Study: Over half of Americans on chronic medicines »
Posted By idyll 1 year, 5 months ago in StyleFor the first time, it appears that more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems, a study shows.
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berkeley1 year, 5 months ago
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mackiemesserComment removed: Retracted by user1 Reply
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thoughtforsale1 year, 5 months ago
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I think that many doctors feel somehow "guilty", when their patients leave without a prescription (But on the other hand, many patients complain: He didn´t do anything. He only asked me some questions!). I once read that in Germany, 80% of the visits at a doctor end up with the handing out of a prescription form. Of course, this doesn´t take as much time as searching intensively for what the patient´s deeper problems are!
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bluetexasvalley1 year, 5 months ago
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My doctor knows I don't like to take prescription drugs, so she takes the holistic approach with me. I do take multivitamins and antioxidants like fish oil capsules, natural estrogen, etc. But I also eat salmon and tuna four times a week and at least seven fruits & vegetables every day.
Most doctors don't know much about nutrition. :)
Most doctors don't know much about nutrition. :)
Thing about salmon is only the wild salmon is good for you, not the Atlantic (farm-raised) kind. And stay away from the tropical fruits like pineapple, mango, etc.
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nostalgia1 year, 5 months ago
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That is true in many cases but in some people there is a genetic predisposition for the liver to make too much cholesterol regardless of dietary intake
Rhe newer meds block absorption of cholesterol in the GI tract AND production in the liver
Several hormones in the body are derived from cholesterol including testosterone and estrogen. That is why the body has a means to manufacture it's own cholesterol
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cleare1 year, 5 months ago
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this is not surprising in a country that supports for-profit health care. while many people do have chronic illness requiring medication, probably half of the medicated, don't.
it is all about the way pharmaceuticals are marketed. saturation tv advertising tells americans that all their problems can be solved by their company's little (and expensive) pill. and have you noticed that it is always medication for very common ailments? pharmaceutical corporations won't even develop medications for diseases that are too rare to be "profitable".
not to mention the extremely well paid pharmaceutical sales reps peddling their products to doctors and encouraging use by providing large quantities of "samples". reminds me of how kids get hooked on illegal drugs. start giving it away, get them addicted and then they'll pay.
unfortunately, americans "swallow" it.
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TweekerchickQC1 year, 5 months ago
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Im one of those people.
It's not like I'm some crazy pill popper (Im crazy WAY before the pills ;) ) .
I have to take asthma and allergy medicine daily to keep from, well, dying. It sucks. It really sucks to have a pharmacy in your purse.
I know there are people who want a pill for everything but there are just as many of us who would rather not take them but have to. Boo to that I say.
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IanFraigun1 year, 5 months ago
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Agree with you there. Many if not most of us on chronic medical treatment would rather not take the drugs.
When I was younger I actually let asthma caused by cat danger to get so bad I had to go to the emergency room for a shot of adrenaline to be able to breath. Rather than take the medications forever I took the full series of tests and went through two years of desensitizing injections three times a week. Occasionally take an OTC anti-histamine but been relatively free of issues for over 30 years now.
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nostalgia1 year, 5 months ago
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I found it interesting that the article didn't mention Viagra, Levitra or Cialis
According to a study published in 2002:
The fastest growing segments of users were found to be men 18 to 45 years and 46 to 55 years, who experienced increases in use of 312% and 216%, respectively, over the study period
Men 56 years and older continued to receive the majority of Viagra prescriptions.
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joeblowe1 year, 5 months ago
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I too, was one of those who at one time took no drugs other than for occasional aspirin. Now, I'm taking several. Some for hi blood fats - which diet does NOT help - some for migraine prevention - some for cronic back pain due to spondylolisthesis - which didn't bother me when I was younger. Now, if I start to think maybe I don't really NEED those pain killers and try to NOT take them for a day or two, my back gets so damn sore I can hardly walk. I hate it, but the alternative is even less attractive.
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IanFraigun1 year, 5 months ago
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Believe me it can get worse than just some pain. I have been having pain trouble with my feet lately, a lot due to a couple of broken toes there is not much you can do about. Due to my anticoagulants the only pain reliever I can take is Tylanol or Vicodan (tylanol hydrocodone) as that has the least impact on my chronic condition medicines.
Still it does have an impact and causes levels of anticoagulant in my blood to increase and my dosage to be reduced. I worry that when I get of the pain killers I might not be getting enough of the other medication to prevent a serious stroke or other issue. I do have to have my blood tested for that level regularly and am trying to work now with my clinic to determine how to back of the pain killers without other issues occuring.
Very simplistic but there can be real dangers in mixing drugs, even if one of them is a common OTC medication.
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MisterX1 year, 5 months ago
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50% That means they are half-way to achieving their ultimate goal: Get everybody on some chronic medication. Tons of money to be made there.
BTW, until the women's liberation movement, they could only tax half of the population.
Go figure.
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