Lipitor Side Effects, Interactions and Information - Surprise Risks to Good Health
Lipitor, among other statin drugs, has a number of side effects and interactions that can cause various problems in an otherwise healthy person. Valium, Morphine, Coumidin, Avandia, Prilosec, Viagra, Cialis and many other drugs also have their own side effects.
As an elder law attorney, I have no idea what the medical side effects may be, but I do know that the pharmaceutical industry is advertising some very risky behavior. I know because I watch the evening news. Well, the evening news is really just filler for the drug commercials. They declare all sorts of side effects from taking their medication. Everyone knows that strong drugs have strong side effects, no surprise there. "May cause shortness of breath, muscle strain and death. Notify your physician if you experience any of these symptoms." Not sure how "death" is a symptom, seems more like the end of the road to me, but heck, maybe they have a pill to sell you for that too.
My ten year old son watches the news with me from time to time (with a certain amount of parental control). Last night he saw a Lipitor commercial with me and saw several grown men riding rapids, climbing rocks, fishing in the open ocean and riding bikes down a mountain. His comment was that these "healthy" commercial people were engaged in activities that were obviously more dangerous than taking a cholesterol pill - although there were no warnings for hurling yourself off a cliff on a Schwinn Ten speed at age 60. Not to mention spending an evening in some of the erectile dysfunction commercials where "erections may last longer than four hours." If that doesn't kill you, I don't know what will.
It is a national embarrassment that the pharmaceutical industry is more focused on branding and consumer mind share than on making important drugs available to the public affordably. All too often I hear of my elder law clients splitting pills in half to make them last longer or skipping meals to save money for medications. It's a disgrace. Until and unless the US Government takes a more active role in the development and regulation of new drugs and their distribution, the perky- pill salespeople will prowl doctors' offices trolling for prescriptions.
A good place to start would be keeping prescription data private. Why should Pfizer or Merck know which pills a doctor prescribes? Doctors should have no incentive to be frequent prescribers of given medications - it's as if there's a frequent flyer program for doctors who push pills.
Our law office used to be next to a large medical practice that entertains at least a half dozen well-dressed, attractive, sandwich platter carrying pharmaceutical representatives from Big Pharma each and everyday. Between the free drug samples, endless pastries and sandwiches, and the little gifts, it's no wonder why doctors have the incentive to prescribe whatever these co-eds are selling. No one brings lawyers anything for free. Yes, I'm jealous. No one is bribing me to use one brand of yellow pad or file folder over another. We just pick the one that is most affordable and appropriate for the client's case - why can't doctors and Big Pharma play by the same rules? And the public thinks lawyers are out for themselves? Pass the Lipitor.
