Day: 05/28/2015

Woman Performing ‘Lose Yourself’ In Sign Language Gets Us Super Pumped

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/28/lose-yourself-sign-language-asl_n_7464980.html

We always wondered how to say, “Mom’s spaghetti” in American Sign Language. Luckily we have Shelby Mitchusson, an ASL interpreter who performed Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” on YouTube. It’s one of her first videos — though she appears to have interpreted bad-assery at rock concerts before — but we can tell she’s going to be an internet sensation.

She really gets into it — and it looks like she plans on rewarding us with more of her videos soon. “I have a deep love for interpreting music and would love to share more as I am always interpreting music,” she wrote on YouTube. “As always your feedback is wanted! Again, thank you all — I’ll upload more soon.”

I love it!  I need to learn how to sign bad words. 🙂

In CA, Women Can Soon Get Birth Control Without Ever Seeing a Doctor

http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-birth-control-pharmacists-california-oregon.html

California passed a law in 2013 that will take effect likely in the coming weeks, once health authorities finalize the procedure for pharmacists to distribute contraception directly. In effect, women will be able to walk up to a pharmacy counter, say they’d like contraception (whether it’s the pill or another method), take a short health questionnaire, have their blood pressure taken, get a consultation on dosage and other key pieces of information, and walk out with birth control that very visit…

When expert testimony isn’t

http://m.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/0526/When-expert-testimony-isn-t-Tainted-evidence-wreaks-havoc-in-courts-lives-video

Across the country, the criminal justice system is grappling with the fallout from decades of faulty analysis in criminal cases that may have resulted in thousands of wrongful convictions…

However, what neither Bridgeman nor the police knew was that one of the chemists at the Hinton Lab in Massachusetts was simply eyeballing alleged drug samples, rather than testing them. In what some have called one of the most egregious example of tainted forensics in the United States, Annie Dookhan is now serving a three-year prison sentence for charges including having provided false testimony and altering test results to manufacture positive results…

The subjective nature of forensic science has been public knowledge for some time. A report from the National Academy of Sciences in 2009 found that microscopic hair analysis – along with other juror-trusted forensic techniques like bite-mark, ballistics, and even fingerprint analysis – were unscientific in their methodology…

With forensic evidence holding such sway over jurors, those working to improve the system are calling for “upstream” fixes. In other words, if jurors can’t distinguish good science from bad science, the science needs to be good before it gets to court.

This is especially important since most criminal cases never see a courtroom in the first place. More than 90 percent of state and federal cases end in plea bargains…

A Texas crime lab experienced a similar scandal last year, when a Houston Police crime lab technician resigned after an internal investigation found evidence of lying, improper procedure and tampering with an official record, according to the Houston Chronicle…

“which states can pain pills still be prescribed”

I found this in my WordPress search terms.  Maybe I’m a pessimist, but I think pretty soon, none of them. But if you’re looking for a doctor to prescribe hydrocodone, maybe this will help:

https://www.propublica.org/atpropublica/item/whos-prescribing-the-most-hydrocodone-in-your-area

With this problem back in the headlines, our Prescriber Checkup news app, which covers elderly and disabled patients in Medicare’s Part D program, is again a viable resource for news organizations who want to find out who’s prescribing these kinds of drugs – and how much…

WV Supreme Court says addicts can sue doctors and pharmacists

http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20150515/GZ01/150519493

In an opinion filed Wednesday, the West Virginia Supreme Court said people who illegally abused the drugs that were prescribed to them can still sue the doctors and pharmacists they claim caused their addictions…

The opinion, which refuses to adopt a “wrongful conduct rule,” involves 29 former patients of Mountain Medical Center, in Williamson, who were prescribed controlled substances and became addicted after abusing prescriptions…

(5/7/2015) Abuse of Pain Pills Fuels Virus’s Spread

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-07/abuse-of-pain-pills-fuels-virus-s-spread-confounding-regulators

The abuse of a pain pill from Endo International Plc and its generic copies is being blamed for an increase of hepatitis C among drug addicts — an unintended consequence of a regulatory decision meant to cut down on misuse.

In 2010, U.S. regulators approved a hard-to-abuse version of Purdue Pharma LP’s OxyContin, which for a long time had been a drug of choice for opioid addicts. They didn’t just quit using, though, flocking instead to Endo’s extended-release Opana and its generics. The wide needle they use is also perfect for spreading blood-borne viruses.

In a report published Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a sharp rise in new hepatitis C cases in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Many of the infected were white, young and used injectable drugs. Co-author Jon Zibbell, a CDC scientist, has blamed the abuse of Opana for the surge of cases in some of the poorest areas of the U.S., though the drug wasn’t specifically mentioned in Thursday’s report…

Endo created an abuse-resistant form of Opana, its top-selling brand-name drug with sales of almost $200 million last year, and sells only that version now. But the FDA said in 2013 that the abuse-deterrent features weren’t good enough to justify blocking cheaper generic versions that aren’t made with the same kind of barriers to misuse…

Painkillers were implicated in a recent outbreak of HIV in Indiana’s Scott County, just north of the Kentucky border. Public officials found that of the sudden burst of HIV cases, more than 80 percent also had hepatitis C. Almost all were pain-medicine addicts.

Does the CDC or the media believe there is a difference between “pain-medicine addicts” and chronic pain patients?

Since hepatitis C can live for two to three weeks on surfaces, people can pass the virus through other drug paraphernalia, not just needles, Zibbell said. The abuse-deterrent features of Opana may even help pass the virus. When they prepare the drug, addicts may use more cotton balls as filters, water to cook or injections to get high — all adding up to more opportunities for exposure…

Abuse-deterrent technologies add to the cost of drugs, and some work better than others. For now, the pills remain on the market, and infections caused by their abuse continue. “We need more research into abuse-deterrent forms of drugs,” Jerome Adams, Indiana’s state health commissioner, said on a call with reporters. “Just because a drug comes in an abuse-deterrent form, it doesn’t automatically make it safe.”

Sure, that’s the answer — more abuse-deterrent forms of drugs.  That will cure addiction.

Is there a doctor in the house?

http://www.medschat.com/Discuss/doctors-willing-to-prescribe-pain-medication-209408_p1_s2.htm

Rootsgal Says:
Thu, May 28 ’15, 5:11 PM

I inquired about Tramadol and my doctor refused to prescribe it, or help me wean down, in any way! … My recent CT scan, from a 4 level cervical titanium fusion, is worsening… The spasm feel like I am being choked. I can barely speak or breathe at times. I can barely hold my head up for long, and I do not see myself able to go any lower. I am not going to apologize for what life threw at me. (drunk driver) I should be allowed to have some kind of “normal” in my titanium body… I should not have to be made to feel bad, for taking (1) narcotic medication, twice a day. The CT.medical mj program has a CBD spray for spasms, but the price is astronomical. $70.00 twice a month for ONE MED?  I do not know how people in the program (Connecticut) can afford the prices!

karen Says:
Thu, May 28 ’15, 4:38 PM

Hello to all. Just read the article from AARP on Tramadol being reported for its large numbers of adverse reactions. its the #1 drug for adverse reactions being reported in emergency rooms.

Terry Says:
Wed, May 27 ’15, 10:51 PM

I have been suffering for about four years now due to an injury at the L3-L4 disc. It is basically gone…bone on bone. last year a 19 year old T-Boned my wife and I. We both suffered injuries. Me broken breast plate and the C3 and C7 disc are pushing spinal cords. I do not want surgery after much conversation with other patients who advise against surgery and the surgeon, who promises no guarantees. I have been through months of physical therapy with no results. Agony all the time isn’t how I expected my life would turn out. I would rather be treated with pain Meds. I have had at least ten spinal inj’s. at the L3/4 and the neck with no positive results. The doctors think Im some kind of addict but that’s far from true. I would just prefer to be on meds than take a risk that could put me in a wheel chair. Are there doctors who treat patients with respect, prescribe something stronger than prescription Ibuprophen 800 mg, monitor the pain medications and keep me from the constant fire burning through my back, arm and leg? I would really like to begin living again instead of existing. Desperate in Oklahoma.

dixborokid Says:
Mon, May 11 ’15, 10:02 AM

I am in need of any narcotic pain killer, I’ve in extreme pain as well as my mother. Please help! my doctor’s office has suddenly stopped prescribing them! Due to tighter beauocratics at this institution and in Michigan!

Kathleen Says:
Sat, May 09 ’15, 11:59 AM via mobile

I’ve been living in Lansing for 3 months been to both hospitals. Had bad ex. Seen 6 docs plus en docs. Not one would give me pain pills. I have bone grinding on bone plus fibromyalgia. I was flat out told no buy advil l or Tylenol over the counter. What happened to the hypocritical oath? Somethings got to be done. Maybe a legal suit. Dr.s are driving people to the streets. Are the docs so intimated by the government and the possibility of loosing their license. Last time I got any pain pills in Kalamazoo (lived there for 30 years) the doc had the pharmacist call me and wanted me to come in for a pill count. I was out of town and didn’t get the message as a result he put “NO controlled substance to be given. Patient refused pill count.” My whole life I’m 55 I have never heard of this now I’m really having problems. Will have to get an attorney to have that removed then I’ll be known as a trouble maker. This is all so wrong. Any advice or information would be much appreciated. I’ve never abused drugs.

When do they cross the line of professional discretion to pt/senior abuse ?

candice, on May 28, 2015 at 2:32 pm said:

Heck I was fired from an orthopedic practice for demanding to see the surgeon (instead of his PA) whom implanted a disc in my neck and I had wound dehiscence and suture was inching out of it for months after the surgery. The surgeon refused to see me and I insisted he see me. His PA left the room and came back with security to escort me out! I wasn’t even in narcotics at the time. I was fired for complaining about my neck wound and prickly clear suture streaming out of the incision! I never got a letter… Nothing! Just an escort out of the office by the arm by a big man and a warning to never come back!
Before this decade is never heard of doctors firing patients. I’m an RN myself and had never heard of this practice until the last decade or so. I know it probably happened before in extreme cases… But u never heard of a rash of patients who are literally medical refugees!!! How are these doctors getting away with neglecting their duties to treat and not abandon their patients. I know as a nurse if u leave your shift before a replacement comes u can be sued for “patient abandonment”. Why are doctors protected from this? Isn’t it neglect and abandonment!?!?!

Mysterious ‘globs’ of oil begin washing ashore

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/05/28/miles-of-socal-coastline-closed-after-mysterious-globs-of-oil/21188094/

Portions of three Southern California beaches were ordered closed by public health officials on Wednesday after what was described as “globs” of oil began washing ashore. All beaches in Redondo Beach are closed until further notice as was the coastline between 34th Street in Manhattan Beach, South to Longfellow Avenue in Hermosa Beach… 

“We have examined the substance,” said Michael Anderson with the U.S. Coast Guard. “It is a petroleum-base product. It is not from the local natural seepages, but we do not have a source for that product at this time.”

Residents were being advised to avoid contact with the water, wet sand, and any materials washed up on shore in the area, the release stated. Health officials warned that contact with the oil could irritate the skin and cause long-term health effects…

(Photo taken today.)

Hello Summer

“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.”  Russell Baker

“Let a man walk ten miles steadily on a hot summer’s day along a dusty English road, and he will soon discover why beer was invented.”  Gilbert K. Chesterton

“I believe that summer is our time, a time for the people, and that no politician should be allowed to speak to us during the summer. They can start talking again after Labor Day.”  Lewis Black

(Photo taken today.)

VA Turns Back On Potentially Life Saving Research!!

https://www.change.org/p/don-t-terminate-marijuana-research-in-az-stand-up-for-our-veterans/u/10920773?tk=duRSID3rfZ59RXMsTx1C7wEkozXdAimCss2J5NzjhP4&utm_source=petition_update&utm_medium=email

Ricardo Pereyda
Tucson, AZ
May 28, 2015 — Phoenix VA Administrators are denying Dr. Sisley the opportunity to present Grand Rounds educating their medical staff on her upcoming research.

They don’t want information about the study and they don’t want any presentation that includes the word marijuana unless it’s to condemn the plant. They claim that it’s illegal for them to learn anything about marijuana unless it is to learn about the addiction potential and harmful side effects.

How does this make you feel?

Ricardo

Buried

“I suppose I’ve always done my share of crying, especially when there’s no other way to contain my feelings. I know that men ain’t supposed to cry, but I think that’s wrong. Crying’s always been a way for me to get things out which are buried deep, deep down. When I sing, I often cry. Crying is feeling, and feeling is being human. Oh yes, I cry.”  Ray Charles

“Some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until 75.”  Benjamin Franklin

Buried

(Photo taken today.)

Absolutely disgusting

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/27/chicago-cops-hunting-photo_n_7452702.html

A photo released to the public this week shows two former Chicago police officers holding guns and posing with a black suspect who is lying on the floor wearing antlers. One of the officers was fired after the image surfaced, and is currently appealing his dismissal from the force…

The photo was first turned over to the CPD in late January 2013 and immediately triggered an investigation, the department told The Huffington Post. The investigation resulted in the police board voting 5-4 last year to fire McDermott, who is currently appealing his dismissal in court and expects a decision from a judge next month…

By the time the department received the photo, Finnigan had already been fired: In 2011, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for leading a team of cops in robberies and home invasions…

Why I’ll Tell My Son About My Suicide Attempt

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelley-clink/tell-my-son-suicide-_b_7424842.html

When I was 15 years old, my family moved from suburban Detroit to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was the mid-’90s — there was no texting. No Facebook. I didn’t have an email address, and long-distance phone calls were seven cents a minute. In a matter of months I lost touch with all of my friends, most of whom I’d known since the first grade. I fell into a deep depression and attempted suicide.

With the help of counseling and medication, I recovered. My brother, diagnosed with bipolar disorder just two years after my attempt, was not so lucky. When we were in our early 20s, he took his own life…

I think that to keep a family history of mental illness a secret is to perpetuate the stigma. By not telling our children about our experiences with mental illness, or the experiences of other family members, we are telling them that there is something to be ashamed of. That shame is what keeps people from asking for help. That shame is what killed my brother…