Prescriptions for psychiatric problems on the rise

[LizzieMaine]

And by the way, this happens all over the world. A close friend of mine worked at the Chilean offices of the German pharmaceuticals giant, MERCK. The same racket went on in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, etc.

Crime knows no borders.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Crime knows no borders.

"The System" breaks down borders.

 

[Connery]

"The System" breaks down borders.

Multinational corporations provide a conduit which seem to be insulated from scrutiny and supported through various taxation benefits.

 

[ButteMT61]

Um, as far as Golden Era tie-ins, I'm pretty sure there was a lot of drug use back then. It was labeled as things like "Pep Pills" and "Coca Cola" and even Vegameatavitamin.
But I could just be wrong once again...
I think we lost lots of people, famous and not-so due to this. I know my mom was on Valium from her doctor for years after her and my dad split up. So, maybe more obvious today - and commercials are ridiculous - but I bet maybe just as used as they always were. Now, they're just more sophisticated, chemically...

 

[sheeplady]

I don't know, I think the system's de-personalization (the way it is now) has increased drug abuse. (I want to make this very clear that I am not talking about legitimate use or about use for psychological illness.) In the olden days, you spent more time with your doctor, and you also payed for most things out of pocket. There was also a lot fewer specialists, so doing the rounds to get your meds wasn't as possible.

My aunt is a drug addict, and she works about 5 doctors (primary and specialists) and 3 pharmacies to get her scripts, most of which are in her name. In some ways, there are far more eyes on her drug use than there would have been in the Golden Age (multiple doctors, pharmacists, and her health insurance) rather than a single doctor and a pharmacist, but all these people are far less invested in her overall care. If anything, one would think that somebody who reviews her claims (and is in charge of payout) would flag it and stop paying.

While I am not denying that some healthcare providers back then weren't slimey as all heck, I don't think the system was as gulliable to being worked like my aunt does it.

 

[4spurs]

In the "Golden Era" doctors worked for themselves; they were small businesspeople. Today doctors work for insurance companies who tell them what they, the insurance company, will pay for, and what they will not pay for; and if they do pay, what the rate of pay will be.

Insurance companies do not want to pay for talk therapy, it is expensive because it takes up too much time. They can have a doc write at least ten prescriptions in one hour. The drug companies have everyone convinced that all mental illness is biological and can be addressed by a pill. But not all mental illness is biological; all of the men who came back from WWI and WWII with PTSD did not have a biological disorder --and that's only one example.

What chemicals do is make people compliant, ask anyone who works in a state mental health facility; that's all they want to do; i.e., make people managable. The poor do not get talk therapy in state institutions. In fact, most of the doctors working in state institutions barely speak English these days.

In a previous time we did not have such a concentration of power in corporate hands removed from the patient; it was in the hands of your local doctor to make a decision as to what is best in conjunction with your informed consent.

We can only hope that when the CEO of your health plan dies and meets St. Peter at the pearly gates he's told "Congratulations, you've been approved for entry into Heaven, but for only three days."

 

[lolly_loisides]

It would be interesting to see what the stats are for other western nations. Is this a modern era problem world wide or a problem specific to the US because of the state of your healthcare system?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

It would be interesting to see what the stats are for other western nations. Is this a modern era problem world wide ...

It's rapidly becoming a 'modern era problem' for Chile, even though its health care system is different from --and some think better than-- ours. (One thing I appreciated about the Chilean system is that doctors make house calls on a regular basis. If you call out sick from work for a few days, a doctor will come to your home and check on your health. I liked it ... but I think it's now on the way out.)

 

[sheeplady]

In fact, most of the doctors working in state institutions barely speak English these days.

In my state (NY, in the USA), doctor's who work in psychriatric institutions do not even have to be licensed in my state. In other words, a doctor who could not work outside an institution because they are not properly licensed in my state CAN work inside an institution. So these doctor's can't by law work on someone who has freedom of choice, but it's ok that they work on someone who is institutionalized.

Now, of course, the state claims they do this because they can't get licensed doctors to work in the institutions, but I really disagree with that claim.

 

[lolly_loisides]

It's rapidly becoming a 'modern era problem' for Chile, even though its health care system is different from --and some think better than-- ours. (One thing I appreciated about the Chilean system is that doctors make house calls on a regular basis. If you call out sick from work for a few days, a doctor will come to your home and check on your health. I liked it ... but I think it's now on the way out.)

Our family Doctor still makes house calls.
I think it would be interesting to compare statistics for prescriptions for psych problems between countries that have universal healthcare (such as the UK & Australia) against countries (like the US) that do not. Speaking anecdotally, when I went to the Drs for stress related problems (my mother was dyeing of cancer, I had work & relationship problems, all happening at the same time) he didn't write me script for drugs, we had a long talk & he referred me to a therapist. I wonder if that would happen in the US, or I would be fobbed off with a script for drugs because it took less time & was cheaper.

 

[4spurs]

They can't get licensed docs because they do not want to pay licensed docs the going rate, instead they waive their own requirements as to licenses and standards [which being the state they can do] and pay immigrant docs less.

 

[sheeplady]

Exactly. I've been in one psychiatric hospital many times (volunteer when I was young) and while they aren't all giggles and rainbows to work in (just like a hospital isn't always fun), the working conditions are not horrible. It's just not the state's priority to actually pay these positions competitively enough, so they lower the standards and use the excuse that they can't get anyone to work there.

Just think about how disgusting that is for a minute. A person has been committed (probably) because they are a serious threat to themselves or others. They probably don't have the power to make fully rational decisions for their own care because of their mental state/illness. And the doctors they have treating them we wouldn't allow to treat someone who had full ability to make rational decisions. Oh, and since they are institutionalized they basically can't refuse any treatments. Yeah, we're a wonderful society.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Damn straight.

Ever read the book by Ken Kesey? Wonderful -- and quietly horrific.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Damn straight.

Ever read the book by Ken Kesey? Wonderful -- and quietly horrific.

Yes and saw the movie. It was required reading when I was in middle school and it had a profound impact on me.

 

[Connery]

It would be interesting to see what the stats are for other western nations. Is this a modern era problem world wide or a problem specific to the US because of the state of your healthcare system?

Another aspect is that one drug can address several medical issues. For example, "Tricyclic antidepressants are used to relieve clinical depression. They are also being used, with some success, as Migraine preventives for some patients."

 

[kamikat]

Another aspect is that one drug can address several medical issues. For example, "Tricyclic antidepressants are used to relieve clinical depression. They are also being used, with some success, as Migraine preventives for some patients."

This is soooo true! Tricyclic antidepressants, in 1/4 of the amounts used for depression, are used to treats irritable bowl syndrome. There are other issues at hand. For example, it is commonly known that hormonal birth control pills cause depression in women. Most women I know who take the pill also take anti-depressants. The other reason for the increase is better drugs. For example, back in the 1990s, there were no known medications that could treat panic disorder. Patients were loaded up with anti-depressants and sedatives in hopes of having a normal life or forced to go unmedicated. Now, there is a newer class of drugs that treats both panic disorder and anxiety disorder without the side effects of anti-depressants nor the addiction risk of sedatives. Something that may not be in people's minds when discussing psychiatric drugs is the fact that we've been at war for longer that any previous war that the US has been involved in. These men and women are getting the treatment needed for PTSD that previous generations never did. There are many reasons for an increase of psychiatric medications, not just because "we can throw pills at them".

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

I guess I have a different view my wife is Bi polar. She has to take med's to keep her stable. We could not have a "normal" life without her med's. We go to support groups every week for help and to help others.
Thank god med's are available for people today. Bi Polar is a genetic metal illness like most metal illness.
In the past era's people has to suffer with metal health issues that caused many problems for people.

 

[Tomasso]

I guess I have a different view ....Thank god med's are available for people today..

Has there been anything said against the value of today's meds? Maybe I missed that......

 

[Undertow]

Damn straight.

Ever read the book by Ken Kesey? Wonderful -- and quietly horrific.

Loved the movie; the book was even better.