By Dr. Ananya Sarkar
“May everyone stay healthy and happy, that is my wish today.”
This is not a joke. Please read on, and if you find it meaningful, do share it with others.
The Fever That Started It All
You had a mild fever for two or three days. Without medication, your body would likely have recovered on its own. But, out of concern, you visited a doctor.
Right at the outset, the doctor ordered a series of tests.
The results showed no clear cause for the fever. But something else appeared, slightly elevated cholesterol and blood sugar. Common findings, even in healthy people.
Though your fever resolved, you were no longer considered “well.”
The doctor told you:
“Your cholesterol is high. Your sugar is slightly elevated. That means you’re pre-diabetic. You need to start medications.”
Dietary restrictions followed. While you may not have followed them strictly, you took the prescribed drugs faithfully.
The Cascade Begins
Three months later, new tests were ordered. Cholesterol had dropped, but now your blood pressure was slightly elevated. Another drug was added.
You were now on three medicines.
With these developments, anxiety grew.
“What next?” you wondered.
Your sleep began to suffer. The doctor prescribed sleeping pills, now your pill count was four.
Soon after, you experienced acidity and heartburn.
The doctor said:
“Take a gas tablet before meals.”
Now you're on five medicines.
The Emergency Room Visit
Six months passed. One day, chest pain drove you to the ER.
The doctor reassured you:
“Good thing you came in time. It could’ve been serious.”
Further tests were ordered, costly ones.
Eventually, the doctor added two heart medications and referred you to an endocrinologist. You were now on seven medicines.
The endocrinologist found mildly elevated thyroid levels and added:
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One more diabetes medicine
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A thyroid pill
You now had nine prescriptions to manage.
Becoming a Lifetime Patient
Gradually, you started to identify as a chronically ill person:
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Heart patient
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Diabetic
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Insomniac
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Gastric troubles
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Thyroid issues
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Kidney worries...
No one told you to build willpower, regain self-confidence, or adopt a healing lifestyle.
Instead, you were made to feel sick, weak, and dependent.
A New Complication: The Kidneys
Another six months later, you developed urinary symptoms.
More tests. Diagnosis: possible kidney involvement.
The doctor told you:
“Creatinine is slightly elevated. Keep taking your medications.”
Two more drugs were added.
You're now on eleven medicines.
Your medicine count exceeds your food intake.
And the side effects? They're quietly driving you closer to the grave.
Here is my critical reflection on Ananya Sarkar’s article in blue:
A Reflection on Overdiagnosis, Pharmaceutical Influence, and the Path Back to Patient Empowerment
Ultra-Modern Medical Science: A Cautionary Tale
What If…
What if the doctor had said this at the beginning?
“Just rest. Drink plenty of water. Eat fruits and vegetables. Go for walks. No need for medicine.”
But then… how would pharmaceutical companies profit?
And how would doctors sustain their practice?
Who Sets the Standards?
Let’s look more closely at how patients are classified as "sick":
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1979: Diabetes was diagnosed at blood sugar levels of 200 mg/dL. Only 3.5% of people were considered diabetic.
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1997: Under pressure from insulin companies, the cutoff was reduced to 126 mg/dL. This jumped diabetic classification to 8% overnight.
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2003: ADA introduced 100 mg/dL as the threshold for “pre-diabetes”—suddenly, 27% of the population became “patients.”
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Now: Post-meal blood sugar of 140 mg/dL is considered diabetic. Nearly 50% of the global population is now labelled diabetic—many without symptoms.
Some Indian pharma groups propose lowering HbA1c to 5.5%.
In contrast, some experts argue that even 11% HbA1c shouldn’t be labeled as diabetes.
A Darker Reality
In 2012, a major pharmaceutical company was fined $3 billion by the US Supreme Court.
Reason? Between 2007–2012, they withheld data showing that one of their diabetes drugs increased heart attack risk by 43%.
They made $300 billion during that period.
This is today’s ultra-modern medical system.
Think… Start thinking.
May everyone stay healthy and happy, that is my wish today.
Modern Medicine or Medical Maze?
A Wake-Up Call Wrapped in Emotion
Dr. Sarkar’s article is compelling. It grips us with a personal narrative, one that mirrors the real anxieties of modern patients. With each paragraph, it questions the intentions behind medical practices, suggesting that the system converts healthy people into lifelong patients.
While its emotional and rhetorical strength is undeniable, such a piece deserves careful unpacking, both for its truths and its oversimplifications.
Where the Article Rings True
Indeed, overdiagnosis is a growing issue. Modern thresholds often define mild deviations as pathologies. “Pre-diseases” now lead to lifelong medication, even when asymptomatic.
Polypharmacy:
Polypharmacy is term we use when patients are given multiple medications, and this is widespread, especially among the elderly. As drugs cause side effects, more drugs are prescribed to manage them. A feedback loop is born: a cascade of prescriptions.
Moreover, it’s no secret that pharmaceutical companies have shaped medical guidelines.
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The drop in diabetic thresholds in the late 1990s and early 2000s widened markets.
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The case of rosiglitazone (Avandia), leading to a $3 billion fine for hiding cardiovascular risks, is a factual event.
Such examples rightly challenge blind faith in the system.
Where the Article Misses the Mark
Yet, the article's tone also misleads.
It suggests all doctors operate under pharmaceutical influence. It claims thresholds are dictated by profit alone. These claims ignore the rigorous peer-reviewed processes, research data, and evolving evidence behind most guidelines.
Doctors, by and large, are committed professionals working under immense pressure. They rely on scientific consensus, not pharma dictates.
Perhaps most dangerously, the article suggests an HbA1c of 11% should be acceptable. This is medically false and hazardous.
Such levels indicate uncontrolled diabetes, associated with blindness, neuropathy, and renal failure.
The True Takeaway: Empowerment Over Dependency
Despite its flaws, the essay delivers a critical reminder:
Health must not be reduced to numbers, pills, and panic.
True healing lies in:
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Self-care and lifestyle choices
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Psychological well-being
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Preventive health rather than just curative
Patients must be empowered, not labeled. Doctors should listen and explain, not merely prescribe.
A Balanced Future for Medicine
Medicine is not the enemy. It has eradicated diseases, saved lives, and extended lifespans.
But it must constantly self-correct, and patients must be active partners in their care. Questioning, learning, and healthy skepticism are virtues., not threats.
Let’s not romanticize natural healing to the extent of ignoring real danger. But neither should we allow the system to over-medicalize life itself.
My conclusion is: Wisdom with Compassion
Let us not discard the flame of science because of the shadows it casts. Let us advocate for a medicine of balance, ethics, and humanity, where the goal is not just to extend life but to enhance its quality.
Health is not the absence of disease, but the presence of balance, in body, mind, and spirit.
With enduring respect,
Lim Ju Boo
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