SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

The rules that govern drug usage are stupid.

I'm not trying to argue if drugs should be regulated here. I am trying to point out that if they are going to be regulated, they shouldn't be in a stupid way.

Let's begin with Ibuprofen.

I would guess that most people who are alive have used this drug in a quantity larger than prescribed by the directions on the bottle.

For me, it takes about 4 or 5 tablets (800mg/1000mg) so that a headache will go away. Um... the bottle says take 1 and a second if it doesn't work.

I actually asked a Dr. about this. The response was that it is completely safe to take that much if it is what I need to solve the pain problem.

Um... so why the fuck can't I buy a 400, 600, 800, or 1000 mg tablet?

Taking 5 pills at a time isn't that bad I guess, it is just stupid.

So I found out that if I wanted to get more than 200mg I need a prescription and then the pills exist. My insurance would even pick up everything but the co-pay. But my brain just can't wrap itself around the idea that a drug obtainable in 1000 tablet packages at Costco is restricted in strength but not quantity.

To me, it is as stupid as this picture:

Posted: Aug 05 2008 11:48 am

I agree that seems stupid, but I don't have much experience with perscription drugs, so I don't know what the reasoning behind it would be.

The only few perscriptions I've been given (besides antibiotics for the multiple times I've had strep throat) have resulted in disaster... usually in the form of severe nasuea and vomiting. The painkillers I got after I (badly) sprained my ankle made me sick and dizzy, so I quit taking them and just took (ONE) Ibuprofen, which seemed to do the trick. They gave me a form of vicodin after I got my wisdom teeth removed, and told me to take it before the numbness wore off in my mouth; that also made me violently ill, which was made worse by the stitches in my gums. I had to ride out the vomiting all night that same day I had gotten my teeth removed... I eventually stopped and passed out around 3 in the morning. I didn't touch another of those pills and took Ibuprofen instead.

The best (? or worst) experience with perscription drugs was some anti-nausea drugs my doctor perscribed when I was having these bizarre vomiting episodes on and off for months back in high school. A side-effect of the drugs was dizziness, which, for me, often led to -you guessed it- vomiting. I stopped taking the drugs.

I'm going to guess that the drug companies assume that the average person is retarded and will easily hurt/kill themselves with overdoses, so they only give us super weak drugs. :/

Posted: Aug 05 2008 02:23 pm

I have a beef with the whole process of prescription drugs, and the cost.

I have been drug testing Adalimumab, which goes now by the commercial name "Humira". It has worked great for me durring the study, however it is now FDA approved for PA (psoriatic arthritis) which is what I have. Which means the study is over, and now I must buy the drug if I want to continue on it.

I have to inject it every 2 weeks, or twice a month. How much is each injection now that it can be purchased? $850 each, or $1500 for a 2 pack.

So, unless my insurance and I can work it out (Which has been going on for 2 months now), I won't have access to the drug anymore.

Why are prescription drugs so expensive?

I heard the other night, Dr. Drew explain it. Basically it costs a pharmaceutical company $500 million to $1 Billion dollars to create a new drug. That's from conception to final product. After they get FDA approved, they have only 5 years of exclusivity to make that money back, before the formula becomes free game, and everyone else can make generics of it.

Fucking BS.

I think the government should take about $500 billion out of the military budget (Which is currently close to $1 Trillion a year.) , and use that to create new drugs, and then since taxpayers paid for the drug, they can then buy it for the cost of making and shipping it.

I also love the drug commercials that talk about how great their drug is for curing one thing, and then listing off about 100 side effects that are worse than what the drug is for.

Posted: Aug 05 2008 03:29 pm

Knyte wrote:

Why are prescription drugs so expensive?

I heard the other night, Dr. Drew explain it. Basically it costs a pharmaceutical company $500 million to $1 Billion dollars to create a new drug. That's from conception to final product. After they get FDA approved, they have only 5 years of exclusivity to make that money back, before the formula becomes free game, and everyone else can make generics of it.

Fucking BS.

I think the government should take about $500 billion out of the military budget (Which is currently close to $1 Trillion a year.) , and use that to create new drugs, and then since taxpayers paid for the drug, they can then buy it for the cost of making and shipping it.

I never looked into why prescription drugs are so expensive (since i never really needed them) but reading that explanation is just a load of crap. stupid military minded government

Title: Alexz Aficionado Joined: May 21 2008 Posts: 2889

"Give me the 'maximum-strength'. Give me the maximum allowable human dosage. Figure out what will kill me and then back it off a little bit."
--Jerry Seinfeld; I'm Telling You For The Last Time

Docinsano's Channel 63 · Posted: Aug 05 2008 04:45 pm

Don't even get me started on prescription drugs.

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: Aug 05 2008 06:21 pm

Drug companies don't want people poisoning themselves. So they don't make the high dose stuff available over the counter. You can get 400 mg ibuprofen OTC, supposedly.

Taking 5 tablets can be petty dangerous, expecially if you need it twice or three times a day. If you need that much, you probably should find another drug. There's more fun ways to destroy your liver than Advil. Try drinking.

Posted: Aug 05 2008 06:35 pm

I took like 8 Advil one time and then I felt like my heart was going to explode. It sucked.

Posted: Aug 05 2008 06:56 pm

acetamenaphine is awful on your liver... usa is right. I took a bunch of tylenol at once to kill a hangover. It worked, but i felt like my kidneys were bleeding.

Posted: Aug 05 2008 07:16 pm

I popped 12 500mg (6000mg total) of Tylenol over the course of about 2 hours once when I had a really bad toothache. I spend the whole next day puking my guts up.

Posted: Aug 06 2008 07:59 am

When I saw the title, I assumed this thread would be a complaint about the "puff puff pass" system.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Yesterday I had a massive headache.

I had to take 4 tablets, then two more an hour later.

I think it might be time to change drugs. Tylenol doesn't do shit for me though.

UsaSatsui's Youtube Channel · Posted: Aug 06 2008 10:54 am

Excedrin works wonders on my headaches, unless you can't take Asprin.

Posted: Aug 12 2008 01:54 am

Dr. Jeebus wrote:

When I saw the title, I assumed this thread would be a complaint about the "puff puff pass" system.

Haha, I assumed it was something along those lines as well, and not prescription or OTC related at all.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

I actually think that those rules are stupid too. If people want to ruin their lives with drugs, more power to them.

Animals don't go to jail for eating plants that get them high, and just talk to those fucking Koala bears. To me I call BS, if it is tangible, it should be allowable.. and fucking taxed.

Joined: Apr 09 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 3112

Stuff like the Ibuprofen has a lot of weird reasons. A lot of it is ignorance, but there is also the factor of allergies. If you don't know you are allergic to a medicine or not, would you rather have a 200mg tablet or 1000mg tablet. Drug companies also do it because you can sell more units if you have people popping the things down and buying more bottles.

And don't get me started on legalizing drugs. Anyone who says that obviously lives in a bubble outside of the meth and heroin worlds. We've got enough drug-addled pricks neglecting and beating their kids, living on the streets, or dragging down society. Imagine if that crap was legalized and EVERYBODY could have it.

Posted: Aug 12 2008 04:13 pm

I don't like medicine. All of it makes me want to puke. : /

Docinsano's Channel 63 · Posted: Aug 12 2008 04:16 pm

GPFontaine wrote:

I actually think that those rules are stupid too. If people want to ruin their lives with drugs, more power to them.

Animals don't go to jail for eating plants that get them high, and just talk to those fucking Koala bears. To me I call BS, if it is tangible, it should be allowable.. and fucking taxed.

I agree. All drugs should be legalized, regulated, and taxed just like cigarettes or alcohol.

Posted: Aug 12 2008 04:40 pm

docinsano wrote:

GPFontaine wrote:

I actually think that those rules are stupid too. If people want to ruin their lives with drugs, more power to them.

Animals don't go to jail for eating plants that get them high, and just talk to those fucking Koala bears. To me I call BS, if it is tangible, it should be allowable.. and fucking taxed.

I agree. All drugs should be legalized, regulated, and taxed just like cigarettes or alcohol.

Yeah, like: heroin, meth, crack, cocaine... This Is A Joke

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Laminated Sky wrote:

docinsano wrote:

GPFontaine wrote:

I actually think that those rules are stupid too. If people want to ruin their lives with drugs, more power to them.

Animals don't go to jail for eating plants that get them high, and just talk to those fucking Koala bears. To me I call BS, if it is tangible, it should be allowable.. and fucking taxed.

I agree. All drugs should be legalized, regulated, and taxed just like cigarettes or alcohol.

Yeah, like: heroin, meth, crack, cocaine... This Is A Joke

Greg the White wrote:

Stuff like the Ibuprofen has a lot of weird reasons. A lot of it is ignorance, but there is also the factor of allergies. If you don't know you are allergic to a medicine or not, would you rather have a 200mg tablet or 1000mg tablet. Drug companies also do it because you can sell more units if you have people popping the things down and buying more bottles.

And don't get me started on legalizing drugs. Anyone who says that obviously lives in a bubble outside of the meth and heroin worlds. We've got enough drug-addled pricks neglecting and beating their kids, living on the streets, or dragging down society. Imagine if that crap was legalized and EVERYBODY could have it.

It boils down to money.

Do I want to spend the money to keep someone who does drugs in jail?

How much money? Different sources say different amounts. But here is an idea.

Quote:

Costs
Prisons cost taxpayers more than $32 billion a year. Every year that an inmate spends in prison costs $22,000. An individual sentenced to five years for a $300 theft costs the public more than $100,000. The cost of a life term averages $1.5 million.

States are spending more money on prisons than education. Over the course of the last 20 years, the amount of money spent on prisons was increased by 570% while that spent on elementary and secondary education was increased by only 33%.

http://www.heartsandminds.org/prisons/facts.htm

Um... I would rather take 100% of the money used to lock up drug abusers and put it towards education. Fuck it, put it towards education against drugs. Let people make better choices.

How about... Pay teachers better. Hire more social workers. Figure out the fuel problem. Spend it in any way possible, but not on drugs.

Posted: Aug 12 2008 07:25 pm

whichi is why i respect ralph nader

Joined: Apr 09 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 3112

GPFontaine wrote:

Um... I would rather take 100% of the money used to lock up drug abusers and put it towards education. Fuck it, put it towards education against drugs. Let people make better choices.

How about... Pay teachers better. Hire more social workers. Figure out the fuel problem. Spend it in any way possible, but not on drugs.

I understand your reasoning, but you real have to see stuff like meth, crack, and heroin up close before you want to release it to anyone who wants to try them. These aren't like Marijuana. These people sacrifice their livelihoods, families, health, and anything else they can for as much as they can get.

If you want to improve schools in the US, why not out of the defense budget? We've handed over countless billions on corrupt contracts and useless projects that could have gone to better uses.

Posted: Aug 13 2008 12:09 pm

The Entire FDA Process helps to create what is now in many ways crooked drug companies. As a recruiter I have done work for pharma companies to recruit Clinicians to do the actualy human clinical trials on these drugs. From Inception of the Discovery side of things to the drug making it through the clinical trial and being approved is a minimum of 12 years, that's right, 12. If a trial goes bad it is huge, last spring Amgen had a huge trial go bad and lost half a billion. Then the otc group at Johnson & Johnson had a Neurological drug trial go bad, lost who knows, they are much more hush hush, and they closed an entire Research Center. Then this year Pfizer, a former client of the firm I work for, had 2 trials go bad to the tune of 100 mil. I agree that drug companies are corrupt, and badly, but I think the government and the FDA helped make them that way.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Greg the White wrote:

GPFontaine wrote:

Um... I would rather take 100% of the money used to lock up drug abusers and put it towards education. Fuck it, put it towards education against drugs. Let people make better choices.

How about... Pay teachers better. Hire more social workers. Figure out the fuel problem. Spend it in any way possible, but not on drugs.

I understand your reasoning, but you real have to see stuff like meth, crack, and heroin up close before you want to release it to anyone who wants to try them. These aren't like Marijuana. These people sacrifice their livelihoods, families, health, and anything else they can for as much as they can get.

If you want to improve schools in the US, why not out of the defense budget? We've handed over countless billions on corrupt contracts and useless projects that could have gone to better uses.

I actually think our defense budget is justified, just not how it is spent. The DOD should be focusing more on protecting our borders and worry less about those half way around the world. Also money should go towards keeping illnesses from spreading.

Joined: Aug 13 2008 Location: Watertown, NY Posts: 131

Or, instead of buying 1000 mg Ibuprofen tablets, you could just put up with a god damned headache for a little while.

And, you're right, damn the FDA! How's an honest, hard-working american supposed to contract the fucking Bubonic Plague from some bad meat with those bastards around!? And when it comes to drugs, forget about it! Everytime I see that "side effects may include death" warning, I can't help but think how much BETTER things would be if these companies weren't required to actually find out whether or not their product will kill me before bribing my doctor into prescribing it.