Are Side-Effects Normal?

After reading the previous section, my hope is you understand the answer to that question is NO! Yet why are they so common and accepted in our culture?

The Pharmaceutical Effect

Since the medication you were prescribed was researched and trialed before being released to the public, the research indicates a certain number of “common side-effects” as a “normal” response to the introduction of the chemical medicine. And the list of Side-Effects can be quite long and quite disturbing when you really listen to them. 

My thought has always been, from the time I was 5 years old and hear commercials asking, “Are you waking with the normal morning headache?” in an effort to recommend Bayer Aspirin for anyone who has a headache in the morning.

First, let me say that waking with a headache in the morning is anything but normal. So to imply that you are missing adequate amounts of Bayer Aspirin to start your day seemed ludicrous to me, even at the ripe old age of 5.

As time has gone on, the insidious nature of television advertisements for prescription medication and the amount of money being paid to the CEO’s of the 4 major Networks to advertise these prescription drugs is staggering.  6.4 Billion dollars was spent in advertising ONLY on those 4 major networks in 2016. And you wonder why medication, with their Side-Effects, is the primary form of care in this country? 

And you may also wonder why Alternative forms of care, that have been around for thousands of years, are relegated to “quackery” while the news media attacks anything that would claim to help people without the need for Pharmaceutical agents. They have a large financial incentive to protect their brand of news, while protecting the hand that feeds them, the Pharmaceutical Companies. 

A Natural Response

It intrigues me when I listen to the commercials on the TV to the point of yelling at the television in response to what I hear in these commercials. And I have toned down my response significantly.  And as a result of my yelling, my wife can now identify the organ or gland being effected adversely by the medication based on the Side-Effects being shared.

As an example: There is a commercial that has upbeat music and 5 guys simulating a country band and the commercial goes like this: “Nausea, Heartburn, Indigestion, Upset Stomach, Diarrhea” as a catchy jungle. And it is catchy and repeats itself over and over in an effort to pound it into your unconscious mind to get you to think of this commercial and the product as a solution for those all-to-common set of symptoms most American’s experience based on the sad state of our Digestive System.

My wife can now tell you, "That medication affects the gallbladder, doesn't it!" And she is correct, as all those symptoms are an indication of a gallbladder problem. 

Another Older Example:  When I was in High School, they had a commercial for Rolaids Digestive Aid. In the commercial, they asked the question, “How do you spell relief?” R-O-L-A-I-D-S. And it was driven into our unconscious minds. After all, they played the commercial quite often and for quite some time. And everyone, including children, was being passively educated on the purpose of taking Rolaids. Except there was one unintended consequence associated with the commercial. It was a very unique Side-Effect. This developed into a new condition for most children for a period of time. What started showing up in grade-schools across the county was children were now spelling the word “relief” as R-O-L-A-I-D-S.  I guess the advertising was effective.