I am NOT saying any country is better or worse about this. The USA is super guilty of worse, especially considering the “types” of meds that they prescribe. Japan seems very cautious and specific about what kinds of meds they will and will not issue to people, but the amount always seems insane. It’s weird, because their healthcare is so affordable and seems like it’s excellent quality aside from this one issue. I either have covid, or a monster cold right now, and my doctor gave me like 20 colonal tablets for the painkillers alone, plus a run of 20 anti phlegm, and 20 throat soothing pills. (plus spray and gargle) The phlegm and throat pills are MASSIVE pharmaceutical bars. I swear, I can feel aching in the lower, left side of my back, and I’m very concerned about my liver and intestinal tract. And, I haven’t even taken the recommended dosages. I’ve been going light out of concern for my internal organs, but it’s working. Do you think my concern is legitimate, or should I not be worried and do exactly what my doctor says? I don’t know much about medicine, but I know that too many pills can damage your liver.
by JayDunzo
18 comments
The dosage per pill is different isn’t it compared to other countries?
Don’t take the medicine if you feel better, the pills are cheap so just save them for next time you need them.
Im very confused about your thoughts.
The dosis in the pills is important not the size to cause damage.
You also dont have to take painkillers or the pther medicine if you feel good enough to bear it(only related to cold).
All this medicine is only to help you „bear the pain“ while your body is recovering.
You also dont take 20 pills a day…. You take them as long as you feel sick and then stop.
Everyone is different, do what you can handle. I always receive a lot of pills, regardless of the problem. But I just follow the instructions and they work.
I refuse some. Had a skin test and was prescribed 3 days of antibiotic, a pain killer and a pill to steady my stomach for the pain killer … what!? I refused the pain killer as already have likes of Advil and Tylenol and refused the tummy pill. I was hesitant on the antibiotic as 3 days would not be a full course to clear anything. Figured it was preventative and researched before I took any of this was right course of action
Get a second opinion if you’re concerned your doctor is overprescribing.
My understanding is Japanese medical doctrine is more aggressive at treating specific ailments. But IANAD
So my suspicion and educated guess is outpatient medication which is insanely cheap compared to the USA is far cheaper than hospitalization.
While I did just recently have a kidney stone I was given opiate pain suppositories right off the bat. And I’ve only ever needed the one given to me at the hospital.
I am absolutely struggling with finding a psychiatrist who will one take an appointment, and two prescribe my medication. I have a prescription from the us I have a doctors note both translated. And nobody in my prefecture will take an appointment. Even with getting help from an interpreter. I’ve taken this medication for years. I finally have an appointment next week but I’m already assuming they’re going to ask why I have to drive an hour away for care when there are a dozen psychiatrists in my town. Which I will have to do monthly as opposed to quarterly like the USA.
So yes everyone’s experience is different. And I know mental health care is different.
the powders in the little packets are funky. i just watch my wife throw them back and then down them with a sip of water with amazement. i’d be coughing up dusty puffs of powder if i try that. thankfully, i hardly ever catch a cold. my wife seems to do it just to get the powder…
I don’t think you’re understanding dosage. It’s confusing, often in American healthcare MORE is always equated with better. So we have some super high concentrations into fewer pills. Japan is the opposite, very low concentration into many pills/powders. Also each medication tends to do one main thing so you don’t get one pill trying to solve 5 different problems in Japan.
So even though you’ve got a lovely grab bag it’s most likely not a higher dosage than you have in the US. The us is famous for being over prescribed. I think your issue might be language and not understanding what you’re taking so you assume that more is scary. Generally Japan medication is weaker and doctors here are generally less willing to prescribe medication that’s harder on your body (just search pain killers on here).
You shouldn’t substitute your fear for actual professional medical advice. Feel free to get a second opinion if you would like, it’s cheap and never a problem in my experience (just make sure to explain what medication you’ve already tried and how much you’ve taken for how long). Otherwise please just take the medication as prescribed.
The opioid crisis would like to have a word.
Take a moment to look at the amount of active ingredients in the pills and you might have some insight why they give you a fuck ton and you just need to be miserable for a week
During the outbreak of COVID I thought I just had a bad cold. I started getting back pains out of nowhere and just assumed I pulled a muscle or threw my back out coughing or something.
I started building up a fever which made nurses think I had COVID, so they didn’t want to let me see a doctor out of fear of them contracting it. After many, many PCR tests with negative results, I was finally allowed to see a doctor. Turns out… Pneumonia. In the middle of summer.
What I’m getting at is that your hurt back might be a referred pain or even a sore lung.
Also, it’s almost always best to take your medicine as prescribed. Diluting the active ingredients would logically just make the medicine weaker and potentially worsen the entire situation.
and not one of them will be antibiotic
doctors want to maximize their profit because they can’t make enough money under national health insurance. Issuing max amount of medicine and doing unnecessary examinations are popular tactics.
Issuing antibiotic medicine for nonbacterial infections is a good example.
You need to do your research or get a second opinion if you feel uncomfortable.
They sometimes issue prescriptions “Just in case” but I usually throw them away.
It’s been a bit of a culture shock for me here how people will go to the hospital for a common cold — I only went once for that when it was a monster cold maybe like the one you’re having that was lasting for more than a week, my work was requiring a note, and even then I felt pretty bad about leaving the house to go spread it around some more. I was also shocked by how many pills the doctor prescribed me, and then I was shocked again when I got home and checked what they were more carefully — they were the exact same things that I had already been self-medicating with OTC, and in smaller doses, too.
In my recent experience of a gastro problem my prescription was:
“you should fast until you are better, and anyway you are too fat so it will be good for you.”
And to be fair to the guy I did lose 8kg.
They’re all weak versions regardless.. Just take them and get better
Not sure about your particular case, but generally, at least half the pills/powders/etc that your GP prescribes you in Japan, are kanpō: dragon scale extract powder and other “traditional” remedies with about as much peer-review validity as 16th century witch-doctor potions.
They are rarely inert (they’ll quite often affect your digestion), but hardly on a liver-damaging level.