Evan and I were here tonight to watch the Celtics beat the Wizards!

If you know me in "real life" you know that I have less faith in western medicine than the average american. This isn't for lack of knowledge or intelligence. Actually you could say that it's because of those things and experience with the alternative. I'm in the last few pages of the book Suffer the Children: the case against labeling and medicating and an effective alternative. If you work in any type of health care field you see how easy it is for drugs to be prescribed, especially to kids. While there is an argument that there are those rare cases that drugs are needed, there are far more times that they're not but given anyway. Why they are so readily given out is a topic for another day. The author of this book states in the last chapter something that made me stop dead in my reading tracks. "Antipsychotics are the single biggest drug expenditure for medicade. Medicade provides antipsychotic drugs free of charge to covered children.....Children on medicade are given antipsychotic drugs at a rate 4 times higher than children on private insurance." I don't know about you but that leaves me feeling ill and disappointed, yet again, in our "healthcare system."

Raw Truffles

Tonight's experiment? Raw truffles! After eating a few, I think I can say that they are a success. Super easy and yummy. I'm guessing they won't last long in my meeting tomorrow.

Upscale Pub Crawl

Yesterday afternoon/last night was spent enjoying a few different bar/restaurants in Boston. A friend of mine had friends in town who are looking to purchase real estate and wanted to check out different neighborhoods. They started int he Back Bay and I met up with them on the 2nd stop in the South End. Picco, our S. End stop is a great place for pizza (we had the roasted garlic) and a glass of wine. Then we headed to J.P. (Jamaica Plain) to Tres Gatos. Incredible wine/tapas bar that also has a used book store and record store in it. It's way more upscale than it might sound. The cheese plate with fresh honeycomb was amazing, not to mention my 2 different wine choices. The location is in an old house. There are only a couple of rooms and they are small, which make for a great atmosphere. Highly recommend! The final stop was across the street at Canary Square. Description from their website: Warmly furnished with a bar of reclaimed wood and chairs made from recycled materials. We didn't eat anything here, but the cocktails were great. This tour was so much fun and the best part was being home in my bed by 10. I like a good time, but just can't do the staying out all night thing!
Each restaurant mentioned above has a link to its website.

Disturbing

For every 1% increase in calories obtained from saturated fat, food costs drop 28 cents, and for each 1% increase in calories gotten from sugar, you'll save seven cents. All of which helps at least partially explain why way too many people are eating junk, getting fat, and falling ill. It's a lot cheaper -- at least in the budgetary short term.

 

Homemade kale chips!

I see lots of kids on prescription medication. Probably way too many. It's the easy thing to do though, there's something "wrong" with your kid so a doctor writes a prescription. This is Western medicine. In a better system, in my opinion and of being treated by both Western and Eastern medicine, options would be given.
One of the things that really bothers me is the advertising of prescription drugs. Stuffy nose? With this med you will soon be prancing through a meadow like the lady on tv. Anti-depressant not working? Add an anti-psychotic! The following facts are from a non-profit organization addressing the marketing of prescription drugs:

Every $1.00 spent advertising prescription drugs is estimated to increase their retail sales by $4.20.

The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries where direct to consumer (DTC)advertising of prescription drugs is legal.

As of May, 2011, the average number of prescriptions for new drugs with DTC advertising is nine times greater than prescriptions for new drugs without DTC ads.

 

AMAZING! Yes, there are corn flakes in there.

This Monday I will be attending my first lobbying day at the state house. The topic is teen pregnancy/parenting. According to the website of the organization that is putting this together, we will "advocate to policymakers through speeches, videos, one-on-one meetings with legislators." I will not be giving a speech, at least I hope not, but am excited to take part in the event. As a therapist I have had plenty of experience in working with teen parents. Hopefully my experience will be helpful to any of the people that I get to talk to.
If you live in the Boston area, come join us!
March 5, 2012, 10:30 am - 1:00 pm
The Massachusetts State House, Great Hall and Grand Staircase