Quote:
Originally Posted by BudFox
Somebody made the useful observation that what is commonly referred to as the "side effects" of medications are in fact part of the overall effect. Pharma has a done a great job of framing the desired effects as primary, and the other effects as secondary. But in reality most drugs produce a huge range of effects involving many organ systems, and many of them are adverse, and surely this is a sign that the body is being poisoned or damaged in some way.
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Oh! This post, especially the part I bolded, is a little bit mind-blowing for me because it never occurred to me that people might think otherwise.
Not counting medical or marketing jargon and just looking at normal English, "effect" means something that happens as a result of something and "side" (as an adjective) means "happening or done in addition to the main or most important thing." So a side effect is literally any result that happens other than the one you were aiming for. It means the same thing outside of the context of medication.
I wouldn't give "Pharma" any credit for painting intended effects as intended effects and side effects as side effects, partially because of legal reasons and partially it'd be really hard to paint it otherwise even if they wanted to.
Whether or not a particular drug effect is a "side effect" won't necessarily be the same in all situations. For example, mixed amphetamine salts (Adderall) can improve executive function and lower appetite, among other effects. In my case, I'm taking it for treatment of EF issues, so the reduced appetite is a side effect. The reduced appetite is actually a good thing for me, but it's still a side effect because it's not the reason I'm taking it. For other people, the side effect of reduced appetite would be a bad thing (adverse effect) because it makes it too difficult for them to eat adequately.
On the other hand, because it lowers appetite, Adderall is also used for treatment of things like binge eating disorder. For someone taking Adderall for that reason, the reduced appetite is the primary effect and any EF improvements are a side effect.
Not sure if this is true everywhere, but in the USA, drug companies need approval from the federal government (FDA) to market the drug for treatment of certain things. Adderall is approved only for ADHD and narcolepsy, so those are the ONLY things the manufacturer can make advertisements saying it treats. Doctors can prescribe Adderall to treat BED, but the makers of Adderall can't make advertisements about it treating BED. (Fun fact, this requirement is severely reduced for supplements. As long as they put some kind of fine print along the lines of "This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA," supplement manufacturers can claim it's good for dang near anything.)