Pushing drugs for the Man bother anyone?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hello All.

I'm a newbie taking prereqs for a BSN.

I just have one big nagging concern :uhoh3: keeping me from fully committing to the program. I want to help people, but I feel that the western allopathic way of surgery/drugs is often very harmful (although sometimes needed in cases of trauma etc).

Does pushing drugs for the giant pharmaceuticals bother anyone out there in the nurse world? I just don't know if I could live with myself doing it all day when I know that many problems could be solved simply by diet change etc.

Please enlighten me!

Hello All.

I'm a newbie taking prereqs for a BSN.

I just have one big nagging concern :uhoh3: keeping me from fully committing to the program. I want to help people, but I feel that the western allopathic way of surgery/drugs is often very harmful (although sometimes needed in cases of trauma etc).

Does pushing drugs for the giant pharmaceuticals bother anyone out there in the nurse world? I just don't know if I could live with myself doing it all day when I know that many problems could be solved simply by diet change etc.

Please enlighten me!

I am wondering why you are even considering nursing with these kinds of nagging doubts. Your doubts are nagging for a reason. Ask yourself again why are you considering going into a field of health care that focuses on the allopathic approach.

It sounds like your beliefs will only get in your way of being happy in this profession. As badly as we need nurses we do not need nurses who feel they are doing something wrong most of the time.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OB, critical care, hospice, farm/industr.

I have to say I agree with Agnus. If you still want to be a nurse, do a little research about the other things nurses do: preventative care, different therapies, nursing theories, competencies etc. Then if it still appeals to you, go through school and you can find a position that better reflects your personal philosophy.

The other point is that even if a health condition could be fixed with a change in diet, would the patient be willing to make the change? Everyone in the world (well, in our world) knows trans fats are bad for you, junk food should never be eaten and preservatives are the devil's own oreos. But how many morbidly obese people do you see? Heck, vegetarianism is very healthy for you, but meat eating will never go away.

For that matter, how many fat, alcohol drinking, chain smoking nurses and doctors are there? A lot! We of all people should know better and we do, but that doesn't stop us, does it? If you can get people started towards health and symptom relief with a pill and then (if appropriate) wean them on to a change in diet, it's worth pushing pills. For many, the idea of going from fried ice cream to green salads is overwhelming and they won't even try--like my dad. He fianlly dropped dead at over 400 lbs, I think. He hated being fat, but just couldn't make himself change. If he could have had some success with meds, experienced a little triumph and known how good it felt to lose weight I think he might have been able to stick with a diet, once he was on a roll.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OB, critical care, hospice, farm/industr.
Were you there also

I thought that was highlight in my life

I'm 9 years younger than you and I wanted to go to Woodstock so badly! I was a little wanna-be hippie in the fourth grade.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OB, critical care, hospice, farm/industr.
somebody, you are living proof that diet and exercise worked for your depression and anxiety.

I am going to be buried with a vial of my SSRI du jour in clenched in my sweaty palm. What you are describing does not work for me, although I do exercise and incorporate yoga into my life.

After this, I'll quit posting...

Herein lies the rub. It worked for somebody. (Did you pick that name on purpose?) BUT just because it worked for somebody doesn't mean it will work for everyone else. I'm right there with Suesquatch- I weighed 160, ate organic food, did yoga, walked every day, was happily married and loved my life. Then (cue ominous music) I got pregnant.

Everything changed. I gained weight far too rapidly for what I was ingesting, was exhausted despite the exercise, had to quit yoga because I became so anxious I burst into tears in the corpse pose and laid on the couch all day sobbing, begging God to let me die in my sleep. The only reason I didn't kill myself was that I am religious and I knew it was a sin.

Nothing, I mean nothing worked.

The doc finally figured out pregnacy had changed my endocrine system enough that I was insulin resistant and severely antenatally depressed. While I was still pregnant I took Prozac before it had been approved for pregnancy. I didn't want to but as she pointed out, "Do you want your child incubated in a stew of such overwhelming misery and despair you want to die, or are you willing to accept the studies that say it doesn't affect the fetus and live to deliver this baby?"

Both my kids are fine despite growing in a bath of SSRIs and sucking them down with breast milk for 3 years. However, I will have to take Wellbutrin and Celexa the rest of my life. Pregnancy ruined my pancreas (Metformin and Topamax), created GERD(Protonix), weakened my heart(Lasix and aldactone), screwed up my clotting factors(Coumadin), wrecked my thyroid (Synthroid) and thanks to all these stimulants, I usually take Ambien to stay asleep at night if I don't want to stare at the ceiling from 3am to 7am. Oh, and I weigh 290.:uhoh21:

I'd still take big fat wrecked me :pumpiron:plus kids over childless 160 lb me any day. But it is hard (and I'm not talking about you, somebody. I know you aren't making this judgment.) when I hear, "Oh if you just changed your diet, all your problems would be solved." If I lost weight, most of my problems would go away, but a diet only helps so much.

Although I do agree healthy eating habits and exercise would do all of us a world of good!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
i don't find "somebody" condescending but rather, an ultra idealist.

her dogmatism has obscured the realities of what actually is.

as mom used to say, "everything in moderation".

that includes a healthy dose of humility.

leslie

I dont see humility in myself

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

Obviously, bad health and disease can happen to anyone, healthy habits or not. However, I do see quite a bit of rationalizing poor eating habits and lack of exercise in this thread. I can't remember who brought up bacterial contamination of fruits and veggies as an excuse...come on. :rolleyes:

Fact is, you are much less likely to have cardiovascular disease if you are a healthy weight and if you exercise.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiac.

Fact is, you are much less likely to have cardiovascular disease if you are a healthy weight and if you exercise.

Less likely doens't mean unlikely. I've seen plenty of very healthy people suffer from disease and illness-and yes, heart disease. Take a stroll down any CVICU. Most, if not ALL of the patients were at a normal healthy weight at the one I worked at for 10 years.

And they still need their drugs. Hopefully given by a nurse who doesn't put her emotions above that of the patient.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).
Obviously, bad health and disease can happen to anyone, healthy habits or not. However, I do see quite a bit of rationalizing poor eating habits and lack of exercise in this thread. I can't remember who brought up bacterial contamination of fruits and veggies as an excuse...come on. :rolleyes:

Fact is, you are much less likely to have cardiovascular disease if you are a healthy weight and if you exercise.

Fact is, bad health and disease will happen to everyone.

I'm not saying we shouldn't take care of ourselves. The day may come when I will wish I could trade all of the "pleasure" I ever got from smoking for one more day of life. And I say "pleasure" because there are moments when it truly is, but many more when it's just a stupid habit.

I don't think the day will ever come when I'll feel another decade of life would be worth never having had a really good steak and a beer, although hardly a day goes by that I don't resolve to be more moderate in my diet and motivated in my exercise (I actually am pretty moderate in my alcohol consumption, and I think my enjoyment justifies the empty calories.)

But given that we're all gonna die, I'm not planning to switch to a diet of blue-green algae and boiled tofu to fit in a smaller coffin.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

Nurse Mike,

There is a happy medium between eating a calorie laden, high cholesterol, high sugar diet, and eating spirulina and tofu. It's called sensible eating and a moderate lifestyle and it does have benefits to the whole person.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

But that's no fun!

:angryfire

*sipping on my ginger-ale*

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
But that's no fun!

:angryfire

*sipping on my ginger-ale*

Er Goldstein, is that fire coming out of your smiley's mouth or vomitous? I can't tell from here. ;)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.
Less likely doens't mean unlikely. I've seen plenty of very healthy people suffer from disease and illness-and yes, heart disease. Take a stroll down any CVICU. Most, if not ALL of the patients were at a normal healthy weight at the one I worked at for 10 years.

And they still need their drugs. Hopefully given by a nurse who doesn't put her emotions above that of the patient.

Who said "less likely" means never or even unlikely? When I said less likely, I meant less likely.

I was referring to straight up statistics on who gets cardiovascular disease. I didn't even mention certain cancers which are less likely to occur in those who eat a healthy diet and exercise.

Obviously, patients need their drugs. I'm not quite sure what you are saying to my last post, especially about emotions of the nurse?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment