The positive side effects are usually just the effects.
And the ones that aren't are usually called "off-label". ;)
I mean, usually the side effects have qualifiers like „Common: mild headaches“ „Very Rare: become a vessel for satan to roam the earth and sow chaos“. Wouldn’t it indeed be nice to have this for the positive effects too?
Normally if there are postive effects from a drug, they get studied further and re-marketed as such. If I remember correctly, Viagra was originally a medicine for heart conditions.
Would you rather a) die of your heart condition or b) always have a boner
Once I was prescribed low-dose antipsychotics to help me fall asleep. They made me energetic, productive, I actually started enjoying life. Then my dr said it wasn't supposed to happen so cut them off.
I mean, what if the better quality sleep was causing those effects? That does seem unfortunate you had to stop using something making you feel better. I wonder if there was a different, more dangerous side effect they were worried about.
"euphoria" was among possible side effects. I guess the worry was it was getting me high.
Oh fuck that. I would get a second opinion. At least now you know to underplay it. "I think it's working, yes. Sleeping better and feeling a little better, no side effects that are bothersome, this one seems good, thanks."
Sometimes antidepressants can unmask bipolar disorder and cause manic episodes but I've never heard of anything similar with antipsychotics. In fact they're often used as sedatives as OP alluded to.
I'd find a new doctor and tell them what was working for you
Doctor was like, I am sorry but you are not supposed to enjoy life.
Because when they do it generally becomes one of the advertised effects. Lots of drugs were originally for something else but were later found to be useful for other things.
Lots of medications have positive side effects, depending on the patient. I once got prescribed antidepressants specifically for their sleep-inducing effect (I did also have depression, but many antidepressants don't make you drowsy). Paracetamol is a painkiller and also lowers fever. etc.
Side effects may include becoming a charismatic sex machine.
Not as extreme, but Viagra was created to treat pulmonary hypertension and treating erectile dysfunction was a side effect.
And don't get me started on zoloft.... At some point "stamina" becomes Sisyphean flesh slapping.
Sisyphean flesh slapping
I prefer to call it being an ace in the hole, but now I'm just projecting
Wasn't that the case with Ozempic? It was meant for diabetes patients first but then they noted the effect in reduced hunger and many other positive improvements which its why it has become as popular as it has
Same with Viagra. It's actually a heart medication. It just happened to give guys boners.
It's cuz they have so much love in their hearts now.
Technically doesn't give you a boner but inhibits the hormone that makes it harder to get a boner (e.g during your refractory period)
To get a boner you still need stimulation, physical or mental.
Why do I know this? My last relationship was very abusive and stressful. Even boner pills didn't help much. When I got out of it, things started working again. The pills work best when you actually want to have sex with your partner, but still have issues.
Actual answer is: this does happen, but then that becomes the reason to prescribe it.
Ozempic was a diabetes medication until the weight loss and addiction effects were observed.
Oh, there are quite some. Just from the top of my heaf: Viagra originally was just a heart medication. Metformin, a diabetes 2 medication, is strongly suspected of having other positive side effects, like generally prolonging life. There recently was an article about a new Alzheimer medication which would be quick to the market as such because it is already a certified medication against something else.
Finasteride was designed to treat prostate cancer but it helps with male pattern baldness.
I think part of it is also that occasional positive side effects are not something drug companies can advertise. They're legally obligated to talk about the negative ones.
Viagra was a heart medication during trials, until they realized the heart benefits were minimal compared to the raging boners.
Medicine used to have those kind of side effects. It was called cocaine.
Viagra was not originally made for what it's mostly known for these days. Its effects on the male reproductive organ were a positive side effect.
So the ones with real "feel good" side effects are the ones that people have addiction problems with, and instead of indirectly giving pleasure, they give it directly. Some people enjoy while they use them and move on with life, others become obsessed with that pleasure and throw everything else away in the pusuit of it.
Sometimes they do. Viagra was originally a heart medication that they figured out did something else.
Botox was for eye muscle disorders, now it's used cosmetically, for migraines, and a bunch of other diseases.
Apparently 20% of drugs are prescribed off-label. It's kind of an extension of "what do you call alternative medicine that works?"
So like, my best MD I ever had, he said "you're got symptoms A, B, and C, right? Well doctors like to treat it with G, but pill H has main effect B and side effects A and C. Only problem is doctors hate prescribing it. Let's try it!"
I miss that guy.
GLP-1 drugs were originally developed for diabetes. A side effect was weight loss.
Most drugs with fun side effects get marketed for the fun side effect.
Heroin was developed as a painkiller and cough remedy.
Nowadays it's only sold for the fun side effects.
Bit of a toss up, but wasn't the original purpose of Viagra to treat cardiovascular issues; Side effects: extending sex lives for many partners I suppose.
Because then it’s just an effect and the medication is sold as treating weight loss or memory or whatever
Wasn't Ozempic, gpl-1 antagonist, supposed to help type 2 diabetes manage their sugar fluctuations yet had the positive side effect of lowering their appetite and now is basically being pivoted as a revolutionary weightloss drug
Making everything taste like chocolate cake for a week would be a great way to make sure you never want to eat chocolate cake again.
Most migraine medications were made for something else (e.g. blood pressure), and were discovered to help with migraine symptoms in some people.
What? Like heart medicine making your erections last longer? Preposterous!
Entropy. There's only a few ways for things to go right and countless ways for things to go wrong. Therefore, the probability of an undesirable outcome is far higher than any desirable outcome.
I dont like the thought that everything tastes like choclate cake after taking a pill. It could lead to eating something moldy or bad without noticing
Drugs are exactly that.
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