I don't hate medical professionals, but I don't blindly trust them, either.
When I was a teenager, I developed a chronic illness. The doctors were more than happy to help me with the symptoms, but never seemed to be able to do anything about the root cause itself. So, basically, I was on this treadmill of maintenance medications, dietary restrictions, annual follow up examinations and so on . . . all of which cost money. In the end, I was still sick, but the symptoms were "under control."
Then, in 1998, after more than twelve years of living my life this way, I did something crazy. I "fired" my doctors, stopped taking my meds and found a way for me to address the root cause of my illness. I can't say this was all part of a plan on my part-- it was more motivated by frustration than wisdom. But the important point is, I was able to accomplish for myself what more than one member of the medical establishment had not been able (???) to do.
Astute readers are probably wondering why I put those question marks in the middle of that last sentence. I do it to indicate the doubt and conflict I have about the overall state of medicine in the United States today. I do believe that there are many individual practitioners who believe in the Hippocratic Oath and do their best everyday to help their patients. At the same time, I see many instances where insurance companies suddenly deny people access to the treatments that had proven effective and forced people to resort to unproven generics, or in some cases, completely different drugs that are over the counter. For example: I've taken Allegra for my allergy symptoms for years and it made a tremendous difference with my allergies.
Suddenly, my allergist switches me from Allegra (a subscription drug) to Claritin (an over the counter drug). I should mention that Claritin is NOT a generic equivalent for Allegra and that the active ingredients are entirely different. The original explanation I was given for this change was that long term use of Allegra could possibly put me at risk for kidney problems, as I recall. So, I tried the Claritin for a few weeks, but it just wasn't as effective as the Allegra. When I tried to discuss my dissatisfaction with the medication on a follow up visit with that doctor, I got a scope shoved up my nose for my trouble and an extra bill for the procedure. (Rather hard to talk or complain when there is a flexible tube jammed up your nostril, isn't it?)
See, I've talked with other people who also have allergies and who also suddenly found their doctors switching them from Allegra to over the counter medications. The timing is so coincidental as to be amazing. I suppose it is always possible that there was some long term study about Allegra that just completed . . . and maybe the results showed some reason for concern . . . and maybe all these doctors heard about this study and its results all at the same time, and were just extra vigilant about getting their customers on to "safer" meds ASAP. I haven't, for the record, heard of any such study or indicated results, but to be fair, I don't read every single medical journal that is out there either.
The other possibility that occurs to me is that insurance companies are tired of paying for prescription medications and have set up a campaign to cut back or perhaps even eliminate entirely that expense. If I am paying out $1 million per year on presription medicines and I can find a way to get even ten percent of those people on an over the counter equivalent instead, then I've just "made" (well, saved actually) $100 thousand dollars. Of course, I'm just pulling those example numbers entirely out of the air. Given the volume of people in the United States who are on prescription medications, the real numbers are bound to be much higher.
And before someone objects that the insurance companies are separate from the medical profession, I'd like to point out that the insurance companies insinuated themselves into the medical industry years ago. It's the insurance companies that force doctors and patients to choose cheaper procedures with higher degrees of risk, such as gastric bypass, while forsaking safer treatment alternatives that are more expensive, such as the laparoscopic band.
To paraphrase William Gibson's famous quote: "The future (of medical technology) is already here. It's just not evenly distributed (because someone you've never met has an economic interest in making sure you can't get it) yet."
I really hope I'm wrong about that. Unfortunately, I have this feeling that we are going to see an investigation of insurance companies and medical practices that reveals a scandal comparable to that of Enron within the next decade.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find a new allergist.