The real secret to making a difference is to know what your body needs.

Our bodies are smart and they know what to do.

There are plenty of things that can be done naturally, by ourselves. We just need to stop saying “What the doctor prescribed isn’t working” because it often does work!

The real secret to making a difference is taking responsibility for the outcome of our actions. It’s not the drugs.

In fact, the majority of drug efficacy issues are not caused by the drug. In fact, it is much more likely that it is caused by underlying issues with the patient’s health, lifestyle and environment.

Consider this: If you were to take a pill that promised to cure all your ailments but actually made you sicker in the long run, wouldn’t you be mad at the company that made such a claim? You would certainly notice a common denominator—the drug regimen. After all, it is easier to project our flaw than take responsibility for the outcome of our actions. For the most part, issues around drug efficacy has always been attributed to the drug of choice or the Physician’s error. However, that isn’t the case 9 out of 10.

Now, let’s consider a few factors that often affect drug efficacy among the majority:

Drug Interactions

Drug interactions are a common cause for drug inefficacy. Before you combine medications, certain kinds of food, or herbal supplements, it is very important you discuss same with your health provider, for drug reconciliation, so as to avoid serious adverse effects.

For example, frusemide and aminoglycosides enhance ototoxicity; diuretics cause hypokalemia and increase digitalis toxicity; licorice enhances hypokalemia in patients on diuretics; St. John’s Wort interacts with numerous medications, including anticoagulants (warfarin); patients on Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) should avoid tyramine-containing food such as, avocados, banana, red wine, tofu, grapefruit, and aged cheese

The reason why your antibiotics or anti-malaria isn’t working may be as a result of the concomitant use of antacids and/or orange fruit juice or vitamin C, respectively. For example, orange fruit juice or vitamin C should be avoided while taking anti-malaria; it alters the mechanism of action of this drug. Conversely, you shouldn’t take antacids (tabs or liquid form) at the same time with other medications. If necessary, you may take antacids at least 2 hours before or after any other drug regimen. Make it a routine to always check in with your provider about the safety of ingesting different drugs at the same time.

In general, it is not recommended to change your medication regimen without consulting with your physician first.

Compliance

The real secret to making a difference is not the drugs themselves. It’s how you take them!

This is simply the degree to which patients adhere to treatment regimen; from drug prescribed, to dosage and time of administration. Do you take your drug as prescribed by your provider? How do you take your drugs daily? For example, a ‘b.d’ drug should be taken twice daily, 12 hours apart. In the same vein, a ‘t.d.s’ drug should be taken three times daily, 8 hours apart. Whereas, some drugs are best taken before mealtime. E.g., sucralfate, omeprazole, etc. In addition, do not crush enteric-coated, sustained and extended (SR/ER) release drugs before ingesting them, as they can irritate your gut before absorption.

When you don’t take the right drug for the right disease condition, at the right dosage and time, you shouldn’t expect a positive therapeutic result. It’s a no-brainer. You don’t take anti-malaria for a headache or migraine. Neither can you catch the bacteria or virus unawares by taking a couple extra doses or way before prescribed time. Furthermore, drugs are not candy, you don’t pop them to save cost either. Instead, they are medicines that are prescribed by a doctor in accordance with scientific studies and medical evidence.

If these drugs work properly then we would be able to say that it is a successful treatment but if we misuse them then we must think about what consequences it would have on our body as well as our mind. Drugs are powerful and effective tools that can help us if used appropriately but just like everything else in life there are also some bad things associated with them too.

We should learn how to use them properly so that they do not harm our bodies but also make sure that we do not misuse them in order to achieve their full potential

The negative perception of generics also emanates from the erroneous assumption that brand-name drugs are subjected to more stringent processes of quality control as compared to generic drugs. However, in reality both are tested for potency and efficacy. The primary difference is that any generic drug is analyzed for identity, strength, purity and quality whereas brand name drugs undergo a few additional tests to establish its trademark rights. That’s the only difference! It would be prudent for you to make sure that you’re actually taking a generic version of your medication, perhaps even ask your physician or pharmacist if you ever have doubts about what you’re taking.

At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that whether it’s a brand name or a generic one – they provide the same therapeutic value and would achieve an almost similar result on your condition, given that you take them strictly according to prescribed dosage and duration. So why spend additional money on an expensive drug if you don’t need it?

Hopefully the point of all this is clear. There is no single, quick fix to treating life threatening diseases like cancer. And yes, there are serious problems with the pharmaceutical industry—but that doesn’t mean that all drugs are equally broken, or that every drug should be written off as useless.

Don’t accept fear-mongering; demand evidence. And yes, you should absolutely do your own research. As we’ve seen from the above examples, the best conclusions can only be reached when you have access to accurate information and check for the various contributing factors.