Nurses for Human Rights

1. Mental disorders are diagnosed by a list of behaviors and feelings. No objective medical tests exist that can detect a mental disorder–no brain scan, no blood test, no chemical imbalance test.
2. Psychiatric disorders are defined in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Of the 170 panel members who wrote the manual, 95 (56%) had one or more associations with pharmaceutical companies. One hundred percent of the members on the panels that defined “Mood Disorders” and “Schizophrenia” and “Other Psychotic Disorders” had financial ties to drug companies.
3. Per the FDA, the side effects of psychiatric drugs include mania, psychosis, depression, suicidal thoughts and death.
4. Medical professionals can perform medical tests to detect any potential underlying physical cause of unwanted mental health symptoms.

If ever there was a fraudulent medical practice, psychiatry’s biologic theory of mental disorders is one of the biggest in the history of mankind.

The New York Times reports that they find that Foster Children are more likely to be placed on psychotropics then the average child in our society. While this may seem reasonable to most nurses, following the belief that all children in foster homes are traumatized by the ordeal and such, I offer this viewpoint instead. Every psychotropic used on our children is off-label. It would be hard to find one of these children exhibiting schizophrenia or bipolar behaviors. Noted Psychiatrist and Human Rights Advocate Dr. Peter Breggin states in The Huffington post, “Now there is a Government Accounting Office (GAO) report confirming that foster children in five states — Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon and Texas — are receiving shocking amounts of psychiatric drugs. In the words of ABC News, they are “being prescribed psychiatric medications at doses higher than the maximum levels approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in these five states alone. And hundreds of foster children received five or more psychiatric drugs at the same time despite absolutely no evidence supporting the simultaneous use or safety of this number of psychiatric drugs taken together.” The ABC News report shows one 7-year-old holding a bag filled with 13 psychiatric medications that she had taken.”
It always surprises me that my fellow nurses agree to such things as this by administering meds off-label and condoning damaging treatment. It does not matter how many “reasons” you justify what you are doing, it is flat-out wrong to condone injurious therapies. Get a back bone and protest with us here.

Great article form the Seattle Times on prescription drugs causing denials of employment. Even when ligit, employers are becoming aware that some prescriptions can predispose workers to lowered performance. I would include psychiatric drugs under this as well. At least to the point they alter someones view and connection to reality, as reported by many, many survivors who say that they never felt themselves while on SSRIs or Antipsychotics and felt removed from the real world. Maybe this trend to medicating anybody and everybody willy nilly will finally have more of an economic effect on the users. Just my opinion…

I never have to wonder what would happen if the mental health system we have today was allowed to do whatever it wanted to in the already infiltrated fields of education and juvenile justice systems. We already know what creating disorders like ADHD does to our “special needs” kids and the Federal Monies that flow into our public education system. Considering themselves the experts in criminality, sought for expert opinions on human behavior in the courts, and having delivered into their care the miscreants of our society, we see the following trend. In the Miami Herald, reporter Fred Grimm investigates and reports the alarming amount of off-label use of anti-psychotics and anti-depressants on the children held by the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). This inflow of staggering costs for anti-psychotics are being prescribed by the psychiatrist already identified as being on the pharmaceutical companies “guest speakers” list and have received substantial personal income for supporting their use. Conflict of interest? Read Fred Grimm’s article and draw your own conclusions. Human Rights protect us from enslavement and the right to our own minds and thoughts without outside intervention in those processes. Drugs have never cured anyone of criminality. They are being used to sedate and manage active children with energy better directed in positive areas.

Autism came into public attention in the 1940’s when Dr. Leo Kanner announced he discovered a new childhood disease. The incidence of autism was rare. By the 1960’s and 70’s, 4500 new cases were diagnosed every year. Today it is estimated 1 in 150 children (2009) are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum. A new case is diagnosed every 20 minutes in the US – 24,000 new cases a year. Currently there exists no test by blood work, x-ray, or neurologic mapping that can give an MD the objective evidence qualifying a diagnosis of Autism. The diagnosis is applied based on the common behavior changes seen in children within their development.
Most autistic children are identified by daycare and school personnel who are educated in knowing what to look for. Given a referral, they end up seeing a specialist to get a complete diagnosis. Many of the symptoms of autism can be mistaken for mental health symptoms, such as social aloofness or compulsive behaviors. While the education system supports the medical model of treatment, frequently none of the alternative viewpoints to autism are offered or even known by caretakers and educators of children.
Treating autism has become an international debate. While many drugs are prescribed to autistic children, none are directly used to resolve the condition. They are given to treat the symptoms and behavior manifestations associated with the label, similar to how mental illness is treated by pharmaceuticals. The symptoms of Autism have been defined in psychiatry’s DSM IV since 1994. Most of these drug therapies are psychotropic’s used to manage behavior. Controversies in using these powerful drugs and their known side effects make decision-making for parents tough.
Many families have been dissatisfied with modern medical models in treating their children. Because it is patterned by the behavior modification system popularized by psychology and drug intervention similar to psychiatry, it becomes too closely related to mental illness for the parents comfort. Parents have asked for more research and better alternatives to helping their children.

Dr. Thomas Myers is a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine in Wesley Chapel, FL. He has been practicing chiropractic natural healing methods for ten years. He spent just over five years in Lima, Peru before setting up in Florida. He’s also a Certified Athletic Trainer for the past seventeen years and maintains that certification today. His extensive training and experience gives him a unique viewpoint as to how the body should be working in order to perform at its highest level.
Along with his advanced chiropractic training, he is also trained in the Defeat Autism Now (Autism Research Institute) protocols, a set of assessment tools and interventions that create dramatic changes in the autistic spectrum of symptoms. His practice sees about 100 patients a week and he concentrates on children and childhood conditions. He has seen tens of thousands of patients over the last ten years and finds similar difficulties in today’s children. He finds and treats people with the following conditions:
1. Biological Toxins (i.e., mold and Lyme)
2. Environmental Toxins (i.e. herbicides, pesticides, and household cleaners)
3. Heavy Metals (i.e., mercury and lead)
4. Diet and nutrition
5. Lack of exercise
6. Physical alignment and postural issues
There are also trends he has noticed over the last ten years, “The trends that concern me are numerous. We are seeing diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc in younger and younger individuals. These diagnoses used to be reserved for individuals in their 50’s and 60’s; then that age decreased to 20’s and 30’s. Now they are showing up in our kids by the time they are teenagers, if not before.”
“Anytime the body malfunctions, there is a neurological component present; therefore, we work to restore it to the highest and best possible state of being. Let’s not forget, our body is very intelligent and wants to be healthy if given the chance. We just need to help restore it to the best state possible, and the body takes care of the healing.”
“By virtue of my training, I am able to treat the nervous system and neurological issues by accessing the spine. Both children and adults have seen a tremendous increases in psychotropic drugs, and this has been shown to frequently have worse side effects than the actual illness being treated.”
“I do believe this is accurately called a developmental disability, but in my opinion, is one that is acquired, and has a solution which does not necessarily require pharmaceuticals. In fact, our approach is completely natural, and has been found to have incredible results.”
It has become clear on researching autism on the many informative websites throughout the Internet that Autism is complex and requires someone who has the full overview of what can go on with a child in order to be effective in treating this syndrome. Someone who practices only psychiatry sees the problem only from the viewpoint of management of symptoms and loses the value of all other research and findings from both educational and alternative health means. For this reason, a practitioner such as Dr. Myers is able to pull from the best known assessment tools and interventions to help the parents treat the whole child, not just the behaviors.
“We use x-rays, highly-specialized laboratory testing, physical examination, and system evaluations. We have an online system review that can be accessed via our website. This will help us evaluate 14 different body systems of both, children and adults. It contains approximately 280 questions and takes roughly 15-20 minutes to complete.”
Dr. Myers doesn’t even really need a “label” for these childhood developmental difficulties to help these affected children. This viewpoint is what creates opportunities for healing. While his skill set includes manual manipulation of spine, if needed, to assist the nerve pathways and provide better health, his use of nutrition, exercise, rehabilitation, and dietary supplements allows him to treat the whole person in front of him.
“We have found that when these individuals’ bodies begin to balance, many health issues seem to just disappear as the body heals. We have also found that the earlier an individual can begin, the better the outcome, and the better the chance of full reversal.” This concept is echoed in all the treatment modalities for autism. The sooner it is discovered, the better the outcomes once treatments are begun.
“This process of healing has also been shown to require a family involvement (which is often the case with these health issues), and success is completely based on the dedication and consistency of the family, and compliance of the patient. Give me someone who is dedicated to the protocols and the time required for healing, and I will show you amazing successes.”
“We commonly see children and adults undergo treatments for many psychological issues which simply don’t respond favorably, or they begin responding, then the treatments stop working. This ends up turning into a method of what we like to call “Try Therapy”. Try this, and then try that… I am certain many of you have seen this in the treatment of many of today’s “illnesses.” The problem is that oftentimes these “illnesses” are, in my opinion, normal responses to a deeper imbalance of the body which, when left untreated, will only continue the current symptoms, cause new symptoms, and/or cause the current treatment to stop working. Perfect examples of this are the following two people with Autism.”
As a case history, Dr. Myers related this:
Take a young man age 18 who was previously treated using a popular form of alternative Autism treatment protocols. This young man is non-verbal, highly agitated, aggressive, impulsive, and has very jerky movements. The treatments stopped working, and they could get no further. We requested a lab test which demonstrated the specific areas being affected, created a specialized protocol and food plan especially for him, and after working for four weeks to balance his body, he began to respond by calming down, his jerky movements were more controlled, his agitation and aggression were decreased, and he began sleeping better at night. The change he has experienced in the early stages of his treatment has made an incredible difference in his family’s daily stress and ability to function. The next month, his speech therapist found him to be much less impulsive, more interactive, and even calmer. They also could not believe how much he had progressed in such a short period of time. Since he is even sleeping better, the entire family has benefited from his care! They are excited to see his continued improvement.
The second is an 8-year old boy who has severe Autism. He had been through many medications, therapies, treatments and doctors and was still unable to speak even a word. He could only grunt. His family decided that they initially wanted to add chiropractic care to see what difference working directly with his nervous system would make. After only ten visits, he began to formulate words, and gradually began putting words together like “Peanut Butter and Jelly,” and he began singing portions of songs. The family was absolutely thrilled as would be expected following 8-long years of silence! Since this is a recent case, everyone is looking forward to having him perform the specialized testing, and so begin the customized protocol.
A young woman who suffered from anxiety, depression, lack of energy, and a terrible rash in unmentionable areas had been to doctors across the county to solve her unstoppable issues. She had very little faith that we could offer anything different. After two specialized lab tests, we discovered the patient had severe imbalances in her neurotransmitters which are affecting the way her entire body is functioning. These neurotransmitters also play a direct part in the brain function and chemical equilibrium. After only one month of her personalized protocol, she felt happy, had energy and realized how her diet was affecting her skin and her attitude. We asked her to stop the protocol and the diet for the holidays before moving onto the next stage. Within 24 hours she called, begging to go back on it because she was woken up the previous night at 3 a.m. with a flaring rash, making her unable to walk; the anxiety and depression began to return and, on the day of the phone call, her energy level had plummeted. Once happily returning to her protocol and diet, she immediately saw great results.
The tests we run demonstrate exactly where the issues are, not where we believe them to be. This is the exact same method we use when treating people who are experiencing problems with depression, ADD, ADHD and a whole host of other problems. We test to see where the person’s system is out of balance, and work to stabilize that nutritionally. If we only treat the symptoms, which we do not believe in, we would reach the same outcome that so frequently happens. We reach a dead end, other issues begin to show up, and we fall into the ‘Try Therapy’ again.”
“Try Therapy” could be construed as experimenting. Children’s lives should not be a scientific experiment with uncertain outcomes. Parents need to be informed what a diagnosis of autism really means. They need to know that they have options and that there is hope and someone who can help.
“Imbalances in the body can cause emotional or mental distresses. We address these physiological imbalances to restore functionality and re-establish wellness.
Dr. Myers can be reached at World Class Chiropractic, 27732 Cashford Circle, Suite 101,
Wesley Chapel, FL 33544, phone number 813-973-8883. Websites can be found at: www.worldclassdc.com and www.autism.com
By Ken Thomas, RN

I had a family member who was an alcoholic (has sinced passed on). Alcohol made him feel “better” during the time he drank. He was very uncomfortable physically and emotionally when he wasn’t drinking. This prompted more drinking. Despite the evidence of liver damage, digestive damage, etc with alcohol consumption, he continued. Evidence came out that it caused changes in brain tissue. Changes, that is, for the worse. This did not sway him. It finally added to his demise.

I finally concluded, and this came from affirming my conclusion the more I worked with and around addicted people, that there is an element of self destruction, or suicidal intention, for those that I saw in this personal trap. I have no other explanation why someone would take a poison into their bodies on a routine basis until it killed them or produced a related illness that did kill them. At least not after they KNOW the facts of what it is doing to them and others.

But what happens to a culture of people who take such poisons despite the evidence that it harms them? Does our society really learn from it’s past mistakes? Let’s examine one such situations.

Britain’s The Independent has an article revealing that benzodiazepines causes brain damage over time. Author Nina Lakhani reports that the makers of Valium and Librium, the benzodiazepines I am most familiar with, had research pointing to this fact and this was stifled by those that did not want it known. This we find is what our Big Pharma’s do when they find adverse reactions and side effects that slow their sales of their drugs. This is not an exception. This is the Order of the Day for them. From the article itself:

“Catherine Hopkins, the legal director of Action against Medical Accidents, added: “The failure to carry out research into the effect of benzodiazepines has exposed huge numbers of people to the risk of brain damage. This research urgently needs to be carried out, and if the results confirm the suspicions of the 1981 expert group, it could lead to one of the biggest group actions for damages against the Government and the MRC ever seen in the courts.”

Initially advertised as completely harmless, benzodiazepines (“benzos”) were touted as the world’s first wonder drug in the 1960s. Within a decade they became the UK’s most commonly used medication.”

My point is that we have psychotropic drugs being prescribed everyday that do the same thing as the benzo’s. As a matter of fact, the advertising and literature pretty much spout the same message, “New Wonder Drug”, “Safe to Use”, “Minimal Side Effects”. We see the same reports for our SSRIs, ADHD, and Anti-psychotic drugs today. AND, as a society, we are ignoring the facts found and we continue to take them. So what does that mean? Is this the same intention as my self-destructive family member? Should I conclude that this is a suicidal intention on a societal basis? Or even more evil, should I conclude that it is justified and covertly a homicidal intention on the part of drug makers and prescribers? What do you think?

While nurses continue to serve billions of pharmaceutical chemicals to our patients to thwart heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and mental illness author Martha Rosenberg points out this one flaw in the money industry of Big Pharma – the drugs are a problem unto themselves. On the website AlterNet, 15 Dangerous Drugs Big Pharma Shoves Down Our Throats exposes what all nurses who give IV and Oral meds knows – the drugs we give create more problems for our patients. And in some cases, it’s what kills them prematurely. Let’s take one class of drug, the statins such as Lipitor and Crestor. We now know that statins create a condition of muscle wasting. In the elderly, that ‘s already a problem due to lack of exercise and nutritional inadequacies, but now we add more pronounced wasting and resultant aches and pains associated with it. What do we do? We get an PRN (as needed) analgesic with it’s own side effects. We get our elderly into a state of “poly pharmacy” whereby they take 8 to 15 different medications that all interact with each other.

Let’s take another example: Topomax, Lamictal and Lyrica. I have friends on Lyrica. Author Rosenberg points out, “Why would Americans take an epilepsy seizure drug for pain? The same reason they’ll take an antipsychotic for the blues and an antidepressant for knee pain: good consumer marketing. In August FDA ordered a warning for aseptic meningitis, or brain inflammation, on Lamictal — but it is still the darling of military and civilian doctors for unapproved pain and migraine. Lamictal also has the distinction of looting $51 million from Medicaid last year despite a generic existing.”

I have seen children prescribed psychotropics off label for behaviors attributed to mental illness but are essentially caused by either medical conditions or the ignorance of those that parent them. We are seeing children at earlier ages with elevated LDL levels. What’s the drug of choice? Statins. Obesity is rampant and we wonder why teens are depressed? We treat the depression, not the obesity or life styles that promote obesity. I think nurses should rethink the nursing models we operate from and look to really help our patients overcome the assault of mass media telling them that 1 in 5 people have a mental illness, that their obesity is not their fault, or ADHD is a real disease. It will take a revolution in nursing and an insistence for better outcomes for these patients.

One of my friends has a great blog devoted to scientific facts that relate to psychosis and mania induced by environmental elements. Now if the psychiatrist really want to be experts and exert their erroneous chemical imbalance of the brain theory, here’s is where they can make some headway. (no pun intended)

 Investigational mental illness.blogspot.com is a great resource on the ongoing evidence that your problem is in your brain BUT due to outside influences of known toxic substances and not neuro-chemical imbalances. Since that theory has never been proven and only hypothesized, we can pull out all the big pharma money and put it where it belongs -  in the detoxification and removal of harmful chemicals from the human body. Get that - not adding harmful chemicals to your seven year olds brain but removing them. Maybe grandma is going off her rocker…she’s toxic! What if you have symptomless lead or arsenic poisoning in your system and you’re depressed. What do you think will happen if you are given another toxic chemical called Zoloft and it ab-reacts to those hidden toxins? You might get a little agitated instead of sedated. You might also put your liver over it’s limit and die. That fact is actually happening. So, visit the blog and get some education. Scientist are on the right trail here and many clinics are offering chelated IV therapy for removal of substances in your body. Take advantage of it. Also check out Orthomolecular Nutrition at their website.

The UN has been contacted about the methods used by the Judge Rotenberg Center for their “treatment methods” to unresponsive children to regular therapy. The US Dept of Justice is also looking into their methods. What are those methods? Imagine putting an electrical stimulus device on your 5 year old. Whenever the 5 year old does something you don’t want them to do, it delivers a shock to their skin painful enough to deter them from the unwanted activity. Ouch, they won’t do that anymore, will they. Unfortunately, you’re talking about kids who have trouble controlling their compulsions to the point of being shocked up to 30 times a day. They wear these devices even in the shower and in bed. Over 30 Human Rights organizations have put their names on the document to the UN regarding what is equivalent to torture in my opinion. It’s not the only thing apparently they do to subvert unwanted behavior. They apparently lock them up for time out, restraints, and food deprivation. Seems psychiatry has not learned anything from their past. Punishing people for being mentally ill does not work. I reference the Industry of Death DVD from CCHR. I hope nurses and medical personnel decide NOT to participate in such things as obvious abuse tactics to other human beings. I only hope there are no nurses in this center or Nurse Practitioners who lend their professional techniques to abusive treatments. We do have a choice in what we do to for a living and there are many choices within nursing itself. We should boycott any such treatment.

It has become apparent that the handling of kids who are unruly or annoying with drugs is the new standard in our society. Parents are reaching for the medicine cabinet and dosing little Annie with cough syrup, antihistamines, adult prescriptions, and street drugs to quell the menacing activity a 3 year old can imbue into the environment. This article from CNN highlights just how pervasive this concept has become. With the wholesale labeling of unruly behavior with bipolar disorder, depression, and ADHD the psychiatric industry has given permission to parents to seek drugs as an answer to unwanted behavior. Instead of learning HOW to handle your kids, it’s far easier to drug them to alter their behavior. In the old days, when I was young, discipline was stronger and we learned what behaviors were acceptable and which were not. I did not suffer from being whacked in the arse when I attempted to stick my finger into the light socket. I found the consequences of the abrupt spank more pro-survival than the 110 volt shock I was about to receive. When I could reason better, I figured out for myself why we don’t do such things with electricity.

Nurses who treat or counsel parents have a responsibility to enlighted them on better alternatives to help their children. It’s about their human rights not to be abused with chemicals that can alter their thinking and emotional reactions in life. Unfortunately, some children die from the drugs they are given. They don’t get the chance of living a full life. Ignorance and apathy take that away from them. What do you think?

As more evidence comes forth, the mounting existence of environmental causes of ADHD symptoms should give us better ideas on treating our kids than with the harmful stimulants we offer them now. Researchers at the University of Montreal in Quebec have evidence that fruits and vegetables tainted with pesticides can undoubtedly cause symptoms attributable to the false label of ADHD, which is believed by psychiatry to be a chemical imbalance. Because there are no blood tests that can help a psychiatrist make such an absurd statement, or radiological study, to treat a child by over-stimulating them until they are calm with cocaine-like drugs because of a false idea does not take the responsibility of causing irreparable damage to young people’s nervous systems. Attorneys throughout the US and Canada are now finding success at litigating exposures to toxic chemicals upon individuals and I see that exposing children and the elderly to needless toxins called psych drugs is coming soon to a courtroom near you.

What also is alarming to find out is that 20% of high school kids are abusing drugs. That may not be surprising to people my age since we sort of started that fashion with marijuana and alcohol, the drugs the new generation is abusing are prescription drugs. Reporting earlier that Ritalin, Adderal, and Concerta have become the new gateway drugs for other drug use, we are finding that addictions and mis-use with these drugs are the drugs of choice now that so many students get mislabeled early in their school careers. School nurses need to be more effective in challenging the national trend of getting as many students on Learning Disability lists and “Exceptional Child” lists so their schools can enjoy the funds the Federal Government sends them to help with those kids. Legal Nurse Consultants should take up the banner and help their attorneys identify needles systemic drugging of children. Insist on testing them for toxins, heavy metal poisoning, and allergies before labeling with a chronic “disease” called ADHD. Let’s stop this madness.

Are you comfortable knowing that the medications your doctors prescribe for you may be influenced by what they hear at a lecture or seminar weekend from a pharmaceutical company paid speaker instead of your doctor’s own research and critical reading of the testing results of that drug? Well, apparently, that is what is happening in many cases in the Broward County, FL area. I would not be surprised if it was a national trend. Actually, I know it is.

Bob LeMendola wrote a great article in the South Florida Sun Sentinel  September 19th in which he describes how many of the MDs in his area are on the payroll for Big Pharma and are paid handsomely as consultants. It’s been a long standing practice for medical companies to sponsor speakers to talk about clinical advancements with new products and how best to achieve better outcomes for patients. I personally see nothing wrong in doing this type of education and product endorsement. As a matter of fact, I practice that in my current work environment. The standard I use to justify this type of education is “does it better significantly the outcome of the patient?” I want to know if that new embolectomy balloon really does clean out that artery better than the older types. Where’s the proof? How much testing was done and for how long? Any adverse effects with this style of balloon versus the older kind?

This, unfortunately, is not what pharmaceutical speakers hold as their thermometer. It is a fact pointed out on this blog and many others that our children are continuously assaulted by the newest ADHD drug or Depression drug of the day. Considering the science behind their assault is phoney and without evidence, as pointed about by Psychiatrist David Kaiser in the Psychiatric Times, you can expect your family doctor and your pediatrician to push drugs onto you and your family without really examining the evidence behind it. Just to illustrate what I’m saying, I know for a fact that young women, mostly single mothers, who are on the Medicaid Insurance system here in Florida are being offered anti-depressants and anti-anxiety prescriptions on about every visit to their Medicaid doctor. If you come into the office for an ulcer, you are offered anti-anxiety drugs. If you come in for chronic back pain, it’s an anti-depressant. Every senior in our nursing homes today has an added diagnosis of “anxiety” or “depression” onto their list of diseases they are being treated for. With no lab tests or radiographic confirmation that they have a mental illness or disease called mental illness. It’s one of the biggest scams in modern history and it’s being pushed onto the public without our knowing it. Tell me, fellow nurses, Legal Nurse Consultants, and healthcare providers, is this ethical?