Dollars for Docs (revisited)

[faridaro]

Thought that my neurologist received from drug companies quite a bit of money - $67,217, but I was totally shocked to find out that the new one to whom I switched this month had gotten $1,38m during 2013-2016 !

projects.propublica.org/doc...

[Kia17]

And people are expecting these so called doctors find us a cure! What kind of world we are living in? No wonder your 3rd neurologist got billions in commissions. If Hippocrates was alive today he would have written the Hippocratic Oath in another way, like adding a clause for doctor’s earning commissions from pharmaceutical companies.

[sleezy]

Thanks so much for listing the information about doctors getting paid by drug companies to prescribe their drugs. It's disgusting!!!!!! I have been the guinea pig for several medicines that wasted my money to buy and nearly killed me! One gave me hallucinations and loss of balance. The most recent one gave me low blood pressure that caused my primary care doctor to send me to the emergency room. I found my former neurologist on the list of doctors who have received big funds from drug companies. My new neurologist was listed as receiving $14. I'm outraged! Thanks again for your information.

[faridaro in reply to sleezy]

My pleasure, however so sorry to hear about your ordeals, hope things will get better.

[sleezy in reply to faridaro]

I think people with Parkinson's are being used as guinea pigs for any weird drug that can be invented. Thanks again for the information you posted. May your days be blessed.

[faridaro in reply to sleezy]

In my opinion - since there is no cure for PD, doctors are prescribing whatever drugs pharmaceutical companies are promoting. There are physicians with sincere good intentions and some for financial gain - may we be able to find the right ones, true healers like dr. Costantini (hope he gets better soon).

Health and blessings to you too!

[sleezy in reply to faridaro]

I like your enthusiasm and hopefulness. The glass half full attitude is better than the glass half empty attitude.

[faridaro in reply to sleezy]

Thank you, however some days I have to work really hard on getting my enthusiasm going. I try to learn living in the present moment since my mind has tendency to focus on the future and by nature I am a pessimist. So, just focusing on the present moment helps a lot.

[sleezy in reply to faridaro]

I still manage to feel better when I again survive the latest new drug that I have bought which was recommended by a doctor and which I have had a bad reaction to. Hope springs eternal - thank goodness!

[Pats68]

Where do you get this info?

[faridaro in reply to Pats68]

Go to the link projects.propublica.org/doc...

Type in the doctor's name, select your state from the drop down menu and click on search. Hope it works.

[sleezy]

I want to apologize for being so critical of doctors receiving payments from drug companies. I had just lived through a serious threat to my longevity due to a recently prescribed medicine for Parkinson's. I would not have taken this medicine if I had known the side effects linked to it. This killer drug cost $639.99. I paid $24.26 of that amount and the insurance paid the rest. I got 180 tablets of this deadly (for me) medicine. It is a medicine for epilepsy, which I don't have. It was prescribed for restless legs, which I don't have. I have a bearable foot twisting compulsion in the later part of the afternoons after the Senemet (which most likely caused the "restless foot twisting problem") wears off. I can survive a compulsion like foot twisting. The name of the medicine is PRAMIPEXOLE. Let us not stay silent, but rage against things we think are wrong -- while we still can!!!

[faridaro]

Sorry to hear about unfortunate experience with Pramipexole. I did a quick search and found out that it is used for PD treatment as dopamine agonist

parkinsonsnewstoday.com/201...

Some people experience side effects with these types of drugs, but others seem to tolerate them. I've had side effects while on Rasagiline (generic for Azilect) but have seen posts saying that many PwPs do very well taking it. So it must be very individual and it's good to ask the prescribing doctor about potential side effects of any medication you are getting and if there are any other alternatives.

[sleezy in reply to faridaro]

Thanks for the information. I seem to be extremely sensitive to medicines. I have quit taking a cholesterol-lowering drug and an acid reflux drug because I either couldn't tolerate the side effects or didn't want to risk having long-term damage from the drugs.

[justhavefun2 in reply to sleezy]

We’re you/are you taking a statin? My husband had a muscle tear (statin side effect), which turned into a staph infection. He had 3 surgeries in 4 days and nearly lost an arm and a leg. 😖 Just thought I would mention it just in case...

[sleezy in reply to justhavefun2]

I took a statin and had a horrible side effect from it, but nothing nearly as bad as your husband had. I had a week of debilitating muscle pain from my usage. I can sympathize with his ordeal. Hopefully, someday medicines can be produced that don't carry bad side effects.

[justhavefun2 in reply to sleezy]

Thank goodness you listened to your body and quit taking it. All the best to you...

[sleezy in reply to justhavefun2]

Thanks for the encouragement. Sometimes, it seems the scales are unbalanced and it's the patient fighting the drug companies. My brother had pancreatic cancer and became acquainted with a friend of a friend of Michael Landon who told him that Michael died from the medicine given him as treatment for the cancer before the cancer had time to kill him.

[justhavefun2 in reply to sleezy]

Where is the unlike button? That’s so very sad! 😢

[justhavefun2]

This was fun! My general practitioner got about $11,000 and my Integrated Medical Neurologist got $57.00 between 2013-2016.