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Which Countries Pay The Most For Medicinal Drugs?

Tyler Durden's picture




 

USA! USA! USA! Exceptional America is #1 once again... oh wait!

Why does America spend 35% to 90% more per capita than all other developed countries?

 

There are numerous reasons, as Michael Snyder explains, if you have a health problem, even if it is just an imaginary one, some giant pharmaceutical company out there is probably making a pill for it.  According to shocking new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 59 percent of all U.S. adults are on at least one prescription drug, and 15 percent of all U.S. adults are on at least five prescription drugs.  These numbers have never been higher, and they tell us that the United States is the most drugged nation on the entire planet.  And it turns out that pushing these drugs on the American people is extremely profitable.  For instance, Americans spent 100 billion dollars on cancer drugs alone last year.  That isn’t “million” with an “m” – that is “billion” with a “b”.  The profits that some of these pharmaceutical companies are making are absolutely obscene, and it is our pain and suffering that is making them rich.

So why is prescription drug use rising so rapidly?  As noted above, 15 percent of us are now taking 5 or more of these drugs on a regular basis, but back in 1999 that number was sitting at just 8.2 percent.

This newly released report blames much of the problem on obesity

The population is getting older, but that doesn’t explain it, Kantor said. The pattern looks more related to obesity, which is steadily rising, More than two-thirds of the adult U.S. population is overweight or obese, and many suffer the heart disease, diabetes and other metabolic disorders that go along with being too heavy.

And without a doubt, we have an epidemic of obesity in the United States.

But the truth is that obesity is only part of the story.

Drug use of all types is soaring, and commercials for the latest and greatest drugs seem to run around the clock on virtually every television network.  Here are some more specific numbers from this newly released report

In the study, blood pressure drugs were among the most prescribed, increasing from 20% of adults in 1999-2000 to 27% in 2011-2012.

 

Statins increased from 6.9% to 17%; antidepressants increased from 6.8% 13%; antidiabetic drugs increased from 4.6% to 8.2%;and tranquilizers and sedatives increased from 4.2% to 6.1%.

The increase in the use of antidepressants really disturbs me.  They are often prescribed needlessly, and they can have some extremely negative side effects.

In particular, I think that it is important to mention that nearly every single mass shooter in the United States in recent years has been on antidepressants.  The mainstream media never talks about this connection because the pharmaceutical companies purchase gobs of advertising time from them.  But the reality of the matter is that these drugs can cause people to behave in extremely irrational ways.  Even the Mayo Clinic admits this

Most antidepressants are generally safe, but the Food and Drug Administration requires that all antidepressants carry black box warnings, the strictest warnings for prescriptions. In some cases, children, teenagers and young adults under 25 may have an increase in suicidal thoughts or behavior when taking antidepressants, especially in the first few weeks after starting or when the dose is changed.

Of course that is a very watered down version of the truth, and if you start seriously digging into this you will soon discover a whole host of absolutely horrifying stories.

Here are some more statistics about the drugging of America that come from one of my previous articles

According to the CDC, approximately 9 out of every 10 Americans that are at least 60 years old say that they have taken at least one prescription drug within the last month.

 

There is an unintentional drug overdose death in the United States every 19 minutes.

 

In the United States today, prescription painkillers kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined.

 

According to the CDC, approximately three quarters of a million people a year are rushed to emergency rooms in the United States because of adverse reactions to pharmaceutical drugs.

 

The percentage of women taking antidepressants in America is higher than in any other country in the world.

 

Children in the United States are three times more likely to be prescribed antidepressants as children in Europe are.

 

A shocking Government Accountability Office report discovered that approximately one-third of all foster children in the United States are on at least one psychiatric drug.

 

A survey conducted for the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that more than 15 percent of all U.S. high school seniors abuse prescription drugs.

 

Many of these antidepressants contain warnings that “suicidal thoughts” are one of the side effects that should be expected.  The suicide rate for Americans between the ages of 35 and 64 rose by close to 30 percent between 1999 and 2010.  The number of Americans that are killed by suicide now exceeds the number of Americans that die as a result of car accidents every year.

But the pharmaceutical companies are never going to stop what they are doing, because it is making them exceedingly wealthy. 

 

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Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:18 | 6794485 venturen
venturen's picture

I suspect it is 5 times that for the USA...if you include illegal drugs

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:28 | 6794509 Hitlery_4_Dictator
Hitlery_4_Dictator's picture

This is truely a very pathetic place. Really I should just leave but I'd rather stay and fight the good fight. Can I just have my pre 9/11 Country back? 

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:33 | 6794520 theallseeinggod
theallseeinggod's picture

I think it can be explained by the massive use of antidepressants. Americans use a lot more than anybody else

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:35 | 6794523 Sanity Bear
Sanity Bear's picture

the whole culture is a pharmaceutical cult

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:46 | 6794552 TeamDepends
TeamDepends's picture

Never ever been on a prescription anything here. If we can do it, you can.

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:58 | 6794573 Skateboarder
Skateboarder's picture

I don't take any medicine unless it's absofuckenlutely required, not even Tylenol or cough medicine or whatever if and when I get a cold. The last time I took a pill was many years ago, an antibiotic for a gnarly ear infection.

The "modern" global mentality, perfected by Americans and spreading like wildfire... look only at the symptoms, ignore the root causes, mask the symptoms with some pills, rinse and repeat.

Good diet (home-made-from-scratch food daily) and exercise (half-hour to an hour daily)? Hah. The working man is too busy working himself to death, and/or being distracted by the poision-food/entertainment-replacing-exercise machine. The welfarebums are too lazy to move.

Plus, if something seems like it hurts (late-stage symptom), we can always go to the drug dealer, er- drugtor, er- "doctor." *wink wink*

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 23:07 | 6794605 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 Join the club. I take an occasional allergy pill.

 My DICK works just fine BITCHEZ. It ain't 10 inches, but it tickles Kitty nicely.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 04:45 | 6794989 philipat
philipat's picture

All of the other countries listed have some type of single payer or negotiated re-imbursement price system which controls prices. Big Pharma has no choice but to negotiate otherwise its drugs aren't listed and can't be used. Period. The Fee for service model of the US has never worked to control costs anywhere in the world and that applies even more so in a country as litiigous as The US where the threat of (Largely frivolous) malpractise suits pushes costs up due to malpractise insurance overheads AND because physicians are indirectly forced to use every tesy know to mankind and presecribe the latest, most expensive, branded drugs, when cheap generics would do just as well, This in turn pushes up Health Insurance premiums.

The lack of ANY controls in the US also explains Big Pharma's dirty little secret that 90% of total profits are made in the US alone. Big Pharma Annual Reports will always present revenues by geographical region, to demonstrate how globally diverse they are, but I'll take bets that you have never seen a breakdown of PROFITS by geographical region in a Big Pharma Annual Report. Now, I wonder why that could be?

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 07:42 | 6795158 piliage
piliage's picture

Agree with most of this, except the 'cost' of malpractice is very much overstated. It actually doesn't impact drug price that much, if at all.

A couple key points you forget:

1) Doctors often receive a commission when they prescribe a cancer drug. This goes back to a bizarre situation that cancer drugs are sold to doctors wholesale who then 'resell' them to the patient.

2) Medicare is not allowed to negotiate price, pharma gets to set the price in the US. It is not legal for medicare to negotiate the price.

3) We have an insane system in place where we 'socialize' the cost of healthcare with tax dollars (medicare/medicare/welfare) and have NO cost controls in place. Gosh, wonder what happens then? Of course, the politicians [spit] just print more money and costs keep going through the roof.

4) Some cancer drugs, like Gleevec, really are fantastic miracles. Amazing. Incredible. But the sad fact is many of the new drugs only add a few months of extra life, at a cost of 100k per year. Of course, who is going to tell someone who's dying that their life isn't worth another 100k to spend time with their family? This gets us back to my point #3

5) Outside of cancer, there are AMAZING breakthroughs. Gilead has CURED Hepatitis C. Cure! not treatment, CURE! What's the cost of a liver transplant? $600k. Does paying $80k for a drug that saves $600k make sense? You're damn right it does, but the problem is the people who pay for the drugs are not the ones who get the benefit of no surgery (this is more of a problem in Europe where the drug is paid from a different pot of money than the hospital system).

Many of these points were covered in an excellent feature by 60 Minutes. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-cost-of-cancer-drugs/

Now, all of the above said, the fact is fantastic things like Gilead's Hep C drug have been developed and made in America. Over the last 10 years, Europe, which traditionally dominated drug R&D, has seen a HUGE exodus of research to the area around Boston. So, it's a double edged sword, whilst the US drives most of the costs, it is also now gaining most of the technology benefit.

It's really hard to quantify the value of future thought leadership, but the US has seen an enormous shift of new technology from Europe, so restricting prices will chase a lot of those start ups to other markets like Asia. Money will flow to the path of least resistance and highest profit.

So, point being, we need to be damn sure we don't throw the baby out with the bath water here. The system needs reforming, but the hard fact is 92% of all drug investments fail. It's a high risk business, and as any investor or VC will tell you, high risk = high reward.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 12:38 | 6795980 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

I get that pharma is high risk/high reward. But I have no sympathy for an industry that cries about research costs-- which are hard for management to control-- when their sales, marketing, and G&A costs are out of control, despite the fact that these costs are the easiest for management to control.

 

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 19:36 | 6797443 philipat
philipat's picture
  1. Of total "R&D" costs of Big Pharma, at least 70% is the "D" and only 30% "R". Development is largely clinical trials and re-formulations to get round patent expiries.
  2. Most research "R" is done in the US because Big Pharma is able to obtain very substantial reseach ("R") tax credits from the US taxpayer. So, as with all other things in our crony capitalist system, the "risks" have been largely put on the taxpayer. So, logically, you can't have it both ways...
  3. What "R" is done is NOT in areas where there is a need but in areas where high prices and/or long-term (Preferably life-long) usage is required.
  4. Big US Pharma pays very little tax in the US. The big money in Pharma is in the so-called "Actives", these being the actual substances with therapeutic effect which may comprise only miligrams in a tablet or capsule. These Actives get manufactured in chemical planst in tax haven jurisdictions and then gets "Transfer priced" out to marketing affiliates worldwide at multiples of the actual cost, so that the profits all remain behind in the tax haven and never enter the US.
  5. On top of Item 3, Big Pharma also plays the same game as Amazon, Starbucks, Apple, Intel etc. in other industries by transferring its "Intellectual Property" to a tax haven such as Ireland then entering into Licensing/Trademark/Royalty agreements with affilaites under "Double Irish" type tax schemes so as to avoid paying taxes in the affiliate country and again keep profits in the tax haven.

The cost of malpractise insurance for some specialties, surgery for instance, can run into SIX figures. WHilst that might not directly influence drug prices, it certainly adds to Practise costs, therefore fees, therefore health insurance costs. And indirectly it does influence drug usage, and so costs, because, without going into details, the manufacturers of these high-priced drugs tend to be more "Generous" in many ways, which helps offset Practise costs.

Sorry, your arguments are unconvincing in view of all of the above and I have little sympathy. Whay is it that Phrma is so profitable? And these discussions ALWAYS bring out Big Pharma shills, probably paid by PhRMA.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 08:29 | 6795208 Oldwood
Oldwood's picture

So the answer to high prices that are enabled by the ELIMINATION of competition, is through MORE government regulation?

Would it be a shock to suppose that lower drug use in those countries with single payer plans is because those same single payer plans will not provide them?

Is it also a shock to believe that higher costs are due to the fact that other countries refuse to honor our patent laws for these drugs, openly willing to copy and sell them, unless the companies who spend the money to develop them virtually GIVE them away to effectively buy protection.

And would it be shocking to think that our drug consumption and their higher prices are driven by MARKETING, just like everything else we consume?

What is it that we are complaining about? The high cost of drugs that did not even exist ten years ago? Or of the pricing disparity across borders? Or that we take too many damned drugs that we can't afford? Or that we just simply are addicted, not just to drugs, but consumption? That we must buy and consume endlessly, compulsively, regardless of if we must sell our very future to do so?

Much of what we see wrong in this world is a symptom of our underlying problems, not a cause. And our government is the pusher who is always there with the solution, another pill, another regulation, another tax, another military incursion, that will fix everything. And every solution takes further from what we really want....peace and security, because those things ultimately must come from within. And government is most undoubtedly from without. Piling more and more shit on our backs...all to make our life easier.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 08:52 | 6795282 Hyjinx
Hyjinx's picture

Thanks for the rational statement.  Way too many people here assume drug prices are some kind of evil and not the economics they represent.  Our government should be supporting our drug companies in negotiations with foreign governments ensuring they don't get fucked over.  That would reduce the prices for everyone.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 10:41 | 6795562 plane jain
plane jain's picture

Yep, the marketing is crazy. Near half the ads you see.

Upvoted, but I do think that Medicare/Medicaid should be able to negotiate price. Legally forbidding them to do so is a blank check on the taxpayer dime.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 12:23 | 6795922 piliage
piliage's picture

>I do think that Medicare/Medicaid should be able to negotiate price

Sure, that is possible and will probably happen sooner than we imagine. I'd lean more towards removal of ALL state subsidy and then enforce monopoly laws against collusion. The problem now is that the taxpayer is completely removed from the actual cost which, again, is a fed deficit driven ponzi scheme (wash, rinse, repeat).

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 12:47 | 6796015 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

"I do think that Medicare/Medicaid should be able to negotiate price..."

You're focusing on all the wrong details.

How about simply abolishing medicare/medicaid? and limiting health insurance to bare-bones catastrophic plans? and making health care fee-for-service? and removing the anti-trust exemptions for the hospitals and pharma companies? etc etc.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 04:14 | 6795018 tarsubil
tarsubil's picture

No, it can't. I talked to a couple of pharmacists today at lunch. They never heard the story of uber douche Martin Shkreli but they said they see shit going on all the time that is completely unethical and manipulative solely for increasing wide margins. Basically, the drug makers eliminated generic drug discounts through different schemes. Fuck them all.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 03:57 | 6795009 atthelake
atthelake's picture

The only way we'll get America back is to fight for her.

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:40 | 6794532 junction
junction's picture

The high American prescription drug prices tell only part of the story.  Thanks to a corrupt FDA that follows the eugenics philosophy that too many people are living now for too long, the FDA does nothing about contaminated prescription drugs.  From January 2007 to at least September 2008, the number one selling hospital drug in America, the injectible blood thinner Lovenox, had drug batches contaminated with oversulfated chondroitin sulfate.  The OSCS contamination in these batches came from using Mainland China pigs to provide the mucosa used to manufacture the Lovenox, a low molecular weight derivative of the blood thinner heparin.  Sanofi Aventis knew its Lovenox was toxic but did nothing about it, Lovenox was a multi-billion dollar drug given to most in-hospital patients to prevent deep vein thrombosis.  Sweden's equivalent of the FDA banned Lovenox in 2008.  The contaminated Lovenox got less publicity than the contaminated cat food Chinese suppliers sold in the USA in 2008.  So thousands of Americans, many elderly, needlessly died of hypotension and anaphylactic shock caused by getting injections of this poisoned Lovenox.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 07:31 | 6795164 goldhedge
goldhedge's picture

Big Pharma= Parasites

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 07:48 | 6795173 doctor10
doctor10's picture

the other title for this article is "which legislative body in the world is the most pWnd by Big Pharma?

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:18 | 6794486 freewolf7
freewolf7's picture

There's no money in you being well.

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:38 | 6794526 Nexus789
Nexus789's picture

That's true. Like all other crony capitalist endeavors in the US - the war on drugs that feeds the budgets of law enforcement, the prison system that spawns more laws to lock people up and justify more spending on prisons, the military industrial complex that needs more wars to justify budgets (war on terror, new cold war with Russia, China, etc). How wealthy Americans would if all of this crap was eliminated.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 16:44 | 6796825 A Nanny Moose
A Nanny Moose's picture

What is the fiduciary role of healing your customers, rather renting them their own bodies?

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:18 | 6794487 Bangin7GramRocks
Bangin7GramRocks's picture

I'm not even on one prescription drug. I feel so unamerican!

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 10:46 | 6795581 plane jain
plane jain's picture

Me either. Makes you wonder how they score our medication adherence. 

I prescribe myself a nice long walk as long as the weather is decent.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 12:29 | 6795933 Cruel Aid
Cruel Aid's picture

me either, just read the side effects insert and you will start doing pushups, sittups riding a bike, walking, and eating more fresh slow food etc.

Its the first and second line of defense against getting prescribed this crap.

and lets not forget the tons of medicine that get flushed down the toilet that hit the wildlife and drinking water of others down the watershed

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:25 | 6794499 cigarEngineer
cigarEngineer's picture

1.) FDA artificially increases the costs of developing drugs.

2.) Other countries refuse to enforce intellectual-property laws and either sell generic versions without compensation, or offer below-market compensation, leaving US customers to foot the bill.

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:43 | 6794543 Nexus789
Nexus789's picture

Not quite true as other countries have their own pharma companies and different IPR laws. Not everything originates in the US. Also other countries have better and more efficient national drug procurement programs like in Australia. 

The health system in the US is a unique and American made cluster fuck. It is positively Kafkaesque.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 07:31 | 6795165 piliage
piliage's picture

The US is increasingly developing most of the world's new medicines. There has been a marked global shift.

This chart shows the evolution even though its a few years out of date, but the numbers are actually getting more US dominant since 2011.

https://d1nw8lqlu0ss4w.cloudfront.net/wordpress/wp-content/images/2014/0...

 

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:32 | 6794519 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

  The United States was founded as a corporation for "Trade Purpose"

 Our founders "inFact" used the articles of Incorporation to safeguard themselves from skullduggery.

                                 "underhanded or unscrupulous behavior; trickery." Sounds British>

laughing

 The Yanks were so worried that the Queen was going to " double cross" them that they had contingencies.

 

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 00:12 | 6794728 palmereldritch
palmereldritch's picture

That's an interesting historical footnote.

Best to provide links next time for further research.

Worth exploring how articles of incorporation have incorporated so many unintended actors...

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 00:31 | 6794771 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

  The United States is/are, infact based in incorporated doctrine.

 Do some research, and we'll compare notes.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 00:41 | 6794784 palmereldritch
palmereldritch's picture

I have seen the articles and blogs on incorporation and much of it I find compelling and convincing.

It truly deserves the kind of treatment that Peter Schiff's Dad (R.I.P.) gave the IRS. He touched on many common points but IMO it needs its own treatment.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 10:06 | 6795465 LocalBoy
LocalBoy's picture

A ggod start is "The Gift of the Corporation"

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 10:48 | 6795586 plane jain
plane jain's picture

No result found on Amazon or Google.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 01:03 | 6794821 Macon Richardson
Macon Richardson's picture

Yen, you made the assertion. Why don't you document your own assertion rather than demand that someone else research the point.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 01:21 | 6794846 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 Because it's NOT my responsibility to educate you!

    That's why your Mommy and Daddy pay the big bux to send you away for indoctrination camp.

 The constitution of the United States of America, was forged on corporate governance principles.

 Board of directors/ voting rights/ equal treatment/ ...

 "Under God", came after the rights of equality, as an extension of the constitution, in order to guarantee individual rights/ Freedoms without intervention. [ The British Empire]

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 01:47 | 6794880 palmereldritch
palmereldritch's picture

Interesting side note:

Notwithstanding the Constitution's principles being founded on 'corporate governance' (for which I can neither opine nor challenge)...Can you tell me why, despite all this incorporation, there was no enshrinement of private property rights?

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:34 | 6794522 Duc888
Duc888's picture

 

 

Shrub >>>>> NO bid contracts to big pharma.. Yaaayyyyyyyy.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 02:37 | 6794942 sun tzu
sun tzu's picture

Then 0bozo doubled down by forcing everyone to buy overpriced health insurance from the bankers that own the insurance conglomerates

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:38 | 6794529 tarabel
tarabel's picture

 

 

There is an easy way to fix this problem.

1) Pass a US law that requires the companies to charge everyone everywhere the same price per pill, no matter in what quantity.

2) Permit companies to give their product away for free, but not at a reduced price of any sort.

3) Void any US patent protection for drugs that do not comply with the worldwide single pricing rule.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 02:38 | 6794943 sun tzu
sun tzu's picture

So easy. Now get the politicians to pass it.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 10:08 | 6795472 Oldwood
Oldwood's picture

Price controls are the "easy" button, aren't they..?

Its funny how everyone seems to want freedom...freedom of speech, freedom of markets, until someone says something they don't like or has something for sale that they either can't afford or are unwilling to pay for.

And we wonder how socialism stays alive....

We see endless rants about how we corruptly have screwed up the ME because of our belief in our rights to cheap oil, how some feel the right, the entitlement to financial manipulation for their own personal gain, yet when it comes to businesses who spend the money to develop drugs that in theory are supposed to make our lives longer and better, we say NO. We can argue about corruption, and we should. But why do we seem to think that the answer to corruption is an even more corrupt controlling hand of government. IT MAKES NO SENSE. Are we going to do this forever....choose to ignore known and very real risks because we simply want to believe that a higher power, be it God or government, will save us? This is the basis of ALL corruption....protection through force and bribery....the epitome of our relationship with government and corporations today.

 

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:38 | 6794531 RichardParker
RichardParker's picture

Take a wild guess what will happen to drug prices in Canada and Japan when The TPP goes into effect.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 00:19 | 6794744 palmereldritch
palmereldritch's picture

Interesting thing about these Free Trade Agreements...they always redact the terms [slave] and [drug]

...the more things change, the more they remain the same ...under the watchful eye of those that brought you that last 'Free Trade' change...

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:39 | 6794534 mijev
mijev's picture

I got hit by gout in my big toe earlier this year. Most painful shit that's ever happened to me and much worse than when I broke my toe or my ankle. My brother had had the same thing the year before so I asked him what drug they prescribed and then looked up on the net what the dosage, side effects were etc. I'm in malaysia so I went along to the pharmacy showed him the name and bought a pack of 20 pills for just over $1. Three days later it had cleared up. And that pair of ugly ripoff crocs that I'd bought at the supermarket for $3 were a godsend.

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:44 | 6794545 CHoward
CHoward's picture

I could have nothing - don't eat green peas/green beans. 

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:56 | 6794569 mijev
mijev's picture

Because it was so agonizing to sit, let alone walk, I spent most of the time in bed reading about gout. No one seems to know what triggers it but the long term causes seem to go back to a life of excess, alcohol, being overweight etc. And being male. Doesn't afflict very many women. I started a diet and now I'm down 38lbs in four months. I also tried out baking soda which a lot of people recommended. It came back once after two weeks but in my knee that time and then nothing since. Fingers way crossed.

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 23:28 | 6794651 Cthonic
Cthonic's picture

Metabolism of purines is source of uric acid in blood, excess removed by kidneys.  Too high a level and it can crystallize/precipitate.  Common causes: alcoholism, high sugar-sweetened drink consumption, diurectic medications, organ/seafood rich nutrition, lead poisoning, ketogenic diets, starvation, tb medications, rare genetic conditions.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 00:19 | 6794745 Moe Howard
Moe Howard's picture

I got it 5 years ago from the chemistry major posing as a VA doctor, prescribed niacin pills, caused gout. Yes it is painful. Tart cherry extract clears it up, but it isn't cheap. I have been off all prescriptions since that time and feel much better.

 

Do you know what they call the bottom of the class at medical school?

 

 

A VA doctor.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 01:44 | 6794877 cheech_wizard
cheech_wizard's picture

I underwent a bout one time about 6 years ago. I know this isn't exactly scientific, but I cut my salt intake, and doubled my fluids. The other thing is I slept with my legs elevated on pillows. After about two weeks, problem cleared up. No reoccurence.

 

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 08:56 | 6795290 Ralph Spoilsport
Ralph Spoilsport's picture

I had severe joint pain for a while but no tests could pin down the cause. I was looking at a gloomy set of possible causes including Lyme disease, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and gout. Ibuprofen was the only thing that reduced the joint pain and swelling but I tried to keep it to a minimum. What seemed to work for me was improvements in diet, eliminating aspartame, large doses of vitamin D3 and staying active including yoga. Keeping my legs elevated during this time helped a lot as far as getting a good night's sleep. It took a few months but it cleared up to the point where I'm stiff and achy in the morning but I can shake it off with coffee and getting ready for the day's activities. I'm also over 60 and have led an active life so I have to expect some symptoms due to getting older. 

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 07:51 | 6795176 Oldrepublic
Oldrepublic's picture

doctors who work in prisons

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 09:03 | 6795305 Bob
Bob's picture

The malignant narcissism that our system produces and/or reinforces in medical doctors is completely bared in prison practice.  I've worked a total of a year or so of gigs in multiple prisons and the pervasive malpractice I saw was proudly malicious and passionately abusive.  Freaks who perpetrate abuse upon prisoners are admired by the sick fuckers who run the places, top to bottom.  There is no accountability whatsoever, until the infrequent law suit. 

Doctors at their very worst, without a doubt. The sort of fuckers who were "observing" CIA torture sessions as medical authorities. 

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:41 | 6794538 nmewn
nmewn's picture

"Common side effects may include, diarrhea, vomiting, disorientation, mood swings, internal bleeding, loss of income, constipation, dry mouth and thoughts of suicide. If you have any of these symptoms, stop taking Prozaclia and consult your ObamaCare Health Care Coordinator who will refer you to your doctor who will prescribe another pill to offset these common conditions."

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:52 | 6794557 JustObserving
JustObserving's picture

Prescription drugs cost up to 10 times more in the United States than they do in other countries

For example, while the average cost of the acid reflux drug Nexium was $215 in the US, it was a mere $23 in the Netherlands, $42 in England, and $58 in Spain. The average price of the multiple sclerosis medication Copaxone stood at $3,903 in the US, but only $862 in England, $898 in New Zealand, and $1,191 in Spain. The depression drug Cymbalta was sold for $194 in the US, but for only $46 in England, $52 in the Netherlands, and $110 in Canada.

The survey also compared the average hospital costs along with the prices of a number of medical procedures. The average hospital cost per day in 2013 was $4,923 in the United States, while it was $481 in Spain, $702 in Argentina, and $1,308 in Australia. The average cost of bypass surgery was $75,345 in the US, compared to $15,742 in the Netherlands, $16,247 in Spain, and $42,130 in Australia. And while an angioplasty would run patients $27,907 on average in the US, it would only be $5,246 in Argentina, $5,295 in the Netherlands, and $8,477 in Australia.

Cancer drug prices are increasing at an alarming rate (1), which is causing harm to patients. 

 


 Prices have increased more than tenfold (2) between 2000 (average price $5,000-$10,000 per year) and today (average price of new cancer drugs exceeds $120,000 per year). 
• The average price of cancer drugs is increasing by about $8,500 (3,4) a year

https://www.change.org/p/secretary-of-health-and-human-services-protest-...

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 22:51 | 6794560 sTls7
sTls7's picture

You can put half the blame on the doctors prescribing the drugs.... don't just blame BIG PHARMA. 

IT'S THE DOCTORS TOO!

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 00:55 | 6794807 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

In my experience patients today seem very insistent on medications rather than Drs pushing them. I was very taken aback how many people recently suggested I take a Xanax for my troubles " just to help me get through it". How can popping a pill solve such things? It just numbs ones feelings during the experience. Simply incredulous to me. Am I not supposed to feel sad when those I love are in pain or angry when my boss won't defend my position when a Dr is wrong?

I must admit when I was in excruciating pain from appendicitis, I was thankful for that morphine shot, the anesthesia and the skill of a modern surgeon. However, taking Lipitor because of a poor diet or insulin so one can cram another donut ones face describes a society that has lost its sense of personal responsibility, both in Drs and their patients.

Miffed

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 01:23 | 6794849 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 Welcome back. :-D

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 02:03 | 6794898 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

How can I stay away knowing my dear Yen and others are here? Where else can I find a home but on the Island of Misfit Toys? Let's be independent together!

Miffed;-)

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 04:36 | 6795045 RichardParker
RichardParker's picture

Someone else on here said it best when they referred to us as "The herd of Black Sheep".

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 07:32 | 6795166 nmewn
nmewn's picture

Miffed, so glad to hear from you again, I was becoming concerned ;-)

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 13:08 | 6796107 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

The right ZH topic can bring out the old-timers.  Sure gets boring scrolling past the trolls and such looking for cogent comments.  But, hey, that's not new.  I changed my avatar some time back from a sanguine raccoon to a stern raccoon just to register my discontent.  Nobody noticed but I felt more in tune with the times.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 13:42 | 6796234 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

Dear Rocky and nmewn,

Recent events have forced my attention on personal matters so my appearance here maybe more of a cameo role than one of regular cast. However I am still lurking and will decloak if sufficiently stimulated. Ok, my name is Miffed and I am a ZHoholic.

I have found my life devoid of intelligent conversation so I joined a group that debated societal topics in the hopes of a two hour meeting every 2 weeks could fit into my time constraints and provide me with some much needed intellectual repartee. Well, the first meeting turned out somewhat disastrous. I found out I was surrounded by Flaming Marxists and feminists! Being one who is comfortable as to who I am, a Lady as well as a Warrior, I decided to take them on. This resulted in 4 women verbally attacking me with temple veins bulging,5 men gape mouthed speechless,a bar bouncer requesting us to quiet down or be forcefully removed and the meeting lasting an extra hour than normal. In the end, several left in quite the huff but a few approached me, shook my hand and said I did a good job defending myself rationally when some members obviously left the realm of rationality to that of reactive. However, I have not received and invitation for the next meeting. This may be best or fists may fly unless the bar is used more heavily.

Sigh, maybe ZH is a safer platform for me.

Great to talk to both of you my friends and if I drop from sight too long and you wonder if I have left this world from too much balziness, email me at Zhmiffed at gmail dot com. Mr miffed has promised he will inform all if he is a widower.

Love you both,

Miffed;-)

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 13:51 | 6796271 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

Ha! Do I know the feeling.  Attended a couple of "Free Thinkers" meetings here locally and was dumbfounded.  In my efforts to escape the bible-thumping hordes I ran willy-nilly into a nest of them.  They carried the most postit-noted and highlighted bibles I'd ever seen, studied albeit for different reasons.  Their thinking was anything but free. 

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 20:58 | 6797798 nmewn
nmewn's picture

I wish you nothing but the best in whatever endeavor (or rabbit hole) you dive off into, just know your thoughts & opinions are always valued here.

Somehow I doubt we will get the widower notice, more likely a bond hearing notice ;-)

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 23:03 | 6798180 Miffed Microbio...
Miffed Microbiologist's picture

A few years ago that almost happened when a cop tried to pull me over on a remote road here late one night. I refused to bend to his Authora Tah and took off. Pissed off I would not stop to his repeated demands, he called for a road block and caught me. Instead of sitting on my knees with my hands on my head, I walked up to him, looked him in the eye and said no one would make me stop my car under such conditions. He caved and released me. Mr later claimed only I could talk myself out of such a situation but the reality was I had been lucky. Today I probably would have been shot. Needless to say I carry a gun in my car since what happened, grateful for the lesson.

I was mildly irritated Mr responded " Yes" a bit longer to my querry he would have bailed me out if things hadn't turned out as they did. Perhaps the idea me spending some time in jail and contained for a moment fed into a fantasy he wished not to divulge. ;-)

Yours always my friend,

Miffed;-)

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 23:07 | 6794599 mijev
mijev's picture

Author unknown:

"I was feeling deeply depressed. I couldn't take it any more. So I went to the drug store and bought a jar of 1000 aspirins and decided to kill myself by swallowing as many as I could. But after I'd taken two I felt much better."

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 23:45 | 6794685 Urtica ferox
Urtica ferox's picture

"Here are some more statistics about the drugging of America that come from one of my previous articles"

Attention Tylers - is this a slipup or is Michael Snyder now a Tyler?

No heads up that an article is his makes it a lot harder to avoid reading his endless lists ....

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 23:57 | 6794701 Ms No
Ms No's picture

I have been high as hell on muscle relaxers and migraine pills laying in bed half the day.  It doesn't happen very often and is usually the result of eating garbage. I probably could have gone without the muscle relaxers but those are the fun ones and pain is where I draw the line, If I am going to be in pain I am going to be high too. 

I hate taking their garbage, I will probably have blue urine, sleep eating and anal prolapse later but what do you do.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 00:21 | 6794747 Moe Howard
Moe Howard's picture

Restless leg syndrome? They got the cure.

 

Side effects? You might develop a gambling habit, have sudden suicidal thoughts, or commit mass murder.

 

But your leg won't be restless.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 00:36 | 6794780 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 How about, 'Ocular Denigration', from all the casino lights?

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 11:00 | 6795620 plane jain
plane jain's picture

Restless leg is a pain in the ass. 

Magnesium and/or iron help. 

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 00:39 | 6794782 Publicus_Reanimated
Publicus_Reanimated's picture

The worst thing you can do is go on and off this garbage.  "Change the dosage" and experience increased side effects.  I'd like to see the statistics on those mass shooters and whether they were inconsistent in their dosage and/or combining with other legal or whatever drugs.  It's a national shame.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 00:45 | 6794793 nnnnnn
nnnnnn's picture

greece? wtf

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 01:48 | 6794882 cpgone
cpgone's picture

Order from canada.

Its easy ans safe

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 03:12 | 6794973 fatlibertarian
fatlibertarian's picture

I'm obese. Just had my blood work done and my Cholesterol and Triglicerides were NORMAL BITCHES.

35 years old, still no prescription drugs. Don't have high blood pressure.

I'm obese but healthy. BITCHES.

I'm so sick of everyone thinking cuzz someone is fat they're on deaths door.

I have low Vitamin D, and that's about it. 

Anyway, google the phrase - Obese but healthy - it'll wake you up to the reality that it's not as simple as OH YOUR FAT YOUR UNHEALTHY.

No, many "skinny" people are more unhealthy than obese people.

 

okay, end of diatribe.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 05:48 | 6795101 smacker
smacker's picture

Obesity is like so many other medical conditions. The human body can cope with a lot of abnormal conditions when it's younger, more flexible and its organs etc can remain in control. The problems begin when you get older and the body's ability to neutralise the effects begins to narrow or wane, more and more as the years pass. Eventually, they take over and the rest is history.

.....And so are you.

__________________________________________________________

I have previously described young adolescent life as driving along the centre of a six lane highway: you have plenty of space on both sides for mistakes and errors. Eg: you can drink yourself stupid or eat to excess and get away with it.

As you get older, the road narrows and you have less room for errors and excess.

By the time you get to (say) 60, you are driving along a single track road. One mistake and that's it.

 

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 10:26 | 6795521 Oldwood
Oldwood's picture

the single track road becomes a mountain cliff side trail and eventually a tightrope. Just don't look down.

Aging is challenging, especially for those who spend their life trying to live responsibly and productively, as all through your life you are constantly looking forward without any real concept of the END. Owning a small business I have always been thinking about growth and achievement, maybe not in actual size or even profitability, but in a sense of direction and momentum. As I get older, I now have to keep deliberately reminding myself that my sense of tomorrow is no longer valid, that investing in equipment or even technology requires much shorter term vision. How much longer can I keep going? Will I have the energy or ability? Do I spend my savings moving the business forward when in reality that may well be all I have to live on if I can't work. Small business leaves you naked. No illusions about pensions or "benefits". It's just you.

Anyway, getting old sucks, unless you are one of the lucky ones with big fat retirement packages kicking in while still young enough to enjoy them.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 11:04 | 6795634 plane jain
plane jain's picture

If you get regular exercise and eat a reasonably healthy balanced diet and are still obese, yeah, this can happen.

But if you sit on your ass eating nothing but junk you are fooling yourself and it will catch up with you eventually. It is in your best interest to shoot for cutting back to maintain overweight vs. obese.

And go for a walk.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 11:12 | 6795655 FredFlintstone
FredFlintstone's picture

Vitamin D...maybe you need to get outside more. Never mind...you are obese...Sorry, but I can't stand looking at obese people. Sorry if that hurts

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 03:47 | 6795003 Troy Ounce
Troy Ounce's picture

 

There is hope on the obesity front: a high fat, no sugar or carb and medium protein diet which is taking South Africa by storm.

realmealrevolution.com/the-facts

Great for the US population to start slimming and not be hungry.

 

However, this diet will affect the carb (corn, etc.) and sugar farming industry so it will never happen. Never. America will grow bigger and bigger until eternity.

 

 

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 05:45 | 6795095 To Hell In A Ha...
To Hell In A Handbasket's picture

The Free Market is working in the land of the free, the brave and the fucking stupid, because FOX News, Bloomberg and Squak Box says so. The American aversion to universal healthcare is completely devoid of logic and with such stupidity universally displayed, they deserved to be fucked over by BIG PHARMA, aided by their treacherous politicians and institutional bodies enforcing this daylight robbery. So pay up and shut up, for this is the system you have endorsed and only have yourselves to blame.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 06:48 | 6795136 contrarianstrai...
contrarianstraighttalker's picture

Pay the farmer now or the Pharma later: Most people save money throughout their lives, only to be forced to give it all away at the end to the Pharma industry when they get old and sick. Don’t fall into this trap. Pay a bit more now for your food to be able to have a drug-free life later.

https://contrarianstraighttalker.wordpress.com/2015/11/03/food-matters-t...

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 07:09 | 6795148 Gatos Locos
Gatos Locos's picture

I  don't know  what I got, can I get a prescription for it?

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 07:11 | 6795151 css1971
css1971's picture

Germany is so high up the list btw because the pharamceutical companies have the government sewn up. You can't even buy paracetamol for example without going to a pharmacist. Typically costs 2-3 euros. The same headache pills in the UK cost less than 50p at a supermarket.

It's another case of corporations using governments to exclude competition and create a cartel.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 07:12 | 6795153 Inthemix96
Inthemix96's picture

I've been taking this supplement for quite some time bitchez,

Its all you need

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7pHDoJrrzA

Smile and wave boys,

Most efficacious in every case

;-)

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 08:29 | 6795192 Spiritof42
Spiritof42's picture

-9 out of every 10 Americans that are at least 60 years old say that they have taken at least one prescription drug within the last month.

At 73, I never took prescription drugs with the exception of antibiotics on a couple of occasions a long time ago. And I don't intend to start.

In my 20s, it occurred to me that disease had to do with malnutrition. So I took a strong interest in diet, nutrition and exercise. I kept up with the growing body of knowledge over the past 50 years. So whenever my body showed signs of distress, I could make adjustments until they disappeared. 

The knowledge to keep healthy is out there. But the medical establishment can't make money on healthy people. So it's in their interest to keep the masses in a state of ignorance. Willful ignorance even goes as far as the cause of cancer. A German scientist named Otto Warburg, won a Nobel Prize in the 1930s for discovering that cancer had to do with cellular respiration.

https://sites.google.com/site/ganodermareview/the-root-cause-of-cancer 

The upshot is that all prescription medicine is in one way or another, poisonous to our bodies. Boobus Sapiens are paying obscene amounts of money thinking poisons are good for their health. 

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 08:36 | 6795223 Arnold Babar
Arnold Babar's picture

Remember, the FDA exists for our "safety"

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 08:48 | 6795273 idontcare
idontcare's picture

The Federal Death Agency

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 08:49 | 6795271 idontcare
idontcare's picture

It's odd that in many Central and South American countries, if you feel unwell you go to the Farmacia, describe your symptoms to the pharmacist and if a medication is necessary and available, it generally costs you 100's of times less than it does in the States.  Likewise, living in South FL for much of every year of my life, I know people who go to the Bahamas to pick up their meds at a hugely discounted price (especially the "crazy" meds - OK, I know that that is politically incorrect, but if you need a med to keep you "on your rocker", you are basically NUTS).  Likewise, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and other "island nations" are great places to pick up pharmaceuticals which are effective but are not available in the US.   

I personally treat illness with nutrition a/o/t creative corporate chemistry, but for those who love their meds but can't afford them, the good alternative is to get a passport and take a cheap vacation to places the US deems 3d world.   While you are there, you might want to get yourself a 2d opinion from the "pharmacist" or a local doctor whose practice isn't centered on "moving on up to that deluxe McMansion on a golf course".  You'll be surprised at the simple, effective non-pharma remedies these "professionals" come up with.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 09:45 | 6795412 Davilis
Davilis's picture

Ya mon, dem chinese look-alike pills be just as good.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 09:28 | 6795367 roadhazard
roadhazard's picture

Americans paying more for prescriptions has been that way forever. American tax payer money pays for drug company R & D and then the world pays a nickle and Americans get the shaft. This is old news.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 10:08 | 6795473 Monetas
Monetas's picture

How do we stack up .... on Recreational Drugs pricing .... you have to factor that in .... before you condemn American exceptionalism ?

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 10:28 | 6795529 Monetas
Monetas's picture

Just saying .... FDA or DEA .... everything government touches .... cost more ?

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 10:54 | 6795596 hangemhigh77
hangemhigh77's picture

And the list doesn't even include McDonalds hamburgers.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 12:29 | 6795949 Mick Shrimpton
Mick Shrimpton's picture

You solve this by passing a law prohibiting pharmaceutical companies from selling any drug in the US for one penny more than the cheapest price they sell it anywhere else in the world.  Boom, problem solved.

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 14:15 | 6796352 Sek
Sek's picture

Germans don't pay more than the Swiss. Swiss cross the border to their northern neighbor to buy all kinds of products, including medicine. The statistic is flawed. 

Sun, 11/15/2015 - 15:32 | 6796617 Nue
Nue's picture

We Americans pay more because the rest of the world pays less. If you really wanted to fix things the rest of the worlds medical costs should rise 30% and Americans should drop 30%. In much the same way the only reason European sytle socisliam could exist is because they did not have to bear the military costs of their own defense during the cold war The American people did. Had Europe had to bear the full cost of its defense. European style socialism would have been an unrealzied thought experiment.

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