lifeguyd said...
I think we all understand that the practice of medicine is not an exact science. Since my diagnosis in 2006 prostate cancer treatment and screening have gone through a roller coaster ride of changes. Knowing what I know today, I would have had different treatment, but might not have been treated all if my physician was influenced by the "don't psa test" movement that now seems to be ending.
Medicine is like that. I have been taking statin drugs for 25 years that probably extended my life but are now found to cause other problems. The same can be said for the blood pressure drugs and proton pump inhibitors that were a part of my life for decades. I now suffer from problems from kidney disease to peripheral neuropathy that apparently were at least enhanced by those doctor prescribed medications.
That right there supplies some serious food for thought. There is a tendency in medicine(or should I say a SE?) to (maybe/hopefully) fix one thing but break another while doing so. I teach a class populated by men on average 20 years my senior, into their 80s and 90s, WW2 vets. Most likely, medicine(and/or surgery or RT) has kept many of them alive and active a good bit longer than they would have been without it. Still, most are on a number of prescript
ion meds, and I hear from them about
the SEs associated with them. One almost had a ruptured Achilles tendon related to the antibiotics they put him on and quickly stopped, another had a strange and severe reaction to proton pump inhibitors, but most common is guys getting treated for their high BP and then they start falling down. More than one has quit their meds because of falling. Considering the severity of the consequences of these seniors falling, it might be debatable as to which is more dangerous: the high BP or the falling. But since they can no longer function if they are falling a lot, many decide to take their chances on the high BP. One guy has told me that he can just be standing there talking to someone when he just- before he knows it is happening- falls over backwards! This will happen every time he tries to start a certain BP pill that his docs want him to take. Sigh.
I have no doubt that I would have been on BP pills for 20 years now, if I had gone to the doctor when my BP and weight were heading steadily higher. I was only in my late 40s(68 now, no prescript
ion meds), and my BP had started staying above 140/90 or higher, plus my triglycerides had been flagged at a bit over 200, and HDL quite low. But I put off seeing anyone for a pill while I tried several versions of low carb/higher fat eating. Against medical advice I might add. Within 6 months my BP was lower than when I was 20, at around 105/60, and my triglycerides(TGL) had dropped into the 40s and HDL came up nicely. (also, lots of weight lost).
Now I could have simply treated that high BP with a pill that any doc would have been happy to provide. But I prefer the way it worked out for me, rather than taking BP meds(and probably a med for my TGL and cholesterol). And as in your example, maybe finding out about
some of the surprise SEs way down the road. Also, though I did have docs advise me to lose weight, which I had been unable to do, I never had a single doc advise me to eat lower carb/higher fat, which turned out to work pretty darn well for me.
Post Edited (BillyBob@388) : 9/3/2017 2:34:18 PM (GMT-6)