Month: August 2016
Eternal Purple
I’ve noticed that the anti-opioid advocates are using Prince’s name when they talk about fentanyl and addiction. I’m sure he would be mortified. But for almost everyone else, Prince will be remembered for his incredible talent. And his name will be eternally connected to the color purple.
Prince. Purple. Pain. Peace.
Risk factors which exclude large number of pain patients from getting treatment
Dr. Stephen Hull, director of Mercy Hospital’s Pain Center, said insurance company policies to reduce over-prescribing will be helpful, but more needs to be done to lower America’s reliance on opioids to control pain. There are no long-term studies that prove the effectiveness of opioids in controlling chronic pain, scientists say…
Anthem also will warn doctors when they see a patient seeking painkillers from an emergency department and will investigate doctors who are prescribing high doses of opioids, she said. Harrell said another program set to start this fall will notify doctors if a patient has previously been in a substance abuse treatment program or overdosed and gone to an emergency department, all warning signs that a patient may try to doctor shop…
Mark Slitt, a Cigna spokesman, said the insurance company launched a program a decade ago to identify over-prescribing, and has been adding to it ever since.
“The opioid crisis is a national tragedy. Cigna’s goal is to work collaboratively with doctors, as well as organizations like (the American Society for Addiction Medicine) to help find ways to fix the problem. Contacting doctors proactively regarding their patients’ risk factors is just one part of this effort,” Slitt said…
https://painkills2.wordpress.com/2015/07/09/insurance-companies-and-the-war-against-pain-patients/
First of all, if opiates are to be used for chronic noncancer pain, physicians need to assess the patient for risk factors, which include a history of smoking, family or personal history of substance abuse, history of sexual abuse, and a history of psychological disease…
Risk Factors for aberrant behavior
• Lifetime history of substance use disorder (alcohol, tobacco, illicit substances)
• Psychiatric co-morbidity
• History of pre-adolescent sexual abuse
• Family history of substance abuse
• History of legal problems
• Younger age (16 – 45)
• Increased functional impairment
Another awesome black woman
“Freedom is mine!” Pieces
There’s Alicia Keys, keeping to her decision to go without make-up. She’s so smart and such a lovely person. And can someone explain to me what the heck Miley Cyrus is wearing? Is that a new style? Finally, we have a 17-year-old who was bullied, yet stood up on stage and sang her heart out.
The song “Feeling Good” is perhaps best sung by Nina Simone. I recently watched the Netflix documentary about Nina, which I highly recommend. I didn’t know she was bipolar. And it was interesting to hear about Nina from her daughter and what it was like living with someone who suffered from mental illness.
Prince and Lidocaine
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/22/health/prince-pills-fentanyl/
Star Tribune sources said Prince’s toxicology report, which has not been released, also revealed the presence of lidocaine, alprazolam and Percocet in his system. CNN’s Dr. Drew Pinsky said the combination of fentanyl, (which is an opioid based drug), and alprazolam (which is a benzodiazepine) could be the key to why Prince died…
Officials never revealed the amount of fentanyl that was in Prince’s system. But the Star Tribune reported that a source said the amount of fentanyl in his system was so high it would have killed anyone, no matter their size…
As a chronic pain patient on long-term opioid therapy, I’m sure Prince had a high tolerance. The media is focused on fentanyl, but no one’s asking about the amount of Percocet in his bloodstream.
“Officials” say he didn’t have a prescription for fentanyl, but it appears he did have a prescription for the Percocet and alprazolam. And it appears that this combination wasn’t enough to manage his pain. Did his doctor refuse to increase his medications (either before or after his overdose)? Is that why he went to the underground market for Vicodin, but got fentanyl instead? Had Prince ever taken fentanyl? If Percocet wasn’t helping his pain, wouldn’t the next step be fentanyl or something similarly stronger? So many questions…
There’s not enough information to know what happened, and I guess we’ll never know the truth. Like, why were his shirt and pants on backwards? Was he so messed up that he put them on that way? Both of them on backwards? I just think that’s odd.
Drew Pinsky is a major dickhead, but he’s right about the combination of painkillers and benzos. However, I wondered about the lidocaine. Why did Prince have lidocaine in his system? I used lidocaine patches for years, although I think they provided more of a placebo effect than any real pain relief. They were expensive, but my doctor used to sometimes give me samples. (Thanks, Big Pharma.)
But I had no idea that lidocaine could be deadly. I also didn’t realize that users could inject it, but there’s probably something that can be done chemically to a patch — of lidocaine or fentanyl — that can turn the drugs into something that can be injected. Did Prince have injection marks on his body? Did he inject the Vicodin (really fentanyl)?
https://wiki.bme.com/index.php?title=Lidocaine_Toxicity
“I am experiencing a toxic response to daily use of lidocaine patches over a period of many months. I have been seen by a pain specialist who signed off on the Rx each month. I have been experiencing: exhaustion, blurred vision, tinnitus, horrible metallic taste in my mouth, nausea, diarehha, numbness of tongue, blurred vision (x3 episodes), difficulty in concentration, and agitation. He was also giving me injections, which included cortizone and lidocaine. Initially, I thought I had the flu. When the exhaustion continued, I decided to see my GP. On the 17th of this month, I suddenly recalled that the doctor had asked me if I had a metallic taste in my mouth during injections. I read the patch brochure, ripped off the patch, and saw my GP.”
Lidocaine toxicity is estimated to affect between 1 in 1000 to 1 in 500 patients.
http://patientsville.com/side-effects-questions/lidocaine-wed-23-mar-2011-23-07-42.htm
Lidocaine Reviewed by adi smith on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 .
Deadly!!! After being injected by my dentist my heart immediately started to race sending me into shock and gasping for breath. This was followed by spasms. seizures.and sub consciousness. it was real awful . The paramedics had to be called to take me to the ER. I was booked for two days. it left me with chest pains and occasional throbbing of the heart. It was the worst experience and a venture with death
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm095147.htm
Improper Use of Skin Numbing Products Can Be Deadly
Suckage
For Kara 🙂
Be The Pink
I needed a lot of art therapy today. I tried to be the pink. I really did. But I think I feel more like the ant. 🙂
Madame Butterfly
I’ve seen a few butterflies since I moved to Albuquerque, but not very many, and they were pretty small. Which is why I was happy to run into this beauty yesterday.
But she wouldn’t be still long enough for me to get a clear shot.
A young boy stopped to watch Madame Butterfly with me and I asked him if he knew how to talk to butterflies. I said I wanted the butterfly to know that I meant no harm, just wanted a photo. The boy sadly and earnestly replied, “no.” But I could tell he was going to Google “how to talk to butterflies” at some time in the future.
I told him I had lived here for 3 years and this was the first time I’d seen a butterfly like this. He said he’s seen 6 or 7, and I asked, where do they hang out? He said by the duck pond. I guess I’ll have to look more closely the next time I visit Duck City.
Funny, I see plenty of stories about bees that are in danger, but none about butterflies. And yet, I see plenty of bees and hardly any butterflies. I smell a conspiracy. 🙂
Notice of Intention to Sue
Mon, Aug 22, 2016 9:32 am
From: painkills2@aol.com
To: vistasmanager@crhmi.com, vmanager@corerealtyholdings.com, customercare@cubills.com
Cc: admin@rentcollectglobal.com, compliance@iqdata-inc.com, clientsupport@assurant.com
Re: Notice of Intention to Sue
August 22, 2016
VIA CERTIFIED MAIL,
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
and EMAIL
Kara Buchman, Apartment Manager
Abby Bailey, Assistant Manager
CORE Vistas at Seven Bar Ranch
10600 Cibola Loop NW
Albuquerque, NM 87114
vistasmanager@crhmi.com
vmanager@corerealtyholdings.com
Community Utility Billing Services
PO Box 1530
Hemet, CA 92546-1530
customercare@cubills.com
To whom it may concern:
I am in receipt of Ms. Bailey’s letter dated July 22, 2016, and sent to my previous address. I received this letter on August 15, 2016 at my new address, which has been previously provided to Ms. Buchman on numerous occasions. Since Ms. Buchman knows my new address, her decision to send past due notices to my old address is another example of her predatory and retaliatory actions against me for complaints I’ve made against her. Such actions culminated in her forcing a disabled person to move, incurring financial, physical, and mental harm — for no reason whatsoever, except revenge.
The Move-Out Statement indicated that a payment was due within 14 days. The July 22nd letter indicated that a payment was due within 7 days before measures are taken against me. Please provide me with the law that allows Core Vistas to demand payment within this very short time period. Also provide me with the law that gives Core Vistas the right to send notices to my old address when it has been notified of my new address.
Since I have disputed these charges, threatening action against me regarding this alleged debt is against the law. Ms. Bailey’s letter threatens to report me to SureDeposit and Rent Collect Global, which is why they are receiving a copy of this letter. (Ms. Buchman, does Assurant also provide you with professional liability insurance?)
In fact, according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), because Ms. Buchman refused to respond to my request to verify the debt, Ms. Bailey’s letter (written under Ms. Buchman’s direction) is in violation of the FDCPA:
Wikipedia: “If a consumer sends a written dispute or request for verification within 30 days of receiving the §1692g notice, then the debt collector must either mail the consumer the requested verification information or cease collection efforts altogether.”
My request for verification information was delayed by Ms. Buchman’s refusal to use my current address, which makes me think she believes this will protect her against an FDCPA claim. Is she right? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
For the record, here are the emails that received no response:
Tue, May 31, 2016 1:40 am
To: vistasmanager@crhmi.com, vmanager@corerealtyholdings.com, customercare@cubills.com
From: painkills2@aol.com
Re: Move Out Statement (#***)
Ms. Buchman:
I’ve lived in apartments all of my life, and I’ve never had to pay for any damage upon move-out. Never. It is my contention that I left that apartment in a cleaner condition than it was handed to me upon move-in, with only wear and tear, not any damage that could be charged for under the lease.
I am in receipt of the one-page document entitled Move Out Statement that you mailed to me. I believe this statement does not include all the information that the law says must be provided to the tenant.
This will notify you that I’m disputing all charges. And to do that, I will need more information, including copies of invoices, work orders, and purchase orders, detailing the work done, who did it, when it was done, and what supplies were used. Also provide all contact information for your contractors, including email addresses.
In regards to the “final utility payment,” I reiterate my previous requests (beginning in October, 2015) both to you and CUBS for additional information on those bills.
In addition, please provide me with the registered agent for CORE Vistas and CUBS, as it looks like we’re all going to court.
Johnna Stahl
Wed, Jun 8, 2016 3:27 am
To: vistasmanager@crhmi.com, vmanager@corerealtyholdings.com, customercare@cubills.com, info@magrev.com
From: painkills2@aol.com
Re: Confirm registered agents for lawsuit
Ms. Buchman:
Since you have refused to respond to my request for the registered agents of the corporations I intend to sue regarding my previous tenancy at your apartment complex, I found the information myself:
CORE Realty Holdings Management, Inc.
Suncoast-USA Real Estate Group, Inc.
14802 N. Dale Mabry Hwy., #202C
Tampa, FL 33618
National Registered Agents, Inc.
4701 Cox Road, Suite 301
Glen Allen, VA 23060-6802
Community Utility Billing Services
Multifamily Ancillary Group Corporation
125 Lincoln Ave. Ste. 223
Santa Fe, NM 87501
You need to confirm that this information is correct as soon as possible.
Johnna Stahl
[supplied current address]
Of course, that’s not the only violation I’ll be claiming under the FDCPA against Core Vistas and CUBS, along with various other causes of action regarding my tenancy at Core Vistas. (I’m even thinking about reporting your property as a public nuisance due to it being a trash dump site and the recorded problems with bugs, rodents, and criminal activity.)
This letter will provide notification that I am in the process of preparing my lawsuit against Ms. Buchman, Core Vistas, and CUBS. But, I am hampered by the fact that I am not an attorney, along with my disability and your refusal to cooperate and provide additional information. (For instance, do you know if I need to file my FDCPA claim in federal court or can I include it in the petition to be filed in my local jurisdiction?)
I’m looking forward to the discovery process. I’m putting a lot of effort into creating an expansive list of discovery questions. I think the documents that will be provided in my lawsuit can be the basis for a class-action lawsuit, especially against CUBS. And I need to find out how many other tenants have been thrown out on the street due to unfair and illegal retaliation by Ms. Buchman.
Core Vistas and CUBS have had ample opportunities to supply me with supporting documentation for the charges on the Move-Out Statement and CUBS billings. Because they have not, they have lost their right to collect this alleged debt. But I know that the laws protect these corporations, even though there is no one to protect me.
After I file this lawsuit, I plan on making comments on every website that mentions this apartment complex and/or CUBS, and filing complaints with any agency that is involved in regulating the rental market. I’m not happy that I’m being forced to do all of this work just to protect myself, especially when I’ve done nothing wrong. But at least I can look at it as a public service. The disabled have few rights in this country, and so we are forced to protect ourselves. If our efforts at protection fall short, it’s not our fault.
Ms. Buchman, what you did was wrong. Kicking me out of my home of 3 years for no reason was wrong. Gouging ex-tenants for additional and needless move-out services is wrong. And as far as CUBS is concerned, I think it’s been ripping off tenants for years, and that’s wrong. Let’s see if any of the wrongs perpetrated against me are illegal, shall we?
Johnna Stahl
[supplied current address]
cc:
VIA EMAIL
Rent Collect Global
admin@rentcollectglobal.com
compliance@iqdata-inc.com
VIA EMAIL
SureDeposit
clientsupport@assurant.com
Mom Gets $16 Million After Nurses Pushed Her Baby Back In During Delivery
http://distractify.com/trending/2016/08/11/mom-sues-hospital-16-million
But the baby came a little earlier than expected, and at the time, Malatesta’s doctor was not on call. When her water broke, the nurses tried to get Malatesta to stop pushing, which is easier said than done. Malatesta then tried to labor in a more comfortable position on her hands and knees, which she’d discussed with her doctor. But she says the nurses forced her on to her back.
Then, instead of letting the child be delivered, one tried to keep the baby from being born until the doctor arrived by literally pushing it back inside her vagina. Malatesta estimated that this went on for six minutes until a doctor arrived, her son was born a minute later.
The result of this absurdity? Thankfully the baby was fine, but Malatesta now suffers from pudendal neuralgia, which is essentially nerve damage in the genital region. Malatesta likens the pain to sharp pins-and-needles or a burning sensation that never go away and which is “much worse than labor.” At first the pain was so severe that she had to move back in with her parents to receive full time care. She says that the pain has killed her sex life and she now has to spend large amounts of the day resting in bed or in baths…
Malatesta told Cosmopolitan that she’s doing a lot better today, but managing the pain still takes up most of her day… Malatesta hopes that talking about her experience will help other women to come forward when they experience birth trauma. She told AL:
“It’s meaningful to me that so many women have contacted me and told me that the verdict was their validation that they never got. That gives meaning to an injury that’s hard to come to terms with – a bigger meaning than myself.”
“When I finally started talking about how I was concerned about how my birth went, other women started talking to me,” she said. “Then last year, when the media began covering my story, it’s like the floodgates opened. Women from all over started contacting me about similar things that happened to them.”
“That was a real driver for me to keep pursuing this. I realized I couldn’t just let that go.”
The private prison industry and Mexican refugees
While no one was looking, the private prison industry has diversified:
The Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the country’s largest owner of private prisons, noted in a statement to Business Insider that its Bureau of Prison facilities make up just 7% of its business…
Petrella added that the DOJ’s directive is neither significant to reducing mass incarceration, nor does it sound a death knell for American’s private-prison industry, which has already branched out into services like housing, home confinement, and rehabilitation…
Further, even if the private-prison industry were completely eliminated, private companies would still be integral to the prison industry. Government-run prisons are often funded by and use phone, transportation, commissary, and medical services from private companies…
One of these private prisons is located in New Mexico, so it looks like there’s going to be more lay-offs. New Mexico is in the top 3 states for the highest unemployment rate.
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-private-prison-phase-out-2016-8
In recent years, following the overall decline of the prison population, these companies have shifted towards greater involvement with immigration detention — including the incarceration of women and children caught crossing the border — as well as reentry and rehabilitation services, including halfway houses…
Looks like the prison industry will be entering the addiction industry, if it’s not there already. You think the drug war is bad in our country?
Since the start of the Olympics, local media have reported at least 14 deaths in shootouts between gang members and police or soldiers from the 85,000-member security force deployed for the Games…
Well before the games began, human rights organisations warned of the potential dangers. Amnesty said Rio’s police had killed over 2,500 people since the Games were awarded in 2009, including more than 100 this year, most of whom were young black men…
http://www.businessinsider.com/taking-down-zetas-cartel-leaders-alarming-violence-mexico-2016-8
The number of murders in Mexico surged in the first few years of Calderón’s offensive against the cartels, and then dropped off somewhat at the end of his six-year term and during the first couple of years of President Peña Nieto’s government. But now the killing is getting worse again…
“It’s terrorism, in all senses of the word,” he said…
“People wanted to know why we weren’t publishing and telling the truth about what’s happening,” she said. “It wasn’t because we didn’t want to publish what we knew. It just wasn’t worth our lives.”
The reporter said it would have been tantamount to suicide to try and find out why gunmen killed 11 members of a single family — four children, five women, two men, and the family dog — in July. One of the women and her two children were US citizens visiting family in Ciudad Victoria. Eight other people were killed and 24 others injured by gunfire on that same weekend…
Days later gunmen killed five members of another family in Ciudad Victoria. Authorities encountered the bullet-strewn bodies of the grandmother, mother, her two sons, and her four-month-old baby girl…
If you lived in the middle of this war, you’d want to immigrate, too. If you saw this kind of violence, you’d do anything to escape it — even pay someone thousands of dollars to take you across the desert. After you see your neighbor’s head get chopped off, you won’t be afraid of some stupid wall. These people aren’t immigrants, they’re refugees. Refugees because of America’s drug war.
Everything is about Trump
I like science fiction and horror movies, maybe because it’s an escape into something that’s not real. After all, reality frequently sucks.
I recently watched a horror movie about a racist who buys some land and moves to a small town in North Dakota, where he attempts to build a white supremacist community. The movie is called Welcome to Leith and it was released in 2015. But it’s not a Hollywood movie — it’s a documentary.
At the beginning of the movie, I kinda laughed at the racists. They reminded me of children. Misfits looking for somewhere to fit in. Nerds who never figured out that being a nerd is cool. Instead, they believe that white power and hate is cool. And they believe in guns, violence, and revenge against anyone who stands up to them, even other white people.
One of the leaders, Craig Cobb, says he thinks he suffers from Asperger’s. He does seem to have a fixation with Hitler. Says when he was little, he looked just like one of Hitler’s sons. But I didn’t see many signs of mental illness in any of the racists. In fact, some of them were surprisingly smart, although there’s obviously something wrong going on in their brains.
What I found interesting was the lengths the townspeople went to in their attempts to get rid of these racists. I also learned that although the U.S. government used to keep track of all these terrorists, after 9/11, they pretty much stopped doing that. Now they only keep track of Islamic terrorists.
It’s hard to find a good movie these days. I’ve been on Netflix for almost two months and I’m already having a hard time finding things I want to watch. Welcome to Leith is a great movie. It’s got some awesome North Dakota scenery, shot beautifully. And there were even times during the movie when I felt sorry for the racists. But then one of them would open their mouth…
One thing I can’t help thinking about is the kids who grow up in a white-power environment. Talk about being born unlucky. With those people, you gotta believe in white power or else. No questions asked. Reminds me of some religions.
From Craig Cobb’s Wikipedia page: In 2015, Cobb attempted to purchase $10,000 worth of property in Antler, North Dakota, in an attempt to take over the town and rename it “Creativity Trump”, a reference to Donald Trump, whom Cobb says he admires.
Doobie Enters the Presidential Race
Fed up with her choices, Lisa enters her dog (Doobie, pictured above) in the presidential race via internet meme.
All Things Chronic 