cp1969 said:
That's the point--I am doing fine without it.
That's great. It's ideal. But here you are in a thread about people who are on medications, not because they want to be but because they
need to be, declaring how prescription medications are some kind of taboo. Not only is it a bit inconsiderate but it is so broad as to be almost meaningless. What do you mean by 'prescription medicine'? That encompasses everything from nerve pills to chemotherapy.
And I have seen many people, who in my opinion, would have been better off if they'd have done likewise.
And you may well be right. I don't know what data you've used to draw your conclusions. But again, it is so broad as to be meaningless. Do you avoid vitamins? Or just antibiotics? See what I mean?
it is simply a conclusion that I've come to as to the most probable way for me to remain healthy. To me, that means taking as few prescriptions as possible, and preferably none. To avoid the prescriptions, I avoid the prescribers.
A healthy person saying that they avoid medicines is kind of like a person who lives in New York city saying they avoid polar bears for health reasons. You know a polar bear can kill you.
As far as avoiding prescribers, again, more power to you. But it is funny to see people who wouldn't miss a service interval on a $15,000 tractor refuse to have thier cholesterol or blood sugar checked and won't get a colonoscopy after the age of 50...... all things that can significantly prolong life. And the only one who can really do that right for you is a "prescriber."
I'm not talking about the person with diabetes or congestive heart failure.
So you're saying all these "prescription drugs" that are no better than leeches and are going to look silly to future generations are okay.....if you need them? Now
that makes sense.
What I am talking about is people who, because they have insurance, go to the doctor far more often than is necessary. Many times, they come away with a new prescription.
That is a process that takes two. Doctor and patient. Most of what you are talking about is antibiotics. Antibiotics are over prescribed. That's what's leading to problems like MRSA. Doctors need to prescribe less, patients need to quit demanding them. But "prescription drugs" covers a LOT more than antibiotics.
Before long, they have a medicine cabinet stuffed to the gills with all the crap they're taking.
Well, if they need it, they need it. If they don't they don't. I feel sorry for people who have to take a lot of medicines.
One guy I work with carries a whole bottle full of pills to work and a written schedule for when to take what. For one (I can't remember what it was for), he was exhibiting something like 8 of the 10 possible adverse side effects listed for that medication. I asked him at what point he would quit taking it and his response was that his doctor prescribed it, how could he NOT take it. He did, however, challenge his doctor on the next visit and got it replaced with something else. I am convinced, though, that had I not pointed this out to him, he would have continued to obediently take his meds and continue to suffer. People seem to forget that there are two people involved in this doctor/patient relationship and the patient, having more at stake, should take an active part in it as well.
Wow, maybe you should have gone to medical school! First, the notion that any medicine should or can be without adverse effects is just silly. Second, just because you have an adverse effect with a medicine doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't take it. Chemo has terrible adverse effects, but you still take it if you need it. Every other medicine on earth is the same.
And I can't count how many times patients have hurt themselves by following the advice of their neighbors, Oprah or Dr. Gott. I never cease to be amazed how someone trusts 'medsthatkill.com' and not their doctor. And the net outcome of your 'intervention' with this patient resulted in him taking the same number of pills.....prescription pills. Ane he was exactly right, he needed to keep taking them if his doctor said so. The moral: Trust your doctor. If you can't, get a new one. If you can't find one you trust, live with the consequences of thinking you know it all.
I have a sister who is a hypochondriac.
That's very sad. It sounds like she has somatization disorder. I see tons of it. It is very hard to treat, nearly impossible. And her doctors are between a rock and a hard place. If we don't 'do' anything, we're accused of being heartless and cold. If we 'do' something, we run the risk of over prescribing or ordering too many tests. Combine that with the fear of being sued by these folks (whose complaints are endless) and you have a recipe for disaster.
It was successful for a while.
Bingo, that's the way it works. New meds, new doc, new tests always generate short term improvement and then its back to the same old business. It is virtually incurable. And if you find her a doctor who won't prescribe anything else and won't do any more tests, she will call him a heartless jerk and find another doctor.
Hypochondriasis and somatization disorder, however, have almost nothing to do with the overall prescribing practices of physicians.
And George, if you don't think there is a problem in this country with people hooked on unnecessary prescription pain killers, I don't know what to tell you.
Did I say it wasn't a problem? Of course not. Like I said, you will not meet a physician who is more conservative with narcotics than I am. Seriously.
But again, you're off base here. This is not some 'prescription drug' problem and has nothing to do with the vast majority of 'prescription drugs' that are being used. Narcotics abuse is a crime. People who abuse narcotics are criminals. Doctors who knowingly assist narcotics abuse are criminals. And as you say, there are plenty of ways to get them without a doctor. And in a society where sudafed has to go behind the counter because people are making meth out of it and kids are getting high huffing cat pee, narcotics abuse is a society problem and a culture problem as much as it is a medical problem.
But it has nothing to do with your next door neighbor taking Lipitor to cut his chances of a stroke or heart attack in half. Nothing.
I am not suggesting anyone style their health care arrangements based upon what I do with mine. Only that one should keep an open mind about it.
That's fine, and i'm not offended because I don't have any health issues (yet) and I'm not on any prescription drugs, but this thread was started by people who are, and they really probably aren't interested in you, me or anyone else telling them what a dim view we have of the entire pantheon of prescription drugs. The folks here with high blood pressure who are diligent about controling it are adding healthy years to thier lives by taking their meds properly. I would hate for any of them to get the idea that they don't need what they and their doctor have determined that they need, or even feel somehow weak or inferior because they are doing what is best for them.
