Why don't AD drug commercials on TV show what REAL Alzheimer's patients are facing?

I guess my point about the Alzheimers Research ad is that even in 2016, after all that we have seen, the TRUTH about the condition is still disguised. I guess they figure that the public just can't handle the truth. However, I would think that a truthful ad might encourage people to be more giving to fund research.

08/29/16... one has to realize that it cost a pharmaceutical company multi-millions dollars in research and development of just one pill... it can take years in the making, thus the reason for all the advertising as it takes yet more years to even break even. Just what I need to hear during meal time, all the side effects from different drugs.

Then there are the ED ads which I find so uncalled for during meal time and at times when kids would be watching TV. Or if you are in the room with your parents. Dad noticed the commercial and wanted me to make an appointment to see his doctor about this problem. Good grief, this isn't a conversation I wanted with my 90+ year old father :[

The Alzheimers Association needs money to operate too and many charities pay their executives big bucks. I am not accusing the Alzheimer Association but check out any charity before you donate and see how much of your $ goes for the purpose for which you contributed. They are portraying people with Alzheimers being able to live normal peaceful lives if only enough research can be funded.

OH, I forgot to add. This recent ad on research that I am referring to is sponsored by the Alzheimers Association.

I realize that this is an old thread and that's it's about how dementia is portrayed in the media for medication, HOWEVER, has anyone see the new Alzheimers RESEARCH AD? I think the message is that there is hope for future generations, but the way it portrays current people who had Alzheimers was a little surprising. And this is the year 2016?

You can google to find it. The Alzheimers patients are shown having a picnic in the park amongst family and friends.

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The driving force behind the drug companies and healthcare in this country is PROFIT!! It's why we pay so much for our healthcare, from insurance premiums to drugs to long term care. Healthcare in this country is big business. It's a cut throat big business that has little room for honesty or morality.

Because they do not want to scare the crap out of people.
But the same can be said of any advertisement for a drug.
Why do we see a cute "cartoon" bladder dragging a woman to a washroom, why do we see another cartoon of a colon for the IBS drugs? Because no one wants to see someone running to the bathroom and and then wetting themselves just as they get to the door, or someone writhing in pain from cramping and diarrhea.
I recall years ago drugs were not even advertised on television or in magazines. The only way you found out about a drug was from your doctor. Now we see the ads and ask our doctor...what about this one..I saw the ad and it is supposed to work better...
Lets not even get to how or why a drug company can change one thing like making the drug an extended release just to keep it from being able to go generic. More money for them if you want the "new and improved" you can not buy a generic.

Would you get rid of your cable TV? I got rid of cable TV nearly 20 years ago now, and I don't miss it one bit. I have Netflix and watch movies of my choosing. I go to my library where they have DVDs of old television shows and borrow them when I want to watch an old program. If I'm in a waiting room with a television, I'm appalled at the commercials, which are so stupid that it's beyond words.

The medical industrial complex has largely become a sham - a scam - to separate you from your money by promoting false hope. The FDA is complicit. The FDA is supposed to make sure drugs work. I can't remember the last time a drug did not make it through clinical trials and onto market. It's bogus science - they publish positive results and hide negative ones. Beware the medical industrial complex because they are a dangerous bunch of people whose only motive is profit. The only way I know how to fight them is to not watch their commercials.

Follow the money. It is all about selling the medication. Some things may help, i won't say work for a short while.
The advertisers play on the emotions of the desperate caregivers. It is a case of "Open your wallet and help yourself" How many "as seen on TV" products really work? What does a "lifetime guarantee" really mean? Your life? the life of the product? or the life of the company selling the latest marvel.
As everyone who has seen it Alzheimers is a cruel and depersonalizing disease and anyone who tries to say otherwise is smoking something!

Advertising is marketing, whether the product is a soft drink, a car, or a pill. They all show the product making life beautiful because that's what sells the product. I feel your pain, but the only real solution. Is to ban advertising (not on a democracy,) or turning off the tv!

Virtualhorizon, you are right. The commercials for AD drugs give a grossly unrealistic portrayal of dementia, from the standpoint of what the sufferer goes through, the crushing responsibilities of the caregiver, and the ineffectiveness (and side effects) of the drugs available. Everyone in these commercials looks happy. The person with Alzheimer's or other dementia smiles contentedly, and is agreeable, slow-moving, and passive. The caregiving family members also look serene. Everyone's daily life appears calm, well-ordered, and satisfying. The homes are neat, the people clean and well-dressed and enjoying the good things of life.

In reality, dementia sufferers are often anxious, fearful, agitated, paranoid, loud, and sometimes aggressive. Their minds and bodies have betrayed them, and no medication can change that. I've read that some Alzheimer's patients experience mild improvement of symptoms for a brief time with some meds, but that's the best-case scenario. Nothing has helped my husband. Some of the medications caused him to vomit without warning, or gave him diarrhea. One made him dizzier and even more prone to falling. He already has urinary and fecal incontinence, and the drugs just made it worse. They did not ease his agitation, OCD behaviors, perseveration, checking and shadowing behaviors, sundowning, sleep disturbances, or any other symptoms.

The commercials can't show the reality of Alzheimer's, or the true ineffectiveness of the medication, because if they did, the drug would not make money. This is false advertising of the worst sort.

Eyerishlass --

You made my day with your descriptive post! My Mom called me first thing this morning to say she was unable to come to Sunday School and church with me -- she was up all night because my Dad was continuously wandering through the house yelling for her, wouldn't stay in bed no matter how many times she put him there, kept turning all the lights on, was talking to "someone" in the hallway and asking that person where my Mom was, etc. Another picture you won't see in an ad!

virtualhorizon,

I have thought the same exact thing! But I'll go one further. How about print ads for nursing homes and other senior-related services that show a lovely older lady with twinkly blue eyes, smiling up fondly (from a wheelchair) at a staff member. I've never seen anyone who looks like that in a nursing home. There are even pictures on this site that are unrealistic. It's advertising. No one wants to see a half-dressed old woman with uncombed steel gray hair and a gaunt face, in diapers, ranting and raving while her caregiver (her daughter or son) sits at the kitchen table, head in hands, crying in frustration and anxiety.

You're so very right. Alzheimer's doesn't look like it does in the commercials and I agree that they're ridiculous but they're trying to sell a product. Anyone who has ever known anyone with Alzheimer's (and that's a lot of folks) knows it doesn't look like that. Think of President Reagan. Not too long after Nancy announced that he had Alzheimer's he disappeared from the public eye. He didn't take a pill and all of a sudden get up and start golfing or puttering in his garden. No one saw him because he was probably a wreck and Nancy didn't want him remembered that way. I don't blame her. Same with Charlton Heston. He disappeared too. We know what Alzheimer's looks like and it's ugly. I would think most people who see those commercials and who have someone with Alzheimer's in their life know better.

Oh, and to really answer your question about those AD drug commercials - they don't want to show what REAL alzheimer's patients are facing - they just want to sell their drugs and make money!!!

Dear Virtual, I totally agree with what you said about these drugs and the advertising making everything seem 'rosy' again. When my dad was diagnosed with AD over 4 years ago, he was already approaching mid-stage. His Dr. prescribed Namenda. Dad often said his head felt "fuzzy" or didn't feel right. He could no longer accurately express side effects so we could understand what he was truely feeling. After 1 1/2 years on it, I saw no difference and weened him off it - no difference, but no more "fuzzy" head either. When he does display symptoms of aggitation or being upset, 99% of the time, it's related to gas, indigestion, being hungry or tired, etc. - I have to figure it out and take it from there.

I do feel your irritation, though, and would like to add my irritation of drs, hospice nurses, nursing homes,etc., pushing and/or prescribing more drugs or trying an anti-physcotics to calm (sedate), lessen anxiety (dope up patient). etc.

Thanks for your input! Actually I have neither anger toward the world of advertisement (just irritation, as I noted) nor toward the truth of Alzheimer's Disease. I know the truth of the disease. I have watched my Dad succumb to AD over the past four years as well as my MIL. My grandmother passed away about ten years ago as a direct result of the disease. One of my Dad's sisters is in a nursing home, having suffered with AD for 12 years. I simply believe that commercial advertisement paints a picture that makes it appear that if a person with AD takes the drug being advertised that life will be rosy again!

Sounds to me your anger is not so much at the "World of Advertisement" as it is at the "Truth" of Alzheimer's the disease itself. You must take into account everyone is different, and react differently. These drugs may help some depending on the advancement of the disease. My mother has been 2 herself for over 3 years now, and I do not know if they are truly helping her. But I can say this, I wouldn't want to know how she would be without them. She has had Alzheimer for over 10 years now and basically she is a very healthy other than the Alzheimer. She rarely talks or smiles any more unless you work with her very hard and I have learned, that is what it takes. The more we do for and with our loved one's affected with this terrible distroyer of life the happier disposition they display. Just my two cents ....