Denis Leary: America's Gone Nuts on Prescription Drugs

[marmar]

AlterNet / By Denis Leary

America's Gone Nuts on Prescription Drugs
If you're sitting at the blackjack table wearing an adult diaper with a face the size of Elvis's ass and a four-hour erection, maybe it's time to cut down on the pills.

May 11, 2010 |


I am of Irish descent.

We have two traditional drugs: alcohol and religion. Both of which produce the same eventual side effects: dropping to your knees and feeling guilty.

When it comes to prescription drugs, for me - it's all about the side effects.

Nausea, anal leakage, dysplasia, and temporary blindness are not just great name choices for late 80's heavy metal bands -- they are but a few of the little prices Americans are willing to pay each time they swallow a magic pill designed to help them lose weight, gain confidence, stop shaking or become the proud owners of medically-induced erections.

I was raised by illegal-alien Irish immigrants who taught me that anything worth having is worth suffering for so the desire to clear up a heavy bout of back pain by ingesting a handful of Vitamin A (known as Advil to the occasional user) is well-worth whatever possible future damage it may do to my liver, brain or eyeballs (I'm not exactly sure of what side effects Advil may produce because I've never bothered to read the warnings on the label -- the print is too small and I can never find my glasses).

Which reminds me - if there were a pill that instantly increased your vision and meant you could throw away your reading glasses -- I would take it immediately. As would more than 100 million other Americans. Even if the main side effects sounded like things you might need to treat with other drugs. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/drugs/146828/america%27s_gone_nuts_on_prescription_drugs/

[AndyA]

1. I wish they'd take the pharma ads off television.

I'm sick, sick, sick of them.

People see those ads and want the pills. Often, the side effects are worse than the condition the pills treat. And all those ads cost money, which drive up the price of the meds.

I'm sick of the Viagra ads with the guys walking around constantly looking for a stiffie.

And those Cialis ads with the people lounging around in bathtubs in the middle of groves, or at the beach. WTF?

Poor Sally Field is so busy she can only find the 10 seconds once a month to pop a pill for her bones.

Dry eyes. Scaly, flaky skin. Red rashes. Thin eyelashes. High cholesterol. On and on and on. And instead of looking into why these conditions seem to be escalating among the populace, perhaps through modified foods, that attitude seems to be to not worry about it, there's a pill for that.

Corporations are not people, and people suffer because of corporations. You tell me what needs to be regulated. :shrug:

[marmar]

2. No kidding......and it seems like half the ads on TV are Pharma ads.....

..... and the other half are either insurance companies or credit counseling services.

[tavalon]

13. I killed the TV about a decade ago

but the other night at work, there was a TV on in the break room and I saw what you're talking about. That's just dumb.

[proudohioan]

14. Don't forget those "technical colleges" ......

....where you, too, can have the great paying career of your dreams in as little as 9 months!

[freebrew]

16. The tax service ads...

piss me off. They only want your business if you owe $10 zillion in tax debt.
They have folks claiming:" I owed the IRS $20million and I only had to pay $25."

These fools are breaking us, why don't they pay their fair share?

And the gov't is broke?
Cough up the dough I say.

[ixion]

3. yeah, pharma ads in particular, and commercials in general

are what inspired me to give up cable.

I don't understand the logic behind taking a pill for one issue, whose side-effects are worse than the issue itself.

[YOY]

5. Anything you should "Ask your doctor for" are not things to market on TV.

It implies self diagnosis and pretty much points out the Pharma reps in your doc's office does NOT have your best interests in heart...not to mention Docs allowing a fucking salesman influence their decision.

[proudohioan]

6. So true! n/t

[ShortnFiery]

7. But Heaven forbid you get caught with an evil marijuana cigarette!

Why? That's lost revenue for our beloved masters in Big Pharma. :evilgrin:

[Recursion]

9. Here's a neat FDA site about what's legal and not in advertisements

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/PrescriptionDrugAdvertising/default.htm

The ad can either:
1) State what a drug is approved to treat, while listing side effects
2) Remind the consumer of the name of the drug, but not what it is approved for
3) Without mentioning the drug (but it is legal to mention the company's name), suggest people go to the doctor for certain conditions.

[madmax]

17. +100

[patrice]

4. Drugs are U.S.

Think of all of the personal, very intimate, big and small, and tiny tiny tiny adaptations that are lost to the over-use of pharmacy. It's mind boggling.

Who/what would America be if people had the discipline and strength to change themselves rather than taking pills?

[eilen]

8. I had to do a medication pour once for

a patient who was taking 29 different medications.

WTF.

Some were to counteract side effects of others. Granted the patient was diabetic and had a seizure disorder, CP, major constipation and breathing problems, but hell.

[Recursion]

10. I wonder how many of those conditions were from years of prescription drug use?

*shrug*

I get sick a lot less than my friends. I'm convinced it's because I played around in the dirt a lot as a kid while their parents wouldn't let them do that.

[patrice]

11. Those complications from multiple meds are particularly relevant to the costs of helping our Elders.

[knitter4democracy]

12. And then there are those of us who can't take anything . . .

I have been accused of being severely depressed but refusing meds. I'm not, that was never the diagnosis by anyone who ever treated me, but I have been offered meds and turned them down. Even my own doctor backed me up on that, saying she's scared to prescribe anything new and is running out of room in my chart for all the stuff I've had bad reactions or allergies to.

It's really annoying to explain for the 50th time that I can't take it, please don't offer it, I really would like it but don't want to take the chance. I've had too many bad reactions to trust anything new at this point.

[Ohio Metal]

15. Why is Dennis Leary famous and Bill Hicks isn't?

Because there's no cure for cancer.