Something that Just Might Do the Trick for Lower Back Pain
Dollars and Cents
In addition to the fact that the old-fashioned remedies still work just as well now as they did when we were kids, one of the other reasons I like to steer clear of prescription drugs when I can is that a lot of them just don't do enough to justify their high price tags. The most recent example is the bone-building drug Fosamax.
A recent study showed that over five years, women taking it only had a very small decrease in risk of fractures. But Fosamax has a big price tag -- about $800 a year, which could add up to as much as $332,000 for a lifetime of treatment. That's much higher than accepted standards. And certainly not worth it when you consider that you can get better results just by going for a walk for half an hour a day a few times a week.
But the high price of prescription drugs doesn't just affect your bank account. I've seen all too many people taking statin drugs get hit with a cost no one told them about. Luckily, it's easily correctable. Keep reading...
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CoQ10 Eases Statin Side Effects
I try not to put my patients on statins if I can help it. I've found that there are safer, more effective ways to lower cholesterol levels. (For more info on what they are, subscribers to America's Country Doctor can visit www.AmericasCountryDoctor.com and download the premier issue, which featured the article "The bottom line for staying ahead of heart disease.") But sometimes statins are a necessary evil. And in those cases, I always work extra-closely with my patients to avoid as many of the side effects as possible.
One of the most common side effects is muscle weakness and pain. This happens because statins mess up your body's production of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which all of the cells in your body rely on for energy. But the answer is simple as taking more CoQ10 in supplement form to replace what the statins are taking away. I recommend 100 mg per day for all my patients taking statins.
But give it up to four weeks to really make a noticeable difference, since it takes the CoQ10 that long to be fully absorbed by your body. If you stick with it, though, it'll save you a lot of headaches.
And speaking of headaches, that reminds me -- one of my regular patients came to see me earlier this week after having a few migraine attacks during the month. Now, if you've ever had a migraine, you'd probably do anything to avoid getting another one. This poor girl was in the same boat. But the drugs she'd tried in the past didn't help. In fact, they stuck her with side effects almost as bad as the headache itself -- like overwhelming fatigue and nausea. But I told her about one of the remedies I've been recommending for years, and she called me this morning to say it did the trick, without any added complications. I'll tell you more about it below...
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Butterbur Prevents Migraines
Butterbur has been a traditional herbal migraine treatment for quite some time and one of its biggest claims to fame is that it's supposed to actually prevent migraine attacks from coming on in the first place. Now research backs that up.
For folks like the patient I told you about above who get struck with an average of three migraines each month, a 75 mg daily dose of butterbur reduced the frequency by 45 percent on average, with about 1/5 of the test patients enjoying a 50 percent reduction. Plus, the only side effect they reported was some mild gastrointestinal upset...mostly a lot of burping.
The specific preparation used in this study is called Petadolex (and its maker footed the bill for the research). The results were comparable to the usual prescription drug treatments, but much better for side effects. You can get Petadolex in most health food stores and from quite a few online sources if you like to shop via the Internet. Just visit google.com and type "Petadolex" into the search field.
Until next time,
Dr. Alan Inglis
House Calls
