Gary: 

My ex-wife has spent the last 30 years managing nursing homes for people bear the end of life.  She once commented about her patients, "When we take them off their drugs, they live longer".

What amazes me about this study is why on earth would a doctor continue with statin drugs with a terminally ill patient in the first place? Anybody with a skerrit of knowledge of how these cholesterol lowering drugs work knows that these contribute to heart failure, kidney failure, dementia and even some cancers.  

Please read on and take note of the savings estimates.  These drugs are horrifically expensive and we are paying for them via taxes and health insurance fees.

________________________

Contact: Sarah Avery
sarah.avery@duke.edu
919-660-1306
Duke University Medical Center
www.twitter.com/Duke_Medicine 

Stopping statins may benefit terminally ill patients

CHICAGO – People in the late stages of cancer and other terminal illnesses are not only unharmed by discontinuing statins for cholesterol management, they may benefit, according to a study presented Friday by researchers at Duke Medicine representing a national research network.

The finding addresses a thorny question in treating people with life-limiting illnesses: When, if ever, is it appropriate to discontinue medications prescribed for other conditions that will likely not lead to their death?

In an analysis presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, the researchers reported that discontinuing statins in patients with advanced illnesses resulted in improved overall quality of life, lower costs and no increased deaths. In fact, the patients who stopped taking statins appeared to live slightly longer.

"When you look at the number of medications people take when they are dying, it doubles in the last year of life," said lead author Amy Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Learning Health Care at the Duke Clinical Research Institute and a member of the Duke Cancer Institute. Abernethy represented the Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group, a national research network focused on improving care for people with serious illnesses.

"Cancer patients, for example, take medications for pain, nausea and other problems associated with advanced disease," Abernethy said. "Many don't have an appetite, and simply swallowing medications can be a problem. So the issue is whether some longstanding medications such as cholesterol-lowering drugs might be safely discontinued, but there has been little research to help guide clinicians in making that recommendation."

Abernethy said the researchers identified statins as a good candidate to explore the issue, because the drug is widely prescribed and benefits can take years to accrue. Other drugs the researchers could eventually study include medications for blood pressure and blood clots.

In their study of statins, Abernethy and colleagues enrolled 381 patients who faced the likelihood of dying within a year. All patients had been taking statins for at least three months; roughly half were randomized to continue taking the drug, the other half to discontinuing it.

The researchers followed the patients for up to a year to monitor survival, cardiovascular events and changes in quality of life.

Among the 192 study patients who continued statins, the median survival was 190 days; the 192 participants who stopped taking the drugs had a median survival of 229 days.

Those who discontinued the drugs reported a better overall quality of life, particularly in their psychological wellbeing, and saved money: $716 per person over the course of the trial for name-brand drugs, and $629 for generics.

Using U.S. population estimates, the researchers reported that as much as $603 million a year could be saved if patients in the late stages of fatal illnesses were to cut out statins.

"This is a decision that needs to be discussed between patients and their doctors; it's not something that should be done independently or in a one-size-fits-all manner," Abernethy said. "But our study found that patients who discontinued statins reported improvements in quality of life. This runs counter to the idea that discontinuing a treatment would cause people to somehow feel as if they were getting less care or inadequate care."

Abernethy is a leading advocate for extending palliative care -- extra support from care teams to relieve both pain and improve quality of life -- to patients facing life-limiting illnesses. She said findings from this study should force new discussions.

"These are conversations that need to be had," she said. "This brings us to a new era of asking how to right-size care, and how to bring evidence to that issue. There is an important message here that taking things away isn't always bad."

###

In addition to Abernethy, study authors include Don Taylor at Duke, along with Jean Kutner, Diane Fairclough and Patrick J. Blatchford at the University of Colorado; Laura Hanson at the University of North Carolina; Christine Ritchie at the University of California, San Francisco; and Janet Bull, Four Seasons.

The National Institute of Nursing Research provided funding for the study (UC4-NR012584, U24-NR014637).

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Candida and Fungal Infections? Gary Moller recommends you explore this programme: Click Here!

There are healthy alternatives to modern medicine

Joan walking her dog

Thank goodness for Modern Emergency Medicine: if I was to be run over by a bus, suffer a raging infection or collapse with a heart attack the odds are my life would be saved. However; when it comes to dealing with chronic ill health that is associated with ageing, stress, poor nutrition and over and under-exercising, Modern Medicine is an abject failure. It is impossible to poison a human being into good health. Nor does removing an organ like the gallbladder, or stapling the stomach improve health over the long term.

We are constantly seeking the “Cure” in the form of the next wonder drug or a miracle surgical procedure. This is about as ridiculous as Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail. It does not exist. The Holy Grail is to be found within ourselves. Diseases such as fibromyalgia, hyper and hypothyroidism are said to be of unknown causes and incurable. Medically, all that one can do is manage the symptoms of these diseases using patent drugs that are laden with potent and nasty side effects, or with surgery such as removing the thyroid. This is not true. There are healthy alternatives. These ailments can disappear completely as they often do. The cure lies within: targeted nutrition guided by scientific testing, stress management, moderate exercise, fresh air, sunshine and loving relationships.

Joan’s story, that follows, best illustrates, what I am saying. Her story is compelling reading and I urged her to allow me to share it with readers of Walking Magazine. Joan consented (thank you Joan) and it is reproduced in full below.

(This article was first published in the Sept 2014 issue of Walking Magasine, issue no 200)

Gary Moller

________________________________________________

Joan:

I think this thing has been building up my whole life. You see, I virtually collapsed with what was eventually diagnosed as “chronic fatigue syndrome + fibromyalgia + hypothyroidism + anaemia” in 2009. I had struggled with anxiety, depression and tiredness for as many years as I can remember. 

My GP had been prescribing various antidepressant/antianxiety drugs for the last 22 years. I would go on different brands if the current one stopped working or simply take more of the same. Did it solve anything? Not really. It just put a band-aid on the situation. That is until 2009 when I could barely move. The pain was indescribable and complete and total exhaustion which was unbearable! 

My hair started falling out, my eyebrows virtually vanished and I just got fatter and fatter because I couldn't move! I used to watch my sons outside playing together – they used to shout through the window “come on mum – come outside!” That is probably the worst part - I couldn't play with my sons. I had to stop working. I stopped going out. I stopped meeting friends. I stopped people coming over. I had hit the wall. The body had given up. 

I went to my GP and a battery of tests were done and nothing untoward was found, just a slightly underactive thyroid. The GP prescribed Venlafaxine + Nortriptyline which are both antidepressants/ anti anxiety drugs that seemed to help with chronic fatigue and fibro patients plus thyroxine for the hypothyroidism. I expressed concern about taking these powerful drugs and said I was worried about withdrawal symptoms. The GP simply waved a dismissive hand “Don’t worry about that. You will be on these for quite a long time”. Once she had finished tapping the prescriptions out on the computer, I looked up from my wringing hands and asked timidly “is that all we are going to do?” Her frustration was palpable. She waved her hands around and said “what do you want me to do, wave a magic wand!?” I was crestfallen. So basically, just more of the same rubbish I had been taking for the last 22 years. As I struggled to get up to leave, she handed me a list of psychologists and counsellors in my area and said “here take this”. The message was clear - get your head read while you are at it.

Well, I took the drugs and went to a counsellor for 8 months. Interesting, but it did not cure my pain at all. The drugs were moderately effective, but only for a while. Then the pain flared up again along with the exhaustion. It felt like trying to run through a swimming pool or walking through concrete and just as tiring. I went back to the GP. Her suggestion was to increase the dosage of everything. I asked if there was someone she could recommend I see to do further investigations, such as a nutritionist? Could it be a food allergy? The GP simply said that she didn't think it was food allergy but “look in the phonebook, there are lots of nutritionists”. Surely this can’t be it for me for the rest of my life? I knew there must be something else out there somewhere, but I didn't really know what to look for or where to find it. 

I was tied to the GP by having to visit every 3 months for check up and prescription refill. I was enrolled in the “Care Plus” plan. The Care Plus plan is when a chronically ill patient needs medication for an extended length of time. These care plus appointments were a ridiculous waste of time. I was weighed each time (and was still fat) and the nurse would ask inane questions such as have you had a walk today? No. Why? Because I am in *&^T%)# PAIN! Well, try to set small goals and walk to the corner and then to the next corner the next day. Is anyone listening here? I couldn't believe the government was subsidising this rubbish. The nurse read out the next question on the list: “are you eating healthily?” No. I eat takeout because I am too exhausted to cook anything! Every 3 months the same questions, every 3 months no solutions.

My friend Sue had been seeing a guy who does health consultations. She kept telling me “go see Gary”. I had my doubts but it did work for Sue – she looked great. After a few months of fending off Sue’s enthusiasm, I had a discussion with my husband about whether I should go or not. The cost was an issue. I hadn't been working much since I had been ill. He said, that it worked for Sue, so I should go. Alright Sue, you win. Let’s go. My friend Sue walked me up the slight incline to Gary’s office. She had to hold my hand – I was in so much pain.

Gary was friendly and cheerful and superfit-looking! My gosh, what kind of vitamins is he on? The first question Gary asked me was “When was the last time you were in hospital. What was it for?” I was a bit taken back. No one had ever asked me that before. Well, I would have to say when I was 9 years old for a racing heart due to stress. And that is where we started. Gary said it was hardly a surprise that my adrenal glands had been in a state of exhaustion for many, many years and it is no wonder I am in the state I am in now. He was also of the opinion that I was over-medicated and that most of the drugs my doctor had me on were actually making matters worse, rather than better.

I realised that I had been suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome from childhood. Finally, someone could see that this is something real and we were actually going to do something about it! I couldn’t wait. He ordered a hair tissue mineral analysis test be done and in the meantime, started be on some vitamin and minerals for rectifying adrenal fatigue. I simply couldn't believe it but within 2 weeks I felt better! I have been going to Gary for 2 years now. It is a slow climb getting back to wellness with a few setbacks, but nothing like it was in the past. Last year I gathered up all my courage and came off all pharmaceutical drugs. I was terrified. What if I became crazy or depressed or so anxious that I couldn't leave the house? What if the world ended? It is hard to break away from what you know when that is all you know and when it is all you have been told. 

My GP’s nurse called to arrange another “Care Plus” appointment last month. I told her that I am no longer taking any medication and don’t need those appointments anymore. There was silence on the other end of the phone. The nurse said “well, you really should see the Dr”. I told her that I don’t need to because I feel better. She said “you should come in for a chat anyways”. Over the past few years, I had told my GP about Gary and even brought in the vitamins and minerals he had given me. There was little interest and even less acknowledgement of their success.

Why didn't my GP tell me there are other treatments available? Why doesn't the government subsidise “natural” treatments such as vitamins and minerals? Why don't the insurance companies reimburse people who are under practitioners like Gary for their health care treatment? There is no information or support out there – only a wall of silence if you challenge the pharmaceutical system. 

It makes me mad thinking about all those wasted years that I was on those dangerous drugs with all their scary side effects. 

I politely declined my three month GP appointment. I think I know which way I am going now. This

includes a daily morning walk around the neighbourhood with my dog Sam, something that was once a tiring struggle; but a pleasure to do nowadays!

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Candida and Fungal Infections? Gary Moller recommends you explore this programme: Click Here!

Who is behind prescription guidelines such as for cholesterol?

Yes, readers, the new threshold for recommending a patient be prescribed cholesterol lowering drugs is now so low that barely any New Zealand adults can keep "healthy" without having to resort to extremes of diet, exercise and taking harmful statins!  Its ridiculous and it is definitely unhealthy.

So, who sets these guidelines?  Definitely not you or me: Prescribing guidelines are set by committees of industry and medical experts, many, if not all of these experts will have vested interests in the sale and distribution of these drugs.

Treat ROOT CAUSES - Not symptoms

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Candida and Fungal Infections? Gary Moller recommends you explore this programme: Click Here!

Ben Goldacre on scientific claims and health advice

Here's some recommended listening and viewing:

In this podcast Ben Goldacre uncovers some ways that drug companies mislead doctors and can harm patients. And New York Times family columnist Bruce Feiler talks about how to teach kids values and how to make your families happier.

Every day there are news reports of new health advice, but how can you know if they're right? Doctor and epidemiologist Ben Goldacre shows us, at high speed, the ways evidence can be distorted, from the blindingly obvious nutrition claims to the very subtle tricks of the pharmaceutical industry.

Ben Goldacre unpicks dodgy scientific claims made by scaremongering journalists, dubious government reports, pharmaceutical corporations, PR companies and quacks.

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

How things that may be good for you may poison you

One thing that really bugs me is the way that prescribing in medicine ignores one of the most fundamental concepts of nutrition:

The Goldilocks Zone: Not too little and not too much

Too little of a nutrient will result in ill health.

Too much of a nutrient will result in ill health.

The key to prescribing is to get things just right!  The Goldilocks Zone.

Instead we see this continuously: "If one scoop per day of this nutrient is good for you, then let's give you 100 scoops!"  Its madness but it is what happens.  Take this case of prescribing vitamin D for example.

Its what you expect of teenage boys trying to bulk up with protein powder.  Its not what you expect of trained health professionals.

Cells are bathed in a nutrient rich fluid.  We nourish them by supplying a steady intake of nutrients.  The last thing a cell wants is a tsunami of a nutrient.  We would never, ever do that to plants in our vege garden would we?  We would kill the plants if we gave a month's worth of nutrients in a single hit.  So why do doctors do this to their patients?

Its madness.

Physiotherapy is similarly affected by this suspension of reality

When we prescribe exercise we apply stress to the body.  We give only sufficient stress to stimulate a strong compensatory response to build more robust structures.  This response takes from two to four days of relative rest to be complete. 

We therefore have the rule of consistently cycling between exercise and recovery: Basically one day of exercise, followed by two days of rest, then one more day of exercise etc.

If we break this rule and exercise hard daily, our risk of illness and injury skyrockets.  All serious athletes know this.  Apparently, many physiotherapists have never learned this, or have long forgotten.

With physiotherapy, it is common to have injured people instructed to perform sometimes strenuous exercise on a daily basis.  This is wrong.  A set of exercises are best performed every second or third day.  If one is to exercise in between, then it should be an exercise that stresses the body in a different way.  So if one lifts weights today, they should go for a walk or swim the following day - not lift more weights.

The only exceptions to this rule are activities like cycling, rowing, walking and swimming.  Lifting weights, stretching cords and running require at least one rest day between sessions.

_______________________________________

About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Why we take prescription drugs

_______________________________________

About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

An 87 year old man seeks advice for problems with walking

Image via Wikipedia

I have been prescribed calcium tablets by my Doctor and will continue to take them. At my age (87) I guess it will not make much difference.

However there is another matter on which I would like your recommendation. I am in reasonable health for my age but progressively I am having difficulty in walking any distance. The main difficulty is that my leg muscles get very tired - the calf and upper leg muscles. If I stop walking for one minute the muscles recover to enable me to walk a further 2/300m.

Can you recommend a product which will help rejuvenate my leg muscles? All I want to do is to take a walk for 20 minutes or so which I have been able to do until about two months ago.

Medications

Glipizide 5mg
Lipitor 20mg
Enalapril 5mg
Atenalol 50mg
Allopurinol 100mg
Frusemide 40mg
Plendil 2.5mg
Cardia 100mg
Osteo-500 1.25g
Terazosin 2mg
Insulin 30/70

I have had Type II diabetes for 20 years. Have had a triple heart bypass 8 years ago. Due to partial kidney failure I am not able to take anti-inflammatory medication.

Antipsychotic drugs can make you go mad

"In 1993 Richard Bentall went a bit mad.

He voluntarily took an antipsychotic drug and at first thought he'd get through unscathed.

"For the first hour I didn't feel too bad. I thought maybe this is okay. I can get away with this. I felt a bit light-headed."

Then somebody asked him to fill in a form. "I looked at this test and I couldn't have filled it in to save my life. It would have been easier to climb Mt Everest."

That was the least of his troubles. Bentall, an expert on psychosis from the University of Bangor in Wales who is in New Zealand under the University of Auckland Hood Fellowship programme, developed akathisia - unpleasant sensations of inner restlessness and an inability to sit still."

For the full Herald Article, please go here.

_____________________________________

Gary comments:

I have never personally seen a case where these drugs have been prescribed for good reason. While they may be necessary for short term emergency in a few severe cases; but not the way they are dished out like lollies to otherwise healthy people who are anxious or sad having gotten that way while going through difficult times.  It is astonishing just how many people are on medications for depression and anxiety prescribed by their General Practitioner.  For most, the real solutions lie in actions that require confronting the issues that lie at the heart of the anxiety/depression, rather than medicating to assist avoiding them.

More would be achieved if the doctor held off the drugs and sat down for a one hour life coaching session with their patient once a week while adressing any concurrent health issues such as nicotine, caffeine or alcohol dependency and deprescribing good food and supplements to address any chemical imbalances.  If there is not time, or the case is beyond their training, then it would seem sensible to refer their patient onto an appropriate psecialist service.

Drugs induced akathisia is extremely unpleasant and upsetting in itself.  I come across this side effect more and more with each year.  Akathisia is usually ignored by the prescribing doctor, other than to prescribe another drug such as amitriptyline which is a sedating antidepressant and muscle relaxant. The combinations of these drugs invariably cause further problems like liver damage, gastric reflux and constipation which requires a further prescription or two of drugs such as Losec and a laxative.

And so the slippery slide to mental oblivion and physical destruction begins.

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Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.

Drug treatments for restless legs syndrome (RLS)

Here is a quick little compilation I have assembled about how drugs companies with their medical buddies suck people into a downwards spiral of unnecessary drugs-taking.

Suffering from Restless Legs Syndrome RLS) and desperately looking for relief? Well, your licensed drugs pusher is here to help. Watch this video:



And here is a legitimate direct to consumer advertisement about restless legs syndrome to start the hooking process:



The drugs promoted in these videos for the treatment of restless legs syndrome are far from safe as the ads would have viewers believe.

Here is the riposte to the earlier ad about restless legs syndrome:



I have figured out how to relieve Restless Legs Syndrome RLS) naturally. Keep an eye out for my upcoming article about healthy ways to manage restless legs syndrome.



Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.

Heath Ledger: A victim of America's love affair with Prescription drugs?

Heath Ledger died surrounded by six of America’s favourite drugs: Ambien (insomnia), Valium (anxiety), Zoloft (anti-depressant), Xanax (anxiety), Zoplicone (insomnia) and Donormyl (anti-histamine). Some of these are also the favourites for mass shootings that end with suicide.

When people from the USA and Canada write to me for health advice, it turns out more often than not that they are on one or other of these pills as well as others, typically for blood pressure and cholesterol. Strangely, one of the most popular pills of today, Viagra and its variants, has never once been listed by a writer. I wonder why? But I digress...

What is most disturbing about the discussions surrounding Ledger's death is the casual way the role of "legal" prescription drugs is noted and then passed over.

The doctors who prescribed these harmful and addictive drugs to a young and troubled man should be hauled before the courts and held accountable, as should the companies that manufacture them and spend over $50 billion (US) a year pushing them.

Advice sought about deQuervain's tendinitis

"I have been diagnosed with DeQuervain's tendinitis. I have been taking anti inflammatory meds and using a splint.

Of course, the dr. wants to give me the cortisone shot. I do not want this. I have heard of a patch that uses electonic pulses to deliver the cortisone. Is this any better than the shot or with less side effects? Where can I find info or a dr. that can help me find the more "natural" remedies you write about, such as exercise, massage and nutrition? Will acupuncture help? Thank you", Sheila USA

Note:
Sheila is a slightly overweight 53 year old who works in an office. From the photos she supplied, there would appear to be some generalised fluid retention that is commonly associated with over medication.

Medications being taken:
Simvastatin - cholesterol
Quinapril - blood pressure
Levoxyl - thyroid
Etodolac - anti inflammatory
Glimerperide - diabetes
Zyrtec - sinus
Methylprednisone - steroid
Prempro - menopause hormones
Metmorphin - diabetes
Motrin - pain
________________________________

Gary Moller comments:
Sheila, it is time for a cool, hard reality check:

My ex-wife has spent 20+ years managing old people's nursing homes where residents enter in an upright position through the front door and exit in a horizontal position through the rear doors with a tag on their toe. Not long ago, she commented "When we take them off their medications, they live longer". One of the greatest frauds of modern history is the lie that pharmaceuticals improve quality of life and extend life. With some exceptions, they do neither - in most cases they ruin people's lives.

One pattern that is arising from worldwide correspondence from people seeking advice about personal health issues, is that the USA and Canada are the most medicated countries on the planet. Sheila, you are no exception and you are going the way of most North Americans - drug dependent slaves to the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical and health industries.

The difference between you and the residents of the old people's nursing home is you are young and they are much older. In my opinion, there is no need for all of this medication. Even the diabetes medication is probably unnecessary if it is Type II diabetes that it is for. For each medicine that you are taking there is a healthy, cheap or free natural alternative, or no need for anything at all, other than less work, good food, sunlight, fresh air and moderate exercise. And love. Going by your pale complexion and being on a statin drug, you are probably vitamin D deficient, for a start (Please read my articles and advice on this site about vitamin D).

The tendinitis that you are suffering from, and other symptoms of gradually deteriorating health, such as swelling ankles, indicates that your body is being steadily weakened by the onslaught of drugs and their myriad of interactions that would require a super computer to decipher. Even if, what you are taking is off and on, the long term consequences are potentially disastrous.

For example; the statin may cause severe muscle weakness, fatigue and joint pain for which you will require additional medication. Statins prevent the uptake of the fat soluble vitamins which may soften your bones requiring further medication. Low cholesterol and low vitamin D reduces hormone production which kills libido and exacerbates menopausal symptoms, requiring further medication. Similar things happen with each of the drugs you are on; hence the need for the super computer. This kind of drugs cascade overwhelms the body - especially the poor old liver which is desperately fighting to detoxify the body of the growing list of chemical poisons. The only beneficiaries of this kind of medicine are the pharmaceutical Big Boys, the doctors who do the dispensing and the politicians who get the campaign funding and perks.

Regard the deQuervain's tendinitis as being the canary in the coal mine. The canary is telling you that it is time to get off the medical production line that you are on and to take command of your health and your life. It is time for you to ditch those who are drugging you to a shorter life and for their profit. But do not stop suddenly: Please heed the advice that follows.

Sheila, this may sound harsh; but the fact you have been searching for answers other than surgery and questioning the advice given, tells me that you are probably ready to make some life-saving changes. Here is my prescription for health:

Search around where you live for an experienced, qualified natural health consultant. This person may be a health professional like a naturopath, chiropractor or even a medical practitioner who practices non-drug holistic health (they do exist). Be prepared to pay for their time to enlist their services to progressively wean yourself off each and every medication that you are on. It is time to go on a total health kick.

You must give this time Sheila - a minimum of three months of total dedication and then a lifetime of invigorating perseverance - no less than that. Do this right and you will reap life-changing rewards beginning with a new found sense of independence. After all, giving into all of these medicines is akin to raising the white flag to life, isn't it? You will save money. You will have a renewed vigour for life, you will look great and you will have years and years of living life to the max to look froward to. You are not old; you are younger than me and you still have half a lifetime to live and to love.

I am confident that the deQuervain's tendinitis will resolve of its own accord as your body's strength and vitality is steadily restored. Body - Heal thyself.

To help you in your quest, I am happy to act as an independent mentor. Please contact me anytime to toss over anything that you are uncertain of, or to get another opinion.

All the best Sheila and good luck with your quest.