My god, that's what I always hear in my mind when I read/hear "New York City."

@Ken: ha! Cool.

"I have achieved hivemind with Ken. His resistance is futile."

- medic8r of Borg

Somewhat on topic for your thread. My creative heroes talk about drugs.

Here's a great article on the many aspects of patient non-compliance/non-adherence. In layman's terms - why don't people take the medications that are prescribed for them? Also, why do they sometimes too trusting of anything sold at a nutrition store?

Amen, brother. I'm sort of the opposite. I don't trust supplements, but I do trust medications.

I didn't read the article, but I think patient non-compliance relates to pervasive consumerism.

Since individuals rarely have to pay for the full cost of office calls, they tend not to fully comprehend the value of the service. Most people inherently believe that "you get what you pay for" and since they do not perceive that they are paying for the professional advice, they justify ignoring it. Conversely, they DO have to pay "retail" for supplements, so they tend to justify that expenditure as valid.

Personally, I'm pretty much with Ken. If I'm going to engage health care professionals, why would I pay for their knowledge and then ignore it?

The only medication I have ever taken regularly are pills for cholesterol. Actually, my bad fat levels are great but I am low on the good fats, the mono- and poly-unsaturated fats I think. I don't think my Doctor was very impressed with me when she explained this all out to me, sat there waiting for my reply with her usual stern look and then I replied "Whoohoo! More Peanuts!!"

In any case, it took me forever to get into the routine of taking a daily pill. Not because I don't value their worth or I don't value the advice of my doctor, I am simply a horribly forgetful person. Plus, they are supposed to be taken before bed as the body produces the enzymes or something or other that I am low on while you sleep. Quiet often, I stay up too late and I barely make it to the bed, much less remember to take a pill. Now that I am in the routine, it's more second nature but it took me months to become good at it.

Short version, not everybody lacks comprehension. Some of us just suck at breaking routines.

Thanks for this article, JP. My dad is a supplement junky. Whenever I get sick, he asks what type of supplements I'm taking. When I tell him only a multivitamin and an extra Vitamin C, he says, "well, apparently they're not the right ones". I get SO frustrated! In fact, I'm seem him get sick FROM supplements mainly with rashes and stomach problems.

Anyway, here's a funny story. He got sent a supplement in the mail he claimed he didn't order. Well, he previously ordered it and was sent another one on their auto-ship program. When I asked him if they informed him he was going to be enrolled in the program, he said he didn't remember. Then I asked him what the supplement was for, and he said, "I think it's for your memory...but, I don't remember". We both got a good laugh out that one!

I gotta hand it to my dad though...he's almost 82 and has never had any serious health issues. He's still very active, but I don't credit it to supplements.

Sounds like my grandmother. She'll take just about anything or do just about anything that says it'll keep her healthy. Or at least if Dr. Weil says it will.

On the other hand, she's 81 and healthy as a horse, as near as we can tell.

That's a good story!

Supplements can be helpful for some, but they are certainly not cure-alls. There's a lot of snake oil out there.