The Health Detectives

If you’re on medication from your GP or hospital and you experience any side-effects, please go onto this website to register your side-effects and to warn others. This includes side-effects from vaccines.
http://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk

Other people need to know in case they are thinking of going onto a certain drug. If they’re checking it out online, it’s because they’re in doubt and are looking to find anybody else’s experiences and any risk factors.

Steroid-induced diabetes
Steroids are anti-inflammatory drugs and can be life-saving. Unfortunately, many people stay on them, after the initial period when they do a necessary job. Later the side-effects can be devastating. Too many people are not told about the possible side-effects and steroid-induced diabetes is a common side-effect. The drugs raise your blood sugar as it mimics cortisol which is your body’s stress hormone. Steroids may be given for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and as we’ve said before the procedure for putting you on these drugs works very well but there doesn’t seem to always be a procedure for coming off them again which is just as important. This is not a drug you want to take long-term!!

This is junk medicine at its worst.  Read the side effects.  In some people statins can irreversibly destroy muscle!  And can certainly cause problems with muscles and tendons. A patient coming for Bowen Technique for terrible hand and foot pains didn’t respond to Bowen; went off her statins after reading about the side effects - with quick resolution of her hand and foot pains!  People who take statins have to have regular liver check-ups because it can seriously mess with the liver.  The data show that statins do lower cholesterol, but do not extend life. 

The news here in the UK a few days ago was that millions of healthy people could be put on statins as a preventative medicine – today was the following article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8695102.stm

In  my opinion, THIS IS NOT PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE, I rather see it as scare-mongering and profit-mongering.

Furthermore, there are so many alternative methods with no side effects to help cholesterol, circulation and the heart.  Many alternative MDs are saying that high cholesterol is not even the culprit - low-grade inflammation is.

As The Health Detectives we carefully test the liver detox pathways, gallbladder functions and the methylation pathways which are very important in the context of cholesterol and cardiovascular risks. If these biochemical pathways are not in balance, it may have further knock on effects on the endocrine system and the neurotransmitters. If you’re one of many on statins, consider your alternatives – and perhaps do our liver and gallbladder flush.

Often people who come to our clinics  are on a lot of medication. Many of  them wish they weren’t.  It seems in our culture, many of us have been ‘trained’ to feel afraid to reduce doses or come off medication - in case we get worse. This  fear gets in the way of us asking ” Has this medicine actually made me better? Has it worked?” Many of our patients would answer no to this question, yet the fear or worry about coming off something is very real.

We do not prescribe these medications so we would not  be in a position to unprescribe. What we do however, is ask that our patients bring all their medications to their appointment so that we can test which are actually helping them, and make sure they can take their medications with anything we prescribe.

It is worth remembering that  people are usually prescribed medication because a particular health issue has arisen. It wasn’t always there and often does not need to remain forever if the CAUSE is found and treated.  However,  many people are depressed to hear that “you will be on this for life”. Shocking when you are only middle aged for example!

Typical of this diagnosis is thyroxine. We work on finding causes and triggers of health problems, and on removing those so that the biochemistry can return to normal and medications no longer be required. After all, when our body is working properly, we each have our own internal pharmacy.  We have had patients called in by their puzzled doctors who can’t understand why they are now making their own thyroxine and need their medications reduced…. even though they have been told they will need drug-company thyroxine for life! 

We think it is highly strange to tell someone that ANYTHING is for LIFE.  And very worryingly, once someone’s file says FOR LIFE the diagnostic thinking in the NHS seems to grind to a halt. People are left on drugs and that is it! The huge costs would be very interesting to find out.

But even when people come to us, take the specific remedies that their bodies really want, and they get healthier, we  have noticed what a mental struggle it is for them  to think about coming off something after years on a drug.  Even the thought of talking to their doctors about reducing pharmaceuticals. Scary stuff, and it seems there is a lack of thinking by most of the doctors we hear about, when it comes to asking themselves WHY patients are on drugs for long periods… even indefinitely.  Clearly that is an admission that the drugs do not cure the problems and at best are just for symptom control.

So please – if you are on long term medication and, like our patients, wish you weren’t on so many … or suspect that the drugs aren’t actually helping, take courage – it is YOUR body and if you want to talk to your doctor about coming off , don’t stand for ranting and raving. Patiently ask for them to justify SCIENTIFICALLY, rather than emotionally, the dose and even your being on the drugs for any length of time if they are not sorting out the cause.

Good luck! We are seeing patients or hearing about their family members who are swallowing as many as 15 different pharmaceuticals every single day.. for the LONG TERM.  When one starts to do the maths, the costs are mind blowing. And how do people stay on pills which often don’t work … for years and years?  It’s clear…..FEAR.  It seems to me time to challenge the fear message and get some sound biochemical explanations before swallowing!  And if your guts tell you a drug is bad for you, take charge – it’s your body! You are the only one who can demand the doctors give a full and reasonable explanation if they expect you to stay on any drugs for any length of time. Our bodies are designed to be well, and surely that could be the goal of any pracitioner – alternative or otherwise… fostering health!

Our approach in the first instance is to work around the medications our patients are often on when they first come to us. We  check to see if the medications are effective; in other words, are they doing a job in the body? If not, we give the patient this information, and they usually say ” well if it’s not doing anything, is there any point in taking it?” How would you answer!?

We always try to find out what ‘job’ a particular medication is doing for someone, and if that drug is a load on the system, we look for a better more natural substance to do that same job without being bad for the person.  We only suggest someone ask their doctor about reducing and coming off medication IF we have given that person a natural alternative that does not suppress the symptoms, but RESOLVES the problem or cause within a reasonable period. That way, in our approach – functional biochemistry and natural medicine – our goal is to correct balances, remove causes, and only have people swallowing side effect free remedies for the period of time their body needs it…and not a day longer!

I hope that gives some of you some encouragement to ask for more information,  if your instincts are telling you it’s time to reduce or come off long term indefinite and unjustified prescriptions (* always do this with your doctor’s knowledge so that they can be aware of your medications and your withdrawal plans. We are not pharmacists and do not tell anyone to come off medication. We just give you information about your body chemistry to support your informed choices).

Please share this information / our website with any friends or relatives you know are on large amounts of long term medications and feel unhappy about this..

** Please note – there are some medications that are life saving and others that are addictive and our advice is ALWAYS to keep your doctor informed of any plans you may have to change your medications.