Mind Over Meds – Soooooo Pissed!

If the thirty-or-so pages of Notes at the back of the book don’t convince you that Andrew Weil, MD is qualified to write Mind Over Meds, then nothing will.

And let me tell you this…

I have been reading this book for a little over a week and with each passing chapter, I’m getting madder and madder.

NOT at Dr. Weil. Nope! At MY doctor.

Look, I’ve talked about her before. Not a bad person. Not even a bad doctor, especially if meds are wanted and/or warranted.

If preventative medicine by way of listening to your body and trying alternatives to drugs is your bag… or you’d like it to be… then my doctor and about a kazillion more… are NOT what the doctor ordered. (I’m so clever, don’tcha think?)

Weil begins his book with antibiotics – and for a reason. Once discovered – and no, this won’t be a history lesson or research project with a bunch of data – they were thought to be miracle drugs. And, boy-oh-boy, they were prescribed for whatever ailed ya – and pronto!

Yes, they were miracle workers! Yes, they sometimes still are!

But…

(Please buy and read this book!)

I may have told this story before… in fact, I’m sure I did. Feel free to skip through if you’ve heard it.

I once had a bout of antibiotic poisoning. Yeah, it’s as gawd-awful as it sounds.

Explosive diarrhea doesn’t begin to explain what I went through. The pain had me in the fetal position for weeks. My colon was so swollen, they couldn’t perform an internal scope. I had a full-body CT scan instead.

It caused my doctor (at the time) to think I had a burst appendix and/or colon cancer before the hospital and specialists finally figured out what it was.

In the end, it was determined that the many, many rounds of penicillin (and its derivatives) taken for sinus and/or bladder infections, along with several prednisone bursts the previous year (a steroid) for asthma made a mess in my colon. Good flora? Bad flora? Nobody talked about that, back in 1999. At least, not to me.

Add in that I was going through an incredibly sad divorce (aren’t they all?) and you’ve got the recipe for a swollen colon. (I’m a poet. Who knew?) And a problem that would take six months to fully resolve.

So, when Dr. Weil says he’s beginning with the antibiotics for a reason, I tend to believe him.

(Please buy and read this book!)

Of course, he DOESN’T say not to use antibiotics. In fact, he doesn’t say NOT to use ANY of the medications he talks about. He gives you research and his personal opinion – along with some case studies – and asks you to make INFORMED decisions.

That’s a THING, you know.

(Tell the doctors, would’ya please?)

You may think you understand what pissed me off about this book – IN A GOOD WAY – and you’d be correct, just by gleaning what you can from my story above. Antibiotics, prescribed for everything (whether needed or not) cause problems. Over-medicating with them cause problems. Sometimes, BIG problems.

But it’s so much more than that!

Every medication I’m taking RIGHT NOW is in this book. He’s shared the worst offenders.

Figures. Gah!!!

But, it’s also more than that!

He also shared about medications given to children.

(Oh boy, here we go!)

You know how I feel about all the medication I gave my dear son as a child. I don’t feel like going back to link all the times I’ve talked about the Ritiliin and Wellbutrin and this and that and the other thing. I doped-up my kid because he couldn’t go to school otherwise. When I couldn’t stomach it anymore, I yanked him out and made a stink (you know, like how they’re supposed to provide a FREE, SAFE & APPROPRIATE education to ALL CHILDREN). A funny thing happened after that… the school sent a teacher to our house. But I digress. Kind of.

This book was published in 2017 and feels very timely. For people like me, heading into my golden years, I’d sure like to get the heck off all this medication. Or – at the very least – only take a minimum.

The subtitle of the book is, “Know when drugs are necessary, when alternatives are better – and when to let your body heal on its own”.

And this man DELIVERS!

I’m torn whether to at least give you a rundown of the chapters. I think I will, but know this is my shortened version of the titles:

• Antibiotics
• Statins
• GERD
• Antihisamines
• Common Cold & Flu
• Sleep Aids
• Steroids
• NSAIDs
• Psychiatric meds for adults
• Psychiatric meds for children & adolescents
• ADHD
• Opiods and chronic pain
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Osteopenia and other pre-conditions
• Overmedication for children
• Overmedication for the elderly
• Over-reliance on meds – a pharmacist’s view
• Last words: To patients and doctors
• Notes: One of the most robust notes sections I’ve ever seen, along with resources

(Please buy and read this book!)

Did I say that already? *wink*

Seriously. Especially if you or anyone you love takes any of the medications for health concerns listed above.

Be informed!

It’s excellent!

PS: I’m going to try, once again, to talk to my doctor. Wish me luck! If you decide to do the same, let us know and we’ll send our best wishes your way. We need to stick together in this!