Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

kellymars281951 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:55:46 GMT

Google "lawsuits against Pfizer" -- you will probably find a class action suit somewhere in all those sites on Celebrex, Vioxx (I think), and yes, Lipitor. Maybe you can get in on one before Bush gets legislation passed, as he's trying to do, that would prevent lawsuits against drug companies for killing us off in the name of the altar of insatiable greed where he and the Pfizer execs, among others like Eli Lily, worship together -- religiously -- while we bury their victims.

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

kellymars281951 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:45:28 GMT

There must be a kickback from the Eli Lily Corporation to doctors for prescribing "antidepressants" like Prozac and the old Prozac-by-any-other- name-gets-Lily-another-17-year patent (all the better to rake in those obscene profits at the patient's expense) because the story from the woman's experience with the doctor that takes her crappy insurance is a common one these days. My neighbor went into a hospital in Scottsdale a couple of years ago with a broken bone issue and they started asking her a bunch of these off the wall questions like "Are you depressed, dear? Anything bothering you; that's making you feel low lately?" Well, she was stuck in a hospital and that's enough to depress anyone -- temporarily as in just for as long as you're stuck in a hospital. She was missing work and worried about the hospital bill among others since she was losing money being laid up with this broken bone thing -- of course she was feeling a little upset and depressed about her current situation. But this woman was in her late 50s at the time & she's been our neighbor for 20+ years during which we've never seen her in anything but a cheerful and upbeat mood, operating in a very steady and calm mode. If she hadn't been seriously depressed during those 50 odd years prior to the hospital stay then there wouldn't be anything that would suggest she'd be depressed after her release from the hospital when she'd be able to return to work and her hobbies and not have to worry about how she was going to pay her bills. Voila! No depression! Except that they kept working on her asking her about depression for 2 -3 wks daily and they did a great job convincing her (brainwashing her) because she came out of the hospital taking Prozac, saying how strange it was she'd never in her life been aware she suffered from depression. Thank goodness her common sense kicked back in within a few months before she really became depressed and suicidal as people who are on Prozac so often do.

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

PierreL_203 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:55:34 GMT

good article; statins are worse than useless; however open up a bottle of Krill oil capsules and you will gag with the sweet smell of potentially oxidized PUFA's. careful about your supplements.

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

Ramona_203 — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 04:00:29 GMT

Recently I decided to get a long overdue checkup by going to an MD who takes my crappy insurance (as opposed to where I would choose to go). it was scary. the Dr finally came in after an hour wait and took out pad and pen. Her very first question to me was, 'What medications are you currently taking?" and I said, "None." Eyebrow raised, gave me the same look the nurse did when she asked that same question. Apparently women my age are supposed to be on SOME type of medication. A look of disbelief. "You're not taking any medication?" "No." So then after a few other questions about stress and pre menopause, tells me what she is going to prescribe, some antidepressant, even though I am not depressed, and the pre menopause symptoms are not troubling. We then spend the next 15 minutes arguing about why I should take this medication. She is visibly irritated when I voiced my concerns, so I dropped it and let her call in prescription to nearby pharmacy, which I have no intention of filling. It was very weird. The nurse also wanted to know what pharmacy I deal with, and was not prepared for me to say, "None, I don't take anything." OK, I am going to use this place for some tests I need, since it's covered by my crappy insurance, and then if I need any real medical attention, i am outta there and will pay out of pocket for someone out of network that I trust. I just had my first dealings with a medical office that must be owned by a drug company.

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

medpug — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:25:27 GMT

Times have really changed...I remember having a cholesterol level of 212 when I was about 16 years old. My pediatrician at the time said that 212 was a bit high for my age, but that if I started exercising more and eating more healthily, I'd be fine. There was no mention of medication. There were also no ads on television for cholesterol medication and having high cholesterol was not considered a disease, as far as I knew at the time (this was around 1992). I had my cholesterol tested last year (at age 30 going on 31) and it was 199. My primary care doctor started scaring me into going on a strict vegetarian diet because he thought that that number was too high. What he didn't seem to take note of was that my good cholesterol level was actually quite high. Fortunately, he made no mention of drugs either, but I thought the scare tactic was totally unnecessary. I'm glad to hear that some of you are doing much better without the statins now. Best of continued luck!

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

BethProverbs31 — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 02:11:52 GMT

The above information about cholesterol levels is not correct. I am a nurse and as of January 2008 the recommended total cholesterol level has *not* dipped below 100. The recommended total level is still officially at "below 200mg/dl". The total recommended *LDL* (the "bad" cholesterol) level is less than 100 mg/dl. The total recommended HDL (the "good" cholesterol) level is greater than 60mg/dl. Triglyceride levels are recommended to be below 150mg/dl. About 1,000 mg of cholesterol a day is produced by your liver naturally, and another 200 to 500 mg can safely come from the food you eat. Anything over that amount is considered unhealthy. Cholesterol and triglycerides are two forms of lipid, or fat. Both cholesterol and triglycerides are necessary for life itself. Cholesterol is necessary, among other things, for building cell membranes and for making several essential hormones. Triglycerides, which are chains of high-energy fatty acids, provide much of the energy needed for cells to function.

The American high-fat, processed, and fast-food-super-size-me diet is mostly to blame (genetics play a small factor sometimes) for the high cholesterol levels here in this country! I do NOT advocate use of medication in any form as a means of first line defense and recommend natural cures and prevention be utilized first. To prevent high blood cholesterol naturally, it's very important to control high blood pressure, avoid tobacco smoke, eat a healthy diet that omits large amounts of animal products high in fats (pork products especially, which have been proven to increase total and LDL cholesterol levels and raise blood pressure after consumption), get regular physical activity, and maintain a healthy weight.

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

jjtrost — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:16:28 GMT

My husband had a heart attack about ten years ago. He was prescribed Lipitor about 2 years ago and started manifesting symptoms of muscular degeneration with frequent bruising and skin hemorrhages. His Med. Practitioner stopped the Lipitor but shortly afterwards, last June, he had a stroke. The effects of Lipitor were not mentioned. Draw your own conclusions. I did! There should be a class action against Pfeizer, but how to prove the case?

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

TWS500 — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:58:57 GMT

"Drug Ads Spark Congressional Probe".....!!?? Maybe we should put them to work on that so that they don't do anything else to take away our liberty, harm us, tax us, put laws on us that we don't need, erode our freedoms, threaten our property, or treat us like second-class citizens. At least they might be busy doing something constructive.

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

tarkaygivon — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:33:38 GMT

Endless drug ads on TV: do these drugs really work, and what about side effects? Are we hearing the whole story???

Join me in urging the FDA to require drug companies to include a 1-800 number and website in all TV drug ads so consumers can report side effects. A better system for reporting problems means earlier detection of problems!

Click the link below and take action now!

www.prescriptionforchange.org

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

corgi — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:40:20 GMT

Yeah, I wanna comment on this bullchit propaganda about Llipitor and Vitorin and all the other poisons that we take on 'good' medical advice to lower cholesterol. Its all hype, payola by big pharma to doctors and health care "professionals" and anyone else [FDA] politicians and spokespersons. I had a heart problem a few years back, have had 5 angioplasties and took way too much lipitor type meds. My liver almost shut down completely from consuming all that poison. And it didnt lower my cholesterol by much either. So I changed my diet, no sugar (except a wee bit of raw type) cut down on grains and other foods that put that junk in my blood and started taking Omega3, drinking a shot glass of red wine before going to bed, reducing salt to the absolute minimum and putting organic apple cider vinegar on my food [where applicable] and my cholesterol is back down to about 165, my liver has stopped hurting and my sexual prowness has returned (wife loves it) no more ED. At 65 yrs old I feel pretty good. So watch your diet, have a little drink occasionally, stay away from sugars and salt and you will improve. Exercise !!!

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

Dr Rik — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:10:54 GMT

A long time ago, in a strange land (1950's America) the Lone Ranger (and his ethnic side kick Tonto) would cruise the West doing good and no wrong (did he take the Hippocratic oath?). He made his own bullets from silver and shot very few of them, but every single one invariable found it's mark and took care of the problem

Ever since then, Americans have been looking for the Silver Bullet. Gotta be here somewhere...What about the KISS principle? Don't you wish we could "Keep It Simple Stupid"? Well, it's not Simple and you are not Stupid.

Statins cause heart problems...old news. Almost every drug out there causes the problem it is supposed to cure (and causes more problems) Almost no drug cures anything. Most drug usage is Faith Based Medicine.

Licensing is highly over-rated. It is a way that politicians control and get more money from professionals. The Degree is the point. That is where you got your basic education and qualifications for the job.

Who cares about celebrities. If you listen to actors about how to run your life, who do you have to blame but yourself? They are just doing what they are paid for. Don't a lot of us wish we were famous enough to be paid for endorsements? (naturally, I would just do the ethical ones, um hm...)

Dr. Mercola can run HIS website any way HE wants. I try to keep politics and religion out of my practice. I have very strong opinions and they are not secret. But, my job is to help people to better health. If they are curious about my religion or political views, they can ask, no problem.

What in the world does the Gulf War have to do with Drug Marketing Dr. M?

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

Frosty — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:57:31 GMT

I use to take lipitor but not anymore and lo and behold I stopped feeling like I had been run over by a truck. I then did some more research on the internet and found out how bad it really is. I found a book called 'Lipitor Thief of memory' and that was pretty scary reading. Now if I could only get my husband to stop taking his zetia and crestor.

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

Tom White — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:02:15 GMT

I am so tired of seeing Jarvik's add. I refused to take Lipitor and then my doctor wanted me to take vytorin (do 2 wrongs make a right?). My numbers were barely outside of the recommended levels.

What I find even more disturbing is that after reading and taking most of the advice Dr. Mercola gives as far as diet an so forth, I am greatly saddened by one paragraph in this article. It seems the good doctor is starting to inject his non medical political views into this argument. I love his sage advice, but prefer to get my political advice elsewhere. The economy and the Gulf War and his political views of it should be saved for another platform. I don't visit this site and get the daily emails for that.

"I am always amazed by what these companies are able to get away with, but then again, perhaps it's not too surprising when you consider the costly involvement -- both in terms of lives and dollars -- of the U.S. in the Gulf War, which is forcing us into an inflationary recession."

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

Cherylmcmahon — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:01:11 GMT

Just because they endorse a product doesn't mean that they actually take it.

I doubt very much if Jarvik or Fields actually take the drug that they endorse.

I think they are smarter than that. But money talks obviously

re: Lipitor Ads Spark Congressional Probe

Bounderball — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:01:00 GMT

Doc,

Start by telling you how much I love almost everything you do, and make every patient subscribe to your newsletter.

This is your website and I expect your flavor throughout, with that said I feel you diminish your impact for the general public by throwing in the reference to the war within an article on Lipitor. I'm not disagreeing with you but when I print this off and give it to those patients taking unnecessary medications they read the reference to the war and "discount" the info because of the political input in a health article.