Are RX Drugs Today More Dangerous?
Question by h2oskate: Are RX drugs today more dangerous?
My wife and I have a disagreement regarding today’s RX drugs, specifically the ones you see advertised on TV. I believe that today’s RX drugs are more dangerous. They have more serious side effects (cause cancers!! Cause death!!), and many side effects are permanent. I think the FDA is letting them market these drugs because they’re now stating all the potentially harmful side effects in their ads. But sheesh! Who in their right mind would want to take a drug that can cause cancer, stroke, heart attacks, major infections, etc.? My wife feels the drugs have always had these side effects; we’re just hearing more about them. For the record, I had pretty good eyesight. I had hip replacement surgery in 2004 and they placed me on an anti-inflammatory called Indicin. After a few weeks, I noticed I had blurry vision. I got online and looked up the side effects. Turns out one was “blurry vision”. I stopped taking it, but my eyesight never improved. Comments?
I appreciate the info, but my question wasn’t really answered. Are today’s prescription RXs more dangerous? I understand the risk/benefit analysis.
Best answer:
Answer by Kraftee
The decision to take a drug is basically a risk/reward proposition. Virtually all drugs have some possibility of an adverse side effect. The expected frequency and severity of a particular side effect will affect the decision when the benefit of the drug outweighs the possible risk. The patient and his doctor weigh the benefit against the risk when deciding which treatment is best. You don’t say what condition you had that called for this non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication. If you still need an anti-inflammatory, there are many other possibilities, some of them over the counter meds. Consult your doctor for suggestions.
Regarding your specific question about the drug Indocin (spell correction here), there is an FDA web site where medical providers may report adverse side effects.
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/default.htm
To reply to your additional details: No I don’t think they are necessarily more dangerous today than in the past. They may even be safer if you believe that drugs are studied more rigorously before going to market now than they were half a century ago. I think we hear more about the “bad stuff” now than 50 years ago because we’re hooked up to 24-hr news media (they have to have *something* to talk about!) and the internet. Before the internet, it was tougher to find lots of other people who were taking the same drug who wanted to talk about it. We also live in a litigious society so drug companies may be more forthright about possible side effects than they used to be. The drug companies have surely learned all about marketing to the patients as well as to the doctors. This is why we see so many Rx drug ads on TV. It works. But they’re also required to recite all the possible terrible side effects within the ad. However in the final analysis it is the prescriber (your doctor) who chooses.
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