Smafaquax

[Ghoulish Delight]

My distaste is less with the existence of the drugs, because there are surely valid reasons for addressing extreme cases of even the most innocuous sounding things (e.g., as Prudence pointed out, it's one thing if you twitch your leg under your desk at work all day, it's another if it prevents you from sleeping). What I have a problem with is the direct-to-consumer marketing. The culture of self-diagnosis and "ask your doctor for a prescription" is out of control. The combination of advertising-driven demand, doctors who are too willing to cave to their patients' begging, doctors who just don't care and want the kickbacks, and doctors who genuinely want to help but have been suckered in themselves means that the more the consumer knows, the more the consumer will be unneccesarily over medicated.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

My distaste is less with the existence of the drugs...

I hear you.

Not only do I question the direct to consumer marketing as you said, but I also question the number of drugs out there. There seems to be a lot and, with some, they're telling you you need to take it everyday. Some of them you need to take for the rest of your life. To me, that's stressful and expensive. I worry that there are tons of people on drugs they don't need that has mega side-effects...

I was told I had genetic (not due to diet) high cholesterol by my doctor, so I took Baycol. Baycol trashed my liver. The doctor said I had the liver of a practicing alcoholic. So I got off of it. Then they told me that my cholesterol levels went back up. So they told me to take Zocor. I got on Zocor with the same side effects that trashed my liver. So now I'm off Zocor... It's wacky.

I have 2 prescriptions for my allergies and 2 for my asthma. That's expensive. And when I was out of work, I had to live without. That's rough. Then there's the situation where there are people with legit problems who can't afford getting on something.

Not to mention that I feel like I'm going to see a drug dealer instead of a doctor. I called my doctor a drug dealer to his face and he laughed. I sort of meant it to be funny...

On top of that, I picture rich people getting even richer off of people's fears. And that makes me annoyed.

What's more, I see a government telling you not to take illegal drugs because they're bad for you... But it's okay to take the ones with mega side-effects. It gives me a headache. (Do I need a prescription strength something to get rid of it?)

Then there's the conspiracy theory side of me that knows Rumsfeld used to work in the pharmaceutical business and... But I do that one just for fun.

Sorry for the rant...

Pru has a point, but how many people out there think think they need this drug just because they shake their leg at their desk? I would say a lot...

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

Pru has a point, but how many people out there think think they need this drug just because they shake their leg at their desk? I would say a lot...

I totally agere, and I think that would be greatly reduced if people weren't seeing ads for it and it was left up to doctors to make that decission instead of being put in the postition of having to deny things to patients that ask for it.