My last post, 2-week hiatus turned into a 2-month hiatus. Yeesh. There are many reasons for this (but two main ones) and I’ll touch on them below.

This was the initial reason for downtime. I had ignored repeated warnings from my host about old and out-of-date software. This came to a head when we needed to upgrade the software for the Becoming Indestructible program. Left with no other choice, the upgrade was needed.

Because the server was completely upgraded, I had to reinstall wordpress. You will likely have to update your feed settings. On a related note, many comments languished in comment purgatory. I’m pretty confident most of them were backed up and recently posted. If you made a comment that wasn’t posted, please submit your comment again. It’s gone now, sorry.

The good news is that everything . . . → Read More: Time to Reset]]> Let’s get going again. First of all,

Happy New Year!

My last post, 2-week hiatus turned into a 2-month hiatus. Yeesh. There are many reasons for this (but two main ones) and I’ll touch on them below.

Server Upgrades

This was the initial reason for downtime. I had ignored repeated warnings from my host about old and out-of-date software. This came to a head when we needed to upgrade the software for the Becoming Indestructible program. Left with no other choice, the upgrade was needed.

Because the server was completely upgraded, I had to reinstall wordpress. You will likely have to update your feed settings. On a related note, many comments languished in comment purgatory. I’m pretty confident most of them were backed up and recently posted. If you made a comment that wasn’t posted, please submit your comment again. It’s gone now, sorry.

The good news is that everything took only about 2 weeks, as I had initially planned. The bad news is some things happened along the way that kept me away.

My Mom

This was the first event (and the main thing). This will end up as a couple of blog posts, because I have a lot to say.

But my parents came for the holidays. They were supposed to be here for 3-4 days and head back. The day after they arrived, my Mom wanted to take the kids to see Tangled. While at the movies, she fell in the bathroom and broke her hip.

This was two days before Christmas. On Christmas Eve day, she had hip replacement surgery. She was in the hospital until December 30, where she was moved to a stay-in rehab center. She’s still there and will likely be there another 2 weeks. After that, she’ll stay at the house until she’s fit to sit in a car for the 8-hr trip back home – probably another 2 weeks.

So I have a couple of posts on this. One on my Mom, the surgery and her treatment overall. The other will be on how blood sugar is regulated in diabetics while they are in the hospital or rehab facility. It makes absolutely no sense.

There may be others as it plays out, but that’s what I have in mind for now.

The Project

This is the second reason. Before Thanksgiving, we came to an agreement with a company to offer the Becoming Indestructible program to their employees. This took a lot of time and behind the scenes work. All of that is done and the contract should be signed by the end of January.

Sidebar: In case you didn’t know , the time of year between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the absolute worst time to get anything productive done – especially if you’re working with other people. It seems like someone is ALWAYS on vacation. This probably extends through the first week of January, too.

We should start implementing within the first two weeks of January.

What’s coming up?

Besides the posts on my Mom, a post on Top-10 generic drugs is in the works. I also have another "You Suck…" article written. I’m debating on whether or not to post it.

There will also be posts detailing the trials and tribulations I come across implementing the program.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned. The first post on my Mom is just about finished – should have it posted by Friday or the first part of next week.

This year I’m doing follow-up posts and we’re starting with this one, the Top 10 non-generic (Branded) prescription drugs of 2009. We’ll start with a simple display, taking a look at the changes from ’08 to ’09. As you may recall, the number one selling non-generic drug in 2008 was Lipitor, with 49.0 million prescriptions and nearly $6 billion in sales. Staggering. So, did we see any changes? Let’s take a look.

Note: I changed the layout of the table. There are now 5 columns, with the two new ones being Rank and Sales. The first column, #, just lists the position of the drug. The second column, Drug Name, . . . → Read More: Top 10 Prescription Drugs of 2009: Non-generic]]> Last year I posted two articles on the top 10 generic and non-generic drugs of 2008. Massive cash flow through the pharmaceutical industry and most of it because the “prescriptions” were for lifestyle related behaviors was a real eye-opener. It was also shameful.

This year I’m doing follow-up posts and we’re starting with this one, the Top 10 non-generic (Branded) prescription drugs of 2009. We’ll start with a simple display, taking a look at the changes from ’08 to ’09. As you may recall, the number one selling non-generic drug in 2008 was Lipitor, with 49.0 million prescriptions and nearly $6 billion in sales. Staggering. So, did we see any changes? Let’s take a look.

Note: I changed the layout of the table. There are now 5 columns, with the two new ones being Rank and Sales. The first column, #, just lists the position of the drug. The second column, Drug Name, is the name of the drug. The third column is Prescriptions and shows the number of prescriptions in millions. The fourth column is total Sales in billions. The fifth column is sales Rank.

Looking at the Crestor data, prescriptions for ’08 were 15.1 million – garnering 11th place in last years poll. This year, they climbed to 8th on the strength of an additional 3.3 million prescriptions. I’m sure some of those were converts from Lipitor. So we have at least a partial answer to the Lipitor question.

Other than that, summary data are disgusting. These 10 drugs amounted to 236.3 prescriptions and $28.6 billion in revenue.

We are SICK (in more ways than one)!

Let’s see, Lipitor, Nexium, Plavix, Lexapro, Synthroid, Crestor and Diovan can ALL be traced to metabolic syndrome. I wonder, collectively, what the incidence of NAFLD might be just in people taking these drugs. With all the fructose, refined wheat and industrial seed oils they consume, not good. Continuing on… That’s 7 of the top 10. For those of you in California, that’s 70%. Further, you wouldn’t have too much of a struggle in convincing me a good portion of those asthma meds are from obesity (or metabolic) related inflammation.

If we do some simple math, those 7 account for 172.0 million prescriptions and $21.0 billion per year. One drug. One single, stupid, little drug, Lipitor, accounts for 24% of the prescriptions and 26% of the sales. Talk about a sledgehammer. Pfizer really likes Lipitor. Based on those stats alone, it’s not a stretch for me to say, “I bet you know someone taking Lipitor.” Maybe several someones.

Ok, soapbox rant…This is disgusting! It was previously and it is now. Most of you probably agree. The synergy between the USDA, FDA and Big Pharma is shameful. The USDA, between the pyramid and subsidies is doubly at fault. They tell us what to eat. We get fat and sick. The FDA approves drugs that only fix symptoms and Big Pharma is only too happy to oblige. Don’t even get me started on the ADA and sponsorship from Nestle’s and Coca-Cola, RD’s and “managing” blood sugar with Coke, ice cream and whole-grains or those devoid frozen packaged foods from any number of weight loss programs. They’re part of the problem! Okay, rant over (Whew, that could have gone on and on).

This synergistic trio is the main reason we’re sick and getting sicker. Keep that in the back of your mind when considering this…Heart disease is the number one killer in America. Cancer is second. Further, you’d have a hard time believing that breast cancer doesn’t even have the highest incidence, what with all the pink ribbons! Prostate cancer has a higher incidence compared to breast cancer (168.1 vs. 125.7 per 100,000 ). Did you know that?

The point is most of this is just mumbo-jumbo feel good stuff. If they had any idea as to how to reduce cancer risk (or heart disease risk, for that matter), someone would pull their head out of their backside and realize the connections. It was only 80 years ago that Warburg was awarded the Nobel Prize!

Based on that prostate information, I guess it really does suck to be a man!

Smoke and Mirrors

Back to Nexium… Comparing the ’08 to ’09 data, we see the number of prescriptions decreased by 400,000 (26.9 vs. 26.5). But, interestingly enough, total sales increased by $200 million ($5.0 vs. $4.8). Wow, again! It appears they accomplished this wondrous feat by increasing the cost of prescriptions by $10 per prescription ($178.44 vs. $188.68). Question: Does anyone know if drug manufacturers can increase the costs of drugs at their own whim? I’ve contacted both the data source (Drug Topics) and AstraZeneca (manufacturer) for clarification. As of right now, now word yet.

Okay, an exercise in the socialism of prescription drugs (health benefits in general). Let’s say your neighbor takes Nexium (not you, because you don’t take Nexium or Lipitor, right). Further suppose that your neighbor’s prescription drug plan calls for a $35 co-pay. Based on the ’09 data, the co-pay leaves a difference of $153.68. When you extend this out to 12 months (because you don’t just take these for a month), the out-of-pocket (co-pay) expense is $420, while the difference is $1,844.15. Who do you suppose makes up this difference? If you said the insurance company, you’re correct. But think about it, for just a minute. Where do you suppose the insurance company is getting the money to pay the bill?

They get it from your employer. And if you’re a big employer, like Microsoft or Exxon, you’ve got thousands taking these drugs. The result is 10′s of millions (maybe 100′s of millions) in health benefits going out of your pocket annually.

So, how is this socialism? I don’t like to answer a question with a question, but I will in this case. Why should my monthly premiums be the same as yours? I’m not taking prescription drugs. Can’t even tell you the last time I went to the doctor. Part of my contribution is to cover your expenses. What would you do, given this situation but had to pay the full prescription price?

I’m willing to bet you’d try and figure out some way to NOT have to take Nexium.

And if you didn’t know any better, you’d follow the food guide pyramid.

See, they got you!

Wonderful agencies we have, the USDA and FDA.

There you have it…

A sobering look at the Top 10 most prescribed non-generic drugs in 2009. Do your best to stay off the list! You can only do that by following a diet that is diametrically opposed to the food guide pyramid. And don’t give your neighbor such a hard time about Nexium. Just advise a U-turn from the pyramid.

Thoughts?

References

Drug Topics. Top Branded drugs of 2009 by total prescriptions.(pdf)
Drug Topics. Top Branded drugs of 2009 by retail dollars. (pdf)

In case you haven’t heard, statins and big pharma took it on the chin in a new study from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The results showed niacin was significantly more effective at reducing carotid artery plaque than statins alone. In fact, results showed plaque continuing to grow in the statins only group while regressing in the niacin group. I’m not going to detail the study and author’s conclusions, Dr. Eades has done a wonderful job of that.

I’m not even going to get into . . . → Read More: statins and niacin … a concerted effort?]]> We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming (Top 10 non-generic and generic prescription drugs) to bring you this, what appears to be a concerted effort on the part of Big Pharma to keep their precious statins high on the list of prescribed drugs. (can you blame them? Between Lipitor and Simvistatin you’re looking at 109.2 million prescriptions and $7.4 billion in sales per year!).

In case you haven’t heard, statins and big pharma took it on the chin in a new study from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The results showed niacin was significantly more effective at reducing carotid artery plaque than statins alone. In fact, results showed plaque continuing to grow in the statins only group while regressing in the niacin group. I’m not going to detail the study and author’s conclusions, Dr. Eades has done a wonderful job of that.

I’m not even going to get into whether or not reducing LDL prevents heart attacks. I’m taking a different approach.

Now, a normal thinking individual might conclude niacin as a better alternative to statins in preventing cardiovascular disease. Such as Dr. William Davis over at the Heart Scan blog. He’s not really normal thinking, more like forward thinking (WAY forward compared to his colleagues) and he’s been banging on statins and tooting the niacin horn for a while.

What really has me perturbed is a concerted effort to keep precious statins at the top of the prescription list. For example, a Google news search today (11/20/09) showed 800+ stories on the search term: statin+niacin. Scrolling through the headlines of those on the first page, you see phrases like, “Vitamin B niacin offers no extra benefit to statin therapy,” “Niacin may not help arteries,” “No benefit for statin patients,” and on and on.

Another example is this, a press release published November 20, 2009, which relates study details showing an approximate 1/3 drop in “bad” cholesterol levels in the US from 1999 to 2006 (study abstract here). The last sentence in the first paragraph sums it up nicely,

“But a high percentage of adults still are not being screened or treated for high cholesterol levels.” 

I’m not sure what they mean by high. As you’ll see in my next post, about 1 in 2 adults in the US are taking a statin. You would think this one-third drop would be cause for celebration, and it is among the statins crowd. But while there is a significant drop in the number of cardiovascular-related deaths, incidence hasn’t decreased.

So the question isn’t whether or not statins work. They reduce LDL cholesterol but they don’t reduce the incidence of heart disease. So why take them? Why prescribe them? It’s like the statinators and policy makers can’t see the forest for the trees.

The unfortunate (for them) news on the effectiveness of niacin, the quick-to-the-table message parroted by the media, that the incidence of cardiovascular disease has not decreased and the $7.4 billion cash cow of statins is enough to make one skeptical, or disgusted.

Your thoughts?

This post is part of the Kathleen Show, Prevention not Rx.

In a follow-up post I’m going to get into the metrics a little more, comparing generic and non-generic.

Let me preface the descriptive nature of this post by saying it’s amazing we prescribe drugs at this rate. I knew we took too many prescription drugs. I knew we were too dependent on them. But actually looking at this data and what it says sheds light on the extent of the problem, which is why I’m writing a follow-up. So on with this one…

Forty percent of non-generic drugs are related, one way or another, to hyperinsulinemia. For generic drugs, it’s 50% and for the same conditions – metabolic syndrome. Table 1 shows . . . → Read More: Top 10 Generic Drugs in 2008]]> In last weeks post I detailed the Top 10 prescription drugs for the US in 2008. And since I was half-way through before realizing it was non-generic only, I decided to complete it and follow up with this one.

In a follow-up post I’m going to get into the metrics a little more, comparing generic and non-generic.

Let me preface the descriptive nature of this post by saying it’s amazing we prescribe drugs at this rate. I knew we took too many prescription drugs. I knew we were too dependent on them. But actually looking at this data and what it says sheds light on the extent of the problem, which is why I’m writing a follow-up. So on with this one…

Forty percent of non-generic drugs are related, one way or another, to hyperinsulinemia. For generic drugs, it’s 50% and for the same conditions – metabolic syndrome. Table 1 shows Top 10 Generic Drugs by number of prescriptions (millions). Additionally, the table also shows total sales (billions) and rank (in parentheses).

Table 1. Top 10 Generic Drugs in US for 2008.

Metabolic Syndrome Fab 5

The 50% of drugs related to metabolic syndrome (italicized in table) account for 258.1 million (or 44%) of prescriptions and $3.3 billion (or 40%) of retail sales. Chew on that for a moment…258.1 million prescriptions related to hyperinsulinemia, which is 25.1 (edit: 21.5 – operator error) million prescriptions and $270 million in retail sales per month.

Think anyone’s interested in keeping that kind of cash flowing? Do I have to ask?

Furthermore, these dollars are only a small part of the direct costs. No estimates for other direct or indirect costs are included.

Pretty disgusting, actually.

I mentioned last week that cognitive dissonance was to blame. I’m not so sure anymore. In my opinion, what we’re seeing here is nothing short of disgusting. There is plenty of research showing most of these problems can be fixed with simple changes in diet and exercise. Yet those recommendations aren’t coming. The ADA, for example, thinks type 2 diabetics need to eat 45-60 grams of carbs at each meal! It’s like telling someone with lung cancer that it’s okay to smoke one cigarette a day. Statinators are blind or on the dole. American Heart still spouts the low-fat dogma that has blinded all of them.

The more I think about it and the more I write about it, the more disgusted I get. What I need is a good laugh.

This post is part of the Kathleen Show, Prevention not Rx.

References (both are pdf documents)

1. 2008 Top 200 generic drugs by total prescriptions

2. 2008 Top 200 generic drugs by retail dollars

Given this, I assumed their laundry list was similar to that of the general public. So I went looking for the top 10 prescription drugs of 2008 to see if my thoughts would be confirmed.

Finding the Data. I scoured the FDA website and could find nothing (for some reason, I thought the organization in charge of controlling this industry might track this stuff – go figure). I decided to contact them by phone and the person I spoke with (after about 3 minutes of menu clicks – seriously), directed me to drugtopics.com . . . → Read More: Top Prescription Drugs in 2008]]> Most people I work with are significantly overweight – average weight > 300 pounds. As you might expect, all have a cluster of metabolic disorders. Coincident with their condition,  they take a laundry list of prescription medications. In general the lists are nearly identical and include prescriptions for hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol and digestive disorders.

Given this, I assumed their laundry list was similar to that of the general public. So I went looking for the top 10 prescription drugs of 2008 to see if my thoughts would be confirmed.

Finding the Data.
I scoured the FDA website and could find nothing (for some reason, I thought the organization in charge of controlling this industry might track this stuff – go figure). I decided to contact them by phone and the person I spoke with (after about 3 minutes of menu clicks – seriously), directed me to drugtopics.com – here is their about page.

Table 1 shows information for 2008 (1), including the top 10 prescriptions, the number of prescriptions (millions) and retail sales (in billions) (2). Note: the list is for non-generic drugs only. Additionally, drugtopics.com separates their publications by top prescriptions and top selling. Table 1 is a combination of the two. The Sales column includes rank information.

 Table 1. Top 10 Prescribed Drugs in 2008.

Confirmation and Surprise.

So what was the confirmation? Cholesterol, hypertensive and digestive (GERD) disorder medications occupy spots #1, 2, 7 and 10 (italicized in table). They represent 110.2 million prescriptions and $15.3 billion in retail sales. It’s 40% of the top 10, 45% of all prescriptions and 49% of total retail sales. Lipitor by itself is 20% of all prescriptions and 19% of all retail sales for those in the top 10!

What surprised me? For starters, no diabetes drug in the top 10. Actos was the highest rated and it was 18th, with 12.5 million prescriptions. The $2.4 billion in sales would have been good enough for 10th on the sales list. This piqued my curiosity and led to another visit to drugtopics.com.

Thankfully they track prescriptions and sales of generic drugs too. Guess what was in the top 10? I’ll give you a hint. It starts with “M” and ends with “M.” This list too is dominated similarly and I’m working on a follow-up post.

My thoughts…

Insulin resistance is big business in this country, playing a small or large role in nearly all of these on the list. And the Standard American Diet (SAD) is being pushed down our throats by so many factions, I don’t even know which way is up sometimes.

With all the healthcare debate going on, it’s amazing to me those in charge can’t see what’s right under their noses. I’m blaming cognitive dissonance and the powerful sugar, corn and wheat lobbies.

My advice, trash the food guide pyramid. Ignore nearly all advice from registered dieticians and your doctor – they’re part of the cognitive dissonance crowd. Eat quality protein and healthy fats (including naturally saturated ones) at every meal, along with vegetables and exercise vigorously 2-3 days per week. That and keeping your stress levels down will go a long way to keep you from being on this list.

This post is part of the Kathleen Show, Prevention not Rx.

References (both are pdf documents).

1. 2008 Top 200 branded drugs by total prescriptions.

2. 2008 Top 200 branded drugs by retail dollars.