Outside the Cover
Do you know your PCC number? Hopefully you, and only you, know your social security number, your zip code, and your credit score number. But about your PCC number? Not likely. This is your Pharmaceutical Commercial Count. Due to the nature of your life, and your employment status, this number may vary daily. If your PCC number is between 46 and 120, then you are right where the big pharmaceuticals want you….. in front of the television, or computer as THEIR very own marketing audience. Are you listening QUICK? Are you going to ask your doctor if these products are right for you? Millions have, ya know!
And about those side effects? Do you have a medical dictionary and a voice recorder by your favorite television watching chair? You may need these to figure out if these products will kill or maim you.
If you are the daring type, AND you have a career that you are not all that interested in continuing, AND you have lots of insurance that you can still afford in the event that you are unable to work, AND you have a loving devoted spouse who won’t mind sacrificing their career and hobbies to take care of you in the effect that you suffer any side effects: then jump right in, and run over to your doc’s office and see if these products are right for you. All you will need during your television watching time is a small note pad to jot down the lawyer phone number from the growing number of legal commercials asking if you or someone you love has been hurt or injured by these products. Life can’t get much easier than that, now can it?
But if you are somewhere in the middle, and you just want to stay well then you will need a three hour lunch break, some great reading glasses and a pharmacy that has an understanding return policy as the side effects, or risks you are assuming, are in the fine print and in language known as medicinese. If you are given the product insert, and can dedicate the time to fully comprehend the actual risks, you may want to return the product for a full refund. And about getting a refund from your doctor? Fat chance.
Wouldn’t it be nice if doctors just used products that made us well without harming us farther? And wouldn’t it be nice if Walt Disney was right and we all lived happily ever after?
Well folks, life just doesn’t work this way, now does it?
The commercials say “side effects include Lymphoma……nausea, and diarrhea. Ask your doctor if Elidel is right for you.” Excuse me, Lymphoma is cancer. Is cancer “right” for anyone? If your doctor thinks that cancer is right for you, it may be time to get a new doctor. And about that refund….. Go ahead and give that a try. It has to be worth something in entertainment value alone.
Isn’t there an easier way? Sure. Side Effects Include: Listen Quick is a fun, easy to read book that uses a language not usually heard in the medical industry: PLAIN TALK.
What a refreshing approach! Think not? Ask your doctor why you had to sit in the waiting room for 45 minutes when you showed up ON TIME for your appointment. Ask your doctor why it is YOUR responsibility to know if you have liver problems. Isn’t knowing about “liver problems” THEIR job? Ask your doctor who is going to mow your yard, and pay your bills if the drug they give you messes up your life. Ask your doctor who is going to cover your outrageous insurance rates and medical bills if you experience a serious side effect. Now we’re talking “PLAIN TALK”.
So if “PLAIN TALK” is right for you … and you, or someone you love, or someone you like, or someone you just met and hardly know, is taking any prescription or over the counter medication, then...