I used to really enjoy going to the kind of tiny circuses that tour the small towns in rural areas. Much of my adult life has been as a wandering gypsy doctor through such areas and it seems that many of the little towns had little to offer and went wild when the circus came to town – no matter how modest the offerings were.
Of course I had experience with the really big shows. When I was a kid my folks took me once to the Greatest Show On Earth — Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey — where I think now the plethora of amusements in three rings is probably best suited for those who really enjoy their attention deficit disorder.
But it was in a tiny field in France by a beach on the English Channel that I saw a lovely one ring circus. I was most impressed with the lion tamer — a person of African descent, large and muscled and handsome — but I was close enough to see each time he put his head in the lion’s mouth, and he did it multiple times.
The old, indifferent lion had no teeth, but the effect was still thrilling.
The image was vivid, and I have not thought of it for many years.
I think of it when I hear talk about the Food and Drug administration (FDA).
The FDA has no teeth, and as you can tell from the interview below, is simply
Read more on FDA: A Toothless Old Lion…
Filed under FDA by on Apr 20th, 2013. Comment. 
Why would a pharmaceutical manufacturer want to change a drug from prescription to over the counter (OTC)?
Well, one thing I’ve learned in my lifetime is – When the Question is “WHY?” then the answer is “MONEY.”
In this case, the most obvious reason is more money for pharmaceutical companies. I certainly cannot think of anything — I mean any way shape or form — that can benefit patients.
Oh, sure – in our economically-ignorant country, many people think – “Whee! I can buy any drug I want without spending money on a doctor’s appointment and without having to get a prescription! ”
These people are prime candidates for the Darwin Awards.
Yes, believe it or not, the “RX to OTC Switch” can actually HURT patients.
Drug patents expire relatively quickly, competitors are waiting at the gates with generic equivalents, and when a drug becomes OTC, there is a chance that insurance does not cover it.
This makes insurance companies and government programs (Medicare, Medicaid/Medi-Cal, etc.) very happy. They are so strapped for cash that even paying for a cheaper generic is a strain on the budget. When this kind of money is involved, you can bet that lobbyists are pressuring the government to ease their restrictions so that drugs once considered risky enough to warrant a prescription so that not just anybody can have access will be available to anyone who can walk into a drug store or click on a shopping cart on the web.
Patients will have to pay for OTC meds in cash money and doctors usually do not bother prescribing an equivalent drug. If they do not already know of an equivalent, they will probably — and generally do — just tell a patient to go buy it over the counter.
A patient who cannot afford the drug will go off it.
OK – so what’s the big deal if a cold medicine, allergy remedy or hair-restoring pill is no longer a prescription drug?
Read more on When Prescription Drugs Go Over-The-Counter…
Filed under prescription drugs by on Aug 14th, 2011. Comment.
Once my husband found one of those funny videos that is called “Viral” because of the way it spreads across the internet like wildfire. This one was an episode of a 1950s game show.
Like many shows of the era, it had a sponsor’s name and logo prominently displayed in every camera shot – the backdrop of the set where the panel sat and I think even the desk fronts of the panelists. The sponsor was Raleigh cigarettes.
The show had made the rounds of the video sites because it was so hilariously biased. The simple quiz format always yielded the same answer –
“What is the capital of North Carolina?” Read more on Infiltrating Medical School and Continuing Education…
Filed under big pharma by on Jul 20th, 2011. Comment.
One of my Frequently Asked Questions is “why do you hate prescription drugs so much?”
And the answer is, I DON’T. Not at all. I have used, and will continue to use, prescription drugs whenever they are the best treatment for an individual.
What I DO hate is the way they are mis-used, and the way some companies push their drugs for inappropriate purposes, or in dosages that are harmful when they could be helpful in (usually lower) doses. Read more on A Remarkable Medicine And Its Champion…
Filed under prescription drugs by on Apr 29th, 2011. Comment.
She was an administrative type, accompanying me to a meeting to which I did not particularly want to go. I had told her about some particularly useless drugs that had been FDA approved since I don’t remember when, and she asked me the question that covered everything.
“Why doesn’t the FDA work?” Read more on Estelle On Why The FDA Is Screwed Up…
Filed under big pharma by on Nov 8th, 2010. Comment.
Rarely do I see a poll or study that lines up so perfectly with what patients tell me as this study showing that plenty of women have no interest in sex. Whatever creator you believe in, with a seemingly infinite sense of humor, has given males a sexual response that sometimes looks or sounds like little more than a simple spinal cord reflex.
Although I will admit that I am sometimes a bit surprised at what the cues are, there seems to often be something unlikely that provokes the pleasure response pretty directly. Two of the strangest – and yet most common – things men tell me that are “turn-ons” are seeing a woman’s fingers with deep red fingernail polish resting on her blue-jeans leg warmers; and watching a woman bend over to fix the sink (yes – fully clothed). Read more on Lack Of Female Desire? Throw A Pill At It!…
Filed under big pharma, prescription drugs by on Sep 23rd, 2010. Comment.
I used to be the darling of the pharmaceutical industry. They gave me contracts to test their new drugs. They hired me to travel the country and speak at meetings of medical groups. I don’t think their current opinion is quite so flattering. I’m often asked, “Why do you hate prescription drugs? Why are you against drug companies?” And the answer is, “I’m NOT!” I strongly believe in using prescription drugs made by legitimate pharmaceutical companies in certain cases. In fact, I insist on it. If a patient who is aware of my facility in using natural treatments could do better with a prescription, that’s what I advise. If they refuse, I may decide to work with them on a second-best treatment, if it doesn’t run risk of serious illness or death. Otherwise, I tell them to find somebody else to give them natural treatments. I won’t risk their health or life. What I oppose is the politics involved with pharmaceutical companies and some of the things they have done. Read more on Why Big Pharma Gets A Bad Reputation…
Filed under big pharma, medicine, politics by on Sep 7th, 2010. 2 Comments.
Before you read this, I want to warn you – at any moment, I can veer off into an emotional rant. And after you read this, you should be outraged, also.
There is a prescription form of Omega-3 fish oil being marketed by a major pharmaceutical company. It costs about seven times more than the same amount of Omega-3 fish oil you can buy as a dietary supplement.
If I had no other reason to dislike “Big Pharma” this would suffice. Everything I learn about pharmaceutical companies makes me think less of them. They are stealing our effective and useful natural substances without adequate science, creating patentable molecules, and making more money than any of us can imagine off human suffering and death. Read more on Fish Oil For $100 A Pill…
Filed under big pharma by on Jun 11th, 2010. 2 Comments.
I am now far less involved with these folks. Not that I do not venerate them and respect their struggle. Rather, the condition of being a person requiring transgendering is so mainstream, that plenty of types of medical insurance pay for this.
Read more on Sex Changes Are Confusing Enough When You Have Accurate Information…
Filed under big pharma by on Apr 20th, 2010. Comment.
Life is fragile at best. At worst it is undervalued. Prolonging it and maintaining its quality is something most doctors have at least thought about.
Me — I was brought up by family values as well as institutional values to venerate the academic system as a seeker of truth, guardian of highest ethics.
I thought that the institutions that regulated clinical research, whether they were academic or not, were at least trying to be ethical in the face of mounting economic pressures from those who develop substances to be used for the human body, to prolong and maintain life. Some people still believe in this.
Some people, even some I can call “friend,” consider me a failed academic, someone who could have contributed more to society had she written more papers that somebody thought were good enough to publish in medical journals.
All of the above is unadulterated lies and total BS that has kept many competent minds devoting their lives to ideals that are later sold to the highest bidder.
I don’t think I have any lingering doubts that my running from academics, yelling and screaming, was the best decision I ever made.
The story of Polyheme – developed as a synthetic substitute for human blood — is perhaps the worst example of human rights having been sold down the river for development of something of serious danger (if you believe the publically published academic results) and at best, unproven help (are they really keeping this kind of secrets from us so the company developing this junk can make money?) to either prolonging or maintaining life.
The story is complicated, but basically, here it is.
Read more on Substitute Blood — A Failure Of Clinical Ethics…
Filed under Research by on Feb 24th, 2010. Comment.