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Side Effects or Direct Effects of Medication

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The most common question that individuals ask before they ever take a prescription drug is, “What are the side effects?” Before you pop another pill, you must understand how medication side effects directly affect your body today and in years to come.

Medications are tested in a laboratory until the chemical reaction that they are designed to achieve is reproducible. The direct effects of this lab testing must be consistent before these chemicals are ever tested on animals or people. Once human testing begins, scientists measure the impact of these medications to see if they cause the same direct effects that were induced in a laboratory. If these effects are reproducible, the testing continues to see if any other effects occur. These are called “Side Effects” because they were not present in the laboratory setting and their impact on humans was outside of their intended effect. In actuality, these side effects are direct effects of these drugs on the body. Because we are all unique in our body chemistry, direct effects, labeled side effects, impact people differently, and they are much more common than people think.

The direct effects of Lipitor, for example, are constipation, gas, headaches, stomach pain, weakness, rash, hives, itching, difficulty breathing, chest pain, swelling of the mouth or face, bone, joint or tendon pain, change in urination, fever, chills, sore throat, flu like symptoms, joint pain, muscle pain, tenderness, weakness, bowel changes, skin changes, swelling of the hands or feet, yellowing of the eyes or skin. This “incomplete” list, according to drugs.com, shows that while Lipitor may affect cholesterol levels in the body, there can be dozens of other direct effects that impact you in an unhealthy way.

Drug companies prepare a list of side effects for the consumer, while also listing additional side effects that doctors should be aware of. If you go to drugs.com and type in any drug, then select “side effects,” you will notice that the side effects to the consumer take up half a page while the side effects/direct effects for the physician to be aware of might be up to a dozen pages. Most people are unaware of all the effects that medications can cause, and often treat these symptoms with other drugs. This is dangerous because the interactions between drugs can cause even more severe direct effects. Too many people unknowingly go down this road until their body chemistry and health is completely screwed up.

Additionally, as in the case of Lipitor, there are twelve different listings of side effects/direct effects showing adverse reactions in greater than 2 percent of the cases. When you add the numbers of each direct effect, you will notice that nearly 60 percent of cases are experiencing at least one of these effects.

The direct effects of these medications, combined with the reality of our extended life spans to 80, 90, 100 years and beyond, and knowing that drugs only need to be tested for about 8 years before they are brought to market, makes it obvious that living a lifestyle that keeps you independently healthy and free from the need for medications is your best long-term option.

Thomas Edison saw this coming over 100 years ago stating, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.” The future is now. Our office will help you and your loved ones adjust your lifestyle so that you enjoy good health for a lifetime.

Consumer Reports Backs Non-Drug Measures

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In the March 2012 issue of Consumer Reports, there is an article that matches common prescription drugs to their side effects. Provided as a quiz, medications such as Lipitor, Viagra, Cymbalta, Advair Diskus and others are separated from their possible side effects so that you, the consumer, can test your recall from the four billion dollars in advertising costs that the drug companies spent last year. Their bottom line is to “exhaust non-drug measures” first.

In the article, Consumer Reports pokes fun at the manner in which drug companies communicate their list of serious side effects calling them “so-scary-they-are-almost-funny lists over images of couples posing in bathtubs.” While the Food and Drug Administration requires drug companies to list their most serious side effects, they do not require the manner in which they are displayed.

It is up to you, the consumer, to sift through the sensationalism to find the facts. Here are a few examples of the drugs that Consumer Reports lists and their matching side effects…

Lipitor, a high blood pressure medication, can cause muscle pain or weakness, liver damage, kidney problems and/or kidney failure.

Cialis and Viagra, for erectile dysfunction, can cause back pain, muscle aches, and sudden loss of vision or hearing.

Cymbalta is prescribed for depression, general anxiety disorder, chronic osteoarthritis or fibromyalgia and can cause dizziness, liver problems, low blood pressure and fainting, higher blood pressure, problems with urine flow, or suicidal thoughts in young people.

Advair Diskus, which is prescribed for asthma and COPD, can cause severe or fatal worsening of asthma symptoms, reduced adrenal function,declined bone density, weakened immunity, or slowing of growth in children.

In all, the article lists a dozen drugs that are utilized for treatment of many conditions ranging from asthma and arthritis to smoking cessation. I wonder how you will do when you take this quiz, which is located on page 11 of the magazine. Fortunately, many of us are waking up to the fact that drugs are dangerous and should be a last resort. It is nice to see Consumer Reports backing up this non-drug first approach.

The United States consumes more drugs than any other industrialized nation in the world, yet according to the CIA Fact Book, the US has dropped to 50th in life-expectancy and 48th in infant mortality. Keeping yourself and your family healthy through positive lifestyle choices including good nutrition, exercise and a healthy spine and nervous system can help you eliminate your need for prescription drugs and maximize your health potential. Have a serious discussion with your doctor about the risks versus the benefits of any medication and do everything you can to keep yourself healthy and drug free.

For 117 years, chiropractors have been helping people of all ages heal quickly and enjoy the opportunity of a healthy, drug free life. Don’t wait for a crisis to make different choices. Make the Critical Transition to Lifestyle Care and make your health your top priority.

Do You Have an Ostrich in Your Family?

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Have you ever seen a picture of an ostrich with its head buried in the sand? This is one of the funniest scenes in nature, but an unfunny, accurate metaphor to describe individuals who have a crisis care mentality about their health. This means that they only take care of themselves when they are sick, diagnosed with a disease or are in excruciating pain.

If you want to live an active, healthy long life, this ostrich mentality won’t get you there. Here are some signs that you or a loved one may be in a crisis with your head in the sand:
1. You take over the counter drugs on a monthly basis
2. You have taken prescription drugs consistently for more than
three months
3. You have altered your life due to a health concern
4. You constantly try to pop your neck and back or are fidgety
5. You cannot exercise without pain
6. You take medication to offset the side effects of other
medications
7. You experience irregular sleep patterns
8. You are susceptible to colds and the flu
9. You often say things like, “I need to go to the doctor”or
“I need to take a pill”
10. You have difficulty standing or sitting up straight

Many seniors and centenarians are suffering the consequences of their “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, ostrich-like attitudes. We are getting the advance notice that our parents and grandparents never received so we can think differently about health and pull our heads out of the sand.

Embrace your Innate Potential.
Do you have a parent or grandparent that lived to be 70, 80, 90 or 100 years old? Whether you like it or not, this is your minimum Innate, genetic potential. Your children and grandchildren share your genes as well, so become excited about your longevity, and theirs, and make the lifestyle changes now to ensure your health and vitality for a lifetime.

Remove Interference.
Your mind and body will break down when there is interference in your nervous system. Just like a car accident will interfere with the flow of traffic, interference in your nervous system will cause dis-ease in your body which can lead to pain, sickness and even chronic disease. Sometimes you will have symptoms and sometimes you won’t. Don’t wait for the symptoms, the crisis, to remove this interference. That’s what an ostrich would do. Stay healthy by keeping this interference out of your life, your spine and your nervous system, regardless of how you feel.

It’s time for an Intervention.
If you have an ostrich in your family, you can save their life and make a difference by intervening. Express your concern. Show them you care. Get help from others if you need it but don’t let them become a statistic and “just another person”who was killed or injured severely because they were in denial about the dangers to their health.

We are excited to be a part of your health care team. If you have an ostrich in your life, please send them to our office for an appointment. We would be honored to help them get their head out of the sand.

Drugging Our Children – An Excerpt

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If you or someone you know has a child who is being considered for psychiatric drugs, here is some important information that you should consider. It is from the chapter contributed by Gwen Olsen in the book, Drugging Our Children. Gwen is also the author of Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher and was a top-selling pharmaceutical sales representative for more than a decade. Her personal experience and unique insider’s perspective is both eye-opening and mind-boggling. Can you handle the truth?

Health Care or Scare Care?

“The pharmaceutical industry is continually on the lookout for expansion markets. Our children are recognized by the pharmaceutical industry to be the most lucrative, long-term expansion market currently available to them. Fear created in parents can send them racing to the doctor’s office and/or pharmacy in an attempt to protect their children. After all, isn’t that what all good parents do?”

Children Are a Lucrative Market

“Children are a lucrative expansion market for any drug, particularly one that requires lifelong maintenance therapy once initiated. Psychiatric diagnoses are highly subjective and based primarily on third-party interpretation of maladaptive behaviors, rather than medical diagnostic tests such as blood or urine tests, or PET and CAT scans. So, increasing psychiatric drug sales is primarily contingent upon increasing the number of psychiatric diagnoses and public awareness of the various diagnoses that will, in turn, result in the expansion of new patient populations to be treated.

The challenge that exists when marketing psychotropic drugs for children is that the pharmaceutical industry cannot market directly to the end consumer. In the case of children, doctors, parents, teachers, counselors, administrators, caretakers, legislators, and so on must be persuaded that these medications are both necessary and beneficial to children.

To meet this goal, it is necessary for Pharma to insidiously exert its influence in every aspect of pharmaceutical development, research, reporting, regulation, funding, advertising, promotion, and distribution. And, indeed, they do! The end result is a stealth marketing campaign that can wear many hats and disguises as it manipulates and promotes its self-serving agenda unilaterally throughout the entire health care system.”

Side Effects of Psychotropic Drugs

The side effects of psychotropic drugs are scary. According to Drugs.com, just a few of the side effects of Adderall, for example, are nervousness, restlessness, trouble sleeping, confusion, new or worsening mental or mood problems, aggression, agitation, anxiety, delusions, depression, slurred speech, uncontrolled muscle movement and tiredness. Adderall is an amphetamine with addicting properties that make it difficult to stop.

Healthier Choices Available

It is important to consider every alternative before you let fear drive you to medications. The body’s innate intelligence can become clouded by medications and their side effects. Prior to committing to take these potentially addictive drugs, review all of your options including the benefits of Chiropractic Lifestyle Care. You and your loved ones deserve to enjoy a healthy drug free life.

© 2012. TFP, Inc and www.100yearlifestyle.com. All Rights Reserved.

Flu Shot Fallacies

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Flu Shot marketing is in full swing. Before you blindly allow yourself or a loved one to be injected, it is important to do your homework. You will learn why 60% of MDs avoid the vaccine and why it can be more dangerous than the flu itself.
Here are some Flu Shot Fallacies:

Fallacy: Flu medicines are safe with no side effects

According to Drugs.com, the possible side effects of Tamiflu are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, nose bleed, eye redness, insomnia, cough or other respiratory symptoms.
Serious side effects in children can be sudden confusion, delirium, hallucinations, unusual behavior or self injury.

Nervous system side effects such as headaches have been seen in up to 18% of the people. When you go to the Drugs.com website to explore these for yourself, don’t just read the side effects for consumers. Continue reading what the health professionals are told to watch for. That list is much longer and more severe.

Fallacy: Flu vaccinations are safe with no side effects

According to NVIC, Gillian-Barre syndrome (GBS), an autoimmune disease, has been associated with the influenza vaccine since 1976. There is also a concern about idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP), another autoimmune disease which is a blood clotting disorder, and Bell’s Palsy facial paralysis.

Seniors are especially at risk as reported by the ACIP Provision Recommendations for the Use of Influenza Vaccines. In 2007, a study published in the Annals of Medicine concluded that abnormalities in arterial function and LDL oxidation may persist for at least two weeks after a slight inflammatory reaction. This could explain the earlier report of an increase of cardiovascular risk in the first weeks following vaccination.

Pregnant women should be aware as the flu vaccine has been officially listed as a Category C drug which means that its safety has not been established scientifically and adverse fetal effects in animals have been detected. The FDA states that “Category C drugs are more likely to cause problems for the mother or fetus.”

Fallacy: Flu shots work

There is no scientific evidence that supports the effectiveness of flu shots in preventing the flu. In fact, Michael Osterholm of The National Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy boldly stated that “flu shots don’t work in the elderly.”

Fallacy: Vaccines build your Immune System

Actually, the possibility of the vaccine impairing your immune system is a concern. There are components in vaccines that are neurotoxins which can depress your immune system and brain function.
According to the CDC, the flu vaccine, FluMist, which is often given to children, contains chick kidney cells and MSG. Many other flu vaccines contain formaldehyde and mercury which are neurotoxins. Christina England, a contributor on VacTruth.com just informed readers that there has been a 4,250percent increase in fetal death rates reported to VAERS after flu shots were given to pregnant women. That statistic is insane.

Not everything that feels like the flu is actually the flu. According to the CDC, only 13percent of the people with flu-like symptoms who were tested for the flu this year tested positive.

Natural Immunity

Keep your immune system healthy naturally with good nutrition, eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats. Avoid the white devils such as white sugar, white pasta and white flour. Eat more whole grains and legumes.

Exercise can also strengthen your immune system so follow the plan in The 100 Year Lifestyle Workout and Get Your ESS in Shape – your endurance, strength and structure. Build your endurance through cardio vascular training such a walking, riding a bike, running or fitness classes.

Build your strength through activities such as weight training, Pilates, or yoga. And take care of your structure, spine and nervous system by developing a habit of good posture and keeping your spine and nervous system healthy with chiropractic Lifestyle Care which can keep your resistance high.

Adjust your lifestyle today and build your immune system naturally.

Sources:
http://www.drugs.com/sfx/tamiflu-side-effects.html
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/01/flu-vaccine-and-its-side-effects.aspx
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-flu.pdf

4,250% Increase in Fetal Deaths Reported to VAERS After Flu Shot Given to Pregnant Women


http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly
http://suite101.com/article/60-percent-of-doctors-dont-get-a-flu-shot-a136897

© 2013. The Family Practice, Inc., Dr. Eric Plasker and The 100 Year Lifestyle. All Rights Reserved.

How Much Pain Can You Tolerate?

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“How much pain can you tolerate?” is a very interesting question. Some people have a high pain threshold and are very “macho” in their approach as they act like they can handle anything. On the other hand, many others have a mild to moderate threshold and search for a cover up to eliminate their unpleasant feelings. Based on the astronomical statistics of pain medication use, our level of tolerance has gone way down.

In the United States the total cost of health care related to pain is approximately $600 billion and the cost to employers dealing with employees who have reduced work productivity due to pain is in the neighborhood of $100 billion per year. An Auburn University study showed that 67 percent of children suffered muscle soreness, 51 percent back pain, 24 percent numbness and 15 percent shoulder pain. Studies from John Hopkins Children Center and many other places have shown that backpacks cause back and shoulder pain and poor posture in children. Between 1997 and 2005, the medical expenses for individuals with spine problems grew from $4,695.00 to $6,096.00 per person.

According to CBC News, 54 percent of Canadian seniors report that chronic pain is interfering with most of their activities. The National Population Health Survey found that seniors who saw their pain increase over a two-year period were more likely to be unhappy or have a negative impression of their personal health at the end of that period. In younger Canadians between the ages of 12 and 44, 10 percent are already experiencing pain that is affecting their life and limiting their activities.

Too many people look to manage their pain by numbing their feelings with non-prescription or prescription drugs. Certainly in extreme cases this may be helpful as any compassionate person would agree; however, managing pain with medication as part of a lifestyle rather than getting to the cause can lessen your body’s natural pain tolerance and cause horrible side effects including nausea, sleep disruption, lack of mental clarity, lack of energy, depression and potential damage to key organs such as the liver, kidney and heart. Overuse can create unintended addictions to pain medication that can lead to even more challenges and difficulties in your life.

Chiropractic care is a much better option for both acute and chronic pain sufferers. First of all, a chiropractic examination can locate areas in the spine that are out of balance and are putting pressure on nerves which can contribute to nearly every type of pain condition.

Crisis Care, the type of care that is delivered when someone is in pain or suffering from a health problem, is delivered with frequent visits close together to begin realigning the spine, reducing inflammation and pressure from the nervous system, which usually provides relief and stability within a few weeks or months.

The next phase of care, called the Critical Transition, is critical because it provides consistent care with less frequent visits stretched out over a longer period of time regardless of how people feel so the spine, nervous system and body can begin to regenerate. It is this phase of the care that is necessary to support an active, healthy, long life that is either free from chronic pain or certainly makes pain much more manageable.

Unfortunately too many people ignore this Critical Transition because they feel better and they go back to the destructive habits that caused their deterioration in the first place. This behavior, including numbing their pain with drugs, can only lead to more deterioration and pain even though you experience relief from the pills. Continuing your chiropractic care through the Critical Transition breaks this cycle and gives your body the chance to adapt and truly heal for the long haul.

Isn’t it time that you decide to not tolerate a pain and medication based lifestyle and the deteriorating future that it promotes? Take care of your spine and nervous system so that your body can heal itself and enjoy the quality of life you deserve.