Don't rely on medications - take care of yourself with diet as well!

Tonight I got word that a friend is in the hospital, too weak to talk, and will be starting on kidney dialysis. When I saw him a week ago he had gained 35 pounds in 2 weeks and looked like a balloon.

This friend believes in doctors and does not believe in natural cures. The stack of drugs next to his kitchen sink is staggering, and he doesn't know what most of the pills are for - just that various doctors told him to take them. He's been a walking toxic waste dump for a long while now.

Can you just imagine the inner turmoil caused from taking a couple dozen prescription drugs all at the same time?

He's a diabetic, and has had problems with both his heart and kidneys for the past few years. And yet... his breakfast food consists of candy bars, he skips lunch, and gets a burger and fries for dinner. And even though the doctors did tell him to cut out the salt-laden foods, he eats them because they taste good.

Obviously, he also doesn't believe that diet makes a difference. He must think that the pills can do it all.

I feel sad over the state he's in, but I'm not the only friend who has been urging him to pay attention to his diet - take vitamins to go with the drugs that deplete the system - and to talk to the doctors about the dangerous interactions possible when taking different drugs prescribed by several different doctors.

Stay out of the hospital... even if you're on medication for a condition, take care of yourself with proper diet, vitamin supplements, and common sense.

ACE Inhibitors could be causing your cough

If you've developed a nasty cough along with high blood pressure, your medication may be the cause.

I just read a story about a lady whose cough was so bad that she had to carry plastic bags with her in the car - because the coughing made her throw up. When she told her doctor she thought it was the medication he changed it - to another ACE inhibitor that caused the same problem. After that he said he didn't think that was the cause.

A survey of participants on the iGuard.org web site revealed that while over 1/3 of the participants suffered from a chronic cough, only 1 in 4 had been warned by their doctor that the drug could cause coughing.

Do they not bother to learn, or do they not bother to care - as long as you keep on taking drugs?

The iGuard.org site offers personalized estimates of drug risk and interaction concerns - it might be worth you checking into if you're taking prescription drugs.