You Can’t Trust Anyone Else For Your Health

When it comes to your health, you can’t trust anyone but yourself.

You have to do your own research, be skeptical of everything and ask questions.

I am going to tell you about an old woman who is close to me. She gave me permission to write about this.

This woman, who is 70-something of age, had been having serious digestive problems for many months. Stomach pain, diarrhea, you get the picture.

There were humiliating “accidents” at several occasions and for months, she was frequently unable to go out for social events without feeling anxious and worried.

You can imagine how much these kinds of accidents can affect a frail old woman. Having a problem like this has a MAJOR negative effect on quality of life.

She visited several experts, including a gastroenterologist, had a colonoscopy done and was given some antibiotics. None of it lead to a diagnosis and nothing worked.

The gastroenterologist… someone who probably spent 12-14 years on his education… blamed it on old age.

Old age.

Some other doctors suggested that she quit eating dairy.

She was admitted to quarantine in the hospital at one point because it was believed she might be infected with Norovirus, which is highly infective and can cause severe diarrhea.

For months, I was aware of the problem but I had faith in her doctors. They were the experts, if anyone was supposed to be able to find a solution, it would be them.

However, nothing worked and I started losing hope and feeling quite sympathetic to the old woman for having to endure this awful problem.

One day, I got the idea that perhaps, maybe… this might have something to do with the drugs she was taking.

Elderly people often take a wide range of drugs. Lipid lowering drugs, blood pressure lowering drugs, you know the deal.

Well, I called the old woman and asked her to share her list of meds through the phone.

Then I googled each of the drugs… “[drug] side effects” and looked at sites like Wikipedia and drugs.com.

Not rocket science, pretty much anyone can do this and they don’t need to be a health professional. Took me about 5 minutes.

One of those drugs really stuck out.

Among the most commonly experienced side effects, were both diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Exact matches for the woman’s symptoms.

Huh. Interesting.

These side effects were right up there for anyone to see.

The drug was called rabeprazole, which is a proton pump inhibitor, often prescribed for ulcers and acid reflux.

I asked the old woman if she remembered having an ulcer or acid reflux, she said no.

Perhaps she had one years ago, I don’t know, but at least it was not a current or recent problem. She didn’t even remember which doctor initially prescribed the drug.

I told her about the side effects of this drug and she decided to stop taking it without waiting for an appointment with her doctor.

Something very interesting happened…

Those horrible symptoms that had been plaguing her for months, with a drastic negative effect on her quality of life and causing severe emotional turmoil, went away.

A day after quitting the drug, the symptoms had vanished.

Immediate relief.

None of the doctors she went to about these horrible symptoms had the ingenious idea of checking her medications list.

Her gastroenterologist didn’t think of it, her geriatric physician didn’t realize it and she was even admitted to quarantine in a hospital, for days.

NONE of the doctors or nurses realized that this might just have something to do with the wide range of drugs she was taking.

And this was a drug she didn’t even need anymore. Something that some doctor had put her on ages ago and then forgot to take her off it.

Perhaps this is an extreme example, but there is a lesson here.

You can not trust anyone else for your own health!

Not your nutritionist, not your personal trainer, not your doctor. No one.

You need to question everything, be an informed patient and do research on the drugs that you are taking.

You only get one chance in life, one body… you can’t afford to take risks.

If you have any mysterious health issues and take multiple types of medication, then please go and check the side effects list and see if something fits.

I’m not encouraging anyone to quit drugs without doctor’s supervision, that can be dangerous!

But if you are plagued by some chronic symptom that matches a side effect of a drug you are taking, make an urgent appointment with your doctor and ask about it.

Join us on Facebook for daily tips on diet, weight loss and optimal health.

View the original article here