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I Have a Favor to Ask...

After finishing my academic *stuff* on Wednesday, I was left with a strange void and question in my mind… “What now?!” The feeling was too much for me

So, I went back to my second home (my MAC) and stumbled across a contest for the OWN Network. I was stoked to see [...]

Elderberry VS H1N1

I got a phone call from a good friend the other night…

“Ummm, Aimee, I ju- [coughs] just thought you sh- [clears throat, coughs] should know that I have H1N1.”

Awesome. (Here are a few of my thoughts on H1N1 if you missed my earlier post.)

Six of us were hanging out with our H1N1 buddy the same [...]

Money-Driven Medicine vs. YOUR health.

 

Money-driven medicine vs. YOUR health. Which do you support?

 

I had the opportunity to see the documentary, Money-Driven Medicine a few months ago. It is a candid portrait of our sick-care system, ahem, I mean health care system. I encourage you to visit the film’s website and watch a few more clips. Most of all, I encourage you to host a screening of [...]

The Ghostwriters of the Pharmaceutical Companies

 

Not cool:

The court documents provide a detailed paper trail showing how Wyeth contracted with a medical communications company to outline articles, draft them and then solicit top physicians to sign their names, even though many of the doctors contributed little or no writing. The documents suggest the practice went [...]

A Safer Acetaminophen?

Acetaminophen has been getting a lot of heat for its potentially toxic affects on the liver. This is no good considering that only a few months ago, docs were encouraging these pain-relieving drugs like water. Just a ‘lil info: Acetaminophen is the generic name for a drug found in brands like Tylenol, Vicodin [...]

Despondex

Here’s my thought: Since our medical system has diagnosed and medicated every other emotion, it’s about time pharma started profiting on happiness.

I think the Onion nailed this one…

 

FDA Approves Depressant Drug For The Annoyingly Cheerful

NAMI: Big Pharma’s “Grassroots” Organization.

 

It looks like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has a different understanding of the “grassroots” model. Here’s how the non-profit describes itself:

NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots organization for people with mental illness and their families. Founded in 1979, NAMI has affiliates in every state [...]

“America’s Doctor” is NOT My Doctor

Dr. Mehmet Oz, or “Dr. Oz” as he is known on the Oprah show, has some serious conflicts of interest that he needs to deal with. It’s sad that “respected doctors” are in the news for this on a weekly basis…  

In addition to being a regular on the Oprah show and deemed, “America’s Doctor”, Dr. Oz is also [...]

Random Thoughts: Acai, Seroquel & Prozatene

Is the secret to weight loss hidden in the acai berry?

We’ve discussed this here before. The answer is still “No.” Here’s a short and entertaining article about the acai berry.

 

Who’s in bed with Big Pharma today?

It looks like a University of Minnesota psychiatrist, Dr. S. Charles [...]

Faking Studies is Really Not Cool…

Ick. Yuck. Gross. Crap like this leaves a seriously bad taste in my mouth:

But the latest news is particularly eye-popping: A prominent Massachusetts anesthesiologist allegedly fabricated 21 medical studies involving major drugs. Yikes.

Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., has asked several anesthesiology journals to retract the studies, which [...]

“Infinite Mind” Radio Host is BFF With Big Pharma

 

Another media doctor has been busted for making millions from the drug companies. The psychiatrist and radio host of “Infinite Mind”, Dr. Frederick K. Goodwin, has done work with GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and others. Problem is, we shouldn’t be surprised. 

It is a frequent practice of the pharmaceutical companies to have doctors play as spokespeople/educators/consultants/witnesses [...]

Doctors Prescribe “Placebos”

I recently came across an interesting article in the NY Times about the use of placebos in medicine. The article stated, “Half of all American doctors responding to a nationwide survey say they regularly prescribe placebos to patients.”  

Hmmmm… it continues:

The most common placebos the American doctors reported using were headache pills and vitamins, but a [...]

Walgreens Drug Bust

Yikes. What a mess our healthcare system is. Even Walgreens, the giant drug store chain, successfully deceived the system. Apparently, the retail giant raked in some extra profits, millions actually, by engaging in some Medicaid fraud. Neil Thompson, a Walgreens pharmacist ended up busting his employer. Here’s a bit from the story:

Late last month, the [...]