an anonymous doctor

i don’t know who he is. where he lives. or what kind of medicine he practices. and i don’t care. but i like him. meet doctor anonymous.

i found his blog a few weeks ago and it’s an enjoyable read. his most recent post
addresses the subject of pharmaceutical reps. or sales people. or as i like to call them, pimps. some of them are former cheerleaders, some of them are just attractive. but they are in the business of selling. making money. not helping people. do some of their drugs help people? sure. do they push drugs they know little about? absolutely. do they care that the drug they’re pushing has side effects worse than symptoms? no.

my sister’s friend is a pharmaceutical rep. she works 5 hours a day and makes more money in 6 months than i do in two years. and i work for hollywood. if you want to make a lot of money, don’t go to law school. don’t go to med school. don’t go to hollywood. BE A PHARMACEUTICAL REP. you know, all the cool kids are doing it.

but i wonder, how do these people sleep at night? they spend their morning pushing drugs they know little about, only what the money people tell them, the bs studies and the sort. and then they wine and dine the doctors for an hour or so. i will answer my question. 1000 count sheets. dreams of news cars and vacations in italy.

they’re not taking ambien or seroquel to sleep because they KNOW the side effects.

the pharmaceutical companies fill our television screens with cute little commercials that make you think, life will be so much better if you take our pill. i have never seen an ad for the med i’m taking. and it’s the only one that has worked without nasty side effects. i wonder why that is. maybe because the pharmaceutical company that heavily advertises a pill that is known to cause diabetes, also makes a pill to treat diabetes. they are not there to help us, they are there because they want our money. and they want to keep us medicated.

fortunately, people are beginning to see this. and people are beginning to speak up, if only anonymously. and doctor anonymous is correct, patients are doing the research and asking the tough questions. knowledge is indeed good. and hopefully someday that knowledge coupled with our voices will be powerful.