Posted by ayuda on November 24, 2002, at 20:58:35
In reply to Re: Fiery Rhetoric » Alan, posted by Squiggles on November 24, 2002, at 20:35:07
People need to be monitored constantly on these meds. My gyn was shocked that my shrink hadn't ordered blood tests with all the meds I'm on. Even though the ones he ran showed no problems, no one ruled out physical problems OR checked to make sure that I was okay physically. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind.
Another issue that I have is with what they consider to be adverse events worth mentioning. You can't measure, or even test for, some of the worst s/e's, and they don't give enough time during these trials to catch many of the adverse events that happen over time.
Plus the information that does come out can be interpreted in so many different ways, and what it means for different people is not clear. If only 11% of people in a trial had "x" s/e, that doesn't mean that I won't, or will, have that s/e, so it is kind of useless information. If I'm a person who does have that s/e, then it doesn't matter if I'm the only one or if I'm one of a several hundred who've experienced it. And doctors misinterpret those numbers and their meanings all the time.
Again, that's why online groups such as this can be important. We find out what other people are experiencing, even if it isn't our experience or it turns out it isn't related to the drugs we are taking. Who's to say that we don't constitute a "control group" of our own?
> Assuming that a drug has successfully
> passed the FDA, and is truly a benign
> drug with a good safety margin, there
> is another problem in health care in
> general, which i believe is totally
> ignored.
>
> The tests that are taken for a certain
> condition are not frequent enough; take
> for example blood tests for diabetes--
> if a test is taken once a year, then it
> is not likely that a true, rounded picture
> of the blood condition will show. All
> the good drugs in the world will not help
> if you don't check the gas or the water
> frequently enough.
>
> I really think that this is a serious
> problem in medicine. If we could have
> something analogous to a gas pump station
> to even self-monitor for a myriad of blood
> pictures, much misery and disease could
> be prevented.
>
> Squiggles
poster:ayuda
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021122/msgs/129123.html