Why some countries play with their own psoriasis treatments

[Fred]

Fred, I don't think the people who come to the forums are a representative sample of the population. The people who to the forums are seeking social acceptance and are more than likely going to do what they want to regardless. The difference is more than likely the social contract we sign.

If someone wants to drink while taking medication where the instructions says not to, you should call your doctor and ask, not come here etc. While it's perfectly acceptable to ask your doctor, some people lack the intelligence to do so. I don't mean to be rude, but that's how it is.

Another way of looking at though Matari is that some come here to ask just to get reassurance from another that has experience of using a treatment, it's fine your doctor telling you stuff but getting information from the horses mouth so to speak can be helpful.

Please tell me I haven't signed a social contract somewhere!  I don't necessarily think of it as social acceptance... I mean I joined this site to learn and had the added benefit of making friends and chatting in off topic subjects.  It is great that people here understand the impact of having psoriasis, so if that is what you mean by social acceptance then yes, I'd agree.

I wasn't sure what Matari meant by that either!

I know you mentioned the drinking and people asking about that.... I've also noticed times when people ask about dosage and such, or (sort of) promote one treatment and well, discourage another.  I've wondered and this seems the thread to ask if people from different countries find it more acceptable to offer advice (as in a bit more than just saying what worked for them).  For instance, myself (and I am thinking it is the American influence) I would never tell someone to increase or decrease any prescribed treatment.  It actually borders on being illegal here.  I'm not a doctor so therefore I am not qualified to advise someone on medication.  Sure, I can talk about my experiences or my thoughts on it.  If I were to offer such advice, I'd be wise to use a disclaimer that says I'm not a doctor and that one should consult a licensed doctor for information.  So I'm thinking other countries are not as strict on that as they are here in the US?

In the USA you take each other to court everyday over something, here in Europe you need to have a good case so maybe in the USA you are afraid to say anything for fear of ending up in court. Here if I tell someone to swallow a whole bottle of methotrexate with a bottle of Vodka to help them sleep and they do, then that's their fault for listening to an idiot.

Although we do ask and advise each other we do still know what is right and what is wrong, should we have any doubts we would look to professionals. I have advised people on the use of their medication and I see nothing wrong with that, if I felt it was borderline I would say "You should ask your doctor" I have also taken advice from others on my dose etc but if I had any concerns then I would check out their advice, it's up to me if I want to trust what the person is telling me is good information or not and I would also take into account the members character and their knowledge of the treatment.

I see nothing wrong with advising someone to miss a Stelara injection if they feel poorly, or telling them to take it three weeks early because they are going away on holiday and didn't want to take it with them. What they do with my information is up to them and they will judge my information on what they know about me or my posts on the forum, if they are comfortable then they will go ahead if not they will seek further advice.

Plus another advantage of asking on a forum like Psoriasis Club, is you are asking people who are using the treatment and they are unlikely to give you misleading information. Should a member post misleading information another member would soon step in and add their opinion, and an added advantage you could also get three members giving information which can help you in your decision.  

So maybe that is why we don't mind asking others, and we don't mind offering advice it's just something we do.