Email from Jim Dobbin, MP to the Health Minister ahead of todays meeting.

http://www.appgita.com/index.php/2011/09/email-from-jim-dobbin-mp-to-anne-milton-parliamentary-under-secretary-of-state-for-public-health-05-september-2011/

MP Jim Dobbin has taken the step of setting a pretense for today's meeting with Anne Milton, Health Minister.  He has done his best to dissuade her from previous invalid conclusions and assessments made by former administrations.  He is hoping to clear the air and set forward only facts on this major health issue. 

This is perhaps on the biggest steps forward in this 50 year old campaign to raise awareness as well as resources for this major epidemic. 

Christopher

Christopher,

This is really important, thanks for sharing this. It sounds like Jim Dobbins doing everything he can about the issue of benzodiazepines. I hope the meeting goes well and they keep moving forward on this issue.

Thank you for the info, Christopher.

Patty  xo

:yippee:thanks Christopher!

What a great letter written by a great man . i just emailed him with thanks. If you care to why not cheer him on , his email is    dobbinj@parliament.uk

Jim Dobbins got back to me! Heres what he wrote:

Thanks for your kind words.I hope you have success with the tapering. Please write to your political representatives in the US and ask them to raise awareness of the problem.  I think it is a world wide problem that is causing harm globally because of the global pharmaceutical companies.

Best wishes

Jim Dobbin MP

I will do just that.....

IF you speak. YES..THEY WILL HEAR YOU! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Jim Dobbins got back to me! Heres what he wrote:

Thanks for your kind words.I hope you have success with the tapering. Please write to your political representatives in the US and ask them to raise awareness of the problem.  I think it is a world wide problem that is causing harm globally because of the global pharmaceutical companies.

Best wishes

Jim Dobbin MP

 

I will do just that.....

 

IF you speak. YES..THEY WILL HEAR YOU! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

what2do,

I emailed Jim Dobbin and he emailed me back too!!!

Thats WAY cool

Besides being a cool cat...

It seems like he may be the top voice on this issue.

we should fill his email box

Jim Dobbins got back to me! Heres what he wrote:

Thanks for your kind words.I hope you have success with the tapering. Please write to your political representatives in the US and ask them to raise awareness of the problem.  I think it is a world wide problem that is causing harm globally because of the global pharmaceutical companies.

Best wishes

Jim Dobbin MP

 

I will do just that.....

 

IF you speak. YES..THEY WILL HEAR YOU! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

what2do,

 

I emailed Jim Dobbin and he emailed me back too!!!

Well done guys.    Sometimes courage is as simple as writing an email.  Yes people do listen.  MP Jim Dobbin has listened to the plight of his people in the UK.  Now its time for our own to listen.  Here in the US.  Here is the caucus I intend to email on Monday. 

http://mhcaucus.napolitano.house.gov/contactus.html

Join me. 

Christopher

Whattodo,

I checked the APPGITA site that Christopher referenced when he started this thread and I haven't see anything new yet. You can keep checking.

Has there been any information put out there about the meeting?

Yes,  Here are the minutes from the meeting. 

http://www.appgita.com/index.php/2011/09/minutes-of-a-meeting-with-anne-milton-parliamentary-under-secretary-of-state-for-public-health-06-september-2011/

Keep in mind that this is not the first time they have met.  The following is an email from MP Dobbin to the PM regarding a previous meeting with the Health Minister last year.

http://www.benzo.org.uk/appg10l.htm

Christopher

I did it too. 

Great guys.  I just did as well. Let's see what comes of it. I'll try to find different congressional and senate members to email and I'll post them here.  Unfortunately, they tend to focus on their own constituents.  In fact, you can't even email some of them if you don't live in their state. 

Well I currently live in the Great State of Withdrawal and people are gonna have to hear about it......

Christopher

It would be nice to find ONE sympathetic ear and concentrate on that person. I had thought of Chris Dodd of Vermont (he really kicked butt on that torture issue) but I looked and hes not there anymore...

  And we need a specific agenda to push. I think our best bet is a "black Box" warning (better labeling) such as in the petition FDA-2010-P-0091 FDA-2010-P-0091.  This petition asks for

1.  Benzodiazepines should not generally be prescribed for more than two to four weeks.

2.  There is a potential to develop physical dependency after only one week of use.

3.  There is a risk of developing protracted withdrawal with use of these medications.

4.  Physical dependency and addiction are not the same, and require different treatments. 

5.  The newer benzodiazepines are much stronger than many doctors realize.

6.  The proper way to taper can be much longer than many doctors realize.

Additionally, they have asked that:

1.  A Black Box Warning is placed on this class of medication.

2.  Leaflets to patients are given with each Rx filled, revealing the above information.

3.  All medical providers are promptly notified of these changes

I have talked by email with the ones who are doing it just to make sure its still on . (since I decided to promote it) Theyre pretty sure but are checking and will get back to me.

I have pretty good letter made up that I can basically copy and paste which I can and have sent here and there but im kind of at my limit  of what else to do. It seems like we have a group here on this thread (and others) that wants to be pro active. How can we put this all together to make something happen?

Maybe im reaching too far but

I think it would be good to form a group with a plan of action.Any ideas Nicolette, Christopher,WiseWoman, stoneyco, whoopsie (cool name)

....my brain just froze..

Ok so here are my thoughts on this...

I agree with everything in the petition.  From what I understand, that amount of signatures on the petition was rather low.  I can understand this for I think most of us going through this wish to have a defined level of anonymity.  I think in withdrawal, many people are reserved because of what they are going through.  As for me,  I don't understand why a petition is needed to request that scientific fact be accepted by the medical community.  There is nothing pie in the sky in this petition.  It is not requesting a ban.  It simply says here are the facts that your peers, not in denial, have proven as fact.  Adhere to them.

I think the FDA feels that putting all that information on the patient might scare them from taking them at all.  I don't necessarily agree with this stance if in fact its truly the one they hold.  Remember, despite what benzos have done to us they are still needed in the medical community if nothing more then on a PRN use only.  There is no newer class of medication that is safer and more effective to use.  They haven't put the research into making one because most feel there isn't a problem with them. 

There are several fronts to this battle.  I believe doctor awareness and education is where the heart of the issue lies.  Regardless of what the labeling is changed to, if your doctor says to take something for a certain period of time, patients are going to follow the instructions of their doctors.  As we all have done.    I think contacting and petitioning the APA and other regulatory medical bodies might advance the issue.

Next there is the Legislative Branch.  I find it disappointing yet not surprising that an MP of another country responds to his emails regarding this issue while I can't get a secretary of one of our own members of congress to send me a rubberstamped thank you for the correspondence email.  I do feel though that there can be more done on this front as well.

Before you take on a cause it's best to be informed about what's already been done. There is so much benzo related information on the internet, it's overwhelming.  Sifting your way through it, you will find a lot of abandoned similar approaches.  There are a lot of websites that no longer exist but in name.  Others that started a campaign but seemed to have suddenly stopped as the last updates were years ago.  It's like walking into a home that was suddenly abandoned decades ago.  It's really hard to figure out what took place.

Support groups number into the hundreds, scattered throughtout Yahoo, Facebook, and free standing ones like BB.  Many of them are also no longer active.  I do believe we are scattered and there is no unifying central hub.  However, that makes sense as too many people on one support group might be overwhelming and people would not get the personalized attention they need.

In my opinion, the vast majority of those going through Benzo W/D just want to get through it and move on with their lives.  For many this is the worst part of their lives and the faster they can put it in the rearview, the better.  I wish this was the case with me but it's not.  I just want the stuff to not be prescribed longer then a week to people.  I want the number of new accidental addicts to become zero. The rest of us will heal. It's the 19 year old that just filled his or her first script that motivates me.  There is nothing wrong with this kid, save for the fact that they have nobody to tell them that.  So they fill the script and believe based on a couple of charts that they have a condition and the Benzos will make it go away.  I was that 19 year old and that was what I was led to believe.  Every other facet of Science including the Medical field has evolved in 12 years, why hasn't this one?

Christopher

Everyone PLEASE NOTE...I made a mistake in my post that read "only 75 peeps have signed the petition"  I got in touch with the ones who are in charge of it and they have told me that about 400 have signed (77 ..was 75...is the VISIBLE comments, They wrote us an informative email and you can read it herehttp://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=38023.0

Christopher...youre a real champion! your posts here have inspired me to start emailing officials (and trying to find sympathetic ears) with a new vigor. Im going to keep looking and maybe try the state level.

I agree that... quote:It's like walking into a home that was suddenly abandoned decades ago.  It's really hard to figure out what took place.

My response to that theres peeps from differrent sites that are involved in this struggle who may not even post here but are listening and getting ideas and motivation from each other so its networking itself in a way.

(did I say that right)

Lets just keep talking

Great attitude and well done 

I do believe there is momentum in this.  Every day more and more people join this group with similar stories.  Every day there are thousands of scripts written.  This cannot be allowed to continue. 

The lack of silence makes you the majority

Christopher

Hi All,

Thanks for all the information and your proactive attitudes.  I do believe that there should be a concerted effort to bring attention to this subject.  I don't know how much luck we'd receive from our senators and congressmen, most of them have received donations from big pharm.  Christopher, as far as getting responses, my brother has emailed to his represenatives a couple of times on unrelated matters and never got any response back.  I think this is par for the course.

I am trying to work as I heal so I feel my time is somewhat limited right now.  When I am not teaching I feel the need to rest up from the debilitating fatigue or try to get some mild exercise.  This is what I have done though.  I emailed "The Doctors" show.  I don't watch it but I thought maybe it would be a way to get some national exposure.  I did not get a response.  I looked on the Dr. Oz website but couldn't find a way to contact the show.  I was wondering about the AMA. The Journal of the American Medical Association website has a way to contact them with editorial ideas.  It will be well screened but worth a try.  I don't have time to look into that right now so maybe someone else can.

Lets keep up the fight to be heard.

pianogirl

OK I have to put something forward here that many may not agree with.  Benzos have been available in generic form for ages. I believe that while profits are still quite high, given 100 million scripts a year, they are not the lifeblood of the original manufacturers.  Any drug whose patent expires ultimately has several generic manufacturers making it.  I think that if there is any drug company influence now, it is more to prevent lawsuits then to protect revenue. 

That said, I do believe the original manufacturers did make massive profits in the early decades of benzos.  Furthermore, I do believe they played a role in the original studies of their dangers being covered up.  Especially the findings in 1982. 

In regards to politicians, I believe that they think this not a large problem and it's more abuse linked then anything else.  They are very much wrong.  The reason that APPGITA  is making headway in the UK is because of the Public Healthcare model.  The government is responsible for the costs of the health of the public.  When you have 1.5 million addicts, many of whom cannot work, it is a huge cost to the government.  Medicare in the US has a similar correlation as many seniors are being prescribed benzos or have been on them for years.  Medicare and Medicaid are a heavy cost to the American economy.  Matter of fact, on a percentage basis they cost more to the American economy then most European models cost to their economies. 

Since deficits and debt have been a hot topic in current affairs, I think that politicians would listen if we had a way of putting dollar figures on the cost of reckless benzo overprescribing.

Christopher

OK I have to put something forward here that many may not agree with.  Benzos have been available in generic form for ages. I believe that while profits are still quite high, given 100 million scripts a year, they are not the lifeblood of the original manufacturers.  Any drug whose patent expires ultimately has several generic manufacturers making it.  I think that if there is any drug company influence now, it is more to prevent lawsuits then to protect revenue. 

 

That said, I do believe the original manufacturers did make massive profits in the early decades of benzos.  Furthermore, I do believe they played a role in the original studies of their dangers being covered up.  Especially the findings in 1982. 

 

In regards to politicians, I believe that they think this not a large problem and it's more abuse linked then anything else.  They are very much wrong.  The reason that APPGITA  is making headway in the UK is because of the Public Healthcare model.  The government is responsible for the costs of the health of the public.  When you have 1.5 million addicts, many of whom cannot work, it is a huge cost to the government.  Medicare in the US has a similar correlation as many seniors are being prescribed benzos or have been on them for years.  Medicare and Medicaid are a heavy cost to the American economy.  Matter of fact, on a percentage basis they cost more to the American economy then most European models cost to their economies. 

 

Since deficits and debt have been a hot topic in current affairs, I think that politicians would listen if we had a way of putting dollar figures on the cost of reckless benzo overprescribing.

 

Christopher

I totally agree.

Patty  xo

Thats definitely a good angle to come from. im going to try and incorporate this into my letter writing.

thanks