 |
FIXING HEALTH CARE: Indiscriminate Drug Use |
|
|
Submitted by Fritz Scheffel
| RSS Feed
| Add Comment
| Bookmark Me!
Having spent more than forty years in the health care industry I have seen more than my share of people who casually took drugs, either over-the-counter or prescription only, and their excuse was almost uniformly “to get through the day”. The more I practiced pharmacy, the greater my concern grew for a society way too dependent on drugs, or medications. When I talk about “using drugs”, I am talking about legal drugs, not the illegal variety, or street drugs. I am talking about those available at your local pharmacy, supermarket or convenience store.
When I looked up the definition of “indiscriminate” I was amazed at how closely it described the attitudes of my customers when it came to taking this stuff. Webster’s definition is “1. Not based on careful selection or a discerning taste; confused, random, or promiscuous 2. Not discriminating; not making careful choices or distinctions”. Taking drugs is made to look chic in television commercials, doctors have long since given up recommending their patients not take this stuff, so, is it any wonder attitudes are what they are?
What prompted this edition of my newsletter was an article in our local newspaper entitled “Review of kid’s drugs urged” written by April Hunt. This is a topic that has long been dear to my heart because of a condition named “attention deficit disorder”, or ADD which I am sure everyone has heard of. Frankly I do not think of ADD as an illness, or disease, or whatever anyone wants to call it. The condition was created by teachers, with the help of complicit doctors so they could subdue, or control, hyperactive kids. The article mentioned above tells of one child who at the age of 6 was found in a foster home. He was hyperactive (as most 6 year olds are) and given medication by a doctor. This child’s foster mother, the only parent he had ever known, had just died and he was termed unruly.
No one attempted to help this child with his seeming loneliness but instead put him on a powerful psychotropic drug called Ritalin. FYI: When I owned my pharmacy the law required me to treat this drug, Ritalin, just like I did the hard narcotics I dispensed occasionally. They had to be stored under lock and key, no phone in prescriptions, must be filled within 24 hours of the date on the prescription, refills were not allowed, etc. As the years went by, the dosage for this child was doubled. Another doctor noticed how mellowed out this boy was, barely reacting to anything, and prescribed an anti-depressant. The way these cycles take place is as such; they start you on one thing for a problem, when side effects appear it means you need a new medication. As this young foster child went from doctor to doctor, and to caseworkers and therapists there were always new drugs to try. This story has a good ending though. When this young boy turned 18 he elected to stop taking all medications. It turns out he did not need any of them. The facts are that psychotropic drugs are used by 52% of those in foster care, while the usage in the general population is only 4%.
This child’s experience with drugs is not unique to ADD patients, but is also applicable to adults and all of society as more and more drugs are being consumed. My next newsletter will explain from another real life experience how doctors prescribe unnecessary medications to protect themselves from lawsuits. When I share with you what happened to this person you may be inclined to think the doctor is just incompetent. I will give this doctor the benefit of doubt, but you will have to decide.
Fritz Scheffel provides regular articles about health care and has books on the subject currently available through Amazon, Amazon Kindle and The Health Care Fix website. You are also invited to sign up and receive Fritz’s Health Care Newsletter. Join through Fritz’s website www.thehealthcarefix.com
Comments welcome!!!!
|
|
|
|
|
LinkedIn Recommendation:
 Lois Livingston - php Developer at Paratsee - I'm working with Teo on learning new Internet Marketing tips and tricks for my business. He's got a great grasp of just what I need to know, is really fun to work with and although I don't really like to talk on the phone, Teo makes phone conferences really worth the time. I get stuff out of those that aren't anywhere else on his eWorkshopCourses.com site, or the IBC site. If you are looking for a real GURU, Teo is that guy! - March 17, 2012, Lois was Teo's client |
|
Featured [Drug use] Articles:
|
|
