Are you on drugs?

[redduck]

I share the OP's healthy skepticism of Big Pharma (if that's behind his/her statement). I'm 61 and on zero prescriptions (but a few supplements that probably just make my urine very expensive).

This reminds me of Robert Duvall's epic line in Apocalypse Now: "I love the smell of expensive urine in the morning."

 

[Bikerdude]

I have news for you. Good luck with that!

How Health Declines with Age

Once at my annual cardiologist visit I jokingly asked the Dr. if I was getting better, He turned to me and said tersely, "We don't get better we only get worse". Hmmm...sorry I asked.

 

[ls99]

Shoulda asked, who is this we kimosabe?

 

[Walt34]

So, credibility is not black and white and it is prudent to not blindly trust your physician.

Oh, I have complete faith and trust in my doctor:

 

[harley]

Totally anecdotally, and of no real value to anyone else, I stopped taking my Zocor on the 22nd when I posted last. Today I'm feeling wonderful. Most of my muscle pain has gone away, and I'm lifting things with less effort than before. The only thing that still hurts is my thumb, and I just hit it with a hammer today, so it doesn't count.

Can it really be that simple? Does the effect, assuming it even was the statin, go away so fast? I may keep this up for a month or so, then start it back up again and see if the pain and weakness reoccurs. What's retirement for if you can't choose to act as a medical guinea pig?

 

[Tandemlovers]

Despite the somewhat sensationalized title, I found this book to be a very useful read:

http://www.amazon.com/Are-Your-Pres...-ebook/dp/B004T4KXA0/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

The author is a pharmacist who began a side business evaluating the drug regimens of the
people coming into his pharmacy.

From the Amazon website:

You most certainly know someone whose life depends on the prescription drugs they take: it may be your husband, who takes sleeping pills to counteract the anxiety his heart medications cause him, or it may be your aging father, who takes upwards of twenty pills a day for everything from arthritis to high blood pressure. But we’ve all read the headlines: prescription drugs can kill you. If that’s the case, why are so many Americans, particularly those sixty and older, given so many pills, with no regard to how they interact with one another?

Fifth-generation pharmacist Armon B. Neel, Jr., is on a mission to help patients understand how the medications they take can affect them—for better or worse. As a consulting pharmacist, he visits hospitals and nursing homes daily and counsels patients on how their prescriptions may be interacting dangerously with one another, and how they can reduce the number of medications they’re taking. Armon’s recommendations have been estimated to save $2.5 million a year in health-care costs, and more important, he’s saved thousands of lives. In 2010, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists gave Armon its annual achievement award. The organization then announced that Neel so personified excellence in the field that the award would be renamed for him.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[athena53]

Totally anecdotally, and of no real value to anyone else, I stopped taking my Zocor on the 22nd when I posted last. Today I'm feeling wonderful. Most of my muscle pain has gone away, and I'm lifting things with less effort than before. The only thing that still hurts is my thumb, and I just hit it with a hammer today, so it doesn't count.

Can it really be that simple? Does the effect, assuming it even was the statin, go away so fast?

I can't remember how quickly my tendonitis went away after I ditched the Prevastatin. I think the pain level was down within a few days but it took maybe a couple of months to have 95% of the pain gone. Even now if I overwork my elbow joints I can feel twinges. My Dad, OTOH, has been on statins for decades with no problems.

It doesn't hurt to have a healthy skepticism and do research. Artificial hormones were supposed to be the key to eternal youth for post-menopausal women. Too bad they increased the rate of breast cancer. Bone density supplements were the next big thing. Well, except they make you a poor candidate for dental implants because you can get osteonecrosis in your jawbones. Just recently, a study found that women taking them had a high incidence of femur fractures from mundane activities such as walking down steps. I'll just keep bicycling to keep my bones strong and put up with the occasional hot flash, TYVM.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I suggested to DH that he discuss stopping statins with his cardiologist because DH was driving me crazy with his most unpeaceful sleep--flailing around wildly every couple of night, making me nervous that I would wake up with a black eye, besides worrying about the much more ominous conditions that cause sleep disturbance. I had read there could be a link to statins:

Multi-methodological approaches using different algorithms and databases strongly suggest that statin use is associated with an increased risk for sleep disturbances including insomnia.

Association of statin use with sleep disturbances: data mining of a... - PubMed - NCBI

Since he stopped using statins about eight months ago, he no longer is running or punching bad guys--or me--in his sleep. Ever. (He also had prostrate reduction surgery in the summer so no more potty trips at night, so he could also be sleeping more soundly as a result). Peace is wonderful.

 

[jerome len]

I take preventative drugs as prescribed by my Doctor. People live longer today because of preventative drugs. A good diet heavy in protein,veggies and excercise help as well. I see no reason to stop taking what my Doc recommends.

 

[sengsational]

I take preventative drugs as prescribed by my Doctor. People live longer today because of preventative drugs. A good diet heavy in protein,veggies and excercise help as well. I see no reason to stop taking what my Doc recommends.

That's the same perspective my FIL had. We were picking in the garden one summer and he complained about his leg muscles when he stood up (he never complains). I told him to stop that statin, and he said "what about my numbers" (meaning cholesterol). It would be different if the numbers actually correlated with disease or with life span, but they don't. I said great numbers mean nothing if you're dead. He didn't listen to me.

He was literally in a wheel chair before he quit taking the statin.

 

[jim584672]

Did "The Man" start this thread?

Just for the record I am not on drugs, (at least not right now).

 

[Badger]

I've been taking some nasty pain meds for the past 5 years. Don't like the dependence/addiction potential so I don't take them like prescribed and live with the nerve damage peripheral neuropathy effects much of the time. I wish there were an alternative but Florida doesn't participate in that at the moment.

Cheers!

 

[kcowan]

We were forced to shop for new doctor when our existing one of 15+ years died of a massive heart attack. He knew us well-enough after that time. He was a year younger than me.

When we finally got a new one, we had to do a baseline assessment and we were quick to favour lifestyle changes over meds. For every med, we read up on the adverse consequences so that we do not get on the symptom pharma train. It seems to be working after two years.

And to OP, good luck with aging. My Dad never took anything beyond an occasional aspirin until he died at age 95 (of complications from a broken hip). But I must have inherited lots from Mom (who died at 57 from complications arising from breast cancer). Currently taking 4 meds a day.

 

[Chuckanut]

I have come to the conclusion that due to the drug companies having invented so many new drugs in the last two decades, that there is hardly a healthy person left on the planet.

 

[6miths]

A healthy skepticism of Big Pharma is wise as expressed by many above. That said, there are some conditions for which some drugs produce very good results. Due diligence and a thoughtful MD are important.

 

[Amethyst]

It's to the point where if you go to a doctor or dentist, they ask you what meds you're on, and you say "none," they look at you funny and say "Are you SURE?"

Because obviously, you must be losing your memory and forgetting to take your meds!

 

[razztazz]

Because obviously, you must be losing your memory and forgetting to take your meds!

Statins among many others actually cause memory loss.

 

[aja8888]

I take one small beta blocker for BP control, although I probably don't need it anymore since I lost 40 pounds and I'm back to my normal weight.

I do take a vitamin and small aspirin each day, if I remember. But at 72, my memory is not as good as it used to be. Cholesterol is always normal range, no other ailments (so far).

 

[Sea Kayaker]

Nada. And with the lifestyle change I've installed since retiring, I don't expect (or hope) to have to take anything for decades yet.

 

[John Galt III]

In my twenties a doctor told me I had an inguinal hernia and needed an operation. I went to another doctor for a second opinion and he said nope, you may have a weakening in the inguinal area but you definitely do not need an operation, and can continue to lift heavy things. Now in my sixties, no hernia.

That experience, and others like it, have got me leery of any *new* doctor. Currently I probably should see a urologist about something but am scared that I will once again be told I need an operation I don't really need, get all stressed out, get a second opinion, etc. I've been using the internet to read reviews of urologists (I don't currently have a urologist) but am not sure these review websites are accurate. When and if I go to a urologist I will feel like I am rolling the dice and hoping for the best. Guess that's how it is for most of us. BTW , my gp automatically recommended a urology group that is affiliated with his hospital. The websites gave the urology group an average rating and the specific urologist he wanted me to see had some truly awful comments made about him, as well as some glowing praise.

Concerning drugs, I resist my gp every year about going on statins, but gladly accepted his advice to keep using PPI's for acid reflux. I've been on synthroid for decades (ironically two doctors I was seeing at the time said I did not need synthroid, but one humored me with a blood test, revealing that I was in serious need of it. A nurse acquaintance had urged me to get my thyroid levels checked)

 

[Bamaman]

I'm diabetic and need to take certain medicines. I take only what's absolutely required.

My wife is on a bunch of meds. She's lost 20 lbs., and is now a ball of energy. Thankfully she's been able to get off some of the meds she's had to take in the past.

Sometimes all it takes is losing 10% of one's weight to greatly improve the need for medicines.

 

[Rick_Head]

Nothing legal.

 

[aaronc879]

Nothing FDA approved.

 

[emerytura]

I take hypertension medicine, the lowest dosage for past 10 years, started at 45. I am not overweight and eat very healthy. My blood pressure with medicine is at normal range. I have try many times to stop taking it but everytime after few weeks not taking it my blood pressure will be to high. My doctor told me that I am in danger of getting stroke if I do that. I was told I am stuck with one pill a day to the rest of my life. There is high risk of stroke on my father side, and my father had 3 strokes already, so I know what can happen to me if I refuse to take this medicine.

 

[MRG]

I'm diabetic and need to take certain medicines. I take only what's absolutely required.

My wife is on a bunch of meds. She's lost 20 lbs., and is now a ball of energy. Thankfully she's been able to get off some of the meds she's had to take in the past.

Sometimes all it takes is losing 10% of one's weight to greatly improve the need for medicines.

I agree, DW has a similar situation. She's lost about 15% of her body weight and dropped the dosage on many meds, some by 66.6%.

I've dropped about the same percentage and life is a whole lot different. About 1/2 of the meds I was on, I no longer have a need for. I stopped snoring, have more energy, better mood, the list keeps getting longer .

I see my M.D. next week, by my records I've dropped 10% of my total body weight since I saw him 12 weeks ago. He knew I had planned on losing some weight, we hadn't yet discussed my final goal. Pretty sure he'll be talking about it.