More than half of Americans on chronic meds

[spanone]

TRENTON, N.J. - For the first time, it appears that more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems, a study shows.

The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol — problems often linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24603120/

[enid602]

1. half

It's hard to thank that half of insured Americans would suffer any type of chronic illness. I would think this figure includes insured children and young adults.

[napi21]

2. Anybody know the average age of "insured Americans"?

It's an obvious deduction to say that older people are usually on more meds. I'd be interested to hear the details behind that study. I'm thinkin' maybe the liers are figurin' again instead of the figures lyin'!

[Warpy]

3. Consider what "chronic meds" really means.

Women of childbearing age who are on contraceptive drugs are on "chronic meds."

That pretty much renders this statistic silly.

[fudge stripe cookays]

4. Yes, but much of that....

is not for birth control. It's to control things like endometriosis, which is definitely painful and chronic.

[undergroundpanther]

8. I take"chronic meds"

For my fucked up spine,the pain and inflammation it has ,and for PSTD.. Don't like to take them,but sleeping,moving,being less pain burdened,being sorta emotionally stable, and paying any sort of attention to anything would be a helluva lot harder for me without them. And guess what a few have the wonderful side effect 'weight gain'.
And my metabolism is screwed up,(tons of psych meds some forced into me against my will) Now my endro thinks I don't eat enough food to maintain this weight,she has pointed out I don't metabolize certain things ,she thinks it is caused by some other process gone awry.

[Warpy]

11. Understood

Most of us are on "chronic meds" because we want to keep on being functional human beings instead of wheelchair bound or dead. Those are my alternatives to being on daily drugs.

I just pointed out the basic flaw in the study, the shriek that half the people in the country take drugs every day so people must be overmedicated, right? A high number of those people are on daily medication to control their fertility so they won't have to risk frequent surgical abortions or produce children they don't want and can't support.

The statistic is a silly one.

[Zywiec]

30. Where in the study does it talk about contraceptives?

I didn't see it in the article, are you just making this silly statistic up?

Please read the article where it says: "The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol — problems often linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes."

[Warpy]

35. It just says half of us are on drugs

implying that we are overmedicated.

What I did was point out that a large proportion of these "drugs" are contraceptives.

[JDPriestly]

9. Also, high blood pressure is extremely common -- and more

often than you might think, simply hereditary. If it is hereditary, lifestyle changes are not the cause and do not improve it.

[mac2]

17. There are more people on blood pressure medication than

needed. When people go to the doctor they have stress which makes it higher. Many feel faint and tired because of it.

A home blood pressure automatic cuff is the best way to know. Do it when you are relaxed, etc.

Take control over your own health. Don't leave it to others.

[JDPriestly]

39. Good advice, and you need to take your blood pressure over

a period of weeks a couple of times a day. It's the only way to really know how you are doing.

[sandnsea]

25. Boomers on blood pressure or cholesterol meds

It's prevention and cheaper than a heart attack.

[Quantess]

32. Birth control pills were not included in the breakdown.

But antidepressants accounted for something like 11.6%

[undergroundpanther]

5. first of all

everything is contaminated,chemicals in the water, air, food, land, the toxins are all over the place,even babies are born carrying a "chemical burden " now,mercury in fish, pcb's .Over time this accumulates and this shit affects your health.

Secondly 1 in 4 people from age 18 to adult have a diagnosable mental illness in their life time.That kind of stress can fuck up a body.

Accidents are common so some take meds for life to manage pain and other things.

There are chronic illnesses like lupus, herpes arthritis,gerd..ect.ect.ect..

Allergies and asthma are common things to see now so people take stuff for that.

Suburbia makes it dangerous and too far to walk so people don't get as much exercise..

People work too much so they can't sleep.There's meds for that..


The population is aging...

The list goes on and on..

and the most common side effect in the PDR seems to be 'weight gain' go figure.

[dysfunctional press]

6. i take meds for chronic pain, and since i smoke chronic, my bp and cholesteral are just fine.

nt

[undergroundpanther]

10. same here

and I am pretty heavy,Doctors don't know why people get fat really. The fat phobics and calorie counting simpletons think they know why and they'll give you lots of doom and unwanted advice tho.

[dysfunctional press]

36. i'm the only person in my 'social circle' who smokes pot-

and i'm also the only one who's not on cholesteral and/or blood pressure meds.

go figure.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

7. They overprescribe

I just spent a long time in hospitals, and it was appalling to see the ease with which physicians dispensed drugs. Whatever you wanted, sometimes not even what you needed.

I was prescribed a bunch of cholesterol-lowering drugs (my cholesterol is low, always has been). I was prescribed medications to lower my blood pressure (my blood pressure is normal). I was prescribed anti-depressants (I wasn't depressed). I was prescribed inhalers for my asthma (I don't have asthma).

And, boy, was I ever prescribed painkillers! Like they were M&Ms. If I'd just collected them and sold them on the street, I'd be a rich LaBamba now.

I wonder, really, how many of these medications are necessary. I do know, though, that people would rather take medication than change their behavior. Especially if an insurance company is paying for them.

I wonder what the statistics are on people who aren't insured. I wonder how many chronic meds they take.

Yeah, right.

[MindPilot]

19. Boy do they ever!

And almost every med I ever been given for my high whatever requires monitoring liver function. Ok, so I feel perfectly fine, but some test results don't match some arbitary standard so I get to take drugs that will help me live an extra year or two, but wreck my liver in the process. No thanks, doc.

[mac2]

22. You are right there.

They give you drugs and you get another disease which kills you. Best to get exercise and eat right.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

26. Yes, it's that simple

In so many cases, it really is just a matter of our getting off our fat asses and going for a walk. And not eating crap.

It's that simple, but so many people would rather take a pill. I think they're insane.

[bullwinkle428]

37. Every drug commercial these days ends with "Ask your doctor about _____!"

*Doesn't that now make him your pusher, rather than your doctor?

*(courtesy of Bill Maher)

[Tangerine LaBamba]

40. Yeah, the first hit is free

It just kills me, the idea that prescription drugs can be advertised on TV. If I have to hear one more time that a four-hour erection is a problem, I'm gonna do some harm. (Every man I know would think that a four-hour erection is some kind of badge of honor.)

Ever listen to the possible side effects of some of these drugs? Cataracts, viral infection, nosebleed, brain tumor, wings sprouting out of your neck, boils, the urge to taste human flesh.

They can advertise these drugs, but they can't advertise cigarettes or liquor, and smoking dope is still against the law. Where does the hypocrisy end?

[uppityperson]

12. Thyroid meds are also very common as 1/3 adults in USA have thyroid problems

Organ is very sensitive to radiation and many people are hypothyroid without knowing it. Symptoms range from depression to carpal tunnel, to fibromyalgia, etc etc.

[harun]

16. How does one find out if they have thyroid problems?

[uppityperson]

23. Blood test BUT beware the results

There are a couple blood tests since it is a complicated thing.

Your pituitary gland monitors how much thyroid hormones are in blood, and release TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) to get your thyroid gland to produce more or less as needed.

The most common test is for TSH, which tells you how much the pituitary is excreting, based on what is needed.

Other tests directly test the amount of t3 and t4 (active thyroid hormone and precursor) circulating in your blood.

The "normal" range for TSH has been changed in the last several yrs, since where it was way off before. Too many people with hypothyroid symptoms were showing "normal". Even now it can be inaccurate as a single diagnosis mechanism since the range is quite wide.

I was severely hypothyroid once (wasn't absorbing the brand of Rx I was on, so had a very low temp, could hardly move, wasn't eating, was a couple days from emergency care need) yet my TSH showed I was in the "normal" range. My doctor was puzzled but was smart enough to ignore the lab result and change my med to treat my symptoms. Since I've had issues I always get my TSH, free t3, free t4 done at least annually.

[mac2]

18. My test came out as low for thyroid and I made them repeat

the test since I never had it before. I didn't want to go on medication. They re-tested me twice (you know I could be lying). I did not need thyroid medication. Yes...labs make mistakes.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

43. Doctors misdiagnose and undertreat thyroid problems.

They affect mainly women, and for low thyroid they prescribe synthroid and cytomel unless you specifically know about and ask them for Armour Thyroid, which is cheap and effective.

Supposedly 30 to 40 million people in the US have a thyroid problem.

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

Google "Mary Shomon" and see what comes up. Educate yourself.

[MindPilot]

13. That's because the only thing doctors seem to know how to treat

is high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The standard appears to be that any BP over almost dead is considered high. And what about the millions and millions of people who have lived to healthy old age without even knowing what cholesterol is?

I think a whole lot of these "chronic" maladies are a) doctors who can't or won't diagnose real medical problems and b) drug companies pushing a pill for every ill.

[mac2]

20. Cutting back on trans fats (which was not in food years ago)

is good for everyone. High cholesterol can cause blockage and hardening of the arteries. Good to watch it. I don't know if those drugs are safe or not. Get your weight down and walk. Eat less total fat and trans fats. Our ancestors were more active physically then we are today so they burned it off. We do not.

Naturally we need some fat to make hormones. Don't cut it out altogether.

[MindPilot]

24. And high fructose corn syrup--probably the worst offender

Last time I was in the hospital, the fruit juice they gave me with breakfast had HFCS listed as a major ingredient. When I asked about that I just got blown off.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

27. Hospital food - don't get me started

It's not just that it was bad. It was BAD. Loaded with preservatives, nutritionally barren.

And cold.

Fortunately, I had lots of menus from places that delivered, so I always had something healthy stashed in the refrigerator at the Nurses' Station. But what about the people who can't afford to buy their own food?

The traditional medical establishment knows nothing about food and/or nutrition. I watched all these old folks get fed Ensure as if it were real food. What a travesty.

[mac2]

38. That's because they don't bother to get the right diet

education. Some doctors don't even know.

Older adults can cut their blood pressure by cutting back their salt to less than 1500mg a day. There is so much salt in our foods today. Those with high blood pressure might be surprised to see how it helps them. Using less salt also makes you less hungry and you might lose weight too. Try it and see if it helps.

My spouse has a back problem. When taking high blood pressure medication they had very bad convulsions. If they sat up slowing as not to raise the blood pressure to fast, the convulsions didn't happen. But they went off the medication and watched the salt. Exercise also helped bring it down.

[TZ]

51. You know

I'm sure the tons of people who suffer from chronic illnesses like my sister with her Lupus, me with a bone marrow disorder, and my younger sister with PCOD are all just making it up so we can get drugs.
Jeezus. There are ALOT of people that have honest to god health problems in this country. And most doctors I know advocate medication as a LAST ditch thing.
Or perhaps the three of us have lying doctors who just want to make a buck.

[kestrel91316]

14. kestrel

<<<<< watches her weight, eats healthier than most, starting up the walking/hiking obsession again.

I better STAY healthy, what with no insurance.

[Warpy]

28. I lost that struggle at the ripe old age of fourteen

although I had insurance on and off until 20 years ago because I was diagnosed late and did poor follow up when I had no insurance. There wasn't enough of a paper trail until 20 years ago and then I became uninsurable.

The irony is that I spent most of those years working as an RN.

[devilgrrl]

15. Well at least they're not smoking marijuana! Next thing you know, they'll be doing Zanax!

:wow:

[shanti]

21. GERD

take pepcid for this daily. i know a LOT of people with this condition too. this was basically unheard of until the last 10 years or so.

[El Pinko]

49. I used to have GERD when I was 100 lbs overweight.

Strangely, when I started eating right and lost all the weight, the GERD (not to mention my ankle pain) went away for good.

Not to say that all people with GERD are overweight. But a lot are.

[shanti]

52. hmm, hadn't heard that angle before

i've definitely gained a bit of weight over the past 10 years or so, especially after becoming menopausal. this may be the impetus to lose some of it. GERD is very annoying and potentially harmful to the esophagus too.

thanks for the info!

[El Pinko]

53. Yes, it's awful and very distressing...

Like heartburn, but at any and all times and for no apparent reason. My doctor told me that the excess pressure on the diaphragm from all the excess visceral fat was diminishing my lung capacity and causing pressure on the stomach causing it to force up acid and gas. I was a belching, heartburny mess.

I started tracking my calorie consumption at www.fitday.com (A DUer recommended it to me, actually)

Then also joined in the discussion community at http://caloriecount.about.com

Both are totally free, and both have been invaluable to me over the last couple of years. I enjoy the calorie count site because people encourage each other to not give up, but also to eat healthy and adequately and to stay away from crash diets, which are worse than not changing your diet at all. Whatever you choose to do, I hope it works out well. The only people who benefit from us permanently being on meds are big pharma, IMO.

Best of luck!

:hi:

[spanone]

56. nbc recently did a piece on gastric bypass surgery

one of the surprising side effects of the weight loss was the disappearance of all signs of diabetes...

all in the group had been diagnosed diabetic or borderline diabetic....

[chelaque liberal]

29. I am highly skeptical about the cholesterol lowering drugs

Medicine's Dirty Little Secret: NNT

The idea of NNT is simple enough. Most clinical trials look at how much better people do on a particular medicine. NNT answers the question: How many people have to take a particular drug to avoid one incidence of a medical issue (such as a heart attack, or recurrence of cancer)? For example, if a drug had an NNT of 50 for heart attacks, then 50 people have to take the drug in order to prevent one heart attack.
...............................................................................................................................................
One of the most blatant examples of how drug companies have hidden NNT for their own self-serving purposes lies with cholesterol drugs. These drugs, which can cause side effects like liver damage, muscle weakness, cognitive impairment and many, many others, are touted as miracle pills that can slash your risk of a heart attack by more than one-third.

Well, BusinessWeek actually did a story on this very topic earlier this year, and they found the REAL numbers right on Pfizer’s own newspaper ad for the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor.

Upon first glance, the ad boasts that Lipitor reduces heart attacks by 36 percent. But there is an asterisk. And when you follow the asterisk, you find the following in much smaller type:


"That means in a large clinical study, 3% of patients taking a sugar pill or placebo had a heart attack compared to 2% of patients taking Lipitor."


What this means is that for every 100 people who took the drug over 3.3 years, three people on placebos, and two people on Lipitor, had heart attacks. That means that taking Lipitor resulted in just one fewer heart attack per 100 people.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/05/08/medicine-s-dirty-little-secret.aspx?source=nl

[musiclawyer]

34. Don't take drugs, eat cactus

Get it at a specialty store. Do a cactus/fruit/oatmeal smoothie every day or two and chances are good you won't need cholesterol drugs ever again.

[Ilsa]

31. No BP meds in this house.

I take an antidepressant, and my oldest takes meds for his neurological problems related to autism. My youngest takes an ADD med. I guess my family has screwed up the ratio.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[mac2]

41. Done.

[Blue Diadem]

42. Sodium, High blood pressure and the FDA "generally recognized as safe" food list

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-02-10-salt-dangers_N.htm

Salt intake brings new levels of alarm

snip:
The Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to remove salt — also known as sodium chloride — from its list of foods categorized as "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS.

Salt "is the single most harmful element in the food supply, even worse than saturated fat and trans fat, or food additives and pesticides," says Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Last year, the center petitioned the FDA to remove salt from the GRAS list. According to a report from the center, this "forgotten killer" is a major cause of high blood pressure in Americans; limiting consumption could save 150,000 lives a year.

Much more at link

[dysfunctional press]

45. i almost NEVER use salt when i cook- unless a recipe specifically calls for it.

and i never put it on my food when i'm eating.

i do sometimes use soy sauce when i cook, though.

[Blue Diadem]

47. I don't either. There's just so much sodium in prepared foods

that people often don't realize how much they're already eating. Eating out has to be the worst.

I've been paying more attention to the seasonings I'm using. There's a tremendous amount of sodium in some of the already prepared seasonings(rubs and grilling seasonings) so I'm going to be making my own minus salt.

We've found that low sodium condiments aren't always easy to find.

[dysfunctional press]

55. i don't do too many prepared foods- i mostly cook whole foods, fresh veggies, meat, fish, etc...

i use other seasonings- i go through A LOT of minced garlic, ginger, red and/or black pepper...and the aforementioned soy sauce. i've never worried too much about sodium levels in condiments- i don't use massive amounts of most of them- kethup, mustard, steak sauce are probably the biggies in our house...plus salad dressings.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

59. Sea Salt is much better for you than regular NaCl, and it tastes better too.

There is way too much salt in frozen foods these days.
I avoid them.

[and-justice-for-all]

44. My partner and I both take a blood pressure med..

I'm 33 for fucks sake!! What the hell!

[rucky]

46. I'm on chronic

does that count?

[El Pinko]

48. Not surprising, given the average American's diet of garbage.

How many of these health conditions could be prevented by eating fewer calories of better foods instead of corporate-produced processed/packaged convenience "food" and fast-food junk?

[hunter]

50. I've been on chronic meds most of my life.

The rare times I haven't been I've been horribly sick.

I'm a bad roll of the genetic dice, the kind of person who would be dead before forty without meds.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like not to have to worry about medications. As a reckless young man I ended up hospitalized a few times thinking I could achieve a medicine free state by lifestyle changes and strength of will.

I'm absolutely certain chronic meds are overprescribed and that the corruption of big pharmaceutical companies has a lot to do with this. But there are a certain number of people who must have chronic meds, and some of those people will see statistics like this (especially testosterone charged young men!) and proceed down a dangerous path.

[MiniMe]

54. I know that my blood pressure has certainly gone up since this misadministration has taken office

I'm hoping it will start going down again next January.

[Breeze54]

57. "more than half of all INSURED Americans"

That leaves a lot of people out!

Over 40 Million Americans are uninsured. :(

[hedgehog]

58. I look at pictures of my grandfathers when they were the age I am now,

and they were old! I take medications for the same chronic illnesses they had, and I'm not aging as fast as they did. I notice a lot of discussion upthread about anti-hypertensives. I've taken medication to control my blood pressure for the last 14 years. FWIW, my grandmother, dad, uncle and aunt all had major strokes by the time they reached my age. I expect that prescribing practices will be fine-tuned as more information emerges, but a lot of people are living better lives today because of the pills they take.