February 2nd, 2008 | by askadmin |
As most of my readers know, I experienced horrible complications from my first two rounds of chemotherapy. My second round of chemotherapy resulted in a 32 day hospital stay.
I also had serious side effects from my radiation treatments. According to the doctors I had nerve damage. Whatever it was, it caused excruciating pain. I was given, what I consider to be massive amounts of oxycontin; 160mg per day.
I asked the doctors if there was a non narcotic way to control my pain. The doctor told me about a non-narcotic drug that was specifically designed for nerve pain. Lyrica.
Almost immediately after starting Lyrica, I experienced negative side effects. The two most profound were weight gain and dizziness. I gained 50 pounds in a very short time. I was petrified to take a shower because of the dizziness. I was told to stop taking the Lyrica.
Many people believe that the pharmaceutical companies, in their pursuit of profits, will tout their drugs to treat nonexistent diseases. The following New York Times seems to confirm that.
From The New York Times:
In the wake of the FDA approval of Lyrica, the first medicine approved to treat fibromyalgia, the New York Times has published a controversial article questioning whether the disease exists at all.
The Times claims that patient advocacy groups and doctors who specialize in fibromyalgia believe that the Lyrica approval is a milestone, and hope its approval will legitimize fibromyalgia in the same manner that Prozac legitimized depression. But, says the Times, other doctors believe that the disease does not exist, and that Lyrica will be taken by millions of people who do not need it.
Adding to the controversy is the fact that Lyrica itself is a drug originally designed for diabetic nerve pain that was rejected because of its unimpressive results and many side effects, including weight gain, edema, dizziness and sleepiness. This has left some wondering if the repositioning of Lyrica is little more than a cynical ploy to sell a failed medication. The potential for weight gain is a special concern, because many fibromyalgia patients are already overweight.
The Times article has already generated a good deal of online comment, and highlights the uneasy intersection where drug company greed and medicalization of nonexistent illnesses meets conventional medicine’s inability to diagnose and treat real problems.
Sources: New York Times January 14, 2008
Prior to reading the above article, I had already become keenly aware of the dark side of traditional treatments for cancer and many other diseases. I remember shortly after being diagnosed with cancer telling my doctors, and any one else who would listen, that I believed with all the advancements in the medical field, cancer treatment was still primitive and even barbaric.
Years ago cancer was treated by giving the patient poison, hoping it would kill the cancer cels. That is exactly what today’s chemotherapy is. Years ago, a primitive form of cancer treatment was to actually burn the tumor with fire. Radiation is nothing more than burning the tumor. I maintain that cancer treatment is still primitive and even barbaric.
I am now a firm believer in alternative treatment options. Of course, the best treatment for cancer, or any illness, is PREVENTION. That is why I insure that my body is sufficiently oxygenated by taking a supplemental oxygen nutrient.
My immune system has also become a priority for me. It should be a priority for you also. Because I am on a mission to promote prevention as the best treatment for any disease, I am striving for a super immune system.