A 71-year-old man reports he’s been taking numerous drugs for years, including statins to lower cholesterol. He’s so weak he can hardly get around and has, “no power for anything,” he has said. He had a heart attack years ago and had a stent installed. His doctors want him to stay with the drugs, but he believes they’re killing him. He wants to change.
Statins cause problems, especially when prescribed wantonly to practically every person who visits the doctor. Yes, they can lower cholesterol levels, which is a good thing. On the flip side, they are notorious for their side effects.
The most common complaint from statin-users is muscle pain. However, liver damage, increased blood sugar, diabetes, and neurological issues are common, as well. Although some react differently to different brands of statins, the net list of side effects are similar because of how they work.
By itself, cholesterol isn’t as devastating an issue as we generally believe. It’s an important substance, the “starter material” for many important substances. Although extremely elevated levels are a concern, excessive use of drugs to push levels too low is likewise harmful to many users.
A stent can act as a place for plaque to anchor because it’s viewed by the body as a foreign invader or a damaged area in the vein. The natural reaction to such an irritation is for the body to send cholesterol to the site for repair. Because it’s vital to remove as many clotting risk factors as possible, minimizing cholesterol can be an important form of treatment and prevention.
When our current health situation is so uncomfortable, we want to do something different. Now. However, merely stopping the drugs without a doctor’s approval and help, can be disastrous. But, that doesn’t mean we’re doomed to plod along in pain, using more drugs that have their own long lists of side effects, including permanent damage to our body.
Understand that doctors are doing what they’re trained to do, and that they’re clearly doing their best to follow current medical guidelines. They truly don’t intend to make life miserable, especially when the system seems to reject alternatives. Here’s where each person can step in and take ownership of life, health, and treatments.
Our personal choices of health care have slowly eroded over the years and today it’s far more convenient to work within insurance and government-approved systems than to strike out on our own in search of care. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to pursue an alternate approach.
“Dr. Google” offers numerous alternatives when we seriously search and try to not stray too far from current standards. We can seek professionals who take our preferences seriously. We should all expect healthy, happy years unhampered by distress caused by treatments automatically prescribed, “just in case”.
After years on one path of health care, it’s unwise to make rapid, dramatic, changes. Sure, meditation, running, improved diet, and yoga are great approaches, but they may be too unlike our current reality. Moderate, steady changes, over time are superior to sudden shifts.
We are personally responsible for our life, happiness, and health when we rationally approach change positively, not as an angered response to the present situation. Most of us don’t intentionally do things we know are wrong, even though it might seem that way. Doctors do their best within the system we have and they’re dedicated to helping us stay alive, regardless of some uncomfortable circumstances caused by prescribed treatments. That’s how it works.
Unless we’re fully in a coma, all health decisions remain in our hands, personally and individually, where they belong. There is something dramatically wrong with ignoring that responsibility and turning all decisions over to other people or, worse, third parties such as the government and the insurance companies.
Larry Frieders is a pharmacist in Aurora who had a book published, The Undruggist: Book One, A Tale of Modern Apothecary and Wellness. He can be reached at thecompounder.com/ask-larry or
www.facebook.com/thecompounder.
