Side effects of prescription drugs are a very significant threat to your longevity and antiaging efforts. Prescription drug abuse is a critical health issue that has been outlined in the book Overdosed America, by John Abramson, M.D. Let me tell you why.
The Problem in a Nutshell
The problem occurs because the wrong incentives exist in our health care system for doctors to prescribe dangerous and unnecessary drugs to their patients. There are many reasons for this.
- Aggressive Marketing by Drug Reps
- Various rewards and incentives to prescribe more drugs
- Incorrect or insufficient information on toxicity
- Lack of proper regulatory oversight by the FDA
- TV advertising that encourages patients to ask their doctors for drugs
According to Dr. Abramson in his book Overdosed America, all these factors combine to cause a problem where people are unnecessarily medicated with drugs. The side effects of prescription drugs can be a bigger threat to your health than the illnesses they are supposed to treat or alleviate.
When I talk about abuse, I don’t just mean people using drugs for recreational purposes, but I am including drugs proscribed by your doctor for real medical conditions. In many cases, the cure is worse than the disease!
Side Effects of Prescription Drugs
These are just some of the most common problems that can occur EVEN with proper use of drugs under the care of a doctor. They are grouped by the body system they affect. This is a short list, not a comprehensive one.
- Allergic: swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing
- Skin: itching, rash, sweating
- Blood: anemia, bleeding, changes in pressure and clotting
- Bones: bone loss, pain
- Brain: dizziness, amnesia, seizures, strokes
- Liver & Kidneys: jaundice, liver damage, kidney failure, hepatitis
- Muscles: pain, cramps, weakness, spasm, tremor, fatigue
- Senses: blindness, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, tingling
- Lungs: cough, infection, fluid in the lungs, shortness of breath, blood clots
- Mental: anxiety, aggression, agitation, confusion, depression, hallucinations, insomnia, suicide, personality disorder, panic
- Gastro-intestinal: constipation, diarrhea, bleeding, nausea, vomiting, colitis, indigestion
- Other: weight gain or loss, diabetes, hair loss, various infections, loss of appetite
Given this long, though incomplete list of problems, is it any wonder that our society is not healthy? The human body was not designed to function normally with toxic chemicals in it. Prescription drug abuse is driven by profit.
Drug Myths
In our society the side effects of prescriptions drugs are ignored, or glossed over, and a set of falsehoods about the benefits of these drugs are presented to the public. Experts in marketing and public manipulation do this very cleverly, because it’s their job.
- Drugs are “lifesaving medications”
- Toxic effects are rare and manageable
- Elderly people must choose between buying drugs and food
- Drug companies make and sell drugs to save lives
- Drugs are safe if used under a doctors care
- Drug therapy exists to promote better health
All of these statements are either false or gross exaggerations. They are part of the thinking of the American public, and they have been cleverly embedded in our society as values that we don’t question.
Americans have been led to believe that the side effects of prescription drugs are not a significant threat to their health as long as they follow the instructions of their doctor.
In Overdosed America, Dr. Abramson details precisely why we have been so grossly mislead, and what to do about it. This information is especially compelling because it comes from a Harvard trained M.D. who knows and understand the medical system.
For you to be healthy, you MUST question these assumptions about the side effects of prescription drugs and the true nature of prescription drug abuse. Your health depends on your making decisions based on accurate facts, rather than myths and distortions.
Educate Yourself
I am not trying to write a comprehensive report on prescription drug abuse on this page. It would take many pages to do that. What I am trying to do is warn you about this threat to your health and call you to action.
You need to educate yourself about this critically important topic if you are to safeguard your health and ensure a long and happy life. Start by reading Dr. Abramsons’s book Overdosed America. You can also check out his website for more information.
The side effects of prescription drugs are a very real and often ignored threat to your health and well being. Don’t allow your health to be compromised. Knowledge is your best ally. Learn what you need to know and stay healthy!
