Medicines to avoid

A Karenina · Post by **A Karenina** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 10:06 am

My own experience has been that doctors push anti-depressants, and they've also tried pushing Lipitor for my high cholesterol.

I tried an anti-depressant for a while, but ended up feeling completely numb. I felt neither joy nor sadness, and so I quit taking them cold turkey, which I don't recommend, btw. I was going through some very serious life experiences, and it is natural to feel grief, anger, loss, and emptiness. It's part of our healing process...so I resented having these pushed on me. People are quick to take these when they're going through perfectly normal periods of depression. That is scary to me.

I've had to shop extensively to find a doctor willing to listen to me, to work with me, and to take the cautious road first. I'm lucky to have found such a doctor, and he's quite young to boot - so I hope to stay with him for years to come.

As for my cholesterol problems, I'm not on Lipitor yet. We're working the thyroid angle first, then my exercise regimen, my diet has already been changing. We can't do a darn thing about my advancing age (which is a factor) and we can't erase my one heart attack when I was 31. I may end up on the stuff anyway, but we're trying everything else first. Once on Lipitor, it's a lifetime on Lipitor.

It also seems that pediatricians are prescribing anti-biotics for children much faster than they did for my own son. Unless he had a fever for 3 days and it wasn't breaking at all, his pediatrician simply didn't offer anti-biotics. But I notice my friend's kids are on anti-biotics a day after being sick. (?) Anyone else having that experience?

persephone · Post by **persephone** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 11:02 am

In the UK doctors were prescibing antibiotics and antidepressents like sweets, but they got a slap on the wrist and some still do but most don't.

If there's obvious infection then antibiotics are prescribed, like when my face swelled up due to a root infection in my wisdom tooth. The doctor wouldn't prescibe though and I had to wait 2 days to see the dentist, by which time I couldn't even open my mouth.

My flat mate however went to see the doctor after his sister was involved in a RTA and killed, he was prescribed Temazepam, to help him sleep... I took them away from him and made him do stuff to tire him out instead (he's predisposed to depression and last thinkg he needs is to think pills are helpful).

He also gets antibiotics prescibed over the phone for his tonsils, but the hospital have said another bad case of it and they'll take them out.

Paula · Post by **Paula** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 3:33 pm

Too many cholesterol drugs i believe are prescribed. Blood pressure meds. are another area, once you begin - chances are you will need to remain taking. Anti-depressants cause more problems than help you, i believe they are addicting and without support, people get in trouble, they need to be monitored carefully, they really control your every action. What we need to do, (difficult) is change our diets, but most of the time genetics play a part of illness that requires these medicines. Stress, is very much the cause of alot of people's illness. We all know right from wrong, it is in the (eye) of the beholder and how it is approached, health wise, verses homeopathic, alterations to lifestyles, we have choices, it's just doing what makes change?

Perfect example. (Paula)

A Karenina · Post by **A Karenina** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 4:37 pm

Paula, I agree with you. I think you're right when you say that our lifestyles can make major differences in how we feel, and eventually in the medicines we may (or may not) need to take.

Stress is a major component for most of us. Doctors have attributed the majority of my health issues directly to long-term stress. I'm pretty positive this happens to most of us for whom relaxing is an learned skill.

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Mon Nov 22, 2004 7:58 am

When stopping medications, make sure it is safe to stop all at once. Some, such as prednisone, can have life threatening affects when stopped suddenly.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 9:39 pm

Peg,

Excellent information. To often people stop taking medication without consulting thier Physician..!!

Not a good idea ever..!!

Paula, Good points as well. I was disabled for 10year. I had to take so many medicaiton that, they being to cause side effects.. :-5

I made it a goal to get off them at all costs. Using them when it's the last resort. I spent several years in pain management, learning how to manage my pain.

Like my mother told us growing up MIND OVER MATTER!!

Also we need to be involved in the medications we are prescribed. Do our homework. Go to WEBMD.COM and find out about the drug, its interactions with outer medications. Physican should ask what your taking, but many times they forget. I check out every medication before taking them.

Just so many drugs today. Some are lifesavers, some just numb us..!!

I will say now that I'm aging, sleep is a problem.. I take meletonin, it works most of the time. But dang I could use a good nights sleep..!!

Paula · Post by **Paula** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 5:55 am

Over prescribing is why so many people are sick, they are eating more pills than food? Sleeping, i have in the past had problems, go to the health food store, calms forte, really do help. :-6 How can i get color in to my posts?

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:19 am

IVY, highlight the text ya want to colour then choose the colour ya want, easy peasy lemon squeezy..

Dare i suggest that you highlight the colour depending on what mood you're in, then the gardeners will know how to approach you. :rolleyes: ( just jokin hon )

minks · Post by **minks** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:13 am

Jack Sprat wrote: My doctor is loathe to prescribe antibiotics because of the huge number of drug resistant problems our local hospital has seen and because he feels the more we take a medicine the higher dose we'll have to use when the need is pressing. He does prescribe what is needed of medications for diseases and syndromes (I have hypertension for example)

Has anyone come across situations where doctors are prescribing things too frequently? If so, what types of drugs are being overused? For what illnesses?

From a Canadian stand point,

In adults Anti Depressants unfortanately besides the inability to spell, I am on them due to some major life issues and you bet quitting cold turkey is killer I tried that and was in a haze for 3 days. I am on such a mild dose I still have my proper feelings. My issue with them is low sexual "feelings/satisfaction" that is why I tried quitting, the mind knows how it is supposed to feel but the body isn't willing to get ya there. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

In kids and adults... antibiotics, go in for a sore throat and they tell you this..."we will take a throat swab, we will give you a perscription for antibiotics and we will call you if it is strep throat" haha so there you go taking antibiotics for a virus. It isn't an infection for gawd sake.

In kids... Ritalin, Prozac, Dexatrin etc for children with ADHD or ADD. Horrendous side affects. Why put kids through that.

anastrophe · Post by **anastrophe** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 3:01 pm

minks wrote: From a Canadian stand point,

In adults Anti Depressants unfortanately besides the inability to spell, I am on them due to some major life issues and you bet quitting cold turkey is killer I tried that and was in a haze for 3 days. I am on such a mild dose I still have my proper feelings. My issue with them is low sexual "feelings/satisfaction" that is why I tried quitting, the mind knows how it is supposed to feel but the body isn't willing to get ya there. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
there are a few different classes of anti-depressants though. wellbutrin acts as an antidepressant working on completely different brain chemicals than the more well-known prozac and other SSRI's (selective seratonin re-uptake inhibitors). wellbutrin doesn't have the sexual-side effects because of this. it might be worth a try. in some people it actually acts as a mild sexual stimulant.

anastrophe · Post by **anastrophe** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 3:20 pm

A Karenina wrote: My own experience has been that doctors push anti-depressants, and they've also tried pushing Lipitor for my high cholesterol.

I tried an anti-depressant for a while, but ended up feeling completely numb. I felt neither joy nor sadness, and so I quit taking them cold turkey, which I don't recommend, btw. I was going through some very serious life experiences, and it is natural to feel grief, anger, loss, and emptiness. It's part of our healing process...so I resented having these pushed on me. People are quick to take these when they're going through perfectly normal periods of depression. That is scary to me.
(i realize this was posted nearly a month ago, but i am not bloody likely to skip sharing my opinion once i read something, ya know?)

as a matter of semantics, it's not correct to refer to 'normal periods of depression'. depression is the condition of sadness, emptiness, grief, etc, that persists longer or more deeply than is 'appropriate' for the circumstances. depression is when one feels those feelings when there _isn't_ the obvious normal trigger that should be sustaining it. feeling empty without having suffered a loss. real depression can be utterly crippling, because instead of being in 'mourning' for a few months after a loved one has passed, one is in 'mourning' constantly and without anyone having passed!

i've been on anti-depressants for a decade now. i never would have believed that would be possible back then. i started out on a mild anti-anxiety drug - buspar - which while it did alleviate the anxiety, it also caused a couple of scary bouts of 'depersonalization' that thankfully passed. when the depression didn't clear, i started on prozac, and did not do well on it at all. while it did elevate my mood, it also made me significantly aggressive, to the point of yelling at incompetent store managers and things like that, which i just would never have done before. to put it colloquially, prozac turned me into a colossal a s s h o l e. i know, i know, i'll fill in the punchline for y'all, "how's this any different than now??" :p

but over the years, i've tried a wide variety, and my doctor and i worked carefully together to find just the right combination of meds to do the trick. my depression is familial, and i have to accept that it is an inherited imbalance in my brain's chemicals. taking the anti-depressants works for me - i feel normal emotions, joy, grief, enthusiasm, annoyance, whatever. my father died a year and a half ago, and i had no difficulty grieving his loss, and still at times i tear-up thinking about him.

obviously, *antidepressants aren't necessarily going to work for everybody*. my point here is that antidepressants are a whole class of chemicals, and they are constantly being refined and made better. one of the very latest ones is lexapro, which is a refinement of celexa. celexa itself is a highly targetted SSRI (there are a few hundred different seratonins, most people don't realize that). prozac was a shotgun approach, not selective at all. celexa targets i believe less than a dozen seratonins, and lexapro even fewer. the more targetted, the fewer side-effects generally.....

but i'm rambling on here in coffee induced psychosis, so take whatever i say with a grain of salt and a tab of LSD.

I've had to shop extensively to find a doctor willing to listen to me, to work with me, and to take the cautious road first. I'm lucky to have found such a doctor, and he's quite young to boot - so I hope to stay with him for years to come.
i'm still looking for a good one. my last one tried pushing statins on me - after my cholesterol had *gone down* since my last visit with no intervention. sheesh.

As for my cholesterol problems, I'm not on Lipitor yet. We're working the thyroid angle first, then my exercise regimen, my diet has already been changing. We can't do a darn thing about my advancing age (which is a factor) and we can't erase my one heart attack when I was 31. I may end up on the stuff anyway, but we're trying everything else first. Once on Lipitor, it's a lifetime on Lipitor.
you might give red yeast rice a try. it seems to be a natural source of statins/statin-like chemicals. it's used in a lot of chinese food, and has been shown to lower cholesterol.

i'm a cholesterol heretic though. i reject the whole cholesterol theory of heart disease in toto. cholesterol isn't the problem, inflammation is. there's a lot of evidence that homocystiene is the better indicator/predictor of heart disease. high cholesterol doesn't cause the heart disease - it's a symptom of the inflammation that causes heart disease. dietary cholesterol is ridiculous to try and curb, when your body produces ten times more of it per day than you could possibly eat.

but there i go rambling again. i better lay off the caffiene.

anastrophe · Post by **anastrophe** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 3:55 pm

Jack Sprat wrote: I really do enjoy your posts. You have that touch of honesty that makes things realistic and worth reading. Thank you for being open enough to share. We all learn from such things.
thanks, i appreciate that.

i do gotta work on that colossal ass#### part of it though. i get confrontation way too easily. you may have noticed. :-5

A Karenina · Post by **A Karenina** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 6:15 pm

Anastrophe, ok, so you get confrontational from time to time. You are also very quick to call yourself on it. I have a good time reading your stuff - especially when you throw those hidden zingers in. You haven't made it to my jackass list.

Enough sappy stuff.

I will look into red yeast, thanks for the tip

I can't say that I understand depression because really I don't. But I do accept that some people have imbalances that cause permanent depression. For these people, like yourself, I am very glad that medical research is making huge strides.

For others, like me, it wasn't a permanent condition. Yet the doctor I was seeing at that time was convinced that anti-depressants would be the solution. I'm not surprised I had a negative reaction to medication I didn't need.

My concern is that doctors seem to quickly put people on anti-depressants rather than working with patients and truly understanding the nature of the problem(s). It's unethical. It must slant all the research being done when people who don't require it have a different reaction than intended. How can that help with getting better answers for those who do need it? My own personal rant there, sorry about that. (grin)

anastrophe · Post by **anastrophe** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 7:19 pm

A Karenina wrote:

For others, like me, it wasn't a permanent condition. Yet the doctor I was seeing at that time was convinced that anti-depressants would be the solution. I'm not surprised I had a negative reaction to medication I didn't need.absolutely. the medical community by and large is all about 'the quickest fix'. there's very little depth - and when you're talking about emotions, you're talking about stuff that MD's simply are not trained in, unless they're a psychiatrist.

My concern is that doctors seem to quickly put people on anti-depressants rather than working with patients and truly understanding the nature of the problem(s). It's unethical. It must slant all the research being done when people who don't require it have a different reaction than intended. How can that help with getting better answers for those who do need it? My own personal rant there, sorry about that. (grin)
i'm with you there too. that doctor i mentioned before who wanted me to go on statins - this guy is as bad as any drug pusher out there. there's absolutely no question in my mind that the guy gets tons and tons of 'swag' and perquisites from the drug companies the more prescriptions he writes.

i have a psychiatrist. he's very very good, and he's whom i've worked with all these years fine tuning my meds. when my former GP learned i was on anti-depressants, he instantly piped up that *he* could write me the prescriptions, no problem! exsqueeze me?? the guy is there to palpate swollen joints and cure the sniffles. he has zero training in emotional matters, and by his bedside manner, he'd drive people to suicide with his OCD prattling. but there he was, in all seriousness suggesting he'd be happy to take over supplying me my anti-depressant meds.

needless to say, i don't have a GP any more, but still see my psychiatrist once or twice a year - at least he listens to me!

A Karenina · Post by **A Karenina** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:50 pm

KlatunIckto wrote: Kaernina have I made it yet to your jackass list?

Honestly, no you haven't.

But I seem to have made it onto yours, unless I am mis-reading your posts the past few days. It's ok if you don't like me. Doesn't make you a bad person or a jackass. It just means we don't mix. While I'm genuinely sorry if that's the case, I can't exactly change who I am to make everyone like me, either.

Now, if your post was a joke, I'm gonna feel like a jackass.

anastrophe · Post by **anastrophe** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 1:10 am

KlatunIckto wrote: Anastrophe Ive read those anti depression meds kill your masculinity get away from them dude!

as i've mentioned elsewhere, for some proportion of patients taking certain anti-depressants, they experience supression of libido. i experienced that on prozac. other anti-depressants, most notably wellbutrin, do not have that side-effect, and in fact for some proportion of patients taking it they experience an increase in libido.

one of the most difficult ancillary issues associated with this is that depression tends to supress libido. in other words, damned if you do, damned if you don't.