Side Effects

What are side effects? They are something unexpected that happen along the way, or on the side. They may be good or bad, generally undesirable, but take place just the same. If you are running a race, unexpected hazards may cause you to lose. On the other hand, something may happen that gives you new courage making things turn out in a helpful way, and you are glad as a result.

In the healing arts the side effects are generally negative. You are treated for some particular disorder and the reaction takes a turn for the worse. For instance, tranquilizers are prescribed to ease pain or to quiet the nerves. Then the headache pain, skin irritation, or a rash develops; thus adverse symptoms take place generally puzzling the doctor and giving the patient no end of the trouble. In fact, the most common methodology is to prescribe another drug and telling the patient, "come back next week if this doesn't work, and I'll give you a something else." Now THAT'S is real confidence builder for the patient ... NOT!

Why do side effects occur? Various answers may be given, such as allergy, but the most logical answer is abundantly clear. All drugs have a most definite reaction when applied to the body, with some adverse, some mild. These reactions are called side effects and the treatment varies according to the nature of the patient, environment, working conditions, and other factors.

To quote Eli Lilly of Lilly Pharmaceuticals: "A drug is not a drug, unless it has side effects."

The Chiropractic, or natural, approach is different. Realizing that the life or nerve energy of the body transmitted by the system of nerves, directs and controls all bodily function and activity. We give special attention to the nervous system and its reaction in general. Thus, chiropractors do not treat the disease itself nor its side effects. Instead we make radiographic (x-ray) pictures of the spine and other tests to determine where the nerve interference occurs, after which skillful spinal adjustments are made to clear the basic cause by removing the nerve interference and setting free the life energy. Thus, the healing takes place from within outward and the side effects in most cases subside and clear up.

Oftentimes falls, accidents, strains, and mishaps displace one or more vertebrae to a degree so the nerves are "pinched" and dis-ease occurs and side effects result with various symptoms. We are educated and skilled in locating and correcting this spinal cause of the health problem, making possible a more healthy life without side effects.

"Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects."

Poor Choice For Pain

Acetaminophen belongs to a class of drugs called analgesics (pain relievers) and fever reducers. Ironically, the exact mechanism of action of acetaminophen is not known. It's stated that it reduces the production of prostaglandins (chemicals that cause inflammation and swelling) in the brain.
Acetaminophen is an ineffective and poor choice for short term pain relief of low back pain, knee pain, hip pain and osteoarthritis pain.

Acetaminophen is in the same class as Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Codeine, Tramadol, and Hydrocodone. Of great concern it the fact that it is the most popular pain reliever in the U.S., accounting for an estimated more than 27 billion annual doses. With more than 100,000 hospital visits a year by users, it's also the most likely to be taken inappropriately. In fact, improper use, coupled with the drug's narrow safety margin, means "a large fraction of users are close to a toxic dose in the ordinary course of use," according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Let's ignore the safety issues and look at the facts. Is acetaminophen an effective pain reliever in the first place? Not for low back pain and pain attributable to knee and/or hip osteoarthritis, conclude the authors of a recent meta-analysis.

The published review of 13 randomized trials has yielded "high quality evidence" that paracetamol (acetaminophen) does not reduce pain intensity or disability, and does not improve the quality of life, in the short term for people experiencing low back pain, and provides only "minimal, short term benefit" for people suffering from hip or knee pain caused by osteoarthritis, stating that "the small effects ... are not likely to be meaningful for clinicians or patients."

Back to the safety issues surrounding acetaminophen, which the meta-analysis did little to dilute. According to the review researchers, "high quality" evidence suggests paracetamol use results in a fourfold risk of an abnormal liver function test. Not surprising, since acetaminophen misuse (overdose) is now the most common cause of acute liver failure (exceeding all other medications combined) and the second most common cause of liver failure requiring transplantation.

In fact, the FDA has mandated that all acetaminophen containing prescription products feature a "black box" warning (the administration's strongest safety statement) noting an overdose can cause liver failure and even death; and have been urged to place similar language on OTC acetaminophen products.

Take care of your wonderful body, and it will take care of you. And, think of it this way;

"You don't need drugs. Get high on life with an overdose of you!"

Victims Of Routine

Many people are victims of circumstances, victims of wind and weather, victims of flood and famine, of war and many other hazards. But, one of the worst is becoming the victim of routine?

What is routine? SAME STUFF, DIFFERENT DAY, pretty much defines the "beast". It's somewhat a habit, doing things in a constant way, adopting some regular mode of action in business or pleasure. "Pursuing a given course with little flexibility," states the dictionary.

What is wrong about that? Nothing really, unless the habit becomes static, unproductive, or stale.  I personally lived that scenario in business, and sadly also in my personal life for over 15 years. Going to my office, doing the same fixed tasks, and over time feeling sorry for myself because I was becoming a miserable failure after enjoying a once successful career. Then, change became apparent with my funds depleted and my practice seeing fewer and fewer patients. My routine was attempting to run a medical practice solo. I could not imagine doing anything else. My common sense was departing slowly and my health problems became a serious issue with trips to the emergency room.

It was then my life changed dramatically. I was evicted from my office of 27 years. With no money and no place to practice, Downtrodden, I felt sorry for myself and excused it me being the victim of misfortune. When in fact, I was totally responsible for all that occurred. I was a "victim of routine".

Discover good habits and you will find they aid in accomplishment, they guide you in a regular course, making things come easy or quickly, all to the good. More power to such a positive routine. That is exactly what I unearthed - good habits and a positive mental attitude. Both needed to succeed.

There is always chance of becoming a victim of negative routine, constantly doing things the hard way, being unwilling to change, holding fast to an antiquated pattern, giving too much attention to time consuming, unprofitable details. Such routine needs to be modified and brought up-to-date.

In a broader sense there is also routine in politics, in religion, and health methods. Voting for the same political party, regardless of policies, holding fast to one political group or to fixed methods. Religion likewise becomes more or less static with many people. Prayers are sometimes routine, asking the blessing is a good example. People in general follow fixed patterns; even the Lord's Prayer is more or less a matter of note without giving thought to it's true meaning. Have you thought of that?

And what about your health methods? What is your pattern when ill? Do you rely on aspirin, pain killers, anti-depressants shots, MLM products, vitamins, without thought about side effects and the consequences to your overall general health? Are you a victim of treatment routine?

"Think, for the mind tells the body what to do."

Opioid, Heroin Deaths Continue to Climb

Overdose deaths from both prescription opioids and heroin continued to rise in 2011, the most recent year for which data were available, according to the CDC. While prescription opioid deaths followed a more than decade-long trend and increased about 2% to 16,917, heroin deaths jumped by 44% -- from 3,036 in 2010 to 4,397.

Officials with the CDC said the increase in heroin deaths may be partly due to users having less access to prescription opioids and switching to the illicit drug. It can be said that about 75% of heroin users say they started out by using prescription opioids.

The increasing number of heroin deaths also coincides with anecdotal reports about rising heroin use among people who have had diminished access to prescription opioid painkillers. The prescription opioid death number is getting close to stabilizing, but added that it's "still bad because it hasn't gone down." That number has been on the rise since 1999, when it was 4,030. In 2010, the figure was 16,651.

Doctors are trying, but they need to do a better of job of screening for opioid abusers by checking prescription drug monitoring programs in their states for patients who are doctor shopping, and by using urine screens to detect if they are using illicit drugs.

Andrew Kolodny, MD, a long-time advocate of tighter controls on opioids, said the growing deaths from heroin and opioids is something that could have been predicted 10 years ago. "I see this as all the same problem, an epidemic of people addicted to opioids," said Kolodny, chief medical officer of Phoenix House, a national addiction treatment organization. "Treatment has to be easier to access than pills or heroin."

We are seeing more heroin use, and presumably the new users of heroin are people who run out of their ability to get prescription opioids. In a way it is an unintended consequence.

Deaths involving benzodiazepines, which are commonly used concomitantly with opioids, also continued to rise, showing up in 31% of opioid overdose deaths in 2011, up from 30% in 2010.

Prescription drug overdoses more than doubled in the past 13 years in Orange County, a deadly increase that has closely mirrored the popularity of their illicit use, according to a report recently released. Illegal drugs – such as cocaine and heroin – used to make up the majority of overdose deaths. In 2012, however, 57 percent of overdose deaths in the county involved prescription drugs, such as Vicodin, Oxycontin and Codeine, the report states.

The steep increase in prescription drug deaths has been nearly in sync with the increasing use of them among addicts, officials said, with users over the years seeking out pain medication to obtain a high similar to heroin.

Last year, 2013, illegal drugs were behind 20 percent of Orange County’s 330 overdose incidents.

Prescription drugs were involved in 57 percent of the cases, 188 deaths. The remaining 23 percent of cases involved both illegal and prescription drugs, the report found. The report detailed all death investigations by the coroner’s office for 2012, but officials singled out the increasing appearance of prescription drugs, noting the flip from illegal to prescription drugs.

Drugs such as Oxycontin, Opana, Codeine and Vicodin are increasingly being used, and sold, by people seeking a high, officials said, often with deadly consequences. Narcotics investigators in Orange County have been seeing the trend for years on the street, he said, and it’s a trend that’s occurring across the country.

There has been a surge in the use of opioid drug - heroin and prescription painkillers - in the United States, and this rise in popularity has some calling it an “epidemic.” Here in Orange County, public health officials say there is a growing problem with opioid abuse and subsequent overdoses.

The increase in heroin use across the country is interconnected with an expanding opioid market, driven by the high demand for prescription painkillers, such as Oxycontin and hydrocodone. As a general class of drugs, opioids have a high potential for abuse.

Across North Carolina, there has been a more than 300 percent increase in opioid overdose deaths since 1999, according to the state Center for Health Statistics.

One important part of that approach is the use of the medication, naloxone, which can quickly reverse an overdose caused by opioid medications and even heroin. This was possible due to a state law passed in 2013 that gave doctors the ability to prescribe naloxone to a person at risk of opioid overdose, as well as that person’s friends and family members. Naloxone is just one piece of a larger effort to address substance abuse and misuse, particularly with prescription and other opioids.

Simply put ... THERE IS NO "MAGIC" PILL ... WITHOUT SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES!

Today - Begin Where You Are

Do you wish to succeed in life? Try beginning where you now are. Utilize the tools you have at hand. Expect the best and then follow through and DO your best. That is all it takes.

Of course you must have a goal, whether it be immediate, intermediate or long term. You must know what you want. You must have an ideal, you must have vision. The Bible says, "Where there is no vision the people perish." Those with no vision wander about in a desert of non-belief, fear, and doubt until despair enters their mind. This is true of the individual or the mass. There seems no way out, and you can't win unless you believe you can be changed.

What is your problem? could it be ill health? Do you suffer pain? Are you nervous? Are you groggy from taking too much medicine, too many drugs, tranquilizers, aspirin, and/or perhaps even alcohol? Begin now to get rid of these false idols. There is a better way, a right way, and most importantly - the proper way. You will never find answers in a bottle or drug. You may ask what you can do. What other way is open to you?

Your body is fearfully and wonderfully made, as has often been said. This being true, what have you to fear? Why doubt the laws of nature? Begin now, where you are, to set nature's laws to work for you and you will find the way to approach a more abundant life. What does this mean, you may ask?

Chiropractors have a different approach to health problems. No drugs, no surgery, nothing to swallow, and no shots. It's not that we do not "believe" that modern medicine is injurious, but it would be a last resort unless a true emergency should present. Have you wondered how this works?

I point out that health comes from "up down inside and outward" and in no other way. Health depends entirely upon the nervous system that stems from the brain and spinal cord with its network of nerve fibers forming a direct medium of contact between brain cells and tissue cells.

You may have heard it said that the spine is the strength and support of the body. This is true, but the use of the spine has many ramifications. The spinal column supports the head housing the brain. It also serves for the articulation of all the larger bones and the attachments of major muscles and ligaments. Through this medium you are enabled to have strength, activity, and function; however, more is needed. this is supplied through the brain, spinal cord, and its nerve fibers already mentioned.

The spinal cord is a great cable of nerves that descends from the base of the skull down through the greater length of the spinal column. the spinal column is provided with openings between the vertebrae where nerve bundles emit separating into countless nerve fibers that form a direct contact between the brain cells and all structures of the body. Through this medium all activity and function take place enabling the body to perform a more perfect state of health.

Sometimes however, there is dis-ease (want of ease) with its various symptoms and you may become ill. You have pains, indigestion, nervousness, and various other disorders. As a result you take something for it, or you go to a doctor for a prescription to be filled at a pharmacy. These sometimes work, but more often cause side effects worse than the original complaint. "A drug is not a drug unless it causes side effects." Eli Lilly.

What has caused these problems? We point out that in everyday life you are subject to falls, accidents, and mishaps that sometimes displace one or more vertebrae to a degree so nerves are pinched. This in conjunction with malfunction and the emotions results in various health problems.

X-rays of the spine and other tests can determine the spinal cause of the problem. Then gentle spinal adjustments are given, and in due time health can be restored again. Are you in doubt?

Begin now, where you are. Go to your chiropractor and perhaps you too can discard your medicines. The way will be opened to a more abundant life.

Our World Today

Our world today ... what is wrong with it? Are we drifting, or are we plunging into moral and political decay? Are debt, high prices, and extended credit upsetting our whole economy? Are we headed for an economic breakdown and moral decline worse than the world has ever before known? It can be disturbing to give thought of the future. I believe it's appalling as there seems to be an unknown void facing the young and old alike. What elements are available to give us hope?

We in the United States are supposed to have political and social economic stability equaled by none. We are considered a Judeo-Christian nation, But what about it? Consider all the scandals in Washington over the years, Watergate, Benghazi and the IRS, and all the corruption, without culpability. With the leaders involved, what kind of light is to be shed on the months and years ahead? No wonder doubts, fears, and anxieties are facing each and every one of us. Has anyone, or any party, the vision or hope required to save this great nation? Where there is no vision, "the people perish", says the Bible. Rome had its rise and fall. Other nations have followed suit in time. Is our nation destined to follow the same bleak trail? The situation is enough to give credible concern.

And, what about the moral reaction? How about drug addicts in the young and old? The young because they crave excitement and are facing a destiny that is not encouraging; the old because time is running out, and the younger set is giving them concern. Crime is growing, and often worry is causing nervous breakdowns. Is it not enough to cause concern?

What about medical and hospital services with their high costs and the side effects of drugs and medication that often leave the victim worse than the disease confronting him or her in the first place? No wonder Abby,  Landers, Dr. Phil and others are being pressed for answers in every phase of life, with things that appear to be growing worse.

On a more positive note, there is a light ahead in the healing arts. Have you ever considered Chiropractic as a mode of healing, minus the drugs and needless surgery?

Your body, sometimes called a house of clay, is made up of bones, muscles, glands, organs, blood vessels, and nerves. All of these are arranged in systems that normally maintain health in its many forms without drugs, tranquilizers, and/or pain killers.

Your body is "fearfully and wonderfully made", says Psalm, and so it is. The skeletal system consists of long, short, and irregular shaped bones to which major muscles are attached giving activity and function to the rest of the body.

In this anatomical arrangement, the spinal column is the strength and support of the body, but it has added functions. The spine supports the head that houses the brain. It also encases the spinal cord and provides openings between the vertebrae through which bundles of trunk nerves emit forming a direct medium of contact from brain cells to tissue cells.

Through this medium sensation is flashed to the brain where the message in interpreted, and responding mental impulses direct activity and function in a state of health.

Sometimes however, due to spinal shocks and strains, one or more vertebrae are displaced to a degree so that nerves are "pinched" resulting in dis-ease with it various symptoms.

Acne and Sickness

I hear from patients that they are "often sick and lately have had quite a problem with acne. Why?"

In most cases the answer is quite simple. We’re brought into this earth with a defense system planted within our bodies called immunity. To survive here, this defense system must maintain normal and optimum levels of function as it’s constantly being bombarded with germs, allergens, and foreign substances. Immunity is also tied very closely with skin health. That is one reason why many doctors now give antibiotics for acne (definitely not something I recommend).

Germs and those tiny, invisible entities floating around in the air are not the enemy. An inability to adapt and cope with your environment and all that floats in it is the problem. You are in charge, not some microscopic speck. Most of us spend an entire day working to lower our defenses and strain our immune systems rather than working on behalf of immunity and to strengthen it.

For example:

1. Exercise increases immunity to cancer, infection, allergies, etc. 30 – 80% depending on what research you read. Therefore, if you’re inactive, your immune system is 30-80% depleted, less active and efficient.

2. Sugar, caffeine, chemicals, refined carbohydrates, fast and fried foods, and any processed foods all deplete the immune system. Additionally, they lack any real nutrients so do not give the organs of immunity the nutrition they so desperately need. On the other hand, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds all support and boost immunity and pack it full of vital nutrients.

3. Negative stress zaps nutrients from the system and dramatically depletes immune energy. A double dose of immune damage.

4. Antibiotics, while killing bacteria, also destroy important bacteria necessary for a healthy, immune body. So ironically, while antibiotics may help with a cold or flu, the net is more sickness.

5. Flu vaccines, even more than other drugs, contain many harmful products like mercury and aluminum. Unless you’re body is significantly immune compromised, you absolutely refuse to take care of yourself, or you’re in an emergency state, the less often you use medication, if at all, the better. All chemicals lower health and immunity, the most toxic of which are drugs.

Bottom line? Get up and move every day, make 80% of your diet foods that contain actual nutrients and are foods that don’t kill immunity, and learn to manage your time and reprogram the way you look at life so as not to suffer from the deadly effects of stress. When seeing a physician, ask if you really need the drugs; most MD's assume you want them or feel pressured. I personally have found that if you ask not to be given a drug, they will generally give you some time to heal without the use of dangerous medications. If you don’t heal, you may in fact need the drugs.

REGARDING YOUR SKIN:  Your skin is the reflection of your blood stream. Toxins floating around in the intestine and poisons in the blood stream will eventually show themselves as blemishes, acne, discolorations, and wrinkles. A healthy blood stream with the right kinds of fats to help balance hormones will give you your best chance at cleaner, younger looking skin. In other words, all that we mentioned to improve immunity, improves your skin ... without the use of dangerous prescriptions and antibiotics.

Plan For A Healthy Tomorrow

Tomorrow is constantly coming but it never quite gets here. What can be done about it? Is there anything you can do? Are you sometimes dismayed by the prospects but nevertheless keep planning for tomorrow? Attempt to welcome its coming. Be very prepared for the changes that are constantly coming. Look forward with a feeling of delight as those changes come, and plan to do your very best as all things are altered. Use today as a steppingstone to hopefully better things ahead in the game of life. And win or lose, you will have the joy of keeping on keeping on as you play the game.

Have you ever said that your today is hampered by ill health? Witness that often your plans for tomorrow are marred by headaches, indigestion, or some other hurdle involved in the game as it is played?

This may be true; but what are you doing to welcome change? Are you forming a drug habit? Are you leaning overmuch on tranquilizers and/or pain killers? What assurance do you have that tomorrow will be better or worse than today when you fill your stomach with drugs that may produce side effects worse than the original complaint? Would you consider this an encouraging outlook?

What is health? It is largely the normal expression of life through the medium of the glands, organs, and other structures of the body? What is it that keeps these structures normal, functioning as they were intended to do?

Your body is formed of bones and muscles, glands and organs, blood vessels and nerves. These are all arranged in systems directed and controlled through the nervous system that stems from the brain and spinal cord through its communicating fibers.

The spinal column is the strength and support of the body. All the larger bones articulate with the vertebrae that form the spinal column.The major muscles and ligaments have their attachment tot he irregular surfaces of the vertebrae which are separated by a cushioning of cartilage that provide flexibility to the spine as well as a shock absorber for the body. Another feature mother nature has provided are openings between the vertebrae through which bundles of nerves emit from the spinal cord encased within the spinal column.

The nervous system is as vital to the activity and function of the body as technology is to the modern home. Ground an electric wire and service is impaired. Pinch spinal nerve bundles and symptoms of dis-ease (want of ease) are present in the form of pain, headaches, indigestion, and other disorders. Is it logical that in today's contemporary model, medication or pain killers are the remedy? In all too many cases the answer is an overwhelmingly, "YES!"  Why?  Because we what a "quick fix", or a "make the pain go away" syndrome.

Chiropractors have a different approach. We point out that falls, accidents, and mishaps incidental to life frequently produce shocks and strains on the spine that displace one or more vertebrae to a degree thus resulting in nerve interference and subsequently dis-ease with its various symptoms.

Should you plan for a better tomorrow, then give attention to your spine. Clear the nervous system for a better communications. Nature has provided that your health comes from within and outward.