The Medicalization of Everyday Life
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An introduction to the " Stuff You Should Know, But
Don't...???" Page.
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Everyday I am asked about medications. Its seems the person has
failed this test or that, which is diagnosed as this or that, and
is now prescribed a medication that they don't want to take. I am
not a doctor, so it would not only be stupid to comment on, it
would be against the law. Even to have an opinion on this matter
is against the law. My replay is always the same, do what your
doctor says or don't go. I suggest they go on the internet and
look up the medication and its multiple sides effects. Maybe this
article will help.
This is taken from the New York Times, January 2, 2007. "The
biggest threat to the health of most Americans is the health care
system itself". More and more people are being drawn into
treatment as a result of an astonishing increase in diagnoses, and
ever-expanding definitions of what constitutes a disease. "This
actually places these patients in greater danger than if they were
simply left alone".
"One problem is the medicalization of everyday life; everyday
experiences such as insomnia, sadness, twitching muscles are now
being diagnosed as sleep disorder, depression, or restless leg
syndrome. Especially troublesome is the medicalization of
childhood, where trouble reading becomes dyslexia or attention
deficit and unhappiness deemed depression".
Another problem is the drive to diagnose and treat the named
disease early. Illnesses are now being identified and labeled in
those with no symptoms, but merely "at risk". Advanced
technologies such as CT' scans, MRI, ultrasound, and PET scans can
detect subtle flaws and differences in everyone that makes us all
"at risk".
Meanwhile at the same time, the definitions of diseases are
expanding, as the experts drop the thresholds for diagnosing
diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, and obesity, The level of
cholesterol deemed "normal" has dropped several times despite
volumes of research proving cholesterol levels have little if
anything to do with heart disease. In fact, 50% of heart attacks
occur in people with low or normal cholesterol levels and blood
pressure. Merely because of these changes in "deemed normal", more
than half the entire US population is now diseased.
"This epidemic of diagnoses has in turn led to an epidemic of
treatments. While not all treatments have benefits, almost all
have negative side effects and have harmful overall results. While
the benefits may outweigh the harms is the severely ill, they can
be far worse than the disease for those with mild or no symptoms
at all".
I am shocked at the stories I hear on a daily basis. I have seen
countless people seeking alternative relief for symptoms such as
pain, memory loss, sleeplessness, and depression all resulting
from side effects of their medication. Unfortunately, we usually
can't fix the problem till we stop the cause. I try to explain
this phenomenon, but it always gets back to "how" to get off the
medication. I am posting this "introduction to things I think you
should know" to maybe get a few of you thinking. If I were on a
drug that required a liver function test 3 times per year I would
certainly want to know "why", and what happens when the liver no
longer functions.
In conclusion, medicine should have no business in politics nor
television. However, this is America and our conditioning has been
geared to simply believe what we've been told. Government paying
the bills can only increase the cost of services, testing, and
treatment. Television is the mass media to manipulate our thoughts
and opinions. I truly believe that healthcare will bankrupt the US
within 10 years unless we begin to demand changes and begin to
focus on health rather than disease. We simply aren't getting our
moneys worth. We lead the world in cancer, heart disease,
diabetes, alzheimers........how can that be? j
11 MAIN & PLYMOUTH ST,
MEREDITH, NH O3253
603-279-3341
E-mail:
DrJay@GFCN.biz
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