RE: Responding to Messages - Lana

[Guest guest]

Lana,

Welcome to our group! Responding to alot of our posts is a good thing! :)Lana Transue <lanadearest@...> wrote:

I hope everyone understands that I e-mail and respond to so many things because I like to talk a lot, just ask my husband. I am not saying that my ideas and or solutions are any better than anyone elses. I respect you for the things your've learned and share as well. I hope I'm not to over bearing I sure don't mean to be and my heart and intentions are in the right place. Lana>From: Rogene S <saxony01@...>>Reply- > >Subject: RE: Re: silica?>Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2005 06:54:33 -0700 (PDT)>>Lana,>>What blood tests would one ask for to detect silica>levels/toxcity/sensitivity?>>I'm wondering if this isn't the problem that Sue>Gibbens and her sons are dealing with . . . When

she>gets back from vacation, let's be sure to get her>attention!>>It would be wonderful if she could find an answer to>their problems.>>Thanks,>>Rogene>Opinions expressed are NOT meant to take the place of advice given by licensed health care professionals. Consult your physician or licensed health care professional before commencing any medical treatment. "Do not let either the medical authorities or the politicians mislead you. Find out what the facts are, and make your own decisions about how to live a happy life and how to work for a better world." - Linus ing, two-time Nobel Prize Winner (1954, Chemistry; 1963, Peace)

[Guest guest]

This is something i found on the web by accident while looking up some of

the medications mentioned today. thaught you guys might be interested. Lana

Ingredients of Medications

Let's Take a Look at the Problem

If you are like most patients, you've gotten complimentary drugs from your

doctor before that don't contain ingredient lists. Or, you have purchased

medications and vitamins without understanding what certain ingredients are

-- or haven't even been able to find an ingredient list to begin with.

Well, here's the bad news. Even prescription medications intended to relieve

people of their allergic symptoms often contain common allergens! Here are a

few of the food products frequently found in allergy medications: citric

acid, corn, fruits (various), gelatin, milk, potato, unspecified flavoring,

unspecified starch...and that's just the beginning.

Sadly and surprisingly, even your druggist, doctor and allergist may not

know that food ingredients are present in medications. For example, when I

went to pick up a prescription the woman fulfilling it told me that a

generic version of a certain painkiller would only have pain-medication in

it (of course, it didn't). I knew she was wrong -- but she didn't believe me

when I tried to explain that medications are not " just " drugs. When I told

another druggist asking what my allergies were that I had food allergies, he

gave me a dirty look and said, " not that kind, " as if they were totally

immaterial.

People with serious food allergies can react to minute amounts of their

allergens, and even the small amount present in medications can have an

effect. I first learned this through personal experience. Over the Christmas

holiday of 1997 I was prescribed Claritin and Flonase. I had had them before

and had a reaction, but I figured it was only some sort of mild drug

reaction and that I would get better over time (though I have never reacted

to drugs themselves before). The second time I was on these drugs things

went much worse. On Christmas Eve I was seriously stricken with chills,

diarrhea, shakes, and vomiting -- and my parents wanted to rush me to the

emergency room.

I investigated on the Internet and learned that Claritin contains lactose,

which is milk-derived, and I am severely allergic to milk. On a RAST food

allergy test, my milk allergy was so high that it would not even register on

the chart. Our family doctor had never mentioned that food products were

present, and since he had given me free samples, no package inserts (or

lists of ingredients) were available for these drugs. I became so ill as a

result of this lack of available information that I missed half a semester

of school. That is why I feel it is so important to share this information

with others.

Investigating and Discovering the Ingredients

There are various ways to learn about the ingredients of your medications if

you are unable to find them prominently displayed on your prescription.

(Which is most likely bound to be the case!)

* I have found that with brand-name prescription drugs, often just typing in

the drug name with a .com in the form of " [drug name here].com " in my web

browser points me straight to the drug's website. I then have to do a lot of

browsing within that page for the ingredient listing, sometimes listed under

" package insert " or " chemical make-up. "

* Internet search. Donnie uses search engine Google.com to find ingredients.

" I put in the name of the drug...This usually gives me several pages to pick

from. I often find the information right away. " Marie uses e-mail.

" When I couldn't find out if my allergens were in a medicine I sent an

e-mail after checking the company's website. I didn't want to open the

package to check the insert, because then I couldn't get my money back. "

Donnie has also tried e-mail, but says that companies are not always good at

answering.

* Package inserts. A lot of people throw away these long lists of

side-effects and chemical make-ups without realizing the very information

they need to know is also hidden within all the technical information. Check

this package insert for the term " inactive ingredients. " This is generally

listed below " active ingredients, " which is often by the chemical structure

(drawing).

* Your physician. Doctors can pre-check ingredients using a desk reference

(book) or Internet resource. However, there is a huge drawback to asking

your doctor to check. I had a doctor do this for me during a visit to the ER

for a severe ear infection. She worked very hard to find a suitable

antibiotic, but when I went to pick up the prescription the pharmacist

switched it on me. Pharmacists often switch prescriptions, giving patients

generic versions of the medication, or a similar medication from a different

company. The inactive ingredients in generic/similar versions of medications

are usually different. They may do this as a favor to save you money,

because your insurance requires it, or because they don't have that specific

brand in stock. However, it is not a favor when you have food allergies.

Marie says, " Since everything is computerized now, maybe you could

mention to your pharmacist to note in your file not to substitute

presciptions with generic brands. In Canada the doctor can mark that on the

prescription, but it usually gets ignored. "

Nothing Looked Bad...Am I Cleared to Take the Medication?

While reading the list of inactive ingredients you may have noticed some

non-recognizable ingredients within that listing. Things such as caramel,

flavors and starch may also possibly be your allergens, but they aren't

specified clearly enough for the average consumer! If you noticed these or

similar terms listed you may wish to contact the company further to find out

what exactly they are.

The Problem with Health Food Supplements

Many health food supplements contain lists of what they do not contain

rather than what they do contain. There are two problems with buying this

sort of supplement.

* Products can currently be called " non-dairy " even if they contain dairy

derivatives -- the very portions of milk that people with milk allergies are

allergic to. Something that says it is non-dairy generally means it is free

of lactose, and is intended for people with lactose intolerance, not a dairy

allergy! Similarly, these supplements cannot be trusted to be 100% free of

what they claim they are, since products may be cross-contaminated, or the

labeler may not have known that xanthan gum, for example, can contain corn.

As a rule, I never trust labels of this sort.

* All of your allergens may not be listed. Say a medication claims to be

free of your allergens milk and peanuts. That's great, but hey -- it might

contain your worst allergen (let's say it's wheat). This type of labeling is

confusing and not very helpful.

FAST member Kenny Silverman wants to send along " a warning about vitamins:

most if not all vitamins are derived from food, or contain a food product! "

Because of this, and because I have multiple food allergies, I make it a

rule to only trust vitamins that contain a complete listing of what is in

them, not what isn't.

Never remove a prescription medication from your diet without first

consulting your physician. The results of stopping a prescription without

first inquiring with your doctor can be catastrophic!

Please note that nearly every OTC vitamin, pill, and prescription medication

will have INACTIVE ingredients in it! These inactive ingredients are derived

from foods. Please inform your doctor(s) so that they can help you in your

quest to avoid your allergens. If you have any questions, consult your

doctor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article courtesy of FAST (http://www.angelfire.com/mi/FAST). This article is

adapted from Food Allergy Survivors Together Handbook, registered copyright

2002. Because this is a registered copyrighted work, if you want a hard copy

of this article, please support the book and purchase a copy from your local

bookstore instead of printing out the article. Thanks! Find out more here.

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>From: " Beth S. " <schaffe88@...>

>Reply-

>

>Subject: RE: Responding to Messages - Lana

>Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2005 14:31:20 -0700 (PDT)

>

>Lana,

>

>Welcome to our group! Responding to alot of our posts is a good thing!

>

>Lana Transue <lanadearest@...> wrote:

>I hope everyone understands that I e-mail and respond to so many things

>because I like to talk a lot, just ask my husband. I am not saying that my

>ideas and or solutions are any better than anyone elses. I respect you for

>the things your've learned and share as well. I hope I'm not to over

>bearing

>I sure don't mean to be and my heart and intentions are in the right place.

>Lana

>

> >From: Rogene S <saxony01@...>

> >Reply-

> >

> >Subject: RE: Re: silica?

> >Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2005 06:54:33 -0700 (PDT)

> >

> >Lana,

> >

> >What blood tests would one ask for to detect silica

> >levels/toxcity/sensitivity?

> >

> >I'm wondering if this isn't the problem that Sue

> >Gibbens and her sons are dealing with . . . When she

> >gets back from vacation, let's be sure to get her

> >attention!

> >

> >It would be wonderful if she could find an answer to

> >their problems.

> >

> >Thanks,

> >

> >Rogene

> >

>

>

>

>

>Opinions expressed are NOT meant to take the place of advice given by

>licensed health care professionals. Consult your physician or licensed

>health care professional before commencing any medical treatment.

>

> " Do not let either the medical authorities or the politicians mislead you.

>Find out what the facts are, and make your own decisions about how to live

>a happy life and how to work for a better world. " - Linus ing, two-time

>Nobel Prize Winner (1954, Chemistry; 1963, Peace)

>

>