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Humans have reached high levels of scientifical development. We aim space, we have technologies which are almost replacing human brain, we do wonders with our medicine, but…

With the increasing of human life expectancy increase the number of diseases. People invest whole fortunes in keeping themselves alive. Health costs the consumption of large amounts of tablets, which are supposed to keep us functioning, but there is still no proof that these medicines prolong our life, or just cause death from other diseases.

For example:

A lot of young women are diagnosed with thyroid hypofunction for different reasons. Sometimes it is during the first trimester of pregnancy when the organism of the mother and the child need more thyroid hormone. Then gynecologists prescribe L-Thyroxin. As the fetus grows it develops its own thyroid gland and the mother does not need such great amounts of thyroid hormone. Often the mother develops increased heart rate, but nobody thinks of reducing thyroid hormone even after the birth of the child.

Some young women have a period of malfunction of the thyroid gland, because of autoimmune thyroid inflammation or after thyroid gland operation. To them is prescribed L-Thyroxin. This medicine keeps them functioning, but it depresses the function of their own thyroid gland and women should take L-Thyroxin regularly, because the organism needs the thyroid hormone. As time passes on the thyroid gland resolves its functioning, because its tissue grows again. Giving extra L-Thyroxin can cause tachyarrhythmia (irregular quicker heart action).

Side effects of Thyroxin:

• Chest pain or discomfort
• decreased urine output
• difficult or labored breathing
• difficulty with swallowing
• dilated neck veins
• extreme fatigue
• fainting
• fast, slow, irregular, pounding, or racing heartbeat or pulse
• fever
• heat intolerance
• hives or welts, skin itching, rash, or redness
• irregular breathing
• irritability
• menstrual changes
• nausea
• pain or discomfort in the arms, jaw, back, or neck
• sweating
• swelling of the eyes, face, lips, throat, or tongue
• tightness in the chest
• tremors

Rare

• Blurred or double vision
• dizziness
• eye pain
• lack or slowing of normal growth in children
• limp or walk favoring one leg
• pain in the hip or knee
• seizures
• severe headache

Symptoms of overdose

• Change in consciousness
• cold, clammy skin
• confusion
• disorientation
• fast or weak pulse
• lightheadedness
• loss of consciousness
• sudden headache
• sudden loss of coordination
• sudden slurring of speech

Some side effects of levothyroxine may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

Less common

• Abdominal or stomach cramps
• change in appetite
• crying
• diarrhea
• false or unusual sense of well-being
• fear or nervousness
• feeling not well or unhappy
• feeling of discomfort
• feeling of warmth
• feeling things are not real
• feelings of suspicion and distrust
• hair loss
• headache
• increased appetite
• mental depression
• muscle weakness
• quick to react or overreact emotionally
• rapidly changing moods
• redness of the face, neck, arms, and occasionally, upper chest
• restlessness
• trouble getting pregnant
• trouble sitting still
• unusual tiredness or weakness
• vomiting
• weight gain or loss

Doctors examine the blood level of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) which is released from the pineal gland to check up the function of the thyroid gland, but rarely the T3 and T4 level. TSH levels stay always the same or get lower because women get their tablets with L-Thyroxin, but nobody thinks the medication should be reduced. In fact it is thought that it prohibits the growth or the thyroid gland and it is recommended to be kept on until death. To these medication doctors add pulse rate reducing medicines like beta-blockers, or calcium antagonists.

Common side effects of beta blockers include:

• Dizziness
• Weakness
• Drowsiness or fatigue
• Cold hands and feet
• Dry mouth, skin, or eyes
• Headache
• Upset stomach
• Diarrhea or constipation

Less common side effects include:

• Depression
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing or trouble breathing
• Loss of sex drive/erectile dysfunction
• Trouble sleeping
• Swelling of the hands or feet
• Slow heartbeat
• Skin rash
• Sore throat
• Memory loss or confusion
• Back or joint pain

Side effects from taking calcium channel blockers are usually fairly mild, but may include:

• Weight gain
• Swelling in the lower legs, feet, or ankles
• Feeling dizzy
• An increase in appetite
• Constipaion
• Feeling tired or drowsy
• A heartbeat that feels rapid, slow, or irregular
• Coughing, wheezing, or problems with breathing or swallowing
• Nausea or stomach discomfort
• Numbness or a tingling sensation in the feet or hands

To the medical therapy doctors add diuretics (because thyroid hormone and calcium antagonists cause swelling).

Different classes of diuretics have different side effect profiles. Which kind of the side effects caused by a diuretic would occur depends on the drug’s mechanism of action. Some of the side effects caused by the different classes of diuretic are described below:

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

An example of a drug in this class is acetazolamide. Some of the side effects include:

• Hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis caused by loss of plasma bicarbonate
• Kidney stones due to increased phosphate and calcium excretion
• Low potassium level (hypokalemia)
• Drowsiness
• Neurotoxicity
• Allergic or hypersensitivity reactions

Loop diuretics

Examples of drugs in this class include furosemide, ethacrynic acid and bumetanide. Some of the side effects associated with the use of loop diuretics include:

• Hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis due to loss of potassium and increased alkalinity of the blood
• Ototoxicity or damage to hearing. This damage may be reversible if the drug is stopped.
• High blood levels of uric acid predisposing to attacks of gout
• Hypomagnesemia or low magnesium level
• Allergic or hypersensitivity reactions
• Dehydration
• High blood levels of calcium or hypercalcemia

Thiazide diuretics

An example of a thiazide diuretic is hydrochlorothiazide. Some of the side effects include:

• Hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis
• Hyperuricemia or raised blood uric acid, predisposing to gout
• Impaired carbohydrate or glucose tolerance leading to high blood sugar
• Hyperlipidemia or increased blood lipids (cholesterol and lipoproteins)
• Hyponatremia or low blood sodium
• Allergic or hypersensitivity reactions caused by the sulfonamide component of these agents. Reactions include dermatitis, skin rash, photo-dermatitis (light reactions on skin), hemolytic anemia (breakdown of the red blood cells), thrombocytopenia (low platelet counts) and acute necrotizing pancreatitis.
• Weakness and tiredness
• Paresthesias or numbness of the limbs
• Impotence

Potassium-sparing diuretics

These drugs can be divided into two classes, which include the aldosterone antagonists such as apironolactone and sodium channel blockers such as triamterene and amiloride. Some of the side effects include:

• Hyperkalemia or rise in blood potassium levels
• Hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis
• Gynecomastia or breast enlargement in males
• Erectile dysfunction
• Benign prostatic hyperplasia
• Acute renal failure
• Kidney stones

Osmotic diuretics

Examples of these agents include isosorbide and mannitol. Some of the side effects include:

• Extracellular volume expansion. This can be a serious problem in people with heart failure or pulmonary edema.
• Headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Dehydration and loss of free water
• Hypernatremia or increased sodium levels

As time passes on to these medications come also anticoagulants, because after years the tachyarrhythmia turns into absolute arrhythmia with atrial fibrillation. This causes building of thrombi in the atrium and thromboembolism of the peripheral arteries thus brain attacks.

A possible side effect of anticoagulants is excessive bleeding (hemorrhage), because these medicines increase the time it takes for blood clots to form.

Some people also experience other side effects.

Excessive bleeding

Signs of excessive bleeding can include:

·         passing blood in your urine

·         passing blood when you poo or having black poo

·         severe bruising

·         prolonged nosebleeds (lasting longer than 10 minutes)

·         bleeding gums

·         vomiting blood or coughing out blood

·         sudden severe back pain

·         difficulty breathing or chest pain

·         in women, heavy or increased bleeding during your periods, or any other bleeding from your vagina

You should also seek immediate medical attention if you:

·         are involved in a major accident

·         experience a significant blow to the head

·         are unable to stop any bleeding

If you're taking warfarin, you'll have regular blood tests to check if you're at a high risk of excessive bleeding by measuring how quickly your blood clots. If your blood clots too slowly, your dose may be increased.

Other side effects

Other side effects of anticoagulants vary depending on which medication you're taking.

For a full list of potential side effects for your medicine, check the leaflet that comes with it.

Possible other side effects include:

diarrhea or constipation

·         feeling and being sick

·         indigestion

·         diziness

·         headaches

·         rashes

·         itschy skin

·         hair loss

·         jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes)

The next article describes what is the range of damage caused by excessive health care:

America's Healthcare System is the Third Leading Cause of Death

Barbara Starfield, M.D. (2000)
    
Summary by Kah Ying Choo

This Journal of the American Medical Association article illuminates the failure of the U.S. medical system in providing decent medical care for Americans.

In spite of the rising health care costs that provide the illusion of improving health care, the American people do not enjoy good health, compared with their counterparts in the industrialized nations.  Among thirteen countries including Japan, Sweden, France and Canada, the U.S. was ranked 12th, based on the measurement of 16 health indicators such as life expectancy, low-birth-weight averages and infant mortality.  In another comparison reported by the World Health Organization that used a different set of health indicators, the U.S. also fared poorly with a ranking of 15 among 25 industrialized nations.

Although many people attribute poor health to the bad habits of the American public, Starfield (2000) points out that the Americans do not lead an unhealthy lifestyle compared to their counterparts.  For example, only 28 percent of the male population in the U.S. smoked, thus making it the third best nation in the category of smoking among the 13 industrialized nations.  The U.S. population also achieved a high ranking (5th best) for alcohol consumption.  In the category of men aged 50 to 70 years, the U.S. had the third lowest mean cholesterol concentrations among 13 industrialized nations. Therefore, the perception that the American public’s poor health is a result of their negative health habits is false.

Even more significantly, the medical system has played a large role in undermining the health of Americans.  According to several research studies in the last decade, a total of 225,000 Americans per year have died as a result of their medical treatments:

• 12,000 deaths per year due to unnecessary surgery

• 7000 deaths per year due to medication errors in hospitals

• 20,000 deaths per year due to other errors in hospitals

• 80,000 deaths per year due to infections in hospitals

• 106,000 deaths per year due to negative effects of drugs

Thus, doctor-induced deaths are the third leading cause of the death in the U.S., after heart disease and cancer.

One of the key problems of the U.S. health system is that as many as 40 million people in the U.S. do not have access to health care.  The social and economic inequalities that are an integral part of American society are mirrored in the inequality of access to the healthcare system.  Essentially, families of low socioeconomic status are cut off from receiving a decent level of health care.

By citing these statistics, Starfield (2000) highlights the need to examine the type of health care provided to the U.S. population.  The traditional medical paradigm that emphasizes the use of prescription medicine and medical treatment has not only failed to improve the health of Americans, but also led to the decline in the overall well-being of Americans.  Starfield’s (2000) comparison of the medical systems of Japan and the U.S. captures the fundamental differences in the treatment approach.  Unlike the U.S., Japan has the healthiest population among the industrialized nations.  Instead of relying on sophisticated technology and professional personnel for medical treatment as in the U.S., Japan uses its technology solely for diagnostic purposes.  Furthermore, in Japan, family members, rather than hospital staff, are involved in caring for the patients.

The success of the Japanese medical system testifies to the dire need for Americans to alter their philosophical approach towards health and treatment.  In the blind reliance on drugs, surgery, technology and medical establishments, the American medical system has inflicted more harm than good on the U.S. population.  Starfield’s (2000) article is invaluable in unveiling the catastrophic effects of the medical treatments provided to the American people.  In order to improve the medical system, American policymakers and the medical establishment need to adopt a comprehensive approach and critically examine the failure of the richest country in the world to provide decent health care for its people.

Starfield, B. (2000, July 26). Is US health really the best in the world? Journal of the American Medical Association, 284(4), 483-485.