The World of Pharmaceutical Effects
The World of Pharmaceutical Effects
While this may be a bit extreme, it is not an uncommon turn of events.
Prescribed Metformin for the diabetes caused by the Hydrochlorothiazide taken for high blood pressure caused by the Ambian taken for insomnia caused by the Xanax taken for the anxiety caused by Wellbutrin taken for chronic fatigue caused by Lipitor taken for the high cholesterol created by an inappropriate diet, lack of movement and generally poor lifestyle choices!
All drugs have an effect on the body, after all that is their purpose, to elicit a change within body chemistry. The only question is if that effect is wanted or unwanted. And can you even seperate the two.
Did you know that if a drug results in a desired effect 40% of the time it is considered a big success. But that also means that most of the time you will not experience the desired effect. For those occasions, you may have your prescription dosage changed, or they may try a different drug or create a drug cocktail consisting of multiple drugs. If that doesn’t work, there is always the option of removing the non-compliant tissue as if it doesn’t serve any purpose in the first place.
What they don’t talk about, or if they do, they gloss over it, is the unwanted effects, otherwise known as side-effects. These unwanted effects are far more common than the desired effects.
In actuality, whether you experience the desired effect or not, unwanted effects are always present. Most people just don’t know what to look for.
The reason I even mention any of this is the result of a conversation I recently had with a former client. About two years ago he came down with a rather nasty infection. Ultimately he was given a prescription for Levaquin (Cipro is closely related and also a fluoroquinolone). Very soon after starting the treatment he started having problems with his achilles tendon and arch. He was diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis. The problem is that it was not responding to any common treatment. It is only recently, in the past few months, that he feels 100% recovered.
You may be wondering what is the point of this. It turns out, there is an effect that is not entirely rare. “Levaquin may cause swelling or tearing of a tendon. Stop taking levoflaxin and call your doctor at once if you have sudden pain, swelling, bruising, tenderness, stiffness, or movement problems in any of your joints.”
What is Plantar Fasciitis? It is inflammation of the fascia of the plantar tendon. Of course he was not aware of this effect. His doctor never mentioned it nor anyone that helped him with treatment.
Do you know how he found out about this connection? A friend of his endured the exact same symptoms after taking the exact same drug. He found that it can take up to 1½ years for the body to eliminate the drug and repair the damaged tissue.
On a hunch, I mentioned this to a client that is currently in the latter stages of recovering from Plantar Fasciitis. While she did not take the drug just prior to the onset, a friend of hers taking Cipro blew out her achilles tendon soon after starting the drug.
Coincidence? Conspiracy? You tell me. While this is a small sampling of events, what is most interesting is that there were never made aware of the connection at the time the prescription was written and no one treating the aftermath seemed aware of the connection either.
What can you do? What should you do? Prior to taking any prescription drug or if you are currently taking one, or two, or three or more. You may want to go online to a site such as drugs.com and search your prescription and read up on its effects. You may be surprised by what you find. Don’t forget to plug in all your prescriptions (if you take multiple) into the Interactions Checker.
As I was reading up on Levaquin, I saw these statements:
“Fluoroquinolone antibiotics can cause serious or disabling effects.” I already mentioned the tendon damage. But would you be concerned by effects such as: “burning pain, confusion, agitation, paronoia, problems with memory or concentration, thoughts of suicide”… and best of all...“In rare cases, levofloxacin (Levaquin) may cause damage to your aorta, which could lead to dangerous bleeding or death.”
I don’t know about you, but I personally believe that your prescribing doctor should know these things and bring them to your attention. I would like to know!
My question is this. What happened to the Hippocratic Oath? Is it even used today, does it actually mean anything or is it just some part of tradition used for show and entertainment?
In the end you have two options.
You can do nothing and be forced into the current medical system with all its baggage, good and bad and hope for the best, empowering others to take care of you.
Or you can be proactive and empower yourself. After all, who knows you better than you do?
Personally, I prefer option two. I have taken responsibility for my own health and state of being. I have educated myself and worked with others much more knowledgeable than myself. In turn, my Personal Training and Transformational Health Coaching programs are me trying to be useful by spreading the word while being an example of possibilities.
If you want to learn more, if you want to discover how I can be part of your health and fitness team. Contact me and we can set up a consultation. For those interested in turning their health around, location is not an issue as I can work with just about anyone, anywhere via skype.