Dear Ann Landers,
friend of mine who is normally quiet-in fact, you might even say depressed-showed up at a party last week in very high spirits. I couldn't get over the change in her personality so I pulled her aside and asked what had come over her. She swore me to secrecy, took a pillbox out of her purse and showed me some capsules which she said had done wonders for her. I asked what was in the capsules, and she said she didn't know and didn't care. When I asked the name of the doctor who had recommended them she replied, "I got these from my cleaning woman. I wouldn't say a word to my doctor because he might not approve and I'd be down in the dumps again." I have never been one to take medicine. In fact, I'm one of those people who has to be dying before I will take an aspirin. I admit I am tempted to try these capsules just to see what they would do to me. Do you know anything about this sort of pepper-upper?-Need A Boost

Dear Need,
No more than you do-which is nothing. But this I do know: Any woman who would let her cleaning lady prescribe medication has a loose connection in her attic. If you need a boost, go to your doctor. Perhaps you aren't getting enough rest. Maybe your blood pressure is low or you need more sugar or a thyroid check. A physician should decide. People who get pepped up with capsules pay for it later. It's like racing a motor at top speed. It could shake you apart. The magic medicine that puts a tiger in your tank could cause sleeplessness, severe heart palpitations, melancholia-or worse.