacific on a Cunard liner:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begin_the_Beguine.
http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/c/coleporter5950/beginthebeguine235309.html
The big band music of the thirties and forties was replaced by three chord chonga-changa racket in the fifties. Promoters discovered big money could be made if they could get disc jockeys to play a song over and over on the radio. Over and over. Payola! That's the ticket! Tell the kids how great Rock 'n Roll is. Tell them to buy! Tell them they can rebel and be free of what binds their parents! Kids rushed to their record shop to buy a "45" for 99 cents. Millions and then billions were made and tastes were changed.
Although one can still hear something good, music generally has gone downhill ever since. Let's hope rap is the bottom and that nothing could get any worse. But don't hold your breath! One can only dream of dancing in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria in a romantic by-gone era. Thankfully, they still play Fred Astaire movies on TCM and clips like this one have been preserved on YouTube. Sadly, the video here is somewhat overexposed but the sound is still great!
Okay, okay. Some hot licks have been played on guitar too. I promise to post a few.
by Morley Evans
This version by Artie Shaw and his orchestra is one of the best renditions of "Begin the Beguine" I've heard. Cole Porter wrote it in 1935 while he was on a cruise of the south Pacific on a Cunard liner:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begin_the_Beguine.
http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/c/coleporter5950/beginthebeguine235309.html
The big band music of the thirties and forties was replaced by three chord chonga-changa racket in the fifties. Promoters discovered big money could be made if they could get disc jockeys to play a song over and over on the radio. Over and over. Payola! That's the ticket! Tell the kids how great Rock 'n Roll is. Tell them to buy! Tell them they can rebel and be free of what binds their parents! Kids rushed to their record shop to buy a "45" for 99 cents. Millions and then billions were made and tastes were changed.
Although one can still hear something good, music generally has gone downhill ever since. Let's hope rap is the bottom and that nothing could get any worse. But don't hold your breath! One can only dream of dancing in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria in a romantic by-gone era. Thankfully, they still play Fred Astaire movies on TCM and clips like this one have been preserved on YouTube. Sadly, the video here is somewhat overexposed but the sound is still great!
Okay, okay. Some hot licks have been played on guitar too. I promise to post a few.
John Milton
© MMXIII V.1.0.0
Posted by Morley Evans
Posted by Morley Evans
Pensée du Jour
"Where there is much desire
to learn, there of necessity
will be much arguing, much
writing, many opinions; for
opinion in good men is but
knowledge in the making."
John Milton (1608-74)
__________________________________
__________________________________
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Psalm 30
© MMXIII V.1.0.1
by Morley Evans
by Morley Evans
Psalm 30 (NRSV) Anglican Church of Canada
You have brought me up, O Lord, from the dead.
You have brought me up, O Lord, from the dead.
I will exalt you, O Lord. because you have lifted me up and have not let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my god, I cried out to you, and you restored me to health. You brought me up, O Lord. from the dead; you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.
You have brought me up, O Lord, from the dead.
Sing to the Lord, you servants of his; give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness. For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye, his favour for a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning.
You have brought me up, O Lord, from the dead.
While I felt secure, I said, "I shall never be disturbed. You, Lord, with your favour, made me as strong as the mountains." Then you hid your face, and I was filled with fear.
You have brought me up, O Lord, from the dead.
I cried to you, O Lord; I pleaded with the Lord, saying, "What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the Pit? will the dust praise you or declare your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; O Lord, be my helper.”
You have brought me up, O Lord, from the dead.
You have turned my wailing into dancing; you have put off my sack-cloth and clothed me with joy. Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing; O Lord my God, I will give you thanks for ever.
You have brought me up, O Lord, from the dead
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Reaping the Whirlwind
© MMXIII V.1.0.1
by Morley Evans
by Morley Evans
Our culture hit the skids with the Great Victory of '45. We know exactly when too:
Of course how we got to that point is as interesting as what happened after.
The link to the Huff Post article is revealing.
We are paying a price for the "sexual revolution" which threw away all sorts of taboos that had been learned by trial and error over millennia.
Since the 1950s, respect for women has been thought to be useless, like tonsils or the appendix. Now we have no respect for women and we are reaping the whirlwind.
There has always been a strange double standard for men and women, boys and girls, which I have never understood. But "liberation" has made the double standard worse.
- Morley
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Rehtaeh Parsons
© MMXIII V.1.0.4
by Morley Evans
When she was 15, Rehtaeh Parsons went with a friend to another friend's home. There a gang of boys got her drunk and raped her after her friend had left, apparently. One of the boys photographed the assault and posted the pictures online for the entertainment of everyone in the community.
The RCMP, proudly sends officers all over the world to train police departments. They investigated this straightforward criminal assault for a year. There is lots of evidence and there are witnesses including the participants but the Mounties couldn't find enough evidence to press charges for rape. Meanwhile, Rehtaeh Parsons was subjected to endless humiliation at school. She was forced to feel ashamed. Rehtaeh finally hanged herself in the bathroom of her home. She was 17 when she died.
The Mounties are better at polishing their boots and brushing their Stetson hats than solving crimes. They are pretty good at marching and running speed traps where I live. They don't ride horses anymore.
Here's a possibility someone should consider: Poor Rehtaeh Parsons was deliberately done in by someone who wanted to kill her. It could have been the friend who enticed her to the party at another friend's house. It could have been the friend with the house. It could have been one of the boys. Maybe Rehtaeh rejected one of the boys. Maybe one of the girls was jealous of Rehtaeh. What happened may not have been some adolescent high jinks that got out of hand as one might think at first glance. Someone does know what happened, but the truth will never come out.
I think what happened to Rehtaeh is a symptom of a sickness in Canada that Canadian smugness covers up. Canadians are fond of comparing themselves favourably to Americans. Here's something Canadians should think about. Americans are taught that they are good, even if they may not be. Americans have been subjected to skillful brainwashing for over two hundred years. Yet, somehow, Canadian brainwashing is even more effective than American brainwashing. Despite incessant brainwashing, quite a few Americans can think and see things when they are wrong. Libraries a full of books these Americans have written. Some of them are in the Library of Congress. Americans start organizations to bring about reform and right wrongs. Canadians don't do those things. Canadians see no need to do them. For Rehtaeh whose heart was broken before she was killed, I say this:
Canada is a "failed state" with corrupt, incompetent institutions and lazy stupid officials who run everything. This explains how the RCMP could not find enough evidence to press charges after a year of "investigation" and why confused bureaucrats and elected officials can sweep Rehtaeh under the carpet with all the other victims of crime in Canada. The correct charge is rape, not "bullying" or "child pornography," stupid. Shame on you, Canada. Shame on you Canadians who failed to protect a defenseless girl who needed you. Shame.
http://www.care2.com/causes/17-yr-old-girl-kills-self-after-rape-photo-goes-viral-2.html
http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/world/rehtaeh-parsons-suicide-halifax-nova-scotia-canada-teen-allegedly-gang-raped-and-bullied-dies
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/04/12/rehtaeh_parsons_anonymous_says_names_floating_around_online_are_wrong_honours_moms_wishes.html
by Morley Evans
 |
| Rehtaeh Parsons |
Rehtaeh Parsons was a pretty young girl who lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a province of Canada. Rehtaeh was killed, but in Canada such victims as her are responsible for their own misfortune.
"You are to blame," she was told. "Shame on you, you slut."
When she was 15, Rehtaeh Parsons went with a friend to another friend's home. There a gang of boys got her drunk and raped her after her friend had left, apparently. One of the boys photographed the assault and posted the pictures online for the entertainment of everyone in the community.
The RCMP, proudly sends officers all over the world to train police departments. They investigated this straightforward criminal assault for a year. There is lots of evidence and there are witnesses including the participants but the Mounties couldn't find enough evidence to press charges for rape. Meanwhile, Rehtaeh Parsons was subjected to endless humiliation at school. She was forced to feel ashamed. Rehtaeh finally hanged herself in the bathroom of her home. She was 17 when she died.
The Mounties are better at polishing their boots and brushing their Stetson hats than solving crimes. They are pretty good at marching and running speed traps where I live. They don't ride horses anymore.
Here's a possibility someone should consider: Poor Rehtaeh Parsons was deliberately done in by someone who wanted to kill her. It could have been the friend who enticed her to the party at another friend's house. It could have been the friend with the house. It could have been one of the boys. Maybe Rehtaeh rejected one of the boys. Maybe one of the girls was jealous of Rehtaeh. What happened may not have been some adolescent high jinks that got out of hand as one might think at first glance. Someone does know what happened, but the truth will never come out.
I think what happened to Rehtaeh is a symptom of a sickness in Canada that Canadian smugness covers up. Canadians are fond of comparing themselves favourably to Americans. Here's something Canadians should think about. Americans are taught that they are good, even if they may not be. Americans have been subjected to skillful brainwashing for over two hundred years. Yet, somehow, Canadian brainwashing is even more effective than American brainwashing. Despite incessant brainwashing, quite a few Americans can think and see things when they are wrong. Libraries a full of books these Americans have written. Some of them are in the Library of Congress. Americans start organizations to bring about reform and right wrongs. Canadians don't do those things. Canadians see no need to do them. For Rehtaeh whose heart was broken before she was killed, I say this:
Canada is a "failed state" with corrupt, incompetent institutions and lazy stupid officials who run everything. This explains how the RCMP could not find enough evidence to press charges after a year of "investigation" and why confused bureaucrats and elected officials can sweep Rehtaeh under the carpet with all the other victims of crime in Canada. The correct charge is rape, not "bullying" or "child pornography," stupid. Shame on you, Canada. Shame on you Canadians who failed to protect a defenseless girl who needed you. Shame.
http://www.care2.com/causes/17-yr-old-girl-kills-self-after-rape-photo-goes-viral-2.html
http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/world/rehtaeh-parsons-suicide-halifax-nova-scotia-canada-teen-allegedly-gang-raped-and-bullied-dies
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/04/12/rehtaeh_parsons_anonymous_says_names_floating_around_online_are_wrong_honours_moms_wishes.html
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
I SAID NO!
© MMXIII V.1.0.0
posted by Morley Evans
This is a story written by Robin Karr about her experience with doctors who took it upon themselves to give Robin a complete hysterectomy against her express wishes.
On July 30, 2007, I met the man who would change my life forever. This man wasn’t my husband-to-be or my first-born child. He wasn’t the pastor who baptized me either. The man who changed my life forever was a doctor; more specifically, a gynecologist. Our first meeting was on July 30, 2007 in his office in Cincinnati Ohio. From here on out, I will refer to this doctor as ‘the doctor’. I refer to him in this way because I didn’t know him – not really.
The reason for this meeting was an enlarged abdomen – enlarged to the size of a woman six or seven months pregnant. By the time of our meeting, I was forced to wear maternity clothes. I had no idea what could be wrong with me but I was scared. The doctor performed a pelvic exam and told me that my uterus was prolapsed and asked me if this caused me any problems. I told him that I was aware that my uterus was prolapsed and that I had no symptoms. He said that I could be fitted with a pessary if my condition ever became a problem. Further, he said he didn't know why my abdomen was enlarged but said he’d order some labs.
I already knew my uterus was prolapsed via my other doctors through the years, but I’d never had problems or issues. No other doctor ever mentioned my needing to do anything about it and they didn’t refer to it as a ‘condition’ either. Most women who’ve had children go to their grave with a prolapsed uterus. That is unless a doctor removes it…
I was deeply attached to my uterus since it was home to all three of my precious children, but especially my two youngest. My two youngest children, Matthew and Laura, were abducted from our home in Kentucky by their father during a routine visit in 1998. He eventually gained full custody in Texas with the help of a father’s rights judge and my children never came home again. Even though I carried Matthew and Laura in my womb and gave birth to them, I don’t know them. They were only one and two at the time they were taken… I explained to the doctor that my uterus was all I had left of my children and I told him that feeling it inside of me gave me great comfort. He seemed to understand…
I had a couple more visits with the doctor but still he could not determine why my abdomen was so enlarged. My labs and other tests all came back normal. In fact, my estrogen level indicated that I was nowhere near menopause. Near the end of August, the doctor finally told me that he could perform a laparoscopy on me to examine my pelvic organs. He said he could do this in September. I agreed.
I met the doctor on September 25th for a pre-surgery consultation. He told me that he imagined my uterus was enlarged as well as prolapsed and, if so, he would need to remove it for my abdomen to return to its normal size. Reluctantly and after asking many many questions, I reminded the doctor about Matthew and Laura and about my determination to hold onto my uterus. But, he assured me that my enlarged abdomen would most likely require its removal.
When I questioned the doctor about complications, I was assured there would be no complications. He told me he’s performed hundreds of hysterectomies. In hindsight, this statement should have bothered me… I asked if I needed my uterus for physical reasons and he said "It's a useless bleeding organ for a 46 year old woman." I asked him about if my sexuality would be affected and he said "I'm not operating on your brain". And then he laughed. When he mentioned that he could remove my ovaries if I wanted him to, I asked "What would I do for hormones if you took mine?" He said "I'll simply replace what I take away at a cost of about $15 a month."
We also talked about the fact that I had a pituitary tumor as a child which had compromised my endocrine system. Finally, I told the doctor that I've had too traumatic a life to take a chance on allowing removal of any organs that didn't need to be removed. I explained to him that I had taken good care of my one and only body all of my life and that I wanted to keep it as intact as possible. He seemed to understand. His last words to me that day were "It would be better to err on the side of caution in your particular case and not remove the ovaries. If they ever become a problem, they can always be removed at a later time."
Feeling as if I’d told the doctor how I felt about my body and life and feeling as if I’d asked all of the important questions, I finally agreed to allow the doctor to remove my uterus, but ONLY my uterus. The doctor and I signed a surgical consent for removal of ‘uterus only’. My fiancé at that time was a witness to our conversation and the signing of the surgical consent.
Two days later, I arrived at the hospital for surgery and I was presented with a NEW consent form to sign. The wrong surgery was listed. According to the new consent, all of my healthy female organs were going to be removed with the exception of my cervix. I told the nurse that this was not the surgery I agreed to and I refused to sign the consent. I was especially alarmed about my ovaries being removed. Further, I told the nurse that I didn't want to have any surgery unless and until I spoke with the doctor.
The nurse told me she’d find my doctor and let him know I wanted to speak with him. After she left my room, another nurse came in and said he was going to give my something to relax me. I told him I didn't want to be given any medication because there was a problem with the surgery. I explained that I had not signed the consent and that I was waiting to talk to the doctor. As I was protesting, he injected my IV with Versed and I was immediately knocked out. My last waking memory was seeing the nurse inject my IV. Even though I said “NO”, the nurse put me to sleep.
My family told me that after I was knocked out, an O.R. nurse came into my room and told my mother to sign the new consent I had refused to sign a few minutes earlier. (My mother wasn’t aware she was signing that consent). As soon as my mother signed the consent, I was taken to surgery. This all took place within a matter of minutes…
I woke up in recovery. However, I didn't realize that I’d even been asleep. I thought I was still waiting to speak with the doctor. I wasn't aware two hours had passed or that I had had surgery. I thought only minutes had passed. And, I thought I was still waiting to speak with the doctor. A nurse I didn't recognize told me that I was in recovery and that a total hysterectomy had been performed on me. I began crying and asked what organs had been taken. She said “Everything; you have nothing left.” I said that I wanted to die. This is noted in my record. I don’t guess I need to say here that it’s not normal for a patient to wake up from an ‘elective’ surgery wanting to die. Even though I said “NO”, I was put to sleep and I was gutted and castrated! I said “NO”!
From the moment I woke up in recovery, I knew that I was no longer the woman I had been for the past 45 years. And, I have not felt like that woman since… Not only did I not feel like ‘the woman I had been’, I didn’t feel like ‘a woman’. I instantly lost interest in all things sexual. This is such a profound loss... I'm not sure I can adequately express this kind of loss with mere words. This profound feeling of the loss of my feminine essence and sexuality would be only the beginning of many losses.
Initially, I was prescribed Premarin by the doctor who performed the hysterectomy. Premarin is a synthetic hormone which is made from pregnant mare's urine. It is not in any way similar to a woman's estrogen. My body couldn't tolerate it so I began doing my own research and learned about bioidentical hormones. Eventually, I made the transition to bioidentical hormones but it wasn’t easy. I first tried an estrogen patch and progesterone and testosterone creams. The patch didn’t seem to help me at all and irritated my skin to the point of making my skin appear burned. The creams were messy and they didn’t seem to work either. Finally, after changing hormone doctors and hormone prescriptions several times, I found that bioidentical hormone pellets worked best for me. They are very expensive though – approximately $3000 a year. I began taking compounded estrogen by mouth and estrogen and testosterone pellets are inserted into my hip every three months.
Hormone replacement is not without risks but for women who can't produce their own hormones, there is little choice but to go on HRT if they want to function and stay even semi-healthy. I also take many supplements and vitamins since the surgery - especially Calcium and Vitamin D. I take a special Omega supplement for my dry eyes. I take biotin for my hair, skin and nails. I also take a Complex B Vitamin, Zinc, Vitamin C and Magnesium.
Even though I've been on bioidentical HRT for the past three years or so, I don't feel even remotely like I did before the hysterectomy. I have chronic insomnia. Sleep seems to be a thing of the past. I have difficulties with memory and concentration. Other people finish my sentences for me because I lose my concentration and just can’t seem to grasp the word I’m looking for. This is another profound loss since I used to teach English and work as a writer. Everything dried out after surgery; including my skin, nails, hair, vagina and especially my eyes. I lost a lot of hair and continue to fight hair loss. My once healthy beautiful nails are brittle and seem to break for no reason. Having a dry vagina is painful and bothersome all the time. I’ve tried using estrogen creams but they’re expensive ($150 a tube) and they don’t seem to work.
Possibly the most troubling of all dryness, I developed severe dry eye disease which is beyond miserable. It’s debilitating. The cost of caring for my eyes that no longer have their own natural protective tear/oil film is great; considering time and money. I've had two corneal ulcers due to having no ovaries/estrogen and no eye protection. This is a very painful condition and causes loss of vision. I’m legally blind in my left eye now. I can no longer see well enough to drive. I’ve lost a lot of independence.
There have been physical changes since the surgery as well. My pelvic organs have shifted down into the empty space left after removal of my female organs. Within eight months of the surgery, I was diagnosed with third degree bladder prolapse which causes me to have to urinate constantly. This condition alone has very adversely impacted my life. Chronic constipation is also an issue now too. I won’t go into the details here on how I have to manually force stool out of my body. I endure chronic lower back pain from the surgery. For the very first time in my life, I have a problem with weight gain. I have to consciously work at not gaining weight. Regardless, I’ve gained at least ten pounds. Belly fat is much more of a problem since the surgery due to ovary removal. This is really troubling since I already have an issue with my abdomen being enlarged.
Depression is a very real and serious consequence of hysterectomy and especially ovary removal. There are chemical and biological reasons for this. I have severe and even suicidal depression since the surgery. I attempted to hang myself five months post-surgery. I have nerve damage in my vagina, vaginal walls and lower extremities. There have been times I couldn’t walk and had to use a wheel chair. I developed thyroid disease within the first year of ovary removal so I’ll be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life. The problems I've encountered with regulation of my body temperature due to thyroid disease have made hot flashes seem mild in comparison.
I’ve faced a lot of trauma in my life and from a young age but absolutely nothing has been as traumatic as coping with the trauma hysterectomy and ovary removal inflicted into my life. Even worse, I felt so completely alone; as if I was on an island of doom all by myself. Every time a new health problem reared its ugly head, doctors would assure me that I was imagining it. Then, they would promptly offer to refer me to a psychiatrist for antidepressants and therapy. For this reason, I created a blog site and web site where I wrote about my experiences and about my own research regarding hysterectomy, hormones, hormone replacement, etc. I wanted other women to know they are so not alone.
As a result, I've had many women contact me regarding post-hysterectomy problems. Most women encounter similar problems as those I’ve outlined above. Although the problems I’ve outlined above are devastating, I think perhaps one of the most devastating problems women face is the feeling of being betrayed by their doctor. Most women trust their doctors and are completely devastated once they discover the many profound changes that take place after hysterectomy and ovary removal are well-known to the medical profession. They don’t understand why their doctors didn’t tell them.
Anyone interested in hysterectomy information can find out what I’ve learned about hysterectomy, the adverse consequences of hysterectomy and the alternatives to hysterectomy via my web site at www.hysterectomyconsequences.com
I talk a bit more personally about how I feel about hysterectomy and about what happened to me via my blog site at www.hysterectomylies.blogspot.com
I recently created a Facebook site at www.facebook.com/hysterectomyconsequences and I have a Twitter account at www.twitter.com/jiggaz31
I can be reached by e-mail at robinkarr31@yahoo.com
Comments:
Thank you Ms. Robin Karr for sharing the startling and personal story of your bad experience. We are all with you in your grief and sense the depths of your despair. It is my goal to make this a New Beginning though, for women to understand hysterectomies and the real complications that do happen. Together, we can be strong. Together, we can make a difference. Thank you for starting.
posted by Morley Evans
This is a story written by Robin Karr about her experience with doctors who took it upon themselves to give Robin a complete hysterectomy against her express wishes.
I Said NO
On July 30, 2007, I met the man who would change my life forever. This man wasn’t my husband-to-be or my first-born child. He wasn’t the pastor who baptized me either. The man who changed my life forever was a doctor; more specifically, a gynecologist. Our first meeting was on July 30, 2007 in his office in Cincinnati Ohio. From here on out, I will refer to this doctor as ‘the doctor’. I refer to him in this way because I didn’t know him – not really.
The reason for this meeting was an enlarged abdomen – enlarged to the size of a woman six or seven months pregnant. By the time of our meeting, I was forced to wear maternity clothes. I had no idea what could be wrong with me but I was scared. The doctor performed a pelvic exam and told me that my uterus was prolapsed and asked me if this caused me any problems. I told him that I was aware that my uterus was prolapsed and that I had no symptoms. He said that I could be fitted with a pessary if my condition ever became a problem. Further, he said he didn't know why my abdomen was enlarged but said he’d order some labs.
I already knew my uterus was prolapsed via my other doctors through the years, but I’d never had problems or issues. No other doctor ever mentioned my needing to do anything about it and they didn’t refer to it as a ‘condition’ either. Most women who’ve had children go to their grave with a prolapsed uterus. That is unless a doctor removes it…
I was deeply attached to my uterus since it was home to all three of my precious children, but especially my two youngest. My two youngest children, Matthew and Laura, were abducted from our home in Kentucky by their father during a routine visit in 1998. He eventually gained full custody in Texas with the help of a father’s rights judge and my children never came home again. Even though I carried Matthew and Laura in my womb and gave birth to them, I don’t know them. They were only one and two at the time they were taken… I explained to the doctor that my uterus was all I had left of my children and I told him that feeling it inside of me gave me great comfort. He seemed to understand…
I had a couple more visits with the doctor but still he could not determine why my abdomen was so enlarged. My labs and other tests all came back normal. In fact, my estrogen level indicated that I was nowhere near menopause. Near the end of August, the doctor finally told me that he could perform a laparoscopy on me to examine my pelvic organs. He said he could do this in September. I agreed.
I met the doctor on September 25th for a pre-surgery consultation. He told me that he imagined my uterus was enlarged as well as prolapsed and, if so, he would need to remove it for my abdomen to return to its normal size. Reluctantly and after asking many many questions, I reminded the doctor about Matthew and Laura and about my determination to hold onto my uterus. But, he assured me that my enlarged abdomen would most likely require its removal.
When I questioned the doctor about complications, I was assured there would be no complications. He told me he’s performed hundreds of hysterectomies. In hindsight, this statement should have bothered me… I asked if I needed my uterus for physical reasons and he said "It's a useless bleeding organ for a 46 year old woman." I asked him about if my sexuality would be affected and he said "I'm not operating on your brain". And then he laughed. When he mentioned that he could remove my ovaries if I wanted him to, I asked "What would I do for hormones if you took mine?" He said "I'll simply replace what I take away at a cost of about $15 a month."
We also talked about the fact that I had a pituitary tumor as a child which had compromised my endocrine system. Finally, I told the doctor that I've had too traumatic a life to take a chance on allowing removal of any organs that didn't need to be removed. I explained to him that I had taken good care of my one and only body all of my life and that I wanted to keep it as intact as possible. He seemed to understand. His last words to me that day were "It would be better to err on the side of caution in your particular case and not remove the ovaries. If they ever become a problem, they can always be removed at a later time."
Feeling as if I’d told the doctor how I felt about my body and life and feeling as if I’d asked all of the important questions, I finally agreed to allow the doctor to remove my uterus, but ONLY my uterus. The doctor and I signed a surgical consent for removal of ‘uterus only’. My fiancé at that time was a witness to our conversation and the signing of the surgical consent.
Two days later, I arrived at the hospital for surgery and I was presented with a NEW consent form to sign. The wrong surgery was listed. According to the new consent, all of my healthy female organs were going to be removed with the exception of my cervix. I told the nurse that this was not the surgery I agreed to and I refused to sign the consent. I was especially alarmed about my ovaries being removed. Further, I told the nurse that I didn't want to have any surgery unless and until I spoke with the doctor.
The nurse told me she’d find my doctor and let him know I wanted to speak with him. After she left my room, another nurse came in and said he was going to give my something to relax me. I told him I didn't want to be given any medication because there was a problem with the surgery. I explained that I had not signed the consent and that I was waiting to talk to the doctor. As I was protesting, he injected my IV with Versed and I was immediately knocked out. My last waking memory was seeing the nurse inject my IV. Even though I said “NO”, the nurse put me to sleep.
My family told me that after I was knocked out, an O.R. nurse came into my room and told my mother to sign the new consent I had refused to sign a few minutes earlier. (My mother wasn’t aware she was signing that consent). As soon as my mother signed the consent, I was taken to surgery. This all took place within a matter of minutes…
I woke up in recovery. However, I didn't realize that I’d even been asleep. I thought I was still waiting to speak with the doctor. I wasn't aware two hours had passed or that I had had surgery. I thought only minutes had passed. And, I thought I was still waiting to speak with the doctor. A nurse I didn't recognize told me that I was in recovery and that a total hysterectomy had been performed on me. I began crying and asked what organs had been taken. She said “Everything; you have nothing left.” I said that I wanted to die. This is noted in my record. I don’t guess I need to say here that it’s not normal for a patient to wake up from an ‘elective’ surgery wanting to die. Even though I said “NO”, I was put to sleep and I was gutted and castrated! I said “NO”!
From the moment I woke up in recovery, I knew that I was no longer the woman I had been for the past 45 years. And, I have not felt like that woman since… Not only did I not feel like ‘the woman I had been’, I didn’t feel like ‘a woman’. I instantly lost interest in all things sexual. This is such a profound loss... I'm not sure I can adequately express this kind of loss with mere words. This profound feeling of the loss of my feminine essence and sexuality would be only the beginning of many losses.
Initially, I was prescribed Premarin by the doctor who performed the hysterectomy. Premarin is a synthetic hormone which is made from pregnant mare's urine. It is not in any way similar to a woman's estrogen. My body couldn't tolerate it so I began doing my own research and learned about bioidentical hormones. Eventually, I made the transition to bioidentical hormones but it wasn’t easy. I first tried an estrogen patch and progesterone and testosterone creams. The patch didn’t seem to help me at all and irritated my skin to the point of making my skin appear burned. The creams were messy and they didn’t seem to work either. Finally, after changing hormone doctors and hormone prescriptions several times, I found that bioidentical hormone pellets worked best for me. They are very expensive though – approximately $3000 a year. I began taking compounded estrogen by mouth and estrogen and testosterone pellets are inserted into my hip every three months.
Hormone replacement is not without risks but for women who can't produce their own hormones, there is little choice but to go on HRT if they want to function and stay even semi-healthy. I also take many supplements and vitamins since the surgery - especially Calcium and Vitamin D. I take a special Omega supplement for my dry eyes. I take biotin for my hair, skin and nails. I also take a Complex B Vitamin, Zinc, Vitamin C and Magnesium.
Even though I've been on bioidentical HRT for the past three years or so, I don't feel even remotely like I did before the hysterectomy. I have chronic insomnia. Sleep seems to be a thing of the past. I have difficulties with memory and concentration. Other people finish my sentences for me because I lose my concentration and just can’t seem to grasp the word I’m looking for. This is another profound loss since I used to teach English and work as a writer. Everything dried out after surgery; including my skin, nails, hair, vagina and especially my eyes. I lost a lot of hair and continue to fight hair loss. My once healthy beautiful nails are brittle and seem to break for no reason. Having a dry vagina is painful and bothersome all the time. I’ve tried using estrogen creams but they’re expensive ($150 a tube) and they don’t seem to work.
Possibly the most troubling of all dryness, I developed severe dry eye disease which is beyond miserable. It’s debilitating. The cost of caring for my eyes that no longer have their own natural protective tear/oil film is great; considering time and money. I've had two corneal ulcers due to having no ovaries/estrogen and no eye protection. This is a very painful condition and causes loss of vision. I’m legally blind in my left eye now. I can no longer see well enough to drive. I’ve lost a lot of independence.
There have been physical changes since the surgery as well. My pelvic organs have shifted down into the empty space left after removal of my female organs. Within eight months of the surgery, I was diagnosed with third degree bladder prolapse which causes me to have to urinate constantly. This condition alone has very adversely impacted my life. Chronic constipation is also an issue now too. I won’t go into the details here on how I have to manually force stool out of my body. I endure chronic lower back pain from the surgery. For the very first time in my life, I have a problem with weight gain. I have to consciously work at not gaining weight. Regardless, I’ve gained at least ten pounds. Belly fat is much more of a problem since the surgery due to ovary removal. This is really troubling since I already have an issue with my abdomen being enlarged.
Depression is a very real and serious consequence of hysterectomy and especially ovary removal. There are chemical and biological reasons for this. I have severe and even suicidal depression since the surgery. I attempted to hang myself five months post-surgery. I have nerve damage in my vagina, vaginal walls and lower extremities. There have been times I couldn’t walk and had to use a wheel chair. I developed thyroid disease within the first year of ovary removal so I’ll be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life. The problems I've encountered with regulation of my body temperature due to thyroid disease have made hot flashes seem mild in comparison.
I’ve faced a lot of trauma in my life and from a young age but absolutely nothing has been as traumatic as coping with the trauma hysterectomy and ovary removal inflicted into my life. Even worse, I felt so completely alone; as if I was on an island of doom all by myself. Every time a new health problem reared its ugly head, doctors would assure me that I was imagining it. Then, they would promptly offer to refer me to a psychiatrist for antidepressants and therapy. For this reason, I created a blog site and web site where I wrote about my experiences and about my own research regarding hysterectomy, hormones, hormone replacement, etc. I wanted other women to know they are so not alone.
As a result, I've had many women contact me regarding post-hysterectomy problems. Most women encounter similar problems as those I’ve outlined above. Although the problems I’ve outlined above are devastating, I think perhaps one of the most devastating problems women face is the feeling of being betrayed by their doctor. Most women trust their doctors and are completely devastated once they discover the many profound changes that take place after hysterectomy and ovary removal are well-known to the medical profession. They don’t understand why their doctors didn’t tell them.
Anyone interested in hysterectomy information can find out what I’ve learned about hysterectomy, the adverse consequences of hysterectomy and the alternatives to hysterectomy via my web site at www.hysterectomyconsequences.com
I talk a bit more personally about how I feel about hysterectomy and about what happened to me via my blog site at www.hysterectomylies.blogspot.com
I recently created a Facebook site at www.facebook.com/hysterectomyconsequences and I have a Twitter account at www.twitter.com/jiggaz31
I can be reached by e-mail at robinkarr31@yahoo.com
Comments:
Thank you Ms. Robin Karr for sharing the startling and personal story of your bad experience. We are all with you in your grief and sense the depths of your despair. It is my goal to make this a New Beginning though, for women to understand hysterectomies and the real complications that do happen. Together, we can be strong. Together, we can make a difference. Thank you for starting.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
Failure of Laissez-faire Capitalism
© MMXIII V.1.1.3
by Morley Evans
Every American Should Be Horrified!
The Failure of Laissez-faire Capitalism
by Paul Craig Roberts (PCR)
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| only $9.73 instant delivery |
PCR introduces the concept of economics based on an empty world and economics based on a full world. In an empty world "externalities" may be ignored because they are insignificant. In a full world, "externalities" (the costs outside an enterprise itself) must be considered in the profit and loss statement and reflected in the balance sheet of the operation. Many such costs are unknown and are unknowable but must not be ignored. The maxim "If it makes a profit, it must be good," leads to disaster, and has. The rule "Thou shalt not steal," is pretty simple and easy to understand but stolen goods are difficult to accurately represent on the balance sheet. What is the value of a species that has been destroyed, or a people? We should remember that Adam Smith was a moral philosopher first and foremost, not an "economist" juggling numbers.
PCR thinks that natural resources must be considered as finite and irreplaceable. He thinks care must be taken with resources and with people. PCR thinks people outside the board room have as much value as those who sit around the board room table — a board may be accustomed to ignoring the interests of stockholders and non stockholders alike in their pursuit of a firm's bottom line. Such board members follow Stalin who once said, "You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." Or was Stalin following them? Full-cost accounting in a full world cannot ignore such things. In a full world, expansion cannot continue forever. Eight thousand million people cannot all live as well or better than the Pharaoh once did. (Some think the future resembles Pharaohnic Egypt and all the people who are not needed to serve the élite will have to go. That means you and everyone you know will be gone. That is not a new idea.)
PCR thinks a different idea of a better world must be realized before we eat ourselves out of house and home. Along with the seven deadly sins (pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth) greed has taken us to the brink of what is possible. We are looking into the abyss:
Under the cover of laissez-faire capitalism and "free trade" rhetoric, twenty years ago, American board members and their executives began dumping their American workers for low cost workers in China, India, and other Third World countries. The difference between the cost of First World middle class workers and the cost of Third World entry level workers was pocketed by American CEOs, their boards of directors and the shareholders. The deindustrialization of America had begun.
The tipping-point has been passed. This process will only end when unemployed American workers can no longer buy foreign-made goods because they have run out of money — since they have no jobs and no credit left. Unless something changes, the United States will become a Third World country itself in 20 years, PCR has predicted. Will it change? Can it change?
Electronics provides but one example. The Failure of Laissez-faire Capitalism provides many more.
Foxconn, which is owned by a Chinese citizen of Taiwan has factories in China, the Czech Republic and a growing list of countries around the world. Low-cost Foxconn workers in high tech factories build almost everything for all the major electronics companies including Apple, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Intel, Sharp and Sony (of which the last two are Japanese). If you need support for your Microsoft or Adobe software product you will be talking toll-free to a customer support technician in India or China. H-1B visas are making it possible for American companies to bring low-cost foreign workers into the United States to replace Americans. Are American taxpayers unknowingly making it possible for these workers to afford to live in the United States, a high-cost country? Are American taxpayers subsidizing low-cost workers and high-cost executives who are putting Americans out of work? PCR tells us that American workers are even training the H-1B workers who will replace them.
If Steve Jobs and Apple could not trust Bill Gates and Microsoft (Jobs couldn't trust Google either!), how can all of the major electronics companies trust Terry Gou and Foxconn not to steal their stuff? The owners of American high tech companies may find themselves out in the cold standing in soup kitchen lines with some of the American workers that have been discarded.
Neighborhoods in Detroit, which not long ago was the fourth largest city in the United States, are reverting back to the Michigan forest — like ancient Mayan and Cambodian cities reverting back to the jungle — or Chernobyl that was abandoned after the nuclear reactor meltdown in 1986. The rust-belt has crept across Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York like cancer as American heavy industry has collapsed.
Along with this frightening trend toward unemployment and poverty — for everyone outside the board rooms and the top company executive suites — high finance has run amok, concentrating wealth and power, stripping 99% of Americans of their political and legal protections. The Department of Homeland Security has begun to look like the Gestapo to many. It joins the FBI, the CIA and the 16 other American intelligence agencies that supposedly protect Americans. Police departments are becoming military operations. Police are training for riot control and incarceration of masses. Crooks are in control of governments at every level — from the Oval Office to City Hall. The President of the United States maintains an assassination list for extrajudicial killings of people he deems to be enemies of the state at home and abroad. Do you remember "Change" that Obama promised? The law has become a weapon in the hands of the government which has become the enemy of the people.
George Carlin summed it up with, "The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you."
The United States is very far down the road to serfdom. A second Great Depression ominously looms. Americans are in deep trouble. Their Canadian allies will share their fate but Canadians continue to slumber smugly. Canadians may sleep through any bad times that lie ahead: zzzzz.
Will the world return to slavery and a new feudal order? What will they do with the surplus population? Washington does have "the most powerful military in history." Americans are insouciant and obedient so far. But here are some points to ponder: The United States of America is bankrupt — loss of the US dollar as the world reserve currency and hyperinflation both loom; American goodwill has been completely squandered — the number, even among Americans, who believe the American Dream is dwindling fast; countries that have been buying T-Bills which finance the United States (along with the printing press) are making arrangements to stop buying more American debt; the USA has not won a war since the Great Victory of '45 — despite astronomical military purchases bought at the expense of basic services for Americans and peace and decency for the rest of the world. The real evil empire has been revealed.
According to Paul Craig Roberts, the top earner in the "new American economy" was paid $1.7 billion in 2006. The other top 25 earners were paid an average of $575 million each. But the jig is up. A reckoning is coming. The Soviet Union evaporated when nobody believed in it anymore. That is happening to the United States of America. Nobody likes to be lied to and sold down the river.
Exactly the same thing is happening in Canada where the five chartered banks who have enjoyed a cozy oligopoly for the entire history of Canada are dumping Canadian employees for low-cost foreign workers. It stinks! Here's the CBC (Which itself is part of another protected oligopoly):
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/04/05/bc-rbc-foreign-workers.html?cmp=rss
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