open letter to @US_FDA @CDCgov @NIH @MVPHealthCare about Synthroid and false equivalents

This blog is an open letter to the Food and Drug Administration about your having declared certain formulations of levothyroxine to be "equivalent" to Synthroid.  They are NOT equivalent -- and your having declared them so is putting me and other thyroid patients in mortal peril.

I first started Synthroid many years ago, due to hypothyroidism -- later diagnosed as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.  I also have a history of heart palpitations.

At that time, I tried a generic "equivalent" of Synthroid.  I quickly discovered that the so-called "equivalent" gave me heart palpitations, when Synthroid did not.

My primary care physician referred me to an endocrinologist.  The endocrinologist explained to me that the body is highly sensitive to small changes in dosage of thyroid medication.  The generic levothyroxine uses a different substrate from what the Synthroid uses. This causes changed efficacy in the body. My endocrinologist said that I must always use brand name Synthroid.

Recently, my health insurance company, MVP, demanded that I try other brands, before getting rid of the brand name penalty price for Synthroid.  I tried Levoxyl.  I experienced heart palpitations, anxiety, poor sleep, inability to focus, and tingling in my chest, face, and mouth. These are all clear symptoms of overdose.

I'm over 60. I have a strong family history of heart disease.  I personally have suffered from heart palpitations before.  I have been treated with Doxil, which can cause heart damage.  It's dangerous for me to be playing with these medications.

Now MVP wants me to try another generic "equivalent" before getting rid of the brand name penalty for Synthroid.  This is too dangerous for me personally. My physician says that she has not previously been able to convince insurance companies to stop this practice.

The Food and Drug Administration having falsely declared other formulations of levothyroxine as equivalents of Synthroid is putting my life in danger.

#Synthroid #levoxyl #genericdrugs #levothyroxine

irobot roomba e6

I got this in June.  It stayed in the box for 40 days or something, because I didn't have time to straighten up enough for it to clean a room.

Afterwards, I finally let it out and it did pick up an impressive amount of dust and is surprisingly quiet.



annoying things it does:
1. refuses to stay on area rugs.  will just vacuum a few swaths of the rug and leave dirt in another section
2. repeatedly entangles itself in the same cord that it just got tangled in five minutes ago.  It should have a cord sensor and it should avoid places where it just got tangled up.
3. communicates with cell-phone via wifi.  the router had a security setting that wouldn't allow it to communicate with devices that were communicating with each other via wifi.  my son had chosen that setting to prevent spying in our home.  he also changed the router password and couldn't remember the new password. As a result we couldn't implement voice control features.
4. gets trapped in narrow area between area rug and wall.
5. pulled a radio alarm clock off a table and broke it

#irobot #roomba

searching for barschall on ecosia

I tried searching for my name on ecosia.

I went out to page 49.

I skip most of the references which are to my dad, the famous physicist -- and to me, since those are on other parts of this blog.

I wanted to memorialize some other interesting links I found, especially referring to my grandfather

http://www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM38/AM38_118.pdf

https://www.gjenvick.com/Passengers/HamburgAmericanLine/Pretoria-PassengerList-1903-08-22.html

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=4Y1AAQAAMAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA183&ots=NQxFpflTxz&sig=4kb0wsjrOv5G_fHmArw9opl0pxc#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://www.tpa-project.info/html/body_moriz___barschall.html

Randolph Mountain Club - Newsletters - Winter 2008-2009

http://jinfo.org/Physicists.html

http://www.merrytheschristmascollection.be/papcards.htm

https://gregnjenn.wordpress.com/2016/08/23/becoming-visible-quaker-outreach-at-colleges/

https://theodora.com/encyclopedia/f/formalin.html

https://search.amphilsoc.org/collections/view?docId=ead/Mss.B.B445-ead.xml

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,435972,00.html

https://viaf.org/viaf/153001167/

http://www.denkmalprojekt.org/verlustlisten/vl_1_brb_drag-_reg_nr_2_wk1.htm

http://www.denkmalprojekt.org/dkm_deutschland/b-amtsgcharlottenburg.htm

Barschall - Philipps-Universität Marburg

https://www.kegler-von-spandau.de/files/dokumente/Oberliga%20Spandau/10.%20Spieltag%20EW%20Oberliga.pdf  Ullrich Barschall — now

https://www.berlin.de/ba-charlottenburg-wilmersdorf/ueber-den-bezirk/geschichte/stolpersteine/artikel.179914.php

Johanna Barschall, b. Loewenheim, was probably the daughter of Jenny Loewenheim and was born on 4 March 1889. Her husband Willi was registered 1939 with the designation Kaufmann / Papiergroßhandel and still 1940 in the address book. After that he is nowhere to find any more, according to his wife he had died. Her son Karl-Heinz, who was born in 1912, was able to emigrate in time.

Johanna ran a bridge club in Wielandstraße and lived on the revenue, because virtually any other activity was forbidden for Jews. In 1939 she wrote to her son that she was forced to deliver her jewelery and other silver and auction her valuables. She had to give everything up and was taken to Grosse Hamburger Strasse. On February 19, 1943, she had to jostle into a demolished by the Nazis as "age transportation" with 997 people occupied death train to Auschwitz.

The next day they arrived there, almost all were gassed.

https://www.bildarchiv-ostpreussen.de/cgi-bin/bildarchiv/suche/show_foto.cgi?lang=deutsch&id=119889&showmenu=1&bildinfos=1

http://www.territorial.de/dawp/thorn/landkrs.htm

http://www.gbv.de/dms/weimar/toc/672553600_toc.pdf (Wilhelm Barschall)

http://www.goethezeitportal.de/index.php?id=6874

It turns out that there's a book on amazon that may contain my grandfather's doctoral dissertation https://www.amazon.com/Arbeiten-Aus-Dem-Reichsgesundheitsamte-German/dp/B009F648H6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Arbeiten+aus+dem+Reichsgesundheitsamte&qid=1565066848&s=books&sr=1-1

amazing

Turkeys Go on Strike

This is a musical that was in, playing the villain, Tanya von Turkenson.

It's a story about turkeys who don't want to be eaten for Thanksgiving, but it has a lot of parallels with civil rights movements.  There were a lot of geniuses in this. I'm expecting big things of them and of this musical going forward.

I'm really impressed with the sophistication of the musical score, by B. Sweeney and M. Janover.  These guys are young, but real pros.

While everyone in this production was amazing -- and unfortunately I couldn't see most of it, because I was backstage -- there were 2 voices that particularly captivated me, being a person easily hypnotized by singing voices: Dayle Vander Sande and Gabriella Mack.

Also, I find the story intriguing.  It's very silly (even slapstick) in some parts -- and very serious  and moving in others.  There are very strong female characters, which is always nice.  It was also intriguing to me that the playwright/director cast himself as Hooch, the dunce of the show.  I found the rappers, Turner & Hooch, to be kind of similar to the typical pair of clowns in a Shakespeare play.  It was audacious without being overly depressing or offensive.

Producer/author: Ethan Felizzari

This was part of the 2019 Dream Up Festival at the Theatre for the New City

Schedule

8/25 2pm

8/26 9pm

8/27 6:30pm

8/28 9pm

8/29 9pm

8/31 8pm

9/1 5pm

Link to buy tickets

Especially if you can't make it, please donate to support the production

link to donate

#turkeysonstrike #dreamup2019 #dreamupfestival #theatreforthenewcity

Link to FB event

graphic with more info

Website for the musical

http://www.turkeysmusical.com/

http://www.turkeysmusical.com/dreamup.html

Images of the program

Links to cast members, creators, etc. on social media

Justin Glass

Elana Velastro

Dayle Vander Sande

Gabriella Mack

Anne Barschall

Dana Bixler

Kurt Perry

Ethan Felizzari

Andrew Erwin

Aram Peers

Austin Marquez

Mikey Miller

CJ DiOrio

Claire Burgi

Katherine Winter

Emilie M Jensen

Aerika Gabbin

Alexander Price

Madeline Blue

Brian Sweeney

Vincent Donnadio

Kristin Felizzari

Michael Janover

Nick Camacho

Rick Eberle

July 2019 Updates

Performed three times with Bronx County Chorus. Working on my alto belt, clip here https://www.instagram.com/p/ByFom7sFaAx/?igshid=1otnhf3haeu5i

Five performances with Cherub Improv

Two student movies

Completed another musical improv class

Played the Guard in "Twelve Angry Women" at AlphaNYC d Elizabeth Figols-Aquino

Recorded VO for a kid’s horror podcast

I got video for the commercials I recorded in January, but I'm not supposed to put them on social media.  If you want to see them, please contact me privately.

Currently in rehearsals for "Boy in the Window." My cast interview is here https://youtu.be/IASGdon7_Ds  More info on my blog http://annebarschall.blogspot.com/2019/06/boy-in-window.html including link for tickets. It's part of #nysummerfest2019

Currently in rehearsals for “Turkeys go on Strike” to be part of the Dreamup Festival 8/25 2pm; 8/26 9pm; 8/27 6:30pm; 8/28 9pm; 8/29 9pm; 8/31 8pm; 9/1 5pm  More info on this blog ag https://annebarschall.blogspot.com/2019/07/turkeys-on-strike.html

I had three art shows this year in the Brooklyn Public Library. Link to Google photo album of my art https://photos.app.goo.gl/zR7rpvDPmVhhfeUt7

2018 updates -- complete

News from 2018
(copied from my main updates blog -- and moved here)

recent performances 

• 12/28/18 filming "Karate Christmas Miracle" playing Laura; d Julie Kimmel; p Ken Del Vecchio
• 12/23 8 pm PIT Theater -- Mashed Potatoes Holiday Mashup
• Sketch of NY Alumni Show December 21, 22 and December 23 at 2:45pm Producer's Club d Joe DiNozzi; some sketches here (first 2 written by me. warning: 3rd contains profanity) Transport I; Transport II; Bad Secret Santa
• 12/16/18 Class show Musical Improv 101 d Eric Gerson, UCB East photos after show
• Bronx County Chorus,  12/9/18 4pm  -- here's my blog 
• 12/4/18 "Sleeping Ugly"  at http://www.regalheightsrehab.com/
• 11/29/18 "Sleeping Ugly" at Joseph Belsky House, Brooklyn, NY
• 11/27/18 "Sleeping Ugly"  at PS 195, Bronx NY (older group of kids than first performance)
• 11/26/18 Bronx County Chorus outreach concert, http://kingsharbor.com/ 7pm
• 11/20/18 "Sleeping Ugly, at Preschool of America, Battery Park
• 11/19/18 "Sleeping Ugly" at PS 195, Bronx, NY
• 10/26-28/18  R6 -- 3 private performances in Portland, ME
• 9/23/18 Cherub improv rehearsal with John Swift
• 8/18/18 105th Annual Randolph Mountain Club Charades
• 8/4/18 Participated in the Randolph Foundation Story Slam.  My story can be viewed here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hxmkL35CQg
• 7/26/18 9pm ET first airing of "Bizarre Love Triangle" on "The Perfect Murder," Investigation Discovery; can be streamed here https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/tv-shows/the-perfect-murder/full-episodes/bizarre-love-triangle
• 7/2/18 Diversity Jam & Mixtape at The Magnet Theater https://www.facebook.com/events/232110630903811/
• 6/5/18 Musical Mixer at Magnet Theater
• 5/30/18 Mixer at Magnet Theater
• 5/5/18 improv & monologue with Spooky Doings photos of me on stage
• 5/4/18 reshooting my music video for my song "Villain Song" Set photos here
• 4/16/18 "Creative Block" a film I appear in has been selected by the Philadelphia Independent Film Awards -- Please check my blog for other festival information for this film Blog link
• 4/12/18 Filming "Mandatory Gun Laws," d. Mark Hubatsek
• 4/8/18 Contestant in Cabaret Showdown https://www.facebook.com/events/222476835160743
• 4/8/18 Cherub Improv Rehearsal
• 4/3/18 Diversity Mixer, Magnet Theater
• 3/18/18, 4p.m.-5:30p.m., "The Boy in the Window," playing "Catherine," d Tym Byrz, The Point CDC, 940 Garrison Ave, Bronx NY 10474, 718-542-4139 -- more info at this blog Boy in the Window blog link to film of part of the performance
• 3/14/18 release of my webisode for Answers to Everything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0b_deeT1FU 
• 3/10/18 filming "Leshiy" playing "Crone" in Rockland County d Ben Anderson & Sawyer Purman
• 2/8/18 Moriches, NY Filming Episode 501 of The Perfect Murder #ThePerfectMurder playing Mildred -- link to tweet with set photos d Kevin Kaufman @kaufmanfilms on Instagram
• february: staying home a lot out of fear of flu -- but I did have a couple of gigs on TV shows, but I can't talk about them, because they're confidential -- more later
• 1/19/18 filming in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, with "Uncomfortable Revolution" http://www.urevolution.com/ -- what not to say to cancer patients
• 1/16/18 My commercial live on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBQ-xxt40HU
• 1/16/18 performed in the Magnet Musical Mixer at the Magnet Theater
• 1/14/18 Filming "Answers to Everything; Episode 2" playing Dena, d Greg Lakhan, Bayside Queens
• 1/8/18 performed at the Diversity Improv Jam at the Magnet Theater More info about this event
• 1/6/18 performed with "Spooky Doings" at the Triple Crown Ale House link to FB event link to photos

performance courses completed

• Musical Improv 101 with Eric Gerson UCB 10/20/18-12/15/18
• "Musical Improv Power Up" with Jon Bander NYMIF 10/20/18
• Mary Tierney's acting class at Theater for the New City 1/16/18 instagram photo

Legal courses completed

• 11/15/18 NYIPLA One Day Program https://www.nyipla.org/assnfe/ev.asp?ID=242
• 9/27/18 Ethics in Intellectual Property Practice, sponsored by IIPS https://mailchi.mp/0be7f473b01e/iips-meeting-709949?e=c788d2df97
• 8/8/18 "Recognizing and Removing Bias from the Legal Profession" National Academy of Legal Education (online)
• 5/2/18 JPPCLE (massive patent law update) program agenda
• 2/28/18 Something For Everyone? Latest Developments On the Application of 35 U.S.C Section 101 and Sui Generis Protection in the Copyright Act. -- presentation by the ENYIPLA  short instagram video
• 1/10/18 SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE OF IP LITIGATION FINANCE: WHAT YOUR PARTNERS DON’T KNOW, NYIPLA link to program description

Misc

• blog about my artwork
• blog about my summer 2018 hiking photos

Shows & Media consumed this year

• Josh Groban & Idina Menzel 11/18/18 Madison Square Garden
• Lucia Micarelli, 11/10/18 Ethical Culture Society
• Second Boy in the Window workshop at The Point, Bronx, NY.  I wasn't in this one, because it was later in the play that is being written.
• "Always, Patsy Cline" at the Weathervane Theatre, Whitefield, NH
• "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Weathervane Theatre, Whitefield, NH
• albums bought recently:  Soundtrack for "Bohemian Rhapsody"; Peter Hollens “Legendary Folk Songs”; Lucia Micarelli “An Evening with Lucia Micarelli” (CD & DVD); Lindsey Stirling “Brave Enough”; Greyson Chance “Somewhere over My Head”; Josh Groban "Bridges" 
• I'm a subscriber to the NY Philharmonic, so I've been to several of their shows
• I went to see "Farinelli and the King" on Broadway
• Movies recently seen in the the theater: Bohemian Rhapsody, BlacKkKlansman, Won't You Be My Neighbor, Ocean's 8 (which I was supposed to be background in, but I'm not visible), Solo: A Star Wars Story, A Wrinkle in Time, The Shape of Water, Black Panther, 

Important issues

I've taken a couple of these polls recently where they ask you what issues are important to you.  These polls have been on progressive websites.  I've been short of shocked that they don't mention reform of election law -- given the nightmare we've been through recently.  Here are some possible points

• elimination of plurality take all voting (12 of 13 swing states in 2016 had no majority winner); 
• recall elections for federal office (by direct majority vote -- since it's unlikely that small states will agree to eliminate the electoral college for the initial election, but several states have recall elections); 
• requirement that federal candidates reveal 1040; 
• candidates receiving political contributions from businesses should be precluded from voting on legislation affecting those businesses; 
• statutory rubric for invalidating elections where there is substantial foreign interference; 
• return to paper ballots that are manually counted