Monday 25 March 2013

Michael Jackson’s Death: Medically Prescribed Drugs



In June 2009; the world lost a super star, a legend and Michael Jackson was gone way too soon. He is yet another victim of the danger of medically prescribed drugs.


We all believe when our doctor gives us a prescription that the medicine will fix our problem and that it is safe. The list of stars that have died at the hands of prescription drugs is too long and frankly it is scary. In this day and age we should know better; prescription medication addiction is rampant; it out does Alcohol, Heroin, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, and most other street drugs.


Michael Jackson is joined by Heath Ledger, Elvis, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Marilyn Monroe and there are many more. Michael Jackson was killed by medication that he took for pain, insomnia and stress. The doctor who injected one of the medications Jackson took is now in jail serving a four year sentence for his crime. Conrad Murray was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in 2011 and is now awaiting an appeal decision.






Jackson Trusted Conrad Murray

Michael Jackson trusted his doctor to do the right thing by him, and the right thing should have been to refer Jackson to treatment for his drug use, and refuse to administer certain drugs. He could not betray his patient’s confidence, but he could have put him on a psych hold, there were definitely grounds for this, given his testimony in court in 2011. Why he was injecting Jackson with a cocktail of drugs that he knowingly knew were dangerous is beyond my understanding or any other person who loved Michael Jackson. Doctors who prescribe these medications should be monitoring their use; and if there are alarm bells, someone needs to step up and try to help the person. No medication is safe; especially if it is abused. Every medication has some kind of side effect.


Simply put, drugs that act as a pain killers designed to treat chronic pain are depressants. Patients are sometime given an anti-anxiety drug with pain killers or an anti depressant. Taking these drugs together can produce serious side effects. Some act as a depressant which essentially can slow down or stop a person from breathing, digesting their food, wanting to eat, clear thinking and cardiac function. Some people can lose their sex drive or their heart may even stop, which is what happened to Jackson. His heat stopped and Murray could not revive him.






Jackson’s Condition Got Worse And Worse


Are you on medication and if you are; have you noticed any of the above symptoms? See your doctor immediately, and you should be concerned. If you are not happy with your doctor’s advice; go seek a second opinion. The answer is usually not another drug. Pain Killers, anti-anxiety and anti-depressants usually hide their damaging effects and sometimes a person can be really ill before it is realised what is wrong. This is what I believe happened to Michael Jackson over the years and his damage just got worse and worse until it killed him. So if you feel unwell, do not ignore it.


Do I think he contributed to his death? Yes, of course he did; however his doctor should have taken better care of his patient, Jackson should have been able to trust Conrad Murray. We don’t know what damage had already been done to his body before he died, and I doubt that the medical examiner was able to determine this. I don’t remember anything being said in the news, just that there were certain drugs in his system.


Some Drugs Are Lethal


Mixing two drugs together can produce unwanted or accelerated affects; like mixing your anti-depressant with alcohol; never a good idea. The fact here is, the more drugs you take, the better your chances of winding up in hospital or dead. You would do well to question you doctor about interactions of medications and if you don’t get a satisfactory answer, see another physician. Sometimes certain side effect are harmless, some patients will report side effects when they start a new medication. Once they have been on it for a while, the side effects disappear.


Painkillers, anti-anxiety or anti-depressants do not heal the body in any way. They will not repair what is broken; only stop pain, calm you down, and work on your brain to produce serotonin. Pain killers especially strong pain killers stop the person from perceiving the actual condition of their body or mind. This is denial on a very dangerous scale. When you know something is dangerous; denying that there may be a problem is akin to suicide; well it was in Jackson’s case. Denial of his situation led to his kids become fatherless and his parents losing a child and the billions of fans losing out on their hero.








When Jackson Was Younger He Was Very Health Conscious


It surprises me every time I think about it. Michael Jackson in his younger days was a health nut, I remember reading in his biography that he did a fasting cleanse every Sunday, he was a Jehovah Witness, he did not drink alcohol, and Jehovah’s Witness’ do not like alcohol or drugs; these are a big no no. Michael Jackson had a problem, and his problem is like many other people’s who get addicted to pain pills. They take them for pain, and the addiction creeps up, before you know it you think you need them.


I curse his family and loved ones for not sticking their noses in and incurring his wrath. What were they scared of, that he would push them away. He did that sort of thing anyway. If they thought he might die from his drug use, why didn’t they put him on a psych hold or make him go to a detox centre? It just doesn’t make sense. When you love someone, you interfere, you don’t care about their wrath if you are worried they are going to kill themselves with drugs or alcohol or whatever. You do an intervention. That what should have happened, over and over again, until Jackson listened and got help.


There is help out there for pain pill addiction; get online and find a clinic today. Call your local hospital and ask for assistance. There are clinics that will detox you fast and painlessly with no side effects and then you can get on with learning to be drug free.



Copyright © 2013 Janelle Coulton







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To read more of Janelle Coulton's articles visit: Janelle's pages on Suite101.com




Wednesday 6 March 2013

Goodbye Private Practice







Spoiler Alert: For non US residents, this blog post is most likely just one big spoiler about the end of Private Practice, as the show has not gone to air in Australia yet. For those who do not want to know, do not read any further.




Private Practice has been around for six years. Hard to believe; I'll miss my weekly dose of Addison, Jake, Sam, Naomi, Amelia, Sheldon, Charlotte, Cooper and Violet. The show suffered last year, especially when it move moved to Tuesdays and no longer followed Grey's Anatomy.



About a month ago, Grey's Anatomy spin off, Private Practice has wrapped up the series that has been on the ABC network for six years now. Creator Shonda Rhimes made the announcement not long after the series returned to screens last year. After Kate Walsh announced that she would be leaving Private Practice at season's end; many fans assumed the show could not go on and obviously the network agreed. The actor Tim Daly who played Pete Wilder, was written out in the first episode. Apparently he went for a run and dropped dead of a heart attack.




A Surprise Visitor - Publiseek.com


Shonda Rhimes recently wrote on her website that all the characters stories were neatly wrapped up. There was no big disaster that Grey's Anatomy is famous for, and the characters remain at "Seaside Wellness", getting on with life in our imaginations of course. The actors however, have moved on and we hope are doing wonderful things elsewhere.






Season 6 DVD - Seat42f.com


While we did not see an explosive finish to the series, it was satisfying. Shonda Rhimes had her first experience with ending a TV Series when she wrote the Private Practice finale and it felt nice seeing all the character's stories' wrapped up. When the series returned to TV in September 2012; Charlotte found out she was pregnant with triplets; Cooper is totally stunned and overwhelmed. Sheldon finds out he has prostate cancer, and his ex wife bails. Amelia reaches her second year of sobriety; and become involved with James. Violet continues to grieve for Pete and the loss of their marriage, and Sam finds out who his father really is; the man his mother has been having an affair with who won't leave his wife. Sam is shocked and angry. Sheldon meets a lovely woman at radiation therapy who has terminal cancer, and they fall in love. Everyone at "Seaside Wellness" thinks Miranda; Sheldon new love, is pretty special too.







Pete and Violet in Season 5 - Deadline.com



While I've never been a fan of Violet Turner; I did identify with her story line. Dead husband, feels like her life is over; and you would in her shoes. But I loved her book title; Private Practice. Having recently been forced to start over myself, her arc was quite touching and it helped me to understand the character a little more. Violet seems to not be able to switch off the psychiatrist inside of her, she seems to want to "shrink" everyone and perhaps that is one reason Pete, (her dead husband) got so angry last season, the second reason was that he had a heart attack. So Violet spends the next ten or so episodes dealing with her lot in life, and Cooper and Charlotte get ready to welcome their three baby girls into the world. Cooper is deliriously happy and Violet is miserable.


Jake and Addison tied the knot in the finale but, it happened right at the start; Naomi was a guest and bridesmaid at the wedding and slept with Sam at the reception. Three months later she returns to Seaside and tells Addison that she's pregnant to Sam. Addison interferes and Sam and Naomi eventually re-unite and they get married again. I always thought they were endgame; but when Addison and Sam started fooling around in Season 3 I had my doubts. But it was clear in Season 4 when Sam and Naomi kissed while Addison was at her parent's house near New York somewhere after the funeral of her mother. So Stephanie and Sam break up and Sam runs off to New York to get the love of his life. Nice touch Shonda.




Addison got her man - TVGuide.com


Charlotte goes into labour early; twenty-seven weeks if I recall correctly. They cannot stop one baby from coming and their daughter is born very premature; after a battle for a few weeks to get her breathing properly, she goes for surgery and makes it out of the woods. The other two babies are born naturally at thirty-two weeks. In the mean-time Charlotte was confined to hospital bed rest, with her legs raised for two days, and then she has to stay put for another five weeks almost. So she is really happy when labour starts, however as it progressed; Charlotte becomes more like Charlotte. The labour is taking hours and Cooper runs off to buy them a house; or win them a house. He gets back just as it's time to push. Mason is still struggling with his mother's death, but he is so proud of his baby sisters. The actor that plays Mason is one talented, young man





Cast Photo - TV.com


Amelia and James get together in the end; but we all figured that he was Amelia's new love interest. Will she dump him and come to "Seattle Grace" to get it on with Alex? Some Grey's fans are hoping the Shonda has this in mind. And I would welcome it; as they would make a great pair. Amelia ended the series deciding that she would take the risk and have kids when the time came. It seems that she is scared of having another 'brainless' baby. In Season 5 Amelia gave birth to a baby with no brain. She had his organs donated to save other babies, and the other docs performed the surgery.


Jake is still at a cross-roads with his daughter about her choice of lover; and Addison's social worker for the adoption does not like him either. It seems there was an incident when he was married to his first wife where he beat up her dealer. He did not end up with a criminal record, however the report was kept on file. Also whilst in conversation with his daughter's boyfriend he makes a comment that is taken as a threat by the boyfriend. The social worker walked in on an argument between Jake and his daughter. Close to the adoption decision being final, the social worker talks to the judge on the case. Jake goes to the judge and pleads his case. He and the judge come to an agreement and Jake returns home with confirmation the Henry is now officially Addison's son.

While a lot of questions remain; such as, will Sheldon beat the cancer, or will Amelia marry James (or turn up at "Seattle Grace?") and will Violet get her groove back, it was a great ending to a pretty great series. Even though Private Practice remained in Grey's shadow, as the spin off; it was a very good series, and emotional. Tear flowed easily during these episodes. Private Practice had it's own little group of fans, who really were not into Grey's Anatomy. A show that probably would have stayed on the air, if the main star did not leave; but the ratings and no Addison Montgomery meant it had to be cut. I'm not sure how the numbers were; but they can't have been great.

 File:Kate Walsh 2011 crop.jpg



 Kate Walsh - Commons.WikiMedia



So there is now another DVD I must buy because I definitely would like to watch this season again one day. Private Practice Season 6 will most likely screen on the Seven Network in Australia at some stage this year. There are only thirteen episodes to show, so it may follow Grey's Anatomy when it returns, but this is anyone's guess. 


To read more of Janelle Coulton's articles you can visit: Suite 101 or to read more about TV or Grey's Anatomy; visit Grey's Anatomy Addicts 




Photo Credits: Seat42F, CommonsWikimedia, TV.comDeadline.com, Publiseek.com and TVGuide.com




Copyright © 2012 Janelle Coulton

Sex Is A Human Right - Since When?



Marriage Is About A Whole Lot More Than Sex.


An author of a recent article really ticked me off with his archaic, and old fashioned attitude. You’d think we live in the dark ages according to this bloke; obviously he’s not from my country, Australia; or the United Kingdom (UK) or the United States, (US), but I will endeavor to do some more research on these so-called laws when I’m done writing this huge rant.


We Have No Right To Violate Someone's Rights'


I have never heard of a court where you can go and complain to a judge that your wife is not giving out sex. I never heard something so ridiculous. Perhaps this happens in some countries, but not here where I live. Perhaps this gentleman’s country is different. I read something the other day about a French man being fined for with-holding sex, so these laws might be so in some other parts of the world. But, then he goes onto say that sex is a right and being denied your conjugal rights can end up in court. This has to be a law of a country that I just don’t understand and because I live in Australia, probably the luckiest country in the world, I don’t want to. I could never get my head around rights like that, because these rights violate another's rights.


Sex is not a right. No-one, even in a marriage has the right to demand sex from their spouse. They can try; but in Australia he or she would told to run away quickly and that’s putting it nicely. I suppose if sex is a right then a horny man can just rape his wife, or some woman walking down the street. It seems like this would be a logical choice if sex is your right; as you say.


An Acceptable Excuse For No Sex Is If You're Dying

The writer says that the only excuse acceptable is terminal illness. What about physical injury; chronic pain; serious illness? Do you expect a person to just make love to their spouse no matter how sick they feel or how much pain they are in? This is a violation of a human right. Denying sex is the injured or ill person’s God given right. And what about tiredness and exhaustion or that your spouse simply does not feel like it, all of that is their right also.




 Fairy Terns Mating - CommonsWikiMedia




Different Customs And Law


His customs may be different to mine and so might the laws, but he wrote this article for an online magazine, that is displayed on the world wide web, if a writer is going to make statements about rights and laws, then he should  tell us what country he is from, and use a reference to back up the claims he is making. 





People from California don’t want to read an article saying that they need to give their spouses sex or it could end up in court. My family and friends in Sydney, Australia don't need to read online that they could be sued for not dishing out sex. This writer needs to back that up with evidence that this is a violation of the law in the US or whatever legislation you are referring to. If it is a violation of the law in another country, the country where he lives, then make that clear. Sweeping generalizations about the world will get people’s backs’ up. If someone is going to write articles for the English speaking population, then it is imperative that they source the articles with the relevant laws to back up what their claims. And the writer needs to state if they are talking about their country of origin and customs.




World Map - Flickr.com






Thoughts On Repairing A Sexless Marriage


The advice I would give a couple in a sexless marriage would be the following: A sexless marriage is serious and if it is causing a problem in your marriage then it simply must be addressed. The couple needs to talk about why it’s happening and what they can do to resolve things. If it is an illness or injury; something they have no control over, then this is as equally frustrating as the problem itself. Both partners will not like this situation one bit and won’t want it to continue any longer than is necessary.

Blaming, accusing and trying to manipulate your partner into sex will not help. Chances are if this kind of rubbish has been going on, the partner who is not wanting sex, will want it even less. And it could be either partner, however in most marriages the complaint of not enough sex usually comes from the man. Blaming your partner for this situation will make it worse; you can’t imagine how long you will go without sex if you keep fighting and bickering with your partner because you are sexually frustrated. He or she will think it’s all about you; and refuse to even try. And you will sit there and wonder why this is happening. If you cannot be compassionate and take your partners feelings into consideration, then solving this enigma will be a nightmare. You must put yourself into their shoes; especially if you want the same consideration from your partner.


Don't Threaten Divorce Or Have An Affair


Such a stupid thing to do, especially if your love your spouse and you don't mean it. Telling your husband or wife that you are violating their rights of sex in the marriage will do nothing to endear you to them either. If that were someone in my country, they would laugh until they cried. Threatening divorce or to leave the relationship will also push you further apart, you will be lucky if your spouse can trust you now. They won’t bother with someone who threatens to leave, and this all leads your marriage to a really dysfunctional, unhealthy place where you just do not want to be. You don’t want to leave and not getting enough sex or missing out on sex is not a good enough reason to rip apart your family and file for divorce. But you may have just put that choice in the hands of your spouse if you cheat or threaten them.

It' actually quite pathetic and what’s worse than threatening divorce is threatening to have an affair. Your spouse will never trust you again after that; let alone show affection or have sex with you. And for those spouses who actually follow through and have the affair; one wonders if you ever loved this person? Cheating is wrong, and we promise to forsake all others in our marriage vows, so if you cheat, then expect your spouse to never trust you again. He or she may forgive you, but they will never forget. Even if they decide to save the marriage and stick by their vows; the trust will never be the same.




Sanctify Marriage - Flickr.com



An Affair Will Make The Problem Worse


If you would rather have an affair than do the hard work of figuring this out and reaching a healthy compromise in the relationship then this is up to you. But an affair will likely destroy most of what’s good in your marriage. Unfortunately it’s all too easy to run around and get your sexual desires satisfied than it is to work alongside your partner to bring a happy solution. Good things don’t always come easy to us, and in marriage sometimes a lot of effort is needed to be happy. Not working on your marriage and running off with someone else will never solve your problems; you will take those problems into your next relationship.






Beware of Trap - Flickr.com





Francis, K. Githinji wrote that a marriage without sex is not the full package but I beg to differ; marriage can be just as fulfilling without sex if the partners' choose it to be that way. Whatever the reasons they choose this is no-one’s business but theirs. Most of us want sex in our marriage; we see it as a part of our relationship that enables us to connect in an extremely unique way. But if it is taken away; whether within our control or not, how we deal with this problem is paramount to solving it.


Seeing This Dilemma From Both Sides


Just to clarify; I have been on both sides of the fence and both of my relationships ended; not by my hand either. My solution to both situations would have been work it out, as both relationships were worth fighting for. As it stands now; I am not so sure about that. A sexless relationship; let alone a marriage would not be reason enough for me to desert someone I've made a commitment with. But that's merely my opinion, I do not believe in giving up, especially when I've made a commitment, plans and promises to another person.





Don't Judge Your Spouse - Flickr.com



Sexless marriage may be grounds for a divorce legally which is a different kettle of fish. It is so in some states of the United States, and in Australia too, however it is more commonly known as alienation of affection or withdrawal of affection and some judges may suggest that couple seek counseling, particularly if one spouse is contesting the divorce. So far my research has not turned up anything that says denying your spouse sex is illegal; however in some customs or countries this may be the case.


Divorce Will Bring Loss; Fixing Your Marriage Is A Win

Obviously there are times when you may need to leave your marriage; your kids may be adults, and you both do not love each other anymore. You must also remember that just because the children have grown, does not mean you get to stop protecting them, divorce rips our kids apart whether they are minors or grown ups. So make sure you have exhausted all possibilities of love and sex re-entering your marriage before you file for divorce; with divorce you will lose in some way; with the marriage, if you focus on rebuilding what is broken you just might win and things might be better than they ever were.

When all is said and done it will come down to how responsible couples are prepared to be. The problems requires both spouses to take it seriously. No wife should ever dismiss her husbands needs and no husband has the right to ignore his wife's needs either. It will involve hard work and the benefits of this could mean more sex will come into your lives. If you don't try, you will never know how it could have been.


Source:

What Is The Fate Of Marriage Without Sex? Article by Francis, K Githinji



Copyright © 2013 Janelle Coulton



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