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Stop Taking “Maintenance Drugs” That Treat Symptoms, Not Causes
There is one very important idea missing from Chapter 9: How To Save 10 To 75 Percent On Your Prescription Drugs. The idea is that you can save 100 percent on your “maintenance drugs” (heartburn medicine like Prilosec, antidepressants like Zoloft, heart disease drugs like Lipitor, etc.). These drugs treat your symptoms, not the causes of your illness, which in most cases, can be traced to diet, lifestyle, and exercise. The only way to save 100 percent on these drugs is to stop taking them altogether—by finding a doctor or other medical professional who understands the dangers of prescription drugs and will work with you to change your diet or lifestyle.

The prescription drug business was founded by people like Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the first vaccine for polio, and Dr. Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin. The products these dedicated doctors developed prevented diseases from developing in the first place or cured diseases over a relatively short period of time.

Sadly, as healthcare moved away from the work of medical professionals and became the most profitable sector of our economy, the prescription drug industry shifted from making products that prevented or cured diseases to making products that merely treated the symptoms of diseases.

Today about 95 percent of the prescription drugs sold are maintenance drugs—drugs that treat only the symptoms of a disease and that you are expected to take for the rest of your life.

I am an economist and businessman, not a doctor; however, in conducting extensive research for my last book, The Wellness Revolution, I concluded that few of the tens of millions of people taking maintenance drugs should be taking them. Instead, most people taking maintenance drugs should be working with a medical professional to cure the underlying disease—for example, changing their diet instead of taking Nexium for life (to counteract heartburn), losing weight instead of taking Lipitor for life (to lower cholesterol). I apologize to my medically-oriented readers who may find these claims offensive—no offense is intended—but I would be less than honest if I did not share with you this conclusion.

In addition to preventing you from focusing on the symptoms of your illness rather than on the causes, the prescription medicines you take are the number one reason your application for individual/family health insurance could be rejected or your premium increased (uprated).
If you take any prescriptions drugs on a regular basis, find a medical professional and develop a plan to get off your prescriptions as soon as possible: Do not attempt to do this without the advice of a medical professional.

 

  
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