Posted by dancingstar on January 10, 2005, at 0:42:06
In reply to Re: people who really need certain medications, posted by Dr. Bob on January 7, 2005, at 22:59:37
Unless I am mistaken, what we are both asking for is truth in advertising, though it may not seem that way.
My concern, Dr. Bob, is threefold: first, that I don't believe that more than one fourth of all E use is prescribed by pdoctors.
2nd: If somone is predisposed to a bad reaction, neither the patient nor the doctor (other than psychiatrists -- and even many of them don't seem to know) know what to look out for because the patient's reaction to the drug seems to change three- to six-months after beginning treatment w/E.
3rd: If someone is going to have a tough time with withdrawal (which W prefers to call "discontinuation syndrome" -- (not truth in advertising) -- there is no way to get through it without pain and sufferring. There is no anecdote available unless the person is switched to a similar drug. Weaning is an option but only works for some people.
I understand that E, what we all know is a very powerful drug, is now being given somewhat routinely to vets returning from Iraq as well as for hot flashes (based on eight-week studies -- I've got the links) and fatigue, though it causes fatigue and weight loss, though it causes weight gain; and can't help but think that it is a scheme to make money rather than to do what will best serve the health care of the people involved.
There isn't any alarm intended; I'm just trying to get the facts out. Getting caught off guard is not fair to anyone.
Doctors that prescribes this drug should have to take it for a year and then be forced to quit cold turkey and so should the people in charge of marketing at Wyeth -- especially if it's so safe -- like those of us without depression that were given it by family practice docs that didn't advise us differently cause they were given the incorrect information by W marketing reps.
It's just another problem in a world that already has too many, but this one seems to have caught my attention because it grabbed ahold of my health. And if it counts or matters, at least 25 other people have written to me that are in pain in addition to what happened to me. I don't think that I am an isolated incident, and it's not just a couple of us that are making a fuss.
Thank you and many blessings,
Bebe
poster:dancingstar
thread:438561
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050108/msgs/439986.html