Hello Cindy and Cheryl,
Yes, us Brits come up with some zingers at times, and because we sound so proper over here, people don't know how to take it! It's rather humourous. I've said some really funny things to people when they are being downright ignorant, and WHOOSH, it goes right over their heads.

I'm Catholic, and Mike is Methodist so when you think about it, we can always find a holiday to celebrate. Now, if anyone were to even think about asking your religious views in Great Britain a bloody war would and could break out. Wait, it has!

Go give them a piece of your mind, Cindy. It feels like "Big Brother" is in your medicine cabinet. The next thing we will come to know is they will start asking us about our bowel habits. Now there's something to get the ***** flying!

What a stunning breach of privacy-- or did you sign a paper when you started Copaxone allowing the doc and the pharma company to chat about you?

I have been amazed for three years now how cozy the doctors and the pharmas are: some more than others. But the cozyness between the docs and the abcr pharmas exceeds anything I've ever seen in other areas of disease.

Forget about suing. Its so expensive to sue a pharma that an atty wouldnt take your case unless you are dead or extrememly damaged. Your damages are negligible and not worth suing over-- but plenty worth chatting about on the internet

No, no, BBS, I have no intention of pursuing litigation. I plan on beating them down on every turn. The art of paper assault can be deadly when done with a certain panache.

Cindy, so sorry you have to be the one to deal with this one, but someone's gotta do it!...it may as well be you, sort of like a new mission

I am dealing with SS every week. They continue to send me huge envelopes full of crap in the mail even though I have asked them to stop. They have called and sent little surveys with free gifts attached to them asking questions that are NONE of their business.

The money consumers pay for the drug that they peddle is going to wasteful trash and harrassment of the consumers themselves.

I have a real beef about privacy and how hard it is to opt out of the train once you decide to get off. The policy and addresses for opt out programs are well hidden in PILES of pages of information. In most cases opt out programs usually require that you write to them to opt out instead of calling or emailing.

To think that SS called/faxed/wrote to ANYONE'S Dr. without the patient requesting it is an outrage. To report PERSONAL information to that Dr. without the patient requesting it is bordering on criminal and if they are getting away with it through some marketing clause then that loophole needs to be closed NOW!

Go after them like a junk yard dog Cin!!!!

You've got it, RW. That's the other thing that irks me bigtime. My brother is a printer's rep (a MAJOR printer) and I'm constantly pestering him to get those accounts, he'd be set for life!

I'm eager to hear what my neuro has to say about this, but more interested in what her staff has to say. They're the ones who deal with it directly and I value their opinions a great deal.

I did speak to our friend, Roma, yesterday (she's great!) and as a nurse, she was also appalled by this. So, I'm fairly certain that something is stinky here.

Yah. That's what I did for a while when Biogen did that thing to me. It was the only way I could even the level of the playing field. Despite the damages, atty's said it costs a fortune to sue a pharma and you have to be near dead in order to be awarded enough to cover the costs of the suit.

Cool! How's our friend Roma?????

She's just terrific! She's only doing her vitamins and Cymbalta and doing simply wonderfully! She has also done a pretty intensive battery of PT and swears by it. Oh! And she walked up a steep hill that she had been avoiding until Donald talked her into it-- no problem. It was so much fun, we jabbered the whole afternoon away.

They're not thrilled with the heat snap, but they are in one of those thermal pockets where is hasn't been all that bad. I was so glad to hear her sounding so well!

I miss her. A lot. You tell her that next time you talk to her. I need to make a trip up that way soon and visit Molbaks. Haven't been there in a while. (plants...need plants...!)

Can I ask you a question? *whisper....why is your October apt next week? (I often lurk around here! *grin)