With the health care bill constantly teetering on the brink, it got me to thinking about a topic that had come up quite a bit before, but now seems to be on the forefront of my mind. Conspiracy theories asides, the statistics seem to support that, illegally or not, a good majority of people are on some kind of drug, be it anything from mood elevators to good ol' fashioned heroin. Barring the illegal drugs, it's been brought up that some doctors, whether "bought off" by pharmaceutical companies or not, are much more willing to offer a prescription rather than an in-depth diagnosis. BUT, there are obviously some doctors who truly believe in the Hippocratic Oath (sp?) and treat patients to the honest-to-God best of their ability.With all this in mind, do you think medication is overprescribed to the public at large? Do you think that some doctors are too careless and toss medicine at something that could easily be solved with, say, a minor attitude adjustment (like say, a walk in the park instead of Xanax for anxiety)?On my stance, I think medication is overprescribed. I think conditions like ADHD may be valid but can be, with some willpower, overcome naturally rather than pharmaceutically. Sometimes I feel that what's essentially boredom or a short attention span should be dealt with through mental training, not medicine. What do you guys think?
Medication
Started by skulhedface, Feb 23 2010 02:23 AM
10 replies to this topic
#1
skulhedface
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Posted 23 February 2010 - 02:23 AM
#2
Guest_2bigpigs
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Posted 23 February 2010 - 02:56 AM
I do not know about the health care bill but it is true that doctors seem to prescribe easily.I believe it may be because of the way the common man sees things.Get sick>Take medecine>Get better>Get back to work.So he doesn't miss any days.He does not know that his body has the most efficient way of killing of the antigens. As antibiotics and drugs have some overall bad effects it is surprising that so many people use it.As soon as they get a head ache some people start taking pills. It is even stupider if they take without any prescription because they felt they had that same problem before.Now on to the mood elevator stuff.Well that's what you get if you work people like horses and not give them time to relax properly.Its just the modern system of society that is wrong there.So they will turn to them happy drugs to cheer them up.Except it isn't really useful to your body.I also feel like people are happier when they are prescribed something rather than just to let their immune system get over it and doctors oblige. As for the in depth diagnosis there still are many people doing it well but it is really hard considering the amount you have to study.
#3
skulhedface
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Posted 23 February 2010 - 03:03 AM
Another worry is the prevalence of superbugs. Use too much medication, only the resistant kind survive. Therefore bringing up superbugs. Do you think that, given the generational gap with antigens is miniscule, that superbugs should be a concern to medication-happy docs?
#4
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Posted 23 February 2010 - 03:29 AM
Yes i guess i didn't mention that.The thing is that only people who have studied hard into the medecines know how bad it is to take medecines for no real reason.And the medecines don't have any real warning except 'to be taken on the prescription of a medical practitioner only'.I get sick occassionally but i often just let it pass over without even resting much.My cold is often less after some exercise and a little jog helps my fever recover.Rest is the most important thing in curing a disease and getting better as Rest can cure the disease better than antibiotics.You could add that question to your first post.Yes superbugs could be a concern but we may well come up with a second antibiotic. I think Tuberculosis (With the long time you have to continue taking medecine even after you are better) is a good example.Now we cure it so easily in some parts of the world that it is considered a minor disease by some.But it used to be a good killer back in the day. So since it is seen as a minor one we tend to be less careful about the medication and the superbugs get more likely.
Edited by 2bigpigs, 23 February 2010 - 03:32 AM.
#5
skulhedface
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Posted 23 February 2010 - 07:40 AM
That IS something I've noticed... Whenever I'm sick with something minor, like a cold, I will flat out refuse to take anything for it and will tough it out. I've been a little paranoid about catching a superbug (not to mention developing tolerances to cold medicine, but that's another story) and having it be unfazed by any attempt to medicate against it. Thankfully, my unwillingness to take medicine except as desperately needed means it DOES work wonders when I do need it.Also, I tend to think that drugs only temporarily solve the problem. I've seen people develop addictions to drugs and end up going to rehab, which is a joke in and of itself. Rehab therapy, the kind not involving committal to a mental home or electroshock therapy, usually involves detoxing with an agent like methadone, which basically does nil. Also, users can inadvertently meet new contacts at these rehab facilities.In the end, it almost seems as if drugs are the temporary solution corrolating into a permanent problem.
#6
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Posted 23 February 2010 - 08:31 AM
I would like to bring up the point that early detection and treatment is most important in certain diseases.Without it you reduce your chances of survival drastically so in the case of serious doubt of a serious illness I would take the drugs for sure and immediately . Eg swine flu.If i knew someone who had it and i had been around him...So prescribing drugs in such serious cases is not bad as it can save a life but doing so at every little cold and too often increases the possibility of the superbugs being created.
#7
skulhedface
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Posted 23 February 2010 - 10:55 PM
Maybe a topic for another debate, but Swine Flu wasn't all the news would have you believe. My son and I both caught it, and it didn't effect me any worse than a normal flu. I had to watch my son for dehydration, but he was otherwise acting like he had a normal cold. The only reason I know it was swine flu was because the hospital tested for it.Along the same lines as the debate, what about vaccines? Definitely helpful in some situations, but the one time in my life (other than swine flu) that I actually had the flu, it was almost immediately after... I'd taken a flu vaccine.
#8
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Posted 24 February 2010 - 01:35 AM
I see what you mean, My sister caught mumps after her mumps vaccine.But most of the time it works well.It's an effective system.Swine flu kills around .05% of the people it infects.Those may be people people with existing difficulties.The thing about swine flu is it's ability to spread from human to human .If you spread it to a school that can be very bad As a good range of people will be infected.The vaccine for that is to be used well and overprescription isn't a problem with vaccines is it?Maybe a topic for another debate, but Swine Flu wasn't all the news would have you believe. My son and I both caught it, and it didn't effect me any worse than a normal flu. I had to watch my son for dehydration, but he was otherwise acting like he had a normal cold. The only reason I know it was swine flu was because the hospital tested for it.Along the same lines as the debate, what about vaccines? Definitely helpful in some situations, but the one time in my life (other than swine flu) that I actually had the flu, it was almost immediately after... I'd taken a flu vaccine.
#9
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Posted 24 February 2010 - 02:11 PM
Well i was surely amazed at first but then dissapointed since only 2 members are intersted about medical stuff well regradless allow me to point out some of what u already did mentioned before as just to stress on the subject ...... Nosocomial infections means the infection aquired at the hospital and speaking of antibiotic resistant strain of bacteria fugai or virus you can imagine the break out that occur with a hospital when a resistant case occur simply we shut the whole place down as a quarntine and search for the source so as to run through test for the drug sensetivity No one in or out at all untill the infection is controlled including the patient ofcourse ....Over the counter drugs >>> thats what u mentioned before which means u aquire the drug without counsling any doctor u just buy and take the drug on ur own .... the problem arised to be of great threat when it was correlated with the roof top increase of renal failure cases among females ....cause they take alot of pain killer through their life they damage their kidney to the scaring level ....so it is not just a new resistant microbe but also a body system failure ....TB ..tuberculosis well thats another story since it remain dormant within the body and could reactivate once more if the body immunity went down dotors dont over prescribe really ofcourse some of them might even offer a surgery that u dont even need but thats the rotten eggs quak rather doctors use some time the mental treatment just as u said people must take some pills so ill go away well in fact those pills are usually nothing more than vitamins or syptomatic treatment comon cold we give anti symptomatic with antibiotic some times not always just to protect u from a secondry bacterial infection that could follow the common cold since any viral infection could be complicated /followed by bacterial infection so thats not over prescribing thats a prophylaxis only
Edited by Kiba, 24 February 2010 - 08:24 PM.
Whoa....big text. -Who's Nice.
#10
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Posted 02 March 2010 - 10:48 PM
I have a bizarre history with medication.When I was younger, I was prescribed Ritalin because, like several other children of my generation, I was diagnosed with ADHD. To be fair, I was incredibly aggressive and had trouble concentrating when I was younger, and to that degree the medicine did help. On the other hand, I would wind down considerably when I got older, and the medicine no longer became necessary. To that point, I think a lot of my actions were more because I was a young kid than that I had ADHD.However, since I was about thirteen, I've been on anti-depressants, and those I can see make a genuine difference. I feel pretty good the first few days I don't take my medication, but after a few days I become noticeably angrier and more sullen, especially around other people. And that's a godawful feeling. In this case, I see my medication as a necessity, because if I didn't have it I'd ultimately go crazy.
#11
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Posted 03 March 2010 - 04:37 AM
As a corollary to what you said, Nathander, and to add a question to my debate:Antidepressants help, no doubt about it. However, there's the question that they can be overprescribed, as well. On top of that, some people on antidepressants end up going crazy and murder-suiciding their families and selves. While this is an extreme minority, it is statistically relevant enough to be an issue to some. On top of that, the warning labels on antidepressants also say a side effect is depression-- the exact condition they're supposed to cure. Yet, some docs are more thanhappy simply to prescribe a different medication rather than to notice that the medicine is making the sickness worse. Do you agree?
