I am so totally a trendsetter, you guys. At least according to the CDC – the arbiter of all things cool, right? Being a long-standing citizen of Medication Nation, I was very interested in their latest numbers on how much Americans love our pills. Two fun trends have emerged over the past decade:
1. According to the Today show commentary, “These days Americans are taking more prescription medications than ever, with nearly 16 million scripts written for painkillers like hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol each year, according to IMS Health. A full 5 million prescriptions are written for sleep aids, while 18 million are written for anti-depressants, according to the healthcare information company.”
{Anyone surprised? Anyone? Nope.}
Turns out this was morphine. No wonder the kiddies are all over it!
2. The CDC adds that while OD’ing on prescription pain meds is problematic for everyone, deaths of women from the drugs has increased 400%.
So what gives with the pill popping, ladies? Increasing incidence of chronic pain? Overeager doctors? Addiction? An epidemic of depression? Environmental factors? D) all of the above?? Out of all the plausible explanations for our increasing dependence on medicines to help us perform “normal” daily tasks like sleeping, walking, eating and, oh, being happy, one made me do a double take.
Harvard’s Dr. Jerry Avorn posited that these troubling trends might possibly be thanks to aggressive drug advertising. “In the 1990s when it became legal for drug makers to advertise, the demand for prescription medications skyrocketed. That created this sense on the part of many patients that, ‘Oh, I saw that ad on television, I think I should be on that medicine,’” he explained.
Does anyone seriously do that? I’m not knocking it if you have, I was just surprised. The only times I’ve heard my friends talk about these ads is to mock them. (Remember Fukitol? Ah, good times.) And I have never once gone to my doctor after seeing an ad for a medication. If anything, they have the opposite effect on me. I mean when the TV told me to “ask my doctor if Viagra is right for you” I was terrified she’d say yes. Mostly because I hate baths (sitting in a pool of your own filth, you are!) and everyone knows that Viagra makes you take a lot of baths. In separate tubs. With clothes on. Because that’s how babies are made.
(Although remember the one for female incontinence that had those adorable water balloons bopping around and bursting leaks everywhere? I kinda loved that ad. How cute is urine leakage when wrapped in candy colored latex?!)
I don’t know what this one was but I need it. STAT.
Anyhow, when it comes to pain pills I haven’t had anything other than ibuprofen in 14 years, not even during or after childbirth. And it’s not because I have some weird moral stance against medicine or am pro-pain or have a crazy high pain tolerance. It’s because I like them way too much. To this day I tell people I’ve never been happier than the day I got my colonoscopy, thanks to the wonderful floaty free-from-all-cares feeling the Demerol gave me. I honestly can’t remember feeling that good either before or after. Which freaks me the heck out. I’ve had a long-standing suspicion that I have a predilection towards drug addiction – I have an addictive personality, for Pete’s sake – and when I got my genetic test results back from 23andMe.com, one of the things it told me was that I have a “greater than average risk” for opiate and alcohol dependency. I was not surprised at this, for reasons I won’t go into here, and it was actually nice to have my hunch validated. Which is why I’ve avoided them ever since.
Yep, morphine again!
But on the other hand (clenched around a fistful of pills), I’m certainly one of the 18 million on an anti-depressant and I have been for years now. You may recall earlier this year when thanks to a snafu with my stupid health insurance (they’re probably double bathtub sitters) I tried giving up my meds. It didn’t go well. After a couple of months of spiraling downward but pretending that I wasn’t I finally went back on my pills and it was like all the lights went back on. The change was remarkable, almost immediate and pretty much convinced me that I really really do need them.
Which ticks me off. Because I feel like I shouldn’t need them. One of the things people always promise you about exercising and, to a lesser extent, eating right, is that it will make you happier, less anxious, more able to deal with every day stressors and pee like a leaky water balloon. The only one that has come true for me is the peeing. (And that’s only a benefit if you’re into latex.) The research undeniably supports this. One study found that 90% of people with “major depressive disorder” still found relief from their symptoms six months after starting an exercise regimen. (Surprise fact: Contrary to the whole “runner’s high” thing, a separate study found that people who walked daily had more relief from their depression than people who ran.)
Anecdotally it’s there too. I can’t tell you how many Internet True Life stories (my fave kind!) I’ve read about people who were not only able to ditch their blood pressure and diabetes meds but also their anti-depressants after adopting a healthy lifestyle. Paleo, vegan, fruititarian – doesn’t matter, they all have their “cured from my lifelong mood disorder” stories. I exercise a ton! I genuinely adore kale chips! So why do I still have to take that little white pill to maintain some semblance of emotional equilibrium??
This is totally a problem I have. I should talk to my doctor immediately.
Possibilities:
– I’m a weirdo. This wouldn’t be the first time I’m a statistical anomaly, frankly. I am the 1%, baby!! Just not when it comes to income…
– I’d actually be more depressed/anxious without the exercise. Perhaps I am reaping the mood-enhancing benefits and I just don’t realize it because my emotional baseline is so much lower than everyone else’s? Now, that’s a depressing thought.
– My previous unhealthy relationship with exercise (what up, exercise addiction!) has tainted the mood benefits for me. I really really hope that isn’t true.
– Maybe it only really works for depression. I’ve said this before but while I’ve certainly had periods of depression, my main struggle in life is my anxiety. Taking out dairy helped “cure” my panic attacks (that were actually severe lactose intolerance – who knew?) but I am still a very, very anxious person. And most of the research on this subject has been about the relationship between depression and exercise. Although you know what is correlated strongly in the research with less anxiety? MEDITATION. My arch nemesis. I really need to get on the Ohm Bus. (I will say that I always feel a marked reduction in my anxiety during exercise. Unfortunately that feeling only lasts as long as my pit sweat. Which is basically how I ended up an exercise addict, in a nutshell.)
– What’s normal anyhow? Maybe – and this is a real possibility – I’m striving for a goal that’s not even attainable. Perhaps what I see as “normal” happiness in other people is not necessarily so. Maybe I’m expecting too much? Maybe I’m already as normal as the next girl? (Buwhahahahah!!! Ahem.)
So what are your thoughts on this? Clearly pain, sleep and mood meds can be literal lifesavers but do you think we take them when we don’t need them? Have any of you been able to go off your mood meds after healthifying your life? Do you have a favorite drug ad??
I don’t think we have that kind of advertising in Australia, however since it’s been a couple of months since I watched TV, and rarely watched ads when I did, I could be wrong.
We did have these huge, bright yellow billboards that said “Want longer lasting sex?” that caused a controversy, because you can’t use that word ! What will the kiddies think ? Mostly naked ladies – fine, but that word and a lynch mob forms *lol* They changed the wording so as not to traumatise people.
I’m really weird with medications. I don’t react like other people do. I can take something that is supposed to knock out an elephant for a week and be bright eyed and bushy tailed. Local anasthetics make me so sick, which is one reason I refuse to have an operation – I think a general would probably kill me !
I think as a society (or societies) we look at other people and think they are so happy, but they’re like everyone else, good days, bad days and everything in between. I think there was a study on how Facebook made people feel about their lives, because a lot of people post just good stuff and when people compare their day it’s not realistic.
I think everyone needs to set their own baseline for happiness, if you feel better on pills, do what’s best for you and take them 🙂
I started doing CrossFit and KettleBells and Tabatas between 3 and 6 times a week since mid February and I haven’t had any changes with exercising more. I’ve also lost next to no weight/inches *grumble*. So maybe my mood up-swing has been cancelled by my mood down-swing because of this ?
I’m so glad that you wrote this! I went through college not taking antidepressants because I was convinced that a lifestyle change including exercise would help, and sometimes it did, but it was always a struggle. When I finally took antidepressants, it felt like such a relief, and I wish that I’d done it earlier, especially because I lost 10-15 pounds from them.
Right now we’re trying to conceive, so drugs aren’t an option, so I’m following a program by a U Kansas psychologist with 6 components: exercise, stopping rumination (really hard!), taking fish oil, spending more time with friends, sunlight, and sleep. He claims perfect rates of recovery among people implementing all 6. I think it’s helped, but I still haven’t lost the 15 pounds I gained when I stopped the antidepressant.
http://thedepressioncurebook.com/excerpt.html
Terri: Way to go with your persistence for 4-5 months. I hope that you persist and find something that works for you. Maybe it is a matter of time, and your body is improving in ways that will cause you to eventually lose weight, even if you can’t see the results yet. It is a long time.
So sorry to hear all you have gone through. As a mother with a 20 year old daughter diagnosed at 16 with General Anxiety disorder and OCD (very severe, she tried to take her life twice) I understand. She has now been off of her meds since January, after 2 years of CBT. I also was fortunate enough to know a man who studied with 2 of the founders of “ortho molecular medicine”, one of which won the Nobel prize twice! With his help on the study of essential fatty acids and how they affect the brain, she is now on supplements available to anyone over the counter! Her anxiety levels have declined significantly, and as a mother so wonderful to see. She is now focusing on her weight issues. Would love to talk to you personally, so you can email me anytime.
I am so with you on this. I am a suffer of both depression and anxiety since my early 20’s. I have done CBT which worked wonders. I am a personal trainer and a runner. But I still cannot give up my antidepressant. It’s frustrating. However my theory is that I would probably be worse off emotionally if I stopped my exercise routines. I have noticed that during periods of illness, vacations, or just general life hecticness, that when I miss a few exercise sessions, my mood disorders show their ugly heads and I end up playing “bad thought whack a mole” more than is normal for me. So that’s my theory and I’m sticking to it. 🙂
I have had a similar response to exercise in the past and it blew my doctor’s mind. I have found I do feel better when I exercise with friends or in a class vs alone, however, but I’m pretty sure it’s because it forces me to exit any kind of isolation and nurture interpersonal bonds (aka get out of my own head for a little bit). I definitely am not the most extroverted person out there, but this break of ruminating thoughts usually helps me much more than the exercise.
Thanks for posting this piece, I thought (especially by my doctor’s response) that I was the only one whose mood did not have any notable improvements from exercise alone.
Just…yes to all of this. I feel the same way about drugs given my addictive personality–hello OCD and exercise addiction!–but fear life without antidepressants. And frustratingly, I can’t turn to exercise because that’s become my harmful drug of choice. I have nothing helpful to add other than thank you for writing this post!
I can tell you: after my c section six weeks ago, they wrote me a script for oxycodone and insisted I fill it. I told them three times I didn’t want it and in the end had to insist to the pharmacist that I wouldn’t take it. So imagine how freaking hard that would be for someone with a problem, or a tendency toward problems, with pills!
I can tell you: after my c section six weeks ago, they wrote me a script for narcotics and insisted I fill it. I told them three times I didn’t want it and in the end had to insist to the pharmacist that I wouldn’t take it. So imagine how freaking hard that would be for someone with a problem, or a tendency toward problems, with pills!
Thanks for your frankness, Charlotte! As a clinical psychologist, I don’t prescribe meds, but I do deal with depression a lot. I admire your attempt to deal with it through diet and exercise, as many people find these natural remedies too much work and just go straight for the meds…so props to you! I also think there could be a lot of reasons that exercise and diet don’t work for certain people. One is that the meds to help with some biochemical imbalance (in other words, it’s more physiological). Another is that there are some emotional things that may need to be dealt with. In other words, there are so many different kinds of depression, so we also need a lot of different kind of remedies (and often in combo with one another).
I also think your anxiety theory makes A LOT of sense. As soon as I saw “anxiety,” I was going to suggest meditation because there is so much resource supporting this. I understand the difficulty of this though…not sure what you’ve done, but you might start with more structured or “guided” meditations to help it feel like you are “doing” something while building this muscle. Anyway, hope I’m not overstepping my bounds by sharing some of this. Feel free to let me know if you have questions. 🙂
The problem is that as a society, we have tossed a lot of similar conditions into a bucket that we call “depression.”
I suspect that a lot of people who report that this stuff helped were not actually suffering from clinical depression in the first place. Not in the sense of “having a chemical imbalance in the brain that causes a complete loss of interest in life.”
A lot of people are on antidepressants when what they suffer from is technically known as an adjustment disorder. Meaning “my life sucks and I am sad about it.” That’s a valid thing, but it’s not the same as suffering from major clinical depression.
Exercise and good eating (and time) and a better sense of control over your life can definitely get you through an adjustment disorder. It’s not going to do a damned thing for the chemical imbalance that causes clinical depression.
And there’s probably a small subset of people taking antidepressants who actually suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. Getting out in the sunshine will cure that right up.
Never feel bad about taking antidepressants or antianxiety medication! And don’t let people make you feel like a failure because you have to take meds even after getting fit and eating right. That kind of thing falls into the category of “People Are Awful.”
America is one of the very few countries that allows direct to consumer drug marketing. It’s like Readers Digest syndrome in commercial form. Everyone thinks they have a new disease when they read about it in RD, and drug ads are the same. Even if the beginning of the commercial makes me think I want that drug, by the end when they spend the next minute and a half telling you all the ways you could be maimed or die on the drug it convinces me otherwise.
After years of hearing stories about innocent people who got addicted to pain meds after surgeries I’ve never once taken anything stronger than tylonol or advil. Including wisdom teeth extractions and childbirth (well, I guess I did get epidurals). I don’t know if I’m predisposed to be addicted to those drugs, but I’m apparently a paranoid person.
Anxiety – I didn’t used to think I had a problem with it, but as I found myself standing in the grocery store yesterday on senior discount day and 4th of july madness I found myself literally needing to take deep breaths and reminding myself not to cry in the middle of the store it left me wondering. That and my inability to make a simple phone call without freaking out or being so nervous when I go to a social thing that I know I won’t know anyone that I literally lose sleep for days maybe I do have anxiety issues.
Turbokick and walking/running have really helped with my anxiety but for me walking and running are meditation time. It gives me a chance to clear my head and just enjoy the beautiful place that I live, which is relaxing and brings my stress level way down. Turbokick helps because a lot of my anxiety comes from my feelings of inadequacy and after an hour of turbokick I pretty much feel like the most awesome person on the planet. Usually during a turbokick class I spend the whole hour imagining my punches and kicks landing on the people/things stressing me out :p
I’m sorry it didn’t work out going off your meds but at least now you know, right? And as a mom I think it’s really commendable that you accept that you need that help. I’m not on any anxiety medication right now because I feel like, for the moment at least, I’ve got things under control but when I have kids I never want them to see what my anxiety attacks look like (it can get pretty scary, hysterical screaming and shaking) so I’ve accepted that there are probably little white pills in my future.
Wow, this post is exactly where I am at right now. I am 29 and have been taking meds (Paxil) since I was 15. This medication was so helpful and necessary in coping with OCD, anxiety, depression, and anorexia. (A combination of which, 2 years ago, landed me in the hospital for three months with a feeding tube in my nose. I honestly don’t think I would be alive if it weren’t for the assistance of that medication.). However, we are hoping to conceive soon so I am in the process of weaning of the Paxil and it is miserable! I honestly feel like I am dying – nausea, dizziness, suicidal thoughts, panic attacks, etc. I found one list citing 24 withdrawal symptoms – I am experiencing all but 2 (and of course those are two of the more minor ones). This misery is making me question the doctors who placed me on the drug in the first place. How can a drug be good for me if going off it is so terrible?! I am also terrified that I won’t be able to cope without medication – especially during a pregnancy. I want to be able to exist “naturally” but don’t know if I can. Also, I am overcoming an exercise addiction and worry that turning to exercise to solve my issues could lead to even bigger problems.
interestingly, Dr. Miles’ is now BAYER……..yep. the aspirin/flintstones vitamin people….
hmmmm……
and yes, i stopped taking my pills about 3months ago, and my mood is ALWAYS down. hell, i often cry WHILE running….ugh….
I used to feel bad that I have to take an antidepressant. But then I decided that after I die, God is not going to give me an award for ‘white knuckling’ it through my life. ‘Men are that they might have joy’ is my motto. 🙂
I agree with what Erika said above – sometimes there is a chemical imbalance that requires medication to fix it. There may be things you can do to improve the situation, but not cure it completely.
I mentioned before that I went through depression about 10 years back, but mine was of the ‘my life sucks’ variety. It was very real in the sense that it was almost debilitating (I could not envision myself ever being happy ever again in all my days) but I was able to fix my life and while it took some time, things did turn around. I was never on any medication, because I quite honestly did not recognize what was wrong with me at the time. If I ever found myself in that situation again, I’m not sure what I’d do.
The only thing I’ve ever tried is Ativan. I get severe anxiety going to the dentist – I do not even like having my teeth cleaned; it feels like an ordeal every time. When I had to get a broken tooth fixed, and would be in the chair for 2 hours, my dentist prescribed Ativan. It did not a darn thing. I sat in that chair and bawled through the whole thing. Incentive to take good care of my teeth I suppose; I don’t look forward to having to do that again.
Great post 🙂 I wonder if my emotional “tolerance” is low as well.. I had two thoughts when reading:
1.) I agree that the high prevalence of meds in our society has a lot to do with prescription advertisements. Add on the fact that doctors are afraid of getting sued for every little thing and that I have heard over and over that thanks to the internet patients have already diagnosed themselves by the time they get to the doctor.. things are a mess. Another player in our high numbers is the fact that as Americans we can afford the pills.. many, many other nations can’t.
2.) What the heck is normal??!
Jen
Jen.amileamemory@gmail.com
I myself used to judge others who took pills themselves as people who couldn’t control themselves. I looked down upon them as less disciplined or not as strong as people who didn’t need to take pills.
Boy, have my views on that topic changed. Looking back, I felt like one of those cavemen living in the modern world. I understand now that there really isn’t anything wrong with pills or anti-depressant or ones that help you go to sleep.
I don’t need them, and that’s fine. Other people do need them, and that is also fine. 😀
I eat extremely healthy, lost 40+ lbs and still have anxiety. I will admit, going off processed sugar has made a pretty big difference. Now when I do have an anxiety attack it only lasts for a few seconds and I don’t have them very often. Before going off sugar I would have this terrible lingering anxiety, sometimes for days. I don’t even eat honey :(.
Still on the anti-depressant though and I wish I didn’t have to be. I really didn’t have the expectation of going off of it though through healthy eating and exercise. It kinda bugs me when I hear / read about people who were able to go off of their anti-depressants by doing the exact same things I’ve been doing and I don’t see that same change.
Oh, btw, I too am LDS. Sometimes in church, I look around and think everyone else is perfect, the perfect mom, wife, friend, whatever. That I’m the only one trying to fight of an anxiety attack in the middle of sacrament! At least I now know there is someone else out there with anxiety issues similar to mine.
Hi Charlotte,
I’m SO glad I’m not the only who feels this way! I eat pretty healthy and exercise 5-6 days per week, which definitely helps me manage my at times crippling anxiety (which coincides with anxiety). Immediately after a workout I definitely feel more upbeat and less stressed but honestly my life was changed when I went on antidepressants – I could actually function! It just makes me wonder what I would be like if I didn’t do all of those things that are supposed to help with anxiety/depression…
And I really need to try meditation too except I get too fidgety/anxious to actually go through with it! If/when you do start meditating, I’d love to hear your tips!
Honestly Charlotte, exercise is in my blood BUT it never really made my cramps lessen or cure any of the many things they say it did in the studies for me. I do & did it because it was good for me & helped me stay fit & yes, I did feel better after doing it at times but on the whole, it was not a cure all for mood disorders are the menstrual crap! 😉
I get a kick out of those 4 hour man drug commercials & the couple sitting in the bathtub out in the wilderness somewhere – OMG TOO FUNNY!
Was hoping to get at least one comment swearing that exercise or cutting out sugar or eating more fat got them off their meds completely, but what happened was a lot of healthy people wishing they could get off meds. I wish life was like it was when we were cavemen eating our ancestral pill-free diet when no one ever got depressed, cancer, infertility, bunions, cavities, or slivers.
I’ve always found that exercise can be quite the powerful anti depresant, but only when it’s done with a high level of intensity. Something like a hard bike race or arecord breaking pull up session.
I’ve always been weary of taking drugs. The last thing I want to be come is “normal.”
I’m a therapist who’s also on antidepressants. My sense of the issue is that (1) most people diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder have fairly mild depression, (2) antidepressants work best for people with moderate to severe depression, and (3) exercise is most effective at lifting mild to moderate depression.
Basically, for mild depression, antidepressants might help but often don’t, and exercise almost always does. For more severe depression, antidepressants almost always help but exercise may not.
Exercise very much helps my own anxiety. I’ve read (though it was a while ago) that for anxiety, daily-ish intense cardio for 40 minutes (after warming up) is what’s recommended, and that much less or much more than that won’t be as helpful. (Something about one of the happy-making neurotransmitters peaking after 40-45 minutes of increased heart rate, then falling after that.) But, of course, everyone is different.
When I first starting taking my anti-depressant I was very concerned with the concept of ‘normal’….because I felt ‘abnormal’ since I had to take medicine. After hearing all my worry about being ‘normal’ she finally told me that I had to find my own normal (wow…that was a lot of normals!). That made a lot of sense. I needed to stop comparing myself to others because we are all different.
I also didn’t cure my depression with exercise. It sure helps though. I think those of us who are healthy won’t see much difference in our symptoms just like we won’t lose weight if we followed the diet and exercise plan of the shake weight. Those commercials always annoy me. If you find anyone who has been sitting on the couch eating junk food for years and put them on a healthy diet and any kind of exercise they will drop 3 dress sizes in 3 weeks.
Exercise doesn’t help my depression and anxiety at all. Maybe I’m part of the tiny percent that isn’t affected by it, but really, after I exercise I still feel depressed and worried and now just tired on top of it.
Have you seen the new ads for Botox as a treatment for migraines?
*facepalm*
What’s up to every one, it’s really a fastidious for me to go to see
this site, it includes valuable Information.
I’ve heard it before, exercise is great for your health, everyone should, etc. etc. and this article takes a different look. and we must face it, there must be something very difficult about getting exercise, because even though everybody knows it’s a good thing for you, so few people actually do it!
And, obviously exercise must be continued, to maintain its benefits.
And I agree on Occhiblu about his 3 points.
(1) most people diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder have fairly mild depression, (2) antidepressants work best for people with moderate to severe depression, and (3) exercise is most effective at lifting mild to moderate depression.
Btw, Thanks for sharing this article, i’m sure a lot of people can relate or perhaps can help you. 🙂
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