No Side Effects!!! Say What?!!!

I don’t know how to express myself tonight. I’m sad, I’m angry, and I’m disgusted at the shape of our health care system.

Last night we had a lovely evening with old friends. We had meant to get together sooner, but with the weather and other obligations, it had just been put off. Finally, an evening of laughter and solving all of the problems of the world, if you know what I mean! Nothing like getting a bunch of red-necked Christians together, we can take care of everything! However, toward the end of the evening, our friend, a woman in her late 60’s, told us that she had just been diagnosed with kidney failure. She supposedly was not in any eminent danger of dying, but that was going to be the outcome. Meanwhile, she was to continue on her Statin drug.

Well, I guess you know alarm bells went off in my head!!! I didn’t say anything at the time because I had nothing in front of me to quote. As we were driving home I said to MDH that I thought I had read recently about statins giving people some of the symptoms of which she had shared. I guess you know that first thing this morning I was on the computer and immediately I had read all sorts of side effects from statins that matched our friend perfectly. They do not have a computer so had not done any research themselves. Just going along to get along with the allopathic medical community. “They know what they’re doing. Don’t they?” NOT!!!

I called our friend, not knowing how my meddling might be received. She nearly burst into tears. Bless her heart, she had been praying that something or someone would help her. I told her I didn’t know if I could help her but that I had found some information that she and her husband could read and maybe they and their family could go forward with more confidence.

As I told her what I had found, she wanted to know where I had found this information. I told her and then…This just astounded me… she told me that she had talked to three friends, all of whom were pharmacists and one nurse friend and they had all told her that the Statin drug that she was on did not cause any of these symptoms. "What???" The information is right there on the pharmacy sight, in plain view. It lists the side effects and contraindications. Are these people bound by an archaic code or something and are not allowed to say what the negatives are for a pharmaceutical? According to one site, the particular Statin that she is on had the FDA, in 2004, issue a Public Health Advisory notifying professionals of a revised package insert. The changes were in response to adverse event reports related to muscle toxicity which can cause rhabdomyoliysis and kidney failure. “No, no negative side effects.” Yes, sarcasm of the highest order!!!

I will give her this information and then they will have to decide what to do. In the MS community, firing a doctor is something that is done on a regular basis. That would be my suggestion. But since she is not my mother or sister, the suggestion will remain unsaid. I wish her health and peace and will continue to pray for her.

A lesson here is a person has to be their own health advocate. “Take two aspirins and call me in the morning”, is long gone. Being computer literate in today’s world is a must!


Healthy Days to You...Your Smiling Maven