A pharmacist who would rather not take prescription drugs
The harm of prescription medication’s side effects.
Even though she is a pharmacist, Dr. Megan would rather not take prescription drugs. Why? Because she knows too much about the harmful side effects. She believes in taking the lowest effective dose for the shortest time possible. That’s why when her doctor gave her the option of taking a super high dose for only a few days, or a similar drug at a lower dose for weeks to months, Dr. Megan chose the super high, shorter course of medication. Unfortunately, she still had to continue taking a drug, prednisone, for an extended period to treat her diagnosis, a bleeding disorder of platelets called ITP. While the drug would help for a while, each time her doctor tried to lower the dose, her platelets would crash, starting the vicious cycle of high doses causing many miserable side effects. Previously a healthy, emotionally stable person, she suffered from:
- Insomnia
- Emotional roller coasters ranging from euphoria, irritability, to “’Roid Rage”
- An insatiable appetite with cravings for salt and every food in sight causing
– high blood sugar
– weight gain
– fat redistribution to her belly
– “moon face”
- Water retention
- Bone loss
- Muscle loss
- Blurry vision
- Hot flashes with sweating and red flushed cheeks
- Swelling skin
- Heart palpitations
- Bruises that don’t hurt
- Weakened immune system
- High white blood cells
- Difficulty healing wounds
Knowing that non-prescription, natural ways to deal with the consequences from prednisone would help the most, she diligently :
- Changed her diet, added more vegetables and cut out sugar
- Drank more water
- Increased her exercise
- Changed her night routine to improve sleep
- Focused on taking care of herself so she could heal
Between doctor visits, weekly blood draws, and all these healthy habits, it felt like a full-time job taking care of her health.
But something was missing.
Dr. Megan searched everywhere for a product or supplement that would help her where she knew she needed help, in the ways prednisone was stealing nutrients like calcium from her body. Websites listed conflicting information and no product existed to help someone like her taking prednisone. Terrified that the latest untested exotic herbal product would worsen her disease and potentially cause her to bleed to death, Dr. Megan shunned all products that didn’t have a proven safety record.
As she lay in bed trying in vain to combat the side effects of prednisone and chemotherapy, Dr. Megan had a sudden epiphany:
People taking prescription drugs need supplements designed specifically for the nutrient depletion caused by the drug, without making the disease worse for which the drug was prescribed.
Thus, RxSideFx® was born.
Dr. Megan pursued this mission with passion, finding high-quality information to create supplements intended to relieve side effects without worsening the disease itself.
Dr. Megan’s Background and Mission
Before her pharmacy career, side effects were that incomprehensible babble recited at the speed of an auctioneer at the end of a TV drug commercial. Then when she started working in the family pharmacy, side effects were long medical terms listed on every patient’s printout that she folded and stuffed into a bag with the pill bottle.
When she was in pharmacy school to receive her Doctor of Pharmacy degree, side effects were simply what she memorized on the back side of flash cards to pass multiple choice tests. As a practicing pharmacist, side effects included a part of her warning to patients starting a new prescription. While doing Medication Therapy Management (MTM), which is a telephonic consultation for Medicare patients taking many prescription medications, side effects were a part of the puzzle in helping solve medication therapy problems and optimize patient’s medication therapy. Dr. Megan hired and taught dozens of pharmacists at a Fortune 500 Medicare company how to help solve side effect problems through MTM for patients with special needs. When she studied to become a Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist, side effects were one of the factors to consider in a complicated patient case.
Now as a patient, side effects are real, in 3-D, affecting all five senses and every part of her life .
Throughout her healthcare journey as a pharmacist and patient, side effects have gained dimensions, from 1-dimension as a student to now all dimensions as a patient. She has dedicated her career to striving to help people like herself combat side effects naturally. When she isn’t fighting the endless war against side effects, you can find Megan riding her bike with kids in tow.
Are you worried about prednisone depleting your nutrients, too?
Help me!
