The recent closing of the border to imports of a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement by Health Canada will affect the lives of thousands - and not in a healthy manner!

Though my personal story is just one of many, it is worth telling since the actions of Health Canada could harm someone in your family or someone you know.

I suffered many years before my illnesses were diagnosed in the early 1990's. But my suffering would not end there. My illnesses went on to take the precious time of Medical and Psychiatric Doctors and countless visitations for treatment. I was diagnosed with rapid cycling manic depressive disorder (bipolar depression), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), borderline personality disorder and fibromyalgia

-the list of symptoms for these illnesses is much too long to list here. The prescribed treatment included aggressive drug cocktails that included Effexor, Haldol, Resperidol, Lamictol, Prozac, Serzone, Neurontin, Seroquel, Olanzapine, Oxazypam, Cogentin, Ativan, Diazapam, Amytryptiline, and others. The amounts I was taking moved one prominent psychiatric doctor to acknowledge the dosages were unheard of, and a cardiologist said "these dosages are frightening"! My well-meaning psychiatric specialist's reply was "it's the only way we know how to keep you from committing suicide."

My life was not a life in this condition. I was either in the hospital or bed-ridden at home, and in such a drugged state that I was up only a couple of hours per day and had extremely limited ability. For many of those years I have little or no memory other than pain, both mental and physical - no memory of time with my three children or time with my husband since there was precious little of that in my state. At one point my husband calculated my time spent in the hospital amounted to over 10% of our marriage life! The aggressive drug therapy brought no relief and was at best only sufficient to keep me out of the hospital and confined to my bed. On top of it all, the drugs brought about unwanted side-effects, including diabetes, a condition which required 5 needles of insulin per day, and further hospital visits with blood sugar levels that were in the coma range. And that is not all, the drug therapy brought on eye trouble requiring prescription glasses, hair loss, heart trouble, and the onset of severe abnormal liver function -conditions that where all acknowledged medically but only casually accepted!

Years went by in this state, with prescribed variations in dangerous drug cocktails. Prescription costs were enormous with many months averaging well over $1200 per month. My psychiatric symptoms cycled rapidly at times, and over time my mood worsened, my physical condition continued to deteriorat and thus I lost all will to live. On top of it all, my husband's strength and stamina was fading from his years of responsibilities as a caretaker and father. What were we to do? I knew I could not live much longer, nor did I want to anymore.

Then, in the spring of 2001, I began taking Empowerplus vitamin and mineral supplement while at the same time keeping my medical and psychiatric doctors informed. With supervision, I weaned off of the drug-cocktail over several months and by continuing with the Empowerplus supplement my mental and physical health improved rapidly and beyond belief. Empowerplus provided my body with vitamins and minerals in a form readily absorbed and useable thus allowing my body through natural processes to heal itself! For those that have experienced such a restoration of health they will know what I mean, and for those that have not there are just no words that can describe it.

Overall, my psychiatric symptoms became marginalized with only brief and relatively minor symptoms experienced when my immune system is weakened with a flu or high stress, and all this without dangerous psychiatric drugs! I have disposed of my prescription glasses! I also no longer require insulin shots! Empowerplus has given me back my health and life, and has allowed me to become a wife and mother. I even have a job working as receptionist at an Animal Hospital, and I contribute as a community volunteer! Just last week I participated in the Canadian Cancer Society¹s Relay for Life.

I wonder how much money my illness cost the health care system before Empowerplus? How much did I cost the taxpaying citizens before Empowerplus? And what about the costs to the drug insurances and ultimately each of us? I continue to pay off a large pharmacy debt years later. And sadly, what were the immeasurable costs and impacts to the lives of my family and friends before Empowerplus?

After taking Empowerplus for the past two years and regaining a life of mental and physical vigor and happiness, Health Canada is now offering me probable death as a result of their ban on Empowerplus! Their offer is this: Removed access to Empowerplus in exchange for a return to mega-doses of damaging drugs, an endless cycle of hospitalizations, and a Œlife¹ of mental and physical misery! Their offer will essentially lead me to my premature death! On top of it all, Health Canada staff will even assist me with arrangements for a return to a merry-go-round of medical consultations and ultimately hospitalization! How absurd! To me, this is an immoral, unjust, and inhumane act on the part of an organization whose purpose is to ensure the provision of health care to Canadian's not to corrupt it or take it away!

Please share my story. Not only on my behalf, but also on behalf of my family and all the others who have come to regaining their lives through Empowerplus.

Sabine

Pembroke, Ontario