There is no doubt that I am a critic of the pharmaceutical industry and about how doctors, many times, will mindlessly prescribe prescription drugs. For that you will not receive any apologies. However, I am not against the use of prescription drugs as a whole. Only a fool blinded by pure bias and hate would claim that all prescription drugs are bad. I am not that big of a fool.

In general, I am most comfortable with the drugs used for acute situations. For example, if I am experiencing a heart attack I want the drugs pumped into me that will save my life. Or, if I have a strep infection I want an antibiotic. If I need an operation I want anesthesia to take away the pain. Additionally, I do not have a big problem with taking pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin, etc.) on occasion. In these situations it is important to have something that can take strong, short-term control over your body’s functions to help improve your condition.

As you get to know me better through my writings, you will find that I take a very common sense approach towards drug use. Simply stated, this approach is to use drugs as a last resort and try to get off of them as quickly as is possible. The interesting thing is that I have never had a prescribing doctor strongly, or even mildly, disagree with this approach. In fact, they use the question regarding my opinion about prescription drugs as their “Quack-o-meter” gauge in order to determine if I am one of those crazy alternative health doctors. When I tell them that drugs are important in many cases but are over-utilized, they all agree. When I say that the goal should be to get off of all prescriptions, I rarely get any dissent. The problem is that even though medical doctors verbalize their agreement to my position on drugs, most (not all, though) practice in exactly the opposite manner.

You may have caught that in the first paragraph of this article I wrote that many times doctors “mindlessly” prescribe drugs. I do not mean this as an insult, just a statement of fact. Have you ever heard the statement, “The truth hurts?” How do I back this up? Well, I just saw another patient today who is taking more than ten prescriptions! Now, come on…how can any doctor have a patient take 16 prescriptions in a mindful manner? You may be thinking that is an example of the extreme, right? I wish it were. I see this so often that I am not even shocked any longer, just disgusted. And, I see numerous patients every day who are taking 3, 4, 5 or 6 prescriptions. This, my friends, is the mindless prescribing of drugs.

So, the question becomes why. Why would doctors do this? Do they just not care? I work with dozens of medical doctors on a regular basis. I can tell you that I have not yet met the one who does not care about their patients. I am telling you that they are all stuck in a broken system that makes it virtually IMPOSSIBLE for them to do anything but prescribe drugs. Their encounter with you is generally governed by three decisions:

They cannot and will not suggest natural supplementation because they do not believe in their effectiveness and/or they know very little about their use. (Keep in mind that I am talking about the vast majority of doctors. I can think of a couple of exceptions right off of the top of my head.) They know if they charge you $100 or more for a visit and only tell you to change your lifestyle, you will be outraged. So, they simply match a prescription to your symptoms and send you on your way. Eventually, you experience a side-effect that causes another prescription to be written and the dog begins to chase his tail over and over again.

I hope you now see that I am not critical of prescription drugs and how doctors use them only for the sake of being contrary. I am critical because I have a genuine concern for your health. And, the pharmaceutical industry spends an incredible amount of money to pull the wool over your eyes. Their strategy works because of the unquestioning faith we put in our doctors and their recommendations. Remember that the pharmaceutical industry also spends and incredible amount of money to gain influence over your doctors. For your own sake, take control of your own health and ASK QUESTIONS of your doctors.

Read my article about what you should ask your doctor at every visit: 5 ?’s To Ask At Your Next Doctor Visit

If you are interested in finding natural options to your health concerns, make an appointment either via phone or in person for a nutritional consult with me. You can learn more by visiting this link: Nutritional Consult Details