The Danger Within Us (book)

[arnie]

Hi all!

I want to start a thread on the book "The Danger Within Us" by Jeanne Lenzer. I'm only about a third of the way through it but I think it should be recommended reading for anyone who is intimately involved with the medical community, and required reading for anyone even considering getting a VNS placed.

As someone who has had a pretty bad experience with VNS it's especially disturbing to realize everything that goes on such as incredible marginally effective (at best) research and testing, extremely poor oversight, approval process and long-term patient outcomes and monitoring of implanted medical devices, including but definitely not limited to VNS, all in the name of corporate profits.

Has anyone else read it? Any thoughts? Let me know!

Amazon product

Keep on keepin' on!

 

[Nakamova]

Thanks Arnie -- Haven't read the book, but it would be great to hear your thoughts as you go through it. Sounds like the process for approving the VNS is flawed -- as is the one for medications. I recommend "Bad Pharma" for those who are interested in this topic.

 

[Bernard]

Hi Arnie, we have a member here that was working with Jeanne Lenzer when she was writing that book (see his "About me" profile page):

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/members/dennis100/

 

[dennis100]

That member would be me. After what seemed like years of searching Jeanne was the only person to pay attention to my story. She wrote articles in both the British Medical Journal (now BMJ) and Reader's Digest about my near death experience. Then a book! Jeanne Lenzer was truly a godsend for me.

 

[arnie]

So you're THE Dennis! It's good to meet you. I'm about half way through the book and I feel that I know you. I guess there's still a crisis point in the book that I haven't gotten to yet. Don't spoil the surprise for me! This has all been a pretty disturbing experience, even though my negative outcomes have been mild compared to yours, and there probably will never be any proof that the VNS caused my sleep apnea, although the connection seems clear to me. The only worry I have now regarding the VNS is that I have those scar-tissue-covered leads forever wrapped around my vagus nerve, and who knows what mischief they will cause.
Do you think Jeanne Lenzer would have any interest in hearing about my experience with the VNS? You can PM me if this conversation gets to where the general board would not find it interesting.

Onward and upward!