Isn't it amazing...

[Hammer]

First, let me say that this thread is not created to cause any arguments. It was created to vent my disapproval of the status quo.

I look at what the posters in other threads are taking....diabetes meds, blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, you name it and they are taking it....myself included, and I can see the effect that the drug companies have on this country.

Okay, if you took amphetamines...speed, if you want to call it that, then you wouldn't be over weight. Okay, so that means that you wouldn't have all of the ailments that you now have. That means that you wouldn't have to take your insulin or whatever you take to help control your diabetes. You wouldn't be taking your blood pressure medicine.....you wouldn't be taking your cholesterol medicine.....and so on. What you would be taking would be amphetamines, if you so choose.

Okay, lets look at the dollar amount....what do your diabetes meds cost per year? How about your blood pressure meds, your cholesterol meds, and so on, cost per year. For me, those costs are over $10,000 a year.(don't forget your test strips).

So, how much would it cost you for amphetamines per year? Last I checked, it was $18 a month. That comes to $216 a year. Let's see.....$216 compared to well over $10,000 a year. Do you think the drug companies care about your health? If they did, then why did they lobby Congress to limit amphetamine use? Amphetamines are not addictive, and they do not cause any serious side effects (I know, I was on them for 10 years), so why not allow them so that we don't develop the problems we now have? Oh, that's right, it's all about money, and how much the drug companies can make off of our ill health.

This is a rant, so sorry about that, but this is something that pisses me off to no end. Had I been allowed to stay on amphetamines, I wouldn't have the health issues I have now....plus I'd feel great, and I wouldn't be over weight. Anything negative you read about amphetamines was reported by the drug companies....it's all bull, and it was reported so that Congress would ban them so that you would get fat and develop all of the problems you now have.

For those that have never been on amphetamines, let me ask you this.....how would you feel if you could take a pill that cost you $18 for a month's supply, and this pill kept you thin, made you feel great, and prevented you from developing the problems you now have. Would you take it? I did, and back then it was wonderful. These days you can't buy that type of amphetamine anymore because it causes the drug companies to lose too much money.

The drug companies dictate the health policies of this country, and they are a self serving bunch of a$$holes that are only interested in making a huge profit....screw you and your health, as long as they can make a huge profit.

Rant over....

[ramon]

To be honest about it in a way you are correct but I guarantee you speed has and will always be abused. Maybe there are different kinds out there but Ive seen the people who twitch and talk to them selves who take that cr@p. Then I guess you can say the same thing about alcohol. For many people who are overweight its in the head, no drug in the world, diet or support can help. Its just the way it is. I have noticed that when I pick up a magazine like TIME the first ad you run into is some pharmaceutical company pushing a pill of some kind and you are right the prices are outrageous. The South African government wanted to open a pharmaceutical factory to supply its citizens who have aids with free medicine and the American companies went crazy and dragged them through all kinds of national and international courts. The USA has a higher death rate per capita for infants then Cuba. The corporations are the ones who run the country that's for sure and that's what we call democracy. Im glad you brought this up because there is a doctor in our village that deals speciously in weight control and I believe I will drop by and pay him a visit.

[Mike Opteris]

I partially agree with your rant against Big Pharma, however I disagree with the premise of your 'alternative' preventative treatment. Not because it wouldn't work, there is some debatable areas there, but because you place the blame on obesity as the primary cause of this disease and promote amphetamines as the cure. That's not entirely accurate. If it were, then diet and exercise would 'cure' type II diabetes. Perhaps you know that and as you stated your comment is just a rant. However, my direction of this rant is that the American diet, whether the victim is overweight or not, is the main contributor to this disease. If everyone would rant against big Agriculture and the frankenfoods they create, sell, and get our government and medical establishments to promote, maybe big Pharma wouldn't need to be so big.
We have forgotten the local farmer until he spreads fertilizer on his fields, and we get a whiff of it driving down the road, but it's that local farmer that provides good, wholesome, healthy real foods. Foods that are produced by a man and his family that take pride in what they do. Foods that we are meant to consume. Foods produced from the ground beneath us, not in a test tube in some laboratory or super processed until they don’t even resemble what they originated from.
If you want to 'give it' to big Pharma, buy all your food at the local farmers market, it will not only taste better, it'll make you healthier and you may find that you end up needing less and less of big Pharma's products.
Just my Rant, you can return to your regularly scheduled forum now, thank you!
Mike

[retired60]

Hammer, as you know by some of my post I despise being blackmailed by the big drug companies.........but it has become the American Way, and they have the money and brainwashing skills to keep the status quo. The drug companies as well as most healthcare dictate to you what you will pay and if you don't pay it without high price insurance then they take your home. I had better stop as I'm starting to rant.

[dbaratta]

Yes.....black beauties for young women to keep thin. It works, yes it does, I have done them in my youth just like every other teen in the 60's and 70's.

so let me see if I can follow your thinking here because speed can kill by reaking havoc on your heart correct? If they regulated it though, it would be a lessor drug and maybe just do what it needed to? It is addictive though, so you would have that to deal with. BUT, given all the bad things that can happen to a diabetic body due to out of control BG and the meds, which is the lessor of two evils? Hmmmmmm very interesting.

I am a big fan of legalizing drugs, **** the money the government could make off of it would pay for health care. LOL that is kind of an oxymoron now isn't it? LOL Now before anyone jumps down my throat for this comment let me point out that Beer, Wine, Liquor, caffeine, these are all drugs. Anything that alters your current state of mind is considered a drug......chocolate.....hmmmmm

[fgummett]

I suspect this needs to be moved to "Chit Chat" and having no experience of Amphetamines I cannot comment on that side of things.

But before the theme of this thread gets dismissed as "internet conspiracy nuts" I'd like to say that I do NOT believe there is a conspiracy to keep us overweight and unhealthy... it need be no more complicated than "making profits for the shareholders".

Those with the deepest pockets seem to have the loudest voices both in deciding government policy and in the courts. Lobby groups representing huge multi-national corporations seem to hold much more sway than the voters... and I'd suggest that some of these companies are so huge that they represent interests both in food AND pharmacy.

There is a rotating door between these corporations and the government bodies set up to regulate them... after all who knows more about defining drug research policy than an executive from a drug company? Seriously they do have the expertise BUT they also have a conflict of interest such that we end up with the proverbial "fox guarding the hen-house".

And of course it helps that these same multi-national corporations also own TV news and other media outlets such that they can ensure only stories favourable to their shareholders goes out... again NOT conspiracy... just doing their job to maximise profits and pay their bills.

Because it is NOT conspiracy, that gives US power... WE decide what we buy in the stores (and farmers markets) or what drugs we take... they WILL respond to market forces. McDonalds don't care if they sell McFlurries or Salads so long as we keep buying our fast-food from them. Walmart took note when folks in the USA stopped buying milk that came from cows raised with injected growth hormone... Walmart took it off the shelves and because they have so much purchasing power, it affected the entire USA dairy industry.

[jkane13]

I have been taking prescription amphetamines for about a year and a half. Here is my take ...

They work, sort of! For the first week they are fantastic. The next 3-4 weeks they work well. After that my body became accustomed to them, and the effect was much lower. I'd take a week break and then they worked well again for another week. After about a year it was at the point of only taking them on weekends because the resistance was so high. I stopped all together about 2 months ago. I took them last week, and they worked well again. But, it only lasted for about 5 days, and then I could tell my body was ignoring them again.

So, they work, but only short term. They will not work as a preventative medication.

The best mechanism they have is they help some of us, note ... not all, to recognize that full feeling. But, after taking them for about 6 months, I "learned" to recognize it without them. If you don't learn that from them, when your body gets used to them, they won't help at all long term!

The other thing is obvious. Increased energy, making them a good kick start to get a regular exercise program off the ground. Just don't give up after their effectiveness wanes. Also don't give up after your Dr stops prescribing them.

Side effects are horrible!

They are vascular constrictors. That means cold fingers and toes. As diabetics, cold and numb toes are scary. For me, that got worse as I lost body fat. The worse effect is ... well, for men, it softens things up a little. Not 100%, but reduces the function of one of our favorite parts.

Another side effect is I can't shut my mouth when taking them (during the first couple days anyhow). It means I ramble and that comes across as borderline crazy at work! Be aware that others won't tell you you are babbling, they just start to avoid you.

So, bottom line is that amphetamines work for specific things, but they do not work for long term. Use them as a tool, not as a crutch!

[foxl]

I will toss another one out ... Ephedra is another stimulant drug, hotly pursued to keep people thin.

I lost a dear friend to it in her mid-40's. She was buying it over the counter in a weight-loss mix. She had a heart attack.

I think amphetamine would have been safer, no?

[MMJ]

Why does the life expectancy continue to increase every year? Is it because we are eating better or exercising more? The evidence suggest that we are not as whole.
It is largely due to the advancements made in medicine and treatments.

[inkvisitor]

Treating the problem, not fixing it, right?

There's just too much money to be made for the former...

[HuskerMychal]

Okay, if you took amphetamines...speed, if you want to call it that, then you wouldn't be over weight.

Not totally correct here. I spent 25 years as a speed and meth addict and I am very overweight. Also The cost isn't totally correct either. You have to factor in the "Brownstone" effect. The Motley Crue song explains it best. " I used to do a little till a little wouldn't do it then a little got more and more". Plus the effects on the heart and other internal organs that speed and meth use cause and it's very addictive qualities. In a perfect world your agruement and rant makes since, but this world and we humans aint perfect.

[plattb1]

But, every PWD is not overweight.

And, speed causes heart problems. When I was in the ER with a heart rate of 345, caused by a faulty neural pathway in my heart, an ER nurse told me that folks on speed die every day of cardiac arrest caused by having a heart rate that is too high that can't be controlled.

Not to mention the violence that is caused by people on too much speed.

I HATE taking meds. But, taking speed to reduce obesity CAN'T be the answer. It's just too problematic in itself.

Just my take on this issue.

[yannah]

I just want to say, that I loved this rant.

and thats why we are soul mates. ****ing EILilly.

[Kerstin]

umm..well...I was thin for years..until my "source" got busted. And then my weight shot up to 300 and I got diabetes, and I got depressed and I got COPD, and CHF and HYPERTENSION. So yes..I TOTALLY AGREE!!

[Hammer]

I have been taking prescription amphetamines for about a year and a half. Here is my take ...

They work, sort of! For the first week they are fantastic. The next 3-4 weeks they work well. After that my body became accustomed to them, and the effect was much lower. I'd take a week break and then they worked well again for another week. After about a year it was at the point of only taking them on weekends because the resistance was so high. I stopped all together about 2 months ago. I took them last week, and they worked well again. But, it only lasted for about 5 days, and then I could tell my body was ignoring them again.

So, they work, but only short term. They will not work as a preventative medication.

The best mechanism they have is they help some of us, note ... not all, to recognize that full feeling. But, after taking them for about 6 months, I "learned" to recognize it without them. If you don't learn that from them, when your body gets used to them, they won't help at all long term!

The other thing is obvious. Increased energy, making them a good kick start to get a regular exercise program off the ground. Just don't give up after their effectiveness wanes. Also don't give up after your Dr stops prescribing them.

Side effects are horrible!

They are vascular constrictors. That means cold fingers and toes. As diabetics, cold and numb toes are scary. For me, that got worse as I lost body fat. The worse effect is ... well, for men, it softens things up a little. Not 100%, but reduces the function of one of our favorite parts.

Another side effect is I can't shut my mouth when taking them (during the first couple days anyhow). It means I ramble and that comes across as borderline crazy at work! Be aware that others won't tell you you are babbling, they just start to avoid you.

So, bottom line is that amphetamines work for specific things, but they do not work for long term. Use them as a tool, not as a crutch!

Jeff, that's because today's amphetamines are nothing like they used to be. What they have now is junk, that's why they only last a few weeks. Back in the 60's and 70's, the amphetamines they had then would work all the time. Heck, I was on them for 10 years, and they kept the weight off, I felt good, and I had no problems. Of course I was taking them under a doctor's care, so I didn't abuse them. The problems arise when people abuse them.....like anything else.