Some personal information about me, who never gives out personal information.

[Vidar]

I've shared precious little about myself at DU, which may be wise
since most of my posts are in GD, but here goes nothing.

Two years ago, my personal life shut down. I was suffering from Type II diabetes, among a host of other ailments. A friend of mine was running for city council & casting my vote was important. I had trouble walking the two blocks to the polling place, and much more importantly when my dance partner arrived for our weekly practice, I was barely able to complete a second dance. For thirty years, dancing has been important to me, and for the last 10 years it has been my principal love. This was a disaster!

I refused on principal to participate in shrubydo's medicare part d scam and thus--despite heroic efforts by my doctor & local free clinic to keep supplied with free samples--the medication finally ran out in January. Considering both my personal life and the state of the country, death was a fairly welcome idea, so I didn't mind running out of the meds.

Much to my surprise, running out of the meds was the best thing that could have happened to me. There was a big scandal involving Avandia back in March or April, something about two unreported side effects--heart failure and weight gain. Avandia was my principal diabetes medication. My personal experience has been that chest pains disappeared & I had to take my belt in five notches, losing sixty pounds with no real effort on my part.

My one dance partner never gave up on me, calling faithfully once a week, though I had long since ceased to answer. Finally coming back to life I responded, and we were able to dance for an hour at a local studio. I was exhausted, but ecstatic. Since then, I've cleared the garbage off my dance floor, practicing rhumba for 70 minutes two days ago &, wisely remembering to do my stretching exercises this time, tangoed for 90 minutes this morning.

I'll close with a warm note of gratitude to my two wonderful friends and dance partners, and a big "Fuck You" to the American pharmaceutical
industry.

[Gormy Cuss]

1. I'm glad that it worked out for you.

Pharmaceuticals can be miracle solutions but not all are. We need more vigilant scrutiny both before and after FDA approval.

[Vidar]

11. Amen to that! Thank you.

[Midlodemocrat]

2. Glad you're better, although I don't share your hatred

of pharmaceutical companies. Pharmaceuticals kept my dad alive longer than he should have been and they're the ONLY reason my husband is still alive.

[Vidar]

18. I'm thankful your experience has been better than mine in that regard.

[Midlodemocrat]

20. My FIL took Avandia and died in his sleep in my home of a massive MI

I still wonder if the Avandia was the cause. The night before his death he had a fantastic meal, two glasses of red wine, called his lady friend and went to sleep. forever.

I still think about it. Fortunately, the ME said he didn't struggle in his sleep, because we didn't hear a thing. Talk about guilt.

[Vidar]

34. Death is hard every which way. However, after watching both my parents die long,

lingering, &, in my Dad's case excruciatingly painful, deaths, I've concluded that fast is good, though it's a shock to the survivors.

[Midlodemocrat]

35. No kidding. My mom died in her sleep which was very

difficult, but my dad died of sepsis which was horrific to watch and my beautiful SIL died of cancer.

I hope I'm fortunate enough to go in my sleep.

[skyblue]

3. Good for You!!!

I myself may need some light non life threatening surgery speaking of health issues. I'm hoping that won't be the case, but last time i had surgery I ran into problems. So I'm freaking out a bit.

[Vidar]

12. Thanks. Hope it goes well for you.

[skyblue]

25. It will I have an excellent surgeon who does go the extra mile.

Just i'm nervous. And I dont like the wait time.

[Pierre.Suave]

4. Such great news

It is welcome to hear. Personally I feel we are overmedicating with little to no regard for the side-effects on our bodies and lives.

[Vidar]

13. Not to mention drug interactions which can lead to disaster, even when

all the individual medications are appropriately administered.

[Connonym]

5. I'm glad you got your life back

Not to be a nag but I hope you're still getting some treatment for your diabetes. It's an affliction that runs very strongly in my family and while that medication seems to have had horrible side effects on you untreated diabetes kills and maims.

Congratulations on getting your life back and once again being able to tango :)

[Vidar]

14. I have a wonderful doctor, also a fellow dancer, with whom I'm

getting in contact this week. We don't shoot the well-intentioned nags (pun intended).

[Haole Girl]

6. OMG

I'm so glad you survived that!

It's very unfortunate the pharmaceutical companies, in our country, are not held accountable. One of my sisters told me horror stories about the pharmaceutical company she worked for... the way they encouraged employees in the labs to lie about the trial results, etc.

I really wish Americans weren't so quick to pump themselves up with every drug their doctors push (for lack of a better word). And, I know (all too well) the arrangements the doctors have with certain pharmaceutical companies and why they (the doctors) push certain drugs instead of others. The word "Pusher" comes to mind every time I think of it... and I become furious. I've seen people turn into walking zombies who were once bright, sharp, well-functioning individuals. And, often, the damage is irreversible (with mind altering medications). I've had friends who took up to 12 different medications-- each one trying to repair the side effects from the previous med. My own grandmother had a stroke because she couldn't keep track of her medications and took too many. It's a disgrace, it really is. And, few people even acknowledge how doped up Americans are becoming.

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm so glad you can dance again!! :-)

[Sugar Smack]

7. Articulate, warm, caring,

sensitive in a good way, funny, bright, intelligent, and poised.:D You are the best of humanity, and it shows.

[Haole Girl]

8. Wow!

Thank you!

In response to this, I guess? :D

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=7055373&mesg_id=7055373

Very kind of you, Sugar Smack! :hug:

[Vidar]

10. Thanks so much for your warm words. You are entirely correct.

I have a wonderful doctor, who is very much into alternative medicine & herbal remedies, & a very sharp pharmacist who have usually saved me from such fiascoes. However, this time the manufacturer was deliberately & successfully misleading in in its reporting, so they were blind-sided as well.

[BlueIris]

9. Woah. It's good you got off Avandia.

My Dad takes it. A lot.

[Vidar]

15. Seemed like a wonder drug to start with. If your Dad has heart problems

or is gaining weight get him in to his doctor, or another one if necessary.

[BlueIris]

19. He is a doctor...so getting him to consider switching diabetes meds is gonna be

a little tough. Yes, he has heart issues and can't seem to lose weight, though, so I'll make an effort the next time I see him.

[TZ]

16. Glad you are better but..

please don't assume ALL the companies/employees are the same. I work for a highly regarded and very ethical biotech company. I and my coworkers work very hard on new and different treatments and clinical trials. The pharma industry needs better oversight, but there still are alot of very dedicated hardworking and ethical people who produce pretty helpful/lifesaving meds.
And PLEASE be careful with alternative treatments..unlike the pharma industry there is NO oversight and there are many many many cases of being harmed by altie's who are using dangerous scientifically unproven methodologies...

[REP]

17. Unexplained weightloss is a symtom of uncontrolled diabetes

Don't get me wrong - I've heard bad things about Avandia (I take a much, much older oral hypoglycemic agent myself) but not treating diabetes is nearly as bad as taking an inappropriate drug for it.

I know my life has been saved more than once by moder antibiotics, and I'm pretty sure that the handful of older and new drugs are helping me manage my various complaints to a manageable level!

[Vidar]

23. No , I realize there are many fine, ethical researchers in the field.

As a rule, however, I am very leery of corporate administrators, particularly American ones. I'm not using any alternative treatments at this time. I merely noted that my doctor was open to the concept. He shared a couple of very comprehensive studies by the German government into the efficacy of various folk, herbal and traditional remedies. These studies, which were implemented with at least as much rigor & considerably more objectivity than what our current FDA is capable of, found about one third of the remedies to be reasonably effective. In contrast to the overly cozy relationship between the FDA and the pharmaceutical monopolies, the German government has no particular stake in folk medicine. I do put considerably more trust in German, Swedish, French and English research studies than I do in those administered on behalf of American drug companies

[ThomCat]

21. I'm glad you're getting some good experiences

no matter how they came about. Yay! :toast:

Congratulations on the weight loss, and on getting back out there to dance. :)

I hope you have better meds now.

My pain management doctor knows every manufacturer for every major pain med, and he can tell you the differences in effectiveness and common side effects based on which manufacturer your meds come from. When he rights prescriptions he will often specify which manufacturer he wants the pharmacist to get the meds from.

I wish everyone had a doctor as awesome as my pain management doctor.

[Vidar]

24. Thanks. I'm seeing my doctor about that tomorrow.

[lildreamer316]

22. Well hell yeah!

That is the best!!! I'm so happy for you!
Dancing is heaven. It's part of my main reason for living. Enjoy!!

[Vidar]

27. Thank you so much. I'm delighted that you feel that way about your dancing.

Swing is my first love, waltz is the most romantic, but tango takes me to another plane altogether--darkly passionate, almost mystical.

[graywarrior]

26. Cool story.

Glad you got better without meds. I went off all depression meds in 1990. Best thing I ever did.

[Vidar]

29. Thank you. Yup had some experiences in that direction as well

[PassingFair]

28. Marie Osmond, is that you?

[Vidar]

32. Apparently my beard didn't fool you.

[libodem]

30. The exercise alone

can help your muscles take the in the sugar that would otherwise be circulating around in your blood stream messing up your eyes and and extremities. Good on ya! Keep on dancin' in the free world. Thanks, for sharing.

[hippywife]

31. Two people I know

went off Avandia and got better, one friend and the man who calls himself my father. Both of them were so bloated and swollen. That finally went away when they stopped taking the Avandia. The man that calls himself my father was also getting bad readings on cardiac stress tests while on it.

I do have diabetes, too, altho not to the point that I need medication. I'm able to control it with diet and have lost 25 pounds nice and slowly in the past year by eating healthier foods...drinking nothing but water, and eliminating HFCS, enriched flour, and hydrogenated anything from my diet. Within four months of him telling me I was diabetic (A1C of 7.1)he told me he'd never seen anyone improve all of the numbers on the full range of their blood tests as much as I had, except patients who had bariatric surgery. It can be done.

Not that I don't splurge once in awhile but I'm feeling much better in every aspect on a daily basis eating whole foods.

Congrats on your regained freedom! I wish you many more dances. :hi:

[Vidar]

33. Wow! Switching largely to water is something else I have done.

I freeze water in my old two liter pop bottles, keeping several on hand in various states of thawing.