What the Wealthy and the Corporations have done to one particular middle class guy....

[Roland99]

I got this email last night from my best friend. He's long been a rock of stability and logic and sees through the bullshit that people put up in their every day lives. I've been telling him for the last few years how the corporations have taken over the country. He would blow most of it off. Then I started in on him and how Obama has caved at every turn and let the bleeding of America continue. He wouldn't hear it, he was enamored of Obama during the campaign and election.

I think he's finally seen the light, though:

***** refused to pay for Lunesta, so instead I got some old-fashioned sleep meds that are highly addictive and to me - not effective!
I'm so freakin' fed up with these doctors and insurance companies and drug companies. I have NO idea what kind of crap I'm putting in my body. It's obviously all synthesized in a lab.
It's going to probably be at least 6 months to a year before it's all out of my system.
I'm am VERY VERY seriously considering some sort of holistic approach. I just need to find a reputable doctor in town and find out what the cost is.
If it is comparable to see one of those doctors (and they are REAL doctors) to what I pay for insurance, medicine, co-pay etc, per month, and I see some actual benefit/results, I'll cancel my insurance after my next oral surgery is complete and just get some sort of accident/emergency insurance plan in case something serious happens like a car accident or heart attack or something requiring hospitalization.
I'm tired of giving these people my money when I'm basically treated as a test subject.


And stop using a bank, if possible. They're crooks.
And stop with my 401K stuff - draw that money out even though they'll be a penalty.
I'll have 2 of my 3 credit cards paid off tomorrow.
I'll bury my money in a freakin mason jar if I have to.


I'm FED UP with taking it up the arse by these jet-setting playboy freaks.


Then if I can get a job playing music, I'll even stop paying taxes!!!


I have HAD IT!!!!!!


Dropping OUT!


I took this crap - temazepam at 12:00 and I'm still wide awake. I may as well taken a vitamin.


If I draw my money out of 401K, I can pay off all my bills and be debt free. ******* no longer matches a cent, by the way - so it's basically a savings account at this point.


Then save save save in cash cash cash.


Sorry for the long-winded ramblings, but I'm disgusted and just plain old tired. I have to fight and pay out the ass to be healthy and happy.
There has just GOT to be a better way.


Of course, considering what is going down in Haiti, I should probably be counting my blessings.


Oh well, said my peace for now I guess.


Thanks for reading and tune-in next time for the ramblings of an insomnia-laden, anxiety-ridden, freak slowly turning anarchist.

So, Corporate America and your beloved corporate "personhood" doing your works of God and increasing the inequalities that we should just accept and all of the politicians (Republican and Democrat alike) that live off of campaign donations from PACs and Corporations and CEOs with agendas, I say to you:


FUCK OFF AND DIE (HORRIBLY AND PAINFULLY!)

[msongs]

1. US corporations are terrorists - with government collusion nt

[Roland99]

4. United Healthcare is a big factor in all of this, too.

Gee...imagine that. A health insurance company DENYING necessary procedures (that were begun under a policy with a different insurance company). The company he works for switched carriers and he was forced to switch doctors even. Now UH is denying the procedures.

[Mithreal]

30. Mostly, especially considering all the ones that pay no federal taxes

http://www.truthout.org/article/most-corporations-dont-pay-income-taxes

They are walling themselves off from us and moving on to countries where the plundering is easier.

[dysfunctional press]

2. sounds like a job for cymbalta.

and the dreams are incredible!

http://www.cymbalta.com/index.jsp

[Roland99]

3. I know someone that was on that. It really messed her up. Made her suicidal even.

[dysfunctional press]

12. i know several people who are on it, for whom it has been a game-changer and a life saver.

myself included.

[Romulox]

5. sounds like a job for marijuana.

ditto on the dreams.

[Roland99]

6. Don't think that isn't something that isn't *seriously* being considered

[Romulox]

7. All snark aside, I would try a bowl + hot cocoa before any of that horrible chemical stuff

Perhaps a bowl and some hot cider + spiced rum. Stress - relieved. Sleep - guaranteed. :smoke:

Best wishes for your friend.

[Roland99]

8. Thanks.

He's infinitely more well-versed in all that than I am. I've never tried it in my life. His younger days were filled with it (being in the music scene and all)

[AnneD]

25. In the Nursing home.....

we use benedryl and tylenol. Benederyl to make you sleepy and tylenol to mimic the body's natural tendency to have a lower temp while sleeping.

[Roland99]

29. He's tried all kinds of methods over the years

Nothing really seems to work, or at least work for more than a week.

[dysfunctional press]

10. why are some chemicals 'horrible', and others not...?

modern day anti-depressants can be extremely effective.

[Roland99]

13. Well, in his case, the anti-anxiety medication kills his creative drive

and worsens his insomnia actually.

[dysfunctional press]

15. then it's the wrong medication for him.

there are a number of them to choose from.

my point was in someone recommending thc and alcohol, but pooh-poohing 'horrible' chemicals.

[Romulox]

23. One of the two substances in question has horrifying side-effects, that's why.

(And it's the synthetic compound--what a shock!)

[dysfunctional press]

24. then why did you suggest taking it...?

you were talking about alcohol, correct?

[Romulox]

26. The Cymbalta warning sheet:

So, the stuff you are recommending can cause: suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, restlessness, or extreme hyperactivity. It may make your glaucoma or diabetes worse. It may make you more susceptible to bleeding. In addition, it may cause itching, right upper belly pain, dark urine, yellow skin/eyes, or unexplained flu-like symptoms, severe liver problems (sometimes fatal,) high fever, confusion, stiff muscles (possibly signs of a life-threatening condition, dizziness or fainting upon standing,increased blood pressure, headache, weakness, confusion, problems concentrating, memory problems, or feel unsteady. Oh--and you may develop problems with urine flow.

Oh, and Cymbalta may cause sleepiness and dizziness. (A car is a "heavy machine" btw)

:wow:

Important Safety Information About Cymbalta

Antidepressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens, and young adults. Suicide is a known risk of depression and some other psychiatric disorders. Call your doctor right away if you have new or worsening depression symptoms, unusual changes in behavior, or thoughts of suicide. Be especially observant within the first few months of treatment or after a change in dose. Approved only for adults 18 and over.

What should I talk about with my healthcare provider?

Patients on antidepressants and their families or caregivers should watch for new or worsening depression symptoms, unusual changes in behavior, thoughts of suicide, anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping ( :hi: ), irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, restlessness, or extreme hyperactivity. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have thoughts of suicide or if any of these symptoms are severe or occur suddenly. Be especially observant within the first few months of antidepressant treatment or whenever there is a change in dose.

Who should NOT take Cymbalta?

You should not take Cymbalta if:

* You have recently taken a type of antidepressant called a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI)
* You have uncontrolled narrow-angle glaucoma (increased eye pressure)
* You are taking Mellaril® (thioridazine)

What other important information should I discuss with my healthcare provider?

Before starting Cymbalta, talk with your healthcare provider:

* about all of your medical conditions, including kidney or liver problems, glaucoma, diabetes, seizures, or if you have bipolar disorder. Cymbalta may worsen a type of glaucoma or the control of blood sugar in some patients with diabetes
* about your alcohol use
* if you are taking nonprescription or prescription medicines, including those for migraine, to address a possible life-threatening condition
* if you are taking NSAID pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners. Use with Cymbalta may increase bleeding risk
* if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant during therapy, or are breastfeeding an infant

While taking Cymbalta, talk with your healthcare provider:

* if you have itching, right upper belly pain, dark urine, yellow skin/eyes, or unexplained flu-like symptoms, which may be signs of liver problems. Severe liver problems, sometimes fatal, have been reported
* if you have high fever, confusion, and stiff muscles to address a possible life-threatening condition
* before stopping Cymbalta or changing your dose
* if you experience dizziness or fainting upon standing, especially when first starting Cymbalta or when increasing the dose
* about your blood pressure. Cymbalta can increase your blood pressure. Your healthcare provider should check your blood pressure prior to and while taking Cymbalta
* if you experience headache, weakness, confusion, problems concentrating, memory problems, or feel unsteady while taking Cymbalta which may be signs of low sodium levels
* if you develop problems with urine flow

If you have any questions, talk to your healthcare provider before taking Cymbalta.
What are the possible side effects of Cymbalta?

The most common side effect of Cymbalta was nausea. Other common side effects included dry mouth, sleepiness, constipation, decreased appetite, and, increased sweating. This is not a complete list of side effects.
Other safety information about Cymbalta:

Cymbalta may cause sleepiness and dizziness. Until you know how Cymbalta affects you, you should not drive a car or operate hazardous machinery.

Please read additional Safety Information and Boxed Warning for a complete list.


http://www.cymbalta.com/learnaboutcymbalta/importantsafetyinformation.jsp

[dysfunctional press]

27. and what are ALL the POSSIBLE side-effects from pot and alcohol...?

cymbalta is at a disadvantage, because as a legal medication, it's required to have the safety-warning sheet.

'alcohol' and 'pot' aren't, so they don't, so it's not really a fair comparison. :shrug:

[roody]

40. Pot --- 100% non-toxic eom

[dysfunctional press]

42. that doesn't mean that there aren't possible 'side effects' on other body systems.

and alcohol is toxic- it's a poison.

[dysfunctional press]

9. i prefer both. with an adderall chaser.

but pot alone doesn't do anything for me, dream-inducementwise.

[alfredo]

14. The Kroger brand of sleep aid gives great dreams too. Yeah, pot helps me

sleep, but now that I'm on SS, I can't afford it.

[laylah]

21. How demeaning and diminishing...

this person is in real pain, real LIFE pain with what is going on. Cymbalta my A$$! He deserves to be heard and his pain, real and imagined, acknowledged!

[dysfunctional press]

22. then look him up and acknowledge him...

maybe the op can even point you in the right direction...? :shrug:

[amborin]

11. where's the outrage? why is it OK to slap a tax on a midd class necessity, but

unacceptable to tax those making $250K and more?

[midnight]

31. I think those creating this tax want us to stop pouting.... They want us to

continue enjoying our second class route through life... But you nailed exactly why everyone should say no to taxing our health care-it's a necessaity.....

[pansypoo53219]

16. campaign bribes(donations)

public funded campaigns is the ONLY answer.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. The non-med approach is milk plus turkey

Cream of turkey soup is an excellent sleep aid.

There's also a supplement available in health food stores that is the precursor to L-Tryptophan. I can't remember what it's called, but I've used it, and it always brings on vivid but not unpleasant dreams.

[InkAddict]

28. That would be 5-HTP - it brings on vivid dreams

Melatonin, Kava Kava, and Valerian root are also "natural" sleep aids taken before bedtime and/or help with anxiety. St John's Wort and B vitamins thwart mild depression for some folks.

[Oilwellian]

44. I was going to recommend Valerian Root as well

Many years ago I went through an extremely stressful time and used Valerian Root & Catnip tea to calm my anxiety and help me sleep. It worked like a charm.

[MilesColtrane]

18. I've got news for him.

You still have to pay taxes if you play music for a living.

I've known too many people who have tried that.

The IRS WILL find you eventually and extract what you owe them, plus interest and penalties.

[Roland99]

19. But imagine if enough people DID stop paying taxes. Like 20-30% of the population

Everyone sets their W-4 to "Exempt". The Federal gov't loses a massive portion of its revenue stream.

But, we all know the first things to go will be the social programs. The military/defense beast won't be touched. Oh no. Can't have that.

[Roland99]

20. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)

This just seems to fit so well today.




Darkness at the break of noon
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child's balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon
There is no sense in trying.

Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn
Suicide remarks are torn
From the fool's gold mouthpiece
The hollow horn plays wasted words
Proves to warn
That he not busy being born
Is busy dying.

Temptation's page flies out the door
You follow, find yourself at war
Watch waterfalls of pity roar
You feel to moan but unlike before
You discover
That you'd just be
One more person crying.

So don't fear if you hear
A foreign sound to your ear
It's alright, Ma, I'm only sighing.

As some warn victory, some downfall
Private reasons great or small
Can be seen in the eyes of those that call
To make all that should be killed to crawl
While others say don't hate nothing at all
Except hatred.

Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Made everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It's easy to see without looking too far
That not much
Is really sacred.

While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have
To stand naked.

An' though the rules of the road have been lodged
It's only people's games that you got to dodge
And it's alright, Ma, I can make it.

Advertising signs that con you
Into thinking you're the one
That can do what's never been done
That can win what's never been won
Meantime life outside goes on
All around you.

You lose yourself, you reappear
You suddenly find you got nothing to fear
Alone you stand with nobody near
When a trembling distant voice, unclear
Startles your sleeping ears to hear
That somebody thinks
They really found you.

A question in your nerves is lit
Yet you know there is no answer fit to satisfy
Insure you not to quit
To keep it in your mind and not fergit
That it is not he or she or them or it
That you belong to.

Although the masters make the rules
For the wise men and the fools
I got nothing, Ma, to live up to.

For them that must obey authority
That they do not respect in any degree
Who despise their jobs, their destinies
Speak jealously of them that are free
Cultivate their flowers to be
Nothing more than something
They invest in.

While some on principles baptized
To strict party platform ties
Social clubs in drag disguise
Outsiders they can freely criticize
Tell nothing except who to idolize
And then say God bless him.

While one who sings with his tongue on fire
Gargles in the rat race choir
Bent out of shape from society's pliers
Cares not to come up any higher
But rather get you down in the hole
That he's in.

But I mean no harm nor put fault
On anyone that lives in a vault
But it's alright, Ma, if I can't please him.

Old lady judges watch people in pairs
Limited in sex, they dare
To push fake morals, insult and stare
While money doesn't talk, it swears
Obscenity, who really cares
Propaganda, all is phony.

While them that defend what they cannot see
With a killer's pride, security
It blows the minds most bitterly
For them that think death's honesty
Won't fall upon them naturally
Life sometimes
Must get lonely.

My eyes collide head-on with stuffed graveyards
False gods, I scuff
At pettiness which plays so rough
Walk upside-down inside handcuffs
Kick my legs to crash it off
Say okay, I have had enough
What else can you show me?

And if my thought-dreams could be seen
They'd probably put my head in a guillotine
But it's alright, Ma, it's life, and life only.

[Dr.Phool]

32. One of my all time favorites.

Along with "Subterranean Homesick Blues".

And I prefer that Russian sleep aid. Stolichnaya.

[hfojvt]

33. sounds like he's gone off the deep end

because he couldn't find a pill to make him happy. Also that constant contact with your cynicism has lead to a degree of contamination.

[Roland99]

34. Thanks for your insight

Related to Bill Frist, perhaps?

[Dr.Phool]

35. Well, now we know what's the matter with Kansas.

[hfojvt]

37. people who live in the state that gave the world George W. Bush

and Jeb Bush, Senator Nelson and Charlie Crist, probably shouldn't throw stones.

[hfojvt]

36. not that I know of

Just Humphrey Bogart, Thomas Edison, Sigourney Weaver, The Wright Brothers, Frederick Law Olmstead, Christian Herter, Norman Rockwell, Ulysses S. Grant, Timothy Dwight, Oliver Ellsworth, and FDR among others. But all of humanity is related at some point.

[emsimon33]

38. Probably best that he not count on the stability of the dollar either

Neither the Republicans or the Democrats care anything for this nation or its people. They are self-serving whores to the corporations and the power elite.

We are watching the end of the American era. In a few years we will be little better off that Haiti.

[truedelphi]

39. This is such a nightmare era.

And in the end the neo Nazis will be back in and these will seem like the good old days.

Somewhere in an alternate universe, Lynn Woolsey (Dem, House of Reps, Marin County CA) is president and Dennis is the Secretary of State.

I wish someone would invent the machine to get us to that alternate universe - that is possibly the only way we will ever see real "Change we can believe in."

[emsimon33]

41. We need a third party that represents the people

The Democrats, except for the few that you mentioned, sure don't represent the people or even what is best for the country.

[Locrian]

43. how old is he?

And has he ever had his hormone levels (cortisol, dhea, testosterone) checked? And thyroid?

If he's been stressed and sleep deprived I can pretty much guarantee you those are at least some of the issues. But good luck finding a decent doctor who knows shit about it. Better to consult with a pharmacy, especially a local or compounding one. They know who all the doctors are who proscribe the stuff. Good luck.