Sounding the Alarm for Medical Independence

Pray for America

It’s always a sad day when we hear on the news about more of our soldiers dying overseas in a war that many of us struggle to understand. Whether it’s one soldier or a dozen who sacrificed their life for their beliefs and the security of this nation, I believe it’s newsworthy. Fortunately the mainstream media feels that way as well.  But what shocks me is when we have 139,000 deaths of our fellow Americans—caused by an FDA approved drug that no one finds even remotely as newsworthy, even though such deaths are more than forty-six times the number of soldiers who died in Iraq. These poor people certainly did not die for so lofty a cause as freedom or protection; rather these deaths resulted because a patient followed their doctor’s recommendation to take a particular medication which was marketed as reducing the risk of heart disease.

Medical Red Tape Means Medical Preparedness Now

Merck and the FDA made hundreds of millions of dollars in the sales and testing, respectively, of the drug called Vioxx, which was approved for market distribution in order to aid  inflammation throughout the body.  In 2004 Merck was forced to take their “wonder drug” off of the market when other, less biased studies showed that taking Vioxx actually doubled the risk of a heart attack.  Memos from Merck proved that they actually knew of the link between Vioxx and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke before they even submitted their information for approval to the FDA—along with the millions of dollars in fees which the FDA requires to get the drug approved. To add insult to injury, Merck is actively petitioning for their drug to be re-released as a viable cancer-inhibiting drug. (Sure it might statistically help cancer because people might possibly die of a heart attack or stroke before the cancer has a chance to kill them.)

Crestor (Rosuvastatin) is another example of drugs gone wrong. It’s well known as a statin drug, one of many that were introduced to the market ostensibly to reduce cholesterol and thus reduce heart disease.  And yet the partakers of statin drugs are required to have their livers tested regularly several times a year* to ensure that the drug has not caused liver damage. If such damage is detected, the only option is to have the patients discontinue taking the statin.

Taking prescriptions as directed is the 3rd largest killer in America

The dangers of Crestor were publicized by numerous reliable medical resources three years before it was removed from the market in 2003, but were completely ignored. Several heart specialists have decried the use of statins, claiming that none of them have ever been proven to benefit heart disease and that every single research study that was conducted on statins was seriously flawed.  In fact, Dr. Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD has taken on the gargantuan task of evaluating every single study which has ever been performed on statins in which the outcome was deemed as “favorable”. He notes his findings in his book  “Ignore the Awkward: How Cholesterol Myths are Kept Alive” and shows blow-by-blow the obvious and ludicrous findings on each and every one—yes, that’s right—not a single study was even remotely conclusive that statins benefit heart disease.

Now, understand that this article isn’t about statins or heart disease or inflammation, rather it’s about being medically independent from one of the most dangerous vulnerabilities we are presently exposed to—prescription drugs.  It would fill at least 30 large research books to show how time and time again, drugs which have been approved by the FDA and paraded across our televisions as being the new wonder drug, are given credibility from within a system that is inherently flawed—seriously flawed.  As independently minded people we need to remind ourselves that just because the FDA approves a drug does not mean it’s safe. Elizabeth Taylor’s marriage history got it right more often than does the pharmaceutical industry and likewise the FDA.

Fifty percent of all of the drugs approved by the FDA have had serious post-approval side effects and that doesn’t even take into account the significant percentage of FDA approved protocols which have no beneficial impact at all. More so, that number also does not take into consideration the number of treatments and actual cures in which the FDA refuses to sanction because the protocol consists of natural ingredients which are not patentable, thus not highly profitable. In fact, during the 1950’s there were several persons who were wealthy and highly involved in actually curing cancer through healthy, natural means. They were willing to pay the millions of dollars required by the FDA to test these natural remedies and thus obtain approval from the FDA. Their requests were ignored; and in many instances the Federal authorities were instead sent to padlock the entrances to the doors of all natural care cancer clinics—causing many of these invaluable resources to flee to Mexico and other nations.

Is our Medical Industry Safe?

60 Minute Episode on Counterfeit Drugs

Recently, “60 Minutes” broadcast a show in March of this year in which they exposed some serious flaws in our pharmaceutical industry, citing authorities who claimed that the pharmaceutical industry is expected to regulate themselves. As you can imagine, that’s not any type of regulation on which most would want to risk their lives. The broadcast featured billions and billions of counterfeit drugs which are dispensed in over 46 different countries, as well as our very own. Two of these countries are Canada and Mexico in which many Americans purchase their everyday medicines in order to save large sums of money. The problem though, is that these counterfeit measures aren’t just a matter of eating a sugar and chalk pill—which can cause death under some circumstances—or a name brand knock-off sold under a familiar brand name; rather these counterfeits contain harmful contaminants manufactured in disgusting conditions. In some instances a less expensive drug, such as a diabetic medicine, is repackaged to look like a more costly medication such as a narcotic. The counterfeits are done so masterfully that medical doctors weren’t able to identify the real medication from the counterfeit; neither are experienced investigators without the use of high-tech tools and a lot of time on their hands. In fact, even the manufacturers had to go to great lengths to evaluate the contents of drugs which looked exactly like the authentic medications. It is estimated that 36 million Americans have purchased their counterfeit medications from realistic-looking online retailers. These drugs are also making their way into your local pharmacies and hospitals! Just as disturbing, when counterfeit drugs are brought into our country via mail, no one holds the authority to destroy the product or file charges to foreign shippers, and instead they simply return the counterfeits to the sender. So clearly there is very little recourse to bring this danger to a lower threat level by nature of any consequences.

Margaret Hamburg, FDA commissioner, says 30-50% of drugs found within other countries are counterfeit, even critical, life-saving drugs. 40% of drugs taken here in the U.S. come from other countries, and 80% of the active ingredients in drugs here are from other nations—this includes the raw ingredients. In 2008 the blood thinner, Heparin, by Baxter (frequently taken by those with chronic kidney disease) one of the raw ingredients from China was counterfeit, in which up to 80 people died! So closely did the counterfeit resemble the actual drug, Heparin, even the manufacturers didn’t detect the adulterants. The pharmaceutical companies are not being held accountable in any way, shape or form. Victorious lawsuits on behalf of the harmed patients are rare as they are always up against well-funded and powerful Goliaths. Yet we’re clearly vulnerable with most of our raw ingredients coming from China and India, which are notorious for their weak regulatory systems.

Also keep in mind that the FDA only investigates 12% of overseas facilities per year. In the world of pharmaceuticals the profits are sky high and the consequences are nearly non-existent. This foreign problem is expected to be monitored by the drug companies themselves who send in-house investigators to their manufacturing sites all over the world.  But what happens when these investigators see serious problems, report them, and their warnings go unheeded as in the case of Cheryl Eckard, former Quality Control Specialist for Glaxo-Smith Kline Pharmaceuticals?

Over a three year period of time, Eckard witnessed numerous instances in which medications were found to be contaminated with bacteria, dangerously mislabeled, with labels that did not accurately reflect the amount of active ingredients which were too strong and/or not strong enough. Imagine the consequences of such dereliction when a drug is being taken for a life or death condition?  These errors were taking place in some of the companies most popular and widely sold drugs! Eckard claimed that so much of their production was “broken—the system itself, equipment, process, communication, etc. It was the worst thing she had run across in her career” with many errors impacting the very same batches of drugs such as the use of waste water and employees contaminating product due to improper hygiene and germ protection (not so great when you’re taking an antibiotic, eh?).  She claimed that powerful medications were getting mixed-up due to a breakdown in the manufacturing process—such processes were ignored for months after she would report the problems. This resulted in different kinds of drugs being packaged in the same bottle—such as Avandia diabetes pills mixed with over-the-counter drug, Tagamet and Paxil, a medication for depression. The problems at a particular plant were so dangerous that in August 2002, Eckard contacted the VP of the company and sounded the alarm that the factory needed to be shut down, trucks needed to be stopped, and nothing else should leave the manufacturing docks. (Interesting that the FDA brought up some concerns regarding the same plant in July of 2002. Remember, FDA plant inspections are only occasional as they expect the drug companies to police themselves.) Her alarm went ignored and the FDA was never notified by GSK even after a local pharmacist called GSK five months later and alerted them to an error in a prescription of Paxil in a 10 mg. dose for an 8 year old male patient. The boy was unknowingly consuming 2.5 times the amount of Paxil than was prescribed for him and was seriously ill as a result. What did GSK do? They filed a report with the FDA about the incident and claimed that it couldn’t have happened in their factory and that there were no significant physical ramifications to the boy taking the higher dose.

Fake Prescription Drugs are rampant in the U.S.

Just as an FYI, GSK operates 80 plants worldwide. Eckard detailed serious problems in 9 plants that she visited, warning GSK that the government would seize the factories if they knew of the problems. She lost her job months later at which time she turned over her reports from GSK to the FDA. Just as she had warned, Federal Agents issued a search warrant and seized hundreds of millions of drugs. Did GSK get in trouble with the FDA? Nope. They got in trouble for “defrauding the government” since the government paid for their drugs with federal tax dollars through the Medicare and Medicaid programs—just a slap on the wrist and a large fine of $300 million dollars, while never admitting that their actions were harmful to anyone.

There are very few other systems in the world that I view as more of a “crap shoot” than the pharmaceutical industry. We rely on bogus research studies funded by the very same persons that will financially benefit from them, prescriptions provided by doctors who necessarily get their information on such drugs from the very companies who manufacture them, international manufacturing standards which are non-existent and in most cases even hidden to the doctors and patients, millions of lives being destroyed each year as a result of the addictions which accompany these drugs, perpetual supply shortages, known life-threatening side effects, accidental deaths due to prescribed drugs (now the 3rd leading cause of death), a litany of unknown side-effects that won’t be uncovered for decades until “enough” people have died or been permanently injured, and prices which are so exorbitant that they are the leading cause of bankruptcies filed in this country. Does any of this sound like a good bet?

Yes, I realize that there are medications which save lives, but unfortunately in today’s world is that the exception, or the rule?  I suspect that if a study was ever funded which accounted for every life saved and every illness cured by the elimination of harmful foods and chemicals in our life, it would be forty-six times more than the lives ostensibly saved by a pill.  Instead each medication brings with it its own set of complications, which then require additional medications and which also causes known cell deterioration over time.

Wouldn’t it be better, safer, healthier, and truly more likely to heal the core of the cause rather than just the symptoms if we looked to safe, natural, solutions which have been successfully practiced by peoples worldwide since the beginning of recordkeeping? Many of these solutions you can control every step of the way yourself with certainty.  True, the alternative world of medicine is not regulated as of yet—and I pray it never will be, to be frank. But clearly the so-called regulation of the drug industry isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either. It may take some work and research to find what the alternative solutions are for your particular health concerns, but there’s only one way to be truly independent of an industry which has been granted far too much unearned credibility over the last century.

Clearly this is a very personal and individual decision, only best made on a case by case basis, but hopefully this information will help you to make a more educated decision in this matter. As I sit back and take stock of my health over this past year in which I made some drastic changes, I am amazed at how bad off I was when I was doing things the “mainstream” way, and how much better I am now that I have taken more personal responsibility for my health and well-being. I hope today’s article will at least give you cause to pause and take stock of the solutions in which you have emotionally and financially invested and determine whether they are worthy of such trust in your life. * All statin medications come with this warning: “It is recommended that liver function tests be performed before and at 12 weeks following both the initiation of therapy and any elevation of dose, and periodically (e.g., semiannually) thereafter.”