indexed

Brilliant!!!

couldn't this also work the other way

My mother suffers from chronic isomnia because of her RLS. It's a sucky thing to have -- in severe cases like hers, you have to use opiates to control it, and even with codeine she still goes through periods where she gets less than an hour's sleep a night. This is compounded by having to deal with people who believe that it's a fad ailment for hypochondriacs. (Wikipedia says that the disease was first described in the seventeenth century.)

Your point is valid, but I'm getting kind of sick of people dragging out this condition, which is serious and can render people non-functional from lack of sleep, when there are plenty of other overmedicated-society targets around.

Nobody cares, Isaac.

The problem is that unless someone in your immediate social group has RLS, then the first you heard about it was the tv commercial.

Unlike "Overactive Bladder Syndrome" which I hate hearing about at dinnertime. :P

I care, Isaac. I also get RLS from time to time. Mine's not nearly as severe as your mom's, but it's there, and it's annoying as hell when I just want to get to sleep.

It's not fake. It's definitely weird, but it's not fake.

What is weird is that the list of potential side effects for the RLS cures: gambling addiction?

So there is a point when there are no perceived problems and STILL advertising?!? Ack!

A few years ago, when treatments for rosacia were all over the commercials, my brother said something like, "Back when we were kids, people would say, 'Gee, he has such a healthy, ruddy complexion.' Now people say, 'That's so sad that he has such a horrible, disfiguring disease.'"

Don't forget about Panexa.

This is so true outside of the medical context as well... Advertisements make you realize you're overweight, have bad skin, have ugly hair, and basically that a lot of things are wrong with you in order to make you buy their products, even if you would have never perceived those "problems" before. (I guess this applies to a graph where the axes are switched, though.)

I don't see this as a jab at people with RLS. I see it as a jab at the people who, after seeing advertisements, PERCIEVE themselves as having it, and therefore seek to medicate a nonexisting condition.

That doesn't mean the condition doesn't exist. Just that there's a spike in people who think that they have it.

talk about niting tha hand that feeds you :-)

Also could be said for the economy, poltics, etc.

Let me try to type that aagin.

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

BTW, RLS is not a medical term. It is a term that was market researched and developed by that drug companies AOR

I'm sick and tired of hearing jokes about restless leg syndrome. It's a real disease with a funny name. I think at least once a week I hear somebody say something like, "Man, I just saw an ad for a disease called - get this - 'restless leg syndrome!' Ha ha, what will the pharma companies invent next time?"

If they called it "nocturnal myoclonus" or "peripheral dysaesthesia" people wouldn't make those jokes, but then people would just complain that doctors use too much jargon.

As isaac said, there are plenty of other targets for this kind of joke.

It's real.
My diagnosis was made during a sleep study. Before they could treat my sleep apnea, they had to deal with the RLS. (nebulous)

I hate that big Pharma spends so much money on marketing compared to R & D and have written about it. I wish they didn't advertise a drug for RLS - or any drug for that matter.

Indexed:
It's no fun having a problem people think is not real - worse yet, is a joke.
I am a huge fan of your work, and can't wait for your book, but this denegrated people who have a real problem.
But that's OK, you can't bat 1000

I'm with Chaz - I dont think its a jab at people who actually have RLS. I work in a neurologist office and I see lots of people every day that have RLS and are really suffering.
I also see lots of people every day that *think* they have RLS because they saw it on a commercial. Not only do they not have RLS, but they also take valuble time away from Dr's who need to treat people who are really sick, and discredit the people who are actually sick.

advertising should probably be on the x-axis

If she is implying that advertising causes perceived disorders, then advertising is the dependent variable and should be on the x-axis. Suggesting the perceived disorders leads to increased advertising isn't as biting.

Aside from the validity of RLS, (the medications were originally intended to treat alzheimers, I believe), I think you got your axes switched. Perceived problems is a function of advertising, yes?

-Sorry, don't mean to be a jerk!

LOL.. yeah, i do feel kind of restless.. suddenly..

I suffer from RLS and can attest that it's a horrible condition to have. Worse is when your favourite entertainment outlets use it as a punchline (this site, Jon Stewart) or when respected publications make a mockery out of it (Consumer Reports).

It may not be sexy enough to get a ribbon campaign, but for anyone who has it will now that quality of life goes down hill pretty quick.

My ex-gf had RLS. We watched Seinfeld and learned the real name of the problem was "Jimmy leg". Seinfeld explains all...

starbucks, anyone?

I am not an expert. But could it be that RLS is just a symptom of lack of exercise (maybe combined with stress)? I mean, when you feel a strong urge to move your legs, why not go and move your legs?