Participants: James Marcum & Charles Mills
Series Code: UP
Program Code: UP00042B
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00:01 We're talking about medicines today
00:02 with Dr. James Marcum, I'm Charles Mills 00:04 Dr. Marcum has written a book, "Medicines That Kill" 00:06 about this subject and Dr. Marcum, 00:10 IS there a more efficient way that medicines can be used? 00:14 Are we using them inefficiently? 00:16 In other words... What do we need to know about the 00:18 medicines we're dumping down our throats? 00:19 I think we've already demonstrated 00:22 that we might be taking too many medications. 00:24 But also, the ones that we're using, 00:27 we're not using as efficiently... 00:29 And this is a big deal as we're talking about this current age 00:32 about the Affordable Care Act and ways to maximize 00:36 our healthcare dollars and they've estimated in this 00:40 Mayo Clinic article that was reported by CBS Atlanta, 00:44 reported that the savings if they use medications 00:48 that were given correctly, would pay for 24 million 00:51 Americans' insurance a year... 24 million! 00:55 So, not only do we need to try to get people OFF medications, 00:59 but those that we are using, we have to use much wiser. 01:03 They identified 5 things in their articles... 01:06 1. Patients not taking medications correctly or at all. 01:11 So if you're supposed to do it and you're not even doing it 01:13 correctly, why even bother. Waste of money! 01:15 It's going to cost more healthcare costs 01:17 because you might really need it for something. 01:20 2. Antibiotics prescribed inappropriately. 01:23 A lot of antibiotics are now written for 01:26 upper respiratory infections that are really viruses. 01:30 So that's another inappropriate use of medications. 01:33 3. Medication errors at every level - from doctors 01:37 to pharmacists, to hospitals... 01:39 Those mistakes raise the healthcare cost. 01:42 4. Not using generic medications. 01:45 That raises the cost if you can use it. 01:48 5. Making medications - too many of them making them 01:51 confusing, especially for the elderly. 01:53 So all of these things are just with the medicines 01:56 being written, these are things that they've identified 01:58 that if it were done better, 24 million Americans 02:02 could have more insurance. 02:03 So if you take THAT number and if all the different people 02:06 we might be able to get OFF the medications, 02:09 we could save a lot of money! 02:11 Not to mention, unfortunately medicines do have risks... 02:16 And Charles, every person that comes into my office, 02:19 I have it detailed - you know, what's the benefit 02:21 of the medicines, what are the risks, 02:24 what are the alternatives if we don't take it, 02:26 and then, is there anything naturally that's biblically 02:30 based that I can give them to maybe help them not 02:33 need that medication. 02:35 I'm just curious, Dr. Marcum, when you give them those choices 02:39 I know what you want them to say.. what is the ratio, 02:44 what does the average person do under those circumstances? 02:48 And a lot of times, the mindset of the community, 02:52 and the marketing is so strong out there. 02:56 You're competing with Madison Avenue here... 02:57 Yes I am, and I just give them the facts, 03:02 and I just give them the evidence, 03:04 and I say, "Listen, I know you're going to make your 03:06 decision and I'm going to be here to help take care of you 03:08 the best way that I can. 03:10 But, you know, if you want to maybe feel better, 03:13 here are some things you might consider doing. 03:15 Now sometimes when I go down this route, the people say, 03:18 "No, I just don't want to do it, I'm just going to go to someone 03:20 that will give me whatever I want whenever I want" 03:23 Because it's EASY! Yeah 03:24 But sometimes EASY is not the best, 03:27 and I used to have a problem and sometimes I will say, 03:30 "Listen, I love you enough to tell you the truth" 03:33 I love you enough to mention the cigarettes. 03:36 I love you enough to mention the medications. 03:39 I love you enough to mention 03:41 these mental health issues that I see here. 03:43 And at least I feel like I'm trying to reach out to them 03:47 and I pray for them... I think if you do it lovingly, 03:50 and not judgingly, that's the best way, 03:52 and realizing that you don't have to do 03:54 everything at once either. 03:55 Sometimes it's just little bitty steps and someone says, 03:58 "Well let me think about that" 04:00 That might be where it starts! That's good... Yeah! 04:02 That's actually a good message for us in the health field 04:05 when we want to help people. 04:06 Don't give them the whole boatload, 04:09 give them a little parcel here. 04:10 If you make THIS change, if you do this idea, 04:12 if you change your diet here... 04:14 A little bit of a time, they'd be more apt to do it. 04:16 And one of the things that has helped us in helping 04:19 people understanding the risk of medications and realizing 04:22 that 70% of people taking medicines 04:24 really is a failing grade. Yes 04:26 One of the things that has really helped is the internet 04:30 ...people have more ways of getting knowledge. 04:32 Before, it was always just - establishment said the way it is 04:36 ...this is the way it is; no, I said to do it, 04:37 so you have to do it. 04:39 Now, people are realizing there are different sets if truth. 04:42 And there are different sets of healers, 04:43 and I really encourage people out there to find a healer 04:46 or someone that works with you, 04:48 that you're able to bond with and develop a relationship... 04:52 Because a healing relationship is more than about medicines; 04:55 it's about lifestyle, it's about your spirituality, 04:59 it's about many things that all come together, 05:02 and I think that's so important in medications... 05:04 And I think if people try to look at the holistic model, 05:08 then we would maybe not need as many medicines 05:11 if we can look at the big picture sometimes. 05:13 All right... well as I mentioned before the break, 05:15 we have heartwiseministries. org 05:17 website where we gather questions from our viewers 05:20 and if you have sent us a question, wonderful, 05:22 this may be the one that you sent in. 05:24 Here's a question for you on this topic... 05:27 "Is it possible to come OFF of sleeping pills?" 05:31 This person says, "I have been on them for 5 YEARS" 05:34 Now should we assume if someone has been on something 05:36 for 5 years, that they're addicted to it? 05:37 Well, there are certain medications, 05:39 sleeping pills are certain ones that ARE addictive, 05:42 and there are some that are not as addictive, 05:44 but if you think about it, all of the sleeping pills 05:47 regardless of ones that are weak and strong, 05:49 don't really fix the problem. 05:51 So I would say, "Yes, it is possible to be off 05:54 of the medications and what can we do things 05:57 to find out WHY you're not sleeping, 05:59 and what are some things that we can do to aid your sleep 06:02 naturally. 06:03 A lot of people don't realize it, but there are the chemicals 06:06 in fruits like bananas contain L-tryptophan, 06:09 things that help you sleep - the chemical that helps you do that. 06:13 They metabolize into different sleep aids like melatonin 06:16 that your body naturally makes. 06:17 A lot of people don't realize, that learning how to 06:19 breathe deeply, helps relax your body so you can go to sleep 06:23 I want you to try something, Charles. All right 06:25 I don't want you to go to sleep, but just try this... 06:28 Just to prove that we can change our chemistry 06:30 in other ways than pills. 06:31 Take a deep breath - hold it, one-thousand-one, 06:35 one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three, 06:38 then blow it out as slow as you can, 06:39 all the way out, all the way out, all the way out... 06:41 Okay, and I want everyone else to do this too. 06:43 Take a deep breath, Charles, in through your nose, 06:45 hold it - one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, 06:49 one-thousand-three, okay 06:52 Now, as people are breathing that way, 06:55 the body does start to relax. 06:57 I feel relaxing going on here. Yes 06:58 You turn on the parasympathetic nervous system, 07:01 the opposite of the stress and you start to relax. 07:05 Those are some things that people might be able to do 07:07 in the evening, as well as cutting back stimulation. 07:11 One of the worse things for people sleeping at night 07:13 has been television. 07:16 But, yes, the answer to this question... 07:17 It is possible to work with your doctor 07:19 to possibly be off these sleeping medications if possible 07:22 So the answer to that one is "yes" 07:24 Okay, if the doctor says what you say... 07:28 Not all doctors will do that and they'll say, 07:30 "Well you need a sleeping pill because you can't sleep so"... 07:32 Well then, at that time, you'd have a question either 07:34 to continue with that doctor or work with some other ones. 07:37 This is an important point we need to really spend 07:39 just a moment on it because what you hear 07:42 on this program - this is from a doctor 07:43 and he is telling you these things. 07:45 If he's telling you something that your doctor is not saying, 07:47 how do they decide whether you're right 07:49 or their doctor is right? 07:50 Well.. and I'm saying, not everything that I... 07:52 You know, I just do the best I can based on 07:55 the evidence that I have. 07:57 So I say - Let's look at the evidence! 07:59 But you're also using another model 08:01 that most doctors don't use. Yes, I use the biblical 08:03 framework to guide my recommendations, 08:07 and whether it comes from nutrition, the way we think, 08:12 the way we treat each other, 08:14 the way we use modern medicine, 08:15 the way we use nutrition. 08:16 I try to incorporate a biblical perspective to that. 08:20 Some other doctors are doing that, some others are not, 08:23 and each person has to figure out where they're at 08:26 in their life, what works best for them. 08:29 This approach might not work best for other people 08:32 or it might work and as you pray and ask God to lead you, 08:35 hopefully, you know, He'll take you where you need to go 08:39 at the time you need to go there. 08:40 And you are absolutely right, there must be ways of 08:43 doing this because there are countries 08:45 where they don't have a sleeping problem. 08:46 There are countries where they don't have a capitalism problem. 08:48 We have to think about these things and we have to admit 08:52 that they're problems. Yes, absolutely 08:53 Okay another question from heartwiseministries. org 08:56 "Are there any risks from taking acid-blocking medications 08:59 for a long time?" This is a big one... 09:00 Yeah, a lot of people are taking medicines that block acid. 09:04 They're making a lot of acid inside of them - 09:06 whether because they eat big at night or they get 09:08 stressed out or whatever... 09:10 They make a lot of hydrochloric acid; 09:12 sometimes it bubbles up and gets in the esophagus; 09:15 they can't swallow; it's very painful when 09:17 you lay down at night. 09:20 Sometimes if you take that long-term, 09:22 it changes the pH in your stomach. 09:26 Hydrochloric acid is made of 09:27 hydrogen ions and hydrochloric acid. 09:29 When you change that, sometimes these pills, 09:31 long time, changes the pH of the body and you actually 09:35 take calcium to balance things out from the bones... 09:39 So you can actually, long-term, you can make your bones a 09:41 little bit weaker by pulling calcium out. 09:44 There are also other dangers of being on it long-term. 09:47 You might mask a real pain that you need to know. 09:49 This is true... And it might mask a hidden 09:51 stomach cancer or an infection like H-pylori in the stomach. 09:55 So there are some real risks for this... 09:58 People can sometimes be off of those if they can change 10:01 the reason why they need them in the first place, 10:03 and it can be as simple as cut back the caffeine, 10:05 not eating big at night, eating smaller meals. 10:08 All right, here's a big one here from heartwiseministries. org 10:11 "I take Coumadin for atrial fibrillation, 10:13 are there any alternatives?" 10:15 That is probably the most common question I get 10:18 every day. 10:19 It's all about risks and benefits, 10:21 but alternatives - atrial fibrillation, heart valves 10:26 that are metal, clots in the legs, 10:29 those all need strong blood thinners because with that 10:32 it would cause major issues. 10:35 Coumadin is one that's been out there for years. 10:39 There are risks and benefits to that. 10:40 There are new ones out there called "Xarelto," 10:43 another one is "Pradaxa" 10:44 These have all been studied and been proven to be effective. 10:47 There are other ways to thin out the blood 10:49 that have NOT been proven - one is called "Nattokinase" 10:55 Some people know that drinking adequate water, omega 3, 6 and 9 10:59 but these have not been studied specifically like the Coumadin, 11:02 Pradaxa and Xarelto. 11:04 So you really have to talk to your physician about 11:06 what is best for you in each given situation, 11:10 but the stroke risk that comes from this rhythm called 11:14 atrial fibrillation really scares me... 11:16 And I would almost rather take the risk of a medicine 11:19 that I don't want to take, necessarily, 11:21 than to have a risk of stroke 11:23 because that devastates you forever. 11:25 That's an important thing because you really need to 11:28 see the benefits and the dangers and decide, 11:31 and you want to live and you want to 11:33 live a long time and healthy life. 11:34 So you make those decisions based on that too. 11:37 We will take a short break and when we come back 11:39 Dr. Marcum is going to take us to the Master Physician 11:42 for some advice from heaven, stay tuned... 11:58 I hope you've learned a little bit about medications today; 12:02 70% is indeed a failing grade. 12:06 Two things - #1- If you're on medications, 12:09 pay attention, learn about it. 12:11 #2- You might be able to come off a prescription medication 12:15 working with your doctor. 12:17 So these are 2 things to keep in mind. 12:19 I want to invite you to go to our website that's 12:21 heartwiseministries. org 12:24 where you can leave your specific questions for me 12:27 as well as read our interesting blogs. 12:30 And we want to say a prayer for everyone right now 12:33 that God will continue to work in everyone's health. 12:36 Let's just bow our heads together... 12:37 Father God... We want to thank You for being a God that 12:42 loves us, that takes interest in every aspect of our life 12:46 including the medications we take Father, 12:48 and please help us to learn more so that we can serve You better. 12:52 And we so look for the time in heaven when we don't have to 12:55 take these medications and pills and all these treatments anymore 12:58 This is our humble prayer. Amen 13:01 WOW - I'm so glad you joined us to this day. 13:04 We learn something each week on "Ultimate Prescription" 13:08 What I've been doing is, I've been going to the 13:11 newspapers and journals all around the country 13:14 seeing what they have say. 13:16 I'm bringing it back to us; we're learning at it, 13:18 but we're looking at it through a little bit different lens. 13:21 That's the lens of the "Ultimate Prescription"... 13:24 the biblical techniques that help separate us apart; 13:27 the way we can learn to change our chemistry, 13:30 but more important than that, 13:31 develop a RELATIONSHIP with the Ultimate Physician; 13:35 the Physician that will come and be with you 13:37 no matter how many appointments you have and NEVER 13:40 charge you a bill. 13:41 STAY with us - next time we're going to be back on the 13:44 "Ultimate Prescription" |
Revised 2014-12-17