Posted on 12/28/2004 5:32:40 AM PST by shrinkermd
When Margaret Herlth wakes up in the morning, 13 prescription drugs and two over-the-counter supplements are as much a part of her routine as a first cup of coffee. That's a lot of pills, but not a highly unusual number for an 80-year-old with serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease and breathing difficulties.
"They do make me feel better if I take them," says Herlth, who lives in southwest Baltimore. "I've been in and out of the hospital so many times. Each time they give me new pills, but they never take any away."
These days, if you're elderly, a medicine cabinet full of prescription drugs is par for the course. But even relatively young, healthy adults may be prescribed medicine as a preemptive strike to lower their cholesterol and blood pressure, to deal with a touch of arthritis, to ward off osteoporosis, to stop the symptoms of seasonal allergies or to fight depression.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Must have health insurance.
They over medicate the young and the old. The cure can kill you sometime. As in the Vioxx and Celebrex scare. What's next Viagra will kill you? ;)
I avoid docs and meds as much as possible. It's probably a result of my 10+ years of experience in the healthcare industry years ago.
I have worked in the health care field of over 10 years. If you want to avoid being on medications, you need to do two things---don't get fat and absolutely don't smoke. If the American public would implement these two things, most of us would be off 75% of our medications. And for Heaven sake, don't run to the doctor everytime you sneeze!
But that's the problem. Most drugs are not cures, just relieve the symptoms. You never fix the real problem and end up relying on drugs to keep you feeling better. This is a huge huge problem in our country.
LOL! You sound like us.
My daughters & I were laughing the other day because a 'Don't Do Drugs' commercial was followed by 3 'Take This Drug' commercials (with the required 30 second disclaimers listing the side effects of each)
We do, of course, seek medical help if needed, but more often than not a home remedy works just fine!
I recommend getting a book of herbal remedies.
I was very sceptical at first but then I tried a few things for hayfever and sleeping problems and it was far better than the chemical alternative and wiht no side effects.
Glass of wine works good for the sleeping problems and lowers chloresteral...multi medicating here in NY!!
hehe.
I quite like Valerian and skullcap tea.
Relaxes you wonderfully.
Brandy is good as well.
I've tried several herbal remedies myself, and they've worked wonderfully.
My sister was skeptical as well until tried a couple of them. Now she uses as few drugs as possible....and she has a Master's degree in Nursing!
I try to stick with the tried & true.... Aspirin.... I am always skeptical with regard to the latest and the greatest...beit drugs or Volkswagon Beetles..(who drives those things? Bring me the head of the engineer that redesigned them...fast!).....
A fine red wine or mellow white....will sooth what ails thee.....
What do you think is in the herbs? Chemicals. Just because they come from nature doesn't neccessarily mean they are any better.
It is a lot different using herbs grown in your garden than chemicals formulated in labs.
For one these herbs have been used for millenia with their side effects known and catalogued.
Much modern medicine has been around for barely a few decades.
You think the Beetle, at 40-something years in production, is "latest and greatest"? I bet you have a splendid buggy whip collection.
I've taken and studied about herbs for many years and they help me and mrs lj with many health problems. Way cheaper, no doc visits, no side effects.
And Trader Joe's aspirin ($2 or $3 a bottle) for pain usually works.
What amazes me is how many people take antibiotics for colds, flus, and every teeny little thing when the dangers of over use have been out there for years.
Isn't he/she talking about the "new and improved" Beetle that looks pretty much the same coming and going?
Yeh.
I am much more likely to try to find a herbal remedy now.
Luckily (or unluckily depending on your point of view) I live in Britain so get all my doctors visits for free so it is not about cost for me as much as I would prefer not to take too many heavy duty chemicals. My Gran takes a lot of herbal remedies and ointments for her arthritis and she prefers them to the stuff the doctor gives her.
Don't know. I just found it funny that the Beetle was proclaimed "latest and greatest" when it's been around at least a decade longer than me.
I agree. Post of the day. Buy the Encyslopedia of Natural REmedies.
This book has all of the research annotated for the those who are interested in using herbs that work.
Yeah, eat right and get some exercise. Travel in a poor country where people still walk and eat vegetables beyond french fries and iceberg and you'll see old people who are vigorous and built like Iggy Pop. This lifetime of meds for ailments caused by bad living is a costly deadend.
Prevention, not a cure, is the way ahead on all fronts.
Your medical services is not 'free'. It is stolen from all countrymen who are taxed and the US consumer who pays half the world's drug bill ( socialized medicine *only* pays for the chemical and NOT the .8 billion dollars of drug development costs)
Edit:
Your medical services are not 'free'. It is stolen from all countrymen who are taxed and the US consumer who pays half the world's drug bill ( socialized medicine *only* pays for the chemical and NOT the .8 billion dollars of drug development costs)
The US consumer does not pay for my medicinethe NHS does and I think you will find mnay billions of pounds are spent on drug research in the UK. We have some of the biggest drug companies in the world here.
The reason you pay half the world's drug bill is because you are gettting royally screwed by your companies who charge you a premium. We get medicine for cheaper prices than you as we have economies of scale by buying in bulk. It is basic supply and demand.
The majority of my countrymen support our tax and health system so it is not "stolen".
I am not stealing money from your pocket although I would like to.
I've been self-medicating with marijuana since the 70's. Just a pinch works wonders on migraines, achy knees, lower back pain, nausea, and stress.
Yes, you are stealing. The implicit threat is that your government will ignore patent rights and allow generic use of the chemical coumpound. Perhaps we should treat your IP the same way and ignore all copyrights!
I hope that *majority* of your countrymen do not decide to steal your home for the *common good*
Also, your socialized medicine, taken by theft, will lead to more euthanasia and ' an obligation to die' as your lefty politicos like to demand.
Here is hoping that the *majority* never ask you to meet your * obligation*
Better for Old People to Kill Themselves Than Be A Nuisance, Lawmaker Says
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
December 14, 2004
(CNSNews.com) - A prominent British lawmaker has triggered an outcry by implying that elderly and very ill people should not only have the right, but the obligation to kill themselves rather than become a nuisance. The furor erupted as British lawmakers prepared to vote on a bill that critics worry could be used to sanction the killing of patients in a vegetative state.
"I couldn't bear hanging on and being such a burden on people," said Baroness Mary Warnock, an 80-year-old medical ethicist, philosopher and member of the upper House of Lords, in a weekend newspaper interview.
"In other contexts, sacrificing oneself for one's family would be considered good," she told the Sunday Times. "I don't see what is so horrible about the motive of not wanting to be an increasing nuisance."
"If I went into a nursing home, it would be a terrible waste of money that my family could use far better," Warnock added.
Later in the interview she said: "I am not ashamed to say some lives are more worth living than others," before conceding that "if someone else decides your life is not worth living, that is very dangerous."
You must be a doctor. I am a medical transcriptionist and you have my sympathies. Why anyone would want to be a physician in this day and age is nothing short of a miracle. And IMHO, the worse thing to come down the pike is all the advertising of drugs on TV. Now everyone self-diagnoses themselves and shows up the doctors office demanding a pill for everything. As I stated earlier, lose weight and put the #@*! cigarettes down! That will cure many of us.
I said "redesigned" Beetle... Then again...I am not fond of the Beetle in any way.... Now how did you know I have a buggy-whip collection?
Strange how one word can change the meaning of an entire paragraph.....GRIN...and...don't call me a he/she....GRIN! I am a he....with a somewhat feminine moniker....it means cb in Katy, Texas....cbkaty.
I agree. People think doctors are GOD-like. Instead, we need to make our doctors understand that we know our bodies - and we can participate in our care.
I went to a new doctor recently (3 yrs ago). His first response was to tell me I needed to take all this medication. I refused. We talked. I finally agreed to a cholesterol medication only because of my family history (dad died at 42 of clogged arteries). However, he now wants to increase the dosage and I'm fighting it. It's the only medication I take - and like the advertisement for Oatmeal - eating it really works to lower the numbers. And .. I will have to be more careful with my food choices.
I believe it's called "personal responsibility".
A lot of the times, older people who are alone are craving attention and are easily put off by a doctor just prescribing medication - medications they don't really need. My doctor found out quickly that I was not one of them.
This is true, however, bear in mind that the population is getting older. Older people have more health issues, which increases the precentage of people taking meds.
I guess you recognized me because you listen to them all day! Actually, my hat is off to YOU. Although I don't dictate [I use a computerized provider input charting system] I listen to Docs who do, and I can't imagine how you folks understand what they're saying. When I did used to dictate, I tried to make a point of realizing that there is a real person on the receiving end, and tried to speak clearly, and reasonably slowly; hopefully, I was understandable!
Other than lung problems,(poor breathing management, IMO), what medications are indicated for long-term smokers of average weight?
Aspirin is not a Cox-2 inhibitor to my knowledge.
I was telling grandma-in-law about taking our infant to the doctor due to congestion and an ear ache that had baby crying for three hours one night. She said, "Dad used to light up a cigarette and blow smoke in the baby's ears." She said it worked every time. Our doctor had no remedy to offer us other than what I had already done. Baby is fine now.
The medications indicated will depend on what disease process you are dealing with, as smoking not only affects the lungs, it impacts circulation, high blood pressure, contributes to hardening of the arteries, contributes to sinus infections and ear infections and asthma, especially in children who are around smokers, impacts on recovery from surgery, affects birth control pills, and of course cancers. The list goes on. Believe me, I see this every day, all day.
A friend's wife had a stroke a year ago and he's not put her on every medication someone's offered to put her on and I told him, she's better for it. With his medical training, he's been concerned about the potential cumulative toxicity of over-medicating especially with her in kidney failure already. As it is, she's on some eight meds and suppliments.
This isn't like exactly another Phen-Fen.
Catnip tea takes care of my sleeping problems.
Fat women are far less likely to get osteoporosis than thin or average-weight women.
Any particular book, or remedies you recommend? Both hayfever and sleep disorders are problems for me.
Medicines for a healthy future
Value for money
The pharmaceutical industry provides the nation’s medicines to the NHS at a daily cost of just 40 pence per person
Medicines account for only about 13 per cent of total NHS costs, despite a constant growth every year in the number of prescriptions issued
Modern medicines offer real value for money – in real terms, NHS medicines prices are 12.4 per cent lower than 10 years ago
The annual cost of medicines prescribed by GPs in Britain is about £148 per person – much less than the cost in France, Germany, Japan or the USA
Sales to the NHS in 2002 were £8.6 billion. ABPI member companies supply around 80 per cent of the medicines prescribed on the NHS
The economics of success
The industry invested £3.5 billion in UK research and development in 2003– nearly £10 million every day
Pharmaceutical companies carry out nearly a quarter of all industrial research and development in the UK, and spend more than 20 per cent of their gross output on R&D
A quarter of the world's top medicines were discovered and developed in Britain
Twelve out the top 25 medicines prescribed by GPs on the NHS are British
Pharmaceutical industry exports in 2002 were £11.93 billion, creating a trade surplus of £3.6 billion
The industry employs around 83,000 people and generates another 250,000 jobs in related industries
Exports per employee in 2003 were around £144,000
............................................................
Here are some facts about the UK reserach funding.
As you can see we invest £3.5 billion a year ($7 Billion).
We strongly support patent law as it banefits our industry.
Your claims that we steal for you are void and naive.
For further information I suggest you visit The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.
http://www.abpi.org.uk
For sleep disorders I would recommend a mix of Passionflower and Valerian. This can either be found in pill form, as a tea or as an oil.
It helped me immensely and can be bought over the counter in most health food shops.
Also camomile can be good to relax you before bedtime as can a nice bath with lavender oil.
I will find the book I have at home and let you know the name of it and the hayfever cures/remedies.
And if you are on any medicine at the moment be sure to consult with your doctor if you are to take anything you do not know much about. It is better to be safe than sorry.
I mentioned aspirin the other day and got an earful (actually eyeful) of how bad aspirin is from someone on FR.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.