Welcome To My Website

This website will help you to avoid taking drugs you do not need, including information from my upcoming book and cutting edge news and research from the medical world. You will also find suggestions about safe alternatives such as diet, nutrition, and alternative therapies.

A silent epidemic is now imperiling our health and threatens to bankrupt our health care system: over-medication. One-fifth of all adults took three or more prescription drugs in the past month and 40 percent of people over age sixty-five take five or more daily. Adverse effects, drug interactions, and medication errors are only a few of the dangers of over-medication. Always check with your doctor before discontinuing a prescribed medication.

Do Antidepressants Really Work?

There was much brouhaha in the news last week about a new study claiming that once and for all the debate about anti-depressants was over. Headlines proclaimed that “It’s official – antidepressants work“, “Study proves anti-depressants are effective“, and “Antidepressants work. Period.” But what did the study really find?

The analysis looked at the first 8 weeks of treatment from 522 placebo-controlled studies of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). This is a type of severe depression that occurs in an estimated 3 percent of the US population over age twelve. Researchers reported that all antidepressants were more effective than placebo but the results were mostly modest. The dropout rate was 2-4 times greater in those taking the medications compared to placebos.

The study did not include people with the more common types of mild to moderate depression, which comprise 75 percent of people taking antidepressants, nor did it evaluate the efficacy of these drugs for more than 8 weeks. Other studies have reported that exercise and cognitive behavior therapy are just as effective as anti-depressants, without the risk of side effects. In fact, in the long-term, patients using exercise have a much lower relapse rate than those taking drugs.

Other critics of this study have pointed out that many of the studies in the analysis were unpublished and had not been through a rigorous peer-review process and that 80 percent of the studies reviewed were funded by pharmaceutical companies. Finally, some of the authors of the analysis reported consulting fees from companies that manufacture the very drugs they were studying.

So what did we learn from this study? There is a modest benefit in taking anti-depressants for the approximately 3 percent of people with severe depression for the first 8 weeks of treatment. Maybe. Does this study provide a definitive answer about the usefulness of anti-depressants in the vast majority of people who are taking them? Not by a long shot.

More information on non-drug treatments for depression as well as the dangers and side effects of anti-depressants can be found in my book, Do You Really Need That Pill? Now available for pre-order at https://www.amazon.com/Really-Need-That-Pill-Overmedication/dp/1510715649

Shocking Drug Statistics

You might be interested in a preview of these shocking drug statistics from Do You Really Need That Pill?

The FDA reported in 2017 that there are 450 deaths in the US each day from adverse drug events and 2500 serious adverse effects daily. Can you imagine the outcry if that many people died or were injured in terrorist attacks or plane crashes every day?
In 2016, there were 64,000 deaths from drug overdoses, which have topped traffic accidents as the leading cause of accidental deaths since 2009.
$487 billion was spent in 2015 in the United States on prescription drugs, including retail pharmacy sales and those in hospitals and doctors’ offices.
Pharmaceutical companies spend $14 million each day on advertisements directly to consumers, more than $5 billion a year. The US and New Zealand are the only countries in the world that allow direct-to-consumer drug ads.

Food for thought.

The Top Five Drugs To Avoid

While researching my book, Do You Really Need That Pill?, I came upon many drugs that can cause more harm than good. But there are five specific types that I think most people should avoid, due to their questionable effectiveness and potential side effects. Many of these are blockbusters heavily advertised by Big Pharma. Of course, there are people who actually need these drugs, but they are few and far between.

My book covers these drugs in much greater detail and I will focus on each one more specifically in a later post. But for now, here is the nitty gritty on the top five types of drugs to avoid, if you can:

Statins (Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor) are prescribed to lower cholesterol. Current guidelines advise that nearly everyone over age 65 take them but there is little evidence that they actually prevent heart disease in people without risk factors or a previous heart attack or stroke. One out of every five people taking them experiences muscle damage and they can double the risk of diabetes. Statins have also been associated with memory loss, dementia, and impaired liver function.

Acid Reflux Drugs (Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid) were approved by the FDA to be taken for only 2 weeks, yet many people take them for months or even years. They suppress stomach acid, which prevents the body from absorbing essential nutrients such as calcium, iron, and Vitamin B12. This leads to such problems as anemia, depression, bone fractures, and dementia.

Osteoporosis drugs (Fosamax, Reclast) are unnecessary for the vast majority of women who take them. There is little evidence that they strengthen bones or prevent hip fractures and there are several dangerous side effects. Exercising, getting plenty of calcium and Vitamin D in your diet, and avoiding excess alcohol and caffeine are better ways to improve your bone health.

Anti-depressants (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor) are effective in as few as one out of seven people with mild to moderate depression. Side effects include sexual dysfunction, suicide, bleeding disorders, and diabetes. Psychotherapy, exercise, meditation, yoga, and alternative therapies such as acupuncture and homeopathy can alleviate depression.

Opioid pain relievers (morphine, codeine, OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet) caused more than 30,000 overdose deaths in 2017 despite research showing they are no more effective than over-the-counter pain pills like ibuprofen. Another nearly 30,000 deaths were attributed to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. Because of their potential for addiction, the FDA now recommends that prescriptions for opioids be limited to seven days.