From the Today Show:
One mother discusses how prescription medication has helped her ease into parenting two while juggling the demands of a full-time career. But, is medicated parenting safe? Psychiatrist and drug expert Dr. Julie Holland weighs in.
Check out the interview with Ann Curry.
http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45581250
My Opinion:
I love the Today Show, but after watching this I'm a little irritated while agreeing to a point. If you've read my book you know I've struggled with anxiety and depression before. It just happens to some people just because they are born that way. Not everyone (besides my husband maybe) is blessed with never needing to pop a pill any time in their life. I'm not sure my husband has ever taken more than maybe 20 Advil's in his entire lifetime. He's 37. I think I took 20 Advil's in 3 days one time (per Dr. orders) because I could not move my neck! Did it work? Not really. Do some prescription pills work? Yes. Would I rather take one prescription pill over 20 Advil? Yes.
I'm not sure I even know a single person who hasn't ever been depressed or had anxiety at some point. Somehow my husband deals with this in his own unique way. Not quite sure what that is yet, but he gets away with whatever he does by not even believing there is such thing as a muscle knot. Every time I mention my back is knots he thinks I'm literally making it up, and he needs proof. We proceed to looking up a picture of a muscle knot on a MRI, just because he doesn't believe in them. He's magically blessed. Or maybe he just really never has pain. Some people carry stress in their muscles, their stomach, their headache, their chest, their screaming fits, their complete shutting down, fake smiles, or eating an entire bag of cookies in 10 minutes. Lots of these things can be self destructive.
I love (being sarcastic) how Ann prefaces this interview by saying "Some of us use a warm bubble bath or a glass of wine to relax from a stressful day." I love Ann Curry to death, but this statement is so annoying to me the point where I could just tweet her right now and tell her. She is by far one of my favorite journalists, but maybe this subject just hits too close to home.
Do you know how many bubble baths I've taken? Did they help? Kinda. (And since when is a mom able to take a bubble bath in the middle of the day?) And honestly I have a fear of them now post losing my baby to miscarriage. It was shortly after I had taken a bubble bath that that I found out the baby had died. The baby was dead for a long time, according to the size of the baby, but that's all explained in the book if you care to read. I still feel guilt to this day wondering what could have happened if I never took that bath. I'm sure it had nothing to do with it, but once it was in my mind it's never going to leave. It's just pure acceptance now of that and myself. I still take bubble baths, but nothing like I used to, because to me they are self destructive to MY mental state.
And do you know how much I am not a wine person or much of an alcohol person for that matter? It gives me a massive headache and then I'm off popping Excedrin, Tylenol, Advil, or Aleve. I drink it and then I get an immediate headache. Why do I even try? Because it does taste good at times. And how many people on the face of the Earth do this? Tons! And why did they just stay Tylenol PM is bad, too? That's just Benadryl added to Tylenol. If I have an allergic reaction to something I take Benadryl. And Tylenol is known to be the one of the safest (taken as prescribed) medications on the market.
The Today Show just showed a segment the other day on the latest hangover pill relief. How many people are going to start popping this pill now? This segment was a debate, but how many people don't listen to the debate and automatically think "Yeah, a solution to my problem"?
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/3041426/ns/today-today_health/
How many people are going to watch the mommy pill segment from today and think what they are doing is wrong even if it is helping them?
And do you know why there are more women taking these pills then men, because have the XY chromosomes. They are lucky in that fact. I knew one guy who used to take the PMS pills from the medicine cabinets at work, because he said they worked better than the regular pain relievers. I thought that was pretty smart! He was right, they did work better! Was he wrong for taking a PMS pill since he had a Y chromosome? No.
And do you know why taking these medications is more prevalent now than it was before? Because research and medical advances are abundant! They didn't have these types of medicines even 10, 20, 30 years ago. So of course less people were taking these types of medications and turning to alcohol instead. Didn't Ann just say that was what most people do? And didn't she just insinuate that's just fine in moderation? So, what's wrong with taking a prescription pill per the prescription guidelines, just because more people on the planet are taking them?
Alcohol in moderation has side effects, too. I just listed mine. I actually get less side effects from prescription medication than I do from things that I can buy at the grocery store. I also heard on the news the other day that one glass of wine is linked to breast cancer, but there are a bazillion studies out there on how one glass of wine is beneficial to your health. GEESE THIS CONFUSING AND ANNOYING!! (I won't post those links, because it can just get downright ridiculous).
So in other words, people could debate this all day, and there could be interviews and segments on whatever you want to debate.
I used to work in the medical field and yes, the commercial and magazine ads on how we should ask our Dr.'s about these medicines did always bother me, and still does. So, I do agree there. If your going to your Dr. telling them you need to take such and such pill, and they give it to you just because, then your Dr. is a horrible Dr.!
This Dr. also just mentioned natural remedies are OK. Sorry, but she just said a few seconds earlier melatonin is listed as "bad". Melatonin is natural. Hello Medical Industry, you're confusing the heck out of us! Aren't there a bazillion of studies on herbal remedies being over used? Yes, I believe there is. Google it and you'll see anything you want to read is on the Intranet. I could probably Google right now how drinking my own urine will cure all my woes.
Actually,I just did..... and a million sites popped up!! Isn't that nuts?!
I know one friend who gave himself a ulcer just by drinking coffee. Did they not just mention in this video it's OK to drink coffee in the morning? Granted he was drinking a lot, but how many people drink lots of coffee and soda? Even too much tea can cause problems. Even one type of tea can cause problems for certain people.
It's not the medicine that's destructive. It's the person abusing the medicine that's destructive. That is the story, not how many people are taking the medicine.
I used to make EPOGEN for thousands of patients that needed it. But, there are many taking it who dot need it. They are getting it and abusing it. Look at all the cyclists who are drug tested for it ever year. It's not the medicine. It's the person taking the medicine, that's abusing it.
Did this video say anything about if these people are abusing medication? No. That's what the segment really should be about. Not how many people are taking the medicine. The lady being interviewed in this segment wasn't even abusing it. It was helping her and it was making her feel better! Did this segment say anything about long term side effects of people who DON'T abuse medication? No.
Yes, all medication has side effects, but so does reading a book. I got a massive paper cut once just doing that! I get carpel tunnel symptoms just typing this blog (which is my stress relief). I eat cookies as a stress relief, but I don't eat them to the point where I'm abusing myself. Should I blame the grocery store for selling me cookies? My husband gets knee issues playing soccer, which is his stress relief. He's been through two major knee surgeries doing something that relieves his stress, but is he abusing playing soccer? No, that's rediculous. There are a million things on the planet people do to cope with their anxiety, but if they are doing it within moderation, how is that bad? This Dr. just told me not to look at the computer screen before I go to bed. But that totally releases my anxiety. What does she know?
There is always a reason to stress. I'm slowly learning the only way to not stress is to CHOOSE NOT TO in the first place. Check this out - Personal Growth.
But, in the mean time if I need to take a prescribed medicine in an appropriate manner without being self distractive, and my Dr. is saying it's OK, and it's helping me, what's wrong with that?
Maybe next time the TODAY SHOW can report on prescription drug abuse instead of just prescription drug usage.
Like I've said before, I've tried so many things that each person just needs to find what is best for them. And as long as they aren't abusing their stress reliever, in my opinion, it's OK. Even if it is a prescribed medicine. Who really cares if more people on the planet are taking them? Who really cares if more woman are taking them than men? Nobody knows what's perfectly healthy. Vegans, meat eaters, raw foodies, naturalists, and tons of Dr.'s all disagree. They all have their own opinions on what's best for us.
Maybe we should just figure it out for ourselves.
My Grandmother is 96 years old and I'm taking only her advice. "Everything in moderation." Best advice I've ever gotten!!
I love the news, but the spirit of Andy Rooney , "Give me a break!"
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