Forum: Author Hangout

An insulin manufacturer's CEO was just quoted as calling diabetes a "growth industry…"

I am on two insulins that are capped at $35 a month each and until this year I was also taking two diabetes medications Jaidence and Januvia that were at also $35 a month, than the cost became $250 a month each. I really hope they like paying the hospital bill instead.

Well, there's also 'Medical Tourism', where, like with Canada, you fly down to the Caribbean and get cheaper premium medical treatment with NO relation to the U.S. Medical decrees. I've known several people who've done that for VERY major conditions. And since many of the Caribbean nations are linked the European countries, they also have access to those medicines and practices too.

You'd like have trouble arranging a trip like that, yet it's worth considering IF you can manage it.

Of course those drugs in Mexico may or may not be the real drug or an accurate dosage. One of the Phoenix TV stations bought a bunch of prescription medications OTC in various places in Mexico, and less than 30% were accurately described as to the medication and dosage. One of the EXPENSIVE "cancer treatments" was merely a coated antihistamine.

That's definitely true, yet a little research into the standard international practices (i.e. which drugs are sources from China, who don't give a shit whether it works or not can spare you from most disasters). But you have to know how to play those situations, as you get few 'do overs' with your health, as once it's shot, it rarely gets better, only much more expensive!

And that's often because those doing the medical care were properly trained, most likely attending reliable schools in Europe which knew what they were doing. On a personal front, I've never trusted American doctors of pharmaceutical companies, yet the European ones are generally more open to new, alternative treatments and are also open to the alternative treatments which don't have nearly the side effects most western medications so.

Plus, despite American physicians assuming they already know everything and won't stand for anyone questioning their methods—even when they haven't continued study the latest treatment protocols—the best I've found were from either Northern India or the nearby Pakistan, again with their training from the more reputable institutions.

However, since they are more willing to consider new treatments, if you can back up your requests with knowledgable answers while still playing by their rules, you'll earn their trust and develop a much stronger relationship, while most American physicians won't spend more than fifteen minutes for anyone, since the more patients they see per hour, the more their paid. So they just don't have the time to care about ANY single case.

Again, if you don't have a medical advocate, then you've got to be you own advocate! But then, most Americans buy the whole dog and pony show, unwilling to ever questions their doctors recommendations, in which case, they generally receive precisely what they paid for.

In the end, who knows your personal conditions better than you. So if you want to hand your future to someone who's only willing to give you a few spare minutes, good luck with the results. Mine have never worked out in those cases, which is why I don't stick with those quacks for long.

And, sorry to barge in on your convo, but the American slang saying of "blowing smoke up your (you know where)," started because people finally questioned the validity of actually blowing smoke up people's (you know where) when their heart stopped...

I recall when I lived in the US in the early 2000's the marker for being prediabetic was 120 or something like that. Then a drug manufacturer gave the ADA a million dollar gift and… surprise! The number dropped 10 points. 8 million people became prediabetic over night.

Yeah, my son's A1c is so low (we do low-carb for him) it's not even on the endo's chart. And we totally ignore the American Diabetes Association's "suggestions..."

(Sorry, I just saw that I've repeated myself...)

Then, there are the insurance companies here in the US that expect you to get better based on some cockamamie schedule they've dreamed up!

No guarantees in medicine…

Due to my multiple-overlapping conditions, I've always taken a proactive role in my medical care. And anytime I encounter a physician who won't listen to me, I'll walk out and never return.

However, there are many, most foreign-born medical experts, who aren't complete raving A-holes. But you have to know what you're talking about. But typically, I'll walk in and say "I following the proscribed treatment for the typical adjustment period, but I had the following symptoms, so I did X, Y and Z, and it's working much better." If you depend on your doctor to do everything for you, you're completely dependent on them. But when you earn their trust by actively working together, you earn their respect.

However, you have to demand that respect, of yourself and them.

Advocate, advocate, advocate…

I totally agree…

the pharmacological industries would rather prolong conditions than resolve them, as 'curing' anything is seen as a financial loss.

That is bullshit.
Almost all the infectious diseases which took hundreds of thousands of lives in the past have been eliminated either through vaccination or treatment. What are they supposed to cure? Heart disease is largely caused by lifestyle issues and modern medical treatments deal with the intractable issues when people won't make the lifestyle changes.
Cancer? A thousand different diseases that can affect anyplace in the body in different ways. And there are "cures" for many types of cancer.
What are you looking for? A magic pill or shot that eliminates all problems from your body?

Also happening in Australia for the last couple of years exactly as Pixy has said.

My wife in her mid 70's is heart broken because she can't afford to pay the vet bills associated with a replacement for her dog who had to be put down two years ago because of cancer (he was 14).

The "new" age vets said there was nothing wrong with him, even though he was not eating and was supposed to have had an X-ray. Went to old style vet practice (further away from where we lived) and after the vet picked the dog up and felt his stomach, said he was a very sick dog before any further tests were done. Unfortunately nothing could be done for him. THe end result was the same but the attitude of the new age vets was all "$", while the second vet practice tried to do the best for the dog and his owner. We have moved to a new town which only has new age vet surgeries so can't use the old style vet practice.
Very sad.

Donald Trump is blaming Europe for inflated US pharmaceutical pricing and has implemented large tariffs as punishment

You wouldn't be able to order prescription drugs from Europe anyway.

A few years back people were trying that with Canada. The Canadian government quashed Canadian pharmacies selling price controlled drugs to US residents.

You have to remember that Canada and most of Europe subsidizes all things medical.

I don't think the tariffs and the drug prices are connected.

The drug price issue includes US companies as well, who sell at higher prices in the US than in other countries due to either subsides or price controls in other countries.

Are you sure about that? I heard the opposite. That he is trying to force U.S. prices to match the lowest price it can be found elsewhere, like from Europe or Canada.

And not just the foreign pharmaceutical companies. US based pharmaceutical companies as well.

And not just the foreign pharmaceutical companies. US based pharmaceutical companies as well.

I truly doubt he means it. In 2022 most Senate Republicans killed the cap on insulin costs and there is nothing about lowering costs in the Big Bill being voted on now.

thats how all things are.

and i saw a commercial for these eye drops today. id be embarressed to be using them

Try goodrx. It is around $650 there.If you are not on Medicare/Medicaid there are other avenues.

I probably spoke too fast. Since I checked last week on there the price went from around $650 -700 to $750 to $850.
Sorry.

The drug companies don't want these to be prescription drugs. The would always prefer to sell them as OTC products.
For 70 years the ghost of Thalidomide, OTC in Europe and banned in the US, has governed the US drug approval process.

No. Under the law, every drug that is new to the US market must undergo the same approval process. It doesn't matter if it is used elsewhere or is OTC elsewhere. That's been the law since the 1930s. If approved, it must initially be only offered on a prescription basis so that the actually efficacy and safety can be monitored in the real world as opposed to simple test data.

There is much, much more money to be made in the OTC market.