Are The Drugs You’re Taking Really The Best Remedy?

I am sure many of you have seen an advertisement of a prescription drug that has caught your attention and you’ve maybe inquired about it to your doctor, thinking it’s the right drug for you to take. And some of you may have even left that doctors appointment with a prescription for the drug you requested. Even though you insisted it was, in some cases that may have not actually been the best drug for you to take. Although this sounds ridiculous, there is evidence proving that this happens. A study done by analyzing survey data previously gathered by the FDA from 1081 adults found that “when a physician’s patient is favorable to DTCA and is likely to search for more information about an advertised drug, the physician is more likely to prescribe this drug†(link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11002-005-0458-x?LI=true). Now many people argue that this is the physician’s fault for prescribing a medication that isn’t right for their patient, in which it is to some extent, but your physician doesn’t want to lose you as patient, a customer. As unconventional as this may seem, for some physicians making these decisions, it could be the reason why. If this is the case, this could potentially put patients, yourselves at risk if you’re given a prescription of an unnecessary drug.
To prevent this from happening, we, as patients need to change our thinking. We are living in an overmedicated society where many of us believe “there is a pill for every ill†(content.healthaffairs.org/content/19/2/110.short). One reason for this mindset could be “that DTC advertising rarely mentions lifestyle changes, which often are as important as pharmacological therapyâ€. If a “physician insists on discussing a low-fat diet, stress management, or allergen avoidance rather than writing a prescription for these conditions†the patient may become angry and then go try to obtain a prescription from a different physician. Therefore, the only way to stop this from happening is if we, as patients, think twice when insisting a drug is the right form of therapy for us based off of our own research. Next time you go to visit your doctor, try to be more open-minded to what they have to say first, as they are the professionals and know more about what the best solution is to the problem.

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Thank you, Corinna, this is a very informative post.

I can think of many instances where I've answered someone's post and tried to explain that even if they take prescribed medications, lifestyle changes are also necessary when it comes to better managing many medical conditions.

Learn more blood pressure details here.

Someone managing hypertension is a good example, many people take the medications they're given, but wonder why their blood pressure may still remain out of control and, in many cases, it's because they ignored the part about having to watch their diet to cut down on sodium and the need to get lots of proper exercise.

Medications alone aren't always enough.

Does anyone have any questions or comments?

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