I think people in general are over medicated/pickled in pharmaceuticals and it also starts younger these days then becomes a life long crutch.that gets added onto with something to fix the thing that the medication might be causing.....as you say, there's a pill for everything. A lot of kids, I think, self diagnose, then convince the doc to put them on medication for anxiety/depression/bi-polar etc based on what they google instead of learning the triggers and coping skills... I think it's hard to cope for sure sadness/depression/anxiety but becoming more in tune with your emotions and triggers can at least help move the needle to learning new natural techniques(meditation, exercise, healthier habits, looking at "it" in the face for some of these ills even at a young age may help into aging). Feeling emotions is normal and many of these meds only shut off human emotions and don't cure anything, however, natural also won't give you the blissful or quick acting fix people want right away but at least you have or become good at recognizing your conscious awareness.
I think the answer is easy yet complicated; eat better, move more for two. I think you've covered many of these topics before. I also know not everyone is the same, of course, and some really need some medications for specific ailments.
Too many people just say OK to a medication prescribed by a doctor...NEXT! Not enough people take their health into their own hands and depend on the doctor to fix everything, I think, and then end up down that rabbit hole.
In my battle with depression, I've been combining meds with therapy and lifestyle changes to try to get my balance. It's a tenuous balance, always, but far better now than it was 30 years ago. And the meds were critical to start the ball rolling.
The human brain is the most complex structure / system in the known universe, except for two or more brains that are interacting and then we now have the internet.
Our brains share a lot of similarities, but they are also unique.
Having a primary care physician at the center of your health web can certainly help.
A year ago, doctors were telling me "you hardly take any meds."
A heart attack / triple bypass followed by a stroke and then a heart attack and then a pacemaker implanted to take care of the Rhythm issues that brought on the second one has led to making me a normal consumer of poly Pharmacy but at least I'm alive and no longer too anxious to function, but you're right when you dampen the negative emotions you also reduce the intensity of the positive emotions and run the risk of reducing anxiety to the point where you get careless.
There have been a lot of heart problems on both sides of my family, so I'm glad to be alive and Taking My Chances with the meds but Don's article reminded me to keep an eye on them.
True too.. even so if diagnosed even by a doc it shouldn't mean first steps try a pharmaceutical unless of course it’s a life threatening illness. (IMHO) sometimes, as we know, pharmaceuticals can worsen or invoke detrimental emotions furthering trauma.
Good information. I particularly hate advertising to consumers about medications that are complex and usually expensive. I think it increases the likelihood that patients go to their doctor and say ‘I want xxxx’ whether it is actually appropriate or not.
I'm told that there's a discipline among physicians that specializes in geezers. I've yet to find one but am still on the hunt. I used to take too many pills. Now I take a few. But think that somewhere-to-be-found geez doc might help too, just sayin'.
Excellent article, Don! You covered many of the pitfalls of polypharmacy and of the less-than-efficient use of electronic record keeping by doctors --whether they're in the same hospital or office system or not. And privacy rules exacerbate the problem.
But I have another quarrel with our pharmaceutical system: the drive by pharmacies and insurance to lower costs for these medications. In my experience, (1) Cheaper is Not necessarily better, and (2) Different manufacturers' versions of a single drug are not always equal in their effectiveness, efficacy, and potential side effects! My PCP and I work together to make sure the medications I take do not cause more harm than good. Symptoms like stomach upset, balance issues, or just feeling worse after using a particular brand have caused me to stop my pharmacy and/or insurance company from changing brands on me.
Thank you for the vocabulary lesson! I probably won't remember it the next time I encounter those words but they are a useful distinction.
They are always saying that generic drugs are the same formulation as the brand names, but now that you say that I can see they might use a different substance for fill or a different process to make it and so the efficacy might be the same but out in the real world, being used by millions of people, I might find it effective and you might have side effects.
One of the problems I have with research is when they reject a certain treatment because it only seemed to benefit 10% of the people, It just might be that for those 10%, it works 100% of the time. Perhaps a second round of testing of those 10% might demonstrate efficacy and then there would be the challenge of identifying, using,
for instance, DNA, to determine which individual patients the treatment would be effective for.
That notion occurred to me when my mother and sister were not deemed good candidates for thyroid treatment because they were in the low normal range. What if they were low normal in several other areas that contribute to their low energy? Would that condition be considered "normal?"A PA put them both on thyroid meds and they no longer had to drag themselves through their busy days.
I think people in general are over medicated/pickled in pharmaceuticals and it also starts younger these days then becomes a life long crutch.that gets added onto with something to fix the thing that the medication might be causing.....as you say, there's a pill for everything. A lot of kids, I think, self diagnose, then convince the doc to put them on medication for anxiety/depression/bi-polar etc based on what they google instead of learning the triggers and coping skills... I think it's hard to cope for sure sadness/depression/anxiety but becoming more in tune with your emotions and triggers can at least help move the needle to learning new natural techniques(meditation, exercise, healthier habits, looking at "it" in the face for some of these ills even at a young age may help into aging). Feeling emotions is normal and many of these meds only shut off human emotions and don't cure anything, however, natural also won't give you the blissful or quick acting fix people want right away but at least you have or become good at recognizing your conscious awareness.
I think the answer is easy yet complicated; eat better, move more for two. I think you've covered many of these topics before. I also know not everyone is the same, of course, and some really need some medications for specific ailments.
Too many people just say OK to a medication prescribed by a doctor...NEXT! Not enough people take their health into their own hands and depend on the doctor to fix everything, I think, and then end up down that rabbit hole.
Just my opinion, yup!
In my battle with depression, I've been combining meds with therapy and lifestyle changes to try to get my balance. It's a tenuous balance, always, but far better now than it was 30 years ago. And the meds were critical to start the ball rolling.
Depression can be partially alleviated by getting moving, like a stick shift rolling downhill and popping the clutch.
But if your car is sitting at the bottom of a "depression", you might need some help pushing it to the top of the hill and then let it roll...
Good metaphor!
The human brain is the most complex structure / system in the known universe, except for two or more brains that are interacting and then we now have the internet.
Our brains share a lot of similarities, but they are also unique.
Having a primary care physician at the center of your health web can certainly help.
A year ago, doctors were telling me "you hardly take any meds."
A heart attack / triple bypass followed by a stroke and then a heart attack and then a pacemaker implanted to take care of the Rhythm issues that brought on the second one has led to making me a normal consumer of poly Pharmacy but at least I'm alive and no longer too anxious to function, but you're right when you dampen the negative emotions you also reduce the intensity of the positive emotions and run the risk of reducing anxiety to the point where you get careless.
There have been a lot of heart problems on both sides of my family, so I'm glad to be alive and Taking My Chances with the meds but Don's article reminded me to keep an eye on them.
Michelle S, you're on to something here. But in some cases, it's the parents who are diagnosing their kids via Google--not always the kids themselves.
True too.. even so if diagnosed even by a doc it shouldn't mean first steps try a pharmaceutical unless of course it’s a life threatening illness. (IMHO) sometimes, as we know, pharmaceuticals can worsen or invoke detrimental emotions furthering trauma.
Good information. I particularly hate advertising to consumers about medications that are complex and usually expensive. I think it increases the likelihood that patients go to their doctor and say ‘I want xxxx’ whether it is actually appropriate or not.
Stay healthy, be vigilant.
And you'll notice the ads are all about the benefits. The warnings go by in a rapid mumble.
I'm told that there's a discipline among physicians that specializes in geezers. I've yet to find one but am still on the hunt. I used to take too many pills. Now I take a few. But think that somewhere-to-be-found geez doc might help too, just sayin'.
They're called geriatricians, and they are scarce as hen's teeth but a great choice for a primary doc.
Got it. Thx, as always, Doctor Don . . . .
Great point, Jackie! Thanks for adding that to the discussion.
Excellent article, Don! You covered many of the pitfalls of polypharmacy and of the less-than-efficient use of electronic record keeping by doctors --whether they're in the same hospital or office system or not. And privacy rules exacerbate the problem.
But I have another quarrel with our pharmaceutical system: the drive by pharmacies and insurance to lower costs for these medications. In my experience, (1) Cheaper is Not necessarily better, and (2) Different manufacturers' versions of a single drug are not always equal in their effectiveness, efficacy, and potential side effects! My PCP and I work together to make sure the medications I take do not cause more harm than good. Symptoms like stomach upset, balance issues, or just feeling worse after using a particular brand have caused me to stop my pharmacy and/or insurance company from changing brands on me.
effectiveness, efficacy
Thank you for the vocabulary lesson! I probably won't remember it the next time I encounter those words but they are a useful distinction.
They are always saying that generic drugs are the same formulation as the brand names, but now that you say that I can see they might use a different substance for fill or a different process to make it and so the efficacy might be the same but out in the real world, being used by millions of people, I might find it effective and you might have side effects.
One of the problems I have with research is when they reject a certain treatment because it only seemed to benefit 10% of the people, It just might be that for those 10%, it works 100% of the time. Perhaps a second round of testing of those 10% might demonstrate efficacy and then there would be the challenge of identifying, using,
for instance, DNA, to determine which individual patients the treatment would be effective for.
That notion occurred to me when my mother and sister were not deemed good candidates for thyroid treatment because they were in the low normal range. What if they were low normal in several other areas that contribute to their low energy? Would that condition be considered "normal?"A PA put them both on thyroid meds and they no longer had to drag themselves through their busy days.