Re: Self-medicating - Take Two

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In a message dated 5/31/99 8:25:28 PM jhsm@... ( and

) writes:

>but checking for possible side effects in a book or on the internet does not

mean that you have the " knowledge " to be able to judge a drug therapy's

effectiveness or possible complications.

>I think the same goes for a doctor and drug therapies - although most of us

would have more knowledge than laypersons, our knowledge of prescription

drugs and

their interactions wouldn't compare with that of a doctor's.

,

You have made it more clear what you were asking in your

first post. I still have a problem with these statements. I dont know what

type of medical history that you have had or what type of health that you are

in now so I dont know how much experience that you have had in dealing with

all different types of doctors. I also dont know what the medical system is

like in Canada compared with the US.

In the last 5 years I have been to so many specialists

that I dont even want to think about it. I have been dealing with rosacea/seb

derm for 9 months now, so the majority of these years I have been dealing

with other health issues that have been intense.

I have been given so many different medications that you

cant help but eventually learn about their purpose and interactions with

other medications. At first we all go to a doctor and dont even think to

question their knowledge of drug therapies and take whatever they tell us to.

I hardly ever had to go see a doctor or take medication. I was one of those

who trusted a doctors supposed knowledge of drugs. That was until I was given

medications that would have reacted badly with the medication that I was on

at the time that the doctor was fully aware of. This has happened more times

than I care to remember. This hasnt only been done by one doctor either. If

it hadnt been for my pharmacist questioning why I was given a medication that

would have an adverse reaction with what I was taking and me looking up side

efects in The Pill Book, I would have been in trouble.

When I would call up the doctor and tell him about the

interactions it would be like Oh well, we'll try something else. So much for

their knowledge of drugs. Now it sounds like I must live in some really small

town with doctors that might not be dealing with a full deck, but this is not

the case. I have been to major hospital centers to see top specialists in

their field.

There is a problem when you have a chronic condition and have

to take certain medication in order to live your life, and then develop

another medical problem and have to go to another specialist. From my

experience they dont look at everything that is going on with you ( if it is

not in their field of medicine ) or know a hell of alot about the medications

that you are on for another problem ( usually they are more familar with the

medication that they use for treating their patients ). I bring the subject

up of drug interactions up and mostly I get yea, there should be no problem.

I feel what this all boils down to is the type of health that

you are in and how frequently you have to see doctors and be given

medication.You learn alot as you go along and have to watch out for yourself.

There are too many cases of overdoses and adverse reactions from mixing the

wrong medications that a doctor has prescribed.

It seems that you have alot of trust in the doctor that you

see and that is great. I know that there are doctors that are thorough in the

care that they give their patients. I just question their knowledge on all

aspects of medicine, especially after what I have been gone through. I dont

think that there are too many doctors out there that investigate every aspect

of medicine and that includes the uses of medication for every illness that

there is and how they react with one another.

Bill

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[Guest guest]

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. I first want to apologize for

the " tone " of my question - after reading Bill's response I went back and looked

at what I sent and realized that it sounded insensitive and judgemental, which

wasn't my intent at all. I wrote it in a hurry, knowing full well what *I* was

asking, but I didn't consider how others would perceive it.

To clarify, my post was intended to address a couple questions. First of all,

when I asked about " self-medicating " (which is probably an inaccurate word to

use) I was primarily curious about whether people could buy treatments over the

counter. Specifically, I've seen references to the Sher System, cea Ltd.

disks, metrogel, etc. and for some reason I was getting the impression that

these products are available in pharmacies to buy off the counter, or that they

can be ordered through the internet. So, by the term " self-medicating " , I was

basically

wondering if you could actually " treat yourself " with actual

prescription-strength drugs, without your doctor's prescription or knowledge.

I'm from Canada and as far as I know I haven't seen these products for sale

here. Can you buy these in the US without a doctor's prescription?

The second part of my question follows from the first one and I think this is

where I may have offended some folks. To rephrase: for those that are on

" prescription " drugs or products (and these include those prescribed by a doctor

and those that you can buy without a prescription), how many *significantly*

change, alter or add other " drugs " to their treatment without consulting or

telling their doctor? I hope I'm making sense here.

When Bill replied to my initial question he said: " Anything that I have been

given was given by a doctor who knew my medical history. I also ask pharmacists

about drug interactions and look up the potential side effects myself. I know of

many others here that do the same " . I wouldn't consider this " self-medicating "

- I was more concerned with whether or not people get items *without* a

prescription or mix prescription drugs without consultation. I'm not saying that

people *are* doing this, I'm asking *if* they are, because that is the

impression that I

got from a couple of posts (perhaps my impression was wrong, in which case my

initial post is irrelevant?).

*If* people are in fact doing this without checking with their doctor first,

then yes, I am concerned, and I don't think my concern in this case is by any

means condescending or patronizing. It's not that I doubt anyone's intelligence

or doubt that people don't look up potential side effects, etc. before they

change something in their treatment, but checking for possible side effects in a

book or on the internet does not mean that you have the " knowledge " to be able

to judge a drug therapy's effectiveness or possible complications. I've also

looked up

drug interactions, etc. in books, but I'm sure these sources of information are

very incomplete when it comes to what doctors learn in medical school. If I

have a PhD in geography, most laypersons probably wouldn't come close to

understanding the *complexity* involved in my subject of study - they might

understand the generalities, but they wouldn't have the depth of knowledge that

I would have. I think the same goes for a doctor and drug therapies - although

most of us would have more knowledge than laypersons, our knowledge of

prescription drugs and

their interactions wouldn't compare with that of a doctor's.

Bill also said: " After living with this condition for awhile there comes a time

when you listen to the advice of a Dr with some skepticism and question the

reasons behind their advice and ask ALOT of questions. " I'm not criticizing

people for questioning their doctor's opinion, in fact I applaud it and I do it

myself, and I am by no means saying that doctors are perfect, that they know

everything or that they know your skin better than you do, because I too know

this is not the case. My question arose out of concern that people were

straying from their

doctor's orders in terms of their drug prescriptions *without* consulting the

doctor first or notifying them. If you're having a severe reaction, of course

you should stop treatment, as Bill said, but I would also tell your doctor ASAP,

which I assume most folks on this list would do anyways. But, I also got an

impression, rightly or wrongly, that a couple people on this list don't see a

doctor on a regular basis and buy things over the counter, so I was wondering

how many people on this list " self-medicate " in terms of buying

" prescription-strength "

drugs over the counter.

Lastly, if people do " self-medicate " (sorry, I don't know what other word to

use), what are your reasons for doing so?

Anyways, thanks for tolerating my long-winded post, if you read this far!

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