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Avoiding
Prescription Drugs
Do
you take prescriptions for high blood pressure, asthma or diabetes?
There may be alternatives.
Adam, who has high blood pressure, doesn't like taking the pills
his doctor has prescribed him.
"The pills
made me dizzy, and I just feel better without them," he says.
"What's more, I resented dropping $40 a month on medication that
didn't seem to be doing me any good."
But sometimes
his blood pressure clocks in as high as 150/100 mm Hg, well above
the optimal score of 120/80 mm Hg. And like any father of three
who just turned 40, he doesn't want to have an early heart attack,
so he follows his doctor's advice. He doesn't smoke. He takes
vacations. He stays extremely fit: He runs about 35 miles a week
and competes in two marathons a year, so his heart is in near-perfect
shape.
It's a lot
of work, but Adam has motivation: He doesn't want to take hypertension
drugs for the rest of his life.
Adam's doctor
warns him that he's taking a risk by forgoing drugs, but a lot
of men make this same decision. And doctors support it. We asked
physicians to weigh the pros and cons of the typical drug therapy
for four common health problems, and to outline the drug-free
strategies that might put your pharmacist out of business.
If you're
in the early stages of one of the conditions outlined below, ask
your doctor to let you try the drug-free option first, and make
sure he monitors your progress. If he refuses, he'd better have
a pretty good reason. If he doesn't, you have a good reason to
find another doctor.
You’re
Seeing the Doctor Because...
Your blood
pressure is in the 150/90 range.
Your risk:
Heart disease or stroke.
The drug
fix:There are six classes of hypertension drugs available
by prescription, all capable of lowering blood pressure by an
average of 10 points within 2 months, says Nicholas P. Tsapatsaris,
M.D., of Tufts medical school and the Lahey Clinic. Some work
by reducing your heart rate and cardiac bloodflow; others dilate
your blood vessels, reducing pressure. The downside: They can
be expensive and occasionally cause dizziness, persistent coughing
and sexual dysfunction.
The natural
fix: You need to exercise aerobically for at least 30 minutes
three or four times a week, cut your fat intake to less than 30
percent of your diet, and eat more fiber and less salt. Rsearchers
recently placed 412 people with high blood pressure on the DASH
diet ("dietary approaches to stop hypertension")and lowered their
sodium intake. Their systolic BP (the top number, which measures
pressure as your heart beats) dropped as much as 11.5 points within
30 days. The DASH diet is rich in fruits and vegetables, light
in red meat and cholesterol, and low in both saturated and total
fat. It also contains 31 grams of fiber daily, or almost twice
the amount the average American man eats.
Why natural
might work for you: If you're diagnosed with stage 1 high
blood pressure (your BP is between 140/90 and 159/99) but are
otherwise fit and healthy, lowering your blood pressure with drugs
may not give you much added protection against cardiovascular
disease.
"The slight
protection you gain may not be worth the risks or side effects
of taking blood-pressure medicines," says Dr. Tsapatsaris. Hypertension
(defined as BP higher than 140/90 mm Hg) significantly raises
your risk of heart attack and stroke only when it's coupled with
another risk factor, such as obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol,
kidney disease, smoking, or a family history of heart disease.
Eliminate the factors you can control.
But if you
have any of these additional risk factors or moderate to severe
high blood pressure (160/99 mm Hg or higher), taking antihypertension
drugs can help you avoid a heart attack or stroke. And death is
worse than any side effect.
You’re
Peeing A Lot More, Especially at Night
Your risk:
Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH
The drug
fix: If your prostate is enlarged, it will put pressure on
your urethra. Your doctor will likely prescribe the prescription
drug finasteride (Proscar) or the newer tamsulosin (Flomax). Studies
show that Flomax effectively treats 50 percent of men, but it
can cause dizziness and low blood pressure.
The nautural
fix: Take a daily 320 milligram pill of standardized saw palmetto
extract that contains 85 percent fatty acids. (ProstActive fits
that bill.) The herb saw palmetto seems to help block the conversion
of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, the form that causes prostate
growth.
Why natural
might work for you: Saw palmetto works just about as well
as the prescription drugs and offers minimal side effects. A study
review by the Department of Veterans Affairs involving 2,939 men
found that saw palmetto improved urinary flow nearly as well as
the drug Proscar. And saw palmetto will cost you a lot less —
a good thing, since you should give the herb a 6-month trial.
If it hasn't alleviated your symptoms by then, consider stronger
BPH drugs.
You
Occasionally Have Trouble Breathing.
Your risk:
Asthma
The drug
fix: If it turns out you're one of the millions of men with
adult-onset asthma, you probably suffer at least one severe attack
per month, and mild attacks a few times a week. So you carry an
inhaler filled with albuterol (Ventolin) or ipratropium (Atrovent).
Two good shots will stop the attack within 5 minutes. But the
drugs often cause dizziness, headaches, and tremors.
The natural
fix: Many cases of asthma can be helped by strength training
and breathing exercises, says Wayne M. Samuelson, M.D., of the
University of Utah. A "pulmonary rehabilitation" program of strength
training and aerobic workouts can sharply reduce one's dependence
on inhalers.
Do yourself
another favor: Stay thin. A study of 86,000 nurses found that
those who were overweight were twice as likely to develop adult-onset
asthma — and this finding is applicable to men, says Dr.
Samuelson. Researchers think extra fat may stop the tiny airways
in your lungs from expanding.
You’re
Sluggish After Eating...
...you can't
see straight, and you fear that soon you might become a blind,
obese, impotent guy with an insulin habit.
Your risk:
Diabetes mellitus
The drug
fix: Develop type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes and you'll be
on a first-name basis with your pharmacist in no time. Oral medications
such as DiaBeta, Micronase, and Prandin may help keep you from
injecting insulin for a couple of years, but their effectiveness
tends to wear off. Then it's on to insulin injections plus, possibly,
more drugs — more often — to keep your fasting plasma-glucose
levels normal (between 70 and 110 mg/dl). This routine can cause
side effects like weight gain, hypoglycemia, and needle tracks.
Besides, it's expensive.
The natural
fix: You know the drill: Exercise frequently and eat a high-fiber,
low-fat diet. Work out aerobically 20 to 60 minutes at least three
times weekly and you'll torch body fat. Lift weights to build
muscle mass and boost your metabolic rate so you're a better blubber-burner.
An active guy needs up to 3,000 calories daily to sustain that
level of activity — no more than 30 percent of those calories
should come from fat (and only 10 percent of that from saturated
fat), 60 percent from carbohydrates, and the rest from protein.
Get your fiber from whole fruits, vegetables, and grains. Lean
dairy products, poultry, and meats will supply the protein and
spare you the fat. Beans, beans, they're good for your average
diabetic, since they deliver plenty of protein and fiber with
zero fat.
Why natural
might work for you: There's plenty of research that shows
you can fight off diabetes with exercise, according to Sheri Colberg,
Ph.D., an assistant professor of exercise science at Old Dominion
Univer-sity and author of The Diabetic Athlete. Physical
activity enhances insulin's effectiveness, which helps your body
use glucose more efficiently. Fiber slows your body's absorption
of sugar, which helps stabilize blood-glucose levels.
That said,
this condition is nothing to mess with. You'll need your doctor
to watch your progress carefully, in case your condition worsens.
Potential blindness and loss of limbs are two of the best reasons
we know to go ahead and take your drugs.
Reference
Source 104
For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
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