Here's an interesting essay.
There are concrete results of the medicated life, however. Dr. Isaac Schiff, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said he found that "most people, men and women who are in their 50's, are taking something every day."Ain't it the truth. I had my first attack of gout when I was 33; after getting it resolved (with the anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin), I was offered the option of taking a daily dose of colchicine. I didn't feel like getting on to a daily pill-taking regimen at that age, so I said no. Then about ten years later I was diagnosed with both high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and at that point there was no longer a choice. "You will take these pills," I was told, "unless you want to have clogged arteries and hypertension and die young." So here I am, ten years later, taking daily doses of Diltia for the BP and lovastatin for the cholesterol. They seem to be working, but it's a habit/necessity I never expected to get into.
Anyone else surprised by this development?
Posted by Linkmeister at April 6, 2004 10:56 AMNope, I'm not surprised. I started taking a daily-for-the-rest-of-my-life pill when I was 30. I was diagnosed with Graves Disease a few months before my 31st birthday, and I've been taking anti-thyroid medication ever since.
You do what you gotta do. I do believe that doctors are a little quick with the prescription pad. However, I also believe that there are many things that would have caused people to die (or worse) in the past are now absolutely no big deal at all, because you just take a pill every day and you're fine. Graves Disease is a perfect example. Untreated, a hyperthyroid condition makes you go crazy. Literally. We're talking delusions, agoraphobia, paranoia... the whole nine yards. But one little pill a day keeps the thyroid from going out of whack.
Posted by: Kim at April 6, 2004 11:26 AMI just wish that there was a willingness to let you go off the medication as a trial. I'd just as soon try to live without the cholesterol pill (it's been good for years) for a month to see if it's the pill doing it or the better diet.
Posted by: Linkmeister at April 6, 2004 12:06 PMYummy.
Pills.
Mine come in all colors and shapes. I had one in the shape of a diamond about 20 years ago.
I've been on pills so long, and been through so many pill boxes that I just have adapted to it.
Well, you could just stop taking it. Ultimately, you're in control over whether you take the doctor's advice, and they *are* sometimes wrong. If you feel your cholesterol can be controlled with diet and exercise, you might want to consider giving it a shot.
Posted by: Kim at April 6, 2004 02:38 PMi was able to get off depression meds last summer, and i had a doctor who helped. i agree, though, doctors are quick to writer scripts.
then again, better living through chemistry!
Posted by: shelley (not so cynical) at April 6, 2004 05:46 PMMy problem is when I forget to take my meds every now and then I get a reminder of why I'm on the damn things. Ugh.
Yeep - I have a friend with Graves Disease and had no clue that delusions were in the mix. Definitely not fun...
Posted by: batty at April 7, 2004 11:34 AM