I have dived in to educate myself which was an intense process but, I don’t trust experts anymore so must become one to care for my family and self. I like the involved topics (immunology, virology, social science) so it was a happy thing to take up the job of student
I have dived in to educate myself which was an intense process but, I don’t trust experts anymore so must become one to care for my family and self. I like the involved topics (immunology, virology, social science) so it was a happy thing to take up the job of student
Even as a layman, you can learn some very basic things like what to look for in a drug trial. Books (Kendrick) and articles can coach one on what to look for.
Much information is available for free on the internet, but some does require paid access (e.g. to specialist databases). I now routinely do this before taking a new medication. I did it after-the-fact for others I've used and often found dirty little secrets, such as adverse effects and, perhaps my greatest disillusionment, that often the drug or treatment offers relatively little benefit compared to doing nothing!
As an example, consider the drug Crestor (rosuvastatin). [for the record, one of my current meds] About then years ago there was a major drug trial, JUPITER that was hailed as major proof that this was truly a wonder drug. Yet, using the study's own numbers, critics quickly pointed out the drug actually proves very little net improvement. While such drugs may be indicated for targeted populations, as primary prevention they are close to useless. A critic said (more or less): "Statins do indeed reduce cholesterol for most patients. But they don't extend life expectancy. You'll die at the same time you would have if you'd not taken the drug, but you will have lower cholesterol."
As always, I try to say that this doesn't mean that all drugs nor medical care is useless. The problem is that many things are at best of dubious value, and potential harm always lurks.
I have dived in to educate myself which was an intense process but, I don’t trust experts anymore so must become one to care for my family and self. I like the involved topics (immunology, virology, social science) so it was a happy thing to take up the job of student
Even as a layman, you can learn some very basic things like what to look for in a drug trial. Books (Kendrick) and articles can coach one on what to look for.
Much information is available for free on the internet, but some does require paid access (e.g. to specialist databases). I now routinely do this before taking a new medication. I did it after-the-fact for others I've used and often found dirty little secrets, such as adverse effects and, perhaps my greatest disillusionment, that often the drug or treatment offers relatively little benefit compared to doing nothing!
As an example, consider the drug Crestor (rosuvastatin). [for the record, one of my current meds] About then years ago there was a major drug trial, JUPITER that was hailed as major proof that this was truly a wonder drug. Yet, using the study's own numbers, critics quickly pointed out the drug actually proves very little net improvement. While such drugs may be indicated for targeted populations, as primary prevention they are close to useless. A critic said (more or less): "Statins do indeed reduce cholesterol for most patients. But they don't extend life expectancy. You'll die at the same time you would have if you'd not taken the drug, but you will have lower cholesterol."
As always, I try to say that this doesn't mean that all drugs nor medical care is useless. The problem is that many things are at best of dubious value, and potential harm always lurks.
You prefer questionable competence to expertise?