Many people hate drug companies and I totally get why. I spent years hating drug companies. But I’ve changed. I don’t hate drug companies anymore and I don’t think you should either.
Why Hate Drug Companies?
As I said, I spent years hating drug companies. (I also hated psychiatrists, too, for dispensing the drugs, but that’s for another day.) It’s so easy to hate drug companies. They are these enormous, monolithic entities that put profit ahead of everything else, and certainly ahead of people. And for those of us whose health depends on these unfeeling monoliths, it seems really wrong and unfair that they don’t care about helping people, they only care about money.
Then, of course, there are examples of completely untenable actions where prices of drugs are hiked ridiculously high, such as a 5000 percent increase for a drug that people with AIDS need to live. If there’s something worth hating, it’s the guy who made the call on that. (In my humble opinion, it’s a sociopathic move if ever there was one.) However, I would suggest the hatred of that guy, while understandable, shouldn’t be generalized to the entire drug company.
I Don’t Love Drug Companies, I Just Don’t Hate Them
Someone, at this point, is going to scream, “Natasha Tracy loves drug companies! Natasha Tracy is paid by drug companies! Natasha Tracy is a shill for drug companies!”
Calm down, okay?
I don’t love drug companies. I view them as necessary.
I don’t get paid by drug companies. If I did, I’d have a much nicer condo.
I’m not a shill for drug companies. I do, however, believe illnesses of the brain should be treated by doctors (and, yes, in many cases this means treatment with drugs).
What it comes down to is that drug companies are necessary. They’re not good and they’re not bad; they are entities we need.
Why Not Hate Drug Companies?
It’s pretty simple, actually. I need drugs to survive. Drugs are, de facto, produced by drug companies. Therefore, I need drug companies to survive. It’s really hard to maintain hatred for companies that while exorbitantly flawed, keep me alive.
And, yes, these companies are the ones doing the research into new drugs. That means my chances of having a better future are tied to these companies, whether I like it or not.
And this is true for so many with mental illness. Drugs save lives, lifestyles, families and so much more every day.
Not Hating Drug Companies Helps You, Really
This is not to suggest drug companies are angelic – they’re not – they’re money-making machines driven by profit. What I am saying is it’s a waste of your time and energy to hate drug companies. Hate is a black hole to carry around with you and does nothing to the drug company but eats a little of you inside.
Now please understand, if I controlled the world, changes would come swiftly and fast to drug companies (limiting their prices as is done around the world, for example) but I don’t control the world. As such, I protect my own wellbeing by not hating drug companies.
And if you do have overflowing acrimony for drug companies, there are money useful ways of expressing it than just, plain “hatred.” Work with groups working to make drugs more affordable. Work with groups working to put more sane regulations on drug companies. Work with groups that you agree with. But don’t bother hating drug companies. It is a waste of time and your soul.
Banner image by Flickr user Images Money.
Natasha,
I am grateful for your voice and that you continue to show up,for all of us with bipolar disorder, on the page. Thank you for normalizing my experience for me.
I don’t love drug companies, however, I don’t know how I would live without them.
Thank you, Jamie. I do my best.
– Natasha Tracy
Kudos to your Dad, Michael – he came from an era when the Hippocratic Oath meant something…but that was long ago in a far off galaxy… My son, who has BP I and had been relatively stable for a decade had to get a new Pdoc due to the retirement of the old one…he went to a new one who wanted him to discontinue ALL the (cheap) meds that had kept him stable all that time and start on new ones. Low and behold, the Pdoc wanted him to go on two new meds instead of the ones that had clearly been working. He prescribed Latuda and Belsomra – refusing to prescribe the Lithium and Ambien which had both served him well for so long.
My son was perplexed about it – he relies upon me for sensibility…I need to work with him more to prepare him for when I am gone. I looked up his new Pdoc and discovered he’s been whoring for two Pharmas – Sunovion and Merck…to the tune of nearly $100,000 in extra income for the previous two years for “speaking fees.” What a coincidence that Sunovion makes Latuda and Merck makes Belsomra, Not that those (far more expensive drugs) don’t work for some people – they do. But why would a Pdoc want to mess with success? Gosh, golly, gee.
If I could remember how to post a web site, I would…but I’ve forgotten how, and remain technically challenged at advanced age. For those who want to see which (if any) brothels their Pdocs work in, check out ProPublica – Dollars for Docs. It’s an eye-opener….and it’s going to disappear soon, as many gov’t websites do these days. It’s still required to be published due to a section of the ACA, or Obamacare as it’s dubbed. The Docs are lobbying to make it disappear and I suspect they will succeed. Thus, don’t wait to look up your Pdoc, or your PCP for that matter – you’ll find most are still burdened by the Hippocratic Oath…but not all – oh no, not all.
I’ve always liked your posts, Michael – even though I seldom comment. Stay well, and know that your input is appreciated. Warmest wishes…
Good article, Natasha. Hate drains me. So, I try my darndest to not hate anything and anyone. I also have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and a lot of things drain me. So, I don’t like hate. ?
on the opposite end of the spectrum, i’m someone who used to love big pharma but am now trying to be neutral. in some respects the leading companies (pfizer, merck, amgen et al) resemble great universities… like harvard, yale and princeton they’re home to our best scientists, plus they’re rolling in dough. people i’ve met who worked for these companies, they all say they’d go back in a heartbeat. of course, you can’t get away from the money, how it drives everything, including some unconscionable lobbying supporting equally unconscionable market practices.
my dad’s a retired doc, educated in the fifties/sixties, back when healthcare had ethics. for his whole career he complained re how the younger docs coming into the field cared more about money and less about science. to be fair, new docs carry monster student loan debt, it’s hard to blame them for being greedy. multinational pharma, in turn, is hugely capitalized on wall street, it’s hard to fault their greed, either. it’s a marriage made in hell.
i’m pessimistic. american healthcare (mental health, especially) is a downbound train there’s no getting off. the rich (e,g, the corporate elite plus the best & brightest talent) will continue to get richer; the poor will continue to be neglected. our society is full of good people, but corruption, like entropy, seems a one-way process.