"CVS Pharmacy mistakenly included a laxative product in the “Shape up & save” section of an advertising circular.... Last week's advertisement for MiraLAX appeared with other products that have been marketed as weight loss aids, including Mega-T Green Tea, Slim Shots and Special K cereal."
Laxatives in the weight loss section.
i don't really know what else to say.
i have a colonoscopy next week. CVS is my pharmacy. do i now have to find my prep kit in the diet section?
hope i'm not triggering anyone. i still can't believe any of us can get triggered by a discussion of colon blow, right? but i do.
That's ok I'm not triggered just laughing. So many diet products and add's on the TV, stores, net, EVERYWHERE! right now that I'm way overloaded.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with whole colonoscopy thing.
Blows my mind... I wonder if someone did it on purpose?
ReplyDeleteKind of a blatant mistake...
All this diet stuff makes my head spin, and makes me feel fat and lazy. And I'm neither. So I'm pretty sure everyone's affected.
Good luck with your procedure, hope it goes smoothly, and they find you in perfect health.
This is not a trigger. Everything is a trigger. Gah! You know what sucks? I probably would not have noticed that the inclusion of laxatives is so Awful....bc it almost seems normal. Colon Cleanse and Hoodia...Slimfast..whatever. Diuretics. All on the shelf. I am either in full on IGNORE mode or I get sucked in. Suddenly, I am so tired of this New Year Weight Loss Propaganda. You know what? It is all ridiculous. None of it cleanses yr heart or mind and that is what is most important. The rest of it - a healthy body - will follow. I hope your procedure goes smoothly as possible, and i wish you the best. And I am (trying to) stomp on some embers of weight loss obsession....stomping on triggers. i hope you can too..stomp them out....
ReplyDeleteshawna
It's a very lucrative industry this diet business isn't it?
ReplyDeleteEating Alone; glad you got a laugh -- nothing better than a good laugh, right? still i feel i'm laughing instead of crying. it's like we crossed over a line of reality -- used to be just us ED folk coveted laxatives. will they now be proscribed to obese children?
ReplyDeletekaren; i wondered that too -- it does seem like a pretty blatant mistake. maybe someone at CVS just thought they belonged in weigh loss? freaks me out. maybe some demonic corporate exec wanted to float the idea?
thank you for your well-wishes. i don't mind the whole colonoscopy/endoscopy thing as much as i am terrified of anesthesia, which is pretty crazy for an ex-drug addict. life is interesting, isn't it?
shawna; here's to margaret mead, jane goodall and marie curie!
it's all so confusing. it hasn't escaped my notice that i've noted next week's probable colonoscopy induced weight loss. the thing is, once you eat and drink water, it's all back, so i try to keep it in perspective
LET'S STOMP ON SOME EMBERS OF WEIGHT LOSS OBSESSION!
Lula LaBonne: thank you for pointing that out. i get so caught up in my own viewpoint (a former psycho dieter) that i forget to see the other side!!!!! of course, this isn't about the dieter, it's about the consumer and how much the weight loss industry can suck out of us.
i can't believe that i am so caught up in my own obsessions that i didn't look at that. with any other product, i'd just role my eyes and complain about big business, bad advertising and the naive consumer. look who's naive now!
What also kill's me, and this is a serious one is gastrict bypass surgery for your kids. OMG! I didn't really hear that did I? Yep on the radio "your child is fat, let's boost their self confidence by mutalating their bodies and making it harder than hell to metabalize nutrients properly. But you will not have to change your lifestyle beacuse they will not be able to pig out anymore!"
ReplyDeleteCRAP CRAP CRAP! Of course the add said it with so much more love than I could have. Grrr....
Sorry for the vent on your blog.
It's everywhere. Everything is a trigger.
ReplyDeleteThe worst trigger is always internal, though. At least for me. I think that blocking the external is completley impossible if we haven't blocked the internal tirggers.
Sorry for that little rant :)
So disappointing though, that even pharamcy's have laxitives in the diet section.
Well, I used laxatives as a weight loss aid, but then I'm a recovering anorexic. I guess I wasn't misusing the product (extremely bad joke.)
ReplyDeleteWhat idiots! I guess another store on my "do not shop at list"
Good luck with the colonoscopy. The best part was being totally knocked out. Most peaceful I felt in years. Too bad it couldn't last.
eating alone; gastric bypass for kids. has the world gone crazy? it's so cruel. and raises so many questions.
ReplyDeletewhat happens if the kid is still growing after the surgery?
don't worry about venting. it's a really important issue. it ought to be illegal.
shae adele; the internal trigger... like what -- do you mean feeling fat? hating our bodies? or do you mean feeling lonely, angry, tired and filled with self-hatred? well, maybe they're the same thing?
sorry, i'm over-tired. i think my brain's a little slow.
angela; yes, i too used laxatives as a weight loss aid. i don't suppose CVS wants to list the common side effects, like the inability TO EVER GO WITHOUT the laxatives. and the list of fun-filled side effects continues.
thanks for your well wishes about the colonoscopy/endoscopy.
hope YOU are well
You know what I HATE?? The fact that when I go to buy Ensure or nutrition bars, they're almost always RIGHT NEXT TO diet pills, weight loss products, and diuretics. WHY??
ReplyDeletesay health; because nobody really thinks things thru. of course, if you're buying Ensure, you should be no where near anything that even suggests loss.
ReplyDeletei think no one looks at the mental health or psychological aspects of things. bandages for broken arms might be near slings for sprains, but it's a whole different issue.
the world needs so much more education
eeks!!! that's kind of a freudian slip...
ReplyDeletetia; thank you for writing. it was one heck of a slip! although it still wondered if it were intended.
ReplyDeleteas i was reading your comment, it went thru my mind -- should laxatives require a doctors prescription?
As a survivor of 3 colonoscopies can offer tidbits:
ReplyDelete-anesthesia is really good these days, you will wake up and feel fine.
-you could actually have it done without anesthesia (did 1x) but you will have to endure the doctor insisting on showing you stuff on his monitor as he goes (yuck they all do this). It only takes about 5 minutes. But maybe for yours this is not an option.
-the stuff you drink the day before, you can take a pill instead. Cow prefers to drink the solution though because you can stop drinking it at a certain point (talk to the pharmacist) with the pill you have no control over it at all.
Maybe your procedure will be different though, not to worry, just be brave, it will be okay, it is better to have it done than to chicken out.
Caring moo!
hi there cow; it's always nice to have someone to discuss your colon with, isn't it?
ReplyDeletewhen i was a kid, i heard that prayer "if i die before i wake...". it did MAJOR numbers on me. i was afraid of sleep for YEARS. somehow it's stuck in my mind that when i go to sleep, it's lights out, baby. thus, that lurking fear of anesthesia.
thank you for the encouragement. i will keep you in the loop, but not too graphically!
I once saw and advert about "detox" which was about having metamucil as a start to the day. Metamucil is just fibre gel. I did a post on it as it annoyed me that rather than supporting a good diet it was saying to take fibre gel each morning. http://lindasphere.blogspot.com/2007/11/detox.html
ReplyDeleteAh, a colonoscopy. They are quick and easy these days. Hope all is well.
Yes agree with Linda, they are quick and easy and will be over before you know it. Chin up!
ReplyDeleteKnow exactly what you mean about being told stuff when young that is so terrifying, why do they do this? That prayer IS terrifying! And kids cartoons, don't even get me started--was taken to see 101 Dalmations and was so scared for the dogs spent most of the movie crying.
Isn't it amazing how people close to you can be so unaware of our issues? That post you did about your sister leaving the Ambien around came to mind when Cow's only sister blithely informed her today she had sent Cow two boxes of cookies because they "looked good." Argh!
linda; metamucil to kickstart a detox, huh. detox seems all the rage now. is any of this really what we're supposed to be doing? wouldn't it be nice to more like the animals who naturally know how to eat, sleep and poop?
ReplyDeletei do hope my procedure, next friday, is easy. thank you
cow; it IS amazing how people close to us can be unaware. i went to a friend's 50th b'day last saturday. she is a casual but nice friend. after the party, i spoke with her and she asked, "was the wine good for you, melissa?".
now, let's remember that i LOVE wine, and because i do NOTHING in moderation, i now drink NO wine. i'm 8 months sober and everyone knows it.
where was her head? and she's a very nice person!
i would give the cookies to a neighbor who has kids. does your sister watch her weight?
We're glad this product (mis)placement triggered your concern, as our concern was also triggered! By highlighting this product as part of the "shape up & save" category, CVS inadvertently suggested that using laxatives is an appropriate and healthy way to lose weight. While we doubt CVS's intention was to support, or suggest, eating disorder behaviors and tendencies, we feel that compaines have an obligation to understand what their marketing practicies are suggesting to their companies.
ReplyDeleteWe reached out to CVS about this issue, in hopes that harmful ads such as this will be removed from circulation and a dialogue can be started around responsible retail actions as they relate to eating disorder prevention, awareness and treatment.
Thanks Melissa...so glad to know am not the only one with oblivious and insensitive friends and relatives...
ReplyDelete