Prescription Drug-Free

One day over a year ago, I stopped by to visit my 82-year-old stepfather; bringing him some groceries, and organizing his medications into a 14-day pill dispenser. He was suffering from congestive heart failure; a former heavy smoker and alcoholic. I was his main care giver; and periodic visits were essential to his well-being. On this particular visit, when I reached up on top of the refrigerator to brings down all his medications, I dropped the box, spilling them all over the kitchen counters and sink. Little did I know at that moment, that this event would be the catalyst to changing, and eventually saving, my life.

In the past, I went through the motions of organizing my step-father's medications; and never took note of the extent of how many medications he took. Spilling them all over the kitchen, picking them up one by one, and examining them to make sure everything did not get dispensed incorrectly in the future, made me realize for the first time just how many medications he consumed; as well as the purpose behind each type of medication. I was amazed not only at the quantity, but mainly at how one medication would be taken to offset negative side affects of another medication.

When I got home that night, I went upstairs to shed the suit and put on some relaxed clothing for the night; when I looked over at my bed side table at the number of prescription medications I was taking. I never realized just how many. I sat on the edge of the bed and started examining each one; just to remind myself why I was taking them. To this point, I really had not taken stock of it. When my physician tells me that I have a medical problem, I go to the pharmacist and get it filled, and start taking it; all without much reflection. I was overweight, had high blood pressure, stressed out about my job, couldn't sleep at night, had daily headaches, and was impotent. Up until now, I had fallen into a trap that this behavior was normal. It's a good thing I didn't smoke cigarettes on top of it all, or I wouldn't be here writing about this experience.

That night I went on the Internet to surf many prescription medication sites to understand what I was taking, why I was taking it, and what the negative side affects are. Every time I picked up a medication at the pharmacy, I would receive a 4 page thesis on how to take the medication, and what the side affects are. In the past, I never read these warnings; just threw them away. Well, now I was interested. I was up until 2:00 in the morning reading as much literature on every medication I was taking; and I was in shock at what I read. On the average, for each medication that had a specific purpose, there was a page and a half of negative side affects. You take a medication that relieves stress; but you also become suicidal, kidneys weaken, and risk liver disease. There was one site that caught my attention; claims were made that herbal supplements taken over long periods of time were very effective in curing many of the same problems I had. All the alternative treatment sites stated that herbal supplements are very effective when accompanied by healthy eating and exercising. This was getting my attention; and I decided to test it out. I didn't have a clue what I was doing, and I learned quite alot as I went down this road. My plan was to understand what foods and herbal supplements eliminated problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, impotentcy, and headaches. Being only a little self educated on creating a healthy lifestyle, I decided to target the cholesterol problem first; thinking originally that I would address each problem separately.

I started a physical fitness program every morning for an hour before I went to work; and researched on the Internet what foods contributed to cholesterol problems. I quickly eliminated alcohol, salt, sugars, processed foods, fried foods, dairy products, white flour products, junk food; and started consuming fruits, nuts, salads and vegetables. I was amazed to learn that there was quite a lot I could eat that was good for me. In addition, I purchased some herbal products that targeted high cholesterol. I also read that certain herb combinations were effective in treating problems. I decided to go with a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement, as well as several blood cleansing and cholesterol regulating herbs. When reading the list of ingredients, I read names of herbs that I never heard of in my life; like safflower, hawthorn berry, capsicum, echinacea. This was quite an education.

I have to admit that during the first week, I suffered from a rapid change in eating habits and exercising on a regualr basis. One day while driving to work, after a whole week of eating salads and natural oatmeal for the first time in my life, I was staring out ahead in the roadway when I started gasping for breath, broke out in a sweat, and I saw a giant pepperoni pizza flying at me through the windshield. Although it was my mind playing tricks on me, I actually ducked; swerving over to the side of the road. I knew then I had better keep trying to achieve this new and healthy lifestyle. Once I got over the pain from the new exercise program, I was able to focus more on my game plan. I was beginning to wonder what I was really doing to myself, but kept going forward just to prove to myself that I can change; it was very challenging.

Part of my plan was to attack the cholesterol problem for 60 days; knowing that I had previosly arranged an appointment with my physician for a periodic check up. He saw me regularly due to all the medications I was taking. He usually scheduled me for a blood test, which I had completed a few days prior to each visit. What better way to judge new lifestyle changes than to have a complete check up with my physician. I had been noticing some positive changes myself during this period. I stopped thinking about all the old habits, and enjoyed my new lifestyle of healthy eating and exercising. My exercise program had picked up quite a bit; more repititions and exercises designed to strengthen certain parts of the body. I seemed to be gaining quite a bit of energy. I was also losing weight. I was eager to exercise each morning, and researched innovative ways to prepare healthy meals. All this time, I thought I was just targeting the cholesterol problem to rid myself of one prescription drug. Was I in for a surprise.

The visit to my physician was enlightening; I was truly astonished. The first thing the nurse did was to get me on the weight scale. I was hesitant at first; nervous that there would be no change. But there was a big change. I lost 24 pounds. That was encouraging. I was placed in a room, where the medical assistant took some preliminary readings. She wanted to take my blood pressure. I was nervous, and my heart felt like it was pounding. I thought to myself, well, this is where it all goes bad. But, after checking my blood pressure, she said that the reading had improved quite a bit from my last visit. That moment a light bulb came on. I was astonished about something that I had not connected earlier in my research. My weight went down and my blood pressure improved, even though I was only targeting my cholestorol problems. Healthy eating, exercising, and herbal supplements are relative in treating all my problems. I was beginning to feel pretty good about myself when the physician came in. He quickly pulled out the blood test; and began to critique the results. During the process, he kept looking over at me, as if he was checking to see if I was the same person that matched up with the blood test ID. He said my LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol readings had improved quite a bit from the last visit. He proceeded to ask me for an update of all the problems I have been experiencing during the past year, and the how effective the medications were. Then we began to chat about all the changes I had made in my lifestyle in the last 60 days; he was very impressed. Then he said something to me that made my day. He said that if this trend continues, he would take me off of one of the high blood pressure medications, and bring the cholesterol medication from daily to once every other day. My plan did work.

During the next 6 month period before my follow up visit with my physician, I kept steady with healthy eating, exercising, and herbal intake. My knowledge of innovative meal preparation improved, I bought a weight bench and set of weights, and became very educated on herbal products. In addition to a healthy breakfast and exercise every morning, I take multi-vitamin, minerals, vitamin C, blood cleansers, liver cleansers, digestive track cleansers, acidophilus, and echinacea. Over time, my weight dropped quite a bit more, my headaches disappeared, I slept very good each night, and I was experiencing a healthy sexual relationship with my wife. The exhaustion, lack of energy, impotence, headaches, stress, and sleepless nights were gone. After a year, under the guidance of my physician, I was able to eliminate all prescription drugs. If I can do it, anyone can. Free at last; free at last.