Have
you peeked in your medicine cabinet lately? We live in an
over-medicated society. Now, I'm not just talking about prescription
drugs dealt out like cards in a game of Poker. I'm also talking about
the over the counter and off the shelf medications available . . .
well, practically everywhere anymore.
Our
TV screens are full of ads for over the counter and off the shelf
meds for everything from a cuticle to migraines to acid indigestion
to common head colds to a pain in the . . . elbow. Medicine is BIG
business. And, not only is it big business, it's both expensive to
the consumer and very profitable to the retailing channels and the
manufacturers.
And,
I'll take this one step further. Let's not neglect the “supplement”
products that will improve your memory, protect men's prostates, help
your eyesight, balance your moods and a litany of other things.
How
did humanity survive before there were all these little orange and
brown and white and transparent bottles of pills, powders and liquids
to solve every possible malady known to humans since the beginning of
time, plus a whole bunch of things we never knew existed and were a
problem. Does all this stuff REALLY work? Does it all actually make
your quality of life better? How much of it may be more placebo than
actual working medication or effective supplement? Or, is much or
most of it simply ways to remove money from your bank account and
transfer it to the retailers' and manufacturers' shareholders,
founders and patent holders' accounts?
Oh
my! Am I a Doubting Thomas? Who am I to question the efficacy of
these claims on TV or in magazines or the government employees
earning huge salaries at the FDA or the FTC? Don't you just love all
these government agencies we're paying for with their important
acronyms beginning with the letter “F?”
Reality
Check
Okay!
So, let's do a little reality check. How full is your medicine
cabinet? Do you also keep meds and supplements in your nightstand
drawer, dresser or chest of drawers, a kitchen cabinet, your purse or
your attache' case? What meds do you have? How many are supposed to
do the same things? Why do you have them? When was the last time you
actually used most of them, other than doctor prescribed meds you're
supposed to take according to the directions on the labels. How many
prescribed meds do you have where you've never completed the course
of treatment, like antibiotics?
If
you can honestly say you don't have a lot of things you bought
because you had a situation like a cold, some indigestion, acid
reflux, a sore cuticle, a headache, an aching knee or leg, a stomach
ache, etc. You can name the malady. Are you on prescription drugs
where you've suffered some kind of side effect, so the doctor
prescribed another med to counter act the side effect of the first
med? Sometimes this can go several meds deep just to take care of one
issue.
How
many of these medications and supplements, regardless of whether they
are prescribed, over the counter, off the shelf or supplements are
brand names and how many are store brands or generic? Have you
checked the difference in cost between the brand names, the store
brands and the generics? It's usually quite substantial.
Have
you checked to find out what the difference is between the off the
shelf variety of a medication and the prescribed version of the same
med? For example, I discovered one time that the prescription version
of Tylenol or the generic name, Acetaminophen, is typically the same
as four 325mg tablets. The off the shelf variety is either 325mg or
500mg. This is being cut back. At one time 4,000mg of Acetaminophen
was the maximum daily dosage. Due to the very high possibility of
liver damage, it is suggested that people using this stuff should
only take a single 325mg tablet. Stay away from that 4,000mg daily
limit.
But,
here's the real deal. Good old fashioned aspirin will do the same job
as all the other “pain killing” compounds and it's been around a
lot longer. It's also considerably less expensive. So, consider
eliminating all the other pain relievers and use aspirin as your
standard. And, yes, I know there are reports that aspirin can cause
some stomach damage. It's suggested that you always have something in
you stomach when you take it.
As
far as all the other stuff. There was a time when I was affiliated
with a multilevel marketing business that sold vitamins and food
supplements. Of course, since I was pushing the product, I consumed
it. I was taking so many tablets of all these supplements that I
could have probably skipped eating regular food . . . except, I
happen to really enjoy eating certain foods. I decided to do a little
experimenting on my own. I wanted to see how much impact all this
“good” supplementation was having on me. So, I cut back from mega
tablets several times a day to a simple multivitamin once a day. I
cut the other stuff out cold turkey. I let a month or two go by. The
interesting thing was I felt no different without them. I didn't eat
or crave anything different. I had the same energy level.
So,
what did this tell me? It simply said that my body was receiving all
the nutrition it needed from my normal diet and the multivitamin may
have filled in a thing or two that I couldn't tell the difference
about.
I'm
not a doctor, dietitian or nutritionist. I'm not telling you what to
take or not to take. I'm not selling you anything. I'm simply saying
this is what I found out about ME. Maybe it's time for you to do some
experimenting with whatever you may be taking, IF you're taking a
bunch of supplements. You may find, like me, no difference, in which
case, especially since all my blood lab reports said my chemistry was
right on target, I began saving a LOT of money.
The
same is true for all the meds. One person I read about said, when she
took some of the highly touted cold meds, her typical cold symptoms
lasted about 8 to 10 days. When she stopped using all the
high-priced, heavily advertised, miracle cold remedies and just
switched to aspirin, her cold symptoms were gone in 3 to 4 days. I
don't know about you, but I really, really, intensely dislike colds.
Fortunately, my resistance is usually high enough I seldom have them.
But, I'd much prefer dealing with the symptoms for 3 to 4 days at a
lot less cost than 8 to 10 days at a much higher cost. What do you
think about that?
Here's
the deal. We're talking about simplifying our lives. That goes hand
in hand with minimizing and economizing. We live in a society that's
over-medicated and even addicted, not necessarily in a narcotic way,
but just becoming dependent on either prescription or over the
counter or off the shelf meds. That being said, there is also a
serious addiction issue with things like Vicodin, Oxycodone, DMX and
codeine laced cough medicines, etc. They are highly addictive.
I
asked, at the beginning of this article, how people survived before
we had the array of both prescription and non-prescription drugs? My
guess is that we learned to deal/cope with things. There were lots of
natural and herbal concoctions, especially from the Far East, that
people used. And, of course, narcotic/opioids were dispensed rather
freely back then. So, all was not necessarily better or safer. But,
pharmaceuticals have become not just a big industry, but a humongous
industry. There is a pill, ointment, cream or liquid for virtually
anything you can name.
We
have an entire medical specialty called “Pain Management.” I'm
not going to suggest that living in pain is good. Nor will I suggest
that doctors who specialize in this field are evil. I'm just saying,
in some cases, the collaboration of the medical profession and Big
Pharma may not be too different that getting in bed with the devil.
Personally,
and this is NOT my recommendation, it's my preference to take as
little as I can of any kind of meds, prescription or non-prescription
and supplements. I will put off taking anything as long as I can and
I'll get off it as soon as I can.
My
Personal Disclosure
In
all fairness, I will make this disclosure. I currently take two blood
pressure meds. My blood pressure is generally right in zone most of
the time. I was on a med for cholesterol and triglycerides, but I
finally worked it out with my doctor to take me off that med. I am
working at reducing my weight and exercising more to eventually
eliminate the blood pressure meds.
I
take a daily multivitamin I take a single 81mg baby aspirin. It's not
prescribed by my doc, but she thinks it's not a bad idea. At my age
it should help keep my blood flowing and avoid possible clots and
stroke activity. I take a vitamin D capsule. However, now that I
spend a considerable amount of time in the sun, I get adequate
natural vitamin D. And, I take about 1,000mg of Omega 3 from one fish
oil capsule a day. The Omega 3 supposedly helps keep my cholesterol
and triglycerides down. At the moment, I can't prove that one way or
the other.
Although
my “drug of choice” for headaches and an occasional body ache is
Acetaminophen, I always carry a bottle of regular strength aspirin
with me. I still have a jug of a generic version of Acetaminophen I
have been traveling with. However, I'm focusing more on using aspirin
and eliminating the Acetaminophen from my storage saving space.
I
have eliminated a large box of stuff I used to have and kept for
years. Yes, I do have some antibiotic ointment I use on cuts and
scratches. I do have an anti-itch cream I use when I get insect
bites. I do maintain a variety of band-aids plus, gauze pads and tape
for the occasional larger wound, but that's about it.
And,
as soon as I can get off the two blood pressure meds (both generic
and so economical my Medicare prescription plan doesn't even count
them), they will be gone. I will stop using the Vitamin D capsules
when I run out of them. Once I lose a little more weight and I'm
pleased with my level of physical activity, I'll probably drop the
fish oil capsules. Ultimately, I will maintain a daily multivitamin
and a baby aspirin. Who knows, maybe one day those will go even
though they are very inexpensive. It will be two less things to think
about and stock.
The
Bottom Line
What's
the bottom line for Tip #9? Simple! Less is more. Go through all . .
. that's ALL . . . your meds and supplements. With any prescription
meds you'll need to get with your doctor before you just stop using
them. There could be serious withdrawal or side effects. But, have a
serious discussion about exactly why you're on them, what they are
actually supposed to be doing for you and discuss a plan to reduce
the dosage and, eventually, eliminate them.
Get
rid of any old prescriptions. Go to a pharmacy to see if there is a
safe way to discard these substances. Don't just dump them down the
drain or toilet, it could (along with other people doing the same
thing) contaminate the sewer and eventually the drinking water or
rivers and streams.
Go
through all the non-prescription over the counter and off the shelf
remedies and supplements you have stockpiled. I you haven't used them
since you can't remember when, get rid of them. If you do use them
consider doing some experiments like I did. Stop using one for at
least a month. See if you notice any changes in your body, thinking,
emotions, energy and so on. If not, it means, you're probably only
realizing a placebo effect. In other words, you feel good because
since you bought them and take them, you think you feel good. In
fact, there may be no impact on you at all. Get rid of them one at a
time.
Simplify
your necessary meds and remedies by using aspirin, maintaining an
antibiotic ointment and, maybe, a lozenge you've found effective for
the occasional dry or sore throat.
Here
is one other important point. I'm not suggesting that all medications
prescribed by your doctor are unnecessary. I'm also not suggesting
that all doctors prescribe medications without solid medical and
scientific reason. But, ask the important questions regarding each
medication prescribed. Be sure to make your wishes known that you
don't want a med prescribed that you'll have to remain on for a long
duration or the rest of your life without absolutely good scientific
reason. If you are prescribed an antibiotic, use the entire
prescription until it's gone. Just because the symptoms of a medical
issue may be gone doesn't mean the cause is gone. Stop taking the
antibiotic too soon and the situation could return.
I
spent a total of 35 days on Doxycycline for Lyme Disease. That is a
lot of time to be on an antibiotic. However, that was what the doctor
felt was necessary to catch the Lyme Disease at the early stage to
hopeful prevent future problems from it. Once you have Lyme Disease,
it's something you want to have control over. If it comes back at
some future time, it can cause devastating medical problems including
heart attacks and death. So far, five years out, I haven't had any
issues. I'm hopeful the 35 days of antibiotic treatment may have
circumvented future problems.
So,
there's your tip. Clean out all your meds and supplements. Keep and
use only those that are effective and, hopefully, inexpensive. Do the
best you can to keep yourself healthy and fit to avoid the necessity
of requiring any prescriptions from the doctor. This will save space,
time and money and go another big step toward simplifying your life.
Share
this article with friends, family and colleagues. Share your own
thoughts and experiences by contributing a comment below that may
enlighten other readers and me more. Like the Living Free fan page on
Facebook and join me on Google +. And, as always, thanks for reading.
Live
free and be happy. EH
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