Health for a Lifetime

Medication: Promises And Pitfalls Pt. 2

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Don Mackintosh, David DeRose

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Series Code: HFAL

Program Code: HFAL000089


00:47 Welcome to "Health for a Lifetime"
00:49 I'm your host Don Mackintosh
00:51 and today we're going to talk about medications...
00:53 Are they a panacea?
00:55 Is there a pill for every problem?
00:57 Or are there concerns that we should have when we talk
01:00 about medications?
01:01 Joining us today is a specialist in internal medicine
01:04 Dr. David DeRose
01:05 Currently, you're practicing at the Lifestyle Center of America
01:09 which is really preventive medicine,
01:11 which is another specialty that you have...
01:14 And so, this idea of medication, as an internist,
01:18 and I've been a nurse for many years,
01:19 I know that internal medicine specialists give a lot of
01:21 medication - a very highly technical field many times in an
01:25 ICU, CCU... those settings,
01:28 and in preventive medicines, many times physicians
01:30 that are practicing those, they try and stay away from them
01:33 Where do you fall on this?
01:34 Well it actually is a very contextual
01:37 question... like you mentioned.
01:38 In the intensive care unit, we're often dependent
01:41 on medications and there are life or death issues
01:44 that hinge on whether the right medications are prescribed.
01:48 I have nothing against using
01:50 medications in the intensive care setting.
01:52 But, when it comes to the common things
01:55 that people see their physicians for,
01:57 we're often using medications,
01:59 as you and I have talked about before, Don,
02:02 in SUCH a way that we're causing, I believe,
02:06 a misplaced focus in our country.
02:08 And people's minds - they're thinking that DRUGS
02:11 are the SOLUTION when really
02:13 the solution is addressing lifestyle issues.
02:16 So we need to look at what we can do ourselves
02:18 to prevent, stop or reverse conditions we have
02:21 rather than what someone ELSE can package for us,
02:25 and then just hope... Well, that's gonna do it!
02:27 That should be the first line.
02:29 And if the lifestyle is NOT delivering the endpoints
02:32 that we need to ACHIEVE,
02:34 THEN medications may well be appropriate.
02:37 Let me give you a couple of examples...
02:39 Blood pressure and diabetes, 2 very common problems
02:42 that people come to us at the Lifestyle Center of America
02:45 With high blood pressure, if lifestyle is NOT getting your
02:48 blood pressure in a reasonable control,
02:50 and by that, I like to see that
02:52 systolic number optimally below 140...
02:56 and the diastolic number into the low 80s.
02:59 If you're not into that level of control,
03:02 you're running a significantly
03:04 increased risk of stroke and heart attack.
03:06 And you would be better off taking a medication for
03:09 the short-term EVEN if, in the LONG-TERM,
03:13 LIFESTYLE is going to help address it.
03:15 After all, if somebody is carrying an extra 100 pounds,
03:17 they can't lose it in a week, right?
03:19 Not normally. No, even in our program, Don,
03:22 I think the record there, 19 days,
03:26 I think one guy actually lost 50 pounds.
03:28 In 19 days? Yeah, but this is real unusual.
03:31 He had a rare condition where he was retaining a lot of fluid
03:35 So a lot of that was just fluid weight.
03:37 But the point I'm making is we don't change our
03:40 bodies overnight with lifestyle;
03:42 medications may be necessary to decrease risk.
03:46 Another example with diabetes...
03:48 High blood sugars put a toll on
03:50 many organs; one of them is the kidneys.
03:52 Early on when people come through our program at the
03:54 Lifestyle Center of America, we check their
03:56 indicators of kidney damage.
03:58 We check a very sensitive measurement
04:00 called "microalbumin"
04:02 It's looking for how much of a tiny amount of protein
04:06 is in the urine.
04:08 If there's an elevated amount, this shows
04:11 that early kidney changes are occurring.
04:14 We don't want to play games with that.
04:15 We don't want to say, "Well, you know, lifestyle,
04:17 when you lose these 200 pounds and you stick with this diet
04:22 for 2 years, your blood sugar will probably be fine"
04:24 No, we want to say... "Look-it, if your blood sugar
04:26 is not under control with lifestyle,
04:27 after 2 weeks or so on our program,
04:30 we're going to have you leave on medication. "
04:32 So you actually, sometimes, PUT people on medication.
04:34 Sometimes I put people on medication.
04:36 But your IDEAL is to get them off that eventually.
04:39 Yeah, the FOUNDATION is LIFESTYLE.
04:41 Medication may be used in the short-term if it's necessary;
04:44 in the long-term if that's the only option we've got.
04:46 So you're not saying... Go home and throw out all my medications
04:48 but WISELY consider what you really need for the short-term
04:53 with somebody who knows what they're doing.
04:54 That's exactly the message we're giving.
04:56 I think the average American is not aware
04:59 of all of the problems there are with medications
05:01 on an individual basis.
05:03 We've talked before about societal problems...
05:06 We've talked about this misplaced focus that the
05:09 drug marketing and the drug emphasis has led to.
05:12 We've talked about societal problems like
05:15 antibiotic resistance and how that has fed into
05:18 this culture of indiscriminate use of antibiotics.
05:22 But Don, there are some REAL problems when it comes
05:25 to the INDIVIDUAL when it comes to using medication. Like what?
05:29 Let me tell you one of them... Allergies
05:32 Allergies FROM medications... From medications
05:35 A very common cause of allergies is medications.
05:38 It can be anything from skin reactions to
05:40 serious life-threatening reactions like anaphylaxis...
05:44 ...A shock condition - can kill a person.
05:48 Stop breathing, blood pressure drops down to next to nothing...
05:51 And you can DIE!
05:53 The leading drug in anaphylactic reactions on a recent review
05:56 that I look at was penicillin.
05:59 Another study looked at the experience in another
06:03 Western nation with drugs and liver injury;
06:07 sometimes fatal injury.
06:09 The leading drug that emerged in that study was erythromycin.
06:13 and this is because they're allergic to it,
06:15 and the liver reacts? These are toxicities
06:18 In the case of the liver problem with erythromycin,
06:22 it wouldn't necessarily be allergic.
06:24 It's because it goes to that organ and it's supposed to
06:28 eliminate it from the body and it has problems doing that...
06:30 That can be one scenario, or the liver can be a
06:32 target for the drug for other reasons.
06:35 To attack it because it has disease-type things there,
06:37 or it thinks it does, something like that.
06:39 There is a variety of mechanisms why drugs have toxicity.
06:43 One.. is an allergic mechanism.
06:45 Okay, so that is sometimes involved in some of these things
06:47 and there are drugs that can cause, what we call,
06:49 "autoimmune liver problems"
06:52 They can cause an autoimmune hepatitis from a drug.
06:55 But, these immune system allergy-related phenomena
07:00 are ONE side of the picture,
07:01 but then there are other side effects from the drugs
07:04 that different tissues can be targets for that drug;
07:08 the tissue, the nature of that tissue,
07:10 whether it's the kidney, whether it's the liver,
07:12 whether it's MUSCLE - it doesn't have to be involved in the
07:15 elimination of the drug.
07:16 Muscle is a target for some of the cholesterol-lowering drugs,
07:19 and some people who are susceptible to
07:22 these drug side effects get problems in the muscle
07:25 because of the drug.
07:26 Are there any common side effects that we
07:28 have that we can prevent?
07:31 Clearly... One way, the BEST way to prevent any drug-related
07:35 side effect is not to use the medication,
07:40 and because these side effects are rare,
07:41 I mean, they are often in the 2% - 5% range, less than 1%
07:47 People say, "Well, I take medications all the time,
07:50 I never have side effects"
07:52 But the list of side effects is growing,
07:54 and the list of concerns is growing.
07:55 And Don, often in the life history of a drug,
07:59 we become aware of side effects
08:01 that we were unaware of at another point in time.
08:04 Take for example... aspirin
08:06 MOST parents know today... you don't give it to your kids
08:11 because of Reye syndrome.
08:13 Whether it's influenza or chickenpox...
08:15 certain viral illnesses, if you give the kid aspirin,
08:19 they can get FATAL brain and liver problems
08:21 called Reye syndrome.
08:23 But back in the 80s, before, we didn't REALIZE that!
08:27 And so ASPIRIN - has it now become more dangerous?
08:30 NO, it was always dangerous in these situations,
08:34 but we didn't REALIZE it.
08:36 We're NOW starting to raise
08:37 concern about many common drugs.
08:40 Antidepressants... a number of them,
08:42 concerns coming out in the medical literature
08:44 they may increase the risk of breast cancer.
08:47 Does that mean we throw out the antidepressants?
08:49 NO... but we don't just say,
08:51 "Well look-it, ANY antidepressant for the
08:53 rest of your life... that's fine"
08:55 Calcium channel blockers, a category of drugs used
08:59 for high blood pressure and heart conditions...
09:01 There's some indication that these drugs
09:03 may be associated with increased risk of intestinal bleeding
09:07 which can lead to hospitalizations and even DEATH!
09:10 So, we're saying, "Well, is all the evidence there yet?"
09:13 "Is this dyed-in-the-wool medical science and fact?"
09:17 No, not yet... but the concerns are growing.
09:20 And Don, here's the real shocker...
09:22 Growing epidemic in our country CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE!
09:27 Which means... what?
09:29 I'm glad you're pinning me down on it
09:30 because I always try to let patient's know
09:32 I wish we had a different term for this...
09:34 You know, you hear "heart failure"
09:36 ...you think the person has one foot in the grave, right?
09:39 Heart failure... we use that terms medically, of course,
09:42 when the heart has more work to do than it's able.
09:45 And so congestive heart failure is a condition
09:48 where the person's heart is just not able to pump
09:50 as much as the body needs,
09:52 and typically fluid will back up into the legs,
09:54 maybe back up into the lungs...
09:56 But here's the real shocker...
09:58 Some recent research is suggesting that the common class
10:03 of drugs called "nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs"
10:06 ...these are drugs like over-the-counter Nuprin,
10:08 ibuprofen, Motrin, Clinoril, a whole host of these drugs,
10:15 Advil, naproxen, Naprosyn
10:17 All these drugs that we just
10:20 TAKE for any kind of ache or pain,
10:23 they may be actually contributing to heart failure.
10:26 Preliminary studies... it's not fact yet,
10:30 but when you start seeing these concerns, Don,
10:32 I HAVE TO ASK... and I have to tell my patients,
10:34 "Look, when you take these things that you think are
10:37 innocuous, they may be just as innocuous as aspirin was
10:41 in its relation to Reye syndrome.
10:42 The were only innocuous in the perception of the
10:45 consumer and the physician because we had
10:48 NOT recognized the linkage with health problems yet.
10:51 But isn't that what they're supposed to do
10:53 when they produce these drugs?
10:54 Isn't this why they have the FDA and all these different
10:57 companies that are watch groups that look over
11:02 medication and whatnot?
11:03 You know, I have to tell you, Don, I'm thankful that we
11:05 are fairly careful as far as what drugs
11:08 are released on the market.
11:09 We do fairly well, FAIRLY well; I'm not going to say we're
11:13 perfect at not releasing drugs
11:16 that cause sudden toxicity in lots of people.
11:20 We're pretty careful about that...
11:22 but all you have to do...
11:24 Most people if they've been on prescription drugs
11:26 they've gotten a call at some time, from their physician
11:30 saying, "You know this antiarrhythmic,
11:32 this drug for your heart rhythm problem - just off the market,
11:34 more people using it are dying than it is actually saving. "
11:38 Or, "People are dying from this pain pill,
11:41 and you're on it, we need to stop it. "
11:44 Or, "This drug for your diabetes has caused some liver deaths,
11:48 and this drug is now off the market. "
11:51 And so people that have been on many medications
11:53 and taking them for a period of time,
11:55 this is where we especially need to be concerned...
11:57 They know that these drugs slip off the market
12:01 because what happens is over time, Don,
12:04 we REALIZE the problem.
12:05 It's a bigger study that goes on when everybody
12:07 starts taking it. That's exactly right
12:09 And let me ask this...
12:11 Is it true also they may do a test on a particular medication
12:15 but then once you start taking it with the other medications
12:17 you've already been taking, you've got a new mix
12:20 or a new blend that they never studied!
12:21 This is another huge issue.
12:23 Another huge issue is this whole area of drug interactions.
12:26 And the more drugs we use, the more we increase the risk
12:31 of interactions and it's not just limited to DRUGS!
12:33 You know as we're talking about drugs and medications,
12:35 whenever I TALK about medications, I know there are
12:38 people listening to me and they say... "Yeah, see - look quick
12:41 ...quick send this out because we're selling these
12:43 nutrient supplements and quick ... have them watch Dr. DeRose
12:46 and hear what he's saying about all the side effects of drugs.
12:50 Because they need our supplement? That's right!
12:52 But supplements have their problems too...
12:56 not only with toxicities but with drug interactions;
12:59 these are REAL concerns!
13:00 And now physicians are being URGED to take not just a
13:04 careful medication history on their patients,
13:06 but to find out what herbs they're taking;
13:09 what supplements they're taking.
13:11 Some of these things are FAR from innocuous
13:13 especially because we take them in huge amounts.
13:16 What types of herbs and supplements do you especially
13:20 CAUTION people to avoid?
13:22 Well maybe it's better expressed when we talk about
13:25 what other drugs a person may be on.
13:27 Let me give you a classic one...
13:29 And that's the anticoagulant, the blood thinner,
13:31 warfarin or Coumadin.
13:33 A very common drug and it does have some
13:36 VERY important benefits.
13:38 People that have had serious problems with blood clots,
13:40 people that have serious heart rhythm problems,
13:44 even though they feel well, like atrial fibrillation which
13:47 is a quivering of the chambers in the upper part of the heart
13:51 Coumadin.. warfarin could actually
13:53 decrease the risk of a stroke.
13:55 The clots don't form... Yeah, clots don't form
13:57 in that quivering chamber and then flick off
14:00 and go to the brain; so a very useful drug
14:03 But this DRUG, if you're changing what you are
14:06 taking into your mouth, even if you make healthy dietary changes
14:10 you've got to be careful if you start taking supplements
14:12 you've got to be very careful,
14:14 in fact, you shouldn't do it without telling your doctor.
14:16 This is something we're very mindful of at the
14:18 Lifestyle Center of America because we have people
14:20 start eating a better diet when they come.
14:22 That means more green leafy vegetables...
14:24 and that actually typically increases the need
14:28 for warfarin or for Coumadin
14:30 if people are going to keep their blood just as thin
14:32 because the green leafy vegetables have
14:34 lots of vitamin K which works
14:37 AGAINST these blood-thinning medications.
14:39 So it's not as simple as saying "NO" to medicines,
14:41 you're saying - you increase their blood thinner because
14:44 they have increased their other plant-based medication
14:48 if you will, the green leafy vegetables...
14:49 And so you really need to have the input of someone
14:52 that's really been looking into this.
14:54 When you're on medications, you DON'T want to play games!
14:58 If you've got serious medical problems,
15:00 you don't want to just treat yourself.
15:02 I'll tell you, there is a fellow that came into my office
15:05 ...not an uncommon story, with BAGS of supplements.
15:08 One of these individuals said, "Look-it, I'm stopping all
15:11 these things because I think it's contributing
15:13 to some of the problems I've been having,
15:15 and that's NOT an underestimation.
15:17 We've been talking with Dr. David DeRose
15:20 We've been talking about medication.
15:22 It's not a panacea... They are needed.
15:24 You need the information that you can gain from people
15:28 that have studied this and made this their lifework many times,
15:32 but just good common sense as well.
15:34 One of the things that the doctor has been saying is
15:37 look for ways to meet the objectives
15:39 WITHOUT medication and don't just start
15:41 medication without really thinking it through
15:43 whether it's prescription or over-the-counter.
15:45 When we come back we're going to further
15:47 look at this issue and I'm going to be asking
15:50 the doctor about over dosage and different other
15:53 situations that you may have heard of
15:55 or maybe have experienced yourself...
15:57 And we hope that you can join us when we come back.
16:03 Have you found yourself wishing
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17:03 We've been talking with Dr. David DeRose
17:04 We've been talking about medication.
17:06 What is the wise way to utilize medication?
17:09 What are harmful ways?
17:11 What are ways that we need to be cautious,
17:13 or things we should avoid when dealing with medication.
17:16 Doctor, another question that comes to mind here...
17:20 You know, some people maybe are perpetuating the very
17:24 conditions they want to avoid.
17:26 Is this true... when they take medications?
17:28 This is a VERY interesting question.
17:30 A classic example has to do with headache preparations.
17:33 This is true of over-the-counter headache medications
17:36 as well as prescription drugs.
17:37 Usually very high in caffeine, right?
17:39 That's exactly right and that's the CATCH!
17:41 Many people have caffeine withdrawal headaches.
17:44 And so what do they take to get rid of their
17:46 caffeine withdrawal headache?
17:48 Well they take their pain pill that has CAFFEINE in it!
17:51 And there are some people in our country,
17:53 it's not the majority, I don't think,
17:55 that are avoiding caffeine...
17:57 Because they're concerned about
17:59 caffeine withdrawal headaches... Yeah, not too many!
18:01 But here's what happens though...
18:02 even in those people, the drug ITSELF can be
18:05 perpetuating the condition.
18:07 You see, they take caffeine to get rid of the
18:09 caffeine withdrawal headache,
18:11 and then when the caffeine level drops,
18:13 the caffeine withdrawal headache recurs,
18:15 and then they take the caffeine- containing headache pill.
18:18 Boy, that's a pretty sneaky way to get your
18:21 medication to be needed, right?
18:23 Well, I don't want to speculate on motives!
18:28 But definitely there are patients who get into a
18:31 vicious cycle where the medication
18:33 is contributing to the problem.
18:35 Headache is a classic example
18:36 with these caffeine-containing preparations.
18:38 So, if you're taking something for headache,
18:40 make sure and look at it and say...
18:41 "Hey, does it have caffeine?"
18:43 It usually says, right on the side whether or not
18:44 it has caffeine, doesn't it?
18:46 Labeling generally will disclose that,
18:48 and talk with your physician...
18:49 If you're being prescribed a prescription
18:51 caffeine-containing pill,
18:53 you may need to make a break with the caffeine for a while
18:56 with the guidance of your physician if you are
18:58 being prescribed something I say that.
19:00 If you are just taking over-the-counter stuff,
19:02 it's usually safe to make that break on your own.
19:04 Now maybe some people are taking some medications
19:06 and they're having side effects that they don't
19:08 see as side effects, so they just don't even KNOW
19:10 they're having side effects!
19:12 Is that true and, if so, what are those?
19:15 Well you know, we've talked a lot, Don,
19:17 about side effects that kind of creep up on you.
19:20 For example, we mentioned the calcium channel blockers,
19:23 and the risk of bleeding perhaps;
19:25 increased risk of congestive heart failure with
19:28 certain pain-relieving drugs,
19:30 or even the increased risk of breast cancer with
19:32 certain antidepressants...
19:33 Well what kind warning signs do people have with these things?
19:35 I mean, before you have a big bleed in your intestine,
19:40 a big bleeding problem, do you have little blood spots
19:43 that you'd find in your stool? No, not usually
19:46 Before you have breast cancer, do you start feeling your
19:49 breast tingling because of the - ... No
19:51 No, I mean, so often these things creep up on you.
19:54 One of the scariest ones to me actually, Don, is
19:57 "tardive dyskinesia"
19:59 What in the world does that mean?
20:01 Well, I'll tell you, if you've visited a nursing home
20:05 you've likely seen people with tardive dyskinesias.
20:08 They're usually... Well, what they are is uncontrolled
20:12 movements, often kind of lip-smacking or twisting
20:15 movements of the face and
20:17 yeah, it can affect the hands and other things.
20:20 These are uncontrollable movements;
20:22 it's usually irreversible and they're associated with
20:24 major tranquillizers...
20:25 And unfortunately, many times in these
20:27 extended care facilities, people are on large amounts of these.
20:31 Now people say, "Well you know, I feel sorry for grandma,
20:34 that she's on these medications but she's not aware of anything
20:37 so, it's sad but we understand you gotta keep her sedate. "
20:43 Here's the issue...
20:44 These same class of medications are used by healthy young people
20:48 For example, "Reglan" a drug
20:51 that is used to regulate intestinal function,
20:54 or "Compazine" a drug that's
20:55 used to treat nausea and other problems...
20:58 These DRUGS are used often FREQUENTLY
21:01 and sometimes repetitively by people,
21:03 and they are in this same class of major tranquillizers.
21:06 They're not being prescribed for mental reasons.
21:09 But they can cause these tardive dyskinesias,
21:12 and the problem is, Don, people often don't have any warning.
21:15 It just comes up on them and...
21:17 And then it's irreversible! Yeah
21:19 So the message is... BE AWARE THAT DRUGS
21:22 CARRY WITH THEM SIDE EFFECTS,
21:24 and DON'T just say, "What's the next pill I can take
21:26 for this problem?"
21:28 Ask your doctor, when he or she is prescribing a drug,
21:31 say, "Look-it, there are other options"
21:33 "Is there anything I can do with my lifestyle?"
21:36 "Any changes I can make in my diet that may
21:38 help me avoid this drug right now or down the road?"
21:42 So, what you've said is 2 things...
21:44 You said... When you take medications,
21:45 or change medications or think about doing something different
21:49 in that area, TALK to your physician.
21:51 But now, what you are saying is...
21:53 Don't just LISTEN to your physician
21:55 ...I want to put you on this next medication, but say,
21:58 "WHY... is there any way we can avoid drugs altogether"
22:01 and ask that question, is that what you're saying?
22:03 That's the message I try to give people.
22:05 It's a re-education because what we're trying to say
22:08 is we've got to move from this mentality as a society.
22:11 If I have a problem... I've got to take a drug.
22:14 There are problems for society,
22:16 we've talked about this before with antibiotic resistance.
22:18 There are problems for the individual,
22:19 whether it's allergy, whether it's other side effects,
22:22 and these are real issues that we need to talk about.
22:25 What about poisoning?
22:26 Well poisoning is an issue that most people say...
22:30 "Oh, it's not really a danger for me"
22:32 We've alluded to this in some of our discussions before, Don,
22:35 but most people may be aware that alcohol is something
22:39 dangerous when there are kids around.
22:41 Most people are aware that prescription drugs should be
22:44 kept out of the hands of children,
22:46 but they don't realize that when you keep powerful drugs
22:50 in your medicine cabinet, they may be at risk for YOU.
22:53 If you get down, if you get depressed,
22:56 YOU may be tempted to reach for
22:58 that bottle of sleeping pills and maybe just try to end it all
23:04 ...And so this is a real consideration.
23:06 Some of these medications can be toxic when taken
23:09 in large amounts and can be life-threatening.
23:11 Medications and accidents...
23:13 You know, a lot of people, when you talk to them about
23:15 accidents, you say - Well what kind of drugs cause accidents?
23:18 Well they say, "Illicit drugs, it's these drug abusers"
23:21 "Boy, if someone is driving wildly on the road,
23:24 they're probably taking cocaine or heroin. "
23:26 Actually if you look at the statistics - workplace injuries,
23:30 it's not illicit drugs that are causing the problem.
23:33 It's things like alcohol and prescription drugs.
23:36 Many of the drugs that we've been tempted to think
23:40 are innocuous and I say "tempted"
23:42 I think most people realize that medications are not as
23:46 squeaky-clean as we may like to believe.
23:50 And so... take for example anti-allergy pills...
23:53 Cold and flu preparations...
23:55 These drugs with antihistamines often can impair performance.
24:00 Very interesting study on the
24:02 drug "diphenhydramine or Benadryl"
24:04 VERY INTERESTING!
24:05 I was just going to ask about that...
24:07 Yeah, yeah... you were going to ask about Benadryl.
24:08 You've probably seen some of the research that has
24:10 come out lately because people who
24:13 have NO APPARENT performance- limiting effects from this drug
24:20 Benadryl or diphenhydramine which creeps into
24:22 all kinds of over-the-counter preparations,
24:24 their performance, when it's measured, is impaired!
24:27 Behind the wheel, they don't drive as well.
24:30 And if you talk about leading causes of accidents on the job,
24:34 it's not some guy on a scaffold up at 500 feet,
24:38 it's people behind the wheel,
24:40 and it's often these common drugs!
24:42 Whether it's Benadryl or something else,
24:43 it's impairing our cognitive abilities,
24:46 decreasing our mental faculties.
24:49 And I know it says it right on the package many times that
24:51 these things can, in fact, happen...
24:53 But most people just don't seem to get the message.
24:57 Well you know what?
24:58 We don't rely on what the message says, Don.
25:01 You know what we rely on? Our personal experience.
25:04 I FEEL FINE!
25:06 Same with the person who says "I can handle my alcohol"
25:08 Even a LITTLE BIT of alcohol
25:10 measurably impairs performance.
25:13 It's the same with many of these medications.
25:15 It's almost as though there are really some kind of
25:17 maybe even moral issues that are associated
25:22 with how we choose to take medications,
25:24 and maybe how we, as a country, manufacture them.
25:27 You know a lot of people would say this is
25:28 this is taking the issue too far,
25:30 but I've got to think of the example of our Lord...
25:34 As He was on the cross on that dark Friday,
25:38 He was offered an over-the-counter pain reliever,
25:41 and what did He do?
25:43 "I don't want it" He didn't want it.
25:44 Now WHY not?
25:45 He wanted to be fully aware about what was happening.
25:48 That's right... He didn't want to suppress His mental faculties
25:52 How does God communicate with us?
25:55 Through our mind.
25:57 And so JESUS, as He's there,
25:59 I mean - what kind of pain was He dealing with?
26:02 On a spiritual level, on a physical level,
26:04 and what do we pop pills for?
26:06 I'm NOT saying we can never use a pain pill.
26:09 I've been in situations where
26:11 I, myself, have even taken a pain pill.
26:13 Not typical, very unusual but I was in a serious
26:16 auto accident once and I did take some pain pills.
26:20 And there are situations in life where medications
26:24 may be the BEST response we know...
26:26 But too frequently, we resort to these things
26:31 when there are better alternatives,
26:32 and they would keep our minds clear
26:34 for God's communication.
26:36 Reminds me of another story in Scripture about
26:39 the first tempter in the Bible that being the serpent,
26:42 who said... take some of this and you'll feel better,
26:45 your mood will change, you'll get high, so-to-speak.
26:49 I mean it's a beautiful analogy!
26:51 ...Because Satan was telling Adam and Eve to deviate
26:54 Deviate from God's lifestyle program.
26:57 Deviate from this perfect plan He gave in Genesis.
27:01 It included everything there, not just relationship with God
27:04 but diet, exercise, fresh air, sunshine.
27:06 It was all there - these health-giving,
27:09 life-giving benefits and Satan said, "No take THIS"
27:13 I'm not trying to say all drugs are a temptation from Satan
27:16 ...you know, we've got to give that message.
27:19 But we have to be wise. We gotta be wise!
27:21 So you're not saying throw everything out. Definitely not
27:24 But you're saying - be wise about what you use,
27:26 why you use it, how you use it and consider all these issues.
27:29 We've been talking with Dr. David DeRose
27:31 He is a physician at the Lifestyle Center of America
27:34 He helps people UNTANGLE their medication difficulties
27:38 with the common illnesses that afflict Americans,
27:41 heart disease and diabetes
27:43 and other things also are addressed there.
27:46 We hope that you have enjoyed the program today,
27:48 and we hope that you'll be wise in using your medications
27:51 and directing and leading your family in that regard...
27:55 And we hope that you do consult with those
27:57 who really can help you if you have questions.


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Revised 2014-12-17