Prescription drugs on TV ads
 

I find TV ads about prescription drugs quite disturbing. The crazy long list of side effects included in these ads are such a turn off while watching TV. In Canada, direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs is prohibited as a health protection measure. Manufacturers cannot advertise prescription-only drugs directly to the public because of their toxicity and the potential for harm from medically unnecessary or inappropriate use.
For me, I assume my doctor is the professional who will know what meds are appropriate for me. So my question to you is: has anyone ever gone to their doctor and tell them they want a certain drug they saw on TV?

Americans are gullible and over-medicated. If you wish to get better then you must need another prescription.

I am more irritated by the non-prescription "food supplement" ads for things like Balance of Nature and Relief Factor. At least the prescription drugs have been tested and are approved by the FDA, and require a medical doctor to write a prescription.

In answer to your question I have to assume people do see the ads for prescription drugs then ask their doctor to prescribe to them. Why else would drug companies pay the huge advertising dollars? I personally think the TV ads should not be allowed because it contributes to the outrageous cost of drugs in the U.S. If people are concerned that their doctor is not aware of a drug and it's potential benefits, they should find a better doctor.

Those drug ads are for making money. Those drugs are so expensive and mostly not covered by Medicare. Doctors can’t know about every drug on the market, which is why pharmaceutical reps visit doctors offices and tell them all the “benefits” of their drug. Doctors were persuaded by money and luxury vacation junkets. This is one reason we hv pain medication addiction. Doctors were told that they were not addicting which wasn’t true. I don’t know what the answer is.

I've looking into one or two but that's it. What also irks me is when the ad says "Don't take this if you are allergic to it". How would you know unless you took it!!!!

Agreed!! The cost of drugs is unconscionable in the US.

Medicare is still not allowed to negotiate drug prices
 

Whatever happened to that bill?? AARP pushed it hard. I guess it's
not going to happen. I wonder why?

[QUOTE=La lamy;2053619]I find TV ads about prescription drugs quite disturbing. The crazy long list of side effects included in these ads are such a turn off while watching TV. In Canada, direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs is prohibited as a health protection measure. Manufacturers cannot advertise prescription-only drugs directly to the public because of their toxicity and the potential for harm from medically unnecessary or inappropriate use.
For me, I assume my doctor is the professional who will know what meds are appropriate for me. So my question to you is: has anyone ever gone to their doctor and tell them they want a certain drug they saw on TV?[/QUOTE]

I should preface my answer with :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Ever since the first direct to consumer ads in 1983-84 for Rufen and Trental, patients have come to doctor's offices with specific requests for specific drugs that they know nothing about other than they saw an ad. The internet magnified this problem 100 fold, the patients would come to the office with some blurb they googled from God knows what site and try to convince me to prescribe that med for whatever condition they thought they had. The best part was when they wanted to argue with me---actually, sort of like some posters on TOTV who worship Dr. Google.

Really??? And your basis for this ridiculous statement is???????

Now for reality: Pharmaceutical reps are limited to handing out pens with their drug name on it and a meal if it is associated with an educational event. The days of "vacation junkets" ended in the 80's as a result of federal legislation. The ultimate hypocrisy of that legislation was that the bill was signed by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy while on a "vacation junket" skiing in the Alps courtesy of US Steel. As far as our group went, we didn't even talk to drug reps. And may I assume that part of that post was based on that TV show about oxycodone, which stretched the truth to the point of absurdity?

:1rotfl::clap2::1rotfl: :mademyday:

[QUOTE=golfing eagles;2053675] i once asked my dr for one of the new(@ the time) drugs, nexium. i admit i saw the ad on tv & felt this was for me, lol, just like you said. my dr refused to prescribe, saying it had too many unresolved side effects. i was a tad irked from her refusal, but years later we see she was correct. your post was spot on.

[QUOTE=PugMom;2053692]Mainly because I lived with it for 35 years:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl: But I'm sure someone on this site will want to argue:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[QUOTE=golfing eagles;2053675]You needed one of these...

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...hn6tL._AC_.jpg

[QUOTE=JMintzer;2053719]I have one

Funny, my daughter just recently commented that she went all thru HS and college using Celebrex pens and only recently learned what it was used for... :1rotfl:

All I ever got were pens and post-it notes...

You got post-it notes???????

Now I'm jealous. It's like a "vacation junket", only different:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

One reason we zap thru commercials.

The day we have to ask our Dr for a drug we saw on TV that also has 14 dozen side effects is the time we search for a new Dr.

Actually, that's the day HE searches for a new patient:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Its humorous, the side effects are probably worse than what they are trying to cure....

I don't have your unfailing recall of all things Ted Kennedy did, but please explain to me why a US Senator would have to sign a bill? The POTUS has to sign, a Senator has to vote. And to vote he or she must be in the Senate. So explain why did Kennedy sign a bill while skiing?

The voluntary restriction of medical junkets didn't happen until 2002 in a statement by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
Astra zeneca made headlines when it announced in 2011 it would stop flying doctors to attend resort conferences

The Physician Payments Sunshine Act passed in 2010 as a section of the Affordable Care Law AKA Obamacare, was the first to require that drug companies report the money they spent on direct physician payment of money or things of value. Not the 1980's not Ted Kennedy and it did not prohibit those payments, only required public disclosure.

So what was the basis for your ridiculous statement?

I never said he signed it into law or voted on the final version. To introduce a bill into the senate or house requires the signature of one or more members, that is what he signed, a preliminary only. I don't know what other legislation and recommendations regarding pharmaceutical "gifts" followed in later years, but this bill introduced by Kennedy was the first I know about. Perhaps it is faulty cause-effect reasoning as well, but I never got more than a pen after 1990. Apparently, some lucky people got post-it notes as well:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

No, but it was thanks to a Chantix ad on TV that I was finally able to quit smoking years ago after it became widely available.

I didn't tell my doctor that was what I wanted. It was the other way around. He told me he needed me to quit smoking in order to continue to be my doctor, and he would help me do whatever was necessary to accomplish it. He gave me a list of options, from hypnotism (tried it, failed), nicotine gum (tried it, hated it), behavioral modification (homey don't play that), cold turkey, cutting down, antidepressants, some other med, and Chantix.

I had heard about Chantix from the ad on TV, and it was the only one that seemed to fit my needs. It basically deactivates signals to your nicotine receptors and makes your mind forget that it's addicted. You still have a habit to get over, but you can work on the habit with zero nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

I remembered the risks, most of them involved sleep disorders. Since I was already taking prescription sleep meds that ALSO had those side effects, and had never experienced any of them, I was willing to give it a shot.

Two weeks later, I had quit smoking. The end of that second week, I threw the rest of the Chantix in the trash (even though I was supposed to keep taking it for 3 months) That was 12 years ago. I haven't even been tempted to smoke since.

What bill would that be? There was no law in the 1980s on this topic. There was never a need for any emergency signature on a routine measure. As you are certain Ted Kennedy signed a proposed bill, while on a ski trip in the Alps sponsored by a steel company? You know about it? There is nothing on the Google about it. You don't know about other acts or legislation that actually exist, but this one situation, that mysterious bill that needed a physical signature while a Senator was out of town, that you recall clearly. Hmm.

My favorite part of those ads is when they are pushing a "NEW" drug. Lets call it abivol. In the warnings they say "Don't take abivol if you are allergic of have harmful reaction to Abivol". How would one know?

Also, interesting how meds for something non life threatening as psoriasis has side effects that include cancers, and suicidal tendencies.

If your disturbed - change the channel.

Florida is a "free" state. We can do whatever we want. Laws, rules, suggestions, recommendations mean nothing to us. If you are hearing something you don't like, walk away.

Hmmm----perhaps the bill died in committee. Perhaps you know since you appear to have definitive knowledge on the subject. I didn't "google" it, all I know is what multiple drug reps told me AT THAT TIME. Were you there?????

I think TV advertising did very well for the little blue pill.

:a040::a040::a040:

Virtually every drug OTC or prescription has multiple contraindications. Just read the list for everything you take. That's why Dr.'s have the PDR to reference. For example take a look at glipizide/metformin hydrochloride. Glipizide and Metformin Hydrochloride (glipizide/metformin hydrochloride) dose, indications, adverse effects, interactions... from PDR.net

Well that's a great story! Happy to hear prescription meds worked so well for such an insidiously unhealthy habit. A 3 week behaviour modification course from the Lung Association in Canada helped me quit 19 years ago. Best thing I ever gave up, that's for sure.

I know! Those warnings are so dire. Yikes.

I think contraindications should have a dash somewhere in the middle. Irregardless of that think it is not really a word.

Just an FYI
 

Don't know if you are kidding or not, but it is definitely a word, no hyphen.

A contraindication is a specific situation in which a drug, procedure, or surgery should not be used because it may be harmful to the person.

contraindicate - Google Search

Was kidding, Pinball is a good friend.

golfing eagles, OK, which one is it? You never saw drug reps? Or multiple drug reps told you all about it?

And, btw, I was there. :wave:

Boomer

Must have been my "boyish good looks"... The reps were sweet on me... :icon_wink:

Shush already! I don't need the Feds coming after me for post-it notes! :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

"Irregardless", on the other hand... :shocked:

:smiley:Irregardless - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
Contraindication Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Just saw your kidding post. Should have used a smiley!:smiley:

Never saw them to allow them to "push" their drugs, but certainly would have conversation. Heck, one of my best friends is a rep. And if you were there, you should know exactly what I was talking about. Or perhaps you were lucky enough to get post-it notes as well:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl: