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Daily Chat >> General Posts >> How vulnerable we are.....
(Message started by: DonnaH_again on May 14th, 2008, 11:30pm)

Title: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by DonnaH_again on May 14th, 2008, 11:30pm
Got a snail-mail from my pharmacy today stating:

"Our records indicate that between April 25, 2007 and April 25, 2008 you received one or more prescriptions for Digoxin (Digetek) tablets from a Walgreens pharmacy.  The manufacturer is recalling all lots of this medication because there is the possibility that some tablets may have double the appropriate thickness and may contain twice the appropriate level of active ingredient".............etc.

I have been taking this med for years and am at a loss as to how things like this happen.

We have no idea where our meds come from, under what conditions they are made...on and on.

They don't even offer free blood sampling to see if the Dig level is too high.  No responsibility?  Why not?

I live in Florida, the state that grows oranges,  but when I go to the market, I find only oranges grown in, I don't know what country off hand.......Peru comes to mind for a lot of our produce.  Why in the world am I not buying Florida oranges?  This makes no sense.  I am paying way too much for a fruit we are famous for growing but yet I am paying transport fees, etc.

I try not to buy produce or any other food item that is not grown in our own country, but things grown here are more expensive than those imported.  I do buy them from here because I am fairly certain that the irrigation ditches are not filled with feces.

God help us all.

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by artonio7 on May 15th, 2008, 12:42am
The more I think about it... the more I'm tempted to become a Localvore

http://www.localvore.co.uk/

Are you going to have your Digi levels checked or what?

with warm regards,
Tony

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by DonnaH_again on May 15th, 2008, 7:10am
Yes I am.  I'm calling my Docs office at 9am today.  I'll probably have to wait 48 hours for an answer tho...grrrr!

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by beachmusic on May 15th, 2008, 8:07am
Donna, I hear the frustration in your post!!

It is all crazy.  The pharmaceutical companies are out of control, waiting 24 hours to hear back from our doctors drives me to do wild and crazy things and buying oranges from Peru when you live in the Florida is down right NUTS!!!!  ::)


Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by Tara Ann on May 15th, 2008, 9:13am
OMG that is so scary Donna!  And as for the Fla orange thing, that annoyed the crap outta me too!  So I suggest pick at a friends house, or plant some tree's?  I tried to pick at friends/families places.

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by Lizzie2 on May 15th, 2008, 10:18am
Donna!  That is so scary!!  I'm glad you are getting your dig level checked out after all this - and yes, the least they could do is pay for that one test!  Sheesh!

As for the oranges - I've always thought it ridiculous!  One of my favorite places on Siesta Key was the juice store, and it closed down because of the cost of fresh fruit/juices grown in Florida.  It's such a shame.  Plus after drinking that juice, I am spoilt to death and don't want to drink any other orange juice!  I have thought before how weird it is that oranges and fruits from Peru are imported into Florida and even up here, instead of Florida oranges!

Hugz,
Carrie :)

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by Charlie on May 15th, 2008, 9:57pm
Hmmmmm.

Makes me wonder if all the organic stuff is as it says it is. It's becoming a big deal here but it's too damned expensive.

Anyone for a victory garden?

Charlie

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by artonio7 on May 15th, 2008, 10:06pm

on 05/15/08 at 21:57:36, Charlie wrote:
Hmmmmm.

Makes me wonder if all the organic stuff is as it says it is. It's becoming a big deal here but it's too damned expensive.

Anyone for a victory garden?

Charlie



My lettuce is a growing...

http://artonio7.com/vgardenm.jpg

with warm regards,
tony

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by Brew on May 15th, 2008, 10:44pm
psssst....Tony....those are hastas. And you don't want to eat them. ;;D

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by Kevin_M on May 15th, 2008, 11:26pm
Hey Tony, looks like you're doing some nice work in your corner there.   Good job, great project going for the Summer.    :)

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by nani on May 16th, 2008, 1:05am
I think we're only as vulnerable as we allow ourselves to be.
"because there is the possibility that some tablets may have double the appropriate thickness and may contain twice the appropriate level of active ingredient"

An astute consumer would notice the change, and call the pharmacy.

All crops have a growing season and a dormant season. If you want fruit all year, you're going to have to find it growing somewhere else. Like Chile (not Peru), which is similar to California in it's geography and agribusiness.

Manure is a fertilizer. So are chemicals. I prefer non-chemical fertilizers, but not to eat. So, I wash my fruits and vegetables before I use them.

I suspect that if you contacted the manufacturer with a bill for the test, with a subtle class action threat ... the bill would be reimbursed quite quickly.

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by Jackie on May 16th, 2008, 5:38am
These mistakes are happening  more and more often.  Makes you wonder if anyone is watching out for us. >:(


Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by seasonalboomer on May 16th, 2008, 7:21am
even though there are plenty of reasons presented every day to worry more, about more things, try, please try, to worry less.......

my favorite three words of the bible, "be not afraid".

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by DonnaH_again on May 16th, 2008, 4:52pm
I guess I am not astute.  When one of my 9 prescriptions runs out and I have to start a new bottle, it could get past me if one of them was a little thicker.

As it turned out, my pharmacist advised me that it was the brand made by Bertek that was faulty.  I am provided with the one made by Lannette.  

Local oranges and some other items are not sold here in the major super markets even when they ARE in season.  It is only possible to buy Florida produce from little produce stands and that IS seasonal and not easily available distance and time wise.

I know that we do get some of our produce from Peru, but I said only that Peru comes to mind when mentioning the oranges.  I mentioned Peru because I've seen the name on a label on fruit.


I know that manure is a good fertilizer.  We used it for our gardens when I was a kid.  I don't equate manure (from cows) to feces (from people) for some reason. Must be a quirk of mine.  And I don't believe that washing the outside will remove what was taken up by the roots when the plant was growing and productive.

I hope that explaines where I was coming from.


Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by Charlie on May 17th, 2008, 1:31am
Of course when I was a youngster, DDT was everywhere. It was a time of dumping and backyard burning too. God knows what kind of shit found its way into the celery.  :o

Charlie

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by M.R. on May 17th, 2008, 1:04pm
A link to finding a local grower near you. Hope it works, but I am gonna go this route when it is available .

Mike

http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?id=Home

Edit for typing spasm

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by nani on May 17th, 2008, 1:16pm
I'm sorry, Donna. I have to ask.

Do you think that there are no sewer systems in South America? Or that farmers use human waste as fertilizer?

I doubt produce can be grown in a place where there are human waste issues like you envision.

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by Charlie on May 17th, 2008, 7:37pm
Human waste is still used in many parts of the world for fertilizer....or was anyway....lost track of it some time ago.

Charlie

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....links added
Post by DonnaH_again on May 17th, 2008, 10:19pm
http://tntalk.wordpress.com/2008/03/07/imported-food/

http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/article/2657856/health/imported-food-dangershttp://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/220014/

http://www.organicfood.com.au/Content_Common/pg-foodcontamination.seo


Other.................................

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/220014/

http://energycommerce.house.gov/comdem/press/105st67.htm

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by DonnaH_again on May 18th, 2008, 1:51pm
Bump.  Too important to be buried.

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by artonio7 on May 18th, 2008, 2:36pm

on 05/15/08 at 22:44:12, Brew wrote:
psssst....Tony....those are hastas. And you don't want to eat them. ;;D


Here Bill I fixed it for you.

http://artonio7.com/garden_2008/lettuce01.jpg

with warm regards,
Tony

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by Brew on May 18th, 2008, 3:13pm
That's more like it, Sir Tone. Red leaf lettuce. Very edible.

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by DonnaH_again on May 18th, 2008, 3:27pm
And did you use fertilizer on it? ;)

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by Jonny on May 18th, 2008, 3:54pm

on 05/18/08 at 15:27:33, DonnaH_again wrote:
And did you use fertilizer on it? ;)


Sure he did, he shits on them every day.....LMAO  [smiley=grin2.gif]

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by artonio7 on May 18th, 2008, 7:39pm

on 05/18/08 at 15:27:33, DonnaH_again wrote:
And did you use fertilizer on it? ;)



I use 100% organic compost (leaf/wood/vegetable) all produced from my yard... I use no insecticides or artificial fertilizer of any kind in my yard... sadly birds do have a tendency to fly by and will occasionally poop... and there are tons of worms in the soil and I'd imagine they also poop.

I'm too shy to poop in the garden. (I think it's an italian catholic thing0 :-[

with warm regards,
Tony

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by Lizzie2 on May 18th, 2008, 11:22pm
Tony - that last comment there was hilarious!  I'm glad you're too shy to poop in the garden.

Nani and Donna - Thing with pills is that if you're taking a generic and multiple companies make generics of the same drug, then each time you get the script filled, the pills might look different.  Sometimes the pharmacy will place a label on the bottle that says "This may not look like the medication you have been taking", but they don't always do that.  I have a couple of different meds that the generics get switched up every time I go and get them filled at the same pharmacy.  

In the hospital, nurses should always go over the meds they are giving their patients.  Many times when this happens, they might say a different generic name (some drugs have a variety of different names and one patient might know their drug by one thing but the hospital calls it another) or the pill doesn't look like the one the patient is taking at home.  It is most important that when a patient brings up a concern that this isn't the med they are supposed to be taking, that the nurse take this seriously and check with the pharmacy and physician to be sure it really is the correct med.  I know one time I was brought in a med and not told what it was - when I asked, I learned that it was a med that could cause a fatal interaction with other drugs I was taking.  The nurse was in training and kept arguing with me that this was what the doctor ordered, so I had to take it.  Finally I explained to her that if she wanted me to take it, then she had best go get a crash cart on standby since it would be very likely that I could die from the drug interaction.  She finally backed down, and I called her preceptor in to discuss it with her quietly - didn't want to get the girl in trouble, but it was important that she learn that when a patient questions a med, you take it seriously and go check it out.

Anyway, I digress.  All I really wanted to say was that sometimes it's impossible to know if your med is different since you may have been given a different generic - obviously this could have been realistic as Donna's med was made by one company and not the one with the problem.  I always appreciate it when the pharmacy puts the sticker about the med not looking the same on my bottles, but I can certainly attest that they do not always do that.

Hugz,
Carrie :)

Title: Re: How vulnerable we are.....
Post by monty on May 20th, 2008, 11:13am
The boys in Brazil grow a lot of citrus, but they mostly export frozen orange juice concentrate, a little fresh fruit out of season.  Only about 3% of citrus eaten in the US is imported - when I was a kid, the fancy oranges came from Spain or Israel.

The company's quality control problem and subsequent remedy (or lack there of) is proof that there aren't enough lawsuits.



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