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Medication Side Effects--REALLY Important!
By Janet Merryman
First of all, I should state that I am a totally 100% advocate of ALTERNATIVE health care! My personal opinion is that Western medicine is mostly about money and greed. I know there are exceptions to that, but in general, that is my belief. Having said that, I would like to relay an experience that I’ve had in the last four+ months with a prescription drug called Hydrocodone. I was opposed to taking this or any other medication, but I have a condition that is almost unbearable without some kind of pain relief. I have a herniated disk that impinges on a nerve in my left hip area. I have tried many kinds of alternative as well as traditional medical methods to try to alleviate this condition, or at least to make it bearable. So far, the only thing that has made the pain tolerable has been the hydrocodone. I have a pretty high pain threshold, but even I truly needed some relief from this condition, and so the pain management doctor prescribed this medication which I had/have been taking since late November 2008. In the interim period between November and now, it was revealed to me that I have a heart condition known as congenital heart failure or coronary artery disease. So, I believed that when the heart conditon was treated, the shortness of breath and edema in my ankles would be cured also. Alas, that was not the case. The heart surgery was performed in mid February, and I expected to have immediate relief from the shortness of breath and edema—or at the very least, no more than a week or so after. A couple of weeks ago, I was STILL experiencing the shortness of breath and edema, so you can see that the heart procedure did not cure these conditions at all. The conditions have severely hampered my lifestyle, making even the mere act of taking a shower a very tiring and difficult task. I was taken to the emergency room a couple of weeks ago due to the shortness of breath, etc., and at that time was admitted and several tests were administered to attempt to discover the reason for these issues. After CT Scans of the lungs, pulmonary function tests, several chest x-rays among other things, it was determined that I was very healthy. Okay. Glad to hear that, but why can’t I breathe? The lung specialist informed me that I was hyperventilating and wanted to prescribe yet another medication—an anxiety pill. I said to this man—this medical doctor—“I cannot hyperventilate my ankles to swell.” He had no response. Of course, I turned down the anxiety pill, knowing full well that I was NOT hyperventilating, but certainly also knowing full well that I have a breathing problem. After 3 days in the hospital, I came home with the same conditions I had when I was admitted. I started to think back over the past several months—trying to determine how long I had been experiencing the breathing issue and the edema. All of a sudden it occurred to me that it had been the EXACT same time period that I had been taking the hydrocodone. Normally, I would have immediately gone online and checked out the side effects of this medication, but because of the excruciating pain, I just gratefully started taking it. When that realization hit me, however, I went immediately to the computer, researched the side effects of this drug, and guess what?!!! Every single thing I had been experiencing—EVERY single thing was a side effect of this drug!! No exceptions. The itching, the shortness of breath (it listed “shortness of breath” AND “difficulty breathing”), edema, and several other side effects (I had been having 7 of the listed ones in all), all of these were things I have been afflicted with since late November. And not one of those doctors ever even hinted that this could be a possibility. Not one! Needless to say, I am trying to wean off of this medication in an orderly and healthy way. I am a little scared about how to manage the pain of the hip without it, but I am already starting to breathe much better and the swelling is considerably better in my ankles. Other symptoms have also begun to subside. Why am I sharing this with all of you? Please, please don’t take your doctor’s word for any medications you are being asked to take!! Sometimes you have to take charge of your OWN health care. Some of the side effects of some medications are scarier than the reasons you need them in the first place. Think enough of your own health and your own body to make sure this is in your best interest before you swallow that pill! Your life could depend on it!
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This intel was contributed by Oceana
Oceana
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May, 2012
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