40 confirmed cases of swine flu in united states

[SkyePrizm]

I am bothered by doctors that prescribe antibiotics for viruses. They are contributing to resistant strains of microbes.

I think that this is a problem with the patient as much as the doctor.

patients (especially parents of sick kids) are so pushy sometimes. but i do see doctors putting refills on antibiotics, and i always ask them, very curtly, if they are sure they want refills. its really really irresponsible and unethical.....

I\'m not going to complaign about the refill on an antibiotic for "me"...  I get chronic sinus infections, so my ENT ususally gives me a 2 refill for whatever the antibiotoc of choice is (currently levaquin).  For me, it\'s easier than taking the time to go to the Dr. every other month when he and I know what the outcome will be...

Every situation is different.... some people NEED refills for certain antiobiotic treatments, i.e.  my deal with lyme disease when i was 19-21.   If someone has the common cold, no they should not have refills on their z-pack.   it really depends on the diagnosis.    Any chronic condition requires at least 1-2 refills in my opinion.  

I see both sides since i worked as a tech in a pharmacy AND worked as medicial secretary for an internal medicine office.   Sometimes I think there can be power trips between doctors and pharmacists.  They both want to be right. I\'ve seen battles before...   anybody ever see that episode of CYE?  Classic.

[Yoda]

I make friends with both... Every doctor and every pharmacist get a current PDR on me...

[bdfreetuna]

If you like tea check out http://www.marktwendell.com , one of our biggest accounts.

They are the only US supplier of Hu-Kwa tea (my absolute favorite) and their white teas and fancy silver tip green teas are excellent as well.

[skalnbyc]

Rather than speak in chemist\'s terms, I simplified. There are MD\'s who support my case too! I wouldn\'t just depend on my old granny\'s secrets. But seriously, the kind of junk in Tylenol cold is no match for stuff from the Earth. Most of it is artificially dyed with aluminum derivatives (Red 40). This hurts over long term exposure.

It\'s important to remember than many doctors and pharmies have a business to run! It\'s ridiculously political. Why should they care about long range case studies, unless it means a lawsuit?

Side effects are null when it comes to natural remedies.

I do support Western Medicine as an aggregate, esp. when it comes to vaccination against already eradicated diseases like polio and M-M-R. I\'ve never gotten a flu shot and never will. I don\'t need any more mercury and thimerisol in my body, thanks! I don\'t like taking antibiotics because it decreases friendly bacteria, but in some (very few) cases it\'s necessary--some bacteria are deadly. I am bothered by doctors that prescribe antibiotics for viruses. They are contributing to resistant strains of microbes.

you make some very valid points (especially about unnecessary antibiotics)

however, you have to be careful with natural remedies.... not all of them are without risk ! st. johns wort is an enzyme inducer which means it can decrease the level of other medications in your body (like birth control pills, ie, you can get pregnant) ... in addition, some have been associated with life-threatening adverse effects (like serotonin syndrome or Stevens-Johnson syndrome).... in addition, some natural supplements actually contain medications by prescription ( for example, Red yeast rice can lower cholesterol because it contains Lovastatin, a prescription drug for cholesterol management. This medication requires liver function tests every 6 months)

i am certainly an advocate of natural remedies, however, because they do actually work. its just hard for me to recommend because we have limited randomized, placebo-controlled studies to verify if they actually are statistically effective. this is because companies will not pay to investigate this because they can\'t patent and naturally-occurring substance. i know, it frustrates me as well!

you must also use caution when buying supplements; they are considered a "food product" and thus do not have to be quality-tested by the FDA. i read a study that showed herbal supplements to contain anywhere from 25-225% of the actual amount of
 labeled ingredients! always buy products that come from a USP certified supplier !!!

Princess, what are your impressions of Ginkgo biloba - hype or a useful enhancement?

I\'m personally a bit weary of the pharmaceutical craze, particularly the urge to zombify any kid with a personality.  I\'m sure some jackass teacher would have urged my parents to fill an ADHD prescription if I was in school today.

[bdfreetuna]

I am not Princess but if you are looking for a healthy (actually neuroprotective) nootropic memory enhancer / "smart drug" that actually works....

Piracetam
You can get 700 grams of bulk crystals legally for cheap (like $20-$30). Type it in google and read all you can about Piracetam.

Piracetam + Choline supplements make it 2-4x as strong.

Mix 3-4 grams of Piracetam into your morning orange juice and undo years of *****-smoking within like a half hour

If you\'re weary of pharmaceuticals, as you should be, look up "nootropic stacks". There are a lot of supplements that are actually good for you (unlike the mixed amphetamine salts in Adderall or the cocaine-like methylphenidate/Ritalin) and work really well. Piracetam is the staple of any nootropic stack IMO.

st. johns wort is an enzyme inducer which means it can decrease the level of other medications in your body (like birth control pills, ie, you can get pregnant) ... in addition, some have been associated with life-threatening adverse effects (like serotonin syndrome or Stevens-Johnson syndrome)

you must also use caution when buying supplements; they are considered a "food product" and thus do not have to be quality-tested by the FDA. i read a study that showed herbal supplements to contain anywhere from 25-225% of the actual amount of
 labeled ingredients! always buy products that come from a USP certified supplier !!!

St. John\'s Wort did give me a borderline case of serotonin syndrome in conjunction with another serotonin releaser one time. Not fun. However, on it\'s own, I believe the active ingredients hyperforin and hypercin are just as effective as any other SSRI. If there is MAOI activity it is weak and certainly reversible. Almost feels like an SNRI to me though.

Unfortunately nature\'s antidepressant gives a lot of other natural remedies a bad rap. I mean it\'s probably safer than Effexor or Paxil (have fun with those withdrawals --- brain ZAP!) but still it\'s clearly a serious drug.

And let\'s make clear the difference between natural and homeopathic remedies. Most homeopathic remedies contain active ingredients at such a halariously low doses that it\'s probably placebo. I mean when you buy this stuff and its "10,000x" or 1000x" that means the plant is mixed with 10,000 or 1,000 parts solvent or water. So good luck ingesting a few molecules of some barely-active natural medicine anyway :lol:

The good thing about Piracetam is that it\'s been long studied especially in other countries where it\'s marketed under the label "Nootropil" and available by prescription. In the United States there are no patents on it\'s production and therefore you can buy it as a nutritional supplement.

I\'ve actually considered marketing an energy/smart beverage with Piracetam, Choline, Vitamine B, and maybe a touch of caffeine and calling it "P-Tam Power". Trademark reserved mofos

For the record and for anyone who is interested in nootropic legal smart drugs, Aniracetam I found to be pretty useless and Pramiracetam is overhyped and overpriced. Never tried Oxiracetam but it sounds bunk. Stick with the gold standard - Piracetam

[Wolfman]

I smoke two joints before I smoke two joints.

And then I smoke two more.

I also found Patient 0.  This little piggie is the first swine flu patient, confirmed.

[FreeSpirit]

Princess, what are your impressions of Ginkgo biloba - hype or a useful enhancement?

:lol: well, I take them and feel smarter, so..........  :idunno:

I\'m personally a bit weary of the pharmaceutical craze, particularly the urge to zombify any kid with a personality.  I\'m sure some jackass teacher would have urged my parents to fill an ADHD prescription if I was in school today.

IMO, some of these kids really do need to be "zombified" in order to get any real learning to take place in their brains... You can thank the NCLB and the "Americans with Disabilities" acts for putting all these zoinky kids in the regular ed. classroom! Now, I\'m not at all promoting the drugging of regular ed. kids - but, after teaching a few kids who are in dire need of medication to help where their lacking genes cannot, I\'m pretty confident that some of these kids do need these meds

[tyzack]

Are there any medications that help kids learns w/o zonking them out?

[inthewhitelodge]

I am not Princess but if you are looking for a healthy (actually neuroprotective) nootropic memory enhancer / "smart drug" that actually works....

Piracetam
You can get 700 grams of bulk crystals legally for cheap (like $20-$30). Type it in google and read all you can about Piracetam.

Piracetam + Choline supplements make it 2-4x as strong.

Mix 3-4 grams of Piracetam into your morning orange juice and undo years of *****-smoking within like a half hour

If you\'re weary of pharmaceuticals, as you should be, look up "nootropic stacks". There are a lot of supplements that are actually good for you (unlike the mixed amphetamine salts in Adderall or the cocaine-like methylphenidate/Ritalin) and work really well. Piracetam is the staple of any nootropic stack IMO.

st. johns wort is an enzyme inducer which means it can decrease the level of other medications in your body (like birth control pills, ie, you can get pregnant) ... in addition, some have been associated with life-threatening adverse effects (like serotonin syndrome or Stevens-Johnson syndrome)

you must also use caution when buying supplements; they are considered a "food product" and thus do not have to be quality-tested by the FDA. i read a study that showed herbal supplements to contain anywhere from 25-225% of the actual amount of
 labeled ingredients! always buy products that come from a USP certified supplier !!!

St. John\'s Wort did give me a borderline case of serotonin syndrome in conjunction with another serotonin releaser one time. Not fun. However, on it\'s own, I believe the active ingredients hyperforin and hypercin are just as effective as any other SSRI. If there is MAOI activity it is weak and certainly reversible. Almost feels like an SNRI to me though.

Unfortunately nature\'s antidepressant gives a lot of other natural remedies a bad rap. I mean it\'s probably safer than Effexor or Paxil (have fun with those withdrawals --- brain ZAP!) but still it\'s clearly a serious drug.

And let\'s make clear the difference between natural and homeopathic remedies. Most homeopathic remedies contain active ingredients at such a halariously low doses that it\'s probably placebo. I mean when you buy this stuff and its "10,000x" or 1000x" that means the plant is mixed with 10,000 or 1,000 parts solvent or water. So good luck ingesting a few molecules of some barely-active natural medicine anyway :lol:

The good thing about Piracetam is that it\'s been long studied especially in other countries where it\'s marketed under the label "Nootropil" and available by prescription. In the United States there are no patents on it\'s production and therefore you can buy it as a nutritional supplement.

I\'ve actually considered marketing an energy/smart beverage with Piracetam, Choline, Vitamine B, and maybe a touch of caffeine and calling it "P-Tam Power". Trademark reserved mofos

For the record and for anyone who is interested in nootropic legal smart drugs, Aniracetam I found to be pretty useless and Pramiracetam is overhyped and overpriced. Never tried Oxiracetam but it sounds bunk. Stick with the gold standard - Piracetam

I am so going to vouch for this post. My fiancee\'s brother is taking nootropics, I believe Piracetam... (or is it neutropics)? He says he feels "wide", as in the lens of mental capacity is much wider- kind of like smart trip. It also helps him filter out the extra auditory stimuli that can contribute to high distractibility.

Princess, what are your impressions of Ginkgo biloba - hype or a useful enhancement?

:lol: well, I take them and feel smarter, so..........  :idunno:

I\'m personally a bit weary of the pharmaceutical craze, particularly the urge to zombify any kid with a personality.  I\'m sure some jackass teacher would have urged my parents to fill an ADHD prescription if I was in school today.

IMO, some of these kids really do need to be "zombified" in order to get any real learning to take place in their brains... You can thank the NCLB and the "Americans with Disabilities" acts for putting all these zoinky kids in the regular ed. classroom! Now, I\'m not at all promoting the drugging of regular ed. kids - but, after teaching a few kids who are in dire need of medication to help where their lacking genes cannot, I\'m pretty confident that some of these kids do need these meds

As a Special Ed. teacher, I know how crappy the system sucks. It\'s all the more reason I\'d prefer being a home school consultant. It\'s difficult to expect so much of kids that learn best while they\'re moving around outdoors, exploring. I was one of those kids- fidgety and always thinking above and beyond the classroom stuff. Not all kids get pushed into regular ed., and it\'s the LRE component of IDEA re authorization (least restrictive environment) that mandates that a regular ed. teach must provide sound research-based educationl programming to kids before they can be identified and pulled out to a self-contained classroom. I\'ve worked in integrated and self-contained classrooms and it comes down to the level of cohesion between each staff member, and the particular teaching or behavioral techniques utilized.

The higher incidents disabilities- EBD= emotional behavioral disturbances and ADD/ADHD sometimes have more to do with the parents\' and teachers\' unrealistic expectations of the child and each other. Some kids hate sitting at a desk and will do anything to get the hell out of there.

[Yoda]

The higher incidents disabilities- EBD= emotional behavioral disturbances and ADD/ADHD sometimes have more to do with the parents\' and teachers\' unrealistic expectations of the child and each other. Some kids hate sitting at a desk and will do anything to get the hell out of there.

Yup... I hated being in school and sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day.  Guess what, so did 90% of the rest of the class, but we still stayed "in school".  It sounds like you\'re saying that a parent should give in to the kid and home school them because they don\'t like the rigidness of school - that\'s life and that\'s the way it is in the real world.  Do I like being at a desk 8 hours a day, no, but that\'s my job...

[skalnbyc]

There are so many f---ed up kids these days and a lot of it is preventable.  Broken family system where 2-parent households are no longer sacred (single-mom parenting is a form of self-imposed poverty in my opinion because the challenge of providing is that much greater), overstimulated kids who waste way too much time online/video games/cell phones and no longer get creative playing outdoors, parents overworked or selfish who have little time for family interaction, dumb parents who do not set appropriate standards for their kids and allow our dumbed-down culture to dictate standards of behavior.  I believe the overuse of prescriptions for kids is due largely to the above circumstances.

School systems in many cities are there to babysit kids all day rather than teach.  Everything has to be fun and PC, right?  Why teach the core curriculum that has provided the foundation for generations?  And don\'t even get me started on the state education monopoly that fails to improve itself because it doesn\'t have enough competition.


While I\'m at it, might as well take a dig at the narcissistic Facebook/Myspace pages that make everyone special.  Does anyone give a fuck that had a slice of pizza, went to the poopoo, took a shower, watched Charmed and "can\'t wait for this week to be over"?

[tyzack]

Since I am not a parent, nor am I in anyway a trained educator, my voice is pretty much ignorable.

However, that being said, I agree in part with the dude from Oakland.

Except, his line on parents. I really find it very hard to believe that any parent would intentionally "dumb down" their children. I think, though, that some do it, without knowing what or why they are doing.

For example; when I was my nephews age (6) and was running around pestering my parents and their guests, they would send me outside with the command "Go play," or baring that, I was told to go to my room. Both of these places, outside, and my room, were relitively safe places that I could entertain and explore myself.

My cousins, very smart, well adjusted, nice people, turned on the xBox and we went into the kitchen.

I don\'t think they thought "Lets help dumb down america by raising a child who seeks instant pleasure and instant grification for the benifiet of large pharmisutcal companies, teaching unions, politicials and everyone else would can take advantage of our kids."

[skalnbyc]

However, that being said, I agree in part with the dude from Oakland.

Except, his line on parents. I really find it very hard to believe that any parent would intentionally "dumb down" their children. I think, though, that some do it, without knowing what or why they are doing."

I didn\'t say it is intentional dumbing down, though it is widespread and my guess it that most parents do not realize they are raising a little douche-in-training.

[Yoda]

Since I am not a parent, nor am I in anyway a trained educator, my voice is pretty much ignorable.

However, that being said, I agree in part with the dude from Oakland.

Except, his line on parents. I really find it very hard to believe that any parent would intentionally "dumb down" their children. I think, though, that some do it, without knowing what or why they are doing.

For example; when I was my nephews age (6) and was running around pestering my parents and their guests, they would send me outside with the command "Go play," or baring that, I was told to go to my room. Both of these places, outside, and my room, were relitively safe places that I could entertain and explore myself.

My cousins, very smart, well adjusted, nice people, turned on the xBox and we went into the kitchen.

I don\'t think they thought "Lets help dumb down america by raising a child who seeks instant pleasure and instant grification for the benifiet of large pharmisutcal companies, teaching unions, politicials and everyone else would can take advantage of our kids."

No, but I think that Al\'s point is that, it\'s up to the parent to say "go outside and play" or "go play your video game"... Whatever happened to reading a book?

[inthewhitelodge]

Oakland dude has some things right, and so does Yoda.

I definitely agree that the crumbling family structure has had an enormous impact on the way children are reared (or not). I know that not all kids can be homeschooled, but many homeschoolers should and do require sit-down work. The difference is that the children who are affected by the pacing of instruction, when not curtailed to their needs, often get swept under the radar, zone out, or misbehave. One teacher pacing instruction for more than 20 8 year-olds is insane. It works better to have small cooperative learning groups or centers.

If you like tea check out http://www.marktwendell.com , one of our biggest accounts.

They are the only US supplier of Hu-Kwa tea (my absolute favorite) and their white teas and fancy silver tip green teas are excellent as well.

Hmm...The site looks great, I\'ll keep them in mind. I typically like to buy herbs and teas from http://www.mountainroseherbs.com   but I\'m always open to competing markets!