The rise of self medicating?

Mr Bump

Mr Bump

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read a few articles lately of people essentially killing themselves via self medication?
when did this become a thing just googling your "illness" and ordering pills over the internet.
 
I guess when getting to see a Dr became pretty much impossible,
and people weren't prepared to sit in A&E for 4-6 hours at a time.
 
Cobra said:
I guess when getting to see a Dr became pretty much impossible,
and people weren't prepared to sit in A&E for 4-6 hours at a time.
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apparently its not that its going to the docs and not being prescribed the pills the internet is saying you need.
people are presenting at the docs with this and that sympton, mainly i will say anxiety, and other mentals and being prescribed very mild (starter) meds
going home and going online and ordering the strong stuff.
 
I wonder how many seeking and buying such medication are the 'worried well' vs the unwell with or without other resource access???
 
There have adverts on TV promoting 'just for you' vitamin packs..................when will folk realise that in the main a wide/balanced diet will provide most(?) of your vitamin & essential minerals intake.

NB I do take one supplement for my joints and have found it beneficial....none too sure what in dietary terms I am missing out (fish & oily fish are eaten 1 to 3 times per week)
 
Mr Bump said:
apparently its not that its going to the docs and not being prescribed the pills the internet is saying you need.
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According to local social media, its exactly the reason.
But I also agree there are a lot out there, that don't need to see a dr at all.
Are we breeding a race of hypochondriacs?
Again looking at local social media, I think we are.
 
Cobra said:
According to local social media, its exactly the reason.
But I also agree there are a lot out there, that don't need to see a dr at all.
Are we breeding a race of hypochondriacs?
Again looking at local social media, I think we are.
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i think that a lot of young people just see medication as safe drugs so don't seen an issue with "giving these strong meds" a try, i mean what can happen right?
 
I am sure there is a combination of factors, but I imagine the most prevalent would be

  1. Lack of GP's / long waiting times for A&E
  2. And a rise in the "we have had enough of experts" mentality / growing belief in conspiracies
 
My Gosh.

I suppose these days just about any medication will be available if you try hard enough to get it. I do wonder though how the figures compare for people self medicating and harming themselves and people being harmed by wrongly prescribed medication. My poor late mother was hospitalised when the local GP changed her medication with catastrophic effect and the last time I was prescribed medication I refused to take it due to enclosed paperwork clearly stating I shouldn't take it as I have a longstanding existing condition. The GP should have known this if they'd checked my file and been aware of the medication and it's conditions of use as I've had this condition for over 40 years. Just makes me wonder how often GP medical negligence leads to serious harm.

I remember being shocked in Kazakhstan that you could buy any medication over the counter. At least here it's not that easy and you need internet access and the will to persist and buy.
 
bass_junkie83 said:
I am sure there is a combination of factors, but I imagine the most prevalent would be

  1. Lack of GP's / long waiting times for A&E
  2. And a rise in the "we have had enough of experts" mentality / growing belief in conspiracies
Click to expand...

I think it's possibly less of a conspiracy theory and more a case of some losing faith when "experts" repeatedly change their advice or are proved wrong.
 
woof woof said:
My Gosh.

I suppose these days just about any medication will be available if you try hard enough to get it. I do wonder though how the figures compare for people self medicating and harming themselves and people being harmed by wrongly prescribed medication. My poor late mother was hospitalised when the local GP changed her medication with catastrophic effect and the last time I was prescribed medication I refused to take it due to enclosed paperwork clearly stating I shouldn't take it as I have a longstanding existing condition. The GP should have known this if they'd checked my file and been aware of the medication and it's conditions of use as I've had this condition for over 40 years. Just makes me wonder how often GP medical negligence leads to serious harm.

I remember being shocked in Kazakhstan that you could buy any medication over the counter. At least here it's not that easy and you need internet access and the will to persist and buy.
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That situation has existed for decades in many countries.

You may recall reading about bacterial antibiotics resistance. There was and still is a particular antibiotic used for eye infections, in one country in it could (and possibly still is) bought and used in the eyes as a prophylactic and not it's intended usage to fight infection. As a consequence there was an increase in untreatable eye infections!!!!!
 
Box Brownie said:
That situation has existed for decades in many countries.

You may recall reading about bacterial antibiotics resistance. There was and still is a particular antibiotic used for eye infections, in one country in it could (and possibly still is) bought and used in the eyes as a prophylactic and not it's intended usage to fight infection. As a consequence there was an increase in untreatable eye infections!!!!!
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Madness.
 
woof woof said:
I think it's possibly less of a conspiracy theory and more a case of some losing faith when "experts" repeatedly change their advice or are proved wrong.
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Of course experts change their advice. There's new research, new evidence.

The problem is things like Michael Gove decrying experts so as to get a political view across.
 
Mr Bump said:
read a few articles lately of people essentially killing themselves via self medication?
when did this become a thing just googling your "illness" and ordering pills over the internet.
Click to expand...
It has always been a thing.

Particularly pre-internet.
 
Box Brownie said:
Absolutely, we should be pleased that we have a controlled and monitored system.....though the impact of the internet remains to be seen!
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The internet and electronic systems do allow postal prescriptions, with a number of distance pharmacy companies now. That's a problem though, for traditional pharmacies, and GP surgeries with dispensing, as there's income in prescriptions. It is controlled and monitored, but prescription money goes to the new companies, not the high street ones. Good for the technically literate, but not for the poor and the old.
 
Pound Coin said:
Of course experts change their advice. There's new research, new evidence.

The problem is things like Michael Gove decrying experts so as to get a political view across.
Click to expand...

Well no, that's not what always happens is it? We only have to go back a few years to see experts changing their mind for no defendable scientific reason at all and even ignoring credible defendable scientific evidence. It's ok writing off criticism and scepticism as conspiracy theory or interference from politicians but in reality the criticism and scepticism may arise when experts appear to peruse a political agenda or don't seem to follow any defendable science.
 
woof woof said:
Well no, that's not what always happens is it? We only have to go back a few years to see experts changing their mind for no defendable scientific reason at all and even ignoring credible defendable scientific evidence. It's ok writing off criticism and scepticism as conspiracy theory or interference from politicians but in reality the criticism and scepticism may arise when experts appear to peruse a political agenda or don't seem to follow any defendable science.
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Whatever you wish to think. (y)
 
Trouble is it’s far to easy to lie on the online questionnaire things and the stuff is fairly cheap to .think I should have checked with her indoors before buying a gross of extra strong viagra though
 
My wife needed G.P. treatment for a condition and made an appointment after considerable difficulty. The day before the appointment the G.P. surgery cancelled it (no alternative offered). She had to start again and wait several weeks longer before they cancelled it again. By this time the treatment was becoming more urgent. We had no choice but to seek private medical treatment. Oddly, the private consultant she saw mentioned that he was registered at the same G.P. surgery as my wife and had heard that there are serious issues with their inability to provide a proper service. We are fortunate that we are able to access private but this poor NHS service is not good enough which the majority rely on. With the current backlog and more strikes the underfunded NHS will get worse. The insurance fees I pay are crippling but I may still have to keep paying unless there is major change.

Dave
 
woof woof said:
Well no, that's not what always happens is it? We only have to go back a few years to see experts changing their mind for no defendable scientific reason at all and even ignoring credible defendable scientific evidence. It's ok writing off criticism and scepticism as conspiracy theory or interference from politicians but in reality the criticism and scepticism may arise when experts appear to peruse a political agenda or don't seem to follow any defendable science.
Click to expand...

Umm can you clarify exactly what you are talking about where
We only have to go back a few years to see experts changing their mind for no defendable scientific reason at all and even ignoring credible defendable scientific evidence
Click to expand...
??
 
Dave Canon said:
My wife needed G.P. treatment for a condition and made an appointment after considerable difficulty. The day before the appointment the G.P. surgery cancelled it (no alternative offered). She had to start again and wait several weeks longer before they cancelled it again. By this time the treatment was becoming more urgent. We had no choice but to seek private medical treatment. Oddly, the private consultant she saw mentioned that he was registered at the same G.P. surgery as my wife and had heard that there are serious issues with their inability to provide a proper service. We are fortunate that we are able to access private but this poor NHS service is not good enough which the majority rely on. With the current backlog and more strikes the underfunded NHS will get worse. The insurance fees I pay are crippling but I may still have to keep paying unless there is major change.

Dave
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Thing is sadly about GPs is that they continue to have more and more put on them by the NHS in order to survive, there's little success on recruitement as many dont want to be GPs, just look at the Tory promises of 5000 more GPs, there are 2000 LESS instead :-(

Also, we need to remember that while GPs are trying to provide some NHS services they are almost exclusively not NHS employees effectively they are sub contractors.
None of that is an excuse of course as you do get some bad gp practices and worth checking their CQC ratings and even reporting cancelled appointments to the CQC to alert them.
And finally on the strikes, GPs are not on strike at all.
Hope your Mrs gets better soon.
 
Donnie said:
Also, we need to remember that while GPs are trying to provide some NHS services they are almost exclusively not NHS employees effectively they are sub contractors.
None of that is an excuse of course as you do get some bad gp practices and worth checking their CQC ratings and even reporting cancelled appointments to the CQC to alert them.
Click to expand...
Her G.P. surgery is under investigation so the issues have not gone unnoticed.

Dave
 
Unfortunately there seems to me to be a cultural normalisation of certain conditions now, such that for a particular proportion of the population, they want to be in the "adult ADHD" or "late-diagnosed Aspergers/autism/on-the-spectrum" or just simply "mental health" ("I've got mental health innit") clubs, all of which demand some kind of treatment even if with placebos. Sadly if these people don't get the internet-recommended or social media copied drugs, they find them online instead. Genuine cases require longer examination to define the right treatment plans, and people are impatient patients.
 
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