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Death as Side Effect Drug Companies New Problem

To continue making huge profits the big drug companies (pharmaceuticals) must either create new drugs or invent new diseases to get more people taking their drugs. We've seen it in the current practice of prescribing anti-depressants for children. Since when did all the kids need to be medicated? I see it as a sign that something is seriously wrong in our world.

Have you seen the TV ads showing a fit, trim and healthy person who eats right, exercises regularly (they make a point of telling you this) and then they show them with downcast face being told by their doctor they still have high cholesterol. Next frame you see them smiling again. Why? They got a prescription for a cholesterol lowering medication. They wipe that smile off in a fat hurry when they realize they must take this new, expensive drug for the rest of their life! Small wonder the drug companies love these medications, and small wonder we all are being told we need them.

People please use some common sense. Medicine is not an exact science. If you eat well, exercise regularly, get enough sleep and have a reasonably low level of day-to-day stress then you are probably not going to benefit to a degree that warrants the risks of the side effects, just for the sake of a slightly lower cholesterol level.

Death as a Side Effect?

When you hear the drug ads you also hear a lengthy list of side effects at the end. These are like a bad skit from Saturday Night Live. When death is added, that's a problem in my mind. I'm just saying do yourself a favor and work on getting back to better health through eating better, exercising more, lowering your stress. Drugs should be the last resort, not the first.

I'm not the only one who believes drug companies are out of control. Here are some articles I found on the same theme: Death is not a Side Effect, writing about anti-depressants; a US News report called Fatal Side Effect, about anti-psychotics, and don't forget Celebrex Side Effects and Vioxx Side Effects.

Over 200,000 people a year die from "adverse reactions" from prescription drugs, and another 80,000 die from medical malpractice, whereas 41,000 die in auto accidents, according to the pharmacy industry magazine, Drug Topics, October 23, 1995, pgs. 14-16! That's one death every two minutes!

Low cholesterol anyone?

It's ridiculous to take ultra expensive pills to lower your cholesterol yet still sport an extra 30 pounds around the middle. Lose the weight first, then if you still think it's necessary, try the drug routine, not the other way around.

Many times the side effects are worse than the original illness they were created to treat. Death is a pretty significant side effect in my opinion, as is liver failure and heart disease. Since most people taking cholesterol lowering drugs are elderly and the elderly are more likely to suffer heart problems, it simply does not make sense to put them on a drug that actually increases that risk.

Remember drug companies are in business to make money, not friends, so as I like to say, "Vote with your pocketbook and just say, "No thanks," to prescription drugs you really don't need and won't do you any good, and say, "Yes" to food as your medicine. Just because your doctor suggests a cholesterol lowering drug does not mean you must run to get the prescription filled. Doctors prescribe pills. A surgeon will suggest surgery, not chiropractic.

Unless your doctor is knowledgeable about nutrition and other aspects of health (outside of pill pushing), he's not likely to suggest anything but a drug to mask the symptoms of what ails you.

Drugs are not the answer to our health problems, they never were. Instead put more attention on eating well, reduce your emotional issues with EFT and NLP, and get your head on straight. It's time to take back our health from the pill pushers.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts

This site (FDA Recalls) vividly displays the obvious disparity and contradiction between pharmaceutical companies and those trying to manage their own health using foods and herbs as medicine just as originally suggested by Hippocrates in 400 AD.

For example on Dec 16, 2004 FDA initiated a seizure of Ginseng because it was said to have unsafe pesticide residues. The pesticides were deemed unsafe because there is no tolerance established for residues of those specific chemicals, not because of any reported problems or concerns. In other words FDA felt the ginseng should be removed as a safety precaution because a safe level for the pesticides had not yet been established, so therefore it must be unsafe by definition. What the?

That's ridiculous all by itself but even more startling when you consider that as of December 23, 2004, FDA is still undecided about Celebrex*, Vioxx and Bextra, all known to cause heart, liver and disease problems some of them fatal. They've gone so far as to warn the public not to take common over-the-counter anti-inflammatories such as Aleve and Naprosyn for longer than 10 days at a time.

Yet, have they seized Celebrex, Vioxx and Bextra? No. Have they issued dire warnings to the public that they are unsafe? No, not at all, yet they rush to impound a shipment of ginseng?

They are playing a wait-and-see game with our health.

"Although these [heart, liver and disease problems] are important findings, at this point FDA has seen only the preliminary results of the studies. FDA will obtain all available data on these and other ongoing Celebrex trials as soon as possible and will determine the appropriate regulatory action."

In other words, we're taking our sweet time because we're dealing with a pharmaceutical company here. No need to be hasty. You may recall that Vioxx, another Cox-2 inhibitor similar to Celebrex was voluntarily withdrawn from the market by Merek itself, no doubt instead of waiting for the flood of lawsuits sure to come from grieving widows and widowers.

So, if it grows outside, watch out for dire warnings and FDA agents raiding your yard, but if it's a chemical concoction made by a company with profits to protect be assured the FDA is keeping a close eye on the situation and will do whatever it can to protect those profits and the drug companies best interests for as long as possible.

If you have any adverse side effects from food or medicine report them to FDA via the MedWatch program by phone 1-800-FDA-1088, by fax 1-800-FDA-0178, or online at MedWatch.

* I originally mistakenly used Celebrex in referenc to cholesterol lowering and that was incorrect. It is a Cox-2 inhibitor. I regret the error. P.S. I am not a doctor.