VA testing drugs on war veterans

I am so proud of our government. Starting wars that should not be started. Supporting policy that should not be supported. Allowing US assets to be sold which should not be sold. And worst of all treating our most important resource, the American military, like a disposable item. 15 years ago I was truly proud to be an American. Now I am simply ashamed.

Why is the VA not held to the same standards as the BIOPharms when it conducts clinical trials? Any company would have 24 hours or face major sanctions from the FDA. Full disclosure, I spent 25 years active duty in the Marine Corps and now work in the Pharmaceutical industry.

I went into a VA hospital voluntarily for severe depression. The treatment was great with much money spent on me for tests I would not receive in a civilian hospital. They found a brain tumor(not malignant) and gave me great treatment(it was decided that no surgery was needed). My head psychiatrist, however, would not release me unless I took part in an experimental electroshock therepy program as part of his research. He threatened to involuntarily commit me. I was not interested. The staff released me while he was on a trip. Yes, the VA regards its patients as gunea pigs. Still, I appreciated their investment in my treatment.

I took Chantix to quit smoking last year. It states very plainly in the accompanying literature that there are side effects to it. The major one that got me was that it will not allow you to sleep. There was an 800 number to call. There was advice online. There were several mechanisms in place to help anyone who had an adverse reaction to the drug. The manufacturer also states that 40% of the people who take the drug have a reaction to it from the mild, constipation, to the severe sleeplessness. I had the severe I could not sleep for 60 hours straight and was wired to say the least. I knew this going into taking the drug that this could happen. It was all there in black and white. No one is duping anyone. I find the writing of this story to be very sensationalist to say the least. I don't believe the story was completely honest. One more point, Chantix does work after years of trying to quit smoking every way known I quit by using Chantix. The drug works.

"The government has a controversial history of using military personnel as human research subjects." "Mustard gas was tested on the military during World War II, radiation during the early Cold War period, LSD in the 1960s, herbicide in Vietnam and Panama, and chemical and biological warfare drugs during the Gulf War, according to Senate testimony given by the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) on July 10, 2002." "The most infamous government experiment is the Tuskegee Syphilis Study conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service from 1932 through 1972, which used 400 poor and uneducated black male sharecroppers who carried the sexually transmitted disease." Remember Agent Orange and Gulf War Syndrome? The government denied, until they were forced to admit, that they caused the medical problems that sick vets reported. My Grandfather fought in Germany during WWI. My Dad landed at Normandy in WWII. I served 4 years active duty in the Marine Corps. It is sad to say this but I say it without hesitation, given the abuse heaped on military personnel by our own government, the only way I'll let my son serve when he comes of age is if this country is under direct attack. Otherwise, I am going to move him out of the country.

One obvious non-vet commenter touted the VA as likely innocent. I and millions of other vets want the VA shut down. We are treated like dogs by half of the staff, mostly females who have been programmed by TV and schooling to look down on men. Shut it down!!!Give us a real medical plan.

Reply to uniqorn51: "We are treated like dogs by half of the staff, mostly females who have been programmed by TV and schooling to look down on men. Shut it down!!!Give us a real medical plan.".................. I am really sory that you feel that way about yourself, women and the only agency that is here to help. I agree that it is not a perfect system. I was trying to say that we have to take some personal responsibility to educate ourselves on the risks associated with prescription drugs and weigh the good and bad before we take them. Additionaly, before we subscribe to sensational headlines, lets look at the source. What do we know about the people that published this story? What do we know about Pfizer? We don't exactly live in a time when integrity is paramount in journalism.

The public needs to be aware that there are other experiments conducted on V.A.patients, having nothing to do with medications. There is also unethical experimentation in the area of surgical procedures. Physicians often lie to patients about the use of particular procedures, and don't inform the patients that a particular procedure is actually being done on an experimental basis.

What else is new? Many of us including myself support military action against despots but ironically two things are always evident in the aftermath; 1)Corporations make billions of dollars in blood money and 2) Our troops are totally crapped upon when they return. If the military was even the least bit honest when they recruit they would tell you that you will most likely become a Guinea Pig for one of these pharma companies. With side effects as mentioned nobody short of desperate would ever try them. We should institute a windfall tax on those who profit from war. Those taxes will go into treating our soldiers when they return and those that already have.

The cost defined by a new drug is two fold. The expense of developing/testing to bring it to market and profit for shareholders as people benefit from it. Profit should not be the PRIMARY purpose of any drug development. The benefit to humanity should be Primary. Therefore, testing, especially on our countries finest, needs to be done with utmost respect to those individuals who wish to participate. EVERY precaution MUST be taken to protect those who risk their health in the testing process. ENOUGH ALREADY with callus business practices to make a buck.

Hey, wouldn't it be wild to find out that pfizer has ties to russian, chinese and iranian backed companies? Kind of like the toy recall from china.

Oh, Puhleeze! It's not the fact that the vet is suffering from PTSD that caused his "psychotic" episode, it's the Chantix! That way, he can sue the drug manufacturer for millions and the drug can be yanked from the market. I used Chantix and it works. Now, with a huge lawsuit on the horizon, many people may, unfortunately, no longer have access to a life saving drug. But, hey...this guy and his lawyer will be loaded, and that's the important thing.

Reply for diana: Here is the updated info directly from pfizers website.... Important Safety Information CHANTIX® (varenicline) is indicated as an aid to smoking cessation treatment in adults 18 and over. Patients may benefit from behavioral modification and support during their quit attempt. Patients should be encouraged to continue to attempt to quit if they have early lapses after quit day. Advise patients and caregivers that the patient should stop taking CHANTIX and contact a healthcare provider immediately if agitation, depressed mood, or changes in behavior that are not typical for the patient are observed, or if the patient develops suicidal ideation or suicidal behavior. These symptoms as well as worsening of preexisting psychiatric illness have been reported in patients attempting to quit smoking with CHANTIX or after stopping CHANTIX. The most common adverse reactions include nausea, sleep disturbance, constipation, flatulence, and vomiting. Nausea occurred in 30% of patients; 3% discontinued due to nausea. Patients should be informed that they may experience vivid, unusual, or strange dreams during treatment with CHANTIX. Patients should be advised to use caution driving or operating machinery until they know how quitting smoking with CHANTIX may affect them. Safety and efficacy of CHANTIX in combination with other smoking cessation drug therapies have not been studied. Dosage adjustment with CHANTIX is recommended in patients with severe renal impairment or in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Smoking cessation, with or without treatment with CHANTIX, may alter the pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics of some drugs, such as theophylline, warfarin, and insulin. Dosage adjustment for these drugs may be necessary. The complete text can be found @ http://media.pfizer.com/files/products/ppi_chantix.pdf Be advised, this is an "updated" version. Meaning that this current info was not available at the time of James Elliott's contact with police.

"Mr. Elliott, a chain smoker, began taking Chantix last fall as part of a VA experiment that specifically targeted veterans with PTSD, opting to collect $30 a month for enrolling in the clinical trial because he needed cash as he returned to school." He could probably have "made" MORE than $30 a month if he just went cold turkey!!!

Reply for Chad... Yes, I've read that...I researched the drug pretty extensively before I began taking it. Basically, it's aversion therapy...you vomit if you smoke. That and some initial sleep disturbance is about as bad as it gets. I'm not saying that there might not be that one in a million person who has a severe adverse reaction, but is that really newsworthy? Is that cause for vilifying the drug and disseminating misinformation about its safety? We haven't stopped giving the polio vaccine, have we? We have got to stop attacking corporate America in this country and making ourselves out to be "victims" of its greed and carelessness. We're destroying ourselves.