@Neville Telen In other words, the litigations expected due to side effects, are weighed in advance against the potential profits possible, and the net gain, if any, is weighed against bottom line results? Amazing, but probably quite astute. I never thought of it this way before; thanks for the enlightenment! Now, being aware, I am slowly becoming more sickened than before......... Some of the drugs DO prolong life..........life limited to a short terminus in some cases. My concern has been more focussed on the quality of continuing alive, given some of these drugs, as well as the fact that consequences of administration of them often dictate the administration of STILL MORE drugs........ Frank
Trouble is that the patent goes to the doctor and asks for certain drugs and if the doctor does not give them the drugs they say he is not a good doctor. A doctor friend of mine tells me that people come to him with a cold and ask for antibiotics. He knows they will have no effect and can be harmful but if he does not write out a prescription he is class as not a good doctor. No such thing as side effect they are effects.
Its not that different with the drug companies than with other manufacturers. Tobacco companies knew for quite awhile that their products were killing people, that lawsuits would be forthcoming eventually, and prices were carefully set to insure final profit would overshadow final loss. Auto manufacturers supposedly did the same with the 'Pacer' car. Any sort of manufacturer that sells any sort of shoddy product, or any product that could cause harm and attract lawsuits, employ a horde of lawyers, risk assessment pros, spin doctors, etc., to maximize profit and minimize loss. Its a 'caveat emptor' world where dum people that do not bother to look before they leap are taken advantage of by Big Business, or other wolves. The simple cure is for people to stop being so gullible and lazy. Don't depend on others to have your best interests at heart, and never trust anyone anymore than you absolutely have to. Whenever someone tells you something, don't just assume its true, do the research, and confirm it. Want to not get stuck with a 'lemon'? Research the hell out of your options before you buy. Want to not get stuck with a 'poison pill'? Research the hell out of your options before you accept the doctor's prescription. Do the work, and watch your own back. Some drugs prolong life, but not all prolong life that has any quality to it, and many I suspect are 'fools gold', with a singular purpose of raising the profit margin of drug companies. It would not surprise me at all to learn that some drugs developed by the pharmaceutical industry were created for the sole purpose of addressing side effects of previous big profit pills. Back when I used to watch TV, I would regularly see exposes on how seniors were on a permanent diet of 'Top Ramen' to afford their twenty or more pills, had to go to Canadian pharmacies to buy them, etc., so obviously people are not being very selective. I have little doubt my doctor would have me on 20 or 30 pills a day if I let him, and the worst possible choices if I let him.
@Neville Telen " I have little doubt my doctor would have me on 20 or 30 pills a day if I let him, and the worst possible choices if I let him." Now, one might ask you, why do you retain and return to this doctor? Admittedly, I experienced a similar medical stumbling-block after we moved to our present location. Now, if you know in advance of the doctor's input, have you medicated yourself using the vast off-shore abilities of medicine supply? A great many medications are available without prescription outside the U.S. Evidently, until it becomes revenue-worthy to begin legislation, one may buy on-line with ease. Need (want) viagra? Freely available. Asthma meds, pain killers, antihistamines, decongestants, antibiotics of all types, freely available. Please be aware, I don't condone illegal activity regarding medicines. However, the innumerable on-line sources offer medical examination, from afar. True, some facts regarding patient condition may escape such long-distance diagnosis, but still, the basics are workable. For most excepting the diseases requiring expert analysis: cancer, immuno-deficiency problems, and such. Finally, I must say, you feel little reliance in your doctor's attentions. Frank
I don't know how many doctors I've gone through over the last twenty years, but I do know not a one was any better the the one before, and I'm reasonably sure the next one will be no better than the current one...maybe worse. There comes a time when one simply accepts what is. Only real difference I ever found between doctors is how much they charge, and just how far his head is stuck up the tailpipe. As I've said, you cannot rely on these whitecoats to do your thinking for you. You have to take an active role in your treatment. The minute you turn on the ole autopilot and cruise-control, its all over. Couple years ago I was diagnosed with IBS-D. That doctor put me on some gawd-awful pill, don't remember the name, but for awhile I was thinking about activating my 'escape-clause', it was that bad. Fortunately I had the sense to go to the library, look up all the pills used to treat it in the PDR, take the list online, comb through the myriad side-effects. and come up with the two least noxious choices. When I went to the doctor to get the RX switched, he refused to change it, told me it was his way or the highway, and offered to put me on two other pills to treat the side effects of the first one. I went over to my current doctor, who was willing to try out my choices, and put me on Donnatal. Instant improvement! I was on Donnatal a year before the FDA dirtbags decided to cut out the generic manufacturers, unregulate it, and allow the brand name company to jack up the price from $1 a pill to $10 a pill. I then had to find a replacement. My current doctor wanted to put me on the same awful crap the previous doctor had me on, and also offered the same two additional pills to treat its side effects! I stood my ground, and got on my second choice. Lomotil. A lot weaker than Donnatal, but free of awful side effects. The morale of this story is do your homework, and don't let the doctor do your thinking for you. Consider the doctor as an advisor, not 'he who must be obeyed'. I briefly looked into getting the Donnatal online from the Darknet, from Canadian pharmacies, etc., but never got anywhere with it. Same with antibiotics. Many sources claim to sell this stuff for cheap, but the problems are many. Are the drugs real or bogus? Can you pay without the Feds following the money trail? Can you pick up the package at the Post Office without a 'stake-out' waiting with handcuffs?
Much of the stuff for sale on the dark web or anywhere else on the web is counterfeit. Some does not contain any of the drug it is labeled to be. I believe Canadian law even has a provision allowing it to happen, called a "pass-through provision". If a drug is not sold in Canada or to Canadians, it can be sold on Canadian websites unregulated. It allows the Chinese, Indians, and whoever to sell to foreigners through Canada. Anyway, I would try an Integrated Medicine Doctor if you can find one. In this area, they are listed in the Yellow Pages, but they are not very common. They are MDs or DOs who are open to alternative therapies, but they do usually have drug licenses, so they also have the option of regular drugs. My wife had problems for years, and I was afraid I was going to lose her, but with the help of an Integrative Medicine clinic she is much improved.
That does not surprise me. Maybe next time I do a run to Tijuana for my Mercurochrome, I'll look into stocking up on Donnatal and antibiotics.
When we lived in Phoenix, I took Clonidine for B.P., had no medical insurance, we drove to Algodones, Mexico, just across the river from Yuma every several months. The Clonidine was available down there, packaged in sealed manufacturer's containers, labeled New Jersey, for 6 cents a tablet. The prescription tabs I bought in Phoenix were over a dollar each. The border guards looked through carry-back bags and stuff, never searched our person, it seemed it was understood that the local Mexican economy depended on this heavy trade, both tourist, buying trinkets, and locals (Americans) supplying their medicine chests. Frank
I also understand it is best if you take an empty legitimate (if you have one) prescription bottle across, then fill it up for the return trip. That way, if you get a sticky border agent, they cannot prove where the drugs come from since you have a prescription in your name. I have not done it, but have that info from those who have.
It may be different now but when I lived on the Texas-Mexico border, the border security people didn't care if you brought prescription medications across so long as it wasn't in large quantities, or you weren't trying to hide it. I never bought drugs that weren't prescribed to me but things like antibiotics cost a small fraction of what they cost me on the US side of the border, so I'd go across and fill my prescriptions. The thing to do, at least then, was to place them on the seat alongside you, or somewhere where it is clear that you're not hiding it, and to tell them that you picked up a prescription for ampicillin (or whatever it was) when they ask what you're bringing back. That probably wouldn't have worked if it were a popularly abusable drug, but for things like antibiotics, it worked fine. I never had a problem.
How is Algodones? Tijuana is pretty cut throat....even I have to be on constant high alert when there, and always make it across the border before dark. Never tried to get an RX from Mexican doctor while there, but have heard its not hard to do, and I figure there would not be much border guards could do in that case. Problem would be getting enough to justify the long Greyhound trip, without putting Customs in meltdown mode. My ten bottles of Mercurochrome just barely makes it past.
Antibiotics would be my main target, since the doctors here don't seem to be giving them up unless you got one foot in the grave. The Donnatal had Phenobarbital in it, which puts it on some kind of watch list, so too risky.
In Interesting idea. I'm curious...has anyone ever been searched on the way over? Customs has only ever been nosey on my way back.
@Neville Telen Algodones is laid-back, relatively quiet, very little vehicular traffic, low volume crossing border. We always parked and walked across. Some very tempting ads for reasonable dental work down there appear in our local trade paper here, 200 miles north. These ads list the doctor's name and credentials, licensing, etc. Very poor citizens in general, kids begging for a sale, bazaars set up with native-made stuff, touristy. Some of the locals kind of look daggers at you, not many, and in general the sales people are friendly. There is at least one pharmacy in every block. That's how it WAS, mind you, we have not been there since we lived in Phoenix, left there in '99. Frank