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antidepressants might just make things worse
- Thread starter Christ_empowered
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R
Runner
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Bingo. "Here's an exciting new pill you need to take" is the mantra of modern medicine. The medical community has no clue as to the long-term side effects of vast numbers of prescription medications. The medical community has utterly no clue as to the short- or long-term side effects of the absurd cocktails of 5, 8 or 12 prescriptions that many gullible people swallow every day.
Read sometime about the staggering billions of dollars in profits generated by one successful prescription medication and the absurd lengths the manufacturers go to in order to extend the life of their patents by making minuscule changes in the formula as the original patent is about to expire. Why do you think prescription drug ads are now more prevalent on TV and in print than beer and car commercials - because the manufacturers care deeply about our health and want us to have the best available information? Uh, not exactly. I will never forget reading an article in the New Yorker about the history of Nexium ("the purple pill") - the dollar amounts and the manufacturer shenanigans were beyond belief. (Nexium alone generated nearly $50 billion in profits between 2006 and 2017 - and this was after generic versions were available, not while it was fully patent protected. Yeah, $50 billion will justify a few Super Bowl commercials.)
I take no prescription medications whatsoever and am practically treated like a criminal every time I have my annual checkup. What, no drugs for anything??? It's un-American, you old fart. Surely at the age of 68 you must have at least 4 or 5 symptoms of some sort that a prescription cocktail would help? Despite the fact that I have no history of heart disease in my family and am a hundred times leaner and fitter than the average 68-year-old, I have literally been hounded by doctors for 20 years to take statins for my very mildly elevated cholesterol - even though the short- and long-term effects of statins are themselves highly questionable. (I love the Mayo Clinic site, which basically says "Yes, the side effects of statins may make you feel as though they are ruining your life, but they are just so beneficial you need to take them anyway." Uh, how is "feeling like they are ruining your life" different from "ruining your life"?) And why am I hounded? Because a prescription drug you have to take every day for the rest of your life is like the Holy Grail of drug manufacturers, to such an extent that I have no doubt the doctors are rewarded handsomely for hounding their patients to take them.
We have both seen this in the mental health community, where being a psychologist or therapist these days means little more than "Here, take these pills - you'll be a zombie, but at least you won't be such a nuisance to others. Next patient, please."
Americans play right into the hands of the medical community, of course, by their "victim" mentality. "Poor me, I have a right to be happy ... it's not fair that I'm depressed ... give me something to make me feel better and face life." There are undoubtedly cases of genuine depression and other mental illnesses that are attributable to chemical imbalances, but I believe an antidepressant should be absolutely the last resort rather than a quick fix. Like statins, antidepressants have their own set of frightening side effects and unintended consequences. Prozac? No, I don't think so, thanks.
Being married to a Russian and now having a great deal more experience with the European view of medicine has been an eye-opener for me. Suffice it to say, Americans are about 500 times more likely to seek a solution in pills than are Europeans. A classic case is my best friend, who is a bloated, slurring shadow of his former self thanks to a cocktail that has at times included up to 11 anti-depressants, anti-anxiety pills, high blood pressure pills, prostate pills and God knows what else. Oh, yeah, he's lots "better" now. When his doctor suggested that they could first try diet and exercise to deal with his elevated cholesterol, he replied "No, just prescribe the pills."
Read sometime about the staggering billions of dollars in profits generated by one successful prescription medication and the absurd lengths the manufacturers go to in order to extend the life of their patents by making minuscule changes in the formula as the original patent is about to expire. Why do you think prescription drug ads are now more prevalent on TV and in print than beer and car commercials - because the manufacturers care deeply about our health and want us to have the best available information? Uh, not exactly. I will never forget reading an article in the New Yorker about the history of Nexium ("the purple pill") - the dollar amounts and the manufacturer shenanigans were beyond belief. (Nexium alone generated nearly $50 billion in profits between 2006 and 2017 - and this was after generic versions were available, not while it was fully patent protected. Yeah, $50 billion will justify a few Super Bowl commercials.)
I take no prescription medications whatsoever and am practically treated like a criminal every time I have my annual checkup. What, no drugs for anything??? It's un-American, you old fart. Surely at the age of 68 you must have at least 4 or 5 symptoms of some sort that a prescription cocktail would help? Despite the fact that I have no history of heart disease in my family and am a hundred times leaner and fitter than the average 68-year-old, I have literally been hounded by doctors for 20 years to take statins for my very mildly elevated cholesterol - even though the short- and long-term effects of statins are themselves highly questionable. (I love the Mayo Clinic site, which basically says "Yes, the side effects of statins may make you feel as though they are ruining your life, but they are just so beneficial you need to take them anyway." Uh, how is "feeling like they are ruining your life" different from "ruining your life"?) And why am I hounded? Because a prescription drug you have to take every day for the rest of your life is like the Holy Grail of drug manufacturers, to such an extent that I have no doubt the doctors are rewarded handsomely for hounding their patients to take them.
We have both seen this in the mental health community, where being a psychologist or therapist these days means little more than "Here, take these pills - you'll be a zombie, but at least you won't be such a nuisance to others. Next patient, please."
Americans play right into the hands of the medical community, of course, by their "victim" mentality. "Poor me, I have a right to be happy ... it's not fair that I'm depressed ... give me something to make me feel better and face life." There are undoubtedly cases of genuine depression and other mental illnesses that are attributable to chemical imbalances, but I believe an antidepressant should be absolutely the last resort rather than a quick fix. Like statins, antidepressants have their own set of frightening side effects and unintended consequences. Prozac? No, I don't think so, thanks.
Being married to a Russian and now having a great deal more experience with the European view of medicine has been an eye-opener for me. Suffice it to say, Americans are about 500 times more likely to seek a solution in pills than are Europeans. A classic case is my best friend, who is a bloated, slurring shadow of his former self thanks to a cocktail that has at times included up to 11 anti-depressants, anti-anxiety pills, high blood pressure pills, prostate pills and God knows what else. Oh, yeah, he's lots "better" now. When his doctor suggested that they could first try diet and exercise to deal with his elevated cholesterol, he replied "No, just prescribe the pills."
Christ_empowered
Member
im beginning to realize that a lot of the "problems" I had (have?) with Mental Health, Inc. extend to the medical establishment, as a whole, and probably reflect a lot of larger social and economic factors. having said that...
fraud is rampant in mental health, inc. my own experience is that...if it wasn't for now "well-to-do" parents, I'd be in prison, real poverty, or maybe...just maybe...chililin out in what's left of the state hospital, sippin' on Thorazine punch, etc. ugh.
but, hey...its the 21st century. "recovery model"=less use of hospitals. now, if my parents weren't behind me, weren't more "genteel," hadn't gotten me a lawyer, etc., I -might- be living in poverty, being pumped full of Haldol via long acting injection. but...
as is, I get disability, pick up 2 psych drugs from the local pharmacy, breeze into the clinic every now and then, and...
ugh. As a Christian, I can see God making good of sins and mistakes from my past, including pursuing "treatment" on a voluntary, outpatient basis as a teenager. Ooops. I thought they "helped" people. and now...
when I'm in the waiting room of the clinic, I stick out like a sore thumb. reasonably well-dressed, bright eyed, healthy. I guess this is part of genuine "recovery..." one sees the world for what it really is. I look around, see lots of poor and struggling people people doped to the gills, lied to, led down a dead end street...
and that's pretty much "treatment for mental illness," for the vast majority of "patients," anyway. me? I"m sick of all of it. I had 1 compassionate, professional counselor...he pretty much told me....ideally, one gets their act together, gets out of mental health, inc., and on with life. but how, when one is labeled with everything and "kept in line," etc.? ugh.
my life as "mental patient" is surprisingly comfortable, safe, quiet, even idyllic, at times. God is good! My parents are kind to me. I just...well, I'm now stuck with the stigma of "Schizophrenia," maybe "Bipolar I," and there's really no escaping it, not right now. I guess I could move, when and if I can find a way to support myself at a high enough level to stay out of Mental Health, Inc's clutches. We shall see....
I have more or less lost faith in most of the medical establishment. it was just psychiatry, now im thinking....ugh. good thing The Lord has willed to make me remarkably healthy and all, because...I don't much care for most MDs. it is what it is...
fraud is rampant in mental health, inc. my own experience is that...if it wasn't for now "well-to-do" parents, I'd be in prison, real poverty, or maybe...just maybe...chililin out in what's left of the state hospital, sippin' on Thorazine punch, etc. ugh.
but, hey...its the 21st century. "recovery model"=less use of hospitals. now, if my parents weren't behind me, weren't more "genteel," hadn't gotten me a lawyer, etc., I -might- be living in poverty, being pumped full of Haldol via long acting injection. but...
as is, I get disability, pick up 2 psych drugs from the local pharmacy, breeze into the clinic every now and then, and...
ugh. As a Christian, I can see God making good of sins and mistakes from my past, including pursuing "treatment" on a voluntary, outpatient basis as a teenager. Ooops. I thought they "helped" people. and now...
when I'm in the waiting room of the clinic, I stick out like a sore thumb. reasonably well-dressed, bright eyed, healthy. I guess this is part of genuine "recovery..." one sees the world for what it really is. I look around, see lots of poor and struggling people people doped to the gills, lied to, led down a dead end street...
and that's pretty much "treatment for mental illness," for the vast majority of "patients," anyway. me? I"m sick of all of it. I had 1 compassionate, professional counselor...he pretty much told me....ideally, one gets their act together, gets out of mental health, inc., and on with life. but how, when one is labeled with everything and "kept in line," etc.? ugh.
my life as "mental patient" is surprisingly comfortable, safe, quiet, even idyllic, at times. God is good! My parents are kind to me. I just...well, I'm now stuck with the stigma of "Schizophrenia," maybe "Bipolar I," and there's really no escaping it, not right now. I guess I could move, when and if I can find a way to support myself at a high enough level to stay out of Mental Health, Inc's clutches. We shall see....
I have more or less lost faith in most of the medical establishment. it was just psychiatry, now im thinking....ugh. good thing The Lord has willed to make me remarkably healthy and all, because...I don't much care for most MDs. it is what it is...
King Dan of Great the 1st
Member
Generation Rx. A huge uncontrolled experiment.
King Dan of Great the 1st
Member
And people wonder what is wrong with society.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/1035...meth-use-guide-distributed-to-school-students
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/1035...meth-use-guide-distributed-to-school-students