I have been asked several times by family, friends and random strangers who have read my blog...Is this pill safe, Is that pill safe or should I take this medicine or not? I am writing this entry in dedication to my beautiful Aunt who has been diagnosed with Lupus. She made me realize that I should put some of this information out into the world. This is all based on my experience and is a personal opinion. I am not a doctor, pharmacist or medical professional just a person who was a healthy 20 y/o athlete in college who has been crippled for 5 years now all because she took the antibiotic Levaquin and has spent much of her bedridden days researching the truth. (Run on sentence I know, Mr Giffin would not be proud but hey it is to make a point)
I want to first say that I have a system: I have one young pharmacist and one old timer that both know and admit the dangers of antibiotics..I feel like this is the most important thing anyone can do especially someone with an ongoing illness. That way you get the freshest info from the young one and the real life experience from the older one. Run any meds by them before filling a script.
Doctors are not the best to talk over meds with because A: they are not required to know what they are prescribing or any of the side effects. B: They make their money by diagnosing people with ongoing diseases, giving them meds and then having to monitor them. They dont want you better, they want you coming back as often as possible. C: They get expensive perks from the drug companies to push their drugs.
This next sentiment has been said before and if you have read it but haven’t quite bought into it, you should! You know your body! A doctor does not know your body. You are the expert on how it reacts to meds and how much you can handle of the symptoms you have. The medical and pharmaceutical world doesn’t want or strive for cures, that would be “bad biz”. They make more money off of you by giving you a label such as “Depression” telling you there is no cure, only treatment and then handing out a script or two or three that you will take for the rest of your life. It is Bullshit. A doctor will tell you that you “need” a drug but you don’t. It might help your symptom but it might also give you ten more which your doctor will then scribe you a few more pills to alleviate those symptoms until you are in your 60’s and taking 23 pills a day or more!
For those of us whose illnesses are real and not going anywhere that leaves you with the symptoms. To treat or not to treat that is the question. A symptom is a sign that something is going on inside your body. Focus on the cause rather then the effect. I should also mention that I will not take any prescription medication(this includes vaccines) unless I will literally die if I don't take it. If it is a treatment and not a cure then it is not needed in my body. So my general advice is don't take anything unless that is the case. If you can live with the symptoms or find natural ways of treating them then I would go with that. I do not take anything for my disabilities with the exception of Diphenhydramine(for allergies) and Aleve(only when it hurt so much i'll chop a limb off if it doesn’t let up a little) It is amazing what your body can adapt to and even more amazing to know what your mind can conquer. I am living and working proof of that.
People have this idea in their head that life and more so their bodies should not inconvenience them. That symptoms should go away or be treated away. Like a fever, people think it is horrible and should be treated immediately. A fever is YOUR body raising ITS temperature to kill off an unsafe intruder. If you take fever reducer you are stoping a natural process and allowing that intruder to grow inside of you, thus leaving yourself sicker for longer. I let it ride and only take reducer when it is too high which results in me only being sick for about two days. My grandmother goes straight for the cold medicine at the first sniffle and is sick for weeks. Everyone has struggles in life, maybe the point isn't to find a quick and easy band-aid solution but to learn to endure and overcome.
People have this idea in their head that life and more so their bodies should not inconvenience them. That symptoms should go away or be treated away. Like a fever, people think it is horrible and should be treated immediately. A fever is YOUR body raising ITS temperature to kill off an unsafe intruder. If you take fever reducer you are stoping a natural process and allowing that intruder to grow inside of you, thus leaving yourself sicker for longer. I let it ride and only take reducer when it is too high which results in me only being sick for about two days. My grandmother goes straight for the cold medicine at the first sniffle and is sick for weeks. Everyone has struggles in life, maybe the point isn't to find a quick and easy band-aid solution but to learn to endure and overcome.
Unfortunately with drugs you never know what your bodies reaction to it will be until you take it or the lasting effects until you stop. That is why you have to pick and choose what you HAVE to put in your body and what you don’t. It is also important to remember that putting chemicals in your body is dangerous. "Medicines" are not always a miracle or even a treatment but sometimes the cause. A woman who had AIDs was taking 84 pills a day, She did not die from AIDs but from liver failure as a result of the prolonged exposure to the pills. 84 pills a day took her life only 7 years after diagnosis, at the age of 49. On the flip side there is a 94 y/o woman in Portland, OR who is still walking with no assistance and describes herself to be "healthy as a horse!" I asked her what her secret is she said "I eat REAL food and never take any medicines."
I hope I haven't scared you. There is no simple answer with this stuff except to educate and trust yourself. Be safe.
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