Medication

oh that's so nice that you actually got a phone call, and to find out about the medication!

I hope never to be on any sort of medication, I used to be on the pill for my acne but i've since gone off it not only for ethical reasons but I didn't want to be altering my natural hormones. It's easy to assume that such a drug would have involved various animal trials/pregnancies/miscarriages/cruelty, also lactose is used in some of the pills (the off days)

I've found that the transition from non-vegan to vegan has actually alleviated any real need for medication at all. When i was omni i has severe sinusitis for which i tried medications, sprays, lots of paracetamol/ibuprofen etc cut out dairy and it mostly went away

it does get a bit iffy when it comes to needed medications such as the one you are on or dependent/life saving ones as if you can't function to the best of your ability it's hard to be a positive influence on the world even if you have to use drugs that were tested on animals

Yes unfortunately no medication can be released without first being tested on animals.

I think these dilemmas will always be with us and so we just have to do our best and not let guilt and other negative feelings spoil our day-to-day lives.

I know that's easier said than done.  I had 30 daily radiation treatments not so long ago for cancer. Every day when I lay down on the machine's table I couldn't help but wonder how many animals suffered in testing this sort of treatment.  I had a partner and children to think about and so went with the treatment.

I've often wondered if I wasn't responsible for other people would it be sensible, would I even have the guts, to refuse treatment for a life-threatening illness. Or for that matter any medical treatment as you can be sure it's all been tested on animals at some stage.

Tough questions for which I really don't have an answer except to go back to the first paragraph.

I wrote a very long piece about animal testing in the pharmaceutical industry. I am a pharmacy student, so we are taught about these things.

http://www.unleashed.org.au/community/forum/topic.php?t=6079

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me

Wow, that's great customer service calling you! Very impressed!

I only take asthma meds and The Pill (skipping the lactose ones). If there's an alternative I'd go with that. If not, I wouldn't hesitate taking something tested on animals if it meant life or death. As Aimee said all meds have been tested on animals at some point.

I've been taking medication for my mental illness too for some time, but I'm with what everyone else has said. We try to avoid the animal-derived, animal by-product ones but unfortunately with the vegan friendly ingredients, they would have done some testing that's not exactly vegan to begin with.

Though it was nice of the director to have personally phoned and talked to you, I haven't had much luck with getting some good answers whenever I asked. I also have to take other supplements but even with them I ask and you get some that are coated in lanolin and of course I avoid it but when I ask other pills that don't have the lanolin and if they happen to if there are other animal products in them they're unsure or say it sound be safe :

At the moment, I'm seeing a psychologist initially so I can stop taking the pills forever but also to help 'train my brain' so that my own body can 'deal' with things without the pills. Perhaps you could do the same, but you just got to ask!

Personally I have a thing about medication but there is no stigma and I would never pass my own reservations into judging someone else about whether they do or not, it doesn't matter in that sense beyond myself; to or for another person.

BUT

Just curious how do you feel about it? the one in particular ... a silly question, but it is sometimes nice to talk openly about the pros and cons you've noticed... so this information is easily accessible to your mind when you need to think of things to say to your doctor..

And in that way maybe you will end up in a more comfortable situation.


Yeah.. animal testing is bad... that is why I dislike people on medication SO much.


I'm really sceptical... maybe i'd just find it a challenge or too much of an intrigue to work through something like that, which "really does need medication to solve"... with out.


Eh!! Finding a comfort zone is really important part of getting in your head space and being happy there to some extent... I think doing silly things can make that happen.. or self fulfilment in achieving certain reputable accomplishments.



sigh... know any awesome quaint mid-day movie type films? I'm on the hunt for foreign or even black and whites... or something nice.

What I meant was.. dislike that people are forced onto medication.


not people themselves....


and that I would enjoy the challenge too much of tackling it on my own...

a messy mind is just something which need a little attention, love and sorting

I completely agree with this. I am also a Pharmacy student and I'm also on medication for mental illnesses I have been diagnosed with, as well as some other medical problems. I also take pain killers and other things when necessary.

I don't agree with animal testing either and I would definitely like to see something change in the future of the pharmaceutical industry, and I am sure when a viable alternative comes along that does not result in poisoning of humans, then the pharmaceutical industries will begin to do so if it is not an expensive task.