I don't know if this is the proper place to have this discussion..but I was wondering what everyone's stance is on using natural remedies vs drugstore bought remedies(such as Buckley's, Sudafed, Anti-depressants, Etc) as a diabetic(and prone to having low immune systems apparently).
I have known a lot of people who don't have diabetes who only take drugstore remedies, for the slightest thing(not letting their body first try and fight it), and looking down on me for not wanting to take vaccinations(unless I were going to another country and needed to, of course) and looking for more natural ways to treat things(besides the fact most drugstore remedies make my levels super high with all the added sugar to make them taste good). I've been told by them, that as a diabetic, I should be taking medication for everything from the drugstore because the "natural way" doesn't work.
From your personal experience, which do you prefer? The natural way when possible if the body can't fight it? Drugstore remedies ftw? Or a mix of both, when one or the other is not available?
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My story:
I was never raised to believe in taking chemical remedies, such as coldfx or anti-depressants, or even taking the flu shot(despite my doctor offering it to me for free of course..I have not have one since my toddler years, before I was diagnosed and only had the flu maybe three times)..I didn't even get the shots in grade 6 and only got the Hep shot and Tetanus shot in grade 9 because the nurse called and talked my mom into it..despite her normally declining agreeing for me or my brother having any of the shots the school gave out.
(You can blame my mom living like a hippie, off the land, in a shack with 6 other people at the bottom of a farmer's property in Colorado when she was 14, and kicked out of the house, for her preferred natural treatment when possible..or her childhood on the navy base/the drugs she took as a teen that have made her a little more paranoid than I think she would be otherwise..either way..I think her views have been a blessing!)
Mind you, if it came down to anti-botics for an infection, while my mom was wary about the really strong ones and would ask the doc specific questions(that everyone should ask anyways..but generally "how will this effect her diabetes? Any side effects? Is there a less intense type she can take but for a longer period to make up for it, instead?") before filling it out, and also talked to our pharamicist as well...she always made me take the anti-botics right up to the last day of the prescription.
Advil is also allowed, but she still gets concerned if I take it too often(as a teen, I had horrible headaches..I would come home from school to sit in the dark due to not being able to focus on schoolwork..and would often sob until I fell asleep..at that time, I was generally popping 4-5 advils or tylenols at a time, almost daily but they weren't migraines and my mom rathered I missed class than took strong pills to make them go away - she hated me taking advil or tynleol so often and I usually did it without her knowing).
Generally speaking though, when it came to colds or flus or anything non-infection-wise..she kept me away from chemical over-the-counter drugs unless there was nothing natural that would help and leaving my body to deal with it on it's own was not working(generally what I do first). Instead of cold medicine from the drugstore, she'd give me herbal cough medicine from the health store. Instead of those throat candies from the drugstore, she'd give me natural throat candies from the health store that had no added ingredients(such as sugar) like the halls. Etc, etc.
Even when it came down to me going to our family doctor on my own one day at the age of barely 20, after never wanting to take anti-depressants(though I have fought depression most of my childhood/teen years) and never thinking I would..asked what I could do to feel better.
My doctor, though I think he's great, didn't really know what to do and assumed I wanted a drug to fix me. He prescriped me a very strong anti-depressant(after my mom looked into it, turned out to be banned for people my age in the UK because most of the kids ended up killing themselves..which he didn't know and thanked her for letting him know) and valium(because I didn't think I could stop drinking, but of course you can't with anti-depressants).
Instead, my mom went and found me an all-natural drug to help me. It's called HappySense and unlike the anti-depressant/valium, I could still drink, it wouldn't put me in a haze-state and it has no side effects. It's simply a 5-HTP pill. It takes two weeks to take full effect, but my moods got a lot better(best of all, it's super helpful with PMS and I didn't get as painful cramps!) and after taking it for three months, I stopped because I felt better..but I always keep a bottle around for those months that put a strain on me!
Recently, I've had a lot of trouble with my immune system not working..ever since I got sick in early Feb..I have not been able to get it back to my normal state, and have been plagued with cold after cold, even bronchitis!
While I have tried to let my body fight it, I have been to the doctor so many times to make sure it's not turning into an infection, my body just can't. Somedays it does, and I go even a week without feeling sick, but then it's bad.
Yesterday, when I was home sick with pinkeye(thanks to the vancouver skytrain!) for which I have prescribed drops for and a cold, my mom went out and bought me $100 worth of natural pills to help me(we would've done this sooner, but I was determined to let my body have time to try and fight it off, depsite my mom offering to look into them for me).
She got me a bottle of "Immuno-First" to help my immune
system go back to normal and give me energy, "Cold Defense" which is like ColdFX only it's
got a few extra natural ingredients, as well as a bottle of
Multivitamins to start when my cold is gone(though I normally don't take them, I'm going to start anyways).
I had bought an generic allergy drugstore remedy the pharamicist recommended(when I went to get the pinkeye prescription filled) for my runnynose, which resulted in me passing out in bed within an hour of taking the night before(was also not allowed to drive or do anything that I needed to be alert for..so not good for workdays)..since I had nothing natural in the house to take and was desperate for sleep..but I woke up feeling a thousand times worse, even though I had started off with a runny nose and just a bit of a headache the day before! Not normal for me when I'm sick. A good nights sleep, I usually feel the same or at least a tad bit better..not way worse.
After an hour of taking my third dose of the "Cold Defensive" and having taken the day's dose of "Immuno-First", I felt sooo much better. I didn't take the allergy remedy to help me sleep..because I didn't need to! I woke up with more energy than I have in weeks, and feeling almost 100% better! Besides still having a bit of the sniffles still..all my other symptoms are gone!
I think the reason my immune system is so high normally, even now as an adult and don't eat a regular diet as my lifestyle is too crazy, is because I force my body to try and fight whatever it is, before moving on to something natural or if I have to..something from the drugstore.