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In reply to the discussion: Big Pharma Sells Risky Meds We Don’t Need for Disorders It Made Up That We Don’t Have [View all]SheilaT
(23,156 posts)My three meds were a diuretic, the first thing tried, which didn't move my bp very much. Then the statin, because I really did have high cholesterol, have since the very first time it was ever tested, about thirty years ago. Then the bp med was added.
I was VERY reluctant to go along with these, because, as I've said above, I'm very healthy, much more so than many people my age. But I do know that high blood pressure simply isn't a very good thing. High cholesterol is a bit more of a meh.
While I am a huge proponent of our body's ability to heal, I try not to be a total nutcase on this, and I do understand that a very large amount of modern medicine is genuinely life saving.
But the side effects of an awful lot of medications are at a minimum worrisome.
Here's a trivial, personal anecdote: More than twenty years ago a cold resulted in a sinus infection. An absolutely classic sinus infection, no doubt about it, no need to get it diagnosed by an MD. I decided to hang tough for a bit, see if I'd recover on my own. I didn't set a specific time limit, just took a wait and see attitude. After about two weeks the sinus infection cleared up. Nice. For what it's worth, I've never had another one since. I know that it's true that if you can recover from something on your own, you tend to have a stronger resistance to that thing in the future. In some cases, as with, say smallpox, the immunity is permanent. I an NOT suggesting we do away with smallpox vaccinations (okay, so we have, but that's because smallpox no longer is out there endangering us all), but I am simply pointing out that a naturally acquired immunity, as from having gotten the disease, tends to be permanent, unlike many vaccination acquired immunity. I am NOT suggesting we do away with current vaccines. I'm just pointing out the difference.
I'm of a generation that got measles, mumps, and rubella. Also, as a child I had flu several times, and seem to be highly immune to that illness. I'm not a total nutcase. I did recently get the shingles shot, because I know how nasty that can be.
Anyway, my point is I'm struggling with what to tell my PCP, what medications I'm willing to take, and so on. It's not easy.