Thursday, April 15, 2010

Drug Ads



Does this lady look happy, or what?

She was on the cover of an ad brochure one of my drug reps dropped off. It's for a pill used for excessive daytime sleepiness.

What I think is funny, though, is that the pictures on the left (the "before drug" shots) are supposed to be abnormal.

Lets start at the top:

1. Lady dozing off at work. Who doesn't do that here and there? Hell, I slept through most of my pathology class in medical school. To this day I'm conditioned to automatically nod off when I hear the word "amyloid". And it's not even like she has a can of the sacred waters next to her.

2. Lady finding ironing boring and tiresome. As if anyone froths at the bit and has an adrenaline surge at the thought of finally getting to that mountain of wrinkled clothes.

3. This one is my favorite. The lady has fallen asleep while her boyfriend/husband is watching sports. Mrs. Grumpy is the sports person at out house, but I know plenty of women who consider dozing off in these situations to be perfectly normal. Let's face it- I'm pretty sure he's not watching figure skating.

Personally, if I see anyone who looks like the lady on the right at work or doing housework, I think they need their Lithium dose lowered.

28 comments:

The Plaid Cow said...

We have been conditioned by the medical establishment to think that we need to be happy and perky ALL THE TIME. And if we are not, then there must be something wrong.

Life just sucks sometimes. No drugs required.

CrownedwithVictory said...

oooohhhh, I WANT the drug to make life more interesting! I guess I should call my doctor to see if LifeIntrestra is right for me?

08armydoc said...

Chick on the right is only happy because

a) she's in the sunshine after a long pacific NW winter

b) she's not at work, listening to that dork drone on endlessly about mainframe maintenance

c) she's not doing housework

d) and she's not watching some stupid baseball game at 11pm - find me someone who has NOT fallen asleep during a baseball game

Lady - it doesn't look like you have OSA (not the typical body habitus, but doesn't rule it out completely) - unless you're taking it for narcolepsy, PUT THE MODAFINIL down and step away

The Good Cook said...

Isn't that what speed is for? Sorry - grew up in the 70's...

Carol said...

Hey, if you have children you take every opportunity to nap that you can get. I don't consider it a problem, I consider it my right.

If I see someone who is happy all the time I want to poke them in the eye with a sharp stick.

WV "quent", WTF is that?

Outrider said...

Wasn't this condition formerly treated via "ice pick" frontal lobe lobotomy?

Someone give that woman a Dunkin Donuts gift card.

OMDG said...

Dr. G,

You're missing out on the real purpose of the drug -- to make you H.O.T.T. You must have been sleeping through that lecture in med school when we learned that being ugly (or even less H.O.T.T. than you could be) is a medical disease.

Anonymous said...

The woman in the center left picture is yawning as she waits for her iron to finish the toasted cheese sandwich she's making for lunch.

Li'l Azathoth said...

In other words, the purpose of this drug is to turn this woman from an autonomous individual into an obedient drone who's energetic and enthusiastic about performing tedious chores that benefit her boss and her boyfriend/husband. Just out of curiosity, does it come in the form of drops that can be surreptitiously used to spike other people's drinks? Because it looks like they're marketing it not so much to her as to the people who want to exploit her.

Albinoblackbear said...

That is how everyone in my class looks right now.

We clearly need drugs as well.

;)

Though most days I feel more of a desire for fukitol.

J-Quell'n said...

I seriously need that medicine

Word Verification is allarma

Li'l Azathoth said...

Or, on second thought, maybe the reason she's smiling is because she's just used some sort of pharmaceutical to rid herself of her boss and her husband.

Shay said...

All women love figure skating, amiright? Hoho.

Although if you can sleep while someone yells and jumps around two feet away from your ear, you're either having sleep problems or the mother of a toddler.

rphmelly said...

Lemme guess... Nuvigil?? There's not a day that goes by at my pharmacy where we don't have at least 2 coupons for a free 7-day trial of the stuff.

Grumpy, M.D. said...

Xyrem

Mari-Ann said...

I'm not taking it. I'm already doing about five times more than I was originally hired to do. If management senses a little more pep in my step, that could double in no time!

Anonymous said...

Aww, I was guessing the drug was Provigil.

Mrs. Higrens said...

Xyrem - otherwise known as a drug that's supposed to help you sleep but requires you to get up in the middle of the night to take a 2nd dose.

Ironic, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Xyrem. Also known as GHB, the date rape drug.

Anonymous said...

happy, i dont know. but surgery has made this gal perpetually perky.

Anonymous said...

Meryx Xyrem to you, too. And a Happy New Year.

The Mother said...

I always smile while ironing. I wear a great big broad toothy smile.

But then, I don't iron. So it only happens once in a while.

The RPh said...

Taken directly from the manufacturer's webpage....It kinda speaks for itself...All I can say is WOW!!

•Divide XYREM starting dose into 2 equal doses (2.25 g into each dosing cup)
◦Dilute each of the 2 doses with approximately 2 oz of water (60 mL, ¼ cup, or 4 tablespoons)
◦Due to its short half-life, XYREM oral solution is taken in 2 equal doses at night:
■XYREM should be titrated to effect
◦Keep both doses at bedside in dosing cups with child-resistant caps
◦Take the first dose while sitting up in bed, immediately before lying down to go to sleep
◦Take the second dose 2½ to 4 hours later
◦Patient may need to set the alarm for second dose
Patient should prepare both nighttime doses prior to bedtime.

ERP said...

Ad for cystal Meth?

miss kitten said...

ok...i am gonna spill a close-kept family secret.

my mama has an addition. *hangs head* to spray starch. yes, spray starch. she looks at me and i can SEE her fingers twitching, right hand curled around an invisible iron, left hand perked to push the button on top of the spray starch, already longing for that *hsssss* as it hits the fabric then the larger *HSSSSS* as the iron hits the fine mist of starch on the shirt she's twitching to iron.

me? ironing is against my religion. and i buy crinkle-fabric shirts JUST to watch her eyelid twitch. ;)

Anonymous said...

LOL I take Lithium and I would need MORE of it if I was as smiley and happy as the woman on the right. Especially if I was at work or doing housework at the time.....

NeuroSpouse said...

Slept through the pathology class, huh? Good thing my wife is a Neuropathologist. You might need to send her a consult someday. Ah, the unglamorous but important life of the pathologist.

Grumpy, M.D. said...

NeuroSpouse- Believe me, I know how important they are.

My school just had a really boring professor at the time.

 
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