Posted by helpme on July 10, 2006, at 12:33:07
In reply to Please be civil » helpme, posted by gardenergirl on July 9, 2006, at 15:22:47
Can't emphasize enough my remorse for saying something nuanced and complex enough for a dissertation in corse way. Very sorry. I just don't have the ooomph to get into a proper, succinct elucidation of what I meant, so I shouldn't have mentioned it here, but I guess it's too late.
I guess I just harbor a lot of anger against greedy or dishonest drug sales people who tempt doctors with prizes for writing the most prescriptions, and then at those particular doctors who really get in to it. Like the time I went to the doctor with stomache pain, in retrospect I realize it was likely due to drinking about 10 cups of coffee a day whilst working at a coffee shop. After 30 seconds she said, "You have GERD", and she gave me a script on a pad pre-printed by the particular drug company. I read the list of symptioms, but it didn't seem right. Her response was just what the samples' literature said: "symptoms vary widely". The drug did nothing for me, but diet changes and common sense about the coffee did. So for me the disease was imaginary, I suspect for many others too. But I do not in any way question their experience, nor do I discount that such a genuine condition may in fact exist. I just don't think everybody has it, and the "solutions" cause new problems that then must be contended with- like the vitamin absorption problem.. But I do know they are really raking in a ton of cash off these prescriptions.
And the "pms" example- everyone in the US is in on the PMS craze- a terrible disorder apparently suffered by millions of women every month. But I have some friends from other countries who told me "oh- yes of course normal women have monthly hormonal fluctuations. It's a good time to take it easy, or use a heating pad, or a painkiller, whatever is needed, etc. For some it's worse than for others." Many also said, "Oh no, never heard of pms. How can you think these things can be a disease when millions of normal women experience these cycles every month?" I would personally rather have monthly hormonal fluctuations and maye a couple cramps than have an Official PMS Disorder for 50% of my life, and then use it as an excuse for not being able to take on responsabilities, or to have people autiomatically dismiss any of my observations, opinions, or feelings because they are the mental manifestations of a "documented disease." In anthropology class in college I was told that in some Native American cultures there was no "PMS"- rather, there were times when women became psychically sensitive, so much so that they often felt pain easily. They became creative and would go to a special "menstral hut" and ate special food and got so many massages that were envied. Supposedly people consulted with them for they were so sensitive. This is our "PMS Disease"?
I also harbor a lot of anger at the particular pharmaceutical people who overemphasize dangerous drugs, conceal the dangers, for some symptoms that can be managed in safer ways via lifestyle or other, safer cheaper drugs. Sometimes absolutely the benefits of dangerous drugs outweigh the harms, but trying to boost sales to make money with these I think is a heinously corrupt thing to do. Maybe x number of people genuinely have condition xyz, but the drug was expensive to develope and there are not enough potential patients to make up the cost of development or to make a profit. So they set their marketing teams out to find new takers. This practice has been documented in a number of books and articles.
I had a bad psychioatrist once who insisted the headache I got from lamictal was a brand new "Migraine disorder"-but it was gone when the lamictal was gone. She also said I was developing real "Psychosis" when I tried zyprexa for resistant depression and it gave me hallucinatory side efects. They too vanished when the zyprexa went away. Better psychiatrist told me "do not create new side efects and then treat them with other drugs and get into even more side efects. Skip the side effects, let's not confuse them with your genuine problem, and lets find the right treatment that works. Simple is usually best for this very reason". Thank god.
I personally have had my physical heath harmed by too many drugs, now all kinds of abnormal kidney and liver blood tests and my stomache is torn up from too much advil, which I ate like candy for 20 years medical personell repeatedly insisted to me it was harmless. Meanwhile, I have friends who had experienced similar symptoms, didn't cionsider them serious medical conditions, made some lifestyle adjustments, and don't have the new problems.
I figure I better choose my real diseases/conditions carefully and selectively. I suffer from depression and anxiety, but I don't want to look for new problems, or pretend that any drug side effects are anything other than that. I don't want to call any drug side effects that I've had "diseases" or treat them with other drugs. I found drugs are nothing to fool around with.
I hope I made myself clearer and less offensive, not dug in deeper.
> > and them insisting on all kinds of imaginary diseases.
>
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poster:helpme
thread:647397
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