So I went to the doctor recently because I was diagnosed with a genetic condition. He listed several prescribed medications I could take. However online, many other people with the same condition as me recommended taking supplements/vitamins to help balance out my hormones.
So it got me thinking- if supplements and pills are both manmade edible things- why are medications prescribed but supplements are available anywhere? Don’t they try to serve the same purpose? What am I missing here
In: 3
Pills just means the little hollow things you usually swallow without chewing, whatever is in them.
There are two separate issues here. (1) The difference between “medicines” and “supplements or herbal remedies”. (2) The difference between taking something recommended by a doctor or nurse, and something recommended by the internet.
(1)
I’ll call “medicines” the things that are approved by the FDA or other national agency. They can be prescribed by a doctor (like say a beta blocker for high blood pressure), or available for anyone to purchase (like acetaminophen for headaches). The other things are “supplements” or “herbal remedies”.
The ONLY difference between medicines and supplements is testing. Both of them can be “natural” such as being derived from plants. Both can be “artificial”, meaning made in a chemical laboratory. Both can have side effects. Both can be dangerous if taken in the wrong dose, or if you have a condition that doesn’t match, or if it conflicts with other stuff you are taking. Both can have a positive effect when taken correctly.
FDA approval means they have been tested to know that they work (and how well they work), and that their dangers and side effects are well understood, so that the doctors can judge whether they are worth the risk.
Supplements and remedies require no testing to make sure they do anything at all. They require no testing to find out what other things they interact with. They require no testing for side effects. They require only the barest of minimal testing to show they are safe.
This is why they are unsafe. Sometimes they are actually dangerous. Sometimes they are not dangerous themselves, but they make people not take the stuff that is actually going to help them.
(2)
Doctors do a pretty good job of understanding what is wrong and what things are available to help fix it, and whether their risks and side effects are worth it. Sometimes they advise “prescription medicines”. Sometimes they advise over the counter medicines (“take two aspirin and call me in the morning”). Sometimes they advise supplements such as vitamins if they know that you are low in that vitamin. Sometimes they advise herbal remedies, like melatonin for getting to sleep.
The internet, and the supplement and remedy industry in general, recommend things based almost entirely on whim, with no scientific basis or knowledge of the patient. I have nothing against supplements if they are tested for safety and they work; I just really dislike the inexpert self-diagnosis.
If you are concerned about the prescriptions that your doctor has given you, either because of side effects, long term danger, or cost, talk to your doctor. They will be able to judge and explain whether a particular supplement is safe and useful for you, and whether they can be taken instead of, or as well as, the prescription medicines.
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