Ben Carson says he used unproven COVID-19 treatment recommended by MyPillow CEO

[Arkansas Granny]

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said in a new interview that he took oleander extract, an unapproved herbal supplement that has been promoted by the CEO of MyPillow, after contracting COVID-19.

The Washington Post reports Carson, a former neurosurgeon, said he took the extract after it was recommended by Mike Lindell. Lindell, who also served as President Trump's Minnesota campaign chairman, has a financial stake in the company that makes the extract, the Post notes.

Carson told the newspaper that his symptoms disappeared within hours after taking the supplement, also called oleandrin.

“Anybody who has ever gotten COVID and taken it, they are fine in five hours, and the next day are running around playing floor hockey in the hallway,” Lindell has said, despite the lack of scientific evidence to suggests oleander extract is useful in treating COVID-19.

https://thehill.com/homenews/news/526670-ben-carson-says-he-used-unproven-covid-19-treatment-recommended-by-mypillow-ceo

Is The Hill considered a reputable source or is this satire? It's hard to tell the difference these days.


ETA: Washington Post is reporting the same. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/trump-guys-giuliani-scaramucci-lewandoski-omarosa-parnas-/2020/11/18/8ecc78f2-25b3-11eb-8672-c281c7a2c96e_story.html

[Sherman A1]

1. And this guy is a Medical Doctor?

[GeorgeGist]

3. I believe Johns Hopkins ...

gave him the option to retire or be fired for gross incompetence.

[totodeinhere]

8. Do you have a source to back that accusation up?

I'm not arguing with you but such an accusation like that needs a source.

[marble falls]

19. I've read he was sued for leaving a sponge in a person ...

But nothing about that agreement.

The only real source of news I found that came close is:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/at-johns-hopkins-theres-little-to-show-ben-carson-worked-there/2015/10/27/06ef5cdc-7cef-11e5-afce-2afd1d3eb896_story.html


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/04/ben-carson-malpractice-claims-doctor-for-president

[totodeinhere]

22. Thanks. Of course that does not corroborate the poster's accusation against Carson.

And of course almost any physician gets sued during their career. That is not unique to Carson. I oppose almost everything Carson stands for, but if we start throwing around unsubstantiated accusations then we are doing the same thing that Trump and his supporters do.

[marble falls]

26. I wasn't trying to corroborate anything. I posted reliable information that was available to anyone.

... Neurosurgeons probably get sued more than anyone. And a lot of probably has not so much to with the surgeon as the grief from a bad outcome.

While Ben Carson is not a particularly a compelling person, he seems to have a gift for neurosurgery and his gifts have been widely recognized.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Carson

Carson is a member of the American Academy of Achievement,[237][238] Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society,[239] and the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.[240] Carson has been awarded 38 honorary doctorate degrees and dozens of national merit citations.[241] Detroit Public Schools opened the Dr. Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine[242] for students interested in pursuing healthcare careers. The school is partnering with Detroit Receiving Hospital and Michigan State University.[243]

In 2000, he received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.[244]
In 2001, he was elected by the Library of Congress on the occasion of its 200th anniversary to be one of the 89 who earned the designation Library of Congress Living Legend.[245]
In 2004, he was appointed to serve on The President's Council on Bioethics.[246]
In 2005, Carson was awarded the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership.[247]
In 2006, he received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP, their highest honor for outstanding achievement.[248]
In 2008, the White House awarded Carson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.[249]
In 2008, Ford's Theatre Society awarded Carson the Ford's Theatre Lincoln Medal, for exemplifying the qualities embodied by President Abraham Lincoln—including courage, integrity, tolerance, equality, and creative expression—through superior achievements.[250][251]
In 2008, U.S. News & World Report named Carson as one of "America's Best Leaders".[252]
In 2010, he was elected into the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.[253]
In 2012, Carson was the Influential Marylander Award recipient from The Daily Record, Baltimore's legal and business newspaper.[254]
In 2014, a poll of Americans conducted by Gallup ranked Carson sixth on a list of the most admired persons.[255]
He is an emeritus fellow of the Yale Corporation.[256]


His employer have written glowing letters about the quality of his work. I'll link if you'd like.

[ironman99]

17. Brain surgeons

According to my friend who was a Pediatrician, the only thing a brain surgeon needed to know was how to operate a vacuum cleaner.

[Delphinus]

18. Welcome to DU!

[totodeinhere]

23. LOL. Then maybe Carson can come and fix my vacuum cleaner. n/t

[mr_lebowski]

2. It's reasonably reputable but the Trump Administration are walking/talking satire embodied (nt)

[njhoneybadger]

4. Remember this...

Oleandrin for COVID-19 made headlines after President Donald Trump met in the Oval Office with Andrew Whitney, vice chairman and director of Phoenix Biotechnology, along with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, MD, and MyPillow founder/CEO Mike Lindell, a strong Trump supporter and an investor in Phoenix. The meeting was to learn about oleandrin, which Whitney called a "cure" for COVID-19, Axios reported.

[Deb]

5. Oleander the plant is poisonous.

Is there a bounty on American heads? Sure reads like it.

[LonePirate]

6. Be very careful with The Hill as they are a stealth right-wing information purveyor.

In this case, WaPo is corroborating the info (or maybe The Hill is corroborating WaPo) so it’s legit. Just be weary of anything coming from The Hill, Politico and definitely Real Clear Politics.

[Tanuki]

7. Carson has a history of hawking quack cures from a company called Mannatech

and then lying about it. Mannatech had to pay $7 million to settle fraud charges for deceptive advertising. Carson made multiple promotional videos for them over a period of years.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/11/04/ben-carsons-claim-he-did-not-have-an-involvement-or-formal-relations-with-mannatech/%3foutputType=amp

..."One of the buzziest moments of the CNBC debate was Carson’s rejection of his “involvement” with Mannatech Inc., a multi-level nutritional supplement company. A quick Google search surfaces Mannatech promotional videos featuring Carson, so it didn’t take too long for viewers to debunk his answer.
....
Mannatech and its co-founder in 2009 agreed to a $7 million settlement with the Texas attorney general over allegations that the company falsely marketed its dietary supplements as remedies for cancer and other serious illnesses. The company did not admit to wrongdoing.

Carson has blamed moderators for asking a “gotcha” question about his involvement with Mannatech. In a news conference the day after the debate, he acknowledged he appeared in promotional videos, but said that he was not paid for them.
. .
Carson delivered speeches at four Mannatech events — in 2004, 2011 and 2013. Mannatech donated to Carson’s nonprofit scholarship foundation, the Carson Scholars Fund, in lieu of a speakers fee for three of the events. In 2013, the company paid a speaker’s fee of $42,000, as per his agreement through the Washington Speakers Bureau, according to Mike Crouch, Mannatech’s director of communications."....(more)

[Tanuki]

9. He also claimed his prostate symptoms magically disappeared after taking

the Mannatech product.

"In his 2004 speech at a Mannatech event, Carson said he was introduced to glyconutrients through a patient after his diagnosis, and began taking the product. Glyconutrients are plant extracts that the company says are nutritious, natural and healthy sugars that boost the immune system. “Within about three weeks, my symptoms went away, and I was really quite amazed. And I actually toyed with the idea of not having surgery done,” Carson said."

[safeinOhio]

14. If you order now,

get a second one free. Just an additional handling charge.

[marble falls]

20. ... and as a gift get these always sharp Ginzu steak knives, just pay shipping and handling! ...

Perfect for that little brain surgeon living in your home!

[totodeinhere]

10. Since he is an accomplished medical doctor I would think that he knows more about it than you

or I. I don't think he would take it if he thought it would harm him. He's not stupid.

[crazylikafox]

12. apparently he is

[maxsolomon]

13. It may not harm him, but there's little evidence it works.

Carson WAS a brain surgeon. That means he has a medical-school graduate's understanding of Epidemiology, but a Resident's understanding of Neuroscience and Brain Surgery.

It is possible to be a doctor and have blind spots in your medical knowledge. No MD is omniscient.

[Midnight Writer]

11. So the world famous brain surgeon gets his medical advice from the MYPillow guy?

And passes it on to the rubes.

[Solly Mack]

15. Damn

[Blue Owl]

16. Bwaaaaaahahahaha!

What a freaking clown show the GOP is...

[spanone]

21. Brain surgeon??????

Good God.

[Initech]

24. Only in the GOP can you have a 10 digit net worth and a double digit IQ!

[leftyladyfrommo]

25. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. nt

[ShazzieB]

27. I see what you did there!