I was readig an article about a US college which collected all the various perscriptions every student takes during enrollment. The amounts they seemed to take were shockingly high. Almost everyone was taking some form of legalised drug.

This stuck me as interesting. Especially compared to the UK, where many people dislike being dependent on any sort of medication. Apparently, we see going down the pub and relieving our stress by by drinking and chatting to our mates as far better than taking drugs. Whereas the US seems to view taking perscribed medication that your doctor or psychiatrist has recommended as far healthier and safer than just getting pissed.

Now, just out of curiosity, how many of you out there are taking any sort of medication on a daily or weekly basis? Even if it's for the most trivial thing. And a description of the drug would help too (since in the UK we barely get beyond the complicated name of "painkillers").

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"A fully functioning, cybernetic, technologically advanced team of superheroes... and NOBODY'S got a flashlight?"
- Polly Ester; Samurai Pizza Cats
 

For me, it's caffeine, an FDA-posted Schedule II drug, 2 liters (or thereabouts) a day. Used t'be on 20 MG of Paxil daily until about September, when my doctor notice that I was near 200 pounds. Funny...didn't LOOK it...or FEEL it.

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"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel
 

As for medicine, I occasionally take a Tavist D when I wake up sneezing, which happens a lot this time of year. Personally, I don't think it does much to help.

Also, I am addicted to love.

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"Twentieth century go and sleep.
Really deep. We won't blink
Your eyes are burning holes through me.
I'm not scared I'm outta here.
I'm not scared. I'm outta here.
--
R.E.M.
****
Read chapter one of "Dirk Tungsten in...The Disappearing Planet"! Please?

 

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It doesn't matter if you don't know what you're doing as long as you look good doing it.

As Liam said, there's rarely a better way to solve a problem than go to your friends with it. Chances are, someone will know what to do.

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"Remeber, if there is a nuclear explosion, be sure to close your windows as the massive heat could cause objects within your home to catch fire".

Wise, wise words.

[This message has been edited by Daryus Aden (edited June 17, 2000).]
 

Adn this might sound stupid, but what exactly is Paxil? Is it just an anti-depressent?

And Shik, you do mean 2 litres of coffee don't you? Cause I'm sure 2 litres of pure caffine would be a bit dangerous. (At the moment, I do have roughly 9 cups of tea every day while I am at work).

So, is Tavist D an antihistamine for hay fever and stuff? I take what's called over here Zirtex, (although it's probably called prohistaretic B in the US), and also squirt some stuff up my nose. The only thing I can tell ya is that the stuff in the green bottle seems better than the stuff in the blue bottle.

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"A fully functioning, cybernetic, technologically advanced team of superheroes... and NOBODY'S got a flashlight?"
- Polly Ester; Samurai Pizza Cats
 

My gf is on any number of medications because she's chronically ill. These include various pain meds and antinausea meds and an anti-panic attack drug.

Sometimes, you really DO need the stuff... though I agree many US residents often overmedicate themselves. Liberal (not left-wing, the OTHER meaning) use of antibiotics, valium, prozac, and ritalin as panaceas doesn't help.

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"Nobody knows this, but I'm scared all the time... of what I might do, if I ever let go." -- Michael Garibaldi

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"When you realized that your website is your business and your software can't handle the traffic, that was an epiphany."
-Avery Brooks, IBM commercial
 

Heh...actually, my freebasing is done with Diet Pepsi. Got hooked when I was 13--mom was a Type II food-related diabetic & there's a damn good chance I will be, too...so....

Liam: Paxil is a serotonin inducer, so yes, it's an anti-depressant. I was on it for about 5 years until my body fixed itself with help from the drug--amazing ability, that. I always HAVE loved it. Of course, now my housemate says that I need to go back on the drug anytime I get super-pissed (without even thinking she might be the cause of the anger). She herself is a pharmacological whore, ingesting literally like 12 pills a day; "OH, I have fibromyalgia, I have high blood pressure, I have this, I have that." I keep telling her to clear out her system, not take ANYTHING, & maybe the drugs will have more of an effect. either that, or cast a spell to make her better (HAHAHA!!)

I was 16 when I kicked all drugs: OTC pain pills, allergy medications, etc. I'm now a firm believer in "fixing it myself" mentally & in acclimation. When I first moved into this house, I was clogged for a week--couldn't breathe nasally at all. But I acclimated to the different airborne particles & their levels & I'm fine now. My way of killing a headache? Drink MORE caffeine. If I have a REALLY bad sinus headache, I take ONE aspirin & within 30 minutes, it's gone; when I was 16, it took me SIX Advils to get rid of a tiny ache in my leg. It wasn't that I was addicted, it was that I'd built up a tolerance.

People really are too dependent on medications. I'm not saying no one should ever take them--far FROM it. But there's a certain body when bodies develop a tolerance or when you become addicted. When I get a really annoying dull pain in, say, my leg or my arm, I start beating it with something. People look at me like I'm an escaped mental patient (shhhhh...."don't ask, don't tell!")when I do it, but by whacking it a few times, it (A) masks the duller pain with a sharper one that dissipates quicker, taking some of the duller with it & B) creates an increased blood flow, which brings more "fixers" (white blood cells, antibodies, what-have-you) into the area.

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"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel
 

Another problem with all this medication is that all the illnesses that we were trying to kill are starting to resist it. We killed off all the non-resistant buggers and now all the resistant ones are thriving. They are now encouraging doctors to not give out antibiotics as much around here because the problem is starting to get bad. They need to hurry up and make little those nanomachines to go inside us and kill the stuff. That would be much better than poping pills all the time.

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It doesn't matter if you don't know what you're doing as long as you look good doing it.

Okay, the impression I've got is although not all of you take drugs, you at least know people who do. Often several. And you seem to know more about the details (Type-II food related diabetic? Say that to most Brits and you'll get a confused expression, probably followed by a "what the fuck is that?")

Oh, and Shik? You shouldn't drink Diet Pepsi (you know, if aliens DID visit this planet, and looked at the Diet vs non-Diet drinks, they'd come to the conclusion that Diet Coke/Pepsi actually makes you fat).

Diet Pepsi is only drunk by people in the mistaken belief that switching to a diet drink will somehow make them loose 30 pounds, thus allowing them to eat more chocolate.

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"A fully functioning, cybernetic, technologically advanced team of superheroes... and NOBODY'S got a flashlight?"
- Polly Ester; Samurai Pizza Cats
 

AS for the diabetes....it's cool thing to know. Type I is insulin injection; Type II is watching your diet. Both require BSL checks daily & both can be ameliorated a bit with glucophage. But I've saved myself megabucks at concerts by bringing my own Diet Pepsi because I balls my way in with it. I tell them I'm Type II food-related diabetic, that none of their drinks are sugar-free, & that I'm not spending all day at the water booth, so why not let me bring my own drink?

They usually relent when you hit 'em with all the facts, & in most places, you can call ahead for exemption. WAY cool. Although at Lilith Fair '97, the bitch at the front gate tried to trip me up by saying I told her I was a Type II diabetic. I said, "There IS no 'Type III' diabetes." She refused to believe me & I had to have everyone around me tell her differently. BITCH! LOL...

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"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel
 

I might just try that idea.

BTW Skri, where are you from? And what age are you, oh and, er 300 pounds is...eep, 21 stone 4 pounds. How tall was she? Weight like that is just unhealthy.

ItActually, it always annoys me when fat people diet in the hopes of loosing weight. Sure, cut down, but EXCERCISE. It's no good loosing 6 stone if your heart still beats at over 120 a minute while resting. But that's another topic...

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"A fully functioning, cybernetic, technologically advanced team of superheroes... and NOBODY'S got a flashlight?"
- Polly Ester; Samurai Pizza Cats
 

(you'd never guess I did Biology A-level would you? Or maybe we were taught useful stuff, rather than spending 2 years in a hypocondriac's ideal lesson.)

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"A fully functioning, cybernetic, technologically advanced team of superheroes... and NOBODY'S got a flashlight?"
- Polly Ester; Samurai Pizza Cats
 

--No SHIT, it's unhealthy. She's 1.58 meters tall. My housemate is 1.7 & I'm 1.6 or so. The housemate is "of large size" as well, but she's at least proportional because she has huge breasts. Always looks good, too, no matter WHAT the hell she says.

--Fibromyalgia is some sort of muscle pain thing. To quote Cartman, "It's all just a bunch of tree-huggin' hippie CRAP."

--Where do I live? 90 minutes NNE of The City. Yes, THE City, meaning New York City. No, I DIDN'T grab any women in Central Park last weekend. For once.

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"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel
 

Oh, and I don't really use any drugs regularly. I take ibuprofen or acetaminophen (read: Advil or Tylenol) if I've got a headache, decongestant if I get a cold (e.g. right now), but that about covers it. Gods know I could probably use an antidepressant or two now and again, but, well, I don't need any damned happy-pills, thank you very much! *L*

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"How many Libraries of Congress per second can your software handle?"
-Avery Brooks, IBM commercial
 

------------------
"Twentieth century go and sleep.
Really deep. We won't blink
Your eyes are burning holes through me.
I'm not scared I'm outta here.
I'm not scared. I'm outta here.
--
R.E.M.
****
Read chapter one of "Dirk Tungsten in...The Disappearing Planet"! Please?

 

No, I'm on the NY/CT border...in CT, but not that it exists outside the "Triangle"...right, Frank? And the metric values are habit. Building models, it's easier to work in the meter than the bloody buggery bastard English Standard (which they don't even USE anymore!!). And yeah, I'm that geek who refuses to think in 12-hour time, too.

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"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel
 

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"How many Libraries of Congress per second can your software handle?"
-Avery Brooks, IBM commercial
 

The lovely nose-stuff I'm using at the moment is called *has a look* Flixonase. And it bloody hurts. I'd leave it out altogether, except for the fact this I wear contact lenses, and with bad hay-fever I spend most of my time poking myself in the eyes screaming "MAKE THE PAIN STOP!" and resisting the urge to just pull them out and submerge them in Vinegar.

It's still interesting how much you know/care though. Take Tim's ibuprofen or acetaminophen (read: Advil or Tylenol) if I've got a headache, decongestant if I get a cold..."

Over here, it'd be "I've got a headache." "Take some paracetomol". And that about covers it for headaches. And if you've got a cold, well, that's your cue to spend the day hiding in your bedroom, demanding that everyone else in the house make you tea every hour.

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"A fully functioning, cybernetic, technologically advanced team of superheroes... and NOBODY'S got a flashlight?"
- Polly Ester; Samurai Pizza Cats
 

A few months ago I was on 2 allergy meds, a med for my wrist, and also Paxil for insomnia. I ended up going off of them cold turkey though, and though it was hard at first, I seem to be surviving.

I hate drugs, and I hate doctors, however I do feel that in some cases they're necessary. A lot of the time though, I DO think they're over prescribed. But... what are we to do about it? As long as people will buy into them, prescriptions will be around.

~LOA

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No, you CAN'T see my picture!

You, uh, haven't been to the Northeastern U.S. much, have you, TSN?
 

The Selective SRI works in that it prevents the uptake of serotonin...it does not induce the production of serotonin.

But this class of drug is also used for social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

I take Luvox for obsessive compulsive disorder.

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Oh, goody, the Sea Monkeys I ordered have arrived. Heh heh heh, look at them cavort and caper.
~C. Montgomery Burns

And be sure to visit The Field Marshal project http://fieldmarshal.virtualave.net/
 

Heh....my doctor tried me on Wellbutrin for about a month. I took myself off of it after a week when I held a large knife at my housemate's asshole boyfriend & told him in no uncertain terms that I would flay the skin from his very body while he was still alive if he didn't stop being a jackass.

He's still a jackass, but I'm not on Wellbutrin...LOL...

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"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel
 

Liam: The only reason I used the terms "ibuprofen" and "acetaminophen" is, one, to show off that I know what they're really called (*L*), and, two, because using the brand names would be too specific. I'm pedantic, remember? :-)

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"How many Libraries of Congress per second can your software handle?"
-Avery Brooks, IBM commercial
 

As for the drugs thing. I think caffeine is more addictive than any other drug known. It also screws with your body chemistry more than others. (I should know, I'm drinking a Dew right now.) Of course when you have to quit smoking, and are out of Paxil with no possibility of renewing your prescription, then caffeine is all that's left.

Let us all imagine a world with no drugs at all. I tried it once. Hated it.

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Look at the past few years:
Jimmy Carter: Who we kidding, Valium Posterchild. We go to:
Ronald Reagan, Howdy Doody Sr. If it keeps getting benign, we might end up with:
Mr. Rogers, "Can you say Armageddon? Oops, too late." Or we can get macho and have:
Jack Nicholson vs. Clint Eastwood, Shortest debate in history, all Jack will have to say is "How can you debate me, you haven't opened your goddammed eyes in twenty years."
 

They should bring it back. It was far better than Star Trek has ever been.

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"A fully functioning, cybernetic, technologically advanced team of superheroes... and NOBODY'S got a flashlight?"
- Polly Ester; Samurai Pizza Cats
 

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Look at the past few years:
Jimmy Carter: Who we kidding, Valium Posterchild. We go to:
Ronald Reagan, Howdy Doody Sr. If it keeps getting benign, we might end up with:
Mr. Rogers, "Can you say Armageddon? Oops, too late." Or we can get macho and have:
Jack Nicholson vs. Clint Eastwood, Shortest debate in history, all Jack will have to say is "How can you debate me, you haven't opened your goddammed eyes in twenty years."
 

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Look at the past few years:
Jimmy Carter: Who we kidding, Valium Posterchild. We go to:
Ronald Reagan, Howdy Doody Sr. If it keeps getting benign, we might end up with:
Mr. Rogers, "Can you say Armageddon? Oops, too late." Or we can get macho and have:
Jack Nicholson vs. Clint Eastwood, Shortest debate in history, all Jack will have to say is "How can you debate me, you haven't opened your goddammed eyes in twenty years."
 

Connecticut doesn't exist at all. Er, um.

Meanwhile, I don't take any medication regularly, although I tend to keep cough drops around a lot. Also, like Sol, I'm addicted to spuds.

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June is National Accordion Awareness Month.
"And as we all know, 454 Okudagrams equals an Okudapound." - Rick Sternbach
 

Taking into account factors such as population density, government project fund distributions, sports team alleigances, media coverage, & per capita income, I've come to the conclusion that Connecticut only exists alone the coast & in the Triangle.

For those of you who are new to the game, "let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up." While the state of Connecticut exists within the prescribed boundaries legally, culturally, it's MUCH smaller. Go get your atlases, encyclopedias, what have you....turn to the map of Connecticut. Now, put your finger on Hartford. Draw a line down to New Haven. From there, draw a line to Waterbury, then back to Hartfoprd. That's the Triangle. From Greenwich to Groton along the Sound is the rest of the state.

To the left, you have what's essentially New York--the alleigances are all there. To the right, you have the Rhode Island weirdos. To the top, you have the Massachusetts freaks. All of us hate the Connecticut folks in the Triangle for they get all the funding, all the attention, all the tourism, all the goodies.

Little do they know I've been saltpetering their water.

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"Do you know how much YOU'RE worth??.....2.5 million Woolongs. THAT'S your bounty. I SAID you were small fry..." --Spike Spiegel
 

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June is National Accordion Awareness Month.
"And as we all know, 454 Okudagrams equals an Okudapound." - Rick Sternbach
 

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"How many Libraries of Congress per second can your software handle?"
-Avery Brooks, IBM commercial
 

I just turned 42 (last Thursday -- thanks for all the cards 'n' letters :P). As an OP (Older Person) I find that, having survived numerous injuries, one motorcycle accident, and one serious car wreck, injuries come back to haunt you.

I have a bad shoulder (aches sometimes & I can't sleep on it) and a bad knee (3 steel pins and 3 day's advance warning of really bad weather -- I wonder if they'd used seven pins I'd get a week's advance warning?). Occasionally I get a migraine headache (on the migraine scale of pain, mine rate a "1" -- at least my head doesn't explode).

I use (infrequently) ibuprophen (800 mg horse-pills) for the occasional migraine or insistent shoulder or knee ache. One pill usually kills the pain in ~30 minutes, and it usually doesn't come back.

I also get infrequent heartburn. Once every few months (usually when I'm stressed) I'll take some Tums (actually the generic equivalent from Wal-Mart) or some acid blocker (AAFEES' cheap imitations sold at the Base Exchange). If I'm really feeling cheap, I'll just mix a tablespoon of Baking soda with some water and drink that down. It makes you belch real good, but yuo have to take it a few times to quench the fires.

During the spring, I sometimes get allergies. Usually I just try to be well-stocked with kleenex�, but sometimes I need REAL drugs. When I'm really stopped up but need to stay awake I take pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (Sudafed or its generic equivalent). If staying awake isn't an important issue, then I'll take tripolidine with pseudoephedrine (Actifed or its G.E.)

When I've got a persistant cough, I'll take an expectorant cough syrup (it doesn't suppress the coughing, it just loosens the phlegm up so you can hawk loogies).

I try to avoid taking any drug unless it's necessary. That way, if it is necessary, I don't have any built-up tolerance for the drug, and it works better.

I do smoke (it boosts adrenalin and endorphin production, but I didn't know that when I started smoking). I also have an occasional drink (a good beer or brandy, but since I don't often drink it doesn't take much).

Any questions?

~~Baloo

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Beer lovers take note:
Stroh's spelled backwards is "shorts."

http://www.geocities.com/cyrano_jones.geo/

You should have made a public spectacle out of it, like some other guy did. Happy birthday anyway.

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It's not my birthday
It's not today
It's not my birthday so why do you lunge out at me?
--
They Might Be Giants
****
Read chapter one of "Dirk Tungsten in...The Disappearing Planet"! I'll give you a cookie.

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"How many Libraries of Congress per second can your software handle?"
-Avery Brooks, IBM commercial
 

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Fool of a Took, throw yourself in next time!!
Gandalf