Drug Side Effects
[UPDATED JUNE 2022]
Introduction
A recent (2014) study from America suggested that the third most common cause of death after heart disease and cancer is drug side effects. See "Our prescription drugs kill us in large numbers" Pol Arch Med Wewn 2014;124(11):628-34 which stated that:
Our prescription drugs are the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer in the United States and Europe. Around half of those who die have taken their drugs correctly; the other half die because of errors, such as too high a dose or use of a drug despite contraindications.
If they can kill you, they can certainly cause CFS/ME! It is a feature of CFS/ME that sufferers react badly to 'normal' doses of drugs such as alcohol, anaesthetic agents or antidepressants. Many drugs list fatigue as a side-effect and so each drug needs to be checked individually.
Given that mitochondrial failure is the central cause of CFS/ME (see CFS - The Central Cause: Mitochondrial Failure) then those drugs that affect mitochondrial function are particularly harmful for CFS sufferers - see "Drug-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction: An Emerging Model for Idiosyncratic Drug Toxicity"
Drugs are just chemicals which also have to be detoxified
Drugs are chemicals or toxins and the problems that arise from them are exactly the same as those from any other chemical or toxin. When they overload the system and make one ill then one would expect them to show all of the problems associated with sufferers of chemical poisoning. See Chemical poisoning - general principles of diagnosis and treatment.
Indeed it is a major concern of mine that people, often the elderly, taking large numbers of prescription drugs will be overwhelming their detox system and acceperating the normal ageing process as a result.
Drug side effects nearly always result secondary to micronutrient deficiencies. This illustrates the above issue.
Related Articles
- Chemical poisoning - general principles of diagnosis and treatment
- CFS - The Central Cause: Mitochondrial Failure
External Links
- "Our prescription drugs kill us in large numbers", Pol Arch Med Wewn 2014;124(11):628-34
- "Drug-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction: An Emerging Model for Idiosyncratic Drug Toxicity"
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