Archive for the ‘Dangerous Drugs’ Category

Vaccination Nation

Friday, August 26th, 2011

According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, one in 91 American children has an autism spectrum disorder. Thirty years ago, it was one in 2,500. Rates of other neurological and immunological disorders affecting children have skyrocketed as well.

Today, learning disabilities affect approximately one in six kids, and asthma one in nine. When I was young, these problems were rare to nonexistent. What’s happened? In my opinion, the major culprit in this unprecedented surge in childhood illness is the dramatic increase in federally mandated vaccinations.

The Lack of Evidence. You may find this hard to believe, but there is not a shred of evidence to support the safety of giving children so many vaccines, which are administered as early as a few hours after birth and as many as six or eight at a time. And any doctor who assures parents that vaccines are completely safe is flat-out lying.

To ascertain immunization safety and efficacy, large comparative studies of the health outcomes of statistically significant numbers of vaccinated and unvaccinated children would have to be conducted. But this has never even been attempted. Yet one vaccine after another has been added to the already overloaded list of required immunizations.

An Overload of Toxins. Depending upon which vaccine is being administered, a single shot can contain a brew of adulterated bacteria, viruses, aluminum, mercury, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, and/or numerous multisyllabic chemical additives. To say that repeated exposures to such a wide range of toxins have no cumulative adverse effects on a child’s developing nervous and immune systems is more than irrational—it’s diabolical.

What Should Parents Do? All parents want the best for their children. The most important thing you can do is base your decisions regarding their well-being on accurate, unbiased information. In the current climate, though, that’s easier said than done. You simply can’t depend on your doctor, school, or government for objective guidance. In fact, should you decide to question the status quo, be prepared to face rabid opposition.

Nevertheless, you have a right to make decisions about vaccinations for your children. Take advantage of the excellent resources available at the National Vaccine Information Center’s website, which includes scientific research, legal information, and guidelines for exemptions and alternative vaccine schedules.

Do your homework and hold your ground. Freedom of informed choice, tarnished though it may be, is your right as an American and your responsibility as a parent.

Antidepressant Drugs Linked to Diabetes

Friday, August 12th, 2011

We have a serious drug problem in this country, and I’m not talking about marijuana or cocaine. I’m talking about dangerous medications that are prescribed to trusting patients by their physicians—at a cost of billions per year! One class of popular pharmaceuticals—antidepressants— may be contributing to one of the most prevalent and debilitating diseases in America today.

Use of antidepressant drugs has more than doubled in the past decade. In 2008, 164 million prescriptions were written for these medications, and pharmaceutical companies raked in a whopping $9.6 billion from their sales. These drugs are required to carry the most severe warning, a black box label stating that they increase risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens, and young adults. Imagine, doctors prescribing a drug that increases suicide—the one thing they most want to prevent!

Additionally, researchers examined the medical records of nearly 166,000 patients over the age of 30 who had no initial history of diabetes and who had been prescribed at least one drug to treat depression. They discovered that using an antidepressant for two or more years increased risk of developing diabetes by 84 percent! The most problematic drugs were the selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) paroxetine (Paxil and Seroxat) and the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline (Endep and Elavil). Patients taking more than 20 mg of paroxetine daily experienced a fourfold increased risk of diabetes.

This is bad news on many levels. Studies reveal that these drugs have minimal effects on relieving depression. They also have unacceptably dangerous adverse effects. In addition to the suicide link, antidepressants are associated with sexual dysfunction, weight gain, headache, sleeping problems, fractures, emotional apathy, and violent, sometimes murderous outbursts.

We’re already experiencing an epidemic of diabetes in this country. Unbridled use of antidepressants, which are notorious for causing weight gain—the likely link with diabetes—is simply throwing fuel on the fire. There’s no need to open yourself up to the risks of pharmaceuticals when safe, natural therapies can provide similar, if not better, results.

Serious Pain Relief—Without Pills

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

In a study published in the June 2010 issue of the Journal of Addiction Medicine, researchers from the University at Buffalo (State University of New York) revealed that prescription opioid painkillers such as Oxycontin, morphine, and codeine are potential gateway drugs. An alarming number of people who were legitimately prescribed these medications after surgeries or injuries turned to street drugs such as heroin once prescriptions ran out because the illicit drugs were easier to get a hold of and more effective.

Folks, extended use of oral drugs to relieve pain just doesn’t make sense. Chronic use of aspirin, ibuprofen, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can cause gastrointestinal ulceration and bleeding, and are responsible for as many as 16,500 deaths per year in this country alone. “Safer” COX-2 inhibitors are somewhat easier on the GI tract, but they are linked to increased risk of heart attack and death from cardiovascular causes. Tylenol (acetaminophen) can damage the liver, especially when used in conjunction with excess alcohol. And as this study illustrates, opiates are addictive with a significant potential for abuse.

Topical drug application, however, is another story. This delivery system has two major advantages over the oral route. First, you’re able to target the affected area, so you get faster relief. And second, systemic absorption is minimal, so you don’t have to worry about these dangerous side effects. The topical drugs we’ve had the most success with at the Whitaker Wellness Institute are ketamine, an anesthetic that curbs pain, and ketoprofen, an NSAID that reduces inflammation. They’re mixed into creams that patients simply rub into the painful area several times a day. I also like to throw in a little dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to help with absorption. (This certainly isn’t a requirement, but in my experience, DMSO just seems to make the topical drugs work better. I recommend a 70 percent concentration for topical use.)

I’ve personally used this therapy successfully for low back pain, and we’ve had positive reports from patients suffering with sciatica, arthritis, fibromyalgia, sprains, and strains. The best-studied application, however, is for relief of neuropathic pain—deep, often intense pain caused by damage to or dysfunction of the central or peripheral nervous system.

I’m not suggesting that topical pain relievers are a slam-dunk for all difficult pain syndromes, but I can tell you that we’ve had good results at the clinic. Furthermore, the relative safety of this therapy warrants a trial for most everyone with neuropathic or musculoskeletal pain. Most physicians are unfamiliar with the topical use of ketamine and other painkillers. If you’re suffering with acute or chronic pain, I recommend that you talk to your doctor about the benefits of this safe, effective therapy. If he’s not open to prescribing these topical medications, find a doctor who is.

Are Nutritional Supplements Safe?

Monday, April 12th, 2010

There’s been a lot of press lately regarding the safety of nutritional supplements. Let’s look at the facts—and the hype.

First, let’s compare the risks of supplements to the perils of everyday life.  Every year in this country, 9,000 people are injured by fireworks. Millions sustain burns, many of them in kitchen accidents, and 4,500 of them die. More than 500,000 people are seen in emergency rooms for injuries sustained while riding bicycles, resulting in an average of 700 fatalities per year. About 3,600 Americans die from choking on food and other objects. Even food itself is risky, causing 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths a year!

Where do supplements fit in? According to the most recent annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, not a single death was attributed to a nutritional supplement in 2008. You’re more likely to die from lightning strikes, bee stings, dog bites, or diesel exhaust than from nutritional supplements—and you’re far more likely to be harmed by eating food.

There is one class of consumer products, however, that kills more people than handguns, automobiles, street drugs, and every type of poison combined. Each and every year, at least 106,000 patients die in our hospitals from adverse reactions to prescription drugs while under medical supervision. (This doesn’t count the untold numbers who die of medication side effects outside of hospitals.) Going with the conservative in-hospital figure, that’s 290 deaths per day, day in and day out—close to the equivalent of a 747 going down every single day.

Damage is not limited to prescription drugs. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and aspirin kill 16,500 Americans every year and send 103,000 to the hospital with gastrointestinal bleeding. Now, add to these figures the two million people (5,500 per day) who have adverse drug reactions that require hospitalization or cause permanent damage.

Where is the hue and cry over this?  If any other consumer product had this dismal a record of safety, it would be history. Yet we rarely see exposés on the dangers of pharmaceuticals—until one of them kills hundreds of people and is yanked off the market.

Remind me again why supplements are under such scrutiny

Vitamin E for Diabetes

Monday, March 15th, 2010

More bad news about Avandia, a popular drug prescribed to patients with diabetes. Several studies have found that, compared to other drugs, Avandia increases risk of heart failure by 60 percent, heart attack by 40 percent, and death in patients age 65 and over by 30 percent. We’ve known for some time that this drug is killing people, but the FDA has refused to even strengthen its label warning, let alone take it off the market. Even worse, patients are being recruited for long-term studies of this dangerous drug!

If you have type 2 diabetes, avoid this drug like the plague. Diet, exercise, weight loss, and targeted nutritional supplements are the best way to control blood sugar. And to protect against diabetic complications, nothing beats nutritional supplements. Approximately 40 percent of people with diabetes have a gene variation (haptoglobin (Hp) 2-2 gene) that increases oxidative stress and doubles or triples their risk of cardiovascular disease. Israeli researchers found that when these people took 400 IU of vitamin E daily, their risk of cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, and death fell by 50 percent! Vitamin E’s benefits were so profound the study was terminated early so all study participants could benefit.

Genetic tests are available, but my recommendation to anyone with diabetes is to take at least 400 IU of natural vitamin E every day. In fact, because other studies suggest that this vitamin protects against the onset of diabetes, I encourage everyone, regardless of health status, to take natural vitamin E.