MY LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH PHARMACEUTICALS

As a person with many kinds of chronic issues and chronic pain I have an up close and personal love /hate relationship with pharmaceuticals. They are a Godsend on one hand and they seem to be sent from the  Devil   on the other hand. Frankly my world would be far worse without them.
 My dad had RA about 50+ years ago I can remember when I would get up and go to the bathroom and then go back to bed seeing him sitting in the dark at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and having a cigarette at all hours of the night ,suffering in pain from RA. Back then all there was for pain was aspirin , I remember a giant bottle of them sitting on the counter along  side of a bottle of Maalox . But Pharmaceuticals have come a long way since then for the treatment of RA and chronic pain. Although I am still looking for what will work best for all my issues. I can tell you that without what I do take my life would be so much worse than it already is.
Pharmaceuticals are a life saver for many diseases and illnesses, many cancers and illnesses are either cured or put into remission because of them. Many who are in extreme pain are given relief from them. Many lives have been saved and their lives extended because of them. Most of us with chronic illnesses and pain have a better quality of life because of them. So that is my love affair with pharmaceuticals. Now the hate aspect of this relationship.
Many of the medications I take have many adverse side effects. We have to be real savvy when we begin taking our medications. We have to be educated as to what to look for when we begin any kind of medications and watch for possible side effects. After we educate ourselves on our medications we have to then weigh the pros and cons to taking them, do the benefits I may get from this medication be worth more to me than what it could possibly cause me down the road?   Lets take prednisone for instance , in my case I take it for my  Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) , it is the only medication that will work to relieve the extreme pain and stiffness that  (PMR) causes, pain medications do not even touch it. With PMR the pain levels sky rocket up to 8-10, the use of my arms become a major issue for me, I am only able to use my arms from the elbows down , causing me to be extremely dependent upon my husband to help me with even the easiest of jobs like combing my hair , reaching for the faucet to turn water on , assisting me with putting on or off of my clothes, the list is long folks. Prednisone gives me back my life,period. Although at higher doses it makes my face balloon and cause weight gain. Here is me 3 years ago on the left and me now.

Me on over 40mg of Prednisone

Me now on 10 mg. of Prednisone

Although the weight gain and fat face is horrible for my vanity, it is worth the better quality of life to take prednisone. Prednisone causes insomnia at least 3 times a week which means I am wide awake until 2 or 3 in the morning or I don't sleep at all that night. But since I don't work and I am home all day I get my sleep time whenever it strikes me to take a nap. I believe it also caused me to have hypertension and  type 2 Diabetes which are both in control with medications, which by the way have their own side effects to weigh in on.

I take about 8 to 10 medications   1 to 3 times a day. So I have to determine if a medication I take can be switched with a herb or  vitamin that I can take instead. 

Or if a change in diet can help me. With herbals you have to be just as educated with them and their side effects and whether or not they can be taken with the other medications I might take. You have to almost be a herbalist or Doctor to figure all this stuff out. With herbal and vitamin and diet alternatives I find that the expense can sometimes be more than medications are for me because they are not covered by insurance. So for many of my herbs and veggies I will grow them myself and make tinctures from them. Also they take so much longer to feel any effects from them that sometimes it is not worth the pain to wait it out till they begin to work. But for me I am more prone to give herbs a chance before I reach for that pill bottle, because herbs for the most part help the whole body system and not just the one problem . They are more likely to be more healthy for me than medications, so I try my best to go that route first, if they don't give me the results I need then I turn to medications instead.

So there is my love /hate relationship with pharmaceuticals. We do this dance every day.

Prednisone Uses taken from here

Prednisone is used to treat conditions such as arthritis,blood disorders, breathing problems, severe allergies,skin diseases, cancer, eye problems, and immune system disorders. Prednisone belongs to a class of drugs known as corticosteroids. It decreases your immune system's response to various diseases to reduce symptoms such as swelling and allergic-type reactions.
So here are  a few of the possible side effects for taking Prednisone a more thorough list of side effects
Possible side effects: Elevated blood pressure, Headache, Hives,Osteoporosis, Stomach ulcer, Pancreatitis, Muscle weakness, Skin redness, Allergic shock, Vertigo, Water retention, Myopathy, Esophagitis,Petechia, Convulsion, Excessive sweating, Distended abdomen,Ecchymosis, Loss of muscle mass, Irregular menstruation, Achilles tendon rupture, Poor wound healing, Thin skin

LIVING WITH AND GROWING MY OWN HERBS

CONTAINER HERBS ON MY DECK

 I have disabling Osteoarthritis in most of my major joints and back, I am in a wheel chair, I have Polymyalgia Rhuematica (PMR), which makes the use of my arms and shoulders, sometimes a living hell, my poor shoulders, if that is not enough has Osteo- Arthritis as well so swinging my arms over my head or reaching behind my back, ain't going to happen, I mainly have use of my arms from my elbows down. I have my mom and dad's genes to thank for this. My pharmaceutical medicines just don't cut it most of the time  because of adverse side effects ,so for a number of years I have been raising my own herbs that I use in tinctures, teas, cooking ,capsules and salves. 

I grow my herbs mainly  on my deck in pots. I like growing them on my deck so I can have easy access to them all the time, just working and tending them helps me greatly, I love the smell they give off especially after they have been watered. I grow, rosemary,sage, thyme,oregano, various mints, lemon balm,aloe,basil, onion and garlic chives,echinacea, chamomile, Lavender and marigold. I am hoping to add to my collection this coming growing season. 
My best go to herbal tinctures that I do not grow is olive leaf tincture , a must have in anyone's herbal collection. It is what I go to when I have the first sign of colds, flu, cough, you name it, I start taking a teaspoon 4 times a day to ward that crud away and it has not let me down.  I am on prednisone for  my PMR and it suppresses my immune system so I have to be diligent when any signs of sickness comes my way usually via my grand-kids. I also have insomnia thanks to the prednisone and so I drink chamomile tea every night before bed with a little cannabis to help me sleep , most days it works but about 2 nights a week, nothing helps and so I get to have all nighters, yippy. There are many good places on line to find out about these herbs and how they can help you, I am sure their information will be a lot better than I can give you. I am just saying how important it is to be able to provide herbal medicines for ones self in this day of easy pill popping.

 By raising my herbal medicines, I am able to have a very real connection with my plants, they give me great pleasure seeing them grow and thrive .  I find that most bee's and nectar loving insects choose flowers from herbs over any annual flowers I have. Even if the flowers from my annuals are big they choose the little herbal ones over them, they know where the good stuff is.
It is much cheaper and healthier to raise your own medicines, you know what has or has not been placed on your herbs. You also don't have the government telling you what you can have or not have. I believe there will be a time when medicines may be harder to get when you need them and one must be able to take care of your family and one's self when you need medicine. Even now they have made it hard for me to get the pain medication I need because some twit has abused them, so now all of us are now suspect, even though I have xrays, MRI's to prove my pain, it is getting harder and more expensive for me to get them so I have to think outside of the box and take care of things myself.
I am hopefully going to do some landscaping in front of my home , some old worn out hedges along side of my front step needs to go and I am going to replace them with herbs and edible plants . I can't wait to have tall lavender at my front step so all can smell them and be given their awesome aroma when they come into my home.
Happy growing.
HEALING AND PAIN FREE BLESSINGS
PAT