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Say WHAT??!!!
"Jeez! What did you do to get that hole in your arm?!"
"Oh, that? Well, you remember that itch I had on my forearm there? Well, I went to the doctor, and he told me to try this cream, which he thought might get rid of that itching. So, I put it on- and, man, did it ever burn! But it did get rid of that itch. ha, ha About week later, the area still wasn't healed up right, you know? It just kept getting darker where that itch was. Next thing I know, there's a hole there!"
"Jeez! That's terrible!"
"It's not that bad, really. I mean, now that it's healed up. It was worse before."
"That must have hurt real bad."
"Yeah- It was pretty scary, too. It's not something that I thought would happen- I was just trying to get that itch to stop itching..."
"But a hole in your arm.....!"
"It's not actually all that bad- I mean, when I go shopping now, I can hang a couple of extra things right there...see? Kind of like having 'extra storage' built right into my arm, ha, ha"
"What?!"
"No....really...look."
"I can't believe you'd let that happen to your arm! My gosh!"
"Well, the doctor said he didn't really have the time to read all that junk they sent about the new stuff- so he really didn't know it even could do that."
"Yeah, but still..."
"Maybe it's my own fault- after all, I didn't look into what the stuff might do- but it did get rid of the itch...."
"Yeah, but..."
"I know. Well, if I had known -in advance- what that stuff might do, I might not have tried it....."
"Yeah, and you wouldn't have a hole in your arm!"
"That itch was awful bad. Just wouldn't go away...."
"But, a hole in your arm?!"
"How many times have you trusted what those doctors have given you? And how many times have you had a side-affect from what you took that the doctors gave you?"
"A bunch of times..I've never had anything like that happen though! "
"How do you know? Maybe you haven't seen the end result yet."
"What?!"
"I mean, there are some things that are caused to happen by these drugs, and maybe they don't show up for 20 or 30 years. Like Hepatitus C. Or those people who ended up having heart problems from taking that anti-inflammatory medicine. You know. That stuff that was on the TV news- whatever it was called. Remember?"
"Yeah. I suppose weird things can happen...."
"I didn't find out 'til later that there hadn't been any tests done on humans, so they really didn't know what would happen,"
" Hey, I know! How about I combine all this stuff under the sink, and you try it to see what will happen, OK?"
"No way! What are you, crazy?"
"Well, that's what you just did! What's the difference?
"We-ale, for one thing, they didn't put no Bleach and Pine Clean-all together! That's what!"
"They put something together that caused that stuff to burn a hole in your arm!"
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Sometimes, we really think that the Dr. is going to give us something to help us get well, right? After all, that's their job, right?
We don't realize that the drug manufacturing companies give those free samples to the doctors- and the doctors pass them along to you. Many times, the doctors really haven't read the material that the drug companies sent along with those free samples- I mean, they do get a lot of them; and they are busy trying to treat people- maybe they figure they'll have time to read all that stuff later.
Now, think about it. If you had a car that you wanted to sell, and you knew that that car had some problem- maybe you didn't know exactly what the problem was, or how to fix the problem, since maybe you are not a mechanic - and, maybe, you thought that whatever was wrong with the car might not be a big problem, so you go ahead and put the For Sale sign on the car. Some Joe comes along and buys that car- not knowing anything is wrong with the car. You don't mention it might have a problem, because you need to sell that car. Besides, you don't have a clue what the problem is anyway, right? So, he drives off, and a couple of months later, the engine blows up. He comes back to you, complaining. And you say, 'Well, I didn't know it had anything seriously wrong with it! It ran fine for me! Maybe it was something you did- how do I know?' (after all, you've already spent the money you made from the sale of the car, and you didn't really know the car would blow up....buyer beware, and all that...right?)
You didn't read the manual, or try to figure out what the problem was- after all, you are not a mechanic- and you did need to sell the car.... and even if you had read the manual, and figured out what might be wrong, you didn't have the skill to fix it.
Now, those drug manufacturing companies kind of work the same way- They create a drug, using God-only-knows-what (heck, you can't even pronounce half the stuff in it!), and they shuffle it off to their salesmen- who, then, bring it by a bunch of doctors offices- they drop off some of the free samples along with a bunch of literature about the drug. They are hoping that the doctors office will buy that drug- so they figure if they give them some samples to give to their patients to try, maybe they will land a sale.
Now, the doctor, he's a busy guy- he's got patients in his waiting room that have been waiting to see him for 2 hrs., and he's already going to be late for his golf game- so he doesn't really have the time to read every brochure these drug company drop off with those samples, right?
Now, along comes you....and you finally get to get in to see the doc. He's in a rush (he's late, remember?) and he's not really listening to you (he's got other things on his mind, after all), so he passes those free samples on to you. You think, 'Wow! I don't have to pay for some expensive prescription? Cool!', and you go your merry way, thinking that surely that drug will fix the problem.
Problem is, it doesn't. Later on, you have a reaction of some kind- maybe it caused severe headaches, or a rash or something.
So what do you do? Your boss isn't going to give any more time off to go back to the Dr. You were already out of the office for 3 hrs., after all. And dealing with those insurance companies is no picnic. So you stop at the department store on your way home, and try to find something that might work. You were going to call the doc and tell him, but what's the point? It's late. He, no doubt, is no longer at the office.
By the time you got home, you had dinner to fix, kids to pick up, and that meeting to get to. So, you just go on with it all- and never actually do make the call.
Meanwhile, the doctor doesn't have a clue that the stuff didn't work for you. He figures it must be alright- so, he gives it to even more patients (who probably have a situation very similar to your own). Then, he has his office order some of it, because he doesn't have any more free samples left- after all, no one has called back and told him they were actually having a problem with it, right?
The drug company salesman is delighted- he just made that fat sale, and now he can get that promotion he's been trying for. (Even he hasn't taken the time to read all that literature- he's making his sales based on what the boss said about it....that it may be good for such-n-such an illness).
The chemists who actually made the drug- and they usually always work as a team - so one guy doesn't really know what the other guy is doing...well, they don't know what that drug may or may not do. Their supervisor hasn't actually run any tests on humans yet (hence the free samples). The supervisor figures if he gets enough free samples out there, then maybe they will find out if it works or not- or find out if it causes any problems. The doctors who have been given the free samples haven't called the company back or mentioned any problems. So the supervisor tells his boss that it seems to be OK. The boss, then, applies to the Food and Drug Administration for the OK to actually sell the stuff.
The FDA figures that it must be OK, since there have been no reports filed telling otherwise, so they tell the drug company that they can now sell the stuff.
Meanwhile, the doctor is hoping his shipment arrives soon- he has other patients who had the same thing you did, and if he can give them a prescription for this new stuff, he doesn't have to waste a lot of his time trying to figure out what might work. He's busy, remember?
So, now the stuff is on the market. The drug company just made a bunch of sales, and is off to the bank to make their deposit. And they are already trying to think up some other drug to cook up. And so it goes.
Now, you are saying, "Gosh, I can't trust any one or any thing!" Well, it is not so much about trust, really. You just have to remember that those drug companies are a business- and they are out to make a profit. The likelihood of them actually ever meeting you in person is slim to none. So what do they care that you might have had a reaction? They were never told that.
The doctor didn't even know- and if some people actually did call, he is so busy, he never actually had time to tell the drug company that he had some complaints from patients.
So this stuff got licensed (as 'safe') because there was little documentation to say otherwise. Period.
You see, 'safe' doesn't mean the same thing to the drug companies, doctors, or the FDA. We think of safe as 'harmless'. They think of 'safe' as not having a significant amount - or an overwhelming amount, of reports that show otherwise!
In other words, if they do not receive complaints that the drug did not work- or that it caused some other problem- then they assume it is OK, and it gets 'approved' to sell!!!
Now the conversation at the top is just made up, of course- but the scenario is familiar to any of us who have had a bad reaction caused by some freebie sample from the doctor. We have no idea of what we are using- we figure the doctor does- but, in truth, he may not. The company just gave it to him, hoping to make a sale later down the line, when the stuff- hopefully- got approval from the FDA to sell.
The drug company doesn't actually care what it does, as long as they get that approval to sell it. They are into making money.
The FDA is very busy- there are a lot of big drug companies- and it is not all they do, after all. So if they see a drug- with no bad reports- they slide that approval right on through.
Meanwhile, you had a reaction. And ended up having to spend more money (the doctor's appointment was not cheap, even if he did give you a free sample!), and you had to get something that would work, right?
The long and the short of it is that we really need to find out all we can about what we are taking for medication- since it may end up doing more harm than good. No one is going to look it up for you, but these 'approved' drugs, and the free samples do have instructions given with them. Among those instructions are lists of 'Counter-indications'- that is, a list of possible negative effects. If it is an approved drug, there will also be a contraindication list in the Physician's Desk Reference (PDR) book. You can locate that book at your doctor's office, some book stores, and, if your local hospital has a resource library room, it will surely be there, as well.
If you have a hard time understanding the words used in these instructions, or the PDR, you can look them up in a medical dictionary- usually found also in the places mentioned previously, or you can look them up on the internet, or even call your local 'Ask-a-Nurse' service. Medical professionals may also be able to answer your questions.
Remember, the more you know, the better able you are to make a well-informed decision.
The Rich Corporation |