Advisory - don't use aspirin over age 70

[DaveW]

...Therein lies the rub, and I find it a complete conflict-of-interest that the same agency approving crappy food is the same one in charge of the medications to counteract that.

Wish it weren't that way, but...

I don't know how any "agency" could prevent/outlaw unhealthy food. If you think gun ownership/violence prevention is difficult, outlawing unhealthy food, IMO, would be even harder to do.

Better education about how what one eats affects health and making healthy food available and affordable for all, especially in poor neighborhoods, IMO, is the only possible way. Large cost penalties on health insurance due to obesity, etc. would make the nation's health even worse, plus discrimination against pre-existing conditions is mostly illegal.

[John Nesbitt]

..

Aspirin is mild enough that that’s unlikely, though.

In your scenario, that compares playing the odds of a bleedout from a crash against a bad reaction to not having the aspirin. In cases of dire need for the anti-clotting, the sudden stop for that long seems riskier than the darned-low odds of a crash causing massive bleeding.

Obviously, the best strategy is in not clogging our vascular systems to start with. It’s tragic that in the world’s wealthiest country, our health is horrid compared to dozens of other countries.

Therein lies the rub, and I find it a complete conflict-of-interest that the same agency approving crappy food is the same one in charge of the medications to counteract that.

Aspirin, like any drug, has benefits and costs/risks. It is up to doctor and patient in each case to decide whether the likely benefit outweighs the possible risk. And every patient is unique. (To refer back to the NSAID comment earlier, none them worked well for me. Except Vioxx. And it could kill you. An extreme example, but it illustrates my point.)

Aspirin is not to be trifled with, especially long exposure. A doctor friend of mine says that, were Aspirin to come on the market today, its strength and risk would make it a prescription drug. Instead, predating the FDA, it was grandfathered in.


I realize that this is a US discussion, but I do not believe that any agency "approves" food. The FDA regulates and can/will ban various additives/ingredients for safety reasons. For example, the recent ban on Red No. 3.

[E1pix]

Clarifying, I meant “food production methods.”

Two Examples:
Growth hormones
High-fructose corn syrup

Both are widely, or maybe entirely, banned in Europe and elsewhere.

The “Why are they legal here?” question is clear, all the way to the bank.

Health insurance is a corrupt and inhumane model, and I hope I live to see its collapse.

[DaveW]

...Health insurance is a corrupt and inhumane model, and I hope I live to see its collapse.

Health insurance is a corrupt and inhumane model, and I hope I live to see its replacement with something that works for all.

[E1pix]

Well Yeah, in my head that was most-assuredly implied.

YES on a new, proper system for us all, “immediately after the current barbaric model goes down in flames.”

That’s what I meant.

Thanks Dave, important dialog — and appreciate it being open and candid.

[DaveW]

...Thanks Dave, important dialog — and appreciate it being open and candid.

Yeah - I'm glad I started this thread. Lots of important and interesting info posted since I started it.

Getting input from many sources is essential to being well-informed.

As your signature says, "Once we think we’ve mastered something, it’s over."

[E1pix]

Yessir, Brother D.

Thank You.

If detailing our entire story, people may never again listen to any team of Doctors.

But I don’t want that, either.

[DaveW]

https://www.aol.com/aspirin-could-he...183754932.html

[billtebbutt]

Health insurance is a corrupt and inhumane model, and I hope I live to see its replacement with something that works for all.

Universal healthcare can work for all. It is imperfect of course, and in this day and age (in Canada at least but the NHS certainly went through their issues decades ago) it has morphed into a slightly dysfunctional system here. However, it can be a high performing system IF patients are prepared to advocate for themselves and take charge of their health (i.e. work the system, as opposed to letting the system guide their care).

For example, in 2023 I needed a sinus MRI as I had been suffering constant, worsening and often intense pain 24/7 for a couple of years. I was told by my ENT specialist that it was a 6-7 month wait for an MRI in the Greater Toronto Area, and then surgery would be another 5-6 months after that. So, I did some research - as it turns out the government of Ontario actually runs a website that will list MRI wait times by MRI type, and each individual hospital's track record of delivering that MRI within the wait time. A week later and a one hour drive to the Dunnville War memorial Hospital saw me enter the building, register, MRI done, and back in my truck in 17 minutes!

Subsequently I have spoken to every doctor friend/acquaintance I could - not a single one of them had ever heard of the wait time website, including a doctor I play hockey with who was waiting months and months for an MRI on his shoulder. So, dysfunctional, right?

best,
bt