Medication & Life Threatening Disease

[smiley]

Hi Everyone! :D

I was curious how long it has been since you have taken an over the counter or prescribed medicine.

The last time I took a pill was 8 years ago. I made the decision to stop taking pills before I made the leap from SAD to raw. No, I didn't transition, I did an overnight change a little over 5 years ago.

During the past 8 years, I have had headaches, backaches, very painful menstruation, and other aches and pains. I even had some physical injuries: kicked in the head, and had a fire extinguisher hit my head pretty hard.

I have learned to work through the pain without any OTC or prescribed medicine.

I have to tell you, about 3 years ago, I was diagnosed by 2 separate doctors to have a life threatening skin disease. They told me that I had flesh eating bacteria on my skin. Believe me, this was very painful, and caused me many sleepless nights. By the time I visited the doctors, my skin was in very poor condition. Both doctor's prescribed me a very strong dose of antibiotics which I was to take 3 times a day. I never took a single pill. Instead, I fasted and rested. As you can tell, I am now healed and doing very well...no OTC or prescribed medicine needed.

I feel like I'm taking a survey. How long has it been since you took an over the counter or prescribed medication? Thank You! :cool:

[Dimond]

It's been so long, I can't remember-2001 or 2 I think. I find natural remedies work so much better, though I don't get normal illnesses anymore.

[Revvell]

Ummmm, 1977? Stopped going to doctors in 1980 when I stopped taking bc pills. Done with doctors and drugs.

Revvell (http://LetsTalkRaw.com)

[smiley]

Isn't it wonderful that we can go so long without a single over the counter drug or prescribed medicine and be so well and healthy?

Before I stopped taking medicines, I would easily take a pill for a headache, etc. Now, I don't even take alternative natural pills...I believe in my body more than anything.

I hope that many of us raw foodists are working toward eliminating pills from our diet.

[freshlight]

I hope that many of us raw foodists are working toward eliminating pills from our diet.

absolutely! enjoy the freedom :)

[lore-ah]

I'm really struggling with this. I am bipolar. Without my meds, my actions are very scary to others and myself. I have come close to really hurting myself and others in my wake. I can't just stop taking them without serious consequences. Of course I don't want to be on them, but I never want to be the person I was. It's something I'm talking to my doctors about who luckily are very understanding

[Dimond]

Lore-ah, I think mental illness is serious enough that sometimes you just can't get off the meds. There are tons of natural methods, but it usually would require stopping them so you can determine it's working. If you found something that works, which can be very tough, it may not be worth the risk. I hope you can someday or else they continue to always work for you without unhealthy side affects.

[deberaw]

I agree with Diamond, Lore-ah.... don't second guess...follow your instinct and what works for you.....I think medicines...Eastern, Western, ancient, modern...all have their time and place.......certainly over use of say antibiotics etc. are not healthy and there are success and tragic stories with medicine all thru History....I recently had surgery and the doctor usually prescribes Vicoden...which I denied and took a lesser pain med for just a few days....he was surprised...I wasn't...I knew what would work for me........I also had a severe cat bite {was trying to move our scared cat to a different part of the basement during a tornado warning in the Fall.....new dog got too excited at my feet...cat got squirmy..I held on until she bit my hand...so hard I dropped her...on the dog...who bit her a** and they tangled...oh my...guess I still needed to process...!}...anyways...I landed in the hospital with a red hot painful infection snaking up my arm and was on i.v. antibotics for 24 hrs...I am very thankful...especially when I found out how serious cat bites can be! Raw can only help us with our health...it makes our immune systems stronger...here's to Raw!

[jurence]

I don't know if RAW will help you and your fire hydrant problem, but your other ones sound fixable.

[rawstrength]

I'm trying to be pill-free but I believe they have their time and place. I had an atrocious case of poison ivy on my face a few months ago, and I'm so grateful that I could take steroids and be done with the poison ivy in a few days as opposed to a few weeks.

[choleblack]

I'm really struggling with this. I am bipolar. Without my meds, my actions are very scary to others and myself. I have come close to really hurting myself and others in my wake. I can't just stop taking them without serious consequences. Of course I don't want to be on them, but I never want to be the person I was. It's something I'm talking to my doctors about who luckily are very understanding

((Lore-ah)) Do not ever, ever feel bad about doing what you have to do to keep yourself & those around you safe & healthy! While it is a wonderful thing that others can go completely without medication, there are times when medications are a saving grace.

I struggled for years to stay medication free because I was taught that taking anything that wasn't natural for my manic-depression, social anxiety or GAD was a "failure". As a consequence, I lost huge portions of my life to an uncontrolled cycle of emotional disturbance. In 20 years I have tried every single natural remedy, from herbs, diet, life style changes, meditation, yoga, reiki, therapy of every shape & size, you name it, I tried it. You know what, none of it was worth the time I lost, none of it was worth the suicide attempts or the turmoil that I put myself & my loved ones through. My heart breaks just thinking about how bad things used to be :(

Ultimately, I had to ask myself, what's worse, my life being a constant hellish struggle or taking a stupid pill every morning? Do I like being tied to this bottle, gods no. But I am working on accepting that this is who I am & this is what I personally need to be the best *me* I can be. I hope you can find some of the same peace in your choice as well.

Congrats to everyone who's been able to heal though raw foods alone :D

Chole

[smiley]

from jurence: I don't know if RAW will help you and your fire hydrant problem, but your other ones sound fixable.

Jurence: The fire hydrant was a single incident. I bent over and as I was rising, I hit the top of my head on a fire hydrant. It was very painful. I was alone, fell to the floor and came to alone in a lot of pain. I didn't take a single alternative pill, OTC or prescribed medicine. I fasted and rested and was better soon. :)

I didn't mention it but as a child, teenager, and young adult, I suffered with major depression, suicidal tendencies, borderline personality disorder and manic/depressive. When I made the decision to stop taking any pills at all, my mental issues became much worse. I even almost died due to suicide had I not been caught and taken care of. I still refused all medicine. Very, very, very slowly, my mental issues have gotten better. It was a tough decision for me but I decided to believe in the strength of my body over all else. As I mention, it was a tough decision for me and not for everyone. We are all unique.

With psych medicine, you do NOT want to go off cold turkey. You definately want to wean off the medicine. I have had bad results going off the meds cold turkey and I wouldn't recommend that to anyone.

I believe that raw food allows your body to have the extra energy to balance and heal itself. I believe that raw food is not the end all be all...there are other healthy habits that should be followed too. :D