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Medications; America vs. The World
Topic Started: Mar 3 2013, 11:09 PM (819 Views)
Rinny
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Lost in the dark scary part of my mind

So, I've been thinking about this for a couple weeks now, and thought I'd put the question to our members who live outside the US (as well as the opinions of our US members, of course).

Here in the US, pain medication is a staple. You get huge bottles of acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin. Travel bottles for your purse or car, liquids for our children. You have a headache? Take some Tylenol. Hard workout? Here, pop a couple Advil. Americans take pain meds like candy most of the time. I don't particularly agree with it. I mean, people complain that taking a couple Tylenol doesn't help much. It's most likely because we've been taking it out entire lives and have built up a tolerance to it. I mean, I give Lyra Tylenol when she's sick. Mostly as a fever reducer when she gets over 102. But still. I hate taking medication. I'd rather go take a short nap for a headache, or give myself a miny massage and pressure point routine than take something for it. If I'm in serious pain, I tell my doctors to avoid any kind of narcotic, preferring something else. This actually makes me a bit unusual here in America. But even with my own views on medication, I know I give it to my child too easily because I don't want her to feel discomfort.

So, rest of the world: Do you all use medicines the way the US does? What do you guys think of our practices? How would you suggest changes?

(I, personally, think we're a bunch of over-medicated, fast food addicts who use the meds as a convenient excuse to abuse our bodies. But that's just me. ^.^)
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Nubi
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Tylenol, midol, and the rare allergy related pill is the only medication I take. I routinely take Tylenol, but that is because I have routinely had bad headaches since I was in 3rd grade and I can't wander off to take a nap when I'm at work. I won't disagree that it is probably becoming less effective.

I went to the doctor for the first time in a long time awhile ago because my back was starting to hurt all the time and the sinus pressure in my skull was awful (and a checkup was long overdue). I specifically told her that I did not want to take any medications, especially if there were other solutions. She understood and told me to get back support for my chair at work and to try a netty pot for the sinus pressure. Cool.

A friend of a friend, who happened to be a nurse, offered me muscle relaxers a couple times because of my back pain at the time. I declined. I'm very wary of unnecessary medication.

So yeah, I think there many situations where people just go straight for the medications when it is minor or could be addressed without the medication. Granted, there are also many instances where certain medication is highly necessary.
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soul of sin
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Royal Deity

Headaches are probably the only common source of medication taking that isn't a serious or overtly painful injury/medical issue here. And even then, most people will power through a headache, taking medication only when it becomes too much to bare or they know it will affect their performance at work or whatever.

I've probably met a few people that pop some pain killers are the slightest thing, but for the most part medicine is used appropriately.
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Anomaly
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Forum bum

Yeah, I'm not really in the habit of taking pain medications often either. I'll take some Dafalgan (paracetamol) for a bad headache, or Imodium (loperamide) for a bad case of the runs.

If I've had trouble sleeping and it's very important I do get some sleep a certain night (like during exam periods), I might take a Dafalgan before I go to bed, but that happens very rarely. Other than that, I don't really take anything but my vitamin supplement every morning :p
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Extinct Life


Well, first off, Hello. second. I can proudly wave my hand that I have never taken pain medication since it has been my choice (didnt have a choice as a child). I loathe the fact that humans in general think they need to rely on this. The body produces enough to sooth any pain it doesnt need to worry about. if you are in pain, that is simply your body telling you that you need to not do whatever that was again. if this is pain due to workout, you either over exerted yourself, or plane out did it wrong. if its pain for any other reason, its likely something is wrong and you need to get looked at by a doctor, not just take a few pills to feel ok again. the most common thing people take them for that i have seen is for headaches, which is dumb IMO. If you are experiencing a headache you need to understand why, if your head feels swollen its likely due to a shortage of water in your bloodstream, of which you can simply drink more water and it will do away. if you are experiencing light sensitivity then its likely you are not resting well and should refrain from strenuous activity for a while and just simply " take it easy for a while ". I know I am starting to ramble so I will wrap this up. oh yea, and if you happen to take pain meds, for whatever reason. your body will be relieved that it doesnt have to produce it on its own, so, no matter how few times you take it, your body will instead of making its own pain reliever... it will wait for you to take the pain meds so it doenst have to worry about it.... the lazy fuk lol, chao!

tldr;

1. pain isnt some useless feature, its your body trying to tell you that you need to pay attention and take caution.
2. there are other ways to deal with common causes of pain.
3. your body will stop producing its own pain reliever the more you take, at any level.
4. you are awesome and are above dependency
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soul of sin
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Royal Deity

holy crap a new person
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Rinny
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Lost in the dark scary part of my mind

Shh! New people are endangered! You may scare them off! *slow approach*

Hello, Extinct Life. In lieu of our Admin, the illustrious Nubi, I welcome you to our forum. We're all at least slightly insane here. Probably somewhere above the average person and below the sacrificial cannibals who worship Tweety, their Lord and Master. Probably. Hope you enjoy the site!
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Nubi
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Wait, I'm illustrious?! :wub:

But I think I just got (indirectly) called dumb AND illustrious in the same topic. In any case... Welcome to the forums Extinct Life! Glad you decided to join in.

What about uncommon, pain though? Dealing with a headache or a sore back is one thing. But how about the chronic pain that stems from whatever cause? I think if people have actual -need- for medication (pain medication or otherwise) it shouldn't be taken lightly. Maybe some people can train their body to overcome pain, but the average person with X cause of chronic pain can either: take the medication to ease the pain or suffer.

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Setoshin


I don't think the UK is as medicated as the USA.

There is a fear that we're gradually becoming more and more medicated though. I think what is more common is that people are being increasingly diagnosed with depression. And consumption of anti-depressants are rising in response to that.

People take paracetamol quite frequently here though. We don't have as many medication adverts on TV or in magazines as the USA, so I would imagine that in general we have less zest for medicating every ailment. In general, aside from taking a few paracetamol or cough syrups if one is feeling under the weather, I think most people just bear through with their ailments if they are relatively mild. But I don't even think I can point to a single person who I know was addicted to painkillers. People take them sure, but like Soul of Sin, I think most people use them appropriately. I wouldn't count people who actually do need painkillers to treat chronic pain as being part of the dependency culture if they are medically prescribed by a qualified professional.


EDIT:
I've also lived in Grenada, in the East Caribbean, for almost two years, and they are not over-medicated at all. Most people use traditional remedies or wait for the ailment to disappear naturally. The overwhelming majority of medication are used for moderately serious things. I guess people take aspirin or cough syrup at a moderate level. The young people there definitely seem to complain less about ailments than in comparison to the USA or UK. But that could be a bad thing too: a lot of people in other countries just ignore ailments until they get quite bad. I know a few cases of where people there haven't bothered to seek medical advice, but instead have left their ailments to fester and get worse.
Edited by Setoshin, Mar 9 2013, 09:36 PM.
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