hummingwolf | I seek peace in a troubled world. Give me drugs.

Today on the Christian Conservative World Magazine Blog, someone asked:

Alzheimer's drugs could be used to heighten the attention and concentration of airline pilots or similar jobs, or to improve the memory of students studying for tests. Amphetamines in small doses have been shown to improve motor learning in stroke victims--why not use them to help people learn how to swim or play the piano? Treatments for depression could be adapted to help put people in a good mood. Drugs to combat attention-deficit disorder could be adapted to help students study more effectively. Beta-blocking drugs that blunt the emotional effects of traumatic events could be used to reduce the negative memories that can cause stress at a family reunion. Already actors and other performers are reportedly using medication to keep them from being nervous. Do you see anything wrong with such "quality of life" medication?

The blogger included a link to Beauty and the brain, which includes the statement "Chatterjee said in the future it's plausible that neurologists will become 'quality of life consultants.'" (It also includes the horrific phrase "large gray area between normalcy and abnormalcy," but let's ignore that abomination for now.) The abstract for the Neurology article ends with the sentence "Neurologists and other clinicians are likely to encounter patient-consumers who view physicians as gatekeepers in their own pursuit of happiness."

Really, I just have to ask: How many of the people going on about the quality-of-life enhancing possibilities of these medications have ever taken the medications? Even patients who acknowledge a need for some kind of change in their brain chemistry complain about nasty side effects; what kind of effects will people suffer if they muck about with the chemistry of a so-called normal brain?

Also: Those of you who have ever had to deal with a doctor for any kind of chronic or long-term illness: Do you believe it's an even remotely good idea to view physicians as gatekeepers in your own pursuit of happiness? For that matter, as an adult, do you want anyone else to be a gatekeeper in your own pursuit of happiness?

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i see doctors as my security staff. i pay them (or insurance does, or whatever) to monitor for abnormal activity and take care of problems within the bounds that i have authorized them to.
anyone caught trying to shoot first and ask questions later is terminated on the spot.

the quality of life issue is a big one with me, because i have had to fight just to get doctors to try to stop making me miserable in the name of living longer or having my numbers look better on paper. it puts me into a slight fit of a pique to imagine people using that phrase to describe making their already "normal" lives *easier*.

people will complain about side effects, and the doctors will prescibe more things to fix what the "enhancement" did to their normal brains.. and on and on it will go.

in the meantime, they will continue to tell us to "buck it up" because they can't actually fix what's truly broken.

pheh.

Yeah, that's pretty much the way I'm seeing it. At least I haven't had doctors make me miserable in the name of living longer--but they have made me miserable simply because they couldn't think of anything better to do.

I've never taken any drugs that mess with brain chemistry for an illness, but simply for recreation. And even I can admit that it's not smart to fuck with your brain chemistry for some sort of "enhancement" and to think that one should do this sort of thing to compliment some sort of skill is being ridiculous.

It may sound harsh, in a way, but as someone who has drugs, I find it so ridiculous that people advocate drug use without mentioning the negatives. Something that can do something good for you -- especially one that induces it in a chemical way -- is bound to have some nasty side effect.

And honestly, no -- I wouldn't want my happiness based upon a chemically-induced state. Maybe it's my experience with E, but that is how I feel. Sorry to go off on a random tangent, by the way.

I take drugs to enhanhce myself intellectually and emotionally. Caffeine to increase my alertness and absorbtion, and nicotine to clear my mind and relax me. I used both in large-ish amounts to get through my college exam Monday night. I have also taken Choline to help my mental agility, which unfortunately made me a bit aggressive, so I stopped it, and massive doses of vitamin C (1000% RDA and so on), which didn't seem to do a single thing for me, good or bad. I've dabbled in other "smart drugs", never for extended periods. Their purpose was clearly for enhancement rather than medical or recreational.

And, yes, I take Zyprexa and Zoloft for my illness, and have taken Fluanxol for it in the past, which worked much better than the Z/Z combo, but is not available in daily pill form in the USA. The drugs help, a lot. When I'm unmedicated, I can't hold a job, and have various cognitive and emotional deviations.

Yes, but do you honestly think it's smart to advocate ritalin, prozac and meth for a brain that doesn't need those without even mentioning the negatives, purely as an enhancement? I'm pretty sure you understand the negatives of the drugs you've tried, and the difference between someone choosing/needing to do drugs versus just taking ritalin to study better.

There's a difference between taking a small boost and heavier drugs like prozac when you don't need them. Especially considering the negatives. The "harder" ones you need for your health.

Thank you for the sane and real world view of that happy drug fantasy.

Gatekeepers... ack. Thanks, I'll just run away in fear. I just wrote an entry on my thoughts about achieving happiness, so I shall refer to that.

That said, I have to mention something I've slowly started to realize. I've noticed how many brain-chemistry-altering drugs have side effects that involve muscle spasms or neurological horrors. Tardic dyskensia (or however you spell that), one of the creepiest and time-honored side effects there is! (If you don't know what that is, look it up. I'm too creeped out to articulate it, even after all these years). And there was one I got that I used to call 'migraines' because it was impossible to describe, painful as hell, and utterly debilitating.

Antidepressants muck with more than just your mood. Much, much more than just your mood.

(And tardic dyskenesia is permanent. Permanent, folks. It NEVER goes away.)

Well, I would have thought that a functional, normal brain would be the IDEAL in most situations, not some piece of second-rate meat in need of "salt and pepper". . .

Ugh. I don't like to take any medication on a regular basis. I'm supposed to be on allergy pills and shots but I'd rather not depend on any chemicals to make me whole ... except caffeine. Caffeine is needed... without caffeine there is no Grace :)

Not a gatekeeper, but a ... um ... facillitator. A physician is definitively someone who helps you feel better, surely?

A physician is definitively someone who helps you feel better, surely?

If that's the job description for a physician, whose job is it to assist your body's healing process?

When it comes to professions where people help you feel better, pushers and prostitutes are more efficient than physicians.

Heee. Trust me, I've tried a lot of anti-depressants so I know all about the dangers of it and how the doctors don't always understand.

Lucky for me, this time I got the perfect medicine for me - Cipralex is the one I've had for nearly a year now. :))
No side effects at all, which is very rare. GREAT!!! :D

But the problem is, you always have to take responsibility yourself.
If I hadn't I wouldn't be here today. :))

No one can be the gatekeeper of your happiness but you. Doctors are just people we may need for help along the way to get there. :)\

qw

Yep, that's pretty exactly it. Doctors aren't even the only people we may need, though a few of them would like to tell you otherwise.

I found your journal through the godandmagic community.
This entry is fascinating and has caused many thoughts to run amok through my head (yeah, it hurts a little when they do that). ;-)
Your journal's very interesting and I hope you don't mind me friending you.
I'm not the kind of person whose feelings get hurt if I'm not friended back. My journal tends to be my day-to-day life, without any deep thoughts. Quite boring.

I'm glad you find the journal interesting. :-) I don't mind at all if you read me, though the journal may become much less interesting in the near future. My life's got some disruptions going on now & I may not have internet access for much longer. Still, while you're interested, feel free to pull up a chair and enjoy the tea and cookies!

I seek peace in a troubled world. Give me drugs.

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