{"id":25414,"date":"2012-03-09T09:28:21","date_gmt":"2012-03-09T14:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=25414"},"modified":"2015-12-27T15:47:05","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T20:47:05","slug":"fda-to-discuss-making-popular-prescription-drugs-available-to-hypochondriacs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=25414","title":{"rendered":"FDA to Discuss Making Popular Prescription Drugs Available to Hypochondriacs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will meet later this month to discuss making popular prescription drugs, like statins and some diabetes drugs, available over the counter.\u00a0 According to a CBS News report<\/a>, “The new industry-backed proposal is driven in part by a wave of computer technology, including touch-screen kiosks found in pharmacies, designed to help patients self-diagnose common diseases. Drugmakers could use electronic questionnaires, diagnostic devices like blood pressure monitors and other computer-assisted technology to guide patients.”<\/p>\n

Yowzers!\u00a0 While I’m certainly in favor of speeding up FDA approval process when it comes to life-saving drugs or devices like the artificial pancreas<\/a>, I don’t know how I feel about the idea of over the counter drugs that treat complicated conditions.\u00a0 I see the benefits of course – more people will have access to the drugs and it will be cheaper to get them.\u00a0 But there are such big drawbacks.\u00a0 Take me, for example.\u00a0 Like others with a tendency towards hypochondria, my medical expertise comes from years of panic-induced disease-related Google searches, not from medical school.\u00a0 Does the world really want the likes of me self-treating?\u00a0 Me?\u00a0 Self-treating on the basis of a blood pressure monitor in Walgreen’s?\u00a0 First of all, I don’t believe the monitor works because I swear I just saw eight-year-old twin boys jabbing paperclips under the buttons, but I’ll try it anyway.\u00a0 Second of all, I get anxious before any kind of medical test.\u00a0 Given my anxiety, my blood pressure might rise.\u00a0 Let’s see… OMG… I have high blood pressure!\u00a0<\/p>\n

What should I do?\u00a0 Is high blood pressure the same thing as hypertension? \u00a0 I’ll ask the woman next to me who is shopping for a toothbrush.\u00a0 She looks pretty smart, and I like her shoes.\u00a0 Or maybe I’ll just grab some blood pressure medicine.\u00a0 Beta blockers, right?\u00a0 Or am I getting confused with beta cells?\u00a0 Crap.\u00a0 I just remembered high blood pressure increases risk of heart failure and stroke, so I should probably grab a statin, too, in case I feel some chest pains later.\u00a0 Except I recall something about statins causing diabetes<\/a> in some people.\u00a0 I guess I don’t have to worry about that… but what if they make my insulin resistance worse?\u00a0 I should also buy metformin<\/a>.\u00a0 If I notice my blood sugar numbers creeping up, I’ll just start taking it. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

When I get home I can take out all of my new medications and read the package inserts carefully.\u00a0 I’m quite prone to the power of suggestion, so I’m likely to feel side effects from the medications just from reading about them.\u00a0 After glancing at the warnings about my statin and metformin I have muscle pain, a rash, and nausea.\u00a0 I’m so itchy!\u00a0 I rush back to Walgreen’s to buy a supply of pills and creams to quell the side effects of my new drug regimen.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wow, this self-treating business can get expensive.\u00a0 But at least I’m decreasing doctor visits, which according to CBS News<\/a>, the FDA believes could be beneficial.\u00a0 At least I’m not giving away my money to those doctors!\u00a0 Who needs them anyway when we have electronic questionnaires and computer-assisted technology to guide patients?\u00a0 And don’t forget, we have Google.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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