big pharma makes money off us

BIG PHARMA MAKES MONEY OFF US
after i read the article
i went and looked in my medicine cabinet
to see if they were making money off me

i think they are
or
should i say they were

in my cabinet i found these two meds


webmd.com

prednisilone
i use them 1 drop a day in my affected eye to
control chronic iritis
without them for a few days
the eye turns real red and is painful like you get
if you scratch your cornea
plus i get bad headaches and marked fatigue
so
i put a drop in once a day and it keeps this under control

this stuff comes at a cost of $75 a bottle
thats with insurance and it is generic

so it seems what the drug companies do with eye drops is
they make the drops too big
i guess by making the hole bigger or putting more medicine in
each drop

i notice when i use them the eye is full and a lot runs down my face
so i have to wipe off quite a bit thats wasted

it seems its made that way
so you have to buy twice the volume you need
so that my $75 a bottle could be a smaller $37.50 one

thats money in the big pharmas pocket
they basically double the amount of the drug thats sold
doubling their money

solution
there is a microdrop that can be made to put less drug in a drop
or
i guess you could just find an eye drop bottle with a smaller hole

wonder if i could try that
i plan to research it
if i find a smaller hole bottle ill just transfer my prednisilone into
the smaller hole bottle
maybe i wont waste any anymore
plus
ill save money doing it


webmd.com

then
theres my blood pressure medicine
irbesartan thats brand name avapro
after moving here for some reason i had to drop my dose some
maybe since its so laid back relaxing living here
plus i have lost a few lbs

i pay about $15 a month for the 150 mgm tablet
which now i break in half
my blood pressure is well controlled on this dose
i have now cut my cost in half
and
sorry big pharma
i just cut your profits a little bit

then
thinking about the experimental infusion i get
the aducanumab
it could be on the market in around 5 years
at a cost of $40,000 a year
thats $3333 each month for the infusion

lets just say the dose for people adjusted for age weight height
memory loss etc ranges from 2.5 mg to 5 mg to 7.5 mg to 10 mg

lets just say i have to take 5 mg a month
the cost of the 10 mg dose vial since that is the only one thats made
is $6667 a vial

so when i go in they take out 5 gm out of the vial and throw the other
5 mg away
thats $3333 thrown away in the trash
i pay $6667 for my infusion drug
the big pharma makes an extra $3333 on each treatment thats given

a solution would be to make a 2.5 mg vial a 5mg vial a 7.5 mg vial
a 10 mg vial
the price of the 2.5 mg vial would be $1667

so you can see how big pharma doubles their income like the eye drop
folks do with each treatment

now i dont know if the aducanumab will be done that way
probably not
but
a lot of cancer drugs given as infusions are packaged in just one dose
but folks dont all get the same dose
the extra is just chunked in the trash
but the patient pays for all of it

they use to make different dose vials or a multidose vial that could be
used on several folks

these tricks with the eye drops and the cancer infusions are costing us
or our insurances billions and billions of dollars each year

cant this be fixed

the organicgreen doctor

its their our fault

ITS THEIR OUR FAULT
this permeates all of the corners of the us
the big cities the rural areas the poor states the rich states
everywhere
we are all affected by it
this
opiate thing

i was watching the civil war by ken burns the other night
i also have been reading a book about a civil war doctor
they just lined up those shot up soldiers
took the saw those surgeons did
sawed off above the injured area
wiped off the saw
grabbed the next leg or arm
sawed it off
sometimes for several days without stopping

now those guys usually died from infections
some survived
many got hooked thats right
on heroin or morphine

ok so they sort of had an excuse
we now in the united states today
we dont really have an excuse

why do we have this opiate epidemic
its
big pharmas fault
congresses fault
pharmacies fault
federal and state governments fault
and
yes
go walk into the bathroom
look in the mirror

thats you
its your fault
you and i have the power to vote
either we dont care
or
we arent enraged enough

heck
this epidemic has hit the core of america
the middle class white folks
usually when this happens
things get fixed

here is sort of the story of how all this happened
yes i was part of it
since
i wrote prescriptions
and
i vote

heroin and such opioids have always been around
peaking at times
like in those solders after the civil war

the opiates were used
to treat pain
to treat sorrow
to treat then the addiction

a few years ago
the federal and state governments decided doctors werent aggressively
treating peoples pain
so
they began to reprimand doctors for not writing for enough pain meds
the push began
even i who didnt over prescribe this stuff
felt the pressure to well over prescribe
i loosened up my prescribing
heck
its no fun to get drugged in front of the state medical board
with your own lawyer
getting your name in the news
getting your name on the medical boards website
he got reprimanded for not treating peoples pain

now
that never happened to me
but it did to others

we all felt the pressure

now that i think back
i do wonder if some of this was not some conspiracy by big pharma
to get us to prescribe more of their drugs
you know they have powerful lobbyists
who spend millions influencing those folks that we vote into office
they provide these good looking drug reps to sell the stuff
giving away all kinds of free stuff
like meals trips etc

then big pharm really jumped in strongly
pushing their narcotics
on tv ads
sending those reps aggressively to visit with primary care doctors
who they lied to about how these powerful narcotics worked
like hydrocodone and oxycodone
all of this increased the supply the flow of these narcotics
out into the public
initially all legal

then
eg people having orthopedic surgery got all hooked
they needed more drugs
they started seeking more drugs
they stole from others
they faked pain at doctors office
some even sold theirs on the black market

the middle man
those companys that distribute drugs in the us
even
started leaking drugs into the black market

the flow of drugs became almost like a flood

then
congress those people you and i elect
decided to tighten up
on all of this
to stop the flow somewhat

first they started going after the doctors again
making it known that we were all over prescribing
just the opposite of a few years ago

yes
we all felt the pressure
we all cut back
probably too much

heck
i had oral surgery recently and they didnt want to give me pain meds
sorry
i almost demanded them
i am glad i did
since
there was 2 or 3 days of severe pain that thankfully resolved quickly
sure glad i had those few pills around to help

so now
we have created a large pool of addicted folks
we have started to under treat pain again

where do those folks turn to for relief
addiction centers
these are becoming underfunded and the new health law doenst help either
then
its the streets

the narcotic supply was dwindling and expensive
so
enter heroin
its cheaper
works fast
hooks you real good

now we are back to the civil war era
we really havent progressed much have we

we didnt solve it then
we arent solving it now

sorry
i wrote all this
but
i dont really have a solution to present to you
except
we can all vote cant we

if they the politicians think they will be voted out
they will start doing what it takes to solve this problem
but
probably not before then

this seems to be one problem that affects both parties equally
its a non partisan issue

the organicgreen doctor

insulin costs too much

INSULIN COSTS TOO MUCH
luckily most patients with diabetes now
dont have to take insulin
they can use diet and exercise
and
oral medications
some are generic which make cost as little as 31 cents a pill
some though arent generic
like some newer ones which are much more expensive


medscape.com

then some diabetics
have to take insulin
they have to have this stuff to survive
without it they will die

the price of insulin which as been around for years and years
has gone from
$4.34 per milliliter to $12.92 per milliliter over a recent 10 year period
thats $231 a patient a year to $736 a patient a year

so if you dont have a drug plan or like some medicare patients
if you hit that infamous donut hole
where you pay for all your drugs for awhile
thats a big price change

almost like air food and water
if you are dependent on insulin
you have to have it to live
without it you
either die quickly
or
you die real slowly

things like
blindness
kidney dialysis
amputations
heart attacks
strokes
alzheimers
are in your near future

those of us in the medical fields or those of you with family members
affected by this disease
have seen it up close
they we know what will happen

now medicare is not allowed to negotiate drug prices
yes
va can
your private insurance companies can and do
so
there is no incentive from the pharmaceutical companies
to lower their prices
think of the epipen folks
they have a dominant market on a drug that saves lives

yes i have saved lives injecting epipens in folks
to get one
if you dont pay the high price you dont get the drug

seems not fair
probably no other industrialized country operates this way
thats right
no other one does

so
in california
this year
there is a proposition that basically says

the state can not pay more for a drug than
what the va pays for it

you see
the va gets to negotiate prices with big pharma
like canada and other countries already do

this is a big proposition
since
what happens in california will spread across the country
hopefully
you can be sure the us congress wont do anything about this
why
big pharma money

it looks like big pharma and friends are spending close to
$87,000,000 to defeat it
the opposition to these guys are spending close to
$15,000,000

hopefully not like congress
the california voters will overwhelmingly vote
for this proposition
so
if you live in california
hopefully
what you pay for insulin will go back down
to where it should be
but
if you live elsewhere
well
if you are a diabetic on insulin
pay up or die
slowly

the organicgreen doctor

makes me sick

MAKES ME SICK
every time i read stories like im going to tell you
it makes me sick

there is something obscene
unamerican
immoral
heinous
repulsive
loathsome
about what is happening
and
we since we vote in the politicians
we let it happen to us


i saw on facebook this morning an entry about someone
who went to the pharmacy to pick up tamiflu for the flu
and
was told it would be say $150 with your insurance
then
without insurance it would be say $350

if that was me
since i know that tamiflu only shortens the flu by at best
two days if you take it early enough
and
with the side effects that some people have
so they cant take it
i would say
no thank you
ill keep my money and use ibuprofen instead
the results in many cases will be the same
you get better

but why does it cost so much money for tamiflu

then
this one really chaps me
well the next two do

there is a drug called namenda thats added to aricept
as alzheimers progresses
the company that makes it made a new drug
well its not a new drug
they just fixed it so you
could take it once a day instead of twice a day

why did they wait so long to do this

they waited until the patent goes away next year
then did the once a day one so they could keep it
on patent a lot longer

why
namenda cost $350 a month
the new namenda xr price will be about the same
the other alzheimers drug aricept costs $450 a month
but the generic version which i take
donepezil costs only $14 a month
so
its presumed that when the generic version comes along
for namenda that the price will plummet like aricept did

so
the company said last year
we aint gonna make namenda anymore so yall going to have
to take namenda xr

the idea is to get folks on the namenda xr which will be on
patent for several years
maintaining the profits for the drug company

well the us courts
thankful someone sued them
said sorry you have to keep making namenda

i have instructed my wife she
if generic namenda is not available when i need it
do not
i repeat
do not put me on namenda xr

now thats bad enough right
profiting off the backs of the elderly
like those corrupt folks who cheat them out of their money

now
heres another thing big pharma is doing
if you have noticed recently when you go to buy your
generic drugs
why have the prices gone up so much

well
one of the reasons well two of them
first the brand company makes a deal with the generic company
to sell the generic drug at the higher price for a while
even two years can mean billions of dollars of profits
off
yes
you and me etal
well not off me

second
now the brand companies are buying out the generic companies
jacking up the prices
making huge sickening disgusting unamerican repulsive
loathsome
profits off our backs

and
we let this happen

the organicgreen doctor

disgusting

DISGUSTING
this is disgusting
it makes me nauseated
it makes me want to puke
it really pi$$e$ me off

heres the story
if you get diagnosed with alzheimers disease
the doctors usually will put you on a medication called
aricept (donepezil) to hopefully slow down the progression
of the symptoms for awhile
it does not stop the disease progression though
the earlier you start this in the disease the better it may work

then as the disease progresses on into the mid stages and
into the later stages
when it seems theres this point when things make that
fateful turn downward
then
many doctors will add a drug called namenda
it works slightly different from aricept and may
slow things down some for awhile

my opinion is that using these two meds like this is worth
trying
as its really the only thing we have that may help some

remember there is not a cure or treatment or the disease
yet
but thank goodness its coming

now here comes the disgusting part
and
shows how bad our legal medical government system is
it sheds an awful light on big pharma
yes its those old drug companies again screwing us over

aricept is generic now and is called donepezil
several companies make it
i personally pay $60 a year for it using my medicare d
drug plan
thank you mr george w for doing this plan

if you paid cash for it you would pay
$10+- for 30 pills

then in a few years after i have progressed the doctor
will add namenda to my regimen

lets see namenda comes not generic yet
a months worth at costco cash price is $149.50
whoa i hope george ws medicare d covers that

whats that you say the drug company called actavis is discontinuing
making it
but its not even gone generic yet

so you have to buy the drug called namenda xr
lets see that will be $300+ a month for that

so why would they quit making the cheaper stuff
oh i see so doctors now have to use the namenda xr
no other company can make the cheaper namenda
and
the drug company makes another extra $200 a month
off your parents or grandparents or you uncle or aunt
or your unlucky early onset alzheimers brother

that is so disgusting that we and our government let this
$#!) happen

what is that you say

what it is going to get worse

so the patent for the old form namenda goes off patent in 2015
then many different companies can make it
the price would intially drop 10% then later it will drop 90%
so
some demented person that has advanced could be treated for
$20+- a month

so by stopping making the namenda pill actavis is forcing
all these patients to go on namenda xr
which doesnt work any better than namenda

so when the namenda generic comes next year if it does
now all the patients will nicely be on namenda xr
doctors and patients commonly dont want to change

well ok when does that patent go off
oh my goodness
2029

by doing this actavis makes it much harder for a generic company
to come in and make the new generic

wonder if they have trouble sleeping at night
they rank up there with all those folks that call the elderly
trying to scam them
wait its the same thing isnt it

then sometimes the brand company like actavis
will actually buy out the new generic company so the price will
stay up even longer

so lets see thats $240 a year vs $3600

i have to stop writing now
i am so disgusted
i just puked all over my laptop

i have instructed my wife she
no brand namenda xr for me please
just let me slide down that slope without it

reminder
the
williamson county walk to end alzheimers
is tomorrow at the beautiful san gabriel park
in georgetown texas
walk starts at 900am
registration desk opens at 800am
temperature at walk time is to be 72 degrees

you can still donate and or join our team
organicgreendoctor
at this link 

remember there is no charge to walk with us
just show up and sign the waiver form

see you tomorrow
if not send us good vibes in the am as we walk
to do our part to help end this awful disease
and
oh write you congresspersons governor and your attorney general
unless you live in texas since big pharma own these guys

the organicgreen doctor

im not really but

IM NOT REALLY BUT
the next time i go see my primary care doctor
im going to say
i feel sad all the time
i cant sleep at night   now that one is true
i feel an impending doom   now that one is partially true
its called alzheimers disease
im having trouble with my appetite   now that one is true also
but thats due to the aricept (donepezil) im taking
i feel tired a lot   now thats true but thats usually in the afternoon
and evening and again thats from the aricept (donepezil) im taking

now when you look at those symptoms they are when put
together some of the symptoms of depression

now i know that most of my symptoms are due to my aricept (donepezil)
and its side effects
side effects who cares about side effects when it comes to aricept
those side effects are nothing compared to whats looming in the
future
so please dont talk to me about side effects i dont care about them

now i get screened on an annual basis for depression when i have
my 2 hour neuropych exam as part of the adni-2 study that im in
thats alzehiemers disease neuroimaging initiative

so i know that im not depressed
i dont really feel depressed
but
if he asked me questions i would answer them truthfully
mostly
because i might just want to take an antidepressant
maybe a ssri selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

basically it makes the serotonin levels stay high in the brain

now of course i would want a generic one since its cheap
i dont want to increase the profits of big pharma too much
maybe
one like what i use to order first for depression

citalopram
a 10 mg tablet would cost $6.40 for 30 pills at costco
the brand celexa would cost $157 for those same pills
nice profit huh

why in the heck would i fake depression to just get a depression
pill a ssri one called citalopram

it seems that citalopram and the other ssris by keeping the serotonin
levels up in the brain appear to decrease the levels of beta amyloid
that accumulates there

now its the beta amyloid that bad stuff that accumulates forms those
sticky gooey plaques that leads to the cascade of events that
causes tau protein destruction tangles that leads to or causes
the symptoms of alzheimers disease

wait now i thought that new alzheimers vaccine was going to do
that also

why is this 20 cent pill not been looked at before

they just now did it on rats
yep it worked dropped the bad boy beta amyloid down 40%
wow if it only worked in humans

so why not give it to humans and see if it works
they did
gave it to normal folks and the levels in the brain fluid dropped
by over 25%

wow
now the plan is to give it to folks who hopefully are early in the
disease to see if it drops the levels and substands that low level
over time

wow if that works
lets pour the money into more research to find out if it could
be this simple

first the warning from researches well we worry about the side effects
do more study needs to be done

excuse me one minute here

side effects dont talk to me about side effects
have you mr researcher ever taken aricept for a month
then do it and talk to me about side effects

side effects dont talk to me about side effects
im looking down into my future
if i have alzheimers which i personally feel i do
then whats in store for me and my family over the next few years
is nothing compared to any damn side effects
side effects give me a break

then this is the thing that makes me want to vomit this morning

this drug is a generic drug easily manufactured by many companies
its almost as cheap as aspirin
so
there is no big pharma who will finance the research that needs
to be done to see if this works
folks its expensive to do the research

then thanks to the no good congress who struck out all the
big research monies from the budget a few years ago
there is not enough money available for all the research that needs
to be done

this research on this cheap medicine citalpram was sponsored by
the national institue of health nih and the alzheimers association
yes
that money that you and i paid in taxes
and
you and i donated to the alzheimers asscoiation

now ive stepped down off my high horse
calmed down some

i think i call dr b today
i think i need a medicine for depression
could i maybe try citalpram

hopefully he doesnt read this blog

the organicgreen doctor

dollars for docs

DOLLARS FOR DOCS
when i was in practice the last several years i quit seeing
drug representatives
because i realized that even though we were taught they were
a good source of information about drugs
and
if you were careful seeing them
they would not influence what
medications you prescribed for you patients

well they and i were wrong


once i stopped seeing reps and stopped having them come in
and doing free meals for everyone
its sometimes the nurses they are really after
i began to notice my prescribing habits changed

i also noticed those docs who continued to see reps and to
accept all those free samples
seemed to order more expensive brand meds instead of
a good equal generic medication

eg
for high blood pressure i usually started with lisinopril
which costs less than $5 a month
those unduly influenced would order something like
avapro or diovan that would cost $150 a month

many times i would assume the care of a new patient
and rearrange their meds and save them sometimes
$1000-$2000 a year in drug costs

well worth it to my patients for me to not see reps

i also noted that many times employees and even doctors
themselves would avail themselves of the samples

also what happens is the patient is given a sample of
a branded medicine
if it worked ok
then the rx would be written for the same med

but an old generic was available
it worked well and was a lot cheaper

so below there is a website that you can click on
type in your doctors name to see if anyone has received
any moneys from drug companies up to 2012
starting sometime in the 2000s

since i was in practice during that time
i typed in my name
$0

my wife shes doctors name
$0

the specialists ive seen in the last 3 years
oops one got $250 for food
must have been a good meal

then i typed in names of doctors that many of you are seeing
one in particular got close to $1000 for food

interesting so below
click this link to find out if your doctor is receiving money from drug companies

then take a good luck at your medications to see if any of this
affected the cost of your medications you are own

the organicgreen doctor