According to the web site of the "Obsessive Compulsive Foundation," OCD medications are SSRIs but they only control symptoms, and do not "cure" the disorder. "This means," the Foundation says, "that the positive effects of an anti-OCD medication only occur as long as the drug is being taken."
And even while taking medications, the group points out that some symptoms continue but are less severe. The web sites explains that all medications work slow and "it may take up to two or three months to see improvement in the OCD."
"Also," it continues, "ongoing improvement of OCD may continue between 12 weeks and one year after starting medication."
"Optimal duration of treatment for OCD in children is unknown," according to the Foundation. "Many clinicians recommend 9 to 18 months of treatment after symptom resolution/stabilization," the web site says, "followed by a very gradual decrease in dosage."
So for starters, the Rhoades' family would be looking at about $350 a month, times a middle number for an average of 12 months, which would amount to $4,200 a year for the OCD disorder alone.
However, according to the foundation, relapse when the medication is stopped is common. So, by using TeenScreen to diagnose Chelsea with OCD, critics says, she was set up to become a life-long customer for Big Pharma.
While testifying before Congress, Ms Flynn told the panel that "close to 750,000 teens are depressed at any one time, and an estimated 7-12 million youth suffer from mental illness."
Using these numbers, the estimated drug sales that TeenScreen might generate, could be determined by multiplying that numbers of students by $4,200 a year per child, keeping in mind that the figure only represents one disorder per child, although Chelsea was diagnosed with two.
However, in the case of the Rhoades' family, there will be no prescribing of mind-altering drugs and Big Pharma is not getting a dime because Chelsea's parents refused to buy into the TeenScreen insanity.
In fact, when they heard about the Teenscreen testing and their daughter's diagnosis of mental disorders, they were more than a little upset. "I was absolutely outraged that my daughter was told she had these two conditions based off a computer test," Teresa Rhoades said.
So outraged in fact, that the family filed a federal lawsuit against the school district and the Madison Center, the psychiatric facility that screened Chelsea without her parents knowledge or consent.
Attorney, John Whitehead, points out that parents have a fundamental constitutional right over the care, custody and control of their children, absent some showing of abuse or neglect and for those parents who want to protect their families from this latest assault there are some immediate steps that can be taken to combat the problem.
First, he tells parents, learn your rights under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, a federal law intended to protect the rights of parents and students that allows parents to inspect their children's instructional materials and requires that schools obtain "written parental consent" before schools engage in programs like mental health screening.
He also advises parents to contact school officials and demand to be notified immediately if they are conducting mental health screening on their children and to also contact their representatives in Congress and "protest these invasive activities that are being foisted on unsuspecting students and families."
Activists against TeenScreen have posted an petition on the internet which they plan to send to federal, state and local lawmakers. Persons interested in signing can click on the following link: http://www.petitiononline.com/tscreen/petition.html
Members of advocacy groups critical of any form of government instigated mental illness screening consistently point to TeenScreen as the most "evil" component of the overall drug marketing scheme set up by the New Freedom Commission.
I took zyprexa starting in 1996 the year the FDA approved it, which was ineffective for my condition and gave me diabetes.
Zyprexa is the product name for Olanzapine,it is Lilly's top selling drug.It was approved by the FDA in 1996 ,an 'atypical' antipsychotic a newer class of drugs without the motor side effects of the older Thorazine.Zyprexa has been linked to causing diabetes and pancreatitis.
Zyprexa, which is used for the treatment of psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, accounted for 32% of Eli Lilly's $14.6 billion revenue last year.
Did you know that Lilly made nearly $3 billion last year on diabetic meds, Actos,Humulin and Byetta?
Yes! They sell a drug that can cause diabetes and then turn a profit on the drugs that treat the condition that they may have caused in the first place!
I was prescribed Zyprexa from 1996 until 2000.
In early 2000 i was shocked to have an A1C test result of 13.9 (normal is 4-6) I have no history of diabetes in my family.
All the psychiatrist I've interviewed and the information on line presents zyprexa as a worse offender than the other Atypicals such as seroquel.My doctor has stopped prescribing zyprexa altogether.
The PDR classifies zyprexa as 'severe' for causing weight gain and diabetes and seroquel as 'moderate'.
Of course the 50 year old Thorazine didn't cause diabetes and is many times cheaper but it could cause tardive dyskinesia.
Where Eli Lilly's negligence comes in,is their KNOWING and not informing consumers (black box warning) until the FDA demanded it.
Lilly's incentive not to readily disclose is they had billions coming in from state medicaid scripts.
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Daniel Haszard http://www.zyprexa-victims.com
by
Danny Haszard (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 50 comments)
on Friday, July 21, 2006 at 2:48:03 PM
It is sad that there is NO grassroots movement to get these drugs recalled.
Even though Zyprexa's makers claimed zyprexa was superior, and was PROVEN wrong -- and assessed with a 690 million dollar to those who gained weight, got diabetes or pancreatitis, Eli Lilly continues on its merry HUGE profits way.
Some states have passed laws that doctors must show a specific reason for the new atypical antipsychotics to be prescibed - yet the government continues to allow zyprexa to be on the market. There is no proof that the drug makes any difference to achieving health -- or even alleviating symptoms. The toll continues to mount with "side effects" -- and even death -- resulting from taking these so-called medications.
While those prescibed these drugs can use the courts to get minimal satisfaction in financial terms, a movement to recall the drugs requires political ACTION. It must be done with a campaign to alert the FDA and the heads of health committees of each state or province.
My son has been prescribed zyprexa .. and I am an ACTIVIST against these drugs. I have brought it to the attention of medical schools and a provincial hospital facility. This was no easy task. But at least some of the medical professionals and hospital adminstrators are on alert now.
However, the professionals continue in the main to close ranks and protect each other. In the case of Ontario's largest mental hospital, I had to threaten to sue them if they did not see me before the doctor would even meet with me!! Later a consultant was brought in who agreed with me in toto. The doctor was just plain wrong. No questions were asked about my son's family medical history regarding diabetes. No blood sugara level test was administered before dosage was begun. The hospital couldn't even be bothered to read the magazines about the zyprexa lawsuit. (The case is still pending here in Canada.)
Meanwhile, those who have been victimized by taking zyprexa languish in pain without seeing their payout in the US!!
The onset of diabetes and pancreatitis is swift and not many signs show up right away as the pancreas is falling apart. And this leads to death ...
I have fought long and hard to keep my son off perscription drugs. He went through special ed as the ONLY child not on ridilin and other ADD drugs in his classes. These drugs are a set up for lifelong addiction as they get used to having the feeling of "rushing". Now I am told to stay quiet while zyprexa eats away at his body. Not bloody likely. This prescribing of very dangerous drugs affects the families, too!! The anxiety and the price one pays to fight back sometimes seem hardly worth the effort it takes.
Drug professionals in addiction centres do not have the education to fight these prescription drug dependencies and addictions. Plus most addiction centres are for PROFIT. Their boards of directors are driven by the need for PROFIT. So don't count on them for ADVOCACY for those damaged by ridiculous labels or whose bodies give out. Since the government and corporations are refusing to deal with this severe societal problem, we are all going to have to do our job to fight the trend to "somatize" everyone.
What is particularly abhorrant is the need to give these drugs to youth who cannot advocate for themselves.
I post Evelyn's articles and everything I can find related to this issue on my blog. It's become a "mission" for me. I called up every lawyer involved in the zyprexa lawsuit I could find .. and got told by them all .. they cannot get this drug (and others like it) recalled. WE MUST DO THAT.
Please, if you have five minutes write a letter to someone involved in this issue .. like the FDA or your state's health authority. Let them know, we are onto this sick, sick overdispensing racket and that it's time for these drugs to be RECALLED.
If the drug companies (and there are precious few of those) don't make the billions per year off these drugs, they might actually do the research to find compounds that don't damage the human body!! They might invest in real therapy for damaged children. In a six month hospital stay for paranoid schizophrenia, my son saw his psychiatrist a grand total of none for therapy -- his only visits with his psychiatrist were directly related to re-prescribing. They had him on 3 antipsychotics in 9 weeks!!Yet it was costing the Province over $1,000 a day for his bed. He left with no discharge plan, no real psychiatric testing (he also has post traumatic stress disorder) and no help with his drug problem. What are the taxpayers getting for their money for these treatments? Nothing at all.
The NYT's continues to post articles about diabetes among mentally ill populations, but says nothing about the direct connection to antipsychotics -- or that the medications to treat it are made by the same drug companies. They give no hint on how to fight back. They instead demonize the victims of a huge conspiracy, as if they were to blame for their poor health care and their feelings of being defeated.
It is a welcome relief to see the TRUTH printed here and in the other venues that publish Evelyn's fine work.
by
ladybroadoak (37 articles, 20 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 390 comments)
on Sunday, July 23, 2006 at 6:35:52 PM
