There are No Side Effects

The next time your favorite television show is interrupted by a drug commercial claiming to make your life better and brighter with their chemical products, do me a favor. Ignore all those ecstatic, smiling faces at the end and actually listen to the “side effects” listed by the calming, authoritative voice. I looked up a few of the more common drugs on drugs.com, and here is what I found.

Statin drugs, which inhibit the production of liver enzymes, are commonly prescribed to reduce cholesterol. This class of drugs has the highest sales in the country. Common side effects of statin drugs, such as Lipitor, or Crestor, include memory loss; muscle pain; diarrhea; joint pain; mild sore throat; nausea; runny or stuffy nose; stomach upset. Severe side effects include:  Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing or swallowing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, throat, or tongue); change in the amount of urine produced; dark urine; muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness (with or without fever or fatigue); painful, difficult, or frequent urination; pale stools; persistent loss of appetite; persistent pain, soreness, redness, or swelling of a tendon or joint; red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin; severe or persistent nausea, vomiting, or stomach pain; unusual tiredness; yellowing of the eyes or skin.

Now I will break down some of these drug effects. Yellowing of the eyes and skin, along with urine changes, fecal changes like diarrhea and pale stool, all indicate a breakdown of your liver. Great! The drug is working! Statin drugs are designed to stop liver function. I hope you have realized, at this point, that liver function is essential to your life. I didn’t say “to your quality of life.” I said, “to your life.” Other side effects of statin drugs, like muscle soreness, tiredness, and memory loss indicate that your nervous system is breaking down. This country is in the midst of an increasedtrend in Alzheimer’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, early-onset dementia, and other, more nebulous nervous system problems. You can bet that some of this increase relates to statin drugs.

Let us look at a gentler, kinder drug, shall we? Let’s take a look at a drug for the treatment of simple airborne allergies. Nasonex has these “common” side effects:  Burning or irritation inside the nose; coughing; headache; muscle and joint pain; nosebleed or pink color to the mucus; painful menstruation; sinus pain or pressure; sore throat; upper respiratory tract infection; vomiting.I have not listed the side effects classified as “severe.”

There are no side effects. Pharmaceutical companies coined the term to denote “undesirable” effects a drug may have on your body. Just because the effect of a drug is not desired does not mean it is not important. There are no side effects. There are only effects. How are your drugs effecting you?

Fibromyalgia

There has been quite a lot of noise in the media and medical offices these past few years about a condition called fibromyalgia. You have almost certainly seen commercials for drugs designed to alleviate symptoms for this condition. One of these commercials features a woman talking about her pain. She says, “My doctor diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. I found out that there are nerves throughout my body.” The commercial leaves you hanging at this point, making the vague assertion that nerves are the problem. This makes me chuckle, just a bit, because it is like saying, “I have legs. That’s the problem.” Everybody has nerves, and nerves are a normal anatomical feature in your body. In fact, nerves are absolutely necessary for your survival.

Other sources claim that fibromyalgia is caused by overactive nerves, or by depression. Many people diagnosed with the condition are given a prescription for anti-depressants. Diagnosing fibromyalgia is tricky and vague. If you complain of pain “all over,” and if you have several specific “trigger points” (these are small spasms in the muscle), then you have fibromyalgia. The cause is uncertain in the medical community. From my own clinical experience, patients who have this condition almost always have other conditions, and are often depressed. I know for sure that mental depression will almost always manifest in physical pain, just like physical pain can cause mental depression. 

Chiropractic care and a natural, holistic mindset can help the symptoms of fibromyalgia. The most difficult part of the healing process is breaking the cycle. It hurts to move, exercise, walk, take care of your family…but do it anyway. Force yourself to conquer your own pain, and you will gain self esteem and self motivation. Whose body is it, anyway? 

Chiropractic adjustments can also give a measure of relief. Wait, some might ask, isn’t chiropractic all about the bones of the spine? If you have been reading my columns regularly, you’ll be able to understand why chiropractic can help fibromyalgia, even though it is a condition that shows up as muscle pain. A sensitized nervous system is a subluxated nervous system. Subluxation happens when one or more bones of the spine misalign slightly and stop moving properly, causing irritation, swelling, and pain around the joint and in the muscles. The disruptive symptoms do not have to be right at the site of the subluxation. Nerve roots branch from the spinal cord and travel to every body part, down to your toe nails and hair follicles. Even your internal organs take their instruction from the nervous system. 

Imagine someone poking and prodding you all day. After a while you would be irritated. It might hurt at the site of the poking. Your temper might be short. You might lash out at that person, or at someone unrelated to the situation. Think about symptoms of fibromyalgia in this way; your body is letting you know that something is not right with it. Getting to the root of the problem with chiropractic care and other life changes will help.