Once upon a time, long ago in an ancient non-digital world, our family doctor told me I had diabetes. He and his office nurse/wife and I had extended conversations about recipes that would make a low sodium diet palatable. For more than a decade, I got along quite well. Knowledge of herbs and spices made our daily meals more fun.
He suffered a major stroke and closed his practice. After a couple of false starts with vanilla docs, I found my present internist. He sent me to a registered dietitian for a diet consultation, gave me a script for little white pills and a glucose meter. I got along quite well. Truth be told sticking myself eight times a day with that meter was not near as much fun as playing with herbs and spices.
Then the little white pill was quietly withdrawn from the market. Turns out its side effects were more dangerous than its preventative powers.
No problem! A brand new pink pill took its place. My numbers continued to please my doc. I got along. I was a bit wobbly on my feet, but then I was steadily aging. For nine years my private Medicare supplemental insurance billed me $12 co-pay for a ninety day supply. In 2009 this pink pill jumped to $166. Something’s wrong here!
Breaking News! February 2010 revealed the pink pill increases the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes by 45% and has no more benefits than older generics. Seems the FDA and the pill manufacturer knew this when it was marketed in 1999.
Forget the hoorah in an echo chamber media salivating over tort lawyers and a rush to hold congressional hearings. I still have diabetes. I also have a family history of heart attacks and strokes. What do I do with a brand new bottle of expensive and very dangerous pink pills?
Time for a ‘dusty shoes on the pavement’ session!
Common wisdom suggests self diagnosis is a no no! That makes sense. Docs spend long years studying the complex morbidities of a human body.
Common wisdom tells me government regulation is incompetent. Two pills with known dangers approved by the Food and Drug Administration would seem to confirm that.
Common wisdom assures me ‘the invisible hand of a free market’ will protect me from corporate greed. After two best selling pills with more risk than remedy, the invisibility appears truer than any visible restraint!
Common wisdom declares good medical care can be achieved only when citizens take personal responsibility for their healthcare. Sounds sensible!
What do I do with my pink pills?
The only coherent answer I can come up with is this: First triage! Trash toxic pills. Then enroll in medical school. With a little bit of luck, in five years, Big Pharma reps will stock my samples cupboard with all the best selling pills. I’ll test them myself and write a script to manage my diabetes.
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