Medication is created because there is a need for it...
Jas,
It starts at home. When I was young and I told my mom there was nothing to do, she made me do my nothing outside. If I wanted to go somewhere like to my friends or to the store, mom or dad didn't jump in the car and take me there, they made me walk there or ride my bike. I know that most parents like to have the schools raise thier kids but I truely believe that the schools are responsible for many of the shortfalls of raising a good child, physically and mentally. It's time for people to start doing what they are supposed to do and quit hoping they find a way to let others bare thier responsibilities. Maybe with so many schools looking to shorten the school week by a day, hopefully many parents can become more active in parenting, probably not. Maybe they can even take their children for some walking adventures, probably not.
LEV
[QUOTE=levlarry]
Jas,
Jas,
Wasn't refferring to yuu specifically, just generalizing. Let me also add that there is so much even on this forum about video games. What if rather thn playing video games they went for walks with the children. What if they took a actual tour rather than a virtual tour of our world. No one will understand until someone puts it into a virtual scene, I would imagine. Oh, and again Jas, not refferring to you specifically, just generalizing again.
LEV
LEV
Kids are increasingly being given meds for diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, acid reflux -- conditions related to being overweight and obese. We really don't know the effect of these meds on children, but one can imagine the financial cost to our health care system, if kids are started on these drugs which they may need to continue the rest of their life.
Wouldn't it be safer and cheaper to "fight fat"? Granted it isn't easy to change behavior or eating habits, but we know its often a matter of diet and exercise. Schools are banning junk food like sodas from their campuses, PE is being put back in the curriculum. But it may take more than the efforts of schools, parents and doctors.
California has passed a law that in 2010 bans transfats from restaurant products and retail baked goods. Studies have found transfats to lower "good" cholesterol and increase "bad" cholesterol which contributes to heart disease. National chains like Wendy’s, KFC, Taco Bell, the Cheesecake Factory and McDonald’s have already begun to move away from trans fats and in Europe, transfats are banned.
The pervasive presence of high fructose corn syrup in many of our processed foods is another culprit. Studies show that high fructose corn syrup is metabolized and converted into fat quicker than other sugars. So rather than subsidizing corporate agriculture to produce high fructose corn syrup, why not subsidize fruit and vegetable growers, in order to provide affordable, healthier food choices?
There's no one answer, it will take a multi-prong approach to deal with the problem of overweight kids, but right now, nationwide 30% of kids are overweight -- it's a growing problem.
[QUOTE=levlarry]And you're damn right I want to get us all cured. Period.
Joy - another problem with the schools in Cali is they took a good idea too far and also banned fried foods. OK, can live with that. Good idea. Then they started salad bar - OK, loved that. Then they started taking snacks out of the hands of the kids that don't get school lunch if it wasn't 'good' for them.
Then they said - no birthday cupcakes in the schools. And no little presents if your child wants to celebrate. Come on - what is more important than turning 7 when you're six? So what do the parents send in? Look at your cupcake pan - then look at muffins at Starbucks or Costco. 3X the size but, hey, it's a chocolate muffin loaded with chocolate chips, not a cupcake, so it's OK?
But they still have fundraisers all the time - and what do they sell to the kids? Let's see - nacho's, popsickles, cupcakes - you name it. Then they have the nerve to send home requests of home-made baked goods when the teacher is using M & M's to teach math.
Hugs,
Pip
My younger daughter's school is so much better in that regard than the elementary school her big sister went to! At my younger daughter's school, you are good because...you are supposed to be good.
At big sis's school? ' Treasure box' full of candy. Your 'team' gets candy for getting the most good behavior points. Etc. etc. etc. I used to say if I sent her to school with as much candy as she came home with, they'd request a conference.
My favorite kindergarten quote? "We got Skittles today if we got math problems right. I knew all the answers, but I didn't raise my hand because I don't like Skittles."
LOL - I love it! Thanks for the laugh~
Suzanne, beg your pardon, I thought there was a point to be made.
Pip, we know you want to cure us and you probably think you can cure us better than our doctors can but not surprisingly, that's just not fact. I still believe that a doctor that goes to school to be a doctor and earns the credentials is more likely to cure than a internet schooled anti-pharm, anti-doctor anti-traditional medicine person without the disease.
Joi,
I think that it is a good liberal stand to follow California and pass laws that tell us free americans what we can and can't eat. Then we can pass laws to put parents with over weight children in jail and give the children to other citizens that will raise the children the way the laws say. Or, we could start eliminating laws that take away our freedoms, naaaahhh.
LEV
Oh the cry of the outraged, "Give me transfats, or give me death." Or, it should actually be give me transfats AND give me death.
Folks can still eat as much saturated fat as they wish, and as much transfats in their own home, but w/health care costs going up, kids being prescribed cholesterol lowering meds at the age of 8, w/less people able to afford health insurance and health care -- banning transfats from restaurants/fast food places will contribute to reducing heart disease -- people will have healthier lives, saving money spent on health care.
Transfats increase "bad" cholesterol, decrease "good" cholesterol, which contributes to heart disease. Those of us w/RA already are at increased risk for cardio vascular disease. Why would we want it in our food?
[QUOTE=Joie]Oh the cry of the outraged, "Give me transfats, or give me death." Or, it should actually be give me transfats AND give me death.
Jas,
Sounds like you are suggesting more freedom than the average citizen should be allowed to try to handle.
LEV
[QUOTE=levlarry]Jas,
I'm sorry - I'm disagreeing here. Many states have enacted helmet laws for motorcyclists who crash and burn (maybe no fault of their own) because they are tired of picking of the slack for the cost of caring for them AFTER they exercised their freedom.
Same concept.
I don't care if Lev eats nothing BUT transfats but I shouldn't have to pay for his crappy diet choices.
Pip
[QUOTE=Pip!]I'm sorry - I'm disagreeing here. Many states have enacted helmet laws for motorcyclists who crash and burn (maybe no fault of their own) because they are tired of picking of the slack for the cost of caring for them AFTER they exercised their freedom.
At least her good cholesterol will go up - affording us some tax breaks.
Pip
[QUOTE=Pip!]At least her good cholesterol will go up - affording us some tax breaks.
Pip,
When I first was dxed with real ra, my bad cholesterol was 55 and now three years later it has moved up to 70. I have not eaten deep fried greasy food for a long time. Not by investigational studies but by my own choice. And now that you have destroyed your digestive system by "your" choice of taking an antibiotic that destroys the digestive system and all the probiotics and ju-ju juices will never put your stomach and digestive track back to good and I don't mind having to pay for the rest of your life to keep your digestive pains from being too much to bare and good luck with that mess, and I'll smile as I help pay for your poor decision that will cost all of us money for the rest of your life.
As for making cyclists wear helmits, Michigan still mandates that cyclists wear helmits. Seems a bit strange to me that they pass out tickets for drivers in cars not wearing seat belts (rightfully so) and yet they pass out drivers licenses to people that drive cycles with only their hands holding to bars for safety as they cruise at upwards of 70 miles per hour. That just doesn't make sense. But isn't freedom a beautiful thing? And I'll just smile and continue to help pay for those fractured skulls and ruptured spines.
LEV
From the American College of Rheumatology:
Makes you wonder why its on their site as a recognized DMARDS with parity with chemotherapy.
Lev-
Just think, all of us with real RA peeps weaning our meds as we get better and better. You think the insurance people would be all over this as a way to control costs.
Pip
This is the latest medicine guideline recomendations from the American College of Rheumatology:
The ACR 2008 recommendations for nonbiologic and biologic DMARD use in RA include:
- Initiating methotrexate or leflunomide therapy was recommended for most RA patients.
- Methotrexate plus hydroxychloroquine was endorsed for patients with moderate to high disease activity.
- The triple DMARD combination of methotrexate plus hydroxychloroquine plus sulfasalazine for patients with poor prognostic features and moderate to high levels of disease activity.
- Prescribing anti-TNFα agents - etanercept, infliximab, or adalimumab - along with methotrexate in early RA (less than 3 months) only for patients with high disease activity who had never received DMARDs. In intermediate- and longer-duration RA, anti-TNFα agents were recommended for patients who had failed to respond adequately to methotrexate therapy.
- Reserving the fusion protein abatacept and the B-cell antibody(rituximab) for patients with at least moderate disease activity and poor disease prognosis for whom methotrexate in combination with or sequential administration of other nonbiologic DMARDs led to an inadequate response.
- Avoiding the initiation or resumption of treatment with methotrexate, leflunomide, or biologic agents for patients with active bacterial infection, active herpes-zoster viral infection, active or latent tuberculosis, or acute or chronic hepatitis B or C.
- Not prescribing anti-TNFα agents to patients with a history of heart failure, with a history of lymphoma, or with multiple sclerosis or demyelinating disorders.
- Avoiding the initiation or resumption of methotrexate, leflunomide, or minocycline for RA patients planning for pregnancy and throughout the duration of pregnancy and breastfeeding.
"These recommendations are extensive but not comprehensive," Dr. Saag acknowledges, "and it is intended that they will be regularly updated to reflect the rapidly growing scientific evidence in this area along with changing practice patterns in rheumatology." [END]
My doctors have me weaning off of 2 meds and have stopped 1. And when did you become a "real" ra patient. I know that last year I stated that you have palindromic arthritis and shortly after that you stated that your doctor said that you had graduated to rheumatoid arthritis from palindromic arthritis. If minocin cures rheumatoid arthritis, how then is it that it allows rheumatoid (the organism) arthritis to become a disease while one is taking the killer of the organism? Just curious.
LEV
My doc also says I'm back to Palindromic - the envy of all arthritis-es! On Minocin! WooDoggie!
10% Minocin users can get to a med free natural remission rate.
50% of Palindromic people can get to a med free natural remission rate.
Admit it - you're jealous~
Pip
Edited to add 2nd 'natural' into second sentence.
Pip!2008-07-27 19:35:49Pip,
I'm not jealous. I just have a problem with your stories. Once you were outed for being palindromic arthritis, a non damaging arthritis that causes pain for a few hours or a couple of days and may not cause pain for many months there after and then cause pain again or as you like to call it, herxing, you all of a sudden became rheumatoid arthritis and now you are back to palindromic arthritis. You have palindromic arthritis and yet you come here trying to persuade real ra patients to try minocin as a cure for thier ra when you don't really know what ra is or how one with ra will react to minocin. I know that those that have said that minocin didn't work and had actually allowed irrepairable damage you told them that they had not followed the strict protocol. I have a big problem with your stories. If the story doesn't make sense, it's because it isn't true, it's just that simple.
LEV
LEV
Of course you're jealous - your doc wouldn't let you do AP. Poor thing. I understand your frustration.
Hugs.
Pip
Why in the world would anyone be jealous???? I'm glad when people do well on any med and I believe that Lev posted he was doing quite well on Rituxan. I guess that was supposed to be sarcasm then....Grrrr......keep your AP battles off my fruit-flavored statins thread.........grrrrrr......."The Power of Marketing Drugs for Kids", gee, that title just screamed AP??????? Well, my daughter's med Zithromax, is marketed for kids. There is a zebra on the box. How cute is that?
Mom - he started it!
Pip
That's a time out for you Pip and no transfatty doughnuts for a week.
But seriously, obese kids with high cholesterol -- a need for those who fail to lose weight? a marketing target group? Better nutrition, a better diet, increased physical activity would be a cheaper, safer way to go. Programs that encourage this should be supported.
Some are opposed to the banning of transfats from fast food restaurants, they say its taking away an individual's right to choose, well we don't allow kids and teenagers to buy cigarettes or alcohol, why allow them to buy food soaked in transfats that we know to contribute to heart disease? If kids are taking adult meds for obesity related diseases, why not take steps to improve nutrition and health and reduce the need for prescription meds?
Good point about the alcohol and the cigs.
I can't believe you took my donut away! Awwwww!
Pip
Think about it - this is probably a med that
should not be flavored to taste good. Kids should be told to lose weight, eat right, exercise, etc., and you won't have to take it anymore! Peds are saying giving that advice is not working and they are having to resort to meds; well, maybe a yucky tasting med will make the families try a little harder?
A yucky tasting med won't be taken by a kid or a teenager. If the parents aren't going to take control of their child's health problems and take preventative measures to ensure that they become healthier then they won't make sure that the child takes their medicine as prescribed, even though it tastes yucky. LindyYou're right. Aha! Marketing genius - the yummier the taste, the more refills........
It's sad. Something that could be managed probably by common sense and good habits gets a good-tasting med developed right away. Getting Plaquenil for my daughter was an ordeal. Once I found a pharmacy to compound it, they still made me wait another day while they called their consultants to be sure they mixed it right. When I gave it to her, it was so bad she vomited everywhere. She never could keep it down, so we had to stop it.
[QUOTE=Suzanne]You're right. Aha! Marketing genius - the yummier the taste, the more refills........
It's sad. Something that could be managed probably by common sense and good habits gets a good-tasting med developed right away. Getting Plaquenil for my daughter was an ordeal. Once I found a pharmacy to compound it, they still made me wait another day while they called their consultants to be sure they mixed it right. When I gave it to her, it was so bad she vomited everywhere. She never could keep it down, so we had to stop it.
[/QUOTE]
I have NEVER purchased or avoided a drug for the boys based on their taste preferences. They've had some that they really like (penicillin) and some that they really hate (zyrtec).
[QUOTE=JasmineRain]
I have NEVER purchased or avoided a drug for the boys based on their taste preferences. They've had some that they really like (penicillin) and some that they really hate (zyrtec).
[/QUOTE]
If they don't like the taste, have Goldfish or any type of cracker ready, I mean READY, to shove right in. It coats their mouth, keeps that medicine-y taste from sinking in. Works great for both my girls! They only like one med, of all we have been through - amoxicillin, which is good since its 3 x day!
I do buy Motrin over Tylenol now, for a fever reducer, because even though they don't like the taste, they don't hate it. They hate the taste of Tylenol. That's my sign they are really sick - they agree to take Motrin! You don't get a choice in rx's, though.
The boys always have a glass of water ready if they have to take icky medicine. We've tried various juices and snack foods, but they both prefer plain old water.
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