Pharmacuetical Conspiracy?

In another post I “outed” myself for being HIV+ for 24 years. In the mid 80’s I was diagnosed and given 6 months to live. Without a doubt, I would be dead if it were not for the life saving yet toxic antiviral medications. I was in my late teens when diagnosed.

Having had this virus for so long, I now have a multitude of medical issues. Without the medications I receive for the additional ailments (due to HIV), again I would either be dead or be far more miserable feeling than I do now.

I would like to hear from others how their medication saved their lives or made their lives more miserable. Or from people who witnessed the deaths of their loved ones or how well they see family/friends are doing by medications.

Certainly not every drug company out there has the best intentions with every medication manufactured.

It’s tiring hearing from folks that drugs are made to compromise the lives of people needing life saving medication. Albeit it true, big pharma are capitalistic pigs. No doubt about that.

There needs to be room here to give the benefit of the doubt that there are truly biochemists/pharma’s out there that have the best of intentions in regards to our health.

This is not about being gay, being a drug user, being black, and receiving a blood transfusion or getting stuck by a needle. You don’t know how I caught this and I will not tell you; as most people will make moral judgments based on how someone acquired this dreaded disease.

Also, please leave out the conspiracy of how AIDS began. That topic has been over discussed. I’m over it.

How has medicine changed your life (for the better or worse)? Which medications do you think are in fact nothing more than money makers with no real application for medical issues?

Me? I believe most psychiatric medications are a scam. I’ve been through dozens of those aforementioned med’s with many complications.

Also, please pardon me for any responses that seem trite or not well thought out. I struggle sometimes for coherency due to all the medications I am on. Go figure.

I'm personally of the conviction that the pharmaceutical companies are among the most evil corporations on the planet. Right up there with arms manufacturers & Monsanto.

That being said there is no question that some of their products help a lot of people, such as yourself.

The thing is that big pharma has no interest in curing diseases & conditions. That would be terrible for profits.
What they want to do is to suppress your symptoms & keep you alive. That way they have a long term customer who is dependent on their products.

This isn't necessarily a big sinister conspiracy as far as I'm concerned - it's just market economics

Obviously you have no choice but to continue taking your medication.
It's not a situation that I envy, but you seem to be handling it really well

reply to post by brilab45

How has medicine changed your life (for the better or worse)? Which medications do you think are in fact nothing more than money makers with no real application for medical issues?

Just briefly, I have seen two close family members die of cancer over the last 36 months. In both cases, it is my personal opinion that certain of the cancer drugs/concoctions they were administered, not only did no good, but probably hastened their deaths.

Over that same period, we had several cancer specialists lie to us outright about the medications that were administered and then, threaten us with court action if we made any more contact with them without speaking to their individual attorneys first.

Yes, I am quite bitter about it... in an unforgiving mood still.

reply to post by MrVertigo


"The thing is that big pharma has no interest in curing diseases & conditions. That would be terrible for profits.
What they want to do is to suppress your symptoms & keep you alive. That way they have a long term customer who is dependent on their products. "

Agreed to a point. I have personally been involved in Clinical trials with the NIH. They really are trying. There are trials for vaccines for every illness. The effort is there. go to clinicaltrials.gov. But, will a cure allowed if they found it? How much red tape and how much time would it take to approve? I doubt it myself. Pharma's are making over 20k a year on keeping me alive.


[edit on 17-12-2009 by brilab45]

[edit on 17-12-2009 by brilab45]

reply to post by redoubt


That is very grave. Sorry for your losses. Can't say I blame how you must feel.

reply to post by brilab45


You right of course. There are many doctors and scientists working for big pharma that genuinely mean well and are trying their best to find real solutions.

When I say that I consider big pharma evil I don't mean that everybody who works for them are evil.
But I believe that the people in charge, the ones who really run things are evil, and I believe that they manage what results can be achieved or made public.

reply to post by MrVertigo


What I can't understand is why would they literally spend millions of tax payer dollars for one person if they did not have a cure. Most of my medical expenses are paid for by the government - through you - THE TAX PAYER. Totally disabled here and drawing 100% VA compensation. Think how much money the tax payers are footing the bill for millions of us just with HIV. Then think about the other 200 million people or so with ailments that drain the tax base. It's crazy not to come up with a cure.

No offense but they got you hooked on medication you have to take your whole life. They hide the real cures which are simple whole plant based diets. Dr. sebbi has cured aid patients on a raw plant based diet, along with many other diseases. Other educators have done the same. If i was personally in your situation i would try to cure the problem and remove my reliance on the drugs

Would you, by any chance, have any numbers on how much your medicines would cost you were you not on VA coverage? Are you on brand name drugs or generics?

As for me personally, my mother was prescribed a drug called Opren in the 1980s. The drug was later banned from sale due to high mortality rates, and the drug company paid enormous out-of-court settlements. After my mother took that drug, she never had a good day after. Nasty.
Yes, the drug was BANNED. Not withdrawn, not modified, BANNED.
Thank you for prescribing that one, Doc.

Same doctor incorrectly diagnosed me with epilepsy (he later - many years later - told me quite casually that I really never was epileptic. This is after batteries of tests and years of daily drugs). I was prescribed a drug called Phenytoin. The first dosage prescribed was very strong, and made me completely antisocial. Very nasty.
Thank you for prescribing that one, Doc.

The side effects of many drugs are worse than what they claim to cure.
If one of these side effects gets you, the drug companies just settle out of court and hush it up. It's worth every penny to them.


[edit on 17-12-2009 by Badgered1]

Originally posted by Rawhemp
No offense but they got you hooked on medication you have to take your whole life. They hide the real cures which are simple whole plant based diets. Dr. sebbi has cured aid patients on a raw plant based diet, along with many other diseases. Other educators have done the same. If i was personally in your situation i would try to cure the problem and remove my reliance on the drugs

I have looked into alternate therapies. They are costly and generally require a trip to foreign country. Would love to go to Germany and get a marrow transplant. But, a good percentage of those that do, do not survive. There is really is no alternative therapy. Most people who flaunt cures are snake oil salesman. Trust me, I've tried. There are however, many things that can lower the viral amount...but again costly. I'm all ears if ya got a cure for me!!

Originally posted by Badgered1
Would you, by any chance, have any numbers on how much your medicines would cost you were you not on VA coverage? Are you on brand name drugs or generics?

As for me personally, my mother was prescribed a drug called Opren in the 1980s. The drug was later banned from sale due to high mortality rates, and the drug company paid enormous out-of-court settlements. After my mother took that drug, she never had a good day after. Nasty.
Yes, the drug was BANNED. Not withdrawn, not modified, BANNED.
Thank you for prescribing that one, Doc.

Same doctor incorrectly diagnosed me with epilepsy (he later - many years later - told me quite casually that I really never was epileptic. This is after batteries of tests and years of daily drugs). I was prescribed a drug called Phenytoin. The first dosage prescribed was very strong, and made me completely antisocial. Very nasty.
Thank you for prescribing that one, Doc.

The side effects of many drugs are worse than what they claim to cure.
If one of these side effects gets you, the drug companies just settle out of court and hush it up. It's worth every penny to them.

The VA has Formulary medication (generic) and non formulary meaning there are no generics. The VA lists on their website how much a drug costs per pill.

Sorry about your mother and you. Certantly you have a new doctor by now. Wow, what a crappy Doc!


[edit on 17-12-2009 by Badgered1]

[edit on 17-12-2009 by brilab45]

Originally posted by brilab45
reply to post by MrVertigo

 

What I can't understand is why would they literally spend millions of tax payer dollars for one person if they did not have a cure. Most of my medical expenses are paid for by the government - through you - THE TAX PAYER. Totally disabled here and drawing 100% VA compensation. Think how much money the tax payers are footing the bill for millions of us just with HIV. Then think about the other 200 million people or so with ailments that drain the tax base. It's crazy not to come up with a cure.

The tax payers pay $millions.
The drug firms get those $millions.
The politicians get kickbacks.

Now who is going to release a cure and why?

Not only does big pharma not want you cured, but they work to actively suppress any alternative cures that might work.

Yes, my medication has saved my life (I'm asthmatic). On the other hand, it is designed to be highly addictive.

For instance, my ADVAIR DISCUS keeps me out of the hospital. I used to have to go to the ER about three times a year due to severe asthma attacks. After being prescribed Advair, it's a maintenance medicine that keeps me out of the ER. BUT if I miss a dose by so little as an hour, I'm feeling the pain and it provokes an asthma attack. Also consider the fact it's about $300 for a months supply.

Same with my rescue inhaler. You get addicted to the air puffing. Just the sensation calms you. Also consider the fact they reduced the size of the inhalers to contain less puffs but still raised the price.

Also, they know long term steroid use is harmful but unfortunately, asthma maintenance medication contains steroids.

I also used to take anti-depressants. Those are also severely addicting. Sure they helped me get out of bed in the morning but put you in a stupor if you miss one. The 'fulfilled' feeling also made me never feel hungry so I would go days without eating before noticing, which made me also shrivel up. A side effect is also terrible nightmares if you miss a dose and you 'zombify' mentally as if your body is filled with helium and you're living in a cloud.

So, yes. It sucks. It's like they're designed to help you with your specific problem while at the same time getting you addicted to the point where if you are late taking a dose, the flair up is 10 times as bad as your normal episodes without the medicine.

Sorry about the edit and quote buttons. Still kinda learning how to use ATS. Thanks for your patience.

reply to post by Kailassa


If Karma really exists, there are going to be millions of people reborn as plants or animals. They will be cut down, smoked or eaten and maybe shot for sport. I think I like the idea of Karma.

reply to post by AshleyD


Medication prison does suck. Sorry to hear that. Got off the pain meds myself. Now gotta work on getting off the Xanax. I know how you feel.

Without prescription pain meds I would have killed myself a while back. For some unknown reason my spinal cord decided to swell up in my neck resulting in paralysis from the waist down. They did a cervical laminectomy to alleviate the pressure which kept me frpm being paralysed (cut the backside of 4 neck vertebrae off). Downside is the pain has gotten worse.
I'm currently taking upwards of 400mg /day of serious pain meds and there is no getting off the treadmill. I haven't felt good in over a year now and all I look forward to is going to bed every night. (is that a life?) I can't go more than half a day without them or I get seriously sick. They will never prescribe enough really to stop the pain and as you know after a while they just don't work like they used to. Insurance companies are no help as they set limits on what they will pay for. One medication I was on cost $900/month.
So, to sum it up yes, medications have given me a longer life but of what value really? I'm still grateful for them but they are horrribly addictive. Understatement of the year.

Originally posted by brilab45


I have looked into alternate therapies. They are costly and generally require a trip to foreign country. Would love to go to Germany and get a marrow transplant. But, a good percentage of those that do, do not survive. There is really is no alternative therapy. Most people who flaunt cures are snake oil salesman. Trust me, I've tried. There are however, many things that can lower the viral amount...but again costly. I'm all ears if ya got a cure for me!!

I'm not talking about off the wall experimental therapies or transplants. I'm talking about raw plant foods

Originally posted by Rawhemp

Originally posted by brilab45


I have looked into alternate therapies. They are costly and generally require a trip to foreign country. Would love to go to Germany and get a marrow transplant. But, a good percentage of those that do, do not survive. There is really is no alternative therapy. Most people who flaunt cures are snake oil salesman. Trust me, I've tried. There are however, many things that can lower the viral amount...but again costly. I'm all ears if ya got a cure for me!!

I'm not talking about off the wall experimental therapies or transplants. I'm talking about raw plant foods

I tried eating the raw plant food for 6 months. My good cholesterol dropped to 17. Not good. I did not see anything that made much of a difference in the characteristics of my disease. I felt better and looked more radiant. But the Doc was not happy with those numbers. I have a very limited immune system. Experimentation can only goes so far. People who have HIV need high levels of protein (a proven fact). I appreciate the effort/thoughts.
Thanx.

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
Without prescription pain meds I would have killed myself a while back. For some unknown reason my spinal cord decided to swell up in my neck resulting in paralysis from the waist down. They did a cervical laminectomy to alleviate the pressure which kept me frpm being paralysed (cut the backside of 4 neck vertebrae off). Downside is the pain has gotten worse.
I'm currently taking upwards of 400mg /day of serious pain meds and there is no getting off the treadmill. I haven't felt good in over a year now and all I look forward to is going to bed every night. (is that a life?) I can't go more than half a day without them or I get seriously sick. They will never prescribe enough really to stop the pain and as you know after a while they just don't work like they used to. Insurance companies are no help as they set limits on what they will pay for. One medication I was on cost $900/month.
So, to sum it up yes, medications have given me a longer life but of what value really? I'm still grateful for them but they are horrribly addictive. Understatement of the year.

Your right about the quality of life. Sometimes I just want to throw the towel in. I have more downs than ups. For now I can tolerate it. But like you, can't stop taking the meds. It gets rough. Wish they could do more for you. Sorry to hear that.