[Erika]

With the wealth of information being published on MS, medications and treatments of late, here is an informative talk on medical research publication bias; and the potential influence it has on choices and decisions with respect to health care.

TED Talks:

http://www.ted.com/talks/ben_goldacr...prescribe.html

With love, Erika

[SallyC]

So true. I never take a med the Doc prescribes, any more, without investigating it thuroughly. The Doc should be our best friend but, too often he/she's Pharma's best friend.

Thanks Erika..

[Kitty]

Originally Posted by SallyC

So true. I never take a med the Doc prescribes, any more, without investigating it thuroughly. The Doc should be our best friend but, too often he/she's Pharma's best friend.

Isn't that the truth. I had several questions about Ampyra after my Neuro suggested I start taking it to help my walking. Wanna know how he answered one of the questions? He told me to "ask the pharmacist". I didn't say it but I thought to myself "the pharmacist knows more than you and doesn't charge me $200 for a fifteen minute appointment". I'm thinking I'm going to go to my pharmacist for my next appointment.

[kicker]

I had a doctor at Johns Hopkins who would Google stuff I talked about, having never heard or explored it himself. And that's considered a good hospital!

[SallyC]

That's just it, the Docs can't keep up with big pharma's greed and should not prescribe these meds to their patients, until they're sure that they will DO NO HARM!!

Some good Docs do hold off. I like them the best.

[mrsD]

Thanks for posting this link. The TED lectures are always useful and revealing.

I've copied this link to our PN forum...where medications can sometimes be triggers for nerve damage.

[Kitty]

Originally Posted by Kitty

Wanna know how he answered one of the questions? He told me to "ask the pharmacist".

This is going to be kind of difficult as this med is delivered by mail. Hey, maybe I'll ask my mail carrier about it........I think he'll probably know about as much as the Neuro (or more ). I hesitate to ask the manufacturer any questions because the answers will definitely be biased.

[mrsD]

You can call the toll free number for your mail order.

Or you can go online to the drug's website...

Many community pharmacists are NOT experts in every drug.
They will look up a data base and read off it. The data base typically reflects the drug insert mandated by the FDA.

Rxlist.com is often useful as well. RxList and the like will have basic information, about to take with food, or not...what to avoid, major drug interactions etc. Efficacy? That would be more tricky. Doctors who keep up will share efficacy with patients based on their experience, but for new drugs? That is a big problem since there is no experience yet.

[Erika]

Excellent links and advice Mrs. D.

A BIG thanks for that. The more we get informed, the morer we can make informed decisions and the more we can avoid potential problems in our care.

With love, Erika

[new2net98]

Originally Posted by Kitty

Isn't that the truth. I had several questions about Ampyra after my Neuro suggested I start taking it to help my walking. Wanna know how he answered one of the questions? He told me to "ask the pharmacist". I didn't say it but I thought to myself "the pharmacist knows more than you and doesn't charge me $200 for a fifteen minute appointment". I'm thinking I'm going to go to my pharmacist for my next appointment.

Anytime one of my customers has a question about their meds, that's the first thing I tell them to do. Sometimes, the only info a doc has is what the Drug Rep tells them. Better docs investigate, but, you never know what/or how far they take that. Pharmacists are tested on their knowledge (depending on where they work) every six months to every 18 months. They must know the recommended dosages, side effects & conterindications (interactions with other meds).