Lessons from Life

Most of that stuff is intended only to get your money.

A multivitamin is good, but the rest...

Originally posted by Moontan01:

Most of that stuff is intended only to get your money.

A multivitamin is good, but the rest...

Too true, although even a multivitamin is unnecessary if you eat a properly balanced diet.

Yes, I can imagine the amounts of money!

"...although even a multivitamin is unnecessary if you eat a properly balanced diet."

That's true. I don't always, so I hedge my bets.

Yo, Mama Star; you pill-popping hottie!

Actually, it is true that if you live way up North (like some of us poor bastards actually do) it is recommendable to take extra vitamine D during winter. Some months only have two, three hours of sunlight a day.

Otherwise, it's not necessary to take extras.

Yeah, I'm quite sceptical of food supplements unless there is a clear medical need for them. Some of the research behind their supposed benefits is really dodgy.

Have a nice weekend!

I still will take a multivitamin. And in the winter, extra vitamin D. Doesn't cost much. Not always sure how fresh our vegees are here in the winter.

But...good for you, and you've lost 5 pounds. Go figure. (no pun intended)

I was talking to a friend who stopped taking them too. She said her doctor told her that those things should be taken with some caution because combination of different minerals, for instance, could make chaos sometimes. Always ask doctor before taking them. It could protect your health and your wallet

I've been recently on several supplements that have made a world of difference for me... each time I go off I experience the negative again... glad you are finding good things going off- or neutral- for me a little weight loss would be welcomed!

That's just awesome, Star! Congrats with the weight loss too!

Ah, That is what Dirk always says that any supplements are useless. As long as we consume regularly fruit, vegetables and beans and not to much meat, we have enough vitamins for our body.

So Star, You can start saving more thay!...

But don't forget those cans of spinach. Gotta have those.

http://my.opera.com/edwardpiercy/homes/files/Popeye-Spinach.jpg -

I'm still taking the dodgy supplements. Because of personal issues with high cholesterol, I'm taking fish oil and because of a family history of colon cancer the fish oil is heavily laced with vitamin D. And I'm taking glucosamine for my arthritic joints which I've convinced myself has made a world of difference.

As to those five pounds you've lost? I think they found their way to my midriff.

Originally posted by Stardancer:

I was able to mow my entire yard, and even do all the weed-eating and cleaning my porch, sidewalks and driveway of the cuttings.

Hey, you do housecalls?

Yes, ma'am.

Originally posted by Stardancer:

I like oatmeal, too.

Or you could start out your day by eating most of the marshmallow thingies in your Lucky Charms.

Originally posted by debplatt:

I'm taking fish oil and because of a family history of colon cancer the fish oil is heavily laced with vitamin D.

have you learned about D3? for seasonal disorders... I wonder how much fish oil has of this kind of D vitamin...

Oatmeal actually is good for you.

Star, I, too, took herbs and other supplements for years. Finally had to quit because I was taking so many, it got too expensive. The thing about taking herbs is to consult with an herbalist. They know what to take and with what. Otherwise, if you don't have any knowledge of the way these things interact, you can do yourself a lot of damage. However, the same thing goes for prescription medications. If you don't have a doctor who keeps track of all your medications, you can easily damage yourself, or even die, from bad interaction between prescription drugs.

So, the thing is----education. Know what you are taking, with what, and why. I ended up spending more on herbs and supplements than I did on prescription drugs. The doctors won't admit the efficacy of herbs because they don't get a cut from the herb producers the way they do from pharmaceutical companies. They want that money.

Originally posted by studio41:

have you learned about D3? for seasonal disorders... I wonder how much fish oil has of this kind of D vitamin...

Hi Jill! The fish oil capsules I'm taking has had D3 added to it, 1000IU per soft gel capsule.

I just found out a new fish oil capsule that I am going to try. The ones I was taking were about an inch long----huge soft gels. I had a hard time swallowing them. These are called Bioglan Super Fish Oil. Are supposed to be small and not have the fishy taste the others sometimes leave behind. I'm going to give them a try because I need to lower my cholesterol and other than with diet, omega 3 fatty acid is about my only option since I can't take the cholesterol-lowering prescription medications.

@Star: Knowing that it cost just a few cents to produce a pill, and then they turn around and charge the consumer sometimes hundreds of dollars per perscription makes me so mad I see red.

Today, I got a prescription from my radiation oncologist for a non-generic special cream that is supposed to help lessen radiation dermatitis and ease the burn pain. My insurance company wouldn't pay for it. I had to pay $47 for a tube of this special cream. Crap!

Originally posted by L2D2:

I had to pay $47 for a tube of this special cream.

That stinks!

I take a number of supplements. I'd be happy if all of them were about half their size. Oh well, I still manage. Since I quit taking statins, too, I feel that taking the fish oil is the least I can do.

Jill, D3 treats SAD? I suffer from that. I hate winter and late fall, largely because of the SAD factor---longer hours of dark than daylight. The coral calcium I take has D3 and Magnesium added, so I get my D3 that way now. Used to take the D3 pills alone.

Deb, did you quit taking the statins because of their side effects? I know they cause me to have terrible muscle spasms/charlie horses in my arms and legs. Couldn't sleep for the charlie horses all the time I took them. Tried 3 different prescription meds. They all did the same thing. Dr. told me that if I couldn't take those three different types, I couldn't take any of them, so my high cholesterol is still with me

I did stop due to the side effects. In my case they were really sneaky side effects. While being relatively sedentary, I wasn't bothered at all. But I am making an effort to be a little active anyway. So when Bob and I would decide to go on a bike ride, I would find that I felt my legs would ache something horrible and I would feel exhausted within 5 minutes or so of riding which was kind of ridiculous. So I felt like if I stopped taking the statins I would have the heart healthy benefits of exercising, or I could keep taking them but then the exercising was miserable.

Originally posted by debplatt:

The fish oil capsules I'm taking has had D3

are you sensing a difference for the better?

I really haven't been taking them long enough to tell, Jill. I have felt better the last couple days, but that might just be a result of the passed time since the last chemo. With all the meds I HAVE to take, and the treatments, I don't really know what causes what. At one period while I was in the hospital and for some time after I got out, I was taking 20 or more prescription meds as well as some OTC pills the doctor wanted me to take, such as iron tablets because my red blood count tends to be lower than it should be.

must be confusing to keep it all together!

Star, I've recently (two months ago) stopped taking everything I'd been taking too. Had been taking 2 glucosamine chondroitin, 1 multi vitamin, 1 fish oil, one statin and 2 Aleve. The Aleve would be changed out every other day with 2 aspirin. Something had been upsetting my stomach off and on for several weeks, like every three or four days. I thought, this is ridiculous, and figured it had to be whatever I was taking. The first few weeks, I tried just eliminating one thing to see if that was it. Still had the stomach problem so got rid of them all.

We were talking about statins somewhere else and the biggest reason I stopped taking them were the side effects and the fact that my doctor upped the mgs back to 40mg. I was getting leg pains with the 40, and not so much with 20mg. Stopped taking them altogether in April and everything else in July.

My cholesterol was down so I really didn't understand why she upped the milligrams. Should have asked more questions but only found out when I picked up the new prescription at the pharmacy. Have not been back to the doctor since....hmmmm....March. She wanted me to come back in May, then again in July for a blood lipid panel. $200 to 300 every two months? I'm still paying off the Jan and March bills! My insurance pays for nothing.