Drugs With Side Effects

The science of healing people of their sicknesses has been
around for a long time. As early as 3000 BC we have information that the Egyptians were practicing medicine. We know that surgery was performed around 2750 BC. We don’t know if the surgeons were from an accredited university! Unlike today where the credentials are checked first before one can perform surgery.

In India medicine started over 3000 years ago. Those guys were so good the Indians still use the same methods even today! The Chinese also developed traditional medicine and have been using it for a very long time and we have a lot of Chinese Medicinal shops over here. Those guys have a cure for everything.

Then we have the Hebrews, the Greeks and the Persians (Islamic medicine). The Europeans took all of these and revolutionized medicine by advances in chemistry and laboratory techniques and equipments. And so today we have a large number of drug companies located in Europe making billions of dollars. Medicine has become a money making venture and not about getting rid of diseases or healing the sick.

I realized this when I was prescribed medicine for something and later found out I was having a problem with one of my organs which was fine before but because of this drug it was showing signs of deterioration. This has happened twice on different occasions for different medical problems. And every time I have to pay for the drugs. These problems are attributed to side effects of the drugs and are written off as such.

Case 1

- I have bulging disc at the cervical section of my spine. As a conservative and non-invasive treatment the doctor recommended tegretol to relax my muscle and hopefully allowing the disc to maybe slip back. I had muscle pains and muscle cramps after taking this drug and the side effects far outweighed the benefits. He said these side effects generally did not affect most people. I am now on neurontin and so far, no unwanted results.

Case 2

- I was given a type of fibrate for lowering my high cholesterol level , but it affected my renal function. It didn’t even lower the cholesterol level nor the triglyceride level. Then I was given simvastatin which lowered my cholesterol level beautifully (from the previously high level), but it also lowered my platelets! It seems this happens to only about 2% of the people who use this drug and I had to be among them. Now I am back to the natural method – steamed fish, vegetables and plenty of exercise to raise my good cholesterol. No oily (fried) food, no KFC, no McDonalds, no PIZZA, no ‘char koay teow’ and no fried rice. And I thought by swallowing those small little pills (only one a day), all my cholesterol problems would be solved! Woe is me!

The moral of the story is to get as much information on the drugs prescribed, with reference to side effects, so that we can make a decision whether to take it or ask for a second choice. Sometimes this is not possible but if there is a choice doctors should let the patients know about it.