Solution to the Problem of Over-Medication
Oftentimes someone will go to the doctor complaining of some sort of illness and explain what symptoms and the doctor will prescribe a set list of medications for the patients to take based on the symptoms they are feeling.
Well, what if the root of the problem is something that doesn’t require medication?
What if the simple solution to the problem, doesn’t have to be cleared by insurance?
What if you never had to pay a copay for the doctor’s visits simply because you never are sick?
Doctors in this day in age jump too quickly to give patients a simple solution to their symptoms instead of looking at the body as a whole being and pinpointing exactly what’s going wrong inside that person.
This is described as Pharmaceuticalization by doctors, and medical researchers.
The current medical diagnosis system is flawed because doctors are over diagnosing their patients, and patients are under estimating their abilities to stay healthy on their own terms without the need for a use of prescription drugs.
There is a possible solution to this problem and that solution is that people can start taking their health into their own hands, rather than taking the prescription drugs by hand twice a day; it is called Complementary and Alternative Medicines. “Complementary and alternative medicines are defined by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) of the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) as health care approaches that are developed outside of conventional medicine for specific conditions.” (Asare, Storsud, Simren 286).
Reflexology, aromatherapy, chiropractic care, and physical therapy are some of the most common forms of Complementary and Alternative Medicines.
These are all methods that have proven to help cure epilepsy and many other common diseases without the use of prescription medication.
The method of pinpointing the problem on a holistic basis has been proven to be effective in most cases.
Diet has also shown an incredible impact on how patients can achieve their desired goal of overcoming the disease without a use of prescription medication. When patients with the condition of Irritable Bowel Syndrome were put on a specific diet with probiotics and some herbal vitamins, their condition was lessened and they could carry on with their daily lives. According to Manuela Malaguti-Boyle in the Journal Of The Australian Traditional-Medicine Society,
Holistic medicine is based on the understanding that to know health and disease, it is necessary to know the function of the whole biological system of individuals. This principle, applied over many years, has created a healthcare model in which all components of the biological system are seen as interacting functionally with the environment and with each other. Traditionally, orthodox medicine has focused exclusively on the treatment of the physiology and biochemistry of individual organs, cells and molecules. (Manuela 236).
I believe that if Americans started taking a more holistic approach to medicine, they would be much better off in the long run.
This holistic approach allows patients to take their health in their own hands, while having a holistic doctor help them along the way. Holistic medicine includes, chiropractic care for back pain, and overall health. Furthermore, it includes teaching patients about nutrition and how much diet affects a person on a holistic level; it also includes proper exercise and physical therapy for those who can't exercise properly.
And those who experience depression, and anxiety, holistic medicine provides aromatherapy, massage therapy as well as just talking to someone about their problems. Doctors and Certified Practical Nurses who practice holistic medicine have a understanding that some patients like myself would much rather choose different approaches to their health than to take medicine. Over-medication is a problem that I have faced first hand, and it’s not something I would wish on anyone.
When I was nine years old I ended up having to take the wheel of a car that my guardian was operating under the influence of too many different pain-killers, and muscle relaxers prescribed for lower back problems. Over-medication might not seem like a problem to someone else, but in cases like my own when patients who are being prescribed too much medicine it can be life changing or even deadly, for them and those around them.
Some might state that this isn’t really a problem because medicine has shown to be effective in most cases. A case in which medicine has shown to be effective would be the case of Laura Clancy. When she was 20 years old she felt a burning feeling in her chest, she then went to her doctor and they stated that she just had some indigestion and sent her on her way with some medication.
But this physical feeling didn’t go away; it only intensified, and went all the way through her back. A friend took her to the hospital after Clancy developed a severe fever, her tests showed that the cause this extreme discomfort and pain was not indigestion in the slightest.
The doctors then pinpointed the problem and Clancy was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which is a specific kind of cancer that starts in the lymphatic system, which is the disease-fighting network in the human body. “I didn’t really know much about cancer,” says Clancy.
“I hadn’t had any experience with it. The first thing that came to mind was that I was going to lose my hair—and this was the late ’80s. I had gigantic hair,” she says with a laugh (Jonhson 33).
After she underwent chemotherapy, she could return to her daily life of being a server at a restaurant. And I do agree, medicine has shown to be effective when used wisely, when needed and in moderation but it’s when someone is constantly taking medicine for 20+ years in order to live because they have become dependant on it, it becomes a problem.
Furthermore, as stated in the above story about Laura Clancy, the doctor first misdiagnosed what she was feeling based on her symptoms and prescribed her medicine for the wrong disease, even though she knew what she was feeling was not right. In the case of Laura Clancy, it had a happy ending but sometimes that is not the case.
Humans lived before the creation of medicine and did not rely on anything in their system. Humans created medicine to help them live longer, but not to be dependant on the fact.
According to the Huffington Post, “7 out of 10 Americans take prescription drugs everyday in order to carry out their daily lives” (Chan Web)
How is this healthy? Diet is one of the most effective ways to being healthy, one with good nutrition and a variety of colors, that being in the fruits and vegetables.
This combined with exercise is an excellent way to ensure that you are healthy, and happy.
Exercise releases endorphins that give a person a “high” just as taking opiots would without the harmful side effects. Exercise and daily physical activity has shown to be beneficial to even those in their 60s to 80s, as shown in a study conducted by Health Education and Behavior, Actualized benefits of participation [Regular exercise classes] included physical, social, functional, and improved self-image/sense of well-being.
Participants valued the practical application of class exercises to daily activities that support independent living, such as lifting objects and completing household chores.
This helps those who live alone because they are widowed do daily household things in which would have been difficult without the help of the physical strength provided by their exercise classes.
Chiropractic care is when the vertebrae of the spine becomes misaligned, which causes pain and an interference in the normal conduction of nerve impulses.
Exercise is a great way to get out with friends, stay healthy, relax, and be mindful of how your body is working/ what needs to be worked on. This helps determine if you need to seek chiropractic care, physical therapy or massage therapy to help sort out those dull aches and pains.
Some people might say that this is all just a fad designed by hippies and there is no certifications to ensure that the health care that you are receiving is legitimate, to that I will state that there are certifications and boards that doctors and certified practical nurses have to pass in order to practice holistic medicine.
An organization that I mentioned earlier, that monitors these boards and certifications, is the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), and they are monitored by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The board certification in which a doctor or certified practical nurse has to obtain before they are allowed to practice is called Holistic Health Practitioner, through the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.
The doctors also have to go to school and complete firstly their Bachelors of Science degree in Holistic Nutrition, Natural Health, or Natural Health Studies.
Lastly they move on to their post graduate studies to become either a Doctor of Naturopathy, Doctor of Natural Health, or a Doctor of Philosophy in Holistic Nutrition.
They are just as much doctors, and nurses as the ones who practice traditional health methodology they just practice a specific type of healthcare that is less commonly used, but you could change that.
What if the root of the problem is medication?
The solution to this problem is holistic health care, and the doctors that do not practice holistics are jumping too quickly to give patients a simple solution to their symptoms instead of looking at the body as a whole being and pinpointing exactly what’s going wrong inside that person.
Patients are underestimating their ability to stay healthy on their own terms, and are too often jumping to quick solutions rather than really thinking about the lifelong effects that their action may take.
If people start practicing a holistic lifestyle they will see improvements in their quality of life, because they will see benefits in the way they look, feel, and act.
Taking these measurements to life a happy lifestyle isn’t hard at all, look for a holistic healthcare provider near you to start living your life to it’s fullest potential.