If you’re like most Americans, you probably start your day with a hot shower, a cup of coffee – and a handful of drugs.
According to a recent report in Consumer Reports on 1,947 men and women, more than half of Americans regularly take at least one prescription medication. That’s somewhat understandable, but it gets much worse.
When the researchers looked at the average number of different drugs these folks were taking, it came out to a total of four medications!
And that didn’t even count the fact that 75% of them took at least one over-the-counter drug in addition to the prescription drugs.
These drugs are costing us a lot more than just money. According to the research, they are likely to kill you!
In 2014, almost 1.3 million people went to U.S. emergency rooms due to adverse drug effects. Of that group, 124,000 died. That’s according to estimates based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. The lesson? Taking multiple drugs is dangerous!
According to Michael Hochman, MD, of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, “The risk of adverse events increases exponentially after someone is on four or more medications.” As I’ve reported to you before, the third leading cause of death in the U.S. is drugs. And taking multiple drugs is one reason why.
All that bad medicine is costly, too. According to the market research firm IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, Americans spend an estimated $200 billion per year on the unnecessary and improper use of medication. That estimate includes the cost of the drugs and the costs of treating the side effects of the drugs. And, by the way, this problem is not improving. In fact, it is getting much worse.
In the last 20 years, the total number of prescriptions filled by all Americans, including adults and children, has increased by 85%. During that same time, the American population increased by only 21%. If you do the math, that means that on average, Americans are taking four times as many drugs now as they were 20 years ago. So, why is that? Have we suddenly discovered safer drugs? Do doctors now think that taking more drugs is better medicine? Are we four times sicker than we were 20 years ago? I don’t think any of that is true.
The fact is that many Americans and their docs have come to think that every symptom and every hint of disease requires a drug. Vinay Prasad, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, said, “The question is, where did people get that idea? They didn’t invent it. They were spoon-fed that notion by the culture that we’re steeped in.” Things that were only symptoms a couple of decades ago are now suddenly considered diseases. It used to be that some people were nervous Nellies in crowds. Now they have “social anxiety disorder” that needs to be treated with a drug. It used to be that some people occasionally got upset stomachs. Now they have “irritable bowel syndrome” that needs to be treated with a drug. And the list goes on and on. And that’s not the only reason for all the drugs.
Another reason is that despite all of the incredible advances in non-drug therapies, doctors are still only trained about drugs. Unless they have gone out of their way to learn about alternative medicine, they haven’t the faintest idea about non-drug therapies. And that’s not all. The insurance industry is no help. They are only too happy to pay for drugs, while having nothing to do with non-drug alternatives. And to make matters worse, most Americans want the quick fix. Instead of changing the way they live, most of us are looking for a simple little pill to take.
So, what should you do if you are in a multiple drug situation? The first thing is obvious, and that is to get a consultation with either a naturopathic doctor or a medical doctor who has had special training in alternative medicine. Most medications can be eliminated by substituting a natural remedy. Many medications can be eliminated simply by changing certain lifestyle issues. The other thing is to have one doctor who can monitor and check all your medications. All too often, patients have multiple doctors who have them on multiple drugs, and none of the doctors wants to change the drugs the other doctors are giving him. Remember this. It is always best to avoid specialists, and have a good, well versed family doctor prescribe all of your medications whenever possible.
And lastly, continue to educate yourself by reading Second Opinion. With the ever increasing likelihood of socialized medicine coming our way, it’s becoming more and more important for you to be your own best health advocate.
Yours for better health,
Frank Shallenberger, MD