Chawlk

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We are ALL about the drugs. Just compare commercial spots from 20 years ago to todays.

20 years ago you had cars, cereal, candy, gum, beer, insurance, clothing etc...

Today it seems like 95% of ALL the commercial air time I run across is for some sort of pill to help with this problem and that problem. A pill to solve it ALL!

You take the red one or the blue one?

I personally object to medical advertisements because they're targeting an uneducated audience.

Rather than pharmaceutical company courting the doctors who are trained to diagnose and prescribe medications based on REAL symptoms, we have TV commercials catering to people so they can diagnose themselves, who then in turn shop for a doctor that will give them the drug they want, not the one they NEED.

You take the red one or the blue one?

I took both.

Who says you can't be high in the real world?

What kills me is how people are so willing to take the easy way out they don't think of the consequences. How many drugs have to be placed on the market and removed because people die or hurt by them? I don't get it.

We are living in a drug dependant society. We have doctors who prescribe antibiotics for small bugs that eventually gave rise to the superbugs. We have painkillers that flood the market which a lot of us take to get through the day (me included). We have legal stimulants like coffee and alchohol which either picks us up or calms us down.

Drugs don't have to be the ones that makes us high. They are the everyday pills and stimulants which we rely on. That's what makes us helplessly dependant.

Every commercial ends with "ask your doctor". I have no medical background at all. I expect my physician to "ask me".

The nagging question I kept on having with all these is: Are some of these symptoms real? Do we actually need these medications if we could only change the way we think?

Consider a person born in a society that doesn't know about depression. What will happen when s/he is depressed? It'll probably just be a fleeting thought and s/he will then move on to life or other things instead of being trapped in the deadly cycle. "Oh I have depression, oh I am depressed."

You know what they say about the Prozac nation. If you're not on Prozac...you're not cool.

You guys in the USA just need to somehow stop Direct-to-consumer advertising. In Australia, we don't allow the pharmas to advertise prescription drugs and have a lower rate of usage per capita.

Humanities dependence or perceived requirement of drugs is scary. Many people go to the doctors even if they have a cold. There are an increasing number of people using anti-biotics which is decreasing natural immunities and allowing further mutations of virus strains.

I personally try to never use drugs because I believe in natural immunity. Every time I get a cold it's usually gone by the next day. Flu never last more than 2-3 days either. There was a news piece years ago about this and doctors were basically very worried about a decrease in natural immunities.

Matthewpaver: Bacterial strains not viral. Viruses evolve differently than bacteria. The natural selection of bacteria through antibiotic treatments allows for the evolution of the superbugs. Especially when patients don't finish their treatment regime despite feeling better.

I don't take anything aside for anti-pyretics when I get a cold. I let my body take care of itself. It keeps my immune system in check.

There used to be an old chinese myth. Once you get 100 different cold, you are forever immuned to it.

I am starting to think that it is true. The amount of people who have allergies in america seems to be more than where I come from. Almost every other person I meet has some allergy reaction to something whereas I don't remember this kind of problem when I was small. Perhaps we were more ignorant, and the ignorance has made us consume the food that we are not suppose to eat. Thus building up a natural resistance.

I dont think our society is any different than those before us. Man has always sought comfort/escape from the human condition, be it the common cold or leprosy. Modern man is offered his respite from the everyday challenges with the fruits of chemistry. 100 years ago, the "tonic" salesman traveled through rural towns and villages selling elixirs and tonics touted to cure rheumatism, scurvy, warts, and insanity! Native Americans turned to the Medicine Man to allieviate the pains of tribal life. Some curatives are more spiritual, consider faith healers. Consider Jesus! Healing and escapism is nothing new. Our need to rise above the human condition is basic. Pharmaceuticals are just the current fashion.

By that logic:

Jesus = Legal Drug Pusher?

Now there is a thought worth considering.

My current and past addiction is music.

I used to smoke.

I still like to drink.

I'm far from pointing my finger at anyone, but as a teacher I notice that addiction in all shapes and colors has risen dramatically these past 10 years. No matter if it's alcohol (binge drinking is en vogue here at the moment with kids 14/15 and above) or online computer games ... it all results in attention deficit disorder right and left ... and worse.

I have to deal with these results on a daily basis and, as usual, educational systems seem to be too sluggish to deal with the massive onslaught.

Depressing.

Life is so fast paced these days everyone is looking for a quick fix to any problem.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately about natural ways to deal with long term health issues.

I think that western medicine is great for emergency type care, but for long term problems it's much better to look for a way to solve the cause of the issue, rather than just treat the symptoms.

THAT being said. I do take medication daily because I had a really bad bout with PPD a few years ago... to the point where I ended up in a hospital for a week. It's been years and I still have to take this medicine every day. If i go for even 1 or 2 days without it I feel the effects big time. I feel sluggish, and get upset easily. It sux.

I try my best NOT to take medication for anything if I can.

One of my favorite remedies is for heartburn. Just swallow a Tablespoon of White Vinegar... BOOM Heartburn is GONE.

I agree with most of the sentiment here. I think the problem is a lot of the pharmaceuticals developing drugs to address nearly inconsequential conditions. Not that the drugs shouldn't be developed, but they put a huge expenditure on the development, and then mass market it to everyone, trying to convince people they need something to make up for their previous costs. That's not only dishonest, it's near criminal.

For example, 10 years ago "Acid reflux disease," hardly existed as a term. You had heartburn. Some people had chronic heartburn, it's rare, and the only time the plethora of drugs now available to treat it are applicable. I went to a doctor 5 years ago after a panic attack so that I could have a checkup and make sure nothing was actually wrong that triggered it. They prescribed me nexium. Nexium is for acid reflux. I have only had heartburn 2 or three times in my life, nearly 3 decades. It just goes to show you how much influence the drug companies have in pushing product. Yes, the doctor checked me out, but he gave me something I have never needed, and will likely never need.

It's sad and sick that we have powerful companies playing off ignorance and fear so much these days.

Go play "I feel fantastic," off of this page.

Rant aside, they make some great things now a days. I'm on a daily cholesterol control drug. My diet has been excellent for years, my excersize level could use some upping, but I'm far from sedentary, and I'm more fit than the majority of America. I have a cholesterol problem that is entirely genetic, regardless of healthy choices I make I can't control it. With modern cholesterol drugs, I can. More so, they're cheap! The drug companies aren't completely evil.

I've also gone to the doctor for a cold, but I'm educated and do my own research. The only reason I go to the doctor is when I want some antibiotics for say a sinus infection that's developed from a cold, or steroids to reduce inflamation and swelling. Never try to go on a long flight if you have bad congestion, it's excrutiating.

I can't think of a time in history when people didn't self-medicate with drugs, alcohol, food, sex, pain or religion. Just saying.

It sounds like a lot of people on this list have never been depressed. Once you've been through the hell that is depression, you realize that a personal dislike of drugs shouldn't be used to judge others.

I've been depressed. It's hell.

I firmly believe that there are only a small percentage of cases where prescription drugs become necessary to treat it. I think most people rely on the drugs as a crutch because shady doctors or the mass media told them they should. Certainly this is not all cases!

Ozone... next time you have heartburn give the Vinegar a go... it burns a bit but I'll be damned if my HB wasn't gone in 20 seconds.