Pill Substitutes

Funny, it also comes from piers Anthony in Prostho Plus, as the misunderstood attempts at speech from a corroded electronic alien, who not one of his own kind can understand.
Prostho Plus: Piers Anthony: 9780812531169: Amazon.com: Books

 

One of the major problems in our present medical system is that it is based on profit and that distorts the system towards expensive solutions. A new highly advertised expensive drug does not have to be better or have less side effects than an old cheap drug or a natural solution, it just have to prove that it works. NPR had a comment on a study that showed for moderate arthritis pain, aspirin, diet and exercise was just as effective as prescription pain killers based on the opiates. No company selling pills is going to do that study over, nor is it going to fund more studies in that area, nor are most patients going to want a solution that takes time to work, requires a life style change, leaves you in pain for a period of time, will not be paid for by your medical insurer, and doesn't give you a legal "high".
If you have pain, a problem with digestion, problem sleeping etc, it often means that your system has a problem and is trying to get your attention. I have had migranes all my life, had all the pills and found that while they relieved the symptons, they left me drugged, confused, high as a kite, and nearly unable to function, work, or enjoy life. For me reducing the stress in my life, regular sleep cycles, avoiding certain foods, and tolerating a certain amount of pain has allowed me to switch to strong black coffee, aspirin, and lying down in a dark room when the systems appear and giving up on all the drugs. I have no idea what would work or not work for you. I am 78 and take no prescription medicines, my wife is 75 and takes 9 different pills each day. She has had a heart bypass, high blood pressure, eye problems, etc. It would seem to me that the best medical solution is to have picked the right grand parents as it looks like whatever problems your parents had, you may well experience. Natural medicine is very complex as both the patient and the solution are not standardized. You have to keep working on it and as stated, it is best to change one thing at a time, Diet, exercise, weight control, mental state, all seem to be important and somethings, cancer, infections, medical emergencies, require quick solutions that may require drugs etc, and can't be worked thru by simple changes. If you wish to live a long healthy life, you have to take care of the machine, and that requires giving up some pleasant things, in my case ice cream sundies every day, and do some unpleasant things, diet and exercise. TANSTAAFL as Heinlein put it.