Reply #64: Yes, Pharma today does evil things, but medicine keeps people alive. [View All]

Those people would've died even just twenty years ago, but let's ignore that for a moment. Let's say, for argument's sake, that people would live longer just if they exercised enough, ate right, and kept their numbers in the right area.

What about childbirth complications? What about infections? What about pain? What about genetic diseases? What about autoimmune diseases? Homeopathy and other "natural" companies also advertise, also profit, and even better, don't have to pay for research or testing. They get to put it on their labels that their claims have not been tested and still know that people will buy them.

See, I've lived in pain. I know pain. I had appendicitis for ten years that was misdiagnosed as something else. I ate right, I gave up meat and dairy, I exercised, I prayed, knitted, and meditated to deal with stress and pain--and I still needed ibuprofen. I took my supplements, but they did nothing for the pain. I needed ibuprofen. I even took Bextra before they took it off the market and was mad as hell when they did. Bextra may have caused heart problems, but with the pain I was in, I didn't care what it did to my heart if it helped me walk and take care of my kids.

An expected result, the ibuprofen gave me an ulcer, so I take Prevacid to keep that in check (yes, it was biopsied, and it wasn't the bacterial infection). I like Prevacid, thank you. It makes me feel better. That means a lot to me, given my other health problems. I also don't need esophageal cancer, thanks.

I had a kidney tumor. They gave me Versed before the surgery to knock me out. Thank God they did. Is Versed bad because it's a drug? Hell no! After the surgery, they gave me morphine, which doesn't work on me, and a numbing agent that helped a little. Did I need that numbing agent? Hell yeah! They quartered me, took out a pound of flesh, and sawed off three inches of rib. Did my doctors and nurses worry about me and try to make me as comfortable as possible? Sure they did! Oh, right, those caring people, even the surgeon who came in on his day off to check on me, must all be bastards because they use drug rep pens and sticky notes. :eyes:

Whenever I see posts like this, I get pissed. See, I've actually been sick. I've actually known pain, real level-ten pain on the pain scale. Medicine and doctors helped me through all of that and are still helping me through all of it. Are there bad docs? Sure there are. Are there great docs? Sure there are (I'm married to one). Are there good people working for pharmaceutical companies working hard to make sure that the pills are safe and help people feel better and live longer? Yup--I know several, being from Southwest Michigan where Upjohn got started and now is Pfizer.

Supplements are advertised and cost money, millions are made every year for weight-loss programs and exercise programs, and books sell by the thousands that promise a way to live without medicine. Everyone's making a buck, and if something works for you, that doesn't mean it works for everyone.