In this episode, you will learn about the consequences of common medications. Resources mentioned in this episode:

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Consequences of Common Medications

Everything we do, say, think, has a consequence of some sort right? The medications we take, both over-the-counter and prescription are no different. I want you to know and understand some of the implications or consequences of common medications when long-term. Some are even consequences of common medications in the short term

There is so much information out there, I decided to break this up into 2 parts. And even in these 2 parts, we are only talking about a handful of medications and a consequence or 2 for each. I selected these based on the ones I see most often in my virtual and in-person practice. This week we are talking about NSAIDs like Advil and Aleve, Birth Control Pills, and Prednisone. Next week we will touch on Proton Pump Inhibitors and Antacids (like TUMS, Prilosec, Nexium and the like), SSRIs, and Metformin.

As a practitioner that doesn’t use medications in my practice but also take a “yes and” approach to wellness, I want to preface this information by saying: This is not meant to shame you for taking meds or even your provider for prescribing them. Medication can be a wonderful blessing in life-threatening, urgent, acute, and triage situations. Sometimes medications can even be necessary for longer-term situations, but by in large medications are taken or prescribed without full informed consent. Meaning the risks or the unintended complications and even the alternatives are either not fully understood by the patient or provider or they are never disclosed.

It may surprise you, but I actually frequently build plans around medications if getting off of them isn’t possible or priority.

In short my goal here to inform you of the consequences of these common medications, help you connect some dots, and maybe even spark a question that leads you to shift towards wellness. Let’s dive in.

Non-steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs (Advil, Aleve, Ibuprofen, etc)

The very first one, you may have seen information from me about this class of medications before, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Sure you can get prescription versions of this, but by in large I am talking about the regular old over the counter painkillers. You know the kind you get at the grocery store or pharmacy.

It's kind of funny how pain is treated, especially here in the U.S. and in our healthcare system. It’s not honored like it is in other cultures. Pain is a very important signal from the body that something is not right, something needs to change. It’s a wake-up call if you will. I’m not talking about severely debilitating pain, but I am referring to a mild to moderate pain - it's a really important signal that lets us know there is an imbalance in the body.

Unfortunately, we are heavily marketed by pharmaceutical companies that pain must be stopped or never felt in the first place by taking all of these medications to help it, but at what cost?

Adding a layer of danger to these medications, really it just kills me, is that because they are over the counter, people assume that they gotta be 100% safe. People just take the max dose whenever they want, and they give it to their kids whenever there is a slight ache or pain. Sometimes

people use them on a daily basis before the pain even starts, to prevent pain.

I can’t tell you the number of people that come through my practice that will tell me “oh I garden” or “oh I workout” or “oh I play golf and I don’t wan...