Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher

by Gwen Olsen

  Sleep deprivation is as much a precursor to manic episodes as it is a result of them. Because I know that and because I have an ever lingering fear of becoming manic, I’m very protective of my sleep. I am very picky, in particular, about my sleeping environment, for example, mattress, room temperature, darkness, soundproofing, and so forth. Sleep is a sacred ritual for me. I wind down every evening with a warm aromatherapy bath or shower (this assists the body temperature to drop more quickly and helps you fall asleep), listen to soothing music, take herbal supplements to help me relax about an hour before bedtime (Gaia Herbs makes an excellent formulation called Sound Sleep), and conclude my day with meditation and prayer. If I am really caught up in the monkey chatter going on in my head, I make a “to do” list of all the day’s unfinished business in order to release the burden of remembering it until the next day. Then, I write down a list of the day’s frustrations or challenges and the people who have hurt or angered me in some way. One by one, I consciously release them all with love. Finally, I make a list of the things I am grateful for and do an Om meditation to quiet and clear my mind and expand that feeling of gratitude. By the time I’m finished, I am generally centered enough to relax and achieve a deep and restful night’s sleep.

  I have found these natural rituals and therapies to be much more beneficial to my health than taking prescription hypnotic sedatives that are known to be highly addicting. One cautionary note: Melatonin is another popular natural sleep remedy, but melatonin has been known to induce mania in some susceptible individuals.

  If you like to walk or exercise and, hopefully, you do, try to do so as early as possible. Exercise starts my engine, so to speak, and it generally is not a good idea for me to do it too late in the day. It can delay my ability to fall asleep. If I fail to have any other time except the evening to incorporate exercise, I skip the aerobic exercise. Instead, I do a few gentle yoga poses designed to relax the body and mind and stretch the spine and musculature.

  What the Real SAD Public Awareness Campaign Should Be About

  Unfortunately, because no particular industry is able to capitalize on the profits of improved health and longevity, there is very little incentive to inform the public about the impact the Standard American Diet has on our health and well- being. The acronym for the American diet is very appropriate, SAD. There has been an explosion of type 2 diabetes diagnosed in our nation over the past decade. Currently, more than 16 million Americans suffer from diabetes, and another 24 million are said to have preclinical diabetes. More tragically, the average age of onset with type 2, which used to be called adult-onset diabetes, has drastically decreased. Where once type 1 (or juvenile diabetes) was the only type of diabetes seen in children, children are now being diagnosed with type 2 every day in the United States (Abramson 228-230).

  This is due in no small part to the nutritionally depleted American diet that consists largely of processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and cholesterol-laden fats in toxic quantities. The lack of whole fresh foods, particularly fruits and vegetables, and the consumption of massive amounts of additives and sugar has exhausted our adrenals, weakened our immune systems, and set us up metaboli- cally for chronic fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, diabetes, obesity, allergies, depression, attention deficit disorder, cardiovascular disease, and many other diseases.

  The brain is a finely tuned instrument that cannot function without the proper fuel and environment for neuronal transmission. Many micronutrients are needed for the brain and the central nervous system to work optimally. Many of those nutrients must be derived from foods, because the body cannot manufacture them itself. Most of us do not consume the seeds, berries, fish, and other marine life that supply these essential nutrients for our brain. Therefore, not only do we consume too many of the wrong things, but we do not eat enough of the right things either! These micronutrients are the building blocks for health and mental well-being. Without these building blocks, our bodies and minds are unable to adapt to the stressors we encounter in our environment. The result may be aberrant behavior or physical illness that can be directly linked to metabolic and subsequent brain malfunction caused by poor nutrition.

  Poor dietary habits run in cultures and, therefore, in families. Children who live on cereal, Pop-Tarts, potato chips, bologna sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, soda pop, and candy bars and families who get their meals carried in or at the fast-food drive-up window are the norm in America, not the exception. We are creating our own nutritional nightmare. We are one of the wealthiest, developed nations on the planet, and we are malnourished. According to the World Health Organization, we have more health problems and worse health outcomes than many underdeveloped, impoverished nations. Now that is sad!

  Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Phenomenal Brain Food

  I would be remiss not to mention the groundbreaking discovery made by the Harvard researcher, Dr. Andrew Stoll, in the utilization of Omega-3 essential fatty acids in the treatment of a variety of psychiatric disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and even violence. In his book, The Omega-3 Connection, Dr. Stoll convincingly takes us through the history and evolution of man and his diet and shows us how altering our once abundant, natural consumption of fish, crustaceans, and other sea life has halted our evolution as a species. We are deficient in the single nutrient most responsible for a healthy brain and body, Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids fall into the category of polyunsaturated fats. These fats are very good for us when they’re not highly processed or overheated. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in cold-water fish, soybeans, organic eggs, almonds, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, flaxseed, and their oils.

  Plenty of clinical data substantiates the benefit of Omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment and prevention of Crohn’s disease, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Dr. Stoll’s research on the treatment of bipolar disorder with Omega-3 fatty acids was published in 1999 in the Archives of General Psychiatry. His research concluded that Omega-3 fatty acids have remarkable therapeutic value in the treatment of bipolar illness, even the most chronic, resistant cases (Stoll 23).

  A very recent scientific study conducted by Oxford University’s department of physiology appeared in the American Journal of Pediatrics in May 2005. The study found that forty percent of children made dramatic improvements in reading and spelling when taking Omega-3 supplements. The data also showed a significant improvement in concentration and behavior. Symptoms often associated with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder were reduced significantly, usually as much as would be anticipated with a prescription drug such as Ritalin. Although no specific data about other health improvements was published in the study, it did mention that parents had reported improvements with other health problems such as eczema and asthma as well (Lawrence).

  Results of this research validate the suspicions of parents and teachers everywhere. Children’s diets are inadequate for their basic development needs. The average American junk food diet and our approach to the treatment of children’s behavior disorders with addictive stimulants is the ultimate closet abuse of our nation’s children.

  Knowledge Is Power: Learn to Speak Medical-ese

  If you have a chronic illness (or are the primary caretaker of a loved one with a chronic illness) that requires you to have frequent interaction with doctors and other medical personnel, learn their language. Improving communication can minimize your risk. Don’t be intimidated by your provider’s medical vocabulary. Learn it! Enter your diagnosis into any Internet search engine, and read to your heart’s content. If you don’t have a computer, access one at your local school or library. You can also buy books on the subject to gain additional insight and exposure to medical terminology.

  Armed with the knowledge gained from a little research, you will feel more confident and comfortable asking questions. You will also be better capable of comprehending your doctor’s findings and treatment plan. Once you learn to communicate with your health care profession
als, you can partner in your healing and health maintenance process rather than blindly submit to the mandates of others. Don’t be afraid to speak out, ask questions, or, if necessary, challenge authority! Nobody knows your body better than you. Ultimately, you will pay the health consequences for errors in diagnosis and treatment, as well as the hefty financial bill.

  I know many wonderful doctors whom I admire and respect, but they are just men and women like you and me. They have specialized skills and education and speak a language specific to their trade, but so do lawyers, plumbers, mechanics, accountants, and computer programmers, among others. I can’t stress enough that MD does not stand for “medical deity.” Doctors are people, not Gods! They have human motivations and weaknesses. They are fallible. They make mistakes. And as I have just shown you, they are often deliberately misinformed by enterprising pharmaceutical companies and their representatives.

  Find a Spiritually-based Support Network

  If your network of immediate family and friends does not provide the emotional support you need, involve yourself in a spiritual network, community, or church. Relationships we choose with healthy, like-minded individuals are much more rewarding than those dysfunctional ones we retain out of a sense of obligation or guilt. It is important to surround yourself with compassionate, caring people that empower rather than impede your life and growth process. Rod and I have found our church and clergy to be a wonderful source of strength, advice, support, education, and spiritual resources in times of marital difficulties and personal challenge.

  Herbal Medicinal Alternatives

  My transition into sales and management in the natural foods industry these past five years has been another eye-opening experience. It has given me an education on various supplements, herbs, and vitamins. Probably the most important thing I have learned is how closely medicinal herbs mimic pharmaceutical activity in the human body, especially when those herbs are standardized isolates from a total plant compound.

  For example, when I was still selling statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs), the pharmaceutical industry was lobbying the FDA to have a natural red yeast rice product, Cholestin, pulled from the market. The reason given was that Cholestin was so effective in lowering cholesterol that it performed like a pharmaceutical in the body. So, the industry’s argument was that Cholestin should have been classified as a drug and subjected to all the clinical testing and rigors required by such. The industry’s lobby was successful, and the FDA agreed. Cholestin was pulled from the market, effectively removing yet another competitor and natural alternative to the pricey, toxic pharmaceuticals currently used to lower cholesterol.

  Consumers often take for granted, even though herbs may be a more natural approach to healing, there are also risks of adverse reactions and drug interactions, just like there are with pharmaceuticals. It is important to inform your health care provider about all of the remedies (prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, herbs, vitamin supplements, and so forth) you are taking in order to avoid unnecessary reactions.

  There are many excellent herbal alternatives to prescription pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, a few bad apples have given the natural health industry a black eye. As with anything else, buyer beware! Do your homework before purchasing herbal products. Find out who the reputable companies are. The supplement industry is self-regulated, and quality varies significantly from manufacturer to manufacturer.

  My last employer, Gaia Herbs, makes liquid extracts and vegetarian phytocaps utilizing a full spectrum standardization process of each plant compound. This allows the natural buffers of the plant to remain in balance with other standardized components. Gaia Herbs is a pharmaceutical-grade, GMP-certified facility that manufactures exceptionally high quality medicinal herbs for retail trade and naturopathic physicians. It is one of the few companies in the United States that still produce kava kava, my current herbal aid in the ongoing battle against anxiety.

  When given justice, the scope and depth of the information about alternative treatments for depression and other psychiatric illnesses, including herbs, is a book in and of itself. So, because of the urgent nature of this information, I will not delay publication of this book to include it. I will, however, write a sequel that addresses beneficial herbs and other natural therapies for mental wellness.

  CONCLUSION

  SO, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE TRUTH?

  “Truth has no special time of its own. Its hour is now—always.”

  —Albert Schweitzer

  I don’t know if people are becoming more educated about bipolar illness and, therefore, more people are getting diagnosed because of increased awareness, but there has definitely been an increase in recent years in the number of people who either know someone who is bipolar or have themselves been diagnosed with the disorder. When I was growing up, hardly anyone I talked to had ever heard of it before. I would go to great lengths to try to explain the family defect.

  Now, bipolar disorder appears to be the latest diagnostic vogue in psychiatry. Headlines scream of increases in the mentally ill. An article in the Austin American Statesman cited a seventy-nine percent increase in mental health diagnoses in twenty Austin-area hospitals and health clinics from 2003 to 2004. In Texas, this was due in part to the shuffling of the mentally ill from inpatient to outpatient settings and the budget cuts ordered by Gov. Perry in community mental health centers (Ball). However, this mental health dilemma is not unique to Texas.

  Mental illness diagnoses are on the rise nationally, as evidenced by the massive increase in psychiatric drugs sold in the United States. Is it really mental illness that is on the rise? Could there be a correlation with the increase of mental symptoms and the increased use of antidepressants and other psychoactive drugs? Remember, any psychiatric drug can induce the symptoms it is designed to treat in many people.

  Is the American medical community creating new chronically ill mental patients with excessive prescribing of psychoactive drugs? Does the American diet have a causal relationship along with these drugs in the explosion of diabetes in our population? Is the pharmaceutical industry fueling this psychiatric diagnostic frenzy, thereby perpetuating the problem with public awareness campaigns and direct-to-consumer advertising that sends us clamoring into the doctor’s office requesting the latest magic pill to fix our mental angst, our aching back, our chronic fatigue, our sleeplessness, and our social anxiety? Are doctors receiving fair, balanced education on these drugs and their potential side effects?

  I can’t help but play a fantasy scene in my head of some ambitious product manager mocking a novice, Eli Lilly rep who might have posed the naive question, “Since initial clinical trials were only four to six weeks in duration, doesn’t that mean there could be increased risk associated with the long-term use of Prozac?” by pompously chuckling and responding, “Well, of course it does. But, luckily for those people, we have an excellent atypical antipsychotic in the pipeline called Zyprexa!”

  Just as a closing reminder and final food for thought on this subject, Zyprexa has been shown to cause diabetes, right? Well, luckily for its stockholders, Eli Lilly’s second-largest income is derived from its diabetes care products that grossed more than $2.61 billion in 2004 (Swiatek).

  My Personal Truth

  “Healing is of God in the end…Revelation may occasionally reveal the end to you, but to reach it the means are needed.”

  —A Course in Miracles

  In accepting personal responsibility for my own health, I have renewed hope in the future. Biopsychiatry had bashed those hopes into oblivion at one time, convincing me I was genetically damaged goods and would never be normal again without drugs. Had I completely succumbed to that diagnosis, I’m certain my outcome would have been different. It may take a redefinition of normal to say I beat the odds, but I have learned that psychiatry is highly subjective anyway. What may seem like eccentric behavior to some is defined as pathology by others. My goal is the same as Hippocrates, “do no harm” to anyone (including myself) and he
lp as many people as I can.

  I have found acceptance in being unique, at least with myself and in a community of like-minded individuals. With the love and support of my husband and son, I feel extremely blessed and humbly grateful for my life. I have redefined success as well. I feel more successful today than I ever have, even though I no longer have a lucrative, high-profile sales job, simply because I nol onger feel the need to impress anyone. I honor my spirit, listen to my heart, and try to always follow that gut feeling. I am very content to just “be” in the moment now. I take time to stop and smell the roses.

  After several of my acquaintances had read this book, they questioned how I had turned out so normal. I have to smile because I know some of them thought I may have included a few too many personal anecdotes about my life and strayed a little from the thesis. (Someone told me all authors tend to take that liberty.) However, all of the events I have written about, however seemingly irrelevant to my subject matter, had significance to me because of that very question: How did I turn out so normal, and why was I spared some of the more serious ramifications from my poor choices? These events further illustrated the answer to another question: What relevance did some of these things have in my development and final outcome?

  I have prayed about my life considerably and, in particular, about these questions. This is what I have received: I am not normal. I am special. All human beings are. I have special gifts, special talents, special sensitivities, special challenges, and a special calling. These things are all blessings. None should be misinterpreted as punishment or a curse that has been inflicted upon me. All are the result of my own choices. If I had not “lived” these things, I may never have found the capacity for compassion and forgiveness that has ultimately expanded my awareness and freed my wounded spirit.