There are many more than 5 reasons, but I think these will strike a chord with you. I haven’t always thought this way. I took numerous OTC and prescription medications (think of the pink stuff!) as a child and adolescent. I had chronic immune issues – mono, tonsillitis, strep numerous times, sprains and strains of both ankles and both knees, leg pain (now I know them to be caused by dehydration), body image issues (no, those OTC diet pills don’t work). The last time I had strep (probably my 10th time) was my 3rd trimester in chiropractic school and I gave up. I didn’t dig enough. I didn’t think my body could heal. I didn’t know my lifestyle was the cause of it. I didn’t look at other options and I did it. I had surgery to take my tonsils out. And oh my goodness, it was terrible.
With what I know now, that was a huge mistake. There is ALWAYS a reason for something that isn’t functioning correctly. The symptom is the side effect, but our job is to find the cause of the problem. We are in charge of our bodies. Health does not happen suddenly and either does sickness. We are living the way we are because of the choices we’ve made in the past. I now know that the choices I made were not well thought through but instead, emotionally driven. The past is the past. I can now help people who are at the edge of the cliff and feel like giving up.
So, back to my AHA moment and a defining ‘game changer’ in my life. I will never forget that day in chiropractic school where I was holding Gavin, my 2 week old, who went to school with me every day for over 6 weeks, and the instructor started talking about ‘drugs’. The conversation was getting confusing in my brain. I felt myself starting to scowl and I thought to myself, “DRUGS are bad! Drugs are like cocaine, meth, and prescription medications/drugs.” I SURELY didn’t think of them like antibiotics, Tylenol, Benadryl, nose sprays, sugar,
artificial sweeteners, etc. The instructor proceeded to teach that drugs are anything that we consume that synthetically alters your physiology. They are short term fixes that don’t address the cause of the problem. I am in no way giving medical advice, but sharing from my experience in the hopes that it will inspire someone else.
I am asked every day if I would take this pill, potion or lotion or what I would recommend for my family. How I take care of myself and my family is also what I recommend for my patients. Here are my TOP 5 REASONS THAT I DON’T TAKE PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS:
1. They make me believe that my body is not self-healing and self-regulating and I begin to trust in a little pill instead of the amazing machine that God has created. 2. They mask the symptoms and decrease the ‘voice’ that says something is wrong in my body 3. They weaken my immune system so that I get sick more often 4. I’ve seen first-hand what they can do to people’s life 5. Knowing that “Stress” is the #1 cause of chronic disease, I have chosen to address those stressors that create an imbalance in my life (poor food and drink choices, lack of exercise, stink’n think’n and not being connected to my purpose) instead of patching the symptoms.
I am proud to say that my husband, Craig, Callyn and Gavin (and of course our pets, too!) do not take prescription medications. Even better, neither do my parents and it is no accident. They eat well, think well, move well and get adjusted. How’s that for role models for everyone in their circle?
Do I feel they may be necessary at a point in someone’s life? Possibly. As a chiropractor living out my purpose to “Transform Lives”, my focus is to continue to improve the health and healing from the inside so that our bodies can truly do what God created them to do.
The choice is yours,
Dr. Tiffany
