Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

Piggyback Ride in Nepal - Photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman
fliesinyoureyes.com

One pill makes you larger. And one pill makes you small. Grace Slick 1966

Medical insurance premiums are outrageously expensive. My family subscribes to a health savings account (HSA) with a $4000 individual deductible, which is the closest product to a catastrophic coverage plan available to us. We have no health problems, so until March of this year we still paid the insurance company about $1000 per month to negotiate discounted contracts with health providers in case we need their services. This month the rates skyrocket 20% to over $1200 per month for the same service. With a greater than 95% confidence level the deductible will not be exceeded, the insurance company could not be happier than to serve customers like my family.

A primary reason for these outlandish insurance rates are the high cost of pharmaceuticals, and the public’s over willingness to take pills rather than adjust personal lifestyles. Last year a pharmaceutical company aired a television commercial showing an obese woman dressing for an evening on the town as she primped in front of her bedroom mirror while listening to up beat music. Plenty of food and libation awaited her... but then there was this problem with her diabetes. Fortunately, the advertised product allowed her to check her blood glucose level without a painful pin prick on the finger. Now she was free to take insulin without the slightest inconvenience.

The commercial went beyond describing the merits of the product by implying serious medical conditions need not be bothersome or get in the way of indulgence. When it comes to having fun, weight and caloric intake need not be a concern. Just as the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, we have the same right to waive caution and do whatever feels good. The message is clear: If one's blood sugar is too high, there is no need to worry - just take more insulin.

The pharmaceutical industry produces scores of drugs which benefit the public, but in some ways the drugs are too good. They frequently treat the symptoms and not the cause, making it all too easy to ignore the latter. This is particularly true in regard to the country's number one cause of self induced morbidity - obesity. If blood pressure is too high, it is far more convenient to take an expensive drug than lose 30 pounds. If more weight gain ensues, then simply take a second or third blood pressure medication. If diabetes becomes a problem, then an oral hypoglycemic medication is available, and if that is not enough then insulin is the next option. There are plenty of antibiotics to treat a diabetic's high risk of infection. If coronary arteries begin to plug as a result of diabetes and hypertension, there is a virtual pharmacopoeia of remedies. When the kidneys fail, dialysis is at hand. As knees, hips, and backs fail under the strain, they can be replaced or repaired. When signs and symptoms expand, so do costs and patient suffering.

In our practice it is not unusual to see patients who take 15 or more different medications daily. Ingesting pills becomes a way of life, as modern lifestyles demand quick fixes to problems which have been years in the making. For every patient who is over medicated, there are doctors who for varying reasons write prescriptions with little regard to cost or ultimate efficacy. Perhaps it is time to ignore slick drug commercials, watch the calories, exercise more, and ask the doctor what needs to be done to reduce the number of prescribed medications rather than upping the ante.