. . . yes, we’re talking medical drugs
Encountering people with organ problems after regular use of a medical drug may be more common when we work within alternative healthcare, but adverse side-effects do happen more often than many realize. When it happens to us, we wonder why we didn’t carefully consider the warning pages that accompanied a pharmacy’s prescription. Even trusting an anti-fungal prescription to be risk-free can be a problem with regular, long-term use! But then, there’s the initial relief we feel when we take a drug to silence the pain from whatever ill occurs, prompting us to continue its use unquestioned. No need to beat yourself up though, we’re human. We’re supposed to be able to trust the intentions of others we assume are wiser than us. But should we assume?
Staying informed of basic body function may help you assess what’s good for your body or to be mindful of how long you stay on a drug. Organs have a different innervation network than muscles – that’s important to remember because it means pain is not as easily detected from an organ as it is from a sore arm muscle. Impaired function of our kidneys will consequently only give pain signals when they are already in trouble. Adverse drug effects usually arise in vital organs, because organs like the kidneys and liver filter wastes, chemicals and harmful substances from our body. The additional strain of filtering a drug that interferes with normal function can be the tipping point into the realm of unmanageable overload. It hasn’t been the job of the average person to realize that sensory fibers from organs are mainly unconscious reflex sensations which are normally undetectable, but it’s in our best interest today to be aware of these basic differences. It is reported, in fact, as one reason why some organ cancers are detected too late for successful treatment beyond one year.
When organs send ‘pain signals’, they usually are non-localized. We may interpret pain from our kidneys then, as low back pain, thinking we have tight back muscles. This underlines the fact that prolonged use of a drug to silence pain signals, that occur to make you aware of a problem in your body, is not the best solution to fix the ill of the body part that’s asking for help. In North America’s current medical model, the intelligence of the body is ignored and the intelligence of man is deemed to be superior. That can be a problem. While we’re tops in surgery, maybe we’re not there yet with today’s medical dependency on drug therapy.
On the plus side, short-term relief from severe pain can give you time to investigate other options. The problem is that once the pain is dulled, we seem to forget the drug that dulled it comes with a threat to other body systems.
This article is not to debase drug use in all situations, it is a reminder that dependency on drug therapy ultimately can return with a wicked kick to the individual who accepted a drug as the only answer… for long-term, regular use. When it comes to initial ’symptoms of imbalance’, you might consider whether a more natural remedy than a drug is a superior first option.
Perhaps the difficulty is the trust one puts into the organization they are trained within, today producing a medical model based on only one form of treatment – drugs. Outside of North American, there are countries that combine medical models, sometimes beginning with natural forms and progressing to drug therapy if all else fails, or sometimes using both methods simultaneously.
There are, gradually, some doctors emerging who suggest natural methods first to help re-balance the body, using drugs according to severity of a condition. That however, is based on the perspective of the practitioner. There are also outdated doctors who still fail to mention the basics, like the need for acidolphilus to repopulate the necessary intestinal flora when writing a prescription for antibiotics. When basic knowledge of physiology is ignored it becomes a comment on either western medical education in body function or a physician’s shortcoming. Any medical practitioner today who does not realize that antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria, leaving you prey to candida overgrowth if you fail to re-populate with beneficial intestinal bacteria after antibiotic treatment, may be allowing the drug rep to be their educator instead of science.
Unfortunately, use of simple, natural remedies is not encouraged nor condoned by the medical association. Choosing alternatives of herbs and supplements is also not as financially inexpensive as Canadian drug therapy which is subsidized by the government. Unlike Europe, Canada does not recognize alternative practitioners’ health products nor subsidize them as medical costs, but these items can be claimed as medical expenses at year-end for tax purposes when listed on a naturopath’s or conventional doctor’s letterhead. On the bonus side, herbs and supplements… when used properly… do not come with the same organ and body strain that long-term drug use does.
While it’s true that the art or science of interpreting body imbalance, the physiology of why A impacts B… should be possible today from a blood analysis… it is often missed by today’s mainstream doctors who instead turn to their drug manual as a match to any reported abnormality. ‘High cholesterol? Write a prescription for Lipitor’ …is a common response. In the interest of awareness, this is worth mentioning.
On the subject of Lipitor (atorvastatin) as one frequently prescribed drug for ‘high cholesterol’, an online write-up by a manufacturer states that it is not safe for pregnant or lactating women to use, that Lipitor can cause serious muscle problems that can lead to kidney problems, including kidney failure; that you have a higher chance for muscle problems if you are taking certain other medicines (without listing what those other medications might be), that common side effects are diarrhea, muscle and joint pain, (with muscle pain being reported as the most common); and that some people also experience fatigue and tendon problems. Does this indicate that possibly the drug is not harmonious with various body functions? Or, is that not important?
A recent incident of someone mentioning their medical doctor prescribed Lipitor in case he might fall victim to a future of dementia because of a dementia parental experience, left me incredulous. There are so many medicinal natural herbs for brain and nervous system health, herbs that when used properly come without the adverse side-effects of drugs, herbs that complement the body systemically, just like foods do – that I am shocked a medical doctor will not even suggest the client check first with a naturopathic practitioner or a master herbalist before suggesting unproven drug therapy – for a future ‘possibility’. Apparently, many medical doctors do not pay heed to adverse side-effects a drug may cause, but of course there will be yet another drug to deal with the next ailment. Such is their training, and they paid a lot to obtain it. It is also true that there are some conditions where drug therapy allows normal function that otherwise would not be possible. A correct bipolar diagnosis is but one example where drug therapy can be embraced, knowing that production of neurotransmitters for normal function are apparently missing from the body metabolism.
When a doctor’s creative mental process cannot extend beyond the drug-based education they received to silence dysfunction, the patient could be in for a dangerous treatment plan that will miss the mark long-term, if you are targeting health and vitality. The ‘buyer beware’ philosophy is evident for both sides of this coin, conventional or alternative ways. It is also true that there are some conditions where drug therapy is the only route in our current understanding of the body, that permits normal body function. A correct bipolar diagnosis is but one example where drug therapy provides the neurotransmitters that are apparently missing from normal body metabolism. Even with that, there are people who effectively manage their bipolar condition primarily with natural methods This is more rare to find, requires awareness of your behavioural reactions and body responses, and definitely benefits from purer, more natural choices than current mainstream lifestyle.
With all of this in mind, the links below may keep you informed of adverse effects from particular drugs that are commonly prescribed today and/or safer alternatives. A search for the drug you have been offered versus natural options as contenders for your level of health may provide better long-term results, depending on your state of health. Each practitioner invested much time and money in their training, it’s the training we might question – much more than the intention.
As always, educated and skilled guidance in matters that we do not specialize in will be the choice that provides the most safety and efficiency when dealing with either medical drugs or medicinal herbs and supplements. It is, at times, wise to seek a second opinion within your field of choice. In the end, you are the only one who lives with the consequences.
It may be of benefit to investigate:
http://www.drugs.com/sfx/
www.azcert.org/medical-pros/druginteractions.cfm
www.drugalert.org
