Self diagnosis from TV drug ads can be dangerous
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/08/07
DEL.ICIO.USThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/08/07
Patricia Riddell asked her doctor to write her a prescription for Lunesta after seeing softly-flitting butterflies in scads of ads over the holidays for the popular sleeping pill. And TV ads made Cada Kilgore realize his Restless Leg Syndrome isn't just a "new" illness dreamed up by clever drug company marketers.
Like millions of others in the Atlanta area, and around the nation, Riddell and Kilgore – thanks to advertisements on TV and in print — know much more about their medical problems than ordinary folks did in the past. And they aren't shy about telling their doctors exactly what drugs they think they need.
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In a survey coming out Tuesday in the February issue of Consumer Reports magazine, 78 percent of primary-care physicians said they are asked by their patients for specific drugs they've seen advertised on TV. The surveys, which involved 335 doctors and 39,090 people around the nation, found 67 percent of doctors concede that they at least sometimes grant their patients' request.
Such tendencies are troubling, Consumer Reports suggests, and it urges consumers to "ignore drug ads." The magazine cautioned patients that the pharmaceutical industry "spends billions of dollars a year trying to get you to pester your doctor for expensive, new brand-name drugs."
Dr. William Plested, president of the American Medical Association, a cardiovascular surgeon in Santa Monica, Calif. said it's good that people are taking more responsibility for their own health and treatment, often doing a lot of research. But he said there are risks when patients play doctor, which millions do daily with the click of a mouse.
But a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, he said. The magazine reported 40 percent of doctors surveyed believe direct-to-consumer ads by the pharmaceutical industry are a disservice to the public. It also found that 40 percent of patients turn to the Internet to research medical conditions.
"If you are advertising a product on television, you are in essence telling the patient to self order, and they do," Plested said. "And there's no question that people 'doctor shop' if their own doctors don't give them what they want."
Many doctors are so time-crunched that they may cave in too easily to their patients' pleas, he said.
Anyone who watches TV knows the "healing purple pill" Nexium is often touted as a cure for heartburn and "erosions in the esophagus."
But advertised pills aren't magic bullets, said Dr. Pablo Stolovitzky, an Atlanta ear, nose and throat specialist. He adds that he doesn't completely agree with Consumer Reports' flat recommendation for consumers to ignore drug ads, saying some can be helpful by making consumers more informed.
Patients in Stolovitzky's office often ask for Nexium because they've seen TV ads and "if I feel it will serve the purpose of my diagnosis, I'll do it," he said. "But sometimes people are significantly disappointed that what they think they need wouldn't help. We like patients who are informed, but there's a lot of misinformation out there."
Which may explain why the Consumer Reports study also found that 41 percent of doctors feel patients are poorly informed, even those who haul in pages of Googled research like legal briefs.
Riddell, 65, of Dacula, was seduced by the flutter of Lunesta's butterflies in ads televised during the bowl games, so she asked her doctor for a prescription to replace the sleeping pill she was on.
"What I was on just wasn't working," she said.
Kilgore, a 54-year-old attorney, said seeing TV ads touting Requip for Restless Leg Syndrome offered him some psychological comfort about having a medical problem few people have ever heard about.
"My legs don't actually twitch like the woman in the TV ads, but I just feel like I have the heebie jeebies," said the Buckhead man. "My doctor said 'try Requip' and it instantly took care of my problem. I never imagined that so many people had this restless leg thing."
Broadcast and print advertisements accounted for some 94 percent of the $4.2 billion spent in 2005 on direct-to-consumer drug ads, according to a recent report by the federal Government Accountability Office. It said that such ads are increasing each year by about 20 percent a year, and officials say the spots are working, increasing profits of drug companies and providing more money for research.
Which means consumers can expect to see even more of Lunesta's butterflies, happy Viagra couples, and grandpas blowing soap bubbles after toking on Advair.
It also means more consumers will go to their doctors asking for those brand name drugs, said Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University.
"The ads have completely turned around the old relationship when the doctor was this godlike character and you used to go in there all deferentially," Thompson said. "Now any person can now go online and no longer feel beholden to that mysterious college of cardinals of physicians."
The federal Food and Drug Administration is charged with regulating direct-to-consumer ads, but the GAO report said the agency is able to review only a "small portion" of them. The FDA has the power to issue warning letters to drug companies about misleading or false ads, but seldom does so. In 2006, only two warnings were issued, said FDA spokeswoman Kimberly Rawlings.
Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, an Atlanta internist and past president of the 120,000 member American College of Physicians, said ads to consumers leave her a little queasy, but a possible upside is that they boost revenues for research.
"But my feeling, and this is the opinion of the American College of Physicians, is that the FDA should impose serious limits on the pharmaceutical industry's ads to make sure consumers aren't misled," she said.
Rawlings said it has always been legal for drug companies to pitch products to consumers.
But doctors like Fryhofer fred that ads can leave the wrong impressions with consumers.
"I'm worried that we are beginning to cross the line on ads," she said. "But sometimes ads can bring attention to unknown conditions like Restless Leg Syndrome and de-stigmatize a condition like depression."
That's what ads have done for Carrie Smithson, a 24-year-old Alpharetta mother of three who suffers from a form of depression, an illness for which many drugs are touted.
"I saw an ad in a women's magazine and it had a girl with all her different mood swings, and I said, 'This is me to a T'," Smithson said. "I brought it in to my doctor..." Now she's taking Lamictal and is feeling much better.
"I wouldn't have had a clue without the ad," she said.
Jamie Kopf of Consumer Reports said the magazine's researchers concluded that it's smart for consumers to do their homework but that they shouldn't try to diagnose themselves .
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Comments
By Sandra
January 8, 2007 9:14 PM | Link to this
I am constantly amazed at the adds that I am bombarded with as a cancer patient. Neulasta, for one, to keep my blood count up. I think that this kind of advertising is a totally unnecessary addition to the already astronomically high prices of such medications. My oncologist and nurse practitioner are well informed about the medications that I might need. Advertising these drugs just adds to our economic burden. We don’t need that!!!!!
By scribe
January 8, 2007 9:23 PM | Link to this
I think it is DISGUSTING that i can’t even watch a football game with my 14 and 9 year old without continuously hitting the mute button over erectile dysfunction drugs
By mark
January 8, 2007 9:34 PM | Link to this
I have had 10 operations for a rare form of cancer in 18 years and I can’t even find a doctor to help me , because I am uninsured.The last Dr. I went and saw didnt even examine me and charged me a 150.00 for the office visit.The Dr. who had been caring for me over the years movedhis practice out of the hopital and daid he no longer could care for me and the hospital says now they no longer have a qualified Neurosurgion to help me so they are out of the picture as well.
By Em
January 8, 2007 9:51 PM | Link to this
I have mixed feelings. Not on the ads - of course, I hate the ads! But docs will have a right to b*** about us being proactive about our healthcare in any way we can when 1) they stop letting the pharmaceutical sales reps in their offices while we wait for an hour for our appointments and 2) they spend more than 5 minutes with us after we’ve waiting an hour! and 3) they are proactive about our healthcare!
By samuel
January 8, 2007 10:47 PM | Link to this
Of course they are pressured. Just look at the Nobel prize for medicine which showed that ulcers are infections and not due to stress, gas etc…..and should be treated not by mylanta, rollaids or ulcer medicines which treat the symptoms but by ANTIBIOTICS. Why has nothing been done…..the almighty dollar. People spend millions to treat the symptoms. Drug companies are just trying to extort money from the sick, and helpless members of society. Geez and lawyers have bad reputations…..
By Michael
January 8, 2007 10:52 PM | Link to this
Ok, instead of self-diagnosis, maybe someone who reads this has had the same thing. Get something to drink and get comfy, this is long: Since sometime last week, I’ve been having chest pressure off and on and I don’t remember the actual day it started. I am almost 31 years old but no history of heart disease that I know of or of anyone dying of a heart issue before the age of 70. I have gained too much weight in the last 10 years, not too odd these days, I guess, but more than I should be..
By Michael
January 8, 2007 10:54 PM | Link to this
(cont)carrying. I am 5’7” and weigh about 205. (Male). I sit at my job all day and only get any exercise when doing yard work in Spring thru early Fall. I don’t eat the healthy, either. So that’s out of the way—so I decided to go to the ER after work on Friday, and my wife took me. The chest issue had been bothering me since it happens every day throughout the day. No real “pain” per se, but definitely weird and sometimes uncomfortable dull pressure. I figured at least at the ER I would be
By Michael
January 8, 2007 10:57 PM | Link to this
tested. So we were there over 6 hours at Kennestone and had an EKG, blood samples and chest X-ray. The Dr. said everything looked normal. She told me even though that doensn’t for sure mean it’s not heart-related that she feels it’s not due to my history and symptoms. She did write out a referral to a cardiologist for me to get a stress test this week to at least make me feel better about it not being heart related. So I got an appt this week and hopefully it will be ok. Like the ajc article
By Jeff
January 8, 2007 10:59 PM | Link to this
Prescription drug ads make me sick. My God, these pharmaceutical companies have no morals, no ethics and no heart. To spend billions on ED drugs? to spend countless more billions on rediculous drugs for all these “minor” ailments like restless leg syndrome, bladder issues, or just simple pain? It’s disgusting. They should be spending their time on finding cures for real diseases. Unfortunately, money talks… so this trend will continue until we as consumers demand a priority change……
By Michael
January 8, 2007 11:00 PM | Link to this
stated, I have been trying to self-diagnose this. There are a 100 different things that can cause chest pressure or pain and many not heart issues. I am leaning towards it being some sort of deep muscle issue(I hope) since as of just tonight, I’ve been able to make my chest hurt by bending over from the waist down and letting my arms hang. It’s not the kind of muscle pain I’ve had before from working out, though. When bench pressing,etc, I would have pain in my chest that would be there if
By nona
January 8, 2007 11:02 PM | Link to this
It’s all about money. Rather than search for a cure the doctors prefer to prescribe a patch. You never get well, you must continue to see and pay the doctor until you eventually die of complications. Then the doctor will sue your estate for any balance on your account. All the while hiding behind the business manager of his office, who is forced (or enjoys) enforcing the doctor’s policies.
By Michael
January 8, 2007 11:03 PM | Link to this
I just touched my pecs. This is not so easy to do with this one. I lied down on my back on the floor and started pushing my chest in different spots and THINK I felt it hurt in a certain area. This is a fantastic development but has anyone had something like this happen before? Where you pulled something in your chest and didn’t realize it? And just sitting around feels like your chest is getting tighter? I’ve never had heart problems that I know of, so anything there feels like the heart to
By Michael
January 8, 2007 11:09 PM | Link to this
me and it scared(s) me. I hope the stress test turns out good and if this is a muscle issue that it heals. Otherwise, who knows what it is. Please let me know if you’ve experienced anything like this. Back to the National Championship game now. I’m a Georgia fan so it’s hard to root for the Gators but I’m rooting for the SEC. Thanks for reading this and for staying with it if you’ve made it this far!
By nona
January 8, 2007 11:10 PM | Link to this
The real tragedy is that if you are sick, you cannot buy medical insurance, if you are sick you cannot work. Sick, without income, without medical insurance you seek medical help and the physician refuses to see you without full payment at the time of, or prior to, service.
Hippocratic oath should actually be called by it’s real name: Hipocritic oath.
By Dre (Atlanta)
January 9, 2007 6:06 AM | Link to this
WOW! I am shocked!! I tell you what… the Ads get on my nerves also, but being in the medical field I can attest to my on personal experiences I have found relief of two problems I have had for years from the Ads on TV… so DAMN if you do and DAMN if you don’t. I think they are a benifit in the sense that it makes you more aware of your health.
By Michael Seaborne
January 9, 2007 8:14 AM | Link to this
Everyone must take the ads with a grain of salt, first off all these drugs cost so much because of the ads.One also must take a proactive stance on ones health, don’t go into a doctors office without some kind of knowledge of the health care system. It has been my experience that if you do not take an active roll in your health care you won’t have any health care. Just like any profession, there are good plumbers and bad plumbers, so in turn there are good doctors and bad doctors
By M. Eaves
January 9, 2007 8:37 AM | Link to this
I, for one, am grateful for all the advertisments for new drugs. Think of it! A million years plus of evolution (or, if you are a creationist, being made as a copy of the perfect image) and now we have discovered all these dreadful problems with the human body. What ever did we do before we learned of acid-reflux disease, the need for “new, swiss-cream flavored rolaids” and head-on (apply directly to the forehead after listening to our commercial)?
By John Van
January 9, 2007 9:15 AM | Link to this
In a world where nobody trusts anybody and everyone seemingly is trying to con somebody, why do people believe television ads? which they know in their heart are expensive come-ons with no validity as to the medicines’ effectivenes, except for some person with a sexy voice telling us how good the expensive product is.
By Scott
January 9, 2007 9:57 AM | Link to this
Nona, insurance or not, I can certainly see from your post why you are having difficulty getting a doctor. Blaming your medical provider is not prudent. My wife is a Nurse Practitioner and my brother is a Doctor. Both work horrific hours and are fed up. Fewer qualified people are entering the medical field because of medicare payment ceilings, insurance companies, and lawyers. It’s reaching a crisis situation! Baby boomers beware, you may call these the ‘good old days of medicine’ real soon.
By Dave
January 9, 2007 10:49 AM | Link to this
The other day I was watching some documentary with my girlfriend’s 4 and 7 year olds on the Discovery channel. Then out of nowhere the 1..2 punch of Erectile Disfunction + Herpes medicine ads come on the TV. This is totally inappropriate for children and I had to keep flipping channels until they were done. Gone are the days of unsupervised children watching TV.
This is an outrage!!
By Ken
January 9, 2007 11:09 AM | Link to this
This struggle is just one facet of the mess we’re in. And we’re all to blame.
Doctors = Gotten too used to playing God for centuries. Have mucho $$$ at stake keeping health care as opaque as possible.
Pharmas = Fat and happy with a lock on the US market, pimping lifestyle drugs because solving REAL problems takes too much work.
Patients = Never had much motivation to shop around, tend to want instant fixes for free.
Maybe docs should get out of the prescription writing business.
By MK
January 9, 2007 11:51 AM | Link to this
I believe that this nation is over-medicated to begin with. The pharmaceutical industry, with the medical industry in cahoots has developed a mainstream logic that there should be a pill for every thing and that’s that.
Problem with pharma drugs is that they cause more side effects than the problem they are designed to fix. And those side effects sometimes require more pills to offset the new problems.
Healthier lifestyle and weight control would wipe out the pharma industry.
By Atico
January 9, 2007 12:14 PM | Link to this
What in the hell is going on with the Drug Mfg’s? Now we have to put up with an add for “Male Enhancement lotions.” How low will the Drug Companies go before our Government officials give us some relief in our own homes by putting some pressure on these out of contral marketeers to back off? I say stop the DRUG adds NOW!
By Terri
January 9, 2007 12:25 PM | Link to this
The ads fail to notify consumers that the majority of these newest drugs have yet to be approved for coverage by insurance carriers. Prescription advertising not only drives up the cost of the drug but it has been part of the increase behind insurance plans and the decreased benefits in prescription plans. Consumers pay dearly at every level!
By sherry
January 9, 2007 1:14 PM | Link to this
Hey! Forget the new ads for ED…I’m missing “Bob is feeling large”!!!! They took my favorite commercial off the air….now I am forced to sit and listen to Jessica Simpson telling us “she totally don’t know what is is…but she wants it!” Yuk..bring back ole “bob is feeling large”!!
Seriously…I think doc and pharms are in cahoots..you prescribe my drug..you get a bonus of some kind…vice versa..I prescribe your drug..you gimme somethin’!
Where are the docs of old who cared!
By h_charles
January 9, 2007 2:51 PM | Link to this
Mr. Kilgore, I hope you read through this blog. The medicine you are taking for restless leg, Requip, is not a panacea for this condition. In fact, many patients benefit from its effects for a short while, only to have the drug lose its potency. The resulting rebound effect not only makes the drug ineffective, but your symptoms may get DRAMATICALLY WORSE. Please, discuss this with your doctor. There are alternatives out there, such as painkillers or mild barbituates. Learn the facts.
By bill
January 9, 2007 4:07 PM | Link to this
Is anyone else out there put off by the “occasional side effects” that these commercials reel off…often having a “Doctor” mention them almost conversationally??? Does anyone really want to take a drug for heartburn that can cause nasal polyps, anal infections, double vision, liver damage, irregular heartbeat, toe fungi, belly button lint, and even death. (“Most people were not bothered enough by these symptoms to quit taking the product!”) Seriously, it makes me scared to take an aspirin!
By hilda
January 9, 2007 4:23 PM | Link to this
I’m a pharmacist. Most people don’t realize that the reason drugs cost so much is primarily because of the amount of money spent on advertising. Sure, a large amount is spent on research but most of the time, the marketing dollars are much more. It costs a lot for a drug company to hire someone like Robert Jarvik to advertise a product or to run ads during the evening news. Drug advertising exists to promote the product, not to inform the consumer!
By nona
January 9, 2007 4:45 PM | Link to this
Hey Scott; if your brother (the doctor) or wife (a nurse practitioner) is willing to treat uninsured, unemployed because of illness, patients with the promise of payment as it becomes possible, you don’t need to sing their praises. They already have a HALO over their head and will be well blessed. However, they are the only 2 known in the medical field. They must be extremely kind and concientious persons and you are truly blessed to have them as your family. We should have more like them.
By Jack
January 9, 2007 5:49 PM | Link to this
Intererestingly, having read a lot of the posts, I see that the public opinion is that Physicians are underworked and overpaid. I can assure you nothing is further from the truth. I work in a physician’s office and I can assure you that the physician’s do not get paid adequately for the services they perform. Over the years of working in the billing dept. I can see that insurance companies are making all the money. I would never be a Physician, especially for what they are paid.
By Jay
January 9, 2007 6:28 PM | Link to this
Ever heard of the power of suggestion. If something is repeated enough, there is the likelihood that the suggestion will eventually be taken as fact, when in fact, it is an oft repeated fallacy. That is the prime purpose for advertising. With the advent of TV and its powerful muscle to convince, people are gradually becoming victims of the big lie. The use of advertisers to convince people that they are indeed sick is surely a cruel hoax and is inexcusable. Just another facet of our progressively rotting society.
By James
January 9, 2007 6:40 PM | Link to this
Nona, There are doctors out there who would like to take on all patients - including those who can’t pay - but can’t afford to do so because those patients turn around and sue them for malpractice, even without justification. The problem isn’t with cold-hearted doctors, it’s with cold-hearted lawyers who will sue just to see if they can get away with it. But all that aside, why are doctors the only people who are expected to work for free?
By nona
January 9, 2007 9:03 PM | Link to this
Seems as though my original entry has caused this blog to move in a totally different direction from the original. My opinion hasn’t changed and though I never intended to suggest that a doctor, or anyone else, should work for free, just not to refuse treatment because immediate payment was not an option. I firmly believe a patient should pay for services rendered, but I also believe a doctor should honor the Physician’s Oath. Now it’s up to you guys to settle your own issues, I’m outta here.
By albert
January 9, 2007 9:18 PM | Link to this
I am here to tell you Doctors are overpaid much like professional athletes. I have no insurance and a severe kidney problem, and no way to get help. I am not “broke” or “brown” enough for Social Security and cannot work currently. What can I do Scott or Nona. Any advice??
I need a Doctor yesterday.
By Tam
January 10, 2007 10:30 AM | Link to this
I am a doctor, and far from overpaid. I work hard like everyone else. We can’t afford to see patients for free because we have malpractice insurance to pay for!!!! All states have clinics for people who can’t afford to see doctors in the private sector. The problem is that most patients don’t want to wait to see a doctor in the free clinic. You can’t have everything that you want when you want it. The world doesn’t work like that. Stop complaining and take control of your life.
By Tam
January 10, 2007 10:34 AM | Link to this
As for the drug companies, please people don’t forget that the bottom line for them is profit. They are trying to hijack healthcare by so-called “education” of the patient in order to help the doctor. You should never rely on a profit driven company to educate you about your health problems. Does anyone remember celebrex, vioxx, fosamax. For the women who are taking Fosamax, boniva- they forget to tell you that the medication can cause your jawbone to become necrotic (die) after extractions!
By WW-3
January 10, 2007 10:48 AM | Link to this
MICHAEL - I THINK YOU JUST NEED A COUPLE OF GOOD FARTS
By Ella
January 10, 2007 12:28 PM | Link to this
I am bipolar. But I didn’t know it. I thought I was depressed.
I listened to those commercials for antidepressants and convinced my doctor that I needed them. My symptoms got worse and eventually I was hospitalized. I later learned that antidepressents should NEVER be used alone for people with bipolar disease.
Thanks to my ignorance and those commercials, I took drugs that could have very well killed me. Isn’t that what Big Pharma wants anyway—for use to self-diagnose?
By lloyd
January 10, 2007 6:39 PM | Link to this
Big pharmaceutical companies spend 3 times as much for marketing as they do for research.
By Health Pharmacy
March 8, 2007 9:08 PM | Link to this
Should have his licence revoked; if this man is not happy with dispensing legal drugs because of his beliefs perhaps he should try other employment, or does his income come before his beliefs? WBR LeoP
By Franklin
March 9, 2007 12:17 PM | Link to this
I just want to say thank you for taking the time & effort for put this web page together!