there has to be a better way

[Guest guest]

Hello Marilyn

You are the first non-doctor person with whom I've communicated about this

disease. It is

a shock to be diagnosed with, and then it seems as if one is put onto a non-stop

track

leading to interferon. I live in Japan and, trust the medical system here, not

at all. Most

likely in looking for origins (the first stage of coming to terms with the

problem before

denial:)) I think that I must have got this from a hospital here when I was in

for kidney

stones. Subsequently I had thyroid nodes and went to Singapore where a blood

test

showed up the virus. All that led in quick order to a liver biopsy and

genotyping etc., and

now I find myself just back at work in Japan going through the internal

recycling of the

verdict and the decision to do the " therapy " . Were I able to afford it I would

probably have

done it in Singapore (a great place IMHO) but NEVER in Japan where they inter

you into

hospital for several months.

My AST ALT levels were about 30-40 and the biopsy showed mild portal fibrosis no

cirrhosis and only very mild inflamation

As I'm working and have cut my viral load by almost 2 logs in a year by cutting

out some

work and my hobby - wine sigh.... and adding some milk thistle and other liver

friendly

supports. I hope to find an alternative. I don't care if I am deemed virus

free if it means

potential hmm diabetes - brain fog - fibromyalgia - vision loss and on and

on.... My

doctor in Singapore said the lowering of the viral load means nothing and that I

just have a

slow and steady progression of the disease with a poor outcome, but hey at 50,

despite

being otherwise fit - there is only one outcome eventually.

I'm looking into Zadaxin (thymosine) and a couple of the other newer drugs which

may not

give 100% virus free but may keep it under control.

Meanwhile I can go to dance classes, do my yoga and take care of my life

including

husband, pets and other here and now stuff.

How are you dealing with this?

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Yikes, Debrah, I feel so uninformed to be able to give advice about this virus,

I can only tell you that in my 56 years, I have learned to trust my gut

feelings, and tell you what my personal experience is like. Every person has to

make their own informed decision about this virus.

I was diagnosed before Pegasys came on to the market. Schering-Plough's

Peg-Interferon was the only thing out there, and they were doling it out there

sparingly. I had to get on a *list* for it, and was assigned a " Be In Charge "

case nurse that I could call if I had questions. If I didn't call, she would

call me. They sent me a book all about Hepatitis, and in the back were the

inserts for the drugs. The book was all sunshine and lollipops about how I

could trust the doctors to help me. But when I read the inserts, everything in

my body went " Whoa! " On the Interferon page, the first thing was a big black

box. Inside it, it said " WILL cause hemolytic anemia " . I never heard of it

before, so I went on the web and looked it up. It said it will destroy red

blood cells faster than your body can reproduce them. AND it happens in the

first two weeks! So whoopie, I can inject myself with Procrit and hope it

works! No thanks!

So I joined this list and people set me straight. I told them I was 1B, my

viral load was only 350,000, and my biopsy only showed mild inflammation.

Nobody ever tried to directly influence me, but they told me I had time to wait.

They told me their stories - some didn't take the treatment, some did with

success, and some took treatment with terrible results (Dana, you out there,

care to share?). When I told my hepatologist that I was taking myself off the

waiting list, he went absolutely postal on me. I swear to God, I saw dollar

signs flying around his head when he was having his little hissy fit! Treatment

costs $26,000 a year, and I know he was getting kickbacks, not to mention that

my insurance kept denying all but 35% of my claims for him, saying he was over

the price of my area of the country. But it's my life, and my choice. I thank

God that I was as old as I was when I got my diagnosis, and at a point in my

life where I don't take a lot of crap from anybody!

Ooohh! I used to share your hobby - wine! I loved it, I was never much of a

drinker to begin with, but about almost 30 years ago, dated a guy who was a wine

connoisseur, and introduced me to wine and food. I truly do miss it, but I have

other things in my life to make up for it.

I was doing milk thistle until a friend who is very knowledgeable told me it

just masks symptoms. I drink tons of water every day, try to get in 1 oz. for

every 2 pounds of body weight, walk my dog every day, try to eat 60 grams of

protein every day (or drink it in drinks without iron), take a nap when I'm

tired instead of fighting it, and take a good multivitamin without iron in it,

like Centrum Silver. It helped almost immediately. I expected to get results

in several months, but I saw them in 2 weeks.

I was so fatigued when I joined this list, I had been taking 2 hour naps every

day. Henry, was it you who told me to walk to the corner and back, even if I

had to go to sleep when I came back, I don't remember! Anyway, someone on this

list told me to just keep moving every day and that I would be able to go

farther every day. It's hard to remember the person I was back then. Anyway, I

guess what I am saying is that you know what is right for you, and that's what

you should do.

It sounds like you have your health under control. Honey, just keep doing what

you are doing, it works for you. We are not dying from this virus, we are

living with it!

Oh, a post P.S. - I used to work for a Japanese firm here in IL. Not easy

people to deal with, I know!

Best to you,

Marilyn

Re: There has to be a better way

Hello Marilyn

You are the first non-doctor person with whom I've communicated about this

disease. It is

a shock to be diagnosed with, and then it seems as if one is put onto a

non-stop track

leading to interferon. I live in Japan and, trust the medical system here,

not at all. Most

likely in looking for origins (the first stage of coming to terms with the

problem before

denial:)) I think that I must have got this from a hospital here when I was in

for kidney

stones. Subsequently I had thyroid nodes and went to Singapore where a blood

test

showed up the virus. All that led in quick order to a liver biopsy and

genotyping etc., and

now I find myself just back at work in Japan going through the internal

recycling of the

verdict and the decision to do the " therapy " . Were I able to afford it I

would probably have

done it in Singapore (a great place IMHO) but NEVER in Japan where they inter

you into

hospital for several months.

My AST ALT levels were about 30-40 and the biopsy showed mild portal fibrosis

no

cirrhosis and only very mild inflamation

As I'm working and have cut my viral load by almost 2 logs in a year by

cutting out some

work and my hobby - wine sigh.... and adding some milk thistle and other liver

friendly

supports. I hope to find an alternative. I don't care if I am deemed virus

free if it means

potential hmm diabetes - brain fog - fibromyalgia - vision loss and on and

on.... My

doctor in Singapore said the lowering of the viral load means nothing and that

I just have a

slow and steady progression of the disease with a poor outcome, but hey at 50,

despite

being otherwise fit - there is only one outcome eventually.

I'm looking into Zadaxin (thymosine) and a couple of the other newer drugs

which may not

give 100% virus free but may keep it under control.

Meanwhile I can go to dance classes, do my yoga and take care of my life

including

husband, pets and other here and now stuff.

How are you dealing with this?

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Truehope has a nondrug formula that works well for bipolar and other problems.

 

Paxil Prozac Luvox Zoloft Lexapro Celexa for Bipolar Disorder

Posted by Dianne Hansen | May 13, 2009 .

SSRIs are bad for the bipolar brain.

Paxil, Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft, Lexapro and Celexa are SSRI drugs. Wikepedia

defines SSRI:  Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin-specific

reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) are a class of compounds typically used as

antidepressants in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and some

personality disorders. The first class of psychotropic drugs to be rationally

designed, SSRIs are the most widely prescribed antidepressants in many

countries.

From Mental Help Dot Net Bipolar Disorder Treatment – SSRI and SNRI

Antidepressants: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and other new

antidepressants, such as buproprion and venlafaxine, are generally considered to

be the first-line choices for the depressed phase of bipolar illness. Other

medications such as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), and monoamine oxidase

inhibitors (MAOIs) have also entered the bipolar treatment regimen. As discussed

earlier, antidepressants alone have the potential to trigger a manic episode;

therefore, they are prescribed in combination with a mood stabilizing drug.

Similar to mood stabilizers, there are studies to support the use of

antidepressants in between episodes. Continuous use of both antidepressant and

mood stabilization treatments

may keep the severe symptoms of bipolar disorder away. Specific antidepressants

may not be safe for pregnant or nursing women and should be discussed with a

physician.

From Web MD Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) for Bipolar Disorder

Your doctor may prescribe newer antidepressants known as SSRIs (selective

serotonin reuptake inhibitors) for treating severe depression in bipolar

disorder. They are usually prescribed along with lithium.

We have documentation to show that SSRI drugs don’t have any more effect on

bipolar disorder than a placebo does.

But worse than that, we have testimonies from a doctor and a sheriff about SSRIs

that you will surely find intriguing…

First let Dr. Ann Blake introduce the sheriff: “Sheriff Mack and

I grew up together. His sister was one of my best friends and we all spent a lot

of time together. I knew his family very well and I also know his wife’s

family very well. So when I began to write about SSRIs and noticed so many cases

showing up in my own home town involving antidepressants, including one of his

best friends, I called him. At that time he was serving as the Graham County

Sheriff. While serving in that capacity he brought three of his best buddies

home in body bags because they committed suicide on one of these drugs. He has

been one of my most avid supporters ever since as I have also been an avid

supporter of his work.

In 2004 he made the trip c

ross country with us to Washington, DC to testify before the FDA. I have

included his testimony below for you to see how much of an impact his powerful

testimony must have had upon the FDA Advisory

Committee in encouraging them to place the Black Box Warnings for increased

suicide on antidepressants. He and I both know that law enforcement mustwake up

to the nightmare of these drugs as they deal with it daily.

He has a new book out, “The County Sheriff, America’s Last Hope†and he

just sent me a YouTube video interview that he just did on the book. I share it

with you now as well as his powerful FDA testimony below.â€

Sheriff Mack’s testimony before the FDA in 2004:  “My name is Mack.

I am a retired law enforcement officer and sheriff from Arizona. My expertise in

that field was juvenile delinquency, school violence, and narcotics

investigations.

My first experience with SSRIs was when I was a parent of a second grader, my

wife and I were called into the school, our son had a problem staying in his

chair. What was the government school’s answer? Drug your son into submission,

so he will stay in his chair. We refused and we thank God now that we did. Our

son turned out just fine, played basketball, baseball, and excelled at school

and sports.

I was a sheriff of a small community in Arizona. We had an abnormal amount of

high rate of suicide and teen violence. I am just an inves

tigator, I just present the facts. One thing that we could not ignore was the

circumstantial evidence that the common denominator in all of these cases was

the victims or perpetrators were on SSRIs.

In investigating these events, it became quite commonplace for all of us to ask

the same question as we got to the next event of horrified and traumatized

people and families. You have heard from many of them today.

Some people don’t have the adverse reaction to these drugs, some do. I learned

the same with LSD when I investigated that as an undercover narcotics officer. I

can only say that the evidence is mounting over and over as did in our

investigations.

We cannot, as law enforcement officials, ignore such circumstantial evidence. I

doubt very seriously if you could either. I am an advocate for state’s rights

and I do believe that if the FDA fails to take action, the state and local

authorities will have to. Thank you.†-Sheriff Mack

Dr. ’s testimony before the FDA:  Ann Blake , Ph.D.

I would like to say, first of all, that this is a meeting that should not be

taking place today.  I testified at an FDA hearing similar to this in 1991, and

these drugs should have been banned at that time in my opinion.  I am Dr. Ann

Blake , a Ph.D. in health sciences with emphasis on psychology.  I have

spent the last 14 years researching the SSRIs and working with patients who are

having20adverse reactions to these medications.  I am also the author of

Prozac: Panacea or Pandora, Our Serotonin Nightmare. I have testified in

criminal and civil cases for 12 years concerning these medications, and I am

greatly concerned about the use of these drugs among children, with developing

brains, who have far more reactions than the general public would, and the

elderly who are having severe adverse reactions.

What I presented to the FDA in 1991, I would like to present again.  Each of

you will get a copy of this.  This is a 31-year-old patient on Prozac for six

months, shows the patient, although appearing alert and functioning, in a total

anesthetic sleep state while dreaming.  I believe technically, you could call

that a REM sleep behavior disorder.

The research now shows, this many years later, that 86 percent of the cases

being diagnosed with this REM sleep behavior disorder are patients on

antidepressants, 80 percent of those on SSRI antidepressants.There are some very

famous cases that I believe manifest that very clearly, and in representing

those families today, I would give you Yates, who drowned her five

children while taking Effexor and Remeron.

DR. RUDORFER:  Thank you.  I am afraid we are out of time now.

DR. RUDORFER:  Thank you.

Dr. Ann Blake ’s September 13, 2004 to the FDA

I am Ann Blake , PhD, head of the International Coalition for Drug

Awareness. I am the author of Prozac

: Panacea or Pandora? – Our Serotonin Nightmare and have testified in court

cases involving antidepressants for 12 1/2 years. The last 15 years of my life

have been devoted full time to researching and writing about SSRI

antidepressants. Research on serotonin has been clear from the very beginning

that the most damaging thing that could be done to the serotonin system would be

to impair one?s ability to metabolize serotonin. Yet that is exactly how SSRI

antidepressants exert their effects.

For decades research has shown that impairing serotonin metabolism will produce

migraines, hot flashes, pains around the heart, difficulty breathing, a

worsening of bronchial complaints, tension and anxiety which appear from out of

nowhere, depression, suicide – especially very violent suicide, hostility,

violent crime, arson, substance abuse, psychosis, mania, organic brain disease,

autism, anorexia, reckless driving, Alzheimer’s, impulsive behavior with no

concern for punishment, and argumentative behavior.

How anyone ever thought it would be “therapeutic†to chemically induce these

reactions is beyond me. Yet, these reactions are exactly what we have witnessed

in our society over the past decade and a half as a result of the widespread use

of these drugs. In fact we even have a whole new vocabulary as a result with

terms such as “road rage,†“suicide by cop,†“murder/suicide,â€

“going postal,†“false memory syndrome,†“school shooting,E2

“bi-polar†– every third person you meetanymore – along with the

skyrocketing rates of antidepressant-induced diabetes and hypoglycemia.

Can you remember two decades ago when depressed people used to slip away quietly

to kill themselves rather than killing everyone around them and they themselves

as they do while taking SSRI antidepressants?

A study out of the University of Southern California in 1996 looked at a group

of mutant mice in an experiment that had gone terribly wrong. These genetically

engineered mice were the most violent creatures they had ever witnessed. They

were born lacking the MAO-A enzyme which metabolizes serotonin. As a result

their brains were awash in serotonin. This excess serotonin is what the

researchers determined was the cause for this extreme violence. Antidepressants

produce the same end result as they inhibit the metabolism of serotonin.

These are extremely dangerous drugs that should be banned as similar drugs have

been banned in the past.

As a society we once thought LSD and PCP to be miracle medications with large

margins of safety in humans. We have never seen drugs so similar to LSD and PCP

as these SSRI antidepressants. All of these drugs produce dreaming during

periods of wakefulness. It is believed that the high serotonin levels over

stimulate the brain stem leading to a lack of muscle paralysis during sleep thus

allowing the patient to act out the dreams or nightmares they are having.

The world

witnessed that clearly in the Zoloft-induced murder-suicide of comedian Phil

Hartman and his wife, Brynn. Connecticut witnessed the Prozac-induced case of

Silk several years ago. This young mother attacked her family with a

knife, then set the house on fire killing all but her 8 year old daughter who

ran to the neighbors. As she stood bleeding and screaming for help she

explained, “Help! My mommy is having a nightmare!†Out of the mouths of

babes we will understand these nightmares for whatthey are. She understood that

this was something her mother would do ONLY in a nightmare, never in reality.

This is known as a REM Sleep Behavior Disorder. In the past it was known mainly

as a drug withdrawal state, but the largest sleep facility in the country has

reported that 86% of the cases they are diagnosing are patients on

antidepressants. Because this was known in the past as a condition manifesting

mainly in drug withdrawal you should see how dangerous the withdrawal state from

these drugs will prove to be. That is why it is so critical to make sure

patients are weaned EXTREMELY slowly so as to avoid ANY chance of going into a

withdrawal state.â€

For your information, here is the medical article just out in the Journal of

American Physicians and Surgeons on antidepressant-induced murder and suicide.

Speak with Him Thou for He hearest.

Spirit with Spirit can speak.

Closer is Love than breathing,0D

Nearer than hands and feet.

(with appreciation for Tennyson)