Are drugs shortens our life?

reply to post by F4guy

It serves only to please the thinker, not enlighten the reader.

"Birds of a feather flock together"

Originally posted by diamondsmith
Doctors prescribe different medicines for our various diseases, whether chronic or not,we take different medicines without the need such as food supplements.

Food supplements are not medicines or drugs. There is a push, by the pharmacudical companies and the FDA, to regulate them though. I don't see a problem with a body overseeing the quality of food supplements, but to put them a drug abuse catagory is dangerous, in my opinion.

I take many food supplements everyday. I take vitamin C, B, royal jelly and grapefruit seed extract. I take glucosamine condroitin and hyaluronic acid. I don't see this a drug abuse at all! I hope that their use prolongs my life and makes living a little easier.

My father had a heart attack and a quaduple bypass. If it weren't for the drugs that he was prescribed he wouldn't have lived for the next 17 years.

My mother, on the other hand, choked to death on her medication.

reply to post by windword

Food supplements are not medicines or drugs

Depend on the chemical components because many of them have a chemical component that we don't know about.

reply to post by diamondsmith


This may be true. There is no regulation on vitamins and food supplement right now, and therfore no real way to be sure if 1000 mgs of vitamin C is really 1000mgs and what else might be in it. Although I would need a permit from the health dept. to sell home made cookies, If I made lemon drop cookies, I could call them vitamin C drops, and sell them without a permit!

I only buy my vitamins and food supplements from a trusted source, whatever that is....

reply to post by windword

My mother, on the other hand, choked to death on her medication

I am sorry of that,there are many stories here on ATS,and many drama happening behind a computer screen
and we must understand and pray for all those in times of trouble, because they are many day by day.

reply to post by windword

I only buy my vitamins and food supplements from a trusted source, whatever that is

Of course,made in China with a US label.

I seem to sense OP, that you have an agenda.

Are you in the medical profession?

reply to post by Wotan

I seem to sense OP, that you have an agenda.

No, I don't have an agenda,just asking a question,and you don't need a medical profession to open a thread.

reply to post by windword

If I made lemon drop cookies, I could call them vitamin C drops, and sell them without a permit!

I don't think this is possible,you will be spotted in the first place.

Yes you are right. Prescription drugs are bad.I should know. Right now my doc is weening me off of fentanyl patches. I started abusing them last summer. I got the prescriptions because of degenerative disc disease. Right now I have gone from 100mcg to 75mcg to 50mcg. Next I will be on the 25mcg. This is not fun withdrawing from this crap. I do not wish fentanyl withdrawls on my worst enemy. Like they say, you have to go through hell to get to heaven. Right now I'm in hell. I'm also battling insomnea.

reply to post by ditchweed

I'm also battling insomnea.

There are natural remedies to fight insomnia.

reply to post by diamondsmith

Prescription drugs are bad.I should know.

The past history medication of a patient,it's the key factor for a doctor to prescribe the right medicine.

If it wern't for medications, my Father would not have lived into his eighties. He is now deceased, but lived a very long and happy life. My Mom is also on medications and is 88 years old. My husband who is only 53 but has seriuos health issues is also on a number of meds and would have died years ago if he wasn't. Take it for what it is worth.

reply to post by Night Star
Yes but that was normal treatment not abuse of drugs.

reply to post by ditchweed


I have been through this for chronic pain as well and the titration is hard but very doable. Take as much time as your doctor deems suitable and do not rush it if it is not necassary in the doc's eyes. Insomnia is the worst part of the kick, at least for the bulk of people. It is hard to quantify chronic pain to people who have never suffered it. My point is.....do not come down on yourself for needing relief.

As to the OP, contrindication of multiple medications can cause issues outside the scope of the disease that is being treated, but it should be taken on a case per case basis by a doctor that is overseeing the treatment. Often times, people who are in need of multiple scripts may see multiple specialists for each specific condition and they may not disclose all the facts to each doctor. Ie; disclosing the use of herbal remedies to one and not another and the prescribed drugs may not contraindicate one another, but when mixed with an over the counter supplement, they may. I have also read alot of drug studies that may look promising on the surface but when you look into who funded the study, the info seems convoluted. I guess what I am saying is....We are all smart enough to educate ourselves and look into the info available on what we are ingesting and what the benefits are, weighed against the cons. If you are a patient still of sound mind.....use your analytical abilities to reason out if your doc is full of s### and educate yourself on what you deem is worth the risk. So if you have anxiety and you know that common anxiolytics cause drowsiness and you or not ok with that.....seek other alternatives that are ok with you. If it is ok with another, than it is their choice to use the prescribed treatment and none of our business to say what makes their life bareable.

Thank-you descussation for the advice. Yes, I see my doc on thursday. If my doc can't do something for me, well I have the choice to always see a different one. In the past I have seen my share of quacks as most likely others too have seen.
Peace, Ditchweed

reply to post by ditchweed


Fo Sho! I did not want to come off as being "that" dude, but just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in the seven billion. u2u if the road washes out.

Sorry if off topic