Don’t drink everything that says “DRINK ME

Don’t drink everything that says “DRINK ME”


Last week I read about a new “BLACK BOX” warning the FDA placed on the reflux drug Reglan and it got me thinking about Alice in Wonderland.

Remember when Alice followed the white rabbit down the hole? She comes upon a tiny door, but she’s too big to squeeze through it to get to the beautiful garden on the other side. So she drinks a bottle labeled “DRINK ME.” She shrinks down small enough to fit through the door. But the door’s locked and she’s left the key on the table now above her. So then she eats a piece of the cake thinking it will make her small enough to squeeze under the door. But instead it makes her grow much too big.

Sometimes I think we’ve all fallen down the rabbit hole. Especially when I hear about someone taking a pill that could cause more trouble than it solves.

Case in point: Reglan.

Trading one problem for another, bigger one


Reglan (or metoclopramide) is a prescription drug used to treat common, everyday reflux. It alleviates reflux by increasing the muscle contractions in your upper digestive tract. It basically speeds up how fast your stomach empties into the intestines.

According to the FDA, about 2 million Americans take drugs containing metoclopramide. But does it cause more trouble than it solves?

In fact, if you take it for more than 3 months (and research suggests that as many as 20 percent of patients do), you may be putting yourself at risk.

That’s because long-term use of Reglan has been linked to an increased risk of tardive dyskinesia (TD). What is tardive dyskinesia, you ask? Well, it’s a lot worse than reflux. In fact, tardive dyskinesia is described as "involuntary, repetitive movements of the extremities." According to the FDA this includes "lip smacking, grimacing, tongue protrusion, rapid eye movements or blinking, puckering, pursing of the lips, or impaired movement of the fingers."

To make matters worse, tardive dyskinesia appears to be irreversible. So even if you stop taking Reglan, the symptoms might not go away.

Three cheers for the FDA!


But don’t worry folks; the FDA is on the case. Our stalwart bastion of public safety has issued its strongest warning (the famed “BLACK BOX” warning) against long term use of metoclopramide, including Reglan.

According to an FDA statement, “The development of this condition (TD) is directly related to the length of time a patient is taking metoclopramide and the number of doses taken. Those at greatest risk include the elderly, especially older women, and people who have been on the drug for a long time.”

But here’s the kicker. Most folks are prescribed Reglan to treat reflux…a chronic problem. But if it’s going to get you into trouble after just 90 days, why is it used to treat a chronic condition?

That conundrum has still got me scratching my head.

Janet Woodcock, M.D. and Director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, has just added to my confusion. In a new release, she stated “The chronic use of metoclopramide therapy should be avoided in all but rare cases where the benefit is believed to outweigh the risk.” I guess Janet has fallen down the rabbit hole too. (Remind me, how do you treat a chronic problem without a chronic solution?)

A safe, chronic solution to reflux


Even if they’ve never resorted to Reglan, lots of people get stuck taking Prevacid, Nexium, or Prilosec to treat this common problem. But, in my opinion, there are much safer and easier ways to deal with acid reflux.

The most common misconception about reflux is that you’ve got too much acid. But I’ve found the opposite to be true. By adding more acid and enzymes to your system, the symptoms of this “chronic” problem disappear. Basically, the goal is to create a digestive environment that doesn’t allow reflux to occur.

Right off the bat, I would encourage anyone with reflux to add acidophilus to their regular regimen. The acidophilus will help restore the natural balance of bacteria in your gut. This will aid in the overall digestion of your food. Go for a capsule that contains billions of units of acidophilus. The trick is to open the capsule and pour it down your throat. Let your saliva wash down the powder. This will help to coat and protect your esophagus with good bacteria.

I would also add digestive enzymes to your regimen. I’d go for “full spectrum” enzymes to start. These help the body break down all food types (proteins, fats, and carbs). Take them immediately after meals, so as to augment, not replace, the body’s manufacture of its own enzymes.

For the tougher cases of acid reflux


Occasionally the combination of acidophilus and digestive enzymes isn’t enough to stop the burning of acid reflux. Though it’s very rare, the stomach’s defenses can weaken over time. You may develop an ulcer.

If that’s the case, I’d recommend adding DGL, a form of licorice that has one component removed (DGL means De-Glycerrhizinated Licorice). Chewing or sucking on one 20 minutes before eating can be very helpful in difficult cases.

Potter’s Acidosis solution—an all-natural herbal blend from England—can be very effective in improving your symptoms. Just bear in mind that it only “masks” your symptoms and doesn’t alter your gastric environment. Therefore I don’t consider it a “cure” to reflux.

I would also suggest eating multiple, small meals, instead of three all-you-can-eat feasts. Common sense applies here, folks. Avoid foods containing tomatoes or chocolate. Refined flour products, sugar, and alcohol are definitely all triggers as well and should be avoided.

Protect yourself


If you begin to experience any of the symptoms of tardive dyskinesia, contact your doctor and please make sure to report your adverse reaction to the FDA's MedWatch program at 800-FDA-1088, by mail at MedWatch, HF-2, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Md. 20852-9787, or online at: www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm.

[peggy64]

I recommend the bragg apple cider vinegar to treat acid reflux. 2 tblsp in a 8 ox glass of water, before meals.

[gymdandee]

tainted fluoride
China just can’t help itself  no matter what they send to us, you can bet that there’s something wrong with it.
You’ve heard about the lead-laced toys, tainted food, and toxic drywall, but the latest poison being shipped here from Red China could be even worse than all three of those things put together… because it might be in your family’s drinking water right now.
Communities from coast to coast have quietly turned to cheap Chinese “fluoride” for their local water districts.
What are they selling us?
The Massachusetts town of Amesbury had to stop using the stuff after they noticed it wasn’t dissolving in the water like fluoride. In fact, the junk was clogging up their machinery.
It’s being tested right now, but I have my doubts that we’ll ever learn the truth about what was in those bags from China labeled “fluoride.” But I do know this: I wouldn’t drink it.
While Amesbury may have stopped adding fluoride to its water, at least 43 other Massachusetts communities — 650,000 people — are still using “fluoride” from the same communist supplier.
And that’s just Massachusetts and fluoride from one supplier. Who knows how many other towns are using this garbage.

[gymdandee]

New calcium plan
The World Health Organization wants to add one more ingredient to the industrial sludge flowing from your tap: Calcium. Those vaccine-pushing Big Pharma cronies are urging governments around the world to begin dumping this mineral into the water supply, ASAP.
Most of us have all the calcium we need. Since that's true (and believe me, it is), I  wonder what the WHO really wants to dump into our water. Do you really want some low bidder in  China to play mad scientist with your town's water supply?
You actually do need calcium -- but odds are you've got plenty of it, Careless overconsumption of calcium, on the other hand, can lead to heart problems, osteoarthritis, muscle pain, cancer and even the brittle bones it's supposed to prevent.
That's one reason women who eat calcium candies still get osteoporosis.
The real problem isn't a lack of calcium, it's a deficiency in the other nutrients needed to make it work -- like vitamin D.

[margypops]

cor Gymdandee food for thought here ,peg I also know apple cider vinegar works ....

[Paxiled]

I think it's even worse -- my understanding is most Americans have too much calcium, leaching out their magnesium, which is just as important for bone density.  Dumping fluoride in the water used to be and still is thought to be a good thing, and those who oppose it are still thought to be the John Birch Society afraid it's a communist plot to taint our essential fluids or whatever.  Problem is, fluoride is an immune system depressant, only children benefit from it.  They can get it just from applying it to their teeth; adults can't assimilate it anymore, for the most part, so drinking it over and over every time you use water is just silly even if it weren't potentially harmful.  But as far as China being communist, there's never been a communist country.  It's a contradiction in terms -- if you had communism, you'd have no country, no government.  China is just old fashioned authoritarianism, but it's building its economy on the American model.  Before America got rich after WWII, Made in American was the Made in Japan and now the Made in China of its time.  We polluted our country and flooded the world with cheap shoddy goods.  Think of the Model T, a cheap bad car that brought the internal combustion to everyone and left us with this mess.  China is following our example to the letter, polluting their own country so fast it makes us look like pikers.  Traditionally a healthy people, they're going to pay the health costs down the road just as we have, and pass them on to the rest of the world just as we did.  And who do we have to thank for it?  Large American corporations, led by WalMart, who outsourced our industry to China and don't care what the Chinese put into the stuff they send us as long as it's cheap and non-union.  You get what you pay for.

[allmymarbles]

Vis-a-vis the FDA, it is now a sure thing that they will keep Avandia on the market. Isn't it heartwarming to have this benevolent agency overseeing our safety? And think how profitable it must be for the unbiased panelists and our altruistic members of Congress to support our worthy pharmaceutical houses.

[Paxiled]

Another GlaxoSmithKline product they lied about, like the Paxil that did me in.  They keep doing it, and keep getting sued, but they keep making more money than they lose in the lawsuits.  Another British company, too, like BP.  

[allmymarbles]

Advair, which did me in, is also made by Glaxo. Finally the FDA issued a warning in February that it should only be used when all else fails, and even then, only on a short-term basis. However, I still adds for Advair plastered all over the TV. I believe Avandia is no longer marketed in Europe. I don't know if that includes the U.K.

My current cause is keeping children (rightly or wrongly classified as having ADD or ADHD) from taking addictive meds like Adderall (adderrall), which is speed with a fancy name. Apparently 10 per cent of 10 year old boys have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. Malpractice, or what?

[Paxiled]

It's worse, don't you think?  Malpractice is usually incompetence.  This is intentional.

[allmymarbles]

There is a certain kind of doctor who goes with the flow. Teachers complain. Mommy complains. He makes them happy and gets a fee. The doctor ignores the dictum of "Do no harm."

[gymdandee]

According to a recent shocking study released by the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF), the majority of the kids’ drinks and snacks they tested contained high levels of lead!
ELF teamed up with a Berkley lab certified by the Environmental Protection Agency to test almost 400 samples from 150 popular brand-name products…including, for example, grape juice, apple juice, packaged pears, fruit cocktails, and peaches…marketed to kids.
Alarmingly, 125 of 146 products...about 85%...tested positive for lead in large enough amounts to warrant a warning label according to current laws.
Children—because of their still-developing bodies—are at a much higher risk when exposed to lead than are adults. They absorb more of the dangerous chemical, which can lead to lowered IQs, irritability, hyperactivity, behavioral problems, stunted mental development, and even cancer.
The manufacturers of the poison products include a lineup of familiar big-brand names that includes Welch’s, Gerber (yes, lead-laced BABY food), Dole, Del Monte, Minute Maid, Great Value, and Mott’s.
it gets even more outrageous.
Apparently, the USDA thinks it’s acceptable to slap a certified- organic approval seal on products that can harm our kids’ health. It turns out that a number of popular, certified-organic product manufacturers were on the lead list as well, including Earth’s Best Organic, 365 Every Day Value Organic, Trader Joe’s, and Walnut Acres.
ELF has fortunately been on the job. The manufacturers have already received an Official Notice of Violation from ELF for failing to warn consumers about the toxic chemicals in their products. They have 60 days from the filing of the violation notice to either bring themselves into compliance with the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act or to put warning labels on the lead-laced products. Otherwise, ELF will file a formal suit.
Meanwhile, to get a complete listing of the products you shouldn’t allow anywhere near your kids’ lunchboxes, take a look at a copy of the official violation notice on ELF’s website—the product listing starts on page 9.
It’s best to just avoid processed kids’-products altogether if you can. Instead, try serving up home-squeezed juices and only fresh in-season fruit from now on.

[gymdandee]

I don't know where the lead came from!
to get a complete listing of the products you shouldn’t allow anywhere near your kids’ lunchboxes, take a look at a copy of the official violation notice on ELF’s website—the product listing starts on page 9.

http://www.envirolaw.org/documents/100609-NoticeLetterwithExhibits.PDF