By Anna Von Reitz
Too many seniors in this country are overburdening their bodies with pills that are at best useless and at worst, life-threatening. This problem has only gotten worse along with medical "specialization" and the endless referral system that goes along with it.
It is no longer possible to just go to "your" doctor, be diagnosed, informed and treated. The protocol now requires your doctor to refer you to one or more specialists. This means more time and energy spent to go to more doctor appointments in hopes of getting a more precise diagnosis or treatment plan.
Usually your "primary care" physician will give you one or more pills to take for your generalized symptoms and each specialist referral will net 2-5 more. The total number of bottles of pills from one cycle of this system can easily be 6-10 drugs prescribed by three different physicians who don't talk to each other about your case.
There you are, taking ten different pills, presumably for ten different things, and nothing but the internet and your own stubbornness to help you plow through the endless recitations of "possible side effects" and "possible drug interactions".
Ten side effects each times six bottles of pills equals sixty potential side effects and then when you count up possible drug interactions, you have to multiply again by whatever you determine that number to be, so, for example, 60 X16 possible drug interactions gives you 960 different possible combinations of side effects and drug interactions to deal with.
What we've discovered over the past five years of frontline experience is that most Patent Medicines (prescriptions) really are Snake Oil and not worth taking. They also follow fashion crazes.
Gabapentin is last year's favorite hemline, a dangerous psychotropic drug which works via mechanisms nobody understands yet, is being prescribed for bipolar syndrome, diabetes, arthritis, nerve pain, epilepsy, tremors, pain associated with broken bones, restless leg syndrome (why not throw in constipation?) and is being handed out to seniors who have no idea how strong this drug is, how addictive it is, and what they may suffer as a result of taking it. Sometimes, doctors appear to prescribe it just for the heck of it, to people who have symptoms or conditions totally unrelated to any of the things that Gabapentin is usually prescribed for.
The laundry list of side effects is longer than we want to devote our time to writing out in full, but.... for samples, heart arrhythmia, edema, sudden mood swings, depression, low blood pressure, dizziness, disorientation, lack of balance, sleep disturbances, nightmares, hallucinations, skin disorders, cramps, seizures, low blood sugar....
and if some other Helpful Hannah in the run amok "Health" Industry gives you a muscle relaxant on top of it, you will soon be completely incontinent, pooping and peeing all over your bed and furniture like a giant six week old puppy, or doing all the above while confined to a wheelchair.
People will think you are on your way out, one foot out of the grave and ready to topple in any day now, when all that happened was the reckless prescription of a designer drug, made by an ignorant or uncaring doctor raking in commission payments from the sale of this drug. More than half the time, these drugs cause the exact symptoms you are trying to overcome.
So don't trust your health decisions --- any of them --- to your friendly all-purpose health care professional, and especially don't just take whatever drugs get recommended. Sort through them. Consider which ones are time honored and have known, reasonable risks associated with them. These may be worth taking, but look at the latest drugs with practiced skepticism.
Do the drugs you've been given do what they are supposed to do? Are any of these drugs specifically helping you in some measurable way? Or are you just chucking them down, sight unseen, for days, months or years with no identifiable benefit?
The unreliability of the "medical system" we are heir to in this country and its conflict of interest should now be apparent to everyone. Ronald Reagan's advice to "Trust but verify." is certainly even better advice now than it was then.
The advice that Nancy Reagan gave, "Just say no." also applies. If you are the least bit questioning the appropriateness and safety of a prescription drug, don't just take it. Dig in until you are sure that it is both "safe" and "effective" in your circumstance and don't just trust the doctor. Feel free to walk away.
Each and every time you are given a new prescription, check it out thoroughly before taking it.
They are now handing out drugs like candy and many of those drugs are deliberately laced with chemically addictive substances (similar to what they do with cigarettes to make them addictive), so that once you are on these prescription drugs they are difficult to get away from and involve serious detoxification side effects. If your health overall is the least bit precarious, you don't need the extra stress and physical strain.
The stronger and more expensive a drug is, the more likely it is to be severely addictive. The newer and more whizbang it is, the more likely it is to be unstable and have unknown results and unlisted side effects.
Another psychotropic drug that is being handed out to seniors is Seroquel, which is clearly labeled, "Not for patients over 65" and "May speed early onset of dementia."
Pay attention to the instructions yourself.
You cannot rely on Medical Doctors to take care of you, so be forewarned, you have to be proactive in taking care of yourself.
Regrettably, part of what is driving this rampant problem is that doctors are getting kickbacks for prescribing drugs. You can check out your doctors here:
Granna
