High blood pressure.

[mowens]

DAMN!!!  That has to SUCK....

It's better than not screening. I can tell when crap is growing because my solid waste disposal system becomes very inefficient. I struggled with that for several years before my cancer surgery. When it started happening again I knew it was time to go back.

You learn to appreciate the simple things, like being able to take a satisfying dump. It really is the best. 

[neurosis]

You learn to appreciate the simple things, like being able to take a satisfying dump. It really is the best. 

I remember when I was in my late teens I was talking with an older co-worker. We were talking about going out and partying and picking up girls. We started giving him hell about being old and only getting it monthly or some such nonsense. 

His response "When you get to my age, the only thing you look forward to is a good dump. Everything after that is a bonus".     I had to get older to understand what he was talking about.

[YoDoug]

Big Pharma approves of this thread.

[neurosis]

Big Pharma approves of this thread.

There are probably some people not dying of organ failure that approve it too?   

[BrianP.]

There are probably some people not dying of organ failure that approve it too?   

Or dealing with a life altering disease.

[YoDoug]

There are probably some people not dying of organ failure that approve it too?   

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't ever tell anyone to just stop taking their prescriptions or not start them if they are needed. My comment was more to the fact that prescription drugs don't cure the underlying illnesses, they only treat the symptoms. Often they are only slowing death. Statistically something like 75% of people taking statins have a heart attack, stroke, or other major incident within 10 years of starting the drugs. That's not curing the issue.

A possible alternative is massive lifestyle and diet, but that is not easy. It is a lot of work. Usually by the time someone needs to start taking those multiple prescriptions they are not in good shape. There are exceptions to this, but they are not the norm. Exercise is work, it takes time and motivation and when you have excess weight, joint and other physical issues, it can be an overwhelming task.

Likewise changing diet is the biggest factor to changing health and it is not easy. Big food corporations have teams of scientists spending millions of dollars on finding ways to make food cheaper to make which degrades the nutrition. They also find ways to make it more addicting. They also spend tons of money funding junk science studies to obfuscate the truth. They have completely infiltrated the FDA, USDA, etc with money and a revolving door of industry leaders.

Then there is also the "genetic" starting line for each person. Human DNA is close enough that we are all essentially 5th cousins genetically, yet in that little bit of genetic difference it brings a world differing health outcomes. Some people can eat whatever they want and stay healthy, others live on strict diets and struggle with chronic illness. However those two opposites are the extremes, for most people the condition of their health is largely by their own doing, but still not a level playing field and reversing years of poor health from poor diet and lifestyle can vary greatly by person. Some people can make small diet and lifestyle changes and quickly lose weight and improve health, others have a long slow road or need to make extreme changes. That is why I would never tell someone to stop taking prescription meds, rather look at what changes you can make to get off them. Your doctor will tell you that you will always have to take them, and I don't think this is bad per se. Most people won't make the changes to improve enough to get off meds so doctors need to be realistic.

My personal experience, in 2017 I was 40+ lbs overweight. I had chronic heartburn and took regular meds for that, which have now been shown to cause cancer. I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I lived with chronic back pain. My doctor said I had one year or he was going to start me on multiple meds for blood pressure and statins. I switched jobs that year and no longer and was no longer required to do the annual physical so I just sort of ignored it for another year or two. In 2019 my son wanted me to start BJJ/MMA with him. Like most men my age, I was in denial about how unhealthy I was. I found out real quickly. The pounds started falling off quickly but the pain and recovery time was not sustainable. That's what led me to look for healthy diets changes. The diet changes allowed me to fix my gut biome and get off of the heartburn meds. I also started strength training as well. At 49 yo I am stronger and healthier than I was for the majority of my adult life. Like most of us working class guys, I got married and had kids, etc. I loved snowboarding, surfing, mountain biking ,etc. when I was a young adult. All of those took time and money I didn't have during my family man years. Now I can enjoy those things again.

Again, I'm not saying I'm against prescription meds, I'm saying that Big Pharma wants you to be on them for the rest of your life and when they stop working they will surely have more for you to take.

In the movie Shawshank Redemption, Tim Robbins character says "I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying." This will surely ruffle a few feathers, but for me I decided to change my lifestyle and diet to get busy living versus the alternative.

[Del.]

My statin and meds have saved my life since having a heart attack at 42.

[YoDoug]

My statin and meds have saved my life since having a heart attack at 42.

I would not argue against that. Prescription meds save lives. However they don't cure the underlying illness and whether it is the diminishing rate of return of pills over time or the continued lifestyle/diet, over time the number of pills almost always increases. They rarely improve health outcomes, they just keep people from dying while their health continues to decline.

[Smit]

Hmmm...

Big auto wants you to buy cars.

Big beef wants you to buy beef.

Big farmer wants you to buy vegetables.

Big electronics wants you to buy computers and 75" tvs.

Big supplements wants you to buy supplements that your body filters out.

There's a pattern there if you look.

Drug companies do cure some things. Small pox has been eradicated, polio pretty much gone from this country. The measles sometimes springs up in antivax communities, otherwise it's rare.

I doubt there will ever be a permanent chemical cure for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, or any other lifestyle/age related malady. Exercise and diet is your best bet to avoid bp and cholesterol maintenance drugs. By all means do what you can to stay healthy and avoid taking meds at all.

The real evil in big pharma is when they charge 1000% more for drugs just because they can. Insulin, the Epipen, numerous drugs that are life saving but under patent. Pushing opioids when they know goddamn well they're hooking and killing people. That's fkn evil.

[thad]

Then there is also the "genetic" starting line for each person. Human DNA is close enough that we, in Kentucky, are all essentially 5th 1st cousins genetically

Fissed.

[Del.]

Fissed.

HEY!!!!!   Lol

[JParis]

I have a friend that I've known since I was a teenager....

Has been overweight for years, not a healthy eater by any means....yet he goes to the doc, his BP is normal, his cholesterol, HDl/LDL are both in the good range.....

His mother, who I also called mom for many years, she was a light eating vegan....her health was a mess...

His father, he never really knew, came home from Vietnam, died shortly thereafter.

Genetics...they play a FAR bigger role in our biology than many give credence. Like drugs, genetics are not the answer to every issue but they play a VERY large role.

[Del.]

I have a friend that I've known since I was a teenager....

Has been overweight for years, not a healthy eater by any means....yet he goes to the doc, his BP is normal, his cholesterol, HDl/LDL are both in the good range.....

His mother, who I also called mom for many years, she was a light eating vegan....her health was a mess...

His father, he never really knew, came home from Vietnam, died shortly thereafter.

Genetics...they play a FAR bigger role in our biology than many give credence. Like drugs, genetics are not the answer to every issue but they play a VERY large role.

Gene's definitely play huge role. My wife's parents are both still alive at ages 85 and 88.  My dad has been gone for 33 years.  I suspect my wife will live another 15-20 years after I'm gone.

The reason married men usually die before their wife.

They want to. 

[Dan_AKA_ROY23]

I had that problem (persistent coughing) with lisinipril so the doc switched me to Losartan. Then the Losartan supply ran low so the doc subbed in Valsartan which is a little older than Losartan. It works fine (coupled with Amlodipine) so I switched to Valsartan permanently to avoid the out of stock issues.

One thing I would make sure of is to watch your potassium levels. Does your doctor check potassium once a year? Mine was too high so they cut the losarten dose in half and then it went back down to normal.

[mowens]

My BP started rising when I was still in pretty good shape. They checked everything, including my kidneys, but couldn't find a reason.