Who wants the drugs advertised on television

MordechaiGoodbuds said:

After hearing all the side effects of drugs advertised on television, I don't understand why anyone would take them.

I think Ambien reports people sometimes get in their cars, while still sleeping, and drive around without remembering the experience. In my college days of hard partying, I don't ever recall waking up in the middle of the night and taking off in my car with no memory of the event the next day.

No thanks. I sleep just fine.


Then there's the sex drive drugs. May cause heart attacks, blindness, and a hard-on that fails to go away.

If I get so old, I can't get it up, I think I'll live with it--the key word being live (and able to see naked women on the internet).

Other drugs may cause dry mouth, rash, nausea, incontinence, constipation, diarrhea, rapid heart beat, stroke, and in some cases death. So in other words, these drugs can make you sick.

They even have a pill for shyness.

From the son of a doctor take my advice. Stay away from pills and doctors, if at all possible. The only time you should ever go to a doctor is if you're actually sick.

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pharma companies are obligated to mention the one in a million side effect that might happen.

and from no one in particular,....

Check-ups are BS except for pap smears

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this is bs.

Health maintenance through regular health screenings should never be discouraged. Too many health problems have been caught this way before they became acute situations. And one must always weigh the benefits and the contraindications when using even over-the-counter medications.

I know the phama companies have to disclose every possibility in their ads, but I too have noticed the three minute commercials seem to contain about two and a half minutes of side effect disclosure.
You'll see the happy couple strolling off through the meadow, smiling, holding hands, the sun is shining down upon them, and the announcer is saying, "Side effects, while rare, may include..."
All the while, I'm thinking, "Sounds like the side effects might be worse than what needs to be treated."

Have you seen the drugs whose side effect is gambling?

I like it best when they list the side effects while showing deliriously happy people cavorting with their significant other, children, grandchildren, dog, what have you, and advise you to ask your doctor if Pilloftheday is right for you.

Especially when they've gone the last thirty to ninety seconds without giving you a clue as to what that particular drug might be indicated for.

I use to think that the ads were a joke and I would never take anything that had those effects. But, anything your doctor gives you comes with tiny,tiny print that has all the same kinds of warnings. As far as I know....there are bad things that can happen with any of them.

But it does cause one to laugh when 10 secs are given to the product and the next 20 secs are given for the side stuff. lol

Oh well, I am lucky. I take nothing except a benadryl for allergies. (You should read their list....)

My husband and I talk about this all the time. There's a drug for EVERYTHING! If you watch television at night, almost every commercial is for some kind of drug. High blood pressure, cholesterol, anxiety, sleeping problems, asthma, etc.

My doctor wanted to put me on cholesterol medicine for slightly elevated cholesterol. No thank you. Side effects are liver damage, for one.

I am trying to get off of the medicine I'm already taking. (BP pills) Healthy eating and exercise are helping to lower my blood pressure. And it wasn't that high to begin with.

Meditation, relaxation techniques are also good, easy ways to calm down and lower blood pressure.

Not having caffeine towards the end of the day will help people if they're having sleep problems. And there are other things that help, too.

They just want us to take pills to keep the drug companies in business.

Some of the OTC ones are just as bad. Anyone seen the ads with Wynonna Judd pimping Alli? Like I'd admit to taking something that advertises "uncontrolled oily anal leakage and diarrhea" as a common side effect - never mind want to take it.

Anything I can't pronounce doesn't go in my mouth.

Aspirin is all I'll take for pain.

Pagey's_Girl said:

Some of the OTC ones are just as bad. Anyone seen the ads with Wynonna Judd pimping Alli? Like I'd admit to taking something that advertises "uncontrolled oily anal leakage and diarrhea" as a common side effect - never mind want to take it.

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This has to be my favorite drug of all time. You lose weight by holding your cravings hostage, the ransom penalty being that you're a time bomb of pants-disaster.

If being fat is socially unacceptable, how does it fall on the scale compared to crapping your drawers in public?

The power of TV to influence people in this regard makes me queasy. One of my friends was telling me about how she won't go on a certain brand of oral contraceptive pill that her doctor recommended because it was associated with an elevated risk of strokes and blood clots. The TV commercial said so. She's been on various birth control pills for over a decade, all of which are associated with an elevated risk of strokes and blood clots, but because she got this particular bit of news from! the! TV! and not her doctor it stuck in her head and is imbued with a particular authority.

The FDA requires the commercials to contain a listing of all those side effects. That doesn't mean that they are universal. If you look up any medication you are taking in the Physician's Desk Reference, chances are that there will be some scary adverse effects mentioned.

rhymegirl said:

My husband and I talk about this all the time. There's a drug for EVERYTHING! If you watch television at night, almost every commercial is for some kind of drug. High blood pressure, cholesterol, anxiety, sleeping problems, asthma, etc.

My doctor wanted to put me on cholesterol medicine for slightly elevated cholesterol. No thank you. Side effects are liver damage, for one.

I am trying to get off of the medicine I'm already taking. (BP pills) Healthy eating and exercise are helping to lower my blood pressure. And it wasn't that high to begin with.

Meditation, relaxation techniques are also good, easy ways to calm down and lower blood pressure.

Not having caffeine towards the end of the day will help people if they're having sleep problems. And there are other things that help, too.

They just want us to take pills to keep the drug companies in business.

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That's fine if diet and excercise work for you. It doesn't for me. My family has a history of high cholestrol, high BP, and heart disease.

My doctor put me on cholesterol and BP medication over 15 years ago. His reasons were two-fold. 1) Some people (like my family) cannot lower their levels naturally, and 2) most people don't stay on the low-fat diet required.

My cholestrol dropped from 220 to 140 practically over night and stayed there until my heart attack after which he increased the dosage, reducing my level to under 100. But because I had a heart-cath, I now know that I have practically NO plaque build up in my arteries (the cause of the heart attack was something different).

As for side effects, I get my liver tested every three months. It's doing fine too.

I'm very happy to take my medication. And I'm happy to pay the pharmaceutical companies to make them.

I prefer to treat the problem, not the symptom...

But I think there's a tendency for people to overinflate their problems. Can't sleep a couple nights in a row, you need a pill! I'm sure that there's nothing you could change in your life, like less caffine or dealing with some of the problems so you can relax. Feeling anxious about something, you need an anti-axiety pill. Shoot, who needs to learn how to cope with their lives, just take a couple pills for that...

Now, there are real problems. I do believe that some people really do have serious issues with depression, anxiety, insomnia, etc, but the average person doesn't need a pill. They need to learn how to deal with their lives.

Many doctors also perpetuate this drug-culture. Every time I see one of my specialists, I'm asked if I want to take a med for this 'problem.' It's an abnormal situation, but it's not changing and seems to be doing no harm to me. Why the hell would I take a drug for it?? But I'm sure many people would.

Clair Dickson said:

But I think there's a tendency for people to overinflate their problems. Can't sleep a couple nights in a row, you need a pill! I'm sure that there's nothing you could change in your life, like less caffine or dealing with some of the problems so you can relax. Feeling anxious about something, you need an anti-axiety pill. Shoot, who needs to learn how to cope with their lives, just take a couple pills for that...

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It's very easy to scoff if you don't have either of those problems. I do.

Since my heart attack, I have had several anxiety attacks. Have you ever had a anxiety attack? It is completely beyond your control. It's hard to describe the feeling, but you can feel your adreniline rushing through your body and is just won't quit. You can tell yourself there's nothing to be afraid of, but it doesn't help. I was visiting our own Macallister when I had my first. Ask her what it was like. Eventually, she took me to the hospital. Now I take an anti-anxiety drug when I have an attack. I literally will not travel without it.

I've always had trouble sleeping, but since my heart attack, it's gotten much worse. It's not a matter of not sleeping a couple of nights in a row. How would you like to wake up, three, maybe four times EVERY SINGLE night and be so restless, you cannot lay there. You have to get up and watch television or walk around. You're so tired, you can barely stand it, but you can't sleep. Sound like fun? It's not.

Please don't dismiss conditions you don't have and therefore cannot possibly understand.

Anyone seen the ads with Wynonna Judd pimping Alli?

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"I am so much more than just a number on a scale."

And before we all start giggling about Viagra, consider how we feel sympathy for a woman who has had a mastectomy because she's lost a part of her womanhood, but we laugh at a man for the same thing.

Roger J Carlson said:

And before we all start giggling about Viagra, consider how we feel sympathy for a woman who has had a mastectomy because she's lost a part of her womanhood, but we laugh at a man for the same thing.

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Doesn't equate, I'm afraid. Apples and oranges. Losing a breast to cancer isn't the same as male impotence. An equivalent is, perhaps, severe menopausal symptoms like vaginal dryness.

Anyone who laughs at a man for suffering impotence is an idiot.

Drugs are a boon and disaster at the same time. If, as Roger says, you need them to control a serious condition, they're wonderful. On the other hand we, as a society, tend to overuse them, often frivolously.

Want to lose weight? Take a pill. Don't get your butt off the couch and put those chocolate-covered cherries away.

Meh. I'm a little overweight and out of shape. A pill won't change that. Getting off my duff and exercising will.

I heard somewhere that the drug companies are permitted to either tell you what the drug is or what it treats, but not both. Not sure I understand the reasoning behind that.

My favourite "side effect" is "may cause death."

Wow. What an assumption to make. I'd recommend, son of a doctor, that you don't run around giving free 'advice' you are not qualified to give.

I have horrific insomnia due to chronic pain. Horrific to the point that sometimes I can't sleep for days. How dare anyone suggest that this is a mind over matter situation? Let me guess--diabetics don't really need insulin either, right? And if only pap smears are worth a doctor's visit then no one needs mammograms? Blood work? EKGs?

What horsepookey.

Swweping generalizations about the health issues of a nation--now I've seen everything. If I want medical advice, I'll ask my doctor--not his son.

Roger J Carlson said:

And before we all start giggling about Viagra, consider how we feel sympathy for a woman who has had a mastectomy because she's lost a part of her womanhood, but we laugh at a man for the same thing.

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Even a very secure man with a wife who not only understands but is as supportive as possible can fall prey to a debilitating round of doubts when he is no longer able to perform as well as he could in his prime.

Perks said:

I like it best when they list the side effects while showing deliriously happy people cavorting with their significant other, children, grandchildren, dog, what have you, and advise you to ask your doctor if Pilloftheday is right for you.

Especially when they've gone the last thirty to ninety seconds without giving you a clue as to what that particular drug might be indicated for.

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But clearly the purpose of the drug is to make you deliriously happy while you're with your significant other ... or with your grandchildren ... or with your dog.

CACTUSWENDY said:

I use to think that the ads were a joke and I would never take anything that had those effects. But, anything your doctor gives you comes with tiny,tiny print that has all the same kinds of warnings. As far as I know....there are bad things that can happen with any of them.

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Well, yes, there's hardly an 'ideal' drug that does only what it's supposed to and has no side effects. Aspirin is supposedly one of the closest to ideal, and even it has side effects of causing stomach upset and lowering the rate of heart attacks.

rhymegirl said:

My husband and I talk about this all the time. There's a drug for EVERYTHING! If you watch television at night, almost every commercial is for some kind of drug. High blood pressure, cholesterol, anxiety, sleeping problems, asthma, etc.

My doctor wanted to put me on cholesterol medicine for slightly elevated cholesterol. No thank you. Side effects are liver damage, for one.

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And to think I spend a solid decade of early adulthood trying to kill my liver ... oh, never mind.

Goes to double-check his prescriptions

But yes, the liver breaks down many foreign substances in the blood (such as alcohol and many drugs including most recreational and many OTC), and is damaged by having to do it too much.

In my first years of running I had some running friends who took Ibuprofen (Motrin and whatever other brand names it goes by) after almost every run. It works great at relieving pain and actually reducing inflammation, but I read through the whole sheet of paper that comes in the package, and it said something like "Do not take more than is neccesary to provide relief." I noticed that many other medications didn't say that, so there was probably a real reason for it. I looked it up in the PDR and it only said the same thing. But I DID later read somewhere that it causes ...liver damage. Same thing with the main ingredient in Tylenol. I haven't seen these people in many years and I wonder how they're doing.

Considers getting that much more serious about CRON

rhymegirl said:

I am trying to get off of the medicine I'm already taking. (BP pills) Healthy eating and exercise are helping to lower my blood pressure. And it wasn't that high to begin with.

Meditation, relaxation techniques are also good, easy ways to calm down and lower blood pressure.

Not having caffeine towards the end of the day will help people if they're having sleep problems. And there are other things that help, too.

They just want us to take pills to keep the drug companies in business.

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It's true that many drugs are in demand simply to counteract the effects of bad diet and lack of exercise. But improving diet and exercise are not easy lifestyle changes, and it's so much easier to stop for ten seconds every morning and/or night to take a (or another) pill.

Roger J Carlson said:

That's fine if diet and excercise work for you. It doesn't for me. My family has a history of high cholestrol, high BP, and heart disease.

My doctor put me on cholesterol and BP medication over 15 years ago. His reasons were two-fold. 1) Some people (like my family) cannot lower their levels naturally, and 2) most people don't stay on the low-fat diet required.

My cholestrol dropped from 220 to 140 practically over night and stayed there until my heart attack after which he increased the dosage, reducing my level to under 100. But because I had a heart-cath, I now know that I have practically NO plaque build up in my arteries (the cause of the heart attack was something different).

As for side effects, I get my liver tested every three months. It's doing fine too.

I'm very happy to take my medication. And I'm happy to pay the pharmaceutical companies to make them.

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You'll notice I said that I had "slightly elevated" cholesterol. Some people have readings of like 600, as my friend's father did. They said he was a walking heart attack. Okay, that's high. I don't consider 210 or 220 to be high. I consider that slightly elevated. And that is my personal opinion. And it is my right to try to lower my cholesterol naturally if I want to. I don't like the idea of doctors trying to push pills on people.

Every person is different. There are people who need medication and I never said otherwise. If they choose to take medication, then so be it.

I feel that in general doctors are too quick to treat every single ailment in life with a pill. That was my point.