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A pill for every ill?

Christ_empowered

Christ_empowered

Member
OK. So, I was watching the news (that rarely happens...I've largely fallen out of the habit of watching TV), and they came on with some random factoid: 10% of Americans (more women than men) take at least one psychiatric medication. Many of them are provided through family docs without a diagnosis.

Then there's pain pills. And pills for diabetes, high cholesterol. And the booming supplement industry.

What do you think is going on? I mean, I'm part of this trend. Meds+supplements. I'm not pointing fingers or anything, that's not the issue. Its really not a *personal* problem, when you have this many millions of people in a society on multiple meds for just about everything.

What gives? For those of you who are older and feel like responding...what were things like back in the day? I get the sense that people weren't as medicated, but they still seemed to manage. I also get the sense that, despite all the spending on docs, surgeries, health care, pills, etc., we're not living all that much longer.

What do y'all think?
 
Back in the 90's, it was estimated that 25% of the US population could be diagnosed with some form of mental illness. Whether that's true or no, I can't say.

Back in the day...... mental health issues were more swept under the proverbial carpet than it is now. Diagnosis for conditions like manic-depression just weren't around, so many who suffered from that condition didn't receive meds to help stabilize the mood swings.

As for the development of surgeries & diagnosis improvements over the years: these have increased our odds to live longer. I was very young at the time, but the news that the first heart transplant left its mark in my brain. Little did I know that I would eventually have a daughter who, at the tender age of 3 (she had just turned 3), would require heart surgery so she would live. If she had been born in my generation, the type of heart condition would have claimed her life before the age of 20. As it was, the surgeon who repaired her heart said he would have given her less than a year to live without surgery. In my daughter's case, she has most definitely lived longer because of the advancement of medical diagnosis & surgery.

Back in the day.... there were most likely just as many hypochondriacs then as there are today. There are probably just as many lax doctors today by percentage as there used to be. The majority of doctors, however, are dedicated, and would rather spend the time with the patient than be rushed to medicate. And I believe the majority of doctors do not hand out prescriptions without proper diagnosis. (But there are some people who will do the bidding of their patients' desires; Michael Jackson's doctors come to mind.)
 
I'm happy to hear the medical technology saved your daughter. That's a beautiful thing right there.

Maybe I've just been over-analyzing. Its like...everybody...is on...something. I dunno...it just freaks me out a little bit, that's all. I'm also concerned about so much control of our lives being handed over to the medical establishment and Big Pharma. Power issues, lots of money involved. I dunno.

But you're right; meds and medical technology saves lives, undoubtedly. I know my particular form of mental illness (more severe end of Bipolar I) would have been incapacitating without modern meds. Maybe that's part of my concern...like, I have intense Bipolar. Not to whine, but...wow...I'm glad for meds. But then I watch TV, and we have direct-to-consumer ad spots for the very same medication I'm on. I'm thinking...how many severely Bipolar people are there, honestly? Are we expanding diagnosis to sell Abilify and friends? Are we narrowing our concept of what "normal" looks like?

I appreciate your post.
 
President Eisenhower warned of the military-industrial complex.

There's the medical-pharmaceutical-regulatory complex, too...
 
Thanks, Christ_empowered ... and she's a beautiful Christian today, an amazing individual!

Back in the 60's, the Rolling Stones had a hit song "Mother's Little Helper" that talked about pills ... in fact, over the years, many bands have sang the warnings of taking pills, that there are pills for every ill (as your thread title states!).

Personally, I'd rather not take pills. But there are times when I need to take pain meds. Still, I don't like the idea of direct-to-consumer drugs without doctor supervision on the matter.

I'm not sure whether it's a case of narrowly defining our concept of 'normal' ... or broadening the scope of who all fit into specific categories. Many of us are seeing a more abbreviated relationship with our primary care doctors, who have too many patients to see, in too brief a time period.
 
I tend not to take prescription med.s, either, unless really necessary.

(Maybe it didn't work last winter; I couldn't lie down for a few nights, because of a chest problem and in the end had to go on prescribed morphine....)
 
I'm all for appropriate use of meds. Pain killers make life bearable. Psychiatric meds can keep people out of state mental hospitals and jail. Hypertension and cholesterol meds can extend one's lifespan. That's a wonderful thing, really.

I guess I'm just wondering...what gives? Why are so many people on so many meds for so many reasons, at such a high cost (drug acquisition costs, side effects, drug+drug interactions, etc.) ?
 
One problem is that we are too quick to look for the easy answer. It's much easier to pop a pill than to lose weight, change our diet, exercise,....

I am a testament that sometimes we can have an affect on our health if we're willing to work at it a little.

I have been prescribed various maintenance health medications and I still take a couple daily medications but some medications have been eliminated while the dosage of others have been cut back.

About eight years ago through the process of my giving blood it was recognized that my blood pressure had been creeping higher and consistently hovering around that 140/90 range. It was decided that I would begin a maintenance drug to help regulate my pressure.

Some years later, I went in for my semi-annual checkup and my doctor asked me how I felt. I commented that I was having a little trouble feeling more fatigued than usual but attributed it to the fact that my work schedule had changed and I was getting up at 3:30 am for work every day. He decided to do a blood test and discovered that my potassium level was very low. He said it could be partly a reaction to the diuretic portion of my blood pressure medication. He prescribed a 400mg potassium tablet for me to take. On my way home I was thinking about that and became concerned that I would be taking one medication to counter the effects of another. I didn't like that idea so, knowing that potassium is found in many of the foods we eat I decided to do some research on my own. I discovered that fruit and green vegetables were a great source of potassium and thought maybe a change in diet would be a better solution so I called my doctor and asked if I could try that remedy instead. He agreed and gave me two weeks to try it out. Two weeks later my potassium level had returned to normal and has remained fine ever since. That was four years ago.

Two years ago in February I began to notice a problem with an uncontrollable thirst and knowing this as a symptom of diabetes and having a family history with this disease I contacted my doctor. A blood test confirmed that I was type II diabetic. He prescribed medication and some training on how to live with diabetes. I learned that I had to really limit my intake of carbohydrates so I began a dietary change and a change in my exercise level. Over the course of the next six months I lost 25 pounds and my blood sugar seemed to be coming under control. On that Thanksgiving holiday we went to visit in-laws for the weekend and I forgot to bring my medication with me although I did have my test equipment. I tested myself regularly and noticed that my blood sugar did not start to rise so as a test I decided to continue without my medication when I got home and a week later my blood glucose was still normal. I contacted my doctor and he gave me the okay to continue my experiment. I haven't taken my medication since and that was one year ago. Not only that but my blood pressure also began to come down and today I am taking half the dose.

We need to take some responsibility instead of just giving in to the pill whenever we have problems. It doesn't work every time but sometimes it can work out in our favor.
 
WIP said:
One problem is that we are too quick to look for the easy answer. It's much easier to pop a pill than to lose weight, change our diet, exercise,....

I am a testament that sometimes we can have an affect on our health if we're willing to work at it a little.

I have been prescribed various maintenance health medications and I still take a couple daily medications but some medications have been eliminated while the dosage of others have been cut back.

About eight years ago through the process of my giving blood it was recognized that my blood pressure had been creeping higher and consistently hovering around that 140/90 range. It was decided that I would begin a maintenance drug to help regulate my pressure.

Some years later, I went in for my semi-annual checkup and my doctor asked me how I felt. I commented that I was having a little trouble feeling more fatigued than usual but attributed it to the fact that my work schedule had changed and I was getting up at 3:30 am for work every day. He decided to do a blood test and discovered that my potassium level was very low. He said it could be partly a reaction to the diuretic portion of my blood pressure medication. He prescribed a 400mg potassium tablet for me to take. On my way home I was thinking about that and became concerned that I would be taking one medication to counter the effects of another. I didn't like that idea so, knowing that potassium is found in many of the foods we eat I decided to do some research on my own. I discovered that fruit and green vegetables were a great source of potassium and thought maybe a change in diet would be a better solution so I called my doctor and asked if I could try that remedy instead. He agreed and gave me two weeks to try it out. Two weeks later my potassium level had returned to normal and has remained fine ever since. That was four years ago.

Two years ago in February I began to notice a problem with an uncontrollable thirst and knowing this as a symptom of diabetes and having a family history with this disease I contacted my doctor. A blood test confirmed that I was type II diabetic. He prescribed medication and some training on how to live with diabetes. I learned that I had to really limit my intake of carbohydrates so I began a dietary change and a change in my exercise level. Over the course of the next six months I lost 25 pounds and my blood sugar seemed to be coming under control. On that Thanksgiving holiday we went to visit in-laws for the weekend and I forgot to bring my medication with me although I did have my test equipment. I tested myself regularly and noticed that my blood sugar did not start to rise so as a test I decided to continue without my medication when I got home and a week later my blood glucose was still normal. I contacted my doctor and he gave me the okay to continue my experiment. I haven't taken my medication since and that was one year ago. Not only that but my blood pressure also began to come down and today I am taking half the dose.

We need to take some responsibility instead of just giving in to the pill whenever we have problems. It doesn't work every time but sometimes it can work out in our favor.
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I hope things work out for you.

There may also be 'an ill for every pill', since there are often side effects...
 
Your absolutely correct as there are also side effects from illnesses.

Since I was diagnosed with diabetes my doctor has become more concerned with my cholesterol level. Overall my cholesterol is fine but the balance is poor. HDL is low, LDL is high, and my triglycerides are high. This is not unusual for me as the numbers haven't changed much from what they've always been. I asked him about that and he said that having diabetes makes those numbers a much higher concern. Diabetes does more than just raise blood sugar, which is a toxin but it also dramatically increases my risk of heart disease.

I told him it sounded like a train wreck and he said that was a very good analogy.
 
WIP said:
Your absolutely correct as there are also side effects from illnesses.

Since I was diagnosed with diabetes my doctor has become more concerned with my cholesterol level. Overall my cholesterol is fine but the balance is poor. HDL is low, LDL is high, and my triglycerides are high. This is not unusual for me as the numbers haven't changed much from what they've always been. I asked him about that and he said that having diabetes makes those numbers a much higher concern. Diabetes does more than just raise blood sugar, which is a toxin but it also dramatically increases my risk of heart disease.

I told him it sounded like a train wreck and he said that was a very good analogy.
Click to expand...

My hope is that things work out for you, anyway.

I also heard of a guy who, because of a weak heart, took early retirement at 47, and died...at 101. So I guess people can also learn to live with their health problems. I guess also the medical fraterity to some extent has a vested interest in people's ilnesses and ailments, however real.
 
I know of a few people on anti-depressants and you don't have to look very far to see their depression is self inflicted. Drives me nuts because sometimes it's natural and normal to feel depressed. Sometimes we need to feel depressed because honestly, sometimes life gets depressing. Unfortunately, both alcohol and drugs can be a way of self medication and a means to escape our feelings, so it's not just pharmaceuticals.

Before people get all crazy on me, yes I do believe that there is a time and place for medication to help somebody get through a tough time. My brother is bi-polar and I've seen him in some of his severe manic states. It's not pretty. He's clamped down and is off all of his "pills" because even though they can get you through a period, they harm the body drastically and can take years or decades off a person's life. Instead of relying on the pills, he takes his diet and exercise and daily routines very seriously and as such, he's making it. Some days better than others but he's making it. Actually, the other day he and I talked on the phone for about 2 hours. That hasn't happened in over 20 years because honestly, we just couldn't get along because of his manic personality. So what a pleasure it was to have my brother back!

That all being said, my brother also states that if his manic condition ever starts getting to the point where he can't keep it under control, he knows he has to reach for his little helper to get him over that hurdle. Praise be to God that he's been pill free for over a year now.
 
A friend of mine from years past struggled with manic depression. I could not understand that condition. Does the person recognize when he/she is coming into an episode if that's the right term?
 
WIP said:
A friend of mine from years past struggled with manic depression. I could not understand that condition. Does the person recognize when he/she is coming into an episode if that's the right term?
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yes, when my wife did have them, she did and would take her meds.
 
That is interesting. Having struggled with depression myself in the past, I can, to some degree, understand how difficult it must be for them when they know what is about to happen but can't do much about it. That in itself would be depressing.
 
for my wife mania can be anger, overshopping and over reacting to normal stress. these types along with the those who have depression tend to hit the bong.
 
The problem is sometimes not with taking meds; it's when someone depressive on prescribed meds "feels fine" and doesn't take them. This is often when the problems start.
 
farouk said:
The problem is sometimes not with taking meds; it's when someone depressive on prescribed meds "feels fine" and doesn't take them. This is often when the problems start.
Click to expand...
some times with bipolar, the doctors will do just that. my wifes old doctor did.
 
Yeah, I'm not knocking people for taking meds. I do. My Bipolar involves periods of psychosis at both the depressive (more frequent) and manic (relatively rare for me) ends. Psychosis is scary for everybody, so I'm all about my meds.

I guess I'm just wondering if there's something wrong with our society. We have direct-to-consumer ads for sleeping pills and antipsychotics. Lots of kids are medicated, especially foster kids. Sometimes I wonder if all the psycho-babble that permeates our culture is doing is keeping people from realizing that the economy is terrible, families are disintegrating, and society is crumbling.

That doesn't even count the meds for hypertension, cholesterol, pain killers, etc. etc. With millions upon millions of people taking all kinds of prescription meds, its no longer an individual problem; its a cultural issue.
 
Christ_empowered said:
That doesn't even count the meds for hypertension, cholesterol, pain killers, etc. etc. With millions upon millions of people taking all kinds of prescription meds, its no longer an individual problem; its a cultural issue.
Click to expand...

Isn't that the truth! Actually, I just heard this morning on the news that they are going to ban trans fat! That will really help reduce a lot of what you listed above! People don't understand how linked our diets are to our health.

Speaking of, here is a site my brother uses to help him. I have to say, I feel like I've got my brother back!
http://beyondmeds.com/

He also recomeds this site. But you can't leave us! http://www.theicarusproject.net
 
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