DISADVANTAGES OF DRUGS

1.BIOIDENTICAL EFFECTIVENESS

The FDA requires that a generic have an effectiveness range of between 80% and 125% of the effectiveness of the original drugs. This means a drug that delivers only 80% of the therapeutic punch of the original is acceptable to the FDA. For most drugs, this may not cause problems and you still get the clinical benefit. However, there are a list of drugs that have a very narrow therapeutic window, and substitution with generics should be carefully discussed with your doctor. Generic substitutions are not recommended to replace some drugs, including Levothyroxine (hypothyroidism treatment), Quinidine and Clomidine (cardiovascular drugs), Phenytoin (seizure medication), Warfarin (blod clot prevention) and Theopylline (breathing treatment for asthma). This problem was very dangerous and can make our body function getting worse.

2. SIDE EFFECTS FROM INACTIVE INGREDIENTS

The FDA doesn't require that manufacturers of generics use the same inert ingredients to compound the drug. Inert or non-active ingredients are important because they determine how the drug is dissolved and delivered to the target organs. So even if the amount of active ingredient is identical in the generic and original drug, the reformulated drug may not be as effective in delivering the same dose. Furthermore, some people may have allergic reactions to different inert ingredients in the generic formulation.

3. EXPIRED DRUGS

Virtual pharmacies sometimes import counterfeit drugs into the US drug supply; these importations may also damage drug safety on an international level. They also import cheap foreign replicas of many U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs; this can pose a serious health risk to consumers. The dispensation of drugs from a pharmacist to a person they don’t know or have not seen, can prove to be very dangerous. Many of these imported drugs are also expired orcontaminated and stored under unsafe or inappropriate conditions. The drugs which are dispensed without a prescription by a doctor eliminates the possibility of being checked by a licensed professional, and treated accordingly, resulting in patients not receiving appropriate medications, and not being aware of the dangers associated with improper administration. Another drawback to using an online pharmacy is, that you get what you buy, there is no way for you to return it, as there is no forwarding address.

4. USING PSYCHIATRIC DRUGS

Tranquilizers and Sleeping Pills

Today's hectic schedules and external pressures put great strain on the human body, often resulting in stress and agitation. Surveys show that 15.6% of people use tranquilizers to relieve anxiety. Of this percent, 39% use them daily, and 78% admitted to taking tranquilizers for more than a year. Most tranquilizers belong to a chemical family called benzodiazapines, although more common names include Valium, Librium, Xanax and Halcium. Sleeping pills, another common type of tranquilizers, include sedatives known as barbiturates, buspirone, Diphenhydramine, Hydrozyzine and Meprobamate.

Although confirming their popularity, studies question the efficacy of tranquilizers and sleeping pills. Evidence suggests that even the most potent tranquilizers are ineffective after periods of four months and sleeping pills have been shown to lose efficacy after only two to four weeks. In addition to limited performance, tranquilizers and sleeping pills can cause a multitude of side effects, such as low blood pressure, hip fracture, liver disease, allergies and breathing problems. Mind-altering effects include decreased mental functioning, forgetfulness, withdrawal syndrome and lack of coordination. Alarmingly, approximately 16,000 auto accidents each year are attributed to the use of psychoative drugs such as tranquilizers and sleeping pills.

Studies also shows that tranquilizers are unnecessary under most circumstances. In fact, in many studies, patients responded to placebos as well as they did to actual tranquilizers, proof that the therapeutic effects of tranquilizers don't merit their harmful effects. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "anxiety is a normal response to stress, and only when it is severe and disabling should it lead to drug treatment."

Antipsychotic Drugs

Antipsychotics drugs are another example of treatment clouded by misconception and misdiagnosis. Although intended to treat only serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, an estimated 750,000 people over the age of sixty-five regularly use antipsychotics drugs. This figure is alarming considering that approximately 92,000 people over the age of sixty five have been clinically diagnosed with schizophrenia. Experts believe that many people wrongly turn to antipsychotic drugs after experiencing symptoms similar to schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and confusion, when in many cases, these symptoms are side-effects induced by other drugs the consumers take regularly.

Adverse effects of antipsychotic drugs include nerve damage, tartive dyskinesia (difficulty in chewing or swallowing), loss of balance, muscular fatigue, delirium and Parkinson's disease. One study found that 36% of patients with drug-induced Parkinson's had been using antipsychotic drugs when diagnosed with the disease. Assuming that the patients had classic Parkinson's, doctors tried to treat the illness with another drugs, rather than stopping the antipsychotic drugs causing the symptoms.

Antidepressants

Although a very real illness, the cause and symptoms of depression are also frequently misunderstood. As with other mental disorders, many cases of depression are actually caused by drugs used to treat other ailments. Depression is associated with a long list of medications, including, barbiturates, tranquilizers, corticosteroids, diet drugs and painkillers. Other types of depression may be triggered by thyroid disorders, cancer, hepatitis or other form of illness. It is critical to define the underlying causes of the depression before administering treatment.

Adverse effects of antidepressants include low blood pressure, irregular heart rate, enlarged prostate, nausea, blurred vision, worsening of glaucoma, dry mouth, disorientation, loss of memory and fatigue. The safety and efficacy of an antidepressant can only be determined after obtaining both a careful and detailed history of the patient and a complete knowledge about the available medicines and their indications.

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