I subscribe to a wonderful news letter from the Stansberry group entitled "Retirement Millionaire". It is informative about many issues retired people are interested in from financial matters to health to world events. I really enjoy it and learn a lot. I find the points addressed in the monthly newsletter normally well substantiated and presented. The price is very reasonable. I'd recommend the "Retirement Millionaire" to anyone and anyone can afford it.
This month one small part of the letter addresses anti-depressants and drug companies. Please allow me to quote:
"SSRIs are the most common antidepressants and include big sellers Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil. SSRIs block the reuptake of serotonin in the brain. This allows the brain to better send and receive chemical messages, boosting mood.
"But antidepressants aren't as effective as television ads lead you to believe. A 1998 study from the University of Connecticut found that as much as 75% of an antidepressant's power comes from the placebo effect. In other words, the act of simply taking something they believe will help – even if it has no physiological effect – makes the patient feel better... Many studies since have also come to the same conclusion.
"The placebo effect shows how important belief and attitudes are in final outcomes. Irving Kirsch, the originator of the 1998 study (and several studies thereafter), has studied the placebo effect for decades. In an interview on 60 Minutes earlier this year, Kirsch said that in many cases, placebos were just as effective as antidepressants.
"But here's the part that upsets me... the drug companies are well-aware of this. In 2010, two reports – one from the New England Journal of Medicine – showed the drug companies buried the results of 74 studies conducted between 1987 and 2004 on 12 FDA-approved antidepressants.
"All 74 studies showed the drugs did nothing more than a sugar pill. Worse... another 11 studies that showed negative results for the medications were published as if they supported the pills' benefits. Trials for Effexor, Paxil, Prozac, and Serzone showed the medications had the same effect as a placebo." (Dr. David Eifrig Jr's Retirement Millionaire, December 2012)
Now, doesn't that just turn your crank? To think of all those poor depressed people shelling out hundreds of dollars for a prescription they can literally do without and would be better off replacing with a $3 bag of delicious M&M's (no, I am not being paid to plug the chocolates, but I'd love to be!).
How many of you have heard of people committing suicide because of the side effects of their anti-depressant? I can't count the number of reports I've heard of and read reporting some dire, deadly and depressing effect of a prescription drug designed to take a person from depression to "normalcy". It's depressing. Really!
What the heck is "normal", anyhoo? Does a normal person write anyhoo? Do normal people write blogs? Are normal people inactive in politics or are they the abnormal ones, or are the abnormal people those who are neither active nor inactive but just in-between? Also, who says whether a person is normal? Who is to say the person making the call is normal? You get the gist, don't you? *(If you pronounced that word "jist" instead of with a hard "g" (golf) you are normal, if not, then you just pronounce words phonetically, the way they ar speld, and that, tu iz norml.)
Well, what the heck. The moral of this blog post is "Don't do Drugs", especially not expensive, doctor prescribed anti-depressant drugs.
If you are depressed, instead, of going to the doctor ($64.95) and buying the drug prescription ($61.99, total: $126.94), just send $98.94 to me. I'll overnight ship you a specially repacked 24 oz. bag of chocolate pills. Take 2 every 5 minutes until the depression goes away. If you need another bag, I'll overnight more to you with a credit card payment of only $83.89 per 24 oz. bag. Doesn't a good discount make you feel better? AND...
... My guarantee is just as good as your MD offers you. Send me his written guarantee with your order and I'll match it. I aim to please. (Hyuck hyuk)
This month one small part of the letter addresses anti-depressants and drug companies. Please allow me to quote:
"SSRIs are the most common antidepressants and include big sellers Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil. SSRIs block the reuptake of serotonin in the brain. This allows the brain to better send and receive chemical messages, boosting mood.
"But antidepressants aren't as effective as television ads lead you to believe. A 1998 study from the University of Connecticut found that as much as 75% of an antidepressant's power comes from the placebo effect. In other words, the act of simply taking something they believe will help – even if it has no physiological effect – makes the patient feel better... Many studies since have also come to the same conclusion.
"The placebo effect shows how important belief and attitudes are in final outcomes. Irving Kirsch, the originator of the 1998 study (and several studies thereafter), has studied the placebo effect for decades. In an interview on 60 Minutes earlier this year, Kirsch said that in many cases, placebos were just as effective as antidepressants.
"But here's the part that upsets me... the drug companies are well-aware of this. In 2010, two reports – one from the New England Journal of Medicine – showed the drug companies buried the results of 74 studies conducted between 1987 and 2004 on 12 FDA-approved antidepressants.
"All 74 studies showed the drugs did nothing more than a sugar pill. Worse... another 11 studies that showed negative results for the medications were published as if they supported the pills' benefits. Trials for Effexor, Paxil, Prozac, and Serzone showed the medications had the same effect as a placebo." (Dr. David Eifrig Jr's Retirement Millionaire, December 2012)
Now, doesn't that just turn your crank? To think of all those poor depressed people shelling out hundreds of dollars for a prescription they can literally do without and would be better off replacing with a $3 bag of delicious M&M's (no, I am not being paid to plug the chocolates, but I'd love to be!).
How many of you have heard of people committing suicide because of the side effects of their anti-depressant? I can't count the number of reports I've heard of and read reporting some dire, deadly and depressing effect of a prescription drug designed to take a person from depression to "normalcy". It's depressing. Really!
What the heck is "normal", anyhoo? Does a normal person write anyhoo? Do normal people write blogs? Are normal people inactive in politics or are they the abnormal ones, or are the abnormal people those who are neither active nor inactive but just in-between? Also, who says whether a person is normal? Who is to say the person making the call is normal? You get the gist, don't you? *(If you pronounced that word "jist" instead of with a hard "g" (golf) you are normal, if not, then you just pronounce words phonetically, the way they ar speld, and that, tu iz norml.)
Well, what the heck. The moral of this blog post is "Don't do Drugs", especially not expensive, doctor prescribed anti-depressant drugs.
If you are depressed, instead, of going to the doctor ($64.95) and buying the drug prescription ($61.99, total: $126.94), just send $98.94 to me. I'll overnight ship you a specially repacked 24 oz. bag of chocolate pills. Take 2 every 5 minutes until the depression goes away. If you need another bag, I'll overnight more to you with a credit card payment of only $83.89 per 24 oz. bag. Doesn't a good discount make you feel better? AND...
... My guarantee is just as good as your MD offers you. Send me his written guarantee with your order and I'll match it. I aim to please. (Hyuck hyuk)
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