I'd rather live with problem I have than problem I might get from drug

Spectrum
Maturity
Friday, June 3, 2005
Terri Andersen
I'd rather live with problem I have than problem I might get from drug
Every time I see a drug commercial on TV, it amazes me that anyone would even consider taking the product after hearing what could happen as a side effect of the medicine advertised. "Ask your doctor if this medicine is right for you," they often add at the end of the commercial. Can a doctor really be sure which drug will adversely affect one patient and not another? In addition to the commercials, the printed material that comes with prescription drugs these days and all the information available on the Internet sometimes makes me wonder if I'm better off with the condition I have than what I might get by taking the medicine prescribed. I realize that it's all about CYA (cover your assets) protection for the drug companies, and most of those side effects might never happen, but for me it's led to a bad case of pharma-ceutiphobia. [I'm not sure that word is in any dictionary, but I think it's pretty self explanatory: a fear of medicine.] When I lost my sense of smell a few years ago, I went to a doctor to see if I could get it back. After I got the prescription filled for a nasal spray, I decided not to take it. Why? The medicine prescribed couldn't guarantee good results for the problem (anosmia), and when I read all the possible side effects (nose bleeds, hole in septum, eye problems, to name a few) I figured I'd rather live with the problem I had than the problem I might get. Later I found out that two people I know had taken that particular medicine, and one subsequently suffered from severe nose bleeds and the other had to have two eye operations. Worse yet, neither got their sense of smell back, while mine is slowly returning on its own. [All the flowers I got for Mother's Day filled the house with perfume. While I couldn't identify each scent individually, I was very much aware of the aroma of flowers. And I can smell when something's burning on the stove in the kitchen even before the smoke alarm goes off.] As a senior citizen who comes in contact with a pretty wide circle of other seniors (at the Senior Center, the ThriftMart and AARP), I find that health conditions are a pretty popular topic, and sooner or later there are discussions about medical side effects and how many different medications have to be taken because of them. Recently a medicine prescribed for me sounded good for the condition I have, and I was ready to take it until I read the warnings about its possible side effects. The brochure had to let people know that the medication caused bone cancer in some of the rats used in the medical experiments, but to alleviate any fears a potential user might have, the brochure stated it was “not known” if humans would be affected the same way. If that wasn't enough to scare me, the “milder” side effects were possible dizziness and leg cramps, neither of which I was anxious to experience. The doctor prescribing the medication told me to “think zero" concerning any possible side effects, but while I agreed with him that how one thinks has a big effect on results (placebos, for example), trying to ignore something we've already heard is like a judge telling a jury to ignore some incriminating evidence that was just stated and not to let it influence their decision. That's easier said than done. In fact, usually that's what becomes the focal point in one's thoughts. As it is, my whole sense of carefree living has changed to worry about what might happen now that I know my body is not as healthy and strong as it once was. It also didn't help to read that with many medications elderly patients may have greater sensitivity to the adverse effects. I hope what I've written doesn't sound like I'm against doctors or medicine in general. I realize many lives are improved or even saved by doctors, and I'm glad we have medicines that can accomplish amazing cures. However, I can't help being afraid of the harm they might also do." - I'm probably a doctor's nightmare because I question everything, and I know I don't make the ones who have to deal with me very happy. In the old days, patients weren't given much information about the medicine prescribed for them, and a lot of healing was done with nature's own remedies, but I guess that's not good enough anymore. A friend whose son is a pharmacist told me not to pay so much attention to, the side effects of medication because the odds of getting them are often very low. She said that even if only one person in a few thousand experienced a problem, it had to be listed. My concern is for that “one” whom the odds didn't favor. I don't mind taking a chance on winning a multi-dollar sweepstakes with odds of one in a few million because if I don't win it doesn't really affect my life. But taking a chance on getting an ailment that might be worse than what I have scares me. I guess I don't like playing Russian Roulette.
Terri Andersen is a resident of New Milford. -