3 ms·

I cannot understand why you wouldn’t get antibiotics. What possible risk could your doctor be imagining that would come from you taking antibiotics? Our appro

I cannot understand why you wouldn’t get antibiotics. What possible risk could your doctor be imagining that would come from you taking antibiotics? Our approach to medicine is so depressing.

switch007 2y ago
The primary objective of the NHS is to save money, it can seem. Therefore they create policies that reduce costs, write advice on nhs.uk that results in lower costs, restrict access to tests/drugs etc. I DO understand the arguments about excessive diagnostics, antibiotics etc - but they certainly hide behind those arguments _a lot_. Honestly it is so stressful and time-consuming to get anything other than a basic blood test or an ultrasound for any kind of issue. They will happily gaslight you in order to dissuade you ("Lyme does not exist in this area of the country". "These links say it does". "No") There's a reason why private healthcare spending is on the rise ( https://www.statista.com/statistics/317868/private-healthcare-expenditure-in-the-united-kingdom-by-sector/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/317868/private-healthcar... ) but AIUI private GPs leave a lot to be desired - they seem to be just for single-visit issues, and aren't included on anything except the most expensive private healthcare plans
- zamadatix 2y ago
  The price of (most first round antibiotics) is so low that it doesn't really make sense to avoid prescribing them from a cost avoidance perspective.
  - switch007 2y ago
    It costs next to nothing for one person. A different policy that applies to a population of 67m is a different order of magnitude NHS policy isn't about the individual
anadem 2y ago
About a year ago I had the same attitude to antibiotics as you, but a basic antibiotic prescription led me to develop a Clostridiodes difficile [0] infection. People need to be aware that C. diff is AWFUL, and can easily occur after antibiotic treatment. It's totally debilitating, can even kill you, and is difficult and expensive to treat, often recurring after treatment. I'm very fortunate in having a daughter who's a doctor, but had to use a $5,000 antibiotic to get cured. [0] https://www.cdc.gov/cdiff/what-is.html https://www.cdc.gov/cdiff/what-is.html
- dopylitty 2y ago
  Antibiotics can be really awful for your body. So many very important things are done for us by our bacterial microbiome but some doctors give out these dangerous medications like candy even for viral infections with no indication of secondary bacterial infections. [0] The body is like a hotel for bacteria. Under good conditions the rooms are filled with bacteria that don't harm us and may provide useful services. But take a broad spectrum antibiotic and suddenly all the rooms are empty and ready for colonization by nasty bugs like C. diff. Antibiotics have also been a wonderful invention for preventing death but they should be used much more sparingly in humans and much more sparingly for agriculture. 0: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782166 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782166
Too 2y ago
Not handing out antibiotics left and right is a way to counter antimicrobial resistance, a serious threat to the bigger population if gone out of control. It should only be used when absolutely needed. Seeing how casually some use it is quite shocking. Lyme is serious and should of course be treated if it’s identified as such.

I cannot understand why you wouldn’t get antibiotics. What possible risk could your doctor be imagining that would come from you taking antibiotics? Our approach to medicine is so depressing.

switch007 2y ago

The primary objective of the NHS is to save money, it can seem. Therefore they create policies that reduce costs, write advice on nhs.uk that results in lower costs, restrict access to tests/drugs etc. I DO understand the arguments about excessive diagnostics, antibiotics etc - but they certainly hide behind those arguments _a lot_. Honestly it is so stressful and time-consuming to get anything other than a basic blood test or an ultrasound for any kind of issue. They will happily gaslight you in order to dissuade you ("Lyme does not exist in this area of the country". "These links say it does". "No") There's a reason why private healthcare spending is on the rise ( https://www.statista.com/statistics/317868/private-healthcare-expenditure-in-the-united-kingdom-by-sector/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/317868/private-healthcar... ) but AIUI private GPs leave a lot to be desired - they seem to be just for single-visit issues, and aren't included on anything except the most expensive private healthcare plans

zamadatix 2y ago
The price of (most first round antibiotics) is so low that it doesn't really make sense to avoid prescribing them from a cost avoidance perspective.
- switch007 2y ago
  It costs next to nothing for one person. A different policy that applies to a population of 67m is a different order of magnitude NHS policy isn't about the individual

anadem 2y ago

About a year ago I had the same attitude to antibiotics as you, but a basic antibiotic prescription led me to develop a Clostridiodes difficile [0] infection. People need to be aware that C. diff is AWFUL, and can easily occur after antibiotic treatment. It's totally debilitating, can even kill you, and is difficult and expensive to treat, often recurring after treatment. I'm very fortunate in having a daughter who's a doctor, but had to use a $5,000 antibiotic to get cured. [0] https://www.cdc.gov/cdiff/what-is.html https://www.cdc.gov/cdiff/what-is.html

dopylitty 2y ago
Antibiotics can be really awful for your body. So many very important things are done for us by our bacterial microbiome but some doctors give out these dangerous medications like candy even for viral infections with no indication of secondary bacterial infections. [0] The body is like a hotel for bacteria. Under good conditions the rooms are filled with bacteria that don't harm us and may provide useful services. But take a broad spectrum antibiotic and suddenly all the rooms are empty and ready for colonization by nasty bugs like C. diff. Antibiotics have also been a wonderful invention for preventing death but they should be used much more sparingly in humans and much more sparingly for agriculture. 0: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782166 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2782166

Too 2y ago

Not handing out antibiotics left and right is a way to counter antimicrobial resistance, a serious threat to the bigger population if gone out of control. It should only be used when absolutely needed. Seeing how casually some use it is quite shocking. Lyme is serious and should of course be treated if it’s identified as such.