When the Cure is Worse Than the Disease

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When the Cure is Worse Than the Disease

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/10/04/when-the-cure-is-w\

orse-than-the-disease.aspx?source=nl

One way to build an income in private medical practice is to hook

patients on drugs that continually require re-examination, testing and

prescription renewal. Blood thinners, for example, require prothrombin tests

to determine how long it takes the blood to clot. Blood pressure pills

require monitoring of blood pressure. And once patients start taking

acid-blocking medications, they will find it is nearly impossible to stop

taking them -- withdrawal will provoke rebound acidity with throat-gripping

pain.

Critical examination of the effectiveness of prescription drugs

reveals convincing data that most prescription drugs are not only

ineffective but may worsen the condition being treated. Some of these

medications appear to be designed to create life-long dependency upon the

drug, since drug withdrawal exacerbates symptoms. Even some long-standing

drugs that are the hallmarks of modern medicine have begun to lose their

biological punch.

The major classes of prescription drugs are failures. Most drugs are

never designed to address the underlying biochemical causes of disease --

and they may intentionally be designed to create life-long dependency.

Sources:

a.. LewRockwell.com August 25, 2008

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

When people come to my Natural Health Center, it is very common

for them to lug in a shopping bag full of drugs, but it almost always starts

with just one. One drug that's supposed to make you feel better, but

actually makes you feel worse. Hence the second drug to treat the first drug's

side effects, and on and on until people are turned into walking medicine

cabinets.

The number of prescriptions taken per capita in the United

States has grown exponentially in the past 75 years. In 1929, the average

American received less than two prescriptions per year. By 2007, the average

annual prescription rate per capita in the United States was:

. 4 prescriptions per child (age 0-18)

. Over 11 prescriptions per adult (age 19-64)

. Nearly 29 prescriptions per senior, aged 65 and over!

Yet, adverse drug reactions -- from " properly " prescribed

drugs -- are actually the fourth leading cause of death in the United

States. Only heart disease, cancer, and stroke kill more Americans than

drugs prescribed by medical doctors.

Reactions to prescription drugs kill more than twice as many

Americans as HIV/AIDS or suicide. Fewer die from accidents or diabetes than

adverse drug reactions. And this does NOT include the negative drug

reactions in outpatients, cases of malpractice, or instances where the drugs

were not taken as directed.

Yet, whenever you feel sick, you probably still think that you

need to go to your doctor and get some medicine to make you better. Well,

this mindset is deeply engrained in us from the time we're infants and taken

to the doctor for a minor cold, or given a pill to bring down a fever (which

is actually there to help you get better) or watch a television commercial

or read a magazine (at least in the US).

We're taught that we need doctors and drugs to heal our bodies,

when in reality your body can, and will, heal itself if you give it the

right tools (like good food, exercise and a positive outlook).

If you take only one thing from this article, make it this

point: Drugs often cause more problems than the disease you're trying to

treat.

And the more you attempt to " cure " one problem after another

with multiple drugs, the farther down the rabbit hole you'll go.

The Countless Ways Prescription Drugs Assault Your Body

The article has an eye-opening list of what can happen if you

rely on drugs to treat disease:

. Nearly all anti-diabetic drugs cause a person to become

overweight and totally dependent upon insulin.

. Asthma drugs sensitize your body to triggers that worsen this

condition.

. There is no evidence that cholesterol-lowering drugs reduce

mortality rates.

. All cancer chemotherapy drugs result in tumor resistance.

. None of the many drugs prescribed to control high blood

pressure address the cause of hypertension.

. Antacid " heartburn " drugs induce greater problems when

withdrawing from them, locking patients into lifetime use.

. Of the many drugs used to treat age-related senility, none

stop the progression of mental decline and some hasten it.

. To an increasing degree, man-made antibiotics produce

germ-resistance and mortality rates are rising from infections once

conquered by these drugs.

Are the drug companies creating these drugs with the sole

purpose of keeping you sicker, and reaching for more of their dangerous

elixirs? I certainly hope not, but I cannot rule out the thought completely.

Their track-record is too spot-on: if you take prescription drugs, you'll

almost always wind up with side effects, many of which are worse than the

original disease.

Here are some other major offenders to add to the list:

. Cholesterol-lowering drugs actually CAUSE heart disease

. Migraine drugs cause severe rebound headaches

. Asthma inhalers may lead to heart attack and stroke

. Arthritis drugs can cause fatal fungal infections and cancer

Sadly, this list could go on and on, but one of the most glaring

examples was Vioxx, the anti-inflammatory drug prescribed to millions of

people that later was revealed to double the risk of heart attack. Well,

60,000 people were killed before that drug was pulled from the market, and

do not think for one minute that there aren't other similarly harmful drugs

being handed out like candy (expensive candy) right now.

Breaking Free From the Prescription Drug Paradigm

I want everyone reading this to remember that, ultimately, it's

your body, and your decision what to put in it. If your doctor suggests you

take a drug, do some research before you take it, because once you do, it

could be too late.

Make sure you are aware of the potential side effects of the

drug, read the package insert, and remember that even if it lists a side

effect as rare, it can still happen to you.

And remember that many, many drugs are vastly over-prescribed

and unnecessary. So make sure that you make drugs a last option, not a first

choice. For example, all of the following conditions can be treated or

prevented with LIFESTYLE CHANGES, yet if you go to a typical doctor, you

will likely be prescribed a potentially dangerous drug instead:

. Diabetes

. Heart disease

. High blood pressure

. High cholesterol

. Insomnia

. Depression

I realize that it takes a massive shift in thinking to realize

that your body can heal itself, and that often drugs only hinder the

process. But I believe that you, and society as a whole, are ready for it.

Related Articles:

The Terrifying Side Effects of Prescription Drugs

How Can the FDA Ever Improve Drug Safety?

Why Doctors Often Dismiss Drug Side Effects