Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

 
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Ult_Sm86
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

Now as a patient and a person who takes eight pills a day, I will already say YES. It is needed. But the next part is, to what extent?

I just saw a THREE MINUTE ADVERTISEMENT for "Celebrex" which is about arthritis. ARTHRITIS. At least one minute and fifty seconds of this commercial, this "Add" was warnings. Clots, death, strokes, etc... Don't take with ASPRIN, don't take with HEART PILLS don't take with STRESS PILLS don't take with ANTI-DEPRESSANTS.

What the f*CK? Why do I WANT IT? I'll live with the achey joints and use the old method I have from my grandmother thank you very much. Warm cloth on my wrists, cup of tea, and a good nap.

We have more natural cures that are not only cheaper but they tend to work better than the pharmacy prescribed slew of pills and injections and etc.... Now as I said, like for me, a blood thinner is NEEDED. I can't clot, so I need to have a pill that will do that CONSISTANTLY. But what if someone needs the opposite? Thicker Blood (can't imagine why) but if they do, guess what? Green Tea? Spinach? Hell LEECHES. They all coagulate and thicken blood (the first due to a chemical relating to Vitamin K, something about protein, I'm not sure of the details, but its on wikipedia (and a book my cardiologist gave me.)

Why do we let these big corporations push us around? Why are we so weak that we think we have to cure our RESTLESS FOOT SYNDROME? Or our ADHD or ADD. If you have ADD to the point where you can't CONTROL YOURSELF, there are methods, practices, and etc that can help! Anti-Depressants are often times abused, psychologists (or is it the psychiatrists who prescribe?) have become LAZY and obnoxious pill poppers who think everything can be cured with a six month dose. If you ask me maybe the person needs to change their environment, get out and do something different. There will be, and ARE, people who need those medications, I am not denying that, but I think there are many, many, many people who use these, what we have started calling "EVERYDAY MEDICATIONS" as morning pills, like VITAMINS!

Thats another thing! Vitamins! As a child, you don't always eat whats best. Your parents will try but they don't go to school and we all know the lunch people aren't on top of their game. (Want some more slop?) So vitamins are understandable. But when do you start taking control of your life, and eating, oh I don't know? An orange? Drink some milk, eat a carrot, have some spinach. Hell have some spinach with cheese! You're not TAKING AWAY anything, just adding some fat! So guess what? WORK IT OFF!

But that brings up WEIGHT- LOSS PILLS! And I won't even get STARTED on that! I could be here, giving you guys this diatribe on medication all night if so! The point is, when does it stop? When do we say
"I'm a human being, with a human brain! The most remarkable thing on EARTH! I can comprehend and cognitively reason! WHY AM I NOT THINKING FOR MYSELF! WHERE IS MY WILL POWER!?"

I am disgusted with America and if the rest of the world is like this, I'm repulsed at them as well.

How do you guys feel about this?
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

I think that we are over medicated. I think that diet/lifestyle changes would be huge in combating some of this.

However - that said - the other side of the coin is that with all these medications people are living longer, better and more full lives. With the question of why someone would be willing to take a med with such varied and strong effects...all I can say is because it fricken hurts like hell. People can be trapped in their bodies, unable to do much of anything. A med that frees them from that, even to a degree, is a lovely thing. Everyone has to weigh the options with their doctor - if they can manage it with heat and NSAIDs as you said - then yes. But I know many arthritic people that can't even walk, or write, or do up a shirt without strong meds.

I take a med for restless leg syndrome actually. The reason I do this is because sleep is very important to my well being the next day. I already have extremely fractured sleep, and have a hard time staying asleep/getting to sleep because of pain. I was taking a lot of one med to knock me out, but once it wore off, I'd be awoken by the funky chicken dance my legs were doing against my will. If it wasn't important to my quality/ability to sleep, then I wouldn't have sought it. Now I am able to take way less of the med to knock me out, and have been feeling better as I'm not so drowsy in the morning from it.

What I'm saying is that people have to weigh it for themselves. I think they need to try to do everything non medication wise that they can do first - I certainly did with my RLS before seeking meds. It wouldn't do me any good to be drinking caffine and then medicating to control the RLS. That's a little silly. But once you've exausted your options, medication can be a real help. Do I *need* the med? No. Does it dramatically make a difference for my state of being? Yes.

I have a 'laundry list' of stuff that I deal with medically. Its all a balancing act. What may work for one thing, won't for another, or will make it worse. It makes things a challenge. But being educated on your options, and having a good working relationship with your doctor, pharamcist and who ever else is involved with your care is very important.

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Ult_Sm86
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

Maybe its different life styles we have paws, but I've always found that lack of sleep can be solved with meditation, exercise, correct balance of eating the right things throughout the day, and noiseless sleep (or appropriate amount of noise, such as babbling "calming" rocks if you like that kind of thing.) Now as for the chicken dance in your leg, that I can understand a medication for, but I'm also the kind of guy who was raised with the principle (due to years and years of multiple hospital visits including a 4 month stay once) that all options are to be considered. Massage perhaps? Acupuncture? Again, stretches, yoga, meditation? All of these things are cheap, natural, and don't interfere with the natural flow of your body.

Okay Yoga does. Yoga interferes in general. we are NOT supposed to bend like that.

But I do agree that sometimes these methods DONT work, so if you have tried them and they didn't, I understand.

and I'm not saying arthritis is easy to live with, my grandmother suffered terribly of it and I know it's not a walk in the park, and there is always, ALWAYS room for exception. Some people, NEED medication, I get that. But some people probably THINK they have arthritis, because the idea is considerably "easy" to fix for them (such as the house-mom on my street) when she CLEARLY has carpal tunnel from all the WoW and Sims she plays all day. She's of course depressed, because she's home playing video games, so she takes medication for that too. Now maybe she is depressed (I would be if I was playing WoW and nothing else) but the way to fix it is NOT medication, its simple lifestyle change. Same with the carpal tunnel! Get a rest for your wrists, don't type so much, use a blue-tooth or something! Or better yet...DO SOME HOUSE WORK!!? She chose arthritis because it meant her family can give her more attention. her own son says it's bull because she only takes the pills on days when the laundry is particularly large or the dishes are conveniently piling up. I don't believe she's a bad person, she's just making bad choices.
Our lifestyle is only related to our life chances when we lessen or strengthen certain aspects in said lifestyle. The more pills you pop, the better your out come CAN be. But sometimes, the more pills you pop, the less likely you're helping yourself at all. Your body is a machine that works, very well. Sometimes certain parts (such as my spleen) don't. If that's the case, there's a solution (usually) be it medicated or natural. But I think America likes to BELIEVE it has a problem.
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by JSherlock »

I think we need the medicines. Some people honestly need to be medicated for whatever reason (asthma is a biggie because my mother suffers from it and no amount of healthy living will stop an attack from happening.) Having said that, I also say people need to change their lifestyle to a healthier one and stop taking so many "fix me; I'm broken drugs". Those are usually the ones with the most problems attached to it.
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

Oh for sure. And that is a matter of self diagnosis - I mean the diagnosed ones.

I have tried all outer routes. Again - very important to. Taking a med is a last step. Some people are entirely too fond of them, yes. Some people can feel guilty however for taking meds, and that can be just as much of a mess.

I am currently on four. I'd love to be on less, but for now that is what it takes to keep me balanced. I don't take painkillers, because I don't want to get trapped in that. Meds can be an 'easy way out' for people that aren't so easy. And then you get into the messes where say a senior is on five meds for something, has a side effect from that - so they are medicated for that, and so on so forth until they are on 20. That is crazy.

But still, housewife can't get prescription meds without a dr - unless she's getting them illegally.

The hardest thing is having an 'invisible' illness. One of my things is fibromyalgia. Some people don't even believe in that. You get flack as 'faking' and 'looking for attention' and 'being lazy'. That really sucks. Because now not only do you have this scary thing that makes you feel unbelievabally ill, tired and in constant pain, but you have to face constant judgment. Its very easy to get upset and depressed just based on that. Now there are definate non-medical things you can and should do to help manage your fibro, but having the med to help me get some sleep keeps me sane. (Fibro also comes with sleeping disorders and a million other things. Its fun). There are many syndromes or diseases like this, and its a shame.

Mental illnesses are another that get a bad rap. With depression; therapy, exercise, good diet, enough sleep, getting enough daylight - all of those are vital. But sometimes meds keep you from making a really bad and permenant choice.
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

Mental Illnesses are what I consider to be one of the major exceptions because will power and change in life styles can't exactly occur to someone who doesn't have the forward thinking (for whatever reason) to see how they will benefit.
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

But still people get judged BIG TIME for them. One friend had to leave her church because several members were telling her she was depressed cause she wasn't praying hard enough. ><
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by JSherlock »

I completely agree with you, Paws. Another friend of mine has fibro, and is in such agony, I feel like killing the doctors that just pat her on her head and send her on her merry little way.

It's like with my own spine problems - doctors didn't believe me, since I went to see them when I was feeling okay and able to walk. but then they took scan and were all, oh, sorry silly me. But the people whose problems aren't visible - yeah - that's a bad deal all around. :(
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

See ethically, that's wrong. Those people should be ashamed of themselves.
And I understand medication and stuff for those types of situations, I do. Thats why I'm saying someone who can't help themselves or solve it themselves, when willpower can't help, medication is a necessity. Yet, there are people all over faking depression or even convincing themselves they should be depressed just so they can take the pills. It's so... pathetic. But then again, that's all part of being a human. If you can reason your way out of a bad state of mind, its only natural to assume you can reason yourself into one if it gets you what you WANT.

[Edited on 10/1/08 by Ult_Sm86]
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by JSherlock »

Originally posted by Ult_Sm86
See ethically, that's wrong. Those people should be ashamed of themselves. ... Yet, there are people all over faking depression or even convincing themselves they should be depressed just so they can take the pills. It's so... pathetic. But then again, that's all part of being a human. If you can reason your way out of a bad state of mind, its only natural to assume you can reason yourself into one if it gets you what you WANT.

[Edited on 10/1/08 by Ult_Sm86]
Yeah? And if you think those people are doing it by completely self-aware choices, you're wrong. Marketing BOMBARDS us with your life is so hectic!; you're sick; you're broken! There's gotta be SOMETHING wrong with ya! Too busy to relax and start a better way of living? Just use one of these miracle pills!

And some of those people who take the drugs even when there's really nothing wrong, or the initial bout of drugs has fixed them, and they've become addicted still think there's something wrong with them. Because they are told over and over that there is.

People, I think, don't want to be unhappy, in pain, and have a crummy card dealt to them in life, but they believe it is so and take the drugs that are so easily available to escape that.
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

I would love to see some more healthy coping mechanisms and skills taught to our children. Really - if I'd have known how to do what I do now with a lot of therapy - I'd probabally have dealt with some of the issues that I had a bit better. Lack of skills in coping isn't always 'willing'. Its a lack of insight/abilities. Just like someone that doesn't automatically know how to do math without being taught isn't 'dumb'.

That said, I do know where you are coming from, BM, and I do agree with some of what you've said. Its just impossible to make any sweeping assessments - everyone is their own case.
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by Crocodile Hunter »

I like to take meds when I've got da heartburn once in a month, so yeah I need pharmacy.
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

I'm not fighting you on this JS, I'm agreeing with both you and Paws, there's always an instance where they DO need them, it's just..
Sometimes I feel these people are letting the marketing bully them! I mean maybe the question here isn't "do we need the pharmacy?" its more "do we need the pharmaceutical corporations?" I'm a huge, HUGE believer in will power. I believe it over come ANYTHING (Dare I say cancer at an early enough stage) because the human brain is a complex and phenomenally powerful tool! We haven't even tapped half of what its capable of doing, and that said, it's not surprising so many of us (and I am a victim of it as well) give in to big corporation bully-like advertisement schemes. We're told we have a problem, and maybe, deep down, we want to have a problem? I don't know. What I do know is I hope that the next candidate cracks down on Pharmaceutical Corps, before they end up giving us a pill for "Awkward Knee Bending-itis." Yes. Someone has an awkwardly bent knee. DOESN'T MEAN YOU DO.

And I'm not saying people naturally want to feel bad, I just don't want to see people make stupid choices.

[Edited on 10/1/08 by Ult_Sm86]
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by JSherlock »

They're not being bullied into anything. There are being influenced to think there's something wrong with them. Whether or not they see that or not comes with how perceptive they are of marketing strategies. There are pharmaceutical corporations, because they're the ones who got on top. And they mean to stay there. Greed comes into it at that point, I think. There's more money coming in if millions of people think they're not well, and go out and buy drugs, rather than a few hundred who are truly ill.
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Is the Pharmacy Really Needed?

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

That's what I'm saying, we need someone who can put a can on that! Medical care in general is awful, and we let pharmaceutical corporations tell our healthcare plans where and WHEN we can get our refills? I was told i had to get them through the mail, and had to order every thirty days! No sooner, no later. Thirty days. We fought it, and eventually "won" to the point where I called them and told them "I'm on a blood thinner, and if you'd like my cardiologist to explain to your lawyers in court WHY i died, feel free to deny me my need to go to the local pharmacy."

But that's a different issue.

I know people are influenced, and I know that they may not be aware of it, but that comes back to whats REALLY wrong with them! They're poorly informed! Maybe if we had some kind of person who told corporations "hey, you can't just push pills all the time like this, research your stuff before you start advertising". I see these commercials and they speed read the warnings! That is SO bad! Why!? That's something you do when you DON'T Want someone to hear it? Do they NOT want people to hear what can KILL THEM if they take this pill?

There's something they're looking into now that says a certain genetic glitch increases the risk of autism by 100 times. They're finding out that pieces of DNA is missing, meaning they know where the error is now (same as if you were to search for missing files on a computer is how the guy broke it down on the News), the test takes only 2-3000 dollars (which in the medical world is cheap) and though it only scrapes the surface on the baffling aspects of autism, it can help get the RIGHT treatment for any ONE particular case!
THIS is the testing and research they need to be putting into the prescribed medications, and I just feel that they are NOT doing that anymore. There's only so many Erectile Disfunction pills that can work, and how do you get one to work BETTER? Make it last LONGER? That CANNOT be healthy! I just...I just feel helpless you know? Overwhelmed? I'm not angry I'm just disappointed that Corporations can't always put the time and effort hospitals use on clinical research into their publicized, medications, which THEY make money off of.
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