What Disease Do I Have?

I don't always watch the news but when I do I usually watch the national news. To me, the local news is almost completely useless. However, more and more I've noticed that almost all the commercials during the evening news are related to health problems and most of these ads are for drugs. I've casually kept track of this and, at a minimum, 50% of the commercials are for drugs. During some breaks this percentage goes to 75%. Tonight alone I've seen ads for constipation, diarrhea, high cholesterol, enlarged prostates, restless leg syndrome, dry eye, knee replacement, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, and allergies.

Jesus Christ. When did everyone in America become so goddamn sick? Of course, I don't think it is any accident that the main audience for the nightly news is probably baby boomers, the generation I hate the most. These are the exact folks the drug industry wants to target. This age group is starting to feel the aches and pains of normal aging. Of course, this is also the group that absolutely cannot stand the idea that they actually are aging. Thus, they don't want to put up with the least little discomfort. If they don't crap for a day, they have to take a pill. If a 55 year old guy doesn't have the same hard-on he had when he was 21, he has to take a pill. If cholesterol is too high, take a pill.

Let's not bother to, oh I don't know, watch our diet. No point in trying to lose a little weight and exercise more than 5 minutes a week. All of these things could potentially alleviate many of the discomforts people think they need drugs for. But drugs are easy. Drugs don't take any willpower or sacrifice or dedication. Then again, curbing your consumption of Coke probably won't cause unexplained bleeding, dizziness upon standing, burning during urination, or any of the other side effects that the drug pushers hastily tell you about.

As I have aged, I feel more pains than I used to. My heel hurts slightly every day. I have a history of gout in my family and I suspect that's the problem. The joint at the base of my right thumb also hurts every day. The doctor said the tendon has stretched and is allowing the joint to move in a way it shouldn't. Apparently surgery may help this but is not essential. I don't treat either of these things. I don't even take aspirin. Some days they hurt, some days they're better. Even on the bad days I'd rather put up with the pain than put some chemical concoction into my body. I generally think many people who take medications regularly would be better off getting rid of the meds and changing their lifestyles. It'll never happen but I'm tired of having these medications pushed on us all the time in TV and print ads. The general public is not qualified to diagnose their own illnesses or evaluate the potential hazards of medications. Even trained physicians have trouble keeping up with new medications. All I know is that I couldn't imagine being a doctor today and having all these whiny Americans coming in demanding some pill they saw on TV. If we're going to develop a medication, it needs to be something like soma from "Brave New World." Then people could just zone out and stop complaining about imagined maladies.