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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by MB on June 25, 2003, at 0:42:03
I saw a new "Adult ADD" commercial on TV last night. It was sponsored by Lilly with a reference to their web site, so I assume they are promoting Strattera. I've never seen an ADD commercial before. Actually, before Paxil was approved for GAD (back when benzos were the primary approved treatment) I hadn't seen a commercial for GAD. Then all of a sudden, there they were! Now we have a non-scheduled drug approved for ADD, and here come the commercials. Why is it that there aren't any commercials for a mental illness until a non-scheduled drug is approved for it? I mean, you'd never see a Roche commecial addressing viewers, "Are you suffering from sleepless nights and constant worry? Ask your doctor about Xanax..." or a commercial from Abbot saying, "Do you get distracted easily, do you have a difficult time organizing your life? Ask your doctor about Desoxyn..."
Now here come these commercials as if these illnesses are "new", as if the medical community has "just discovered them". The only thing that's new is that some drugs have been approved for the illnesses that aren't scheduled. So, I guess what I'm wondering is whether the drug companies are *afraid* to advertise their scheduled drugs, or if it is actually illegal to advertise a scheduled drug.
Either way, it kinda makes me mad. The message I get is this: "now that we have a non-scheduled drug for your illness, it's safe to talk to your doctor about the possibility you might have this..." or worse yet, "now that we have a non-scheduled drug for your illess, your doctor won't have to be afraid to treat you."
MB
Posted by Snoozy on June 25, 2003, at 1:21:34
In reply to Are commercials for scheduled drugs illegal?, posted by MB on June 25, 2003, at 0:42:03
I haven't seen that ad yet, but I keep hearing in my mind "Aahhhh...Strattera". I've taken allergy meds but never lolled in fields of ragweed or went rock climbing lol! I love that social-anxiety Paxil ad with the really pathetic looking woman cowering in the elevator.
My guess would be that drugs co.s can't advertise the scheduled drugs to the general public. I think you're totally right that the message is "now your doctor won't have to be afraid to treat you".
All of this reminded me of an ad I copied from a medical publication - I think it was about 10 years ago. It says "Almost anyone can be a model of chronic fatigue but....
{huge letters}Ritalin sparks energy in minutes"The ad graphic is a picture of a guy dressed like dour old Whistler's mother (of the famous painting), throwing off "her" shawl.
Here's some of the text from the ad:
(Ritalin) offer safety in treating chronic fatigue and mild depression: Unlike amphetamines, Ritalin rarely affects blood pressure or heart rate; it has not been associated with muscle tremors or urinary retention as have the potent MAO inhibitors or tricyclic compounds. And toxic or adverse effects on blood, urine, liver or kidney function are not to be anticipated. For these reasons, Ritalin proves especially valuable for the elderly"
Maybe the Mona Lisa can get an endorsement deal with Lexapro or something :)
> I saw a new "Adult ADD" commercial on TV last night. It was sponsored by Lilly with a reference to their web site, so I assume they are promoting Strattera. I've never seen an ADD commercial before. Actually, before Paxil was approved for GAD (back when benzos were the primary approved treatment) I hadn't seen a commercial for GAD. Then all of a sudden, there they were! Now we have a non-scheduled drug approved for ADD, and here come the commercials. Why is it that there aren't any commercials for a mental illness until a non-scheduled drug is approved for it? I mean, you'd never see a Roche commecial addressing viewers, "Are you suffering from sleepless nights and constant worry? Ask your doctor about Xanax..." or a commercial from Abbot saying, "Do you get distracted easily, do you have a difficult time organizing your life? Ask your doctor about Desoxyn..."
>
> Now here come these commercials as if these illnesses are "new", as if the medical community has "just discovered them". The only thing that's new is that some drugs have been approved for the illnesses that aren't scheduled. So, I guess what I'm wondering is whether the drug companies are *afraid* to advertise their scheduled drugs, or if it is actually illegal to advertise a scheduled drug.
>
> Either way, it kinda makes me mad. The message I get is this: "now that we have a non-scheduled drug for your illness, it's safe to talk to your doctor about the possibility you might have this..." or worse yet, "now that we have a non-scheduled drug for your illess, your doctor won't have to be afraid to treat you."
>
> MB
Posted by MB on June 25, 2003, at 2:59:20
In reply to Re: you'll love this one » MB, posted by Snoozy on June 25, 2003, at 1:21:34
> I haven't seen that ad yet, but I keep hearing in my mind "Aahhhh...Strattera". I've taken allergy meds but never lolled in fields of ragweed or went rock climbing lol! I love that social-anxiety Paxil ad with the really pathetic looking woman cowering in the elevator.
I like the Celebrex commercials with the couple dancing. It makes me want to take it, and I don't even *have* arthritis! lol!
> My guess would be that drugs co.s can't advertise the scheduled drugs to the general public. I think you're totally right that the message is "now your doctor won't have to be afraid to treat you".
>
> All of this reminded me of an ad I copied from a medical publication - I think it was about 10 years ago. It says "Almost anyone can be a model of chronic fatigue but....
> {huge letters}Ritalin sparks energy in minutes"
>
> The ad graphic is a picture of a guy dressed like dour old Whistler's mother (of the famous painting), throwing off "her" shawl.
>
> Here's some of the text from the ad:
>
Check out this web page for old medication ads...some are funny, and a lot are really SCARY!!!http://balder.prohosting.com/~agpa/mupsyeum.shtml
MB
Posted by linkadge on June 25, 2003, at 6:32:07
In reply to Re: you'll love this one, posted by MB on June 25, 2003, at 2:59:20
I personally think its pathetic. I don't mean to compare the sevarity of illnesses here, but when the drug companies try to target everybody like they do in these comercials, It makes me feel like I can never explain to people the extent of my suffering.
Sometimes its like a commertial for morpheine coming on the tv saying, "do you suffer from everyday aches and pains"?
It makes me feel lousy as there is no real way yet to separate true problems from other ones.
And you are absoluetely right, the comertials can and do, fit absolutely everybody.
Linkadge
Posted by Viridis on June 25, 2003, at 11:30:27
In reply to Are commercials for scheduled drugs illegal?, posted by MB on June 25, 2003, at 0:42:03
I don't know what the law says, but since most scheduled drugs are off-patent (at least those thought to have abuse potential), my guess is that there isn't much profit motive, given the availability of generics. The goal is to get people onto the newer, still-patented ones, whether they're best or not.
Have you ever noticed how some drug commercials don't actually tell you what the drug is for? They just show a bunch of happy people and make you think hey, I want that, whatever it's for. Apparently if they do tell you what the med treats, then they have to list the side effects, which can obviously detract from the "buy this" message.
Posted by MB on June 25, 2003, at 15:26:30
In reply to Re: Are commercials for scheduled drugs illegal?, posted by Viridis on June 25, 2003, at 11:30:27
> I don't know what the law says, but since most scheduled drugs are off-patent (at least those thought to have abuse potential), my guess is that there isn't much profit motive, given the availability of generics. The goal is to get people onto the newer, still-patented ones, whether they're best or not.
Right, so this "we care enough to educate the public about mental illness" tone of the commercials is B.S. It's more like: "now that we can make money off it, did you know that such and such illness exists, and that you might have it?"
The illnesses were just as real before Paxil was approved for GAD or before Strattera was approved for adult ADD. I mean, up until recently (when stims were the only real ADD treatment) the idea of adult ADD was controversial. Now we have Strattera, and these commercials come out supporting the existence of adult ADD as if it's just a given that it exists. This makes me feel like the controversy surrounding adult ADD never had to do with the medical community's disagreement over the pathology of ADD, but, instead, the medical community's FEAR of giving stimulants to adults. Now that Strattera is here, the arguments about adult ADD have disapeared...Am I being to cynical here? Probably.
> Have you ever noticed how some drug commercials don't actually tell you what the drug is for? They just show a bunch of happy people and make you think hey, I want that, whatever it's for. Apparently if they do tell you what the med treats, then they have to list the side effects, which can obviously detract from the "buy this" message.
Heck, I've noticed that many commercials don't actually tell you what they're for. They just show sexy people having fun, and when the commercial is over, you have to wonder what it was all about.MB
Posted by Saltmarsh Rose on June 26, 2003, at 19:44:29
In reply to Re: you'll love this one, posted by MB on June 25, 2003, at 2:59:20
> Check out this web page for old medication ads...some are funny, and a lot are really SCARY!!!
>
> http://balder.prohosting.com/~agpa/mupsyeum.shtml
>
> MBHay, what a find - a treasure trove af Madison Avenue Madness!!!Thanks for that one MB.
Your patient will be CALM & APPROACHABLE
with THORAZINE brand (of chlorpromazine)
Want them more ACCESSIBLE and COMMUNICATIVE
sans le alcohol?? Give 'em LIBRIUM...
Ahhh Yes, with LITHOBID your misbehaving
manic-depressive pest -er -patient will
exhibit COMPLIANCE
(no more self-destructive purchases of Manolo Blahnik shoes)
Rapport!! Yes Doctor, I understand my problems a lot more now with DEPROL
(meprobamate ~ aka MILTOWN)
But wait, there's more...outside the door, I'll take four more...DEXAMYL so I can vacuum, and sew, and vacuum, and cook and... and cook and clean and wash windows and dang baby look absolutely stunning doing it...AND have time for a bubble bath before dinner!!!One thing - at the very least the earlier print ads were seen by psychiatrists who actually spent a good amount of time with their patients, not like the 10 minutes if we are lucky...its easier for them to scribble out Rx for something if the patient asks for it...or incresingly, easier still, hand the patient a sample of the newer, patent med, because all the major pharms have salespeople supply them...
just my.02mg ;-)
Posted by MB on June 27, 2003, at 19:08:33
In reply to Re: you'll love this one, posted by Saltmarsh Rose on June 26, 2003, at 19:44:29
> One thing - at the very least the earlier print ads were seen by psychiatrists who actually spent a good amount of time with their patients, not like the 10 minutes if we are lucky...its easier for them to scribble out Rx for something if the patient asks for it...or incresingly, easier still, hand the patient a sample of the newer, patent med, because all the major pharms have salespeople supply them...
Yeah, the docs love handing out the patent meds (gotta earn that golf trip to Naples, Florida). A friend of mine worked at a clinic and she would bring me the cool pens that the pharmaceutical reps would hand out to the docs. I was glad for the gifts (those pens are cool!) and I was also glad for the "heads-up": the pens she brought me could be used to predict what medication I'd be walking out with the next time I visited the doctor!
Oh yeah, the last pdoc I saw charged $80 for 15 minute med reviews. We met once a month, so at least the cost wasn't *too* high...but with such sparse interaction with my doc, I would have been as well off if someone had handed me a script pad and a PDR and said, "have at it."
MB
ps. Dexamyl: why don't we get meds like this anymore? A speedball in a purple
pill shaped like a heart? Man, those were the days!
Posted by utopizen on July 25, 2003, at 13:27:28
In reply to Re: you'll love this one » Saltmarsh Rose, posted by MB on June 27, 2003, at 19:08:33
>
> ps. Dexamyl: why don't we get meds like this anymore? A speedball in a purple
> pill shaped like a heart? Man, those were the days!Because benzos didn't exist then. Now you can take a benzo like Klonopin if you get jittery with an amphetamine. I have ADD and Social Anxiety Disorder, so the combo is a must.
It would be cool if Klonopin was combined with a stimulant, but they haven't even bothered to make Klonopin in an SR form yet. Let alone make Dexedrine Spansules more high-tech (it's just as bad and antiquated as Ritalin SR, Spanules came out in the 50's or 60's and were the first long-acting med of any kind).
Which is weird- they made Klonopin wafers, but not an SR. Maybe they thought an SR would be dismissed by docs who just think "oh, long half-life, let's just help this patient's co-pay with a generic he has to take 3 times a day" (I take K 1mg 3x/day).
Yeah, I know K has a long half-life, but even Shire tried to claim Adderall replaced the need for a long-acting when they pitched it to docs. 5 years later, they come out with Adderall XR. I had to take Adderall 2x/day, and many others did too.
Speaking of Dexamyl, in the 60's docs got tons of it as samples to give to their patients, along with Desbutal (Desoxyn and Nembutal, meth and pentobarbital in a single pill). Either the industry foresaw the FDA telling them to stop that or the FDA told them to stop it. Either way, I think only a Schedule IV drug (like Provigil) is allowed as samples.
Posted by utopizen on July 25, 2003, at 13:41:42
In reply to Re: you'll love this one, posted by linkadge on June 25, 2003, at 6:32:07
> I personally think its pathetic. I don't mean to compare the sevarity of illnesses here, but when the drug companies try to target everybody like they do in these comercials, It makes me feel like I can never explain to people the extent of my suffering.
>I understand exactly how you feel. I have social anxiety and ADD and excessive daytime sleepiness. The three most common disorders for the media to dismiss, unless you think they do that with depression (individuals might, but I think the early 90's media crap subsided once the idiot reporters realized it didn't make normal people feel better than normal).
But at the same time, watching the Paxil social anxiety ad was what prompted me to realize I might be able to control my social anxiety. I don't know why I didn't think of seeing a psychiatrist before it, and I don't know why. I guess everyone convincing myself it was my personality, not a way of thinking that it really is.
The 30-second Paxil ad, however silly it is, let me realize it was the way I thought, not the way I merely existed, that let me realize I could get help.
I put up with that B.S. about people over-using the word "over-prescribed" (and then never realize they have a way to support their claim it's over-prescribed) with me. I don't care, they're not doctors.
They'll start to use words like "well I believe.." And I try to explain to them science doesn't have "beliefs," it has hypotheses that must be proven before it is accepted. And then it's a theory. Everyone was taught this in 6th grade, but they think they're somehow above having to accept a rational thought process. Ironic, since irration thought processes are what gets us into our problems to begin with, yet we're able to point out to others how they're irrational for thinking about mental illness.
So on the one hand, I would never have sought treatment without seeing the Paxil ad. On the other, I have to realize people think mental disorders are fabricated exaggerations of common personality traits. Unless you are foaming at the mouth, people will never believe you have a mental illness.I have a $2500 neuropsychological evaluation at Mass General's Psychology Assessment Center. My mom, who works with kids with special needs and has her masters in it, is still convinced I don't have ADD or social anxiety. She knows I'm a sophmore in college, I'm not ugly, and I've never dated a girl. And that I could never concentrate in school. Lazy and shy are these reasons for these conditions.
And she's very defensive over it, too, like as if she accepts I have these problems she has to admit she smoked crack or something when I was a baby. Or maybe she would have to recgonize she could have had me see a psyhichiatrist when I was a kid.
This is the end of the thread.
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