ARTICLE: DO We Rely Too Much On Medications? Do They REALLY Help?

Originally published May 9, 2013 at Bubblews, a website that no longer exists

First of the bat, let me give you a little background info about me, or actually my great grandmother, and in a sense it's due to her that I'm pretty much anti-medication. My great-grandmother was a nurse who basically thought all doctors were basically idiots. She was into herbal and natural remedies for healing, never took anything stronger than aspirin, and maybe a few shots of whiskey, and had no major health problems. Back in her time, she would eat what we would consider high cholesterol heaven heart attack style breakfast, consisting of eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes. And that was just breakfast. She would also have some kind of meat for lunch and dinner, used butter, heavy cream and milk. How old was she when she passed away? Ninety-eight.

I guess I inherited her disdain for pharmaceutical medications and I too have refrained from taking medications in general and try to go a more natural form of healing any problems. But yes, on occasion, perhaps I might take a penicillin type antibiotic if I had some kind of infection. However, usually for some pain issues I'll take, yes aspirin, but only sparingly and not all the time, which is probably why it still works for me.

Years and years back I had blood tests done with a new doctor, and it was discovered I had high cholesterol; folks when I say high, I mean I was in that range that was considered dangerous. He wanted to prescribe right off the bat Lipitor. Instead I bargained with him…I said give me a month for me to change my diet, if my cholesterol is still high then I'll take the medication. Well I did just that, I radically changed my diet, and I was by no means overweight either, instead, I've been rail thin all my life. But I did a conscientious change to reduce fat intake, thus no heavily fried foods, lessened my meat eating habits, etc. When the next month came and had new blood tests done, my cholesterol was in the borderline zone….with another month I was in the safe zone. All done by just changing my eating habits.

Yes I do realize that in many cases medications might be the way to go to control some serious health issues, but once again I can't help thinking in many cases a radical form in a change of eating habits could be beneficial. I actually know an on-line friend who was diagnosed with diabetes and had it for years. Eventually she radically changed her diet habits and at last health report she is diabetes free. Also , I can't help wonder if medications can actually trigger more health issues.

Say a person has a certain health issue, and the doctor prescribes some medication for that issue. As you know, many medications can have serious side effects and could be responsible in creating yet another health issue that didn't exist before. So wham, the doctor now prescribes another medication to combat the "new" health issue that was triggered by the first medication. Then maybe that second medication with its side effects, creates yet another health issue…more medication prescribed. Is it any wonder people then start becoming walking medicine cabinets and their whole day and night revolves around taking medications?

Then too it can be the simple issue that a medication just doesn't work anymore and a stronger type needs to be taken. As I mentioned, I ONLY take aspirin for any pain issues. I've never even graduated to Tylenol, Aleve, or Advil. But say for years you've taken some OTC pain reliever. You use it constantly, and after awhile it just doesn't work anymore, so now you ask for prescription pain killer from your doctor, yet somewhere along the line even that won't work, so a stronger pain killer is prescribed and on and on it goes. Then comes probably an almost addiction to the medication. One may realize it's not working anymore, yet one will still take it out of downright fear perhaps of stop taking it.

The bottom line is in my opinion we've gotten to be a pill popping society. We want a pill for everything and anything..have a pimple? Take a pill. Have a hang nail? Take a pill. Have dandruff? Take a pill. Okay maybe I'm making "light" of the issue, but I think you get my meaning. And is the risk worth it with taking all of these super duper medications that have detrimental side effects that could trigger even more health issues?

I can give a personal example. My grandmother had asthma and was on several asthma type medications, including Theophylline. The very last time she was raced to the ER with a bad asthma attack she died. Why? Not due to her asthma, but she died of cardiac arrest as a result of being given too much Theophylline and ironically it was known that Theophylline could indeed cause cardiac problems.

UPDATE: Well as cautious as I've been all my life about medications, some years back I was given the antibiotic "Cipro". I did look the medication up and noticed the "usual" side effects with an antibiotic. I did, however, have a "symptom" right away. Let's put it this way, I could have read Tolstoy's War And Peace ten time while sitting on the "royal throne". I did complain about it to the doctor and he said, "Oh, that means it's working." So like an idiot I continued to take it. Well...I paid the price. It triggered off my now debilitating pain issues along with CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). One can do a general search and one finds out that I'm not the ONLY one that has been severely affected by using "Cipro".

ARTICLE: Do People Take Medications "Blindly" Without Knowing All The Side Effects?

(Also published at Bubblews with an additional addendum)

I have to confess, I'm not really big on taking medications and that is probably a throwback to my great-grandmother's viewpoints, as she was a nurse, thought doctors for the most parts were idiots, relied on natural remedies, never took anything stronger than aspirin, and lived to be 98.

Thankfully, I don't have any of the common health problems that many people may have: I don't have high blood pressure, nor high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. that would indicate the need for medications. I'm also not one to rush out to the flu vaccine as I haven't had the flu since I was eleven years old. Like my great grandmother, I try to find natural remedies to keep me healthy and also like her, I never take anything stronger than aspirin, with the few exceptions when I've taken an anti-biotic for some infection in my system. Unfortunately, that you might say was my downfall.

In the past, when I have taken an anti-biotic, I did fine with the simple penicillin types, they did the trick, but the last time I was prescribed an anti-biotic, the doctor insisted on my taking "Cipro" (Ciprofloxacin). Being the ever curious type, I decided to look it up on the web to find out if there were any side effects one should be aware of. You see, doctors do not, repeat do not know all the possible side effects any medication may have, usually just the more common and expected ones. Upon looking the medication up on the internet, I didn't see any serious side effects so I took it. Well I did have one effect right away. Not to be graphic, but let's put it this way, I could have read Tolstoy's War And Peace while sitting on the "royal throne". Yup, it triggered a real severe case of diarrhea. I even complained to the doctor about it, and he told me, "Oh, that means it's working," and that I should continue to take it.

For the first time in my life, I perhaps went against my better judgment, and rather than insisting in perhaps asking for a different anti-biotic, especially a penicillin type, I did indeed continue to take it. Then, about a month after I stopped taking it, I suddenly noticed an ever increasing stiffening and pain of my joints, particularly my wrist and hands and my ankles and feet. As time went on it became worse and worse and worse. I didn't connect the dots as to why I was having this problem, and no, I didn't exactly rush to the doctor about it either.

Well one time after a year had passed by and when I was researching for an article to write about, and yes dealing with medications, I came across and looked up "Cipro" again. NOW it had warnings about triggering RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) and even ripped tendons and was now one of those medications that had class action lawsuits against it. Gee, wonderful. Yes folks, I now have severe RA, with it CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and often feel like 150 years old at times.

Now, you may ask, do I now take medications for my RA? Are you joking me? The medications often prescribed for RA and severe pain issues aren't exactly stellar and even if you gave me a million dollars to take them, I won't. One common medication prescribed for RA includes the warning: "Please tell your doctor of any sudden mood changes, depression or have suicidal thoughts." Gee, lovely. I'm sure quite often while watching TV, you may have seen those commercials for some medication for a particular health problem, then the announcer lists all the side effects. Are you like me and shake your head in amazement and wonder, with all those side effects, why on earth would anyone want to take this crap?

So now the question, do people blindly take medications without knowing all the possible side effects? I would have to give a loud resounding yes to that, as way too often people perhaps trust their doctors a bit too much. I can give one great example of this, my own grandmother. Unlike my great grandmother who had a distain for medications, my grandmother was the opposite. In her later years my grandmother had developed a bad case of asthma and was given a wide variety of medications including Theophylline to clear her lungs. That medication was to have fatal results: one night when my grandmother went to the ER while having a bad asthma attack, the doctors gave her a stronger than usual dosage of Theophylline. Did my grandmother pass away due to her asthma problem? No. She passed away due to the Theophylline since it can trigger cardiac arrest.

In my own life, for a very, very brief time, I too took Theophylline whenever I had a serious case of bronchitis, but in very, very low dosages, much lower than what my grandmother had taken, but even with such low dosages, I could feel my heart palpitate , would feel shaky, and often had anxiety. There was one time while having a really extreme bad bout of bronchitis, I went to see my doctor and he decided to give me an injection of Theophylline, and I asked what effects could I expect, and he told me I might feel a little dizzy. A little dizzy? A little dizzy? Are you kidding me? The room was actually spinning and I thought I was going to pass out.

I can't emphasize enough how all too trusting people may be with their doctors and any medication that are prescribed. People will rattle out their symptoms of this or that problem, the doctor will then write out prescriptions, but again without full knowledge of all the side effects or possible drug interactions. Also, in this day and age of accessing the internet for information about medications, people still fail to look them up. I mean wouldn't you want to be aware of just what you are taking? And even then with looking up information, there are no real guarantees of being fully informed, as was in my case when I took Cipro since not all the side effects and warnings were known at the time I took it.

So do I take any medications? No. Like my great grandmother I only take aspirin, and even that only sparingly. I've been on a quest you might say to find an alternative, more natural means to help my RA problems. I refuse to be a guinea pig taking pharmaceutical type medications that may have far more serious detrimental effects and perhaps trigger even more health problems.

ARTICLE: How Safe Are Your Medications? Are Your Prescribed Medications Real, Counterfeit or Inferior?

(Originally published at Yahoo.voices formerly Associated Content~9/29/2008)

BSTRACT: One has to be consciously aware of the medications they are taken as some may not even be the real McCoy. More and more counterfeit medicines are turning up even in one's own trusted pharmacy

CONTENT: I've never been one to take many prescribed or even over the counter medications. While I do have a few minor health problems, they have never been severe enough for me to race over to my doctor and get some kind of medication for the problem. I guess I have inherited my great-grandmother's attitude toward not only medications, but the medical profession in general.

My great-grandmother was a nurse, mid-wife, and was involved with the more natural and herbal approaches. She never took anything stronger than aspirin all her long life, and instead relied on her cornucopia of herb-lore knowledge, and while she may herself had medical problems, she lived to be 98 years old. Her attitude about doctors for the most part was that they were, well idiots, and that the more you stayed away from doctors, the healthier one was. The fact that she lived so long, could be considered living testimony that maybe she was right.

I remembered being told by my grandmother and mother, that on the few occasions that she was hospitalized for some medical malady, she never even took the medications that were recommended to her during her hospital stay. The typical scenario being that the nurse would come into her room, administer the medications and my great-grandmother would "take" them. A few seconds after the nurse would leave, she would pop out the medications she just "supposedly" swallowed.

With all that has been going on in the pharmaceutical world lately, maybe more and more of us today should have a real wary approach when taking medications, and, if one absolutely positively needs to take medications for any serious health issue, one should be a conscientious consumer and perhaps do their own research in taking medications.

One issue that has cropped up lately is the question as to whether the medications one is taking is in fact the real McCoy. In general, medications can be expensive, even for just one, and the cost of trying to be healthy can soar if one needs to take a number of medications. This is a true hardship especially not only for senior citizens who are on Social Security benefits, but for anyone who lives on a tight fixed income and must decide whether to spend their money on their medications or eat.

Instead of heading to their local pharmacy, many people looking for a cheaper alternative to their prescribed medications may resort to anyone of the on-line prescription websites. If one was to do a Google search and typed in the words "On-line Prescriptions" one comes up with the staggering results of 9,090,000 on-line prescription websites. Also, it's not only people that have a specific medication prescribed to them, but some people may decide to self-medicate themselves. By that I mean, if one has a known medical condition, may look up medications for their specific health issue, and pick out a medication that sounds good to them and decide to order on-line, as many of these on-line prescription websites don't even require a doctor's prescription. But how safe are these medications? And the better question to ask, are they indeed real to begin with?

The danger lies in the fact that one is truly taking their life and health in their own hands if one decides to buy prescriptions on-line just to save money since the majority of prescriptions one can buy on-line aren't even the real thing, that is they are more likely to be counterfeit. However, the more alarming fact is that not only are counterfeit medications showing up on the on-line websites, but in one's trusted pharmacy, and the results could prove fatal.

The counterfeit prescription drug market is nothing new but actually goes back several years, but is now increasing and on the rise. This counterfeit illegal market is an estimated $40 million dollar industry yearly worldwide. The so-called prescription medications that are counterfeit may indeed look like the real thing, but contain non of the true pharmaceutical ingredients of the real thing. Even a trained pharmacist might not be able to tell the difference between the real from the fake medication unless he conducted a chemical testing of the medication in question. (1)

Not only are the counterfeit medications made of inferior ingredients, they are often made with ingredients that can be downright lethal. Upon chemical analysis of these counterfeit medications, it had been discovered that such ingredients as boric acid, heavy metals, and road paint can be found in them. To give the medications that shiny surface appearance, floor wax had been used to coat the medications. (2)

I think it can be said that most people, however, would never think of resorting to an on-line medication website, but unfortunately, even going to one's tried and true pharmacist one can also be putting themselves at risk. More and more counterfeit medications are showing up in pharmacies worldwide. A case in point is in the article Counterfeit Drugs, Real Problems which relates where the son of Kevin Fagan, Tom, had to take a prescription after his liver transplant. Instead of helping him, Tom experienced only more excruciating pain each and every time he took the medication. The medication, bought at his pharmacist proved to be counterfeit.

Another danger with prescription medications also in evidence with the generic brands of medications, which while may not be counterfeit are far inferior to the brand name medication. Once again, people may think they are saving money by getting the generic equivalent of a medication but they too may be exposing themself to an inferior product that may prove ineffective to their health and medical needs.

In the news only a little while ago was the disclosure by the FDA that has investigated various laboratories that manufacture generic type medications and in particular two factories that are run by Ranbaxy Laboratories which is a company located in India and of which their generic medications are distributed worldwide and for all you know may be sold at your local pharmacy.

It should be noted that Ranbaxy is the manufacturer of some thirty generic drugs, from the antibiotic types such as Amoxicilin, Cephalexin (Keflex), cholesterol reducing medications such as the Fenofibrate group (Tricor, Antara) to diabetic medications (Metformin HCL). There is a full listing of the medications involved here Ranbaxy Manufactured Medications

The problem with these generic medications manufactured by such a pharmaceutical company as Ranbaxy is that the medications may be inferior in quality, that is may not be the full prescribed strength, and that the conditions that they are manufactured under do not meet the safety standards that the FDA has set forth. Some issues cited by the FDA is that there may be a cross-contamination of medications, that is batches of one kind of medication may be made shortly after the manufacture of another type of medication that is unrelated and that the processing of the medication is made without proper sterilization to insure the purity of the medication in question. In other words, one may think they are getting a cholesterol reducing medication, but may have traces of a diabetic type as well. (3)

I think the bottom line here, is that if you really must take medications, just beware of where you're getting them from. While you may think you are saving money by getting on-line prescriptions, you may be quite literally taking your health not to mention your life in your hands as chances are they are counterfeit. As far as getting one's medications in one's pharmacy, be consciously aware of what you are getting....is it a generic type or the more expensive brand label? One way to be able to check out what you're getting is to go to the Drugs.com Website At this website is a link for a Pill Identifier in which one can type in the name of their medication. Images can be provided for any medication according to it's strength and imprinted number that almost all medications have. This will tell you where the origin and manufacturer of the medication is from, whether from the major pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer to the generic brands that are manufactured by such laboratories Ranbaxy.

Articles About the Counterfeit Drug Trade

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=5796287&page=1

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=5796287&page=2 (1) (2)

Inferior Prescription Medications

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/09/16/ranbaxy-fda-generic-markets-equity-cx_lal_0916markets39.html (3)

ARTICLE: Are We Needlessly Over Medicating Children? The Drugging of Our Children

(Originally Published at Yahoo.voices formerly Associated Content~November 11, 2007)

ABSTRACT: Since 1995 there has been an alarming upsurge of medicating children for any kind of emotional or behavioral problem with powerful psychotropic drugs which may not be necessary. CONTENT: I must confess, I've never been an advocate of taking medications to begin with, and I would rather go a more natural healing and nutritional path to help any illness. Thankfully, I'm a relatively healthy person, and therefore there has been no need for me to take medications to begin with. It's unfortunate however, that in our society, that those in the medical community are often all too eager to cram medications at us, for any aliment or health problem, be it medical or emotional/behavorial. We ourselves are often just as guilty in wanting to take a medication for just about anything, when in many cases, a simple, yet radical change in diet could be not only beneficial but the answer for many of our health problems.

Nowhere is this trend more apparent than in the recent upsurge, from the years beginning around 1995 to the present, of the medical community giving out medications to children. The kind of medications I'm talking about are those that are in the category of potent mind-altering, psychotropic drugs, such as Ritalin and Adderall which are the most prescribed for children suspected of having ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder); or, for those children who may be demonstrating any signs of depression or autistic tendencies, the group of SSRI (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) medications, such as Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft are the most commonly prescribed. Often, children who are suspected of either autism or depression problems, may also be prescribed the same ADHD medications as well.

I'm not saying that there aren't verified cases of children who may indeed be suffering from any of the emotional or behavioral problems such as ADHD, depression or autism, but is the medical and pharmaceutical communities all too eager to jump the gun and prescribe what may be needless medications for even the slightest demonstration of emotional problems a child may have, and perhaps only making the situation worse?

In a very informative, and sometimes disturbing documentary video which can be viewed on Mercola.com and which was created by the health nutritionist expert, Gary Null, Mr Null points out how children are needlessly being prescribed strong psychotropic medications, with often very detrimental and harmful results. According to him, he relates in this video, that between six to seven million children are given prescription medications as part of their morning routine right along with their breakfast and vitamins, especially Ritalin, which is classified as an amphetamine. Is it any wonder then why children continue to have behavior problems that may actually worsen by the taking of such medications, and these children remain agitated, nervous, fidgety and classified as hyperactive? Is it any wonder why these medications which are supposed to be helping children with emotional or behavioral problems, are not only creating children who are more agitated and possibly violent, but also often more suicidal than children that don't take these medications?

Yes, maybe just maybe, these medications can help children that actually do have a one-hundred percent verified diagnosis of such conditions of emotional and behavioral problems, but to give such medications for any "symptom" that could suggest ADHD, depression or autism, is like giving a child or teenager a loaded gun...quite literally.

In the opening of the Gary Null video, "The Drugging of Our Children", one case that is shown of Corey Baadsgaard, who describes how one morning, he woke up, not feeling particularly well, and decided to sleep late and not attend school until his third period class. However, the next thing he remembers is waking up in a juvenile detention center, not having remembered anything from that first initial time he woke up to until waking up in that detention center. When he was asked by the staff of the center, if he knew why he was there, Corey confessed that he hadn't a clue. They proceeded to tell him that he had taken a gun to that third period class and was threatening his fellow students with that loaded gun. Why did this seemingly "all-American" honor student do this? It is then disclosed that he was hallucinating on the commonly prescribed SSRI medication Paxil, which is an anti-depressant medication given to people with depression, obsessive-compusive disorders and anxiety disorders.

In another segment of the video, it shows of yet another student, Eric Harris, who had been taken an anti-depressant for a full year, which caused him to have bizarre and violent fantasies. He too, went to his school with a loaded gun, holding students hostage and threatening to kill everyone there.

Yes, it can be argued and true that children nowadays have a lot more stress in growing up than children say twenty or more years ago. Also, while children may have had behavioral problems in the past, the terms ADHD or autism weren't even known then. Yet, nowadays any seeming emotional problem a child may demonstrate is almost automatically diagnosed as some kind of emotional problem and therefore the child or teenager must be medicated. But is this really true? The video seems to suggest that if parents, teachers or physicians notice that a child demonstrates the slightest case of being agitated, fidgety, or disruptive in class, the child is therefore assumed almost automatically as being ADHD. Or, in quite the opposite behavior pattern, if a child or teenager demonstrates symptoms of being withdrawn, quiet, or lost in his or her own world, then the child may be then labeled as autistic. All I can say is, if I were a child growing up now, no doubt I would have been classified as autistic, as I was extremely shy and withdrawn in my younger years, but of course, I wasn't, I was just simply very shy.

What Gary Null the nutritionist has often expressed, in any one of his near one-hundred books on nutrition and diet he has written, concerning the many problems any one of us can have, whether it'd be health or emotional wise is all due to a poor diet. This is and can especially be even more apparent for children and could be the actual cause of a child's demonstrating any number of behavioral problems. Not only has Mr. Null expressed his views about improper nutrition for a myriad of health or emotional problems, but other nutritionists as well, such as Andrew Weil have also expressed the issue of proper nutrition and diet for all around better physical and mental health issues. One of the prime and main culprit's that can trigger behavioral problems especially in children is the consumption of too many processed foods, especially any foods made from processed,white, bleached flour, and most certainly and particularly, too much sugar.

While we can all benefit from a more healthy diet no matter what our age is, children, especially in their formative years particularly need a more nutritious and well-balanced diet. Nowadays most parents both work, and paying attention to their children's dietary needs may suffer due mainly to lack of time. How much easier is it for a parent to give a child that bowl of that sugar-laden cereal, pack a quick lunch of maybe peanut butter and jelly with a sugary snack, and then have pizza, or a take-out dinner from a fast food restaurant? Instead of providing more healthy juices to drink, how many parents are guilty of giving their children soda; or instead of giving a child a healthier choice of giving them some fruit will give their child that cupcake, donut, or any other sweet treat, so in effect overdosing their child with more and more sugar which is known to create hyperactivity in children. While of course, some may argue that sugar has nothing to do with hyperactivity, we must remember we as a whole are consuming more sugar than we used to.

Now lets take a look at some of the specifics of these medications themselves. While Ritalin and Adderall are by no means the only medications prescribed for ADHD and on many occasion Autism, they are the most common. The others are Concerta, Cylert, Wellbutrin and Tenex. All are stimulant type drugs much in the same way amphetamines are, and all work on a child's or teenager's central nervous system. They are supposedly enable the child/teenager patient to have the ability to focus better and have a better attention span than those children who may have ADHD and do not take the medications. However, on the website created by Dr. Weathers (http://adhdhelp.org) he, as well as many in the medical profession have considered these medications as "Kiddie Cocaine." Also, all these medications, especially Ritalin can have serious side effects, such as toxic psychosis, psychotic episodes, drug dependence, and yes, can create hallucinations and delusions. (1)

Another common way the medical profession resorts to treating behavioral problems in children is to prescribe anti-depressants such as the most commonly prescribed Prozac. However, it is a well known fact, that anti-depressants can often trigger suicidal thinking not just in adults, but especially in children and are usually not given to children under a certain age, yet, Prozac has somehow been given the green light and go ahead to be given to young children and adolescents.(2)

I'm not saying that there are certified and verified cases of children with emotional problems such as ADHD or autism, but are we as a society all to eager and ready to "medicate" our children for any seemingly slight behavioral problem? Are we making our children worse by readily giving out such medications? Can this possibly be the reason, why we are hearing of more and more cases of children or teenagers going suddenly violent or psychotic, bringing loaded guns to school, and holding their fellow peers and teachers hostage, and in worse case scenarios, killing some of them?

What I find rather ironically amusing about all this, is that we often tell our children the dangers of taking drugs, such as Cocaine, Heroin, and Marijuana, just because they are illegal. But are we doing our children a service by giving them prescribed medications such as those for children who may or may not actually have ADHD or autism just because they show any kind of emotional or behavioral problem? Are we drugging our children? Nutritionist Gary Null and many in the medical profession seem to think so, and maybe after watching his lengthy video, you may come to this conclusion as well.

Main source of information, including the Gary Null documentary video:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/09/20/
the-tragic-consequences-of-drugging-our-children.aspx

Other Sources Used For This Article:

http://www.mercola.com/2002/apr/13/depression_drugs.htm

http://autism.about.com/od/treatmentoptions/f/drugsfaq.htm

Information Sources About Medications:

http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/drug_guide/Ritalin (1)

http://www.adhdhelp.org/ritalin.htm

http://www.drugs.com/adderall.html

http://add.about.com/cs/medications/f/stimulant4.htm

http://www.adhdhelp.org/concerta.htm

http://www.drugs.com/paxil.html

http://www.prozac.com/common_pages/safety_information.jsp(2)

Information On Gary Null and his books

http://www.garynull.com/

Some Facts About Too Much Sugar

http://www.mendosa.com/overload.htm