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

whats the price

WHATS THE PRICE
in the next 2 years several alzheimers disease studies will be started with
different criteria for who gets in them
most of not all will be given a new biological infusion called
solanezumab

this will be given monthly for 3 years
it works by binding with antibodies to beta amyloid the sticky stuff
that accumulates in the brain
that  is thought to be the cause of alzheimers disease

the beta amyloid  is then removed from the brain
if it works it will slow down the disease
or
if we are all lucky cure the disease

there are several diseases now that use the same approach for
treating them
one eg is rheumatoid arthritis
patients may get an infusion of biologicals every 1-2 months
with names like infliximab or adalimubab
thats remacaide and humira

cost of getting infusions for a year are $10,000-$30,000+

note the similar sound to their generic names to the new drug
for alzhiemers disease that will be used in these studies

the drugs for alzheimers disease used now
remember they only treat the symptoms
not the disease

these prices below are for 30 days treatment
cash prices from costco pharmacy

donepezil generic aricept $11.41
aricept brand                  $417.67
aricept 23                       $388.90 this was designed after the aricept
went generic and the price plummeted for the generic
folks dont let doctors put your family on aricept 23
its the things big pharma does when their drugs go generic
it doesnt work any better
and it cost you hundreds more a year

rivistagmine generic exelon $52.64
exelon brand                       $226
exelon patch                       $352.25
its no better than donepezil
its used instead of donepezil when donepezil causes stomach issues

for me
my stomach issues improved after 30 days and i was able to tolerate
the donepezil

namenda for now its brand is only $328.08
later this year a new product will be introduced called
you got it namenda xr
sounds familiar
the patent on namenda is going out next year
then other companies can make it

it will not work any better than namenda or the new generic
namenda
you know the cost will probably be in the $300-$400 a  month price range

namenda is usually added to the donepezil when the donepezil
loses its effectiveness later on in the disease
or
some are taking it with donepezil as soon as the diagnosis of
alzheimers is made
i have opted not to do this combo yet
when it is needed i probably will not be capable of making that
decision

if you presume all patients with alzheimers disease in the united states
are on donepezil
5,000,000 people have this disease now
thats $57,000,000 a year for the generic drug
add namenda to them
thats $1,640,000,000 a year more

now
we know this new solanezumab that will be used in these new
alzheimers disease trials will be expensive
if it works all those newly early diagnosed patients will be getting it
and
those of you who are young and who are tested for alzheimers disease
will probably start this drug early in life
maybe in the 40s
and will take it for the rest of your life
if you want to slow the disease down

cost im presuming for a years treatment will be $20,000-$30,000+
a year
we are talking about 20 years of people who will be told you will get
alzhiemers disease
there will be millions of people wanting this drug

if you multiple the cost times 5,000,000 people an underestimate
thats $150,000,000,000 a year for this new drug

but can we afford as a society to spend that amount of money
each year to prevent or treat this disease

that 150 billion dollars just so happens to me the amount
that medicare and medicaid spends now each year on
alzheimers disease patients

interesting huh
and
that does not include what private health insurance pays what long term
care insurance pay and what we all pay out of our pocket

its a financially devastating as well as socially devastating disease
but
can we afford these new treatments

well
maybe we can

lets just hope that in the next 3-5 years that this new drug
works to slow down or stop this disease
so that we can answer this question

the organicgreen doctor