Comments on: What is Your Medication Story?

By: Michele

Michele — Sat, 17 May 2025 00:39:08 +0000

I was diagnosed with seizures, migraine headache, high blood pressure, etc and was on multiple medications multiple times a day for over 20 years. The side effects were horrible, I had more prescriptions to treat the side effect symptoms. During the pandemic when it was almost impossible to see a doctor, I started tapering off the medications. This was mainly because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get refills and didn’t want to go through withdrawals from the pain, seizure and anxiety meds. I can’t tell you how much better I feel without all of that in me. I still have seizures, migraines, etc of course but I’ve found SO many natural things that help without the crazy side effects and brain fog.

By: Kami McBride

Kami McBride — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 21:29:04 +0000

In reply to Joyce. It definitely is a ferris wheel- glad you're doing this work to get your health back!!

By: Jill

Jill — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 21:14:14 +0000

I had a total joint replacement 3 weeks ago. I’m off of all of the prescriptions, and all OTC meds except low dose aspirin. I feel trapped because they warn against blood clots and that the aspirin is important, so I keep taking it. I would rather take turmeric with ginger and black pepper but, I don’t know if I should. I also have a thought in the back of my mind, did levothyroxin cause the need for a new hip by increasing my risk for osteoarthritis?

By: Joyce

Joyce — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 16:36:43 +0000

In Sept 2022 I began a horrible bout of GI issues. So extreme that I could not leave the house without taking a PPI to control my symptoms. The PPI had been prescribed several years prior to take along with an NSAID to prevent stomach issues. My horrible GI issues in 2022 required a daily dose of omeprozole. I was on this for more than 2 years. My doctor assured me they were safe to take. Fast forward to 2024, had a bone density done and discovered I have osteoporosis. With a dangerously low T-score. I did some research and discovered that the PPI’s contribute to bone loss. When I mentioned this to my doctor she confirmed that they do cause bone loss. Which she never mentioned when she initially prescribed them. So now she has prescribed more meds to help build back my bone loss. When you get on the pharmaceutical ferris wheel there is no getting off. I am now working with alternative medicine people to help build my health back.

By: Sienna

Sienna — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 04:38:18 +0000

I am a ALL leukemia survivor (in remssion) since I was 8, now 29
I’ve been a type 1 diabetic since I was 16. I’ve been diagnosed with barrets esophagus and diabetic gastroparesis in 2022 so I suffer from a lot of digestive problems and pains.
I was diagnosed as infertile at age 13-14 due to full body radiation as a kid and am on hormonal replacements, such as estrogen and progesterone. I’m currently on 2 types of insulin; long and short acting, satins, and a proton pump inhibitor

By: Kami McBride

Kami McBride — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 16:24:23 +0000

In reply to Denise. So sorry you had to go through all of that and may your story help others.

By: Denise

Denise — Mon, 27 May 2024 21:51:10 +0000

First of all, THANK YOU for opening this very important conversation. I have held this in for years.
Several years ago my husband had his first bought with diverticulitis and had to go to hospital. After 9 hours they diagnosed him with diverticulitis and sent him home with 2 antibiotics, amoxicillin and ciprofloxicin. Please note he has a heart condition. Next morning he woke up profusely sweating. We thought it was another heart attack. Our doctor is just down the street. We called her and went there and they did a heart test and called the ambulance immediately. They told me what hospital he was going to. I had to run home for gas and call a friend who was picking up her dog at my house to make arrangements. When I got home there was a message from his doctor saying they were sending him to another hospital in city an hour away. I was in a panic. Highway and city, noooo! Awful. The stress I felt has never quite left me. When I got there they said there was no person by that name and dismissed me. I went outside by front door and had a complete breakdown. A lovely caring volunteer came out and took my hand and said she was going to help me find him. White hair with blue eyes and a lovely pink sweater. My true angel. Thank you wherever you are!
Well he was at the original hospital they had planned to send him to twenty minutes away. Point being he could have died while I was driving around on a goose chase. No excuse! Then they diagnosed him with afib, he never had that in his life and we both questioned it. And he has had no afib since.
In addition, it was Labor Day weekend and they wanted to send him to that same big hospital they had planned. They wanted him to have a stent put in! He would have lingered there until after the weekend for no reason. We insisted the heart doctor there contact my husband’s cardiologist to discuss. Jay has a yearly appointment with him. He had it one month prior to this incident. He said no send him home. Greatful. My husband’s heart attack was in March of 2001. After testing during his annual physical it was determined there were no changes. Therefore no need for a stent.
Bottom line is I am CERTAIN this whole thing was caused by ciprofloxicin. I went home and read the potential side affects of ciprofloxicin. Very first statement
Said “CAUTION: THIS MEDICATION MAY CAUSE SEVERE DUSRUPTION TO HEART RHYTHM”. Not good for seniors.
My discussion with all doctors was poo pood. Now I have this med listed in both our medical files as allergic reaction. I tell everyone, we are seniors and we repeat this information.
Thank you for giving me a voice concerning this potential deadly medication.
Denise

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 16:08:39 +0000

I developed severe complex motor tics when I was 16 years old. Over the next six years, I saw multiple doctors, including several neurologists, and was given a series of diagnosis ranging from possible seizures to schizophrenia and, finally Teurette’s syndrome, each diagnosis coming with its own slew of suggested medications, none of which worked. Most of my 20’s and 30’s were spent being shuffled from one random prescription to the next, designed to treat everything from diabetes to parkinsons disease, each time with the explanation that ‘we don’t know why this works, but SOMETIMES it does’. The side effects of these medications ranged from possible stroke to stomach bleeds, not to mention they cost up to $200 for a single month’s supply. None of them worked, and the withdrawals from each new medication (approximately four a year) was agonizing.
Finally, during my own research, I stumbled across a holistic page about possible home remedies for teurette’s syndrome and motor tics. Unlike the doctors I had consulted, and the medical pages I had read, this writer addressed the possible undercause of motor tics and explained why the herbs they recommended, passionflower and lady slipper, could help.
I went to Walmart, and looked through their boxes of herbal tea until I found one which contained passionflower, spending all of $4 for a box of twenty tea bags. I started to drink one cup a day. By the end of the first week, I noticed that I was sleeping better, and by the end of a month my motor tics were almost completely gone. No more side effects, no more withdrawals. Herbs gave me back my life.

By: Amber

Amber — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 14:19:18 +0000

For over 10 years I was carrying quite a few diagnosis’ including; fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease, chronic bilateral sciatica, migraines… then about 4 years ago, I started vomiting at least once every day for at least two years, having unexplainable seizures and POTS episodes. Finally in 2016, I got so sick that I couldn’t work. I was falling and unstable, I couldn’t drive due to seizures and I was even unable to stand and wash my dinner dishes or take care of my home appropriately. My memory was shot and I kept forgetting to pay bills on time, I was an absolute wreck. I became severely depressed and wanted to end it all. The only thing that kept me going was my husband and child. One day I decided I could no longer live like that and was going to make some major shifts in how I operated. I mean, after all, how much worse could it get right?

I began tapering myself off of all my medications under the supervision of a physician and shifted my approach to a more holistic one about 2 years ago. Which admittedly, was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done! Coming off SSRI’s at the max dose alone was nearly unbearable. Through researching and using herbs and plant medicine instead of prescriptions, detoxing my body from heavy metals, parasites etc, and sitting in plant medicine ceremonies, I have gotten myself off of 10 of the 11 medications I took every day for over ten years. Now I have an as needed muscle relaxer and it is a last resort. Once I realized how powerful the human body actually is when given what it needs to heal, I knew I had been through what I had been through, in order to help others with the same process. This is why I’m sharing my story with you now.

Today, I still deal with some of the same issues, but the intensity of the health issues I do deal with is greatly decreased. Seizures have stopped completely, vomiting has stopped, POTS episodes are gone, migraines are significantly decreased…the fibromyalgia has improved but is still present, but life is much more tolerable than before. I find myself much happier and content than I was just a few years ago.

I have recently begun creating my own tinctures, and expanding my herb garden. Next step is to buy a still and make essential oils. Thank you Kami for all the information on these processes and for being such a light to help others who struggle in this way. Much love and light to you.

By: Debra

Debra — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:14:32 +0000

My story involves ibuprofen. When I was younger I suffered debilitating cramps every month during my cycle. I mean enough to miss 1 to 3 days old school each month. I also suffered really bad headaches due to my sinuses being messed up due to my allergies. I used to say I could count on both hands the days that I did not have a headache rather than when I did in a years time
My doctor’s tried multiple things to help my monthly cramps. Nothing worked until my doctor introduced me to Advil. He taught me that while 1 to 2 was the normal dose but 800 mg was the ‘prescription’ dose of it so when I needed something stronger. I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.At first I only used it for my cramps but later started using it for my headaches. It got to the point I was using it daily when I needed help with the pain daily.
It got to the point I was routinely taking 800 mg (4 Advil) for anything. But I wrongly thought it was ok since it was doing its job and relieving the pain. Then they started talking about the dangers of NASIDs. But I thought that did not affect me because it worked so well for me.
I was wrong. I started having more chest pains and I hate to admit it took longer than it should have to tie in the two. Now I cannot take ibuprofen at all as it was causing the angina and who knows what else it was doing to me,

By: Linda Lovell

Linda Lovell — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 12:44:03 +0000

I’ve had an allergic reaction to almost every prescription medication I’ve taken. Breaking out in hives and extreme dizziness. When I went through breast cancer, I reacted to the surgical drugs in much the same way. After treatment I was given an adjuvant drug as the final treatment. I had so much deep pain I couldn’t sleep or function through the day. I quit that drug in 9 days. Fortunately I found a NP oncologist who treated me with medicinal mushrooms.
Later, I took Aspirin for a post menopausal headache I had developed. One night after taking the aspirin, I had an anaphylactic reaction to the aspirin. That was it!
Since the cancer my husband and I have seriously cleaned up our diet and lifestyle and I’ve gotten interested in herbs and a healthy lifestyle. No more pharmaceuticals for us.

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 05:43:57 +0000

I have too many stories to tell all. I think it is a family thing. My mother developed neuropathy after a flu shot and spent a month in a wheelchair. Then I got neuropathy after a flu shot, not as severe, but I still have neuropathy, and it has been 20 years since that shot. I had seizures as a baby after vaccines in the 50s, and had various strange effects and one doctor 20 years ago told me to not take them. But it’s hard, because even then he told me not to tell that he said that, because he could lose his license. So I get pressured all the time. I’ve been kicked out of doctor’s practices because I’m “noncompliant”. I’m still non-compliant, but my current doctor isn’t forcing the issue. And of course, all side effects from vaccines are “coincidence”. I’m not totally anti vaccine, I think we all have to weigh the pros and cons, and make our own decisions, just like medications.
The worst was when my mom fell and hit her head in the bathroom one day. I was not there, so they took her to the ER to get checked out. We had successfully avoided vaccines for awhile, but since I wasn’t there, they “caught her up”. She developed a cough soon after, then severe eczema, and then died within a few months. Nobody but me believed it was all connected, they all said she was just “old”. There was a list of medications that gave her hallucinations, and I warned them, and they gave them anyway, and then got upset when she was running up and down the halls, and wouldn’t eat, She was 93, but until then in pretty good health. I live with the guilt of that every day, and fear for my own future… but one day at a time!!