Is it me, or do we need to add a large banner above with a DISCLAIMER?

After a thread I had made after mis-identifying a medication of mine (we all make mistakes) and so many people backed up the posts regarding things like "Stop your meds" "You have worse side effects taking medications than they help" and very ILL advised statements I don't need to quote to make my point, there should be a very large banner at the top of this forum saying "DISCLAIMER: People here are NOT subject experts. Listen with caution, DENY IGNORANCE!"

Please people, do not tell others to stop their medications! Do you understand that your ILL advised comments may cause others serious harm, even death?

For example, to back up my background with medications, chemistry and the like, think of benzo's, which I am on for anxiety.

If I stop taking my benzodiazepine which happens to be klonopin, it can cause seizures.

Now imagine I stop taking this medication, I'm driving a car and I have a seizure. I die.

How the hell would you feel if this came back to ATS in the form of my obituary? Yeah, I'm sure you'd feel great, at least I died in such a noble matter, listening to ATS wanna-be subject matter experts.

Deny ignorance. Do your research. Be smart, do not EVER quit taking a medication cold turkey without consulting your doctor. That is the smartest thing anyone can tell you when it comes to medications. If you despise medications FINE don't take them, don't take advantage of the medications which do help you, but don't tell others to quit taking the medications that do help them!

Some people were taking crap on someone who had survived cancer, telling him he'd get it back! How horrible! People who say crap like that make me sick, and deserve to be banned from this site.

I'm not naming names here, I'm making a public statement to deny ignorance in the utmost manner here folks, be smart and listen to the people who went to school for 8 years then another 4 years post-grad. They usually have more info then people who use wikipedia as a reference.

Ummky?

Point made.

I agree completely, with so many new members joining we don't know who is who. CraigsList has such warnings when something becomes an issue, and this is an issue.

And I just say that thread, you said case closed, it could be closed and didn't post again for a whole page or more, and they were just going at it. I had to ignore them and find your posts to see if you had been given an increased dose or not

reply to post by sstark


Thank you for acknowledging that fact. I know my medications, I made a clear mistake, I apologized, and thanked the person who directed me to the link that made my anxiety calm. It's messed up that some doctors change meds without telling patients, because of the electronic use of sent scripts. I admit there is disorder with the medical world, but there is a lot of helpful medications, and I don't want to get into my personal information much here, but some of have saved my life, literally, multiple times from accidents and such.

I am thankful for those who put time into making medications, and it is a road I want to pursue myself (I love chemistry). We should be thankful for those who really put the time into research development, the companies that profit from hurting people are the problem - not the developers and the medications them selfs.

So yes, there are conspiracies within the medical realm, it's obvious, but don't be oblivious to medical help when it is needed - if you MUST stop a medication cold turkey, go seek medical help (and call your doctor ASAP and leave a message detailing the situation). 911 is always there too help as well if needed.

Medications save many lives, take a look at the numbers, I have nothing to prove this is common knowledge.

reply to post by highlyoriginal


I would go further. The place needs a huge banner that says:

99.999% of the information contained on this site in factual untrue. The majority of people posting information on this site are unable to distinguish reality from fiction. Listening to them is not only dangerous for your long-term sanity, but in certain circumstances, your more immediate health.

Please, please use caution and check with more reputable sources before following any advice or believing any information found on this site.

If a member's advice causes you harm, please report the member to the ATS staff who will, in appropriate circumstances, publicly name and shame the member for their dangerous and dishonest behaviour.

In summary, believing almost anything on this site is probably not a good idea.

You have been warned.

[edit on 5-1-2010 by seethelight]

reply to post by highlyoriginal


if there was a disclaimer at the top of the page to protect against every level of stupidity possible, there wouldn't be room for any posts.

i feel a bit obvious pointing it out but if you have concerns about your meds and you ask the advice of random paranoid conspiracy theorists instead of speaking to your doctor or pharmacist you really aren't in a position to bitch about the quality of advice.

Originally posted by highlyoriginal

Please people, do not tell others to stop their medications! Do you understand that your ILL advised comments may cause others serious harm, even death?

Abruptly stopping any medication can lead to withdrawals or even death as you state but safely tapering off these "poisons" will never kill someone.

Taking blind advice from anyone can lead to problems, that's what morons do, that's why we have a medical system that kills more people then it helps.

Research, research, research and then research some more. The internet is a vast library of information

Something like this?:

Health & Wellness Forum: Medical Disclaimer.

The contents of Belowtopsecret.com's Health & Wellness forum is contributed in part or in whole, by nonprofessionals.
No warranty whatsoever is made that any of the posts on this forum are accurate. There no assurance that any statement contained or cited in any thread touching on medical matters is true, correct, precise, or up-to-date. Even if a statement made about medicine is accurate, it may not apply to you or your symptoms.

The Health & Wellness forum is not a substitute for the advice of a medical professional.

None of the members, moderators, developers, sponsors of this forum nor anyone else connected to Abovetopsecret.com can take any responsibility for the results or consequences of any attempt to use or adopt any of the information presented on this web site.
Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content found on this forum.
If you have a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately.

I think your question/thread should have been posted in the BTS Health and Wellness Forum.

-Dev

[edit on 5-1-2010 by DevolutionEvolvd]

reply to post by pieman


I think you missed the point. First off I didn't come here for medical advice, I came and asked for an identification of a medication if someone could find it elsewhere online.

All the crap that people added too the thread was unnecessary, and yeah the stupidity of the members is at an all time high, to the point this website is really starting to suck, and just piss me off. You can't even post a damn question without getting hounded by idiots. This site needs an overhaul of it's members, do you not want a quality experience while posting, or would you rather have these idiots post things that can potentially harm a member physically?

Posting idiotic posts about conspiracies, okay whatever, that's opinion, but when it comes to facts about medical conditions, that is completely different.

You sound like you have little knowledge on this field as well, so stay out of the conversation if you don't have any thing to back yourself up.

Peoples posts with no backup, no research, just crap out of there mouth is dumb, the ignore button is much needed at this time. I think some bans would be good too, but that's not up too me.

Enjoy your time being hounded by idiots, honestly. If you are going to listen to people who tell you not to take your medications you are dumb, research on your own.

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd


I think you also missed the point. If you noticed I said disclaimer at the top of the page, on the forums, in the forum of a banner maybe.

Not a post that most common people are going to over look. Obviously common sense will get you far around here, which is why I am not listening to most people who respond on here with their stupid posts.

I guess I'll stay away from these "Medical Issue" forums. Obviously no one here has common sense other than a few individuals. Go ahead and bicker over this, have fun.

reply to post by highlyoriginal


Well, it's not just some random thread. It's a sticky; meaning it's at the top of the forum list. Always!!

And, BTW, disclaimers are more for legal reasons than to keep you, the user/member, from making stupid decisions. Although, Rene Descartes did say it best:

"Common sense is the most fairly distributed thing in the world, for each one thinks he is so well-endowed with it that even those who are hardest to satisfy in all other matters are not in the habit of desiring more of it than they already have."

-Dev

Originally posted by highlyoriginal
Please people, do not tell others to stop their medications! Do you understand that your ILL advised comments may cause others serious harm, even death?

I think that changing your diet might help with your mardiness, must be the additives. Try more fruit and nuts, perhaps a coffee enema.

[/jk]

reply to post by highlyoriginal


I do not advocate taking anyone off their meds. I just wonder why so many people need them?

It is because we live in a difficult environment. But, you know, I do believe that some meds add to the problem.

For example, I know this person who used to be bright, out there, getting on with his life. Now he is not any of these things, and he is taking meds prescribed by a shrink.

I have to question this.

Is it better to live your life, no matter how difficult, or to be removed from life?

I say, live your life.

reply to post by learningtofly


When every day of my life I thought about wanting to die, I knew that it was time to listen to myself and those who knew me best to get the help I needed.

I was helped, and bipolar is not something I'd like to have without the use of medication. I highly wish I did not have it at all, it really sucks.

Also any sort of pain that needs medication usually can end up with someone being addicted to their pain meds after just a few months of casual use for pain medication as needed. It sucks some medications do well for some, and not for others, but this trial and error circumstance is not something to be ashamed of, nor something to deem too horrid to give it a chance.

Not trying because you think that you will die is something you can believe, but the truth is more people live from taking medications correctly then those who take none that need them. Try and dispute that, you wont prove me wrong.

Originally posted by learningtofly
reply to post by highlyoriginal

 

I do not advocate taking anyone off their meds. I just wonder why so many people need them?

It is because we live in a difficult environment. But, you know, I do believe that some meds add to the problem.

For example, I know this person who used to be bright, out there, getting on with his life. Now he is not any of these things, and he is taking meds prescribed by a shrink.

I have to question this.

Is it better to live your life, no matter how difficult, or to be removed from life?

I say, live your life.

The patient in question must have sought the meds for some problem you weren't aware of. It's not like there are roving packs of psychiatrists trying to medicate perfectly able and autonomous adults. Just because your friend seemed perfectly "bright and happy" to you doesn't mean that he wasn't manic-depressive or depressed. Some of the happiest people I know also suffer from incredibly bad "lows" brought on by fairly debilitating mental conditions.