Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Gerry V.


has hit a number of nails on the head with his comment yesterday about the deadly and costly over-prescription of psychotropic pharmaceuticals. In particular is the pronounced use of anti-depressants and other poisons among women. When will some women's groups rise up in united voice to stop this clear enslavement of women? This barbaric attempt by male doctors and by society in general to "calm" women's miseries with happy pills?

Just wait, David. It shouldn't be long before bitterness is declared a disorder if not an outright disease. Thats right. If you get laid off from your job or go through a nasty divorce, you could be suffering from "Post Tramautic Embitterness Disorder". Look for it in the newest DSM.

I personally like the "Intense Explosive Disorder" which explains why some people have hissy fits or fits of rage. Treatment for such a rare condition? Yep, you guessed it. Valium.

By the way, the most commonly prescribed drug in B.C. is Tylenol 3. Lipitor is number two. Seroquel, an anti-psychotic medication, is number 7 on the list.

In North America in 2008 the most commonly prescribed drug was hydrocodone. The number 2 drug was lipitor. Out of the top 50 most commonly prescribed drugs, 10 of those 50 were antidepressants or anti-psychotics. That represents 20% of all prescription drugs prescribed in North America in 2008. That's 20% of a conservatively estimated 65 Billion $ industry. These stats were provided by the AARP.

What's somewhat interesting is that twice as many women are prescribed these drugs compared to men. Now you can draw many conclusions from this statistic, but it makes me wonder if maybe this is why women live 10 years longer than men on average. (That last statement was made with tongue in cheek)

3 comments:

Leah said...

Big Pharma and psychiatry are twins that should have been separated at birth. One uses the other to power their agenda, which is nothing more than separating us from as much of our money as possible, while taking control of our minds and emotions - and to keep us quiet and happy while they do it.

The majority of "illnesses" found in the DSM are nothing more than normal human emotions we all go through from time to time...and for some reason we've decided that allowing them to foist another pill on us is better than dealing with the issue/s causing the "problem."

Gerry Verrier said...

JUst to clarify an error in my figures. I had stated " That represents 20% of all prescription drugs prescribed in North America in 2008. That's 20% of a conservatively estimated 65 Billion $ industry" when in fact it should read "that's 10% of a conservatively estimated 65 Billion $ industry."

My apologies ofr the innacuracy.


I also wanted to make mention of all the information that suggests that attention to diet and healthy exercise can help a person achieve the same results. I will look for evidence based articles and research to back up that claim.

Anonymous said...

When I relocated to another province, it took over a year to find a 'family' Dr., who then, would not refill my presciptions for high BP,cholesterol,T3's & anti-anxiety. Plus, I had my medical papers, that were up to date, with me. This Dr. literally tightened up her shoulders when she heard the words anti-anxiety. But offered Seroquel!
Which I refused,since I have never been diagnosed with a mental disorded.
I have since found a new Dr. who put me on an anti-depressant,not because I'm depressed but, prescribed as a sleep aide. Then increased the amount! Four weeks ago I started to ease myself off of this medication.I have talked to another Dr. at the same clinic, who believes the side effects of that drug was giving me more problems then a restless nights sleep.