Just saw this. It's sooo true.

[fern46]

Lol. So true!

[Wild Coyote]

Oh, the long lists of side-effects!

They do cause me to not want to take medications, for sure.

The picture implies on will be more energetic, happier, healthier with the medication?

Sure!

I am grateful for the meds I have found helpful.
Yet, Big Pharma, in general, disgusts me.

[~Christina]

Big Pharma is a monster and they try to put fluffy icing on top of a turd

Originally Posted by ~Christina

Big Pharma is a monster and they try to put fluffy icing on top of a turd

for sure!

[Jedi67]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

Just saw this. It's sooo true.

too funny. so true. head scratcher...

[Phoenix_1]

I was talking to my friend about this last week. That's so true.

[Skeezyks]

Well... at least if you die your health problems are solved...

[sarahsweets]

I hate those commercials and I wish they were banned. I believe in the UK they are not allowed to advertise meds directly to consumers. It can be a simple med for like- sweating and by the time the side effects are read they casually mention that all your organs could fall out- in "rare" cases.

[BipolaRNurse]

The thing is, people will hear about a drug on TV and go to their doctor and ask for it. Doctors often don't know any more than the patient about a given medication---they don't have time to research them in depth---but the drug rep left them some samples so how harmful can it be?

The Vraylar commercial is the one that really gets me. I give them kudos for mentioning the word "bipolar", but they portray mania as something that's more annoying than destructive. And of course, it's like take this pill because "you're more than just your bipolar 1", after listing so many side effects that it seems like the "cure" is worse than the disease. No thanks.

Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse

The thing is, people will hear about a drug on TV and go to their doctor and ask for it. Doctors often don't know any more than the patient about a given medication---they don't have time to research them in depth---but the drug rep left them some samples so how harmful can it be?

The Vraylar commercial is the one that really gets me. I give them kudos for mentioning the word "bipolar", but they portray mania as something that's more annoying than destructive. And of course, it's like take this pill because "you're more than just your bipolar 1", after listing so many side effects that it seems like the "cure" is worse than the disease. No thanks.

My first BP med was Latuda. I'm pretty sure my pdoc was using it because the drug rep gave him the samples you speak of.

I think most drug reps are scummy. I wish it were illegal for drug reps to give "free samples," because you just know providers are getting incentives to push those drugs on people. Doctors claim all the time that they're not getting paid to do it, etc., but c'mon... They DO get paid: Do Drug Company Payments to Doctors Influence Which Drugs They Prescribe? | Patient Advice | US News

Originally Posted by sarahsweets

I hate those commercials and I wish they were banned. I believe in the UK they are not allowed to advertise meds directly to consumers. It can be a simple med for like- sweating and by the time the side effects are read they casually mention that all your organs could fall out- in "rare" cases.

I did not know that the U.K. banned med advertisements targeted toward consumers, but I sure wish the U.S. had those laws.

Also notice that when they talk about death, depression, organs falling out, etc. that they speed up the voice to the point it's more or less unintelligible? I honestly can't process the speech.

[fern46]

I did some research a few years ago on which groups spent the most money lobbying. It was no surprise that big pharma was spending a ton. In fact, several of the top ten spenders are medically related. Blue Cross Blue Shield, The American Medical Association, Bayer AG, American Hospital Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, etc.

They develop shady practices and then essentially bribe politicians to make them legal. Big pharma and the medical industry in America will only change if we completely overhaul the government that supports it.

I think knowing how it all works can help us all set better expectations about what we expect to get out of our medical care if we do not advocate for ourselves. Lobbyists claim to be the voice of the people, but they are the voice of profit. Each of us has to do our own research and demand what we need in order to be healthy. Doctors are typically healers, but they have clouded judgment sometimes like the rest of us. We can help them see clearly if we are educated.

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

I did not know that the U.K. banned med advertisements targeted toward consumers, but I sure wish the U.S. had those laws.

It wasn't always this way. I had to look up to see when exactly it started. A couple answers I found were:

"No federal law has ever banned DTC advertising. Until the mid-1980s, drug companies gave information about prescription drugs only to doctors and pharmacists."

"Direct-to-consumer advertising of drugs has been legal in the USA since 1985, but only really took off in 1997 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) eased up on a rule obliging companies to offer a detailed list of side-effects in their infomercials (long format television commercials)."

So yeah, I remember well when you would never see such ads. I also remember how outraged I was upon first seeing them. My opinion really hasn't changed. It's idiotic.

Apparently, only we (US) and New Zealand allow direct-to-consumer Rx drug advertising.

[clownvalhalla]

Whenever a medication commercial comes on, I get :0 when they mention one of my diagnoses.