6 years Drug Free
This weekend I celebrate another year of being completely medication FREE.
From August 2007 to April 2016, I was on a daily injection of copaxone. This is one of the disease modifying treatments, designed to prevent relapses in patients living with MS.
Around about 2012, five years into my health challenge, I started to wonder if I would ever be in a position where I would be completely drug free.
This is a really interesting topic, as most people I’ve ever met, who take daily medication, would probably admit, they would love to see the day when they are also drug free.
From I was a young lad, I’ve always been quite an inquisitive person, always asking questions, challenging people on a range of matters.
I’ve remained this way ever since, and it’s served me very well to date, particularly in my entrepreneurial journey.
In terms of the drugs I was taking, for years I would ask my neurologist and medical team, on each visit, if they felt there might be a day, when I wouldn’t have to take drugs?
On every occasion I raised this topic, every one of my medical team said that it was pretty much, highly unlikely, too risky, and that I would be injecting copaxone for life 😔
This is one of the main reasons why each April, I celebrate another year drug free 🤳
There is much to admire and like about medicine, particularly the wonderful group of people who give their lives to look after us.
However this journey through chronic disease, has also been quite an eye opener, in terms of the dark side to the medical world.
What is abundantly clear to me now, is that the relationship between the drug manufacturers and the stakeholders in healthcare, ie doctors, clinicians, consultants, hospitals, charity organisations etc .. is much to close for comfort, and unfortunately this has resulted in conflicts of interest, pretty much everywhere, at times, (and certainly I feel in my own case), to the patient’s expense.
It’s important to point out, the drug market is a billion dollar industry, and the more people get sick, the more drugs get administered, the more profit goes on the drug company's bottom line.
When I was dx with MS in 2007, I was subsequently instructed to get on and stay on a treatment for 15 years, injecting every single day.
Where I to follow this advice, that could mean I would be injecting this drug, into my body for over 50 years, if I was lucky enough to be around to 78+.
Whenever I was thinking in these terms, I could never accept what my medical team were saying to me, and I often found it incredibly overwhelming and quite sad actually.
The other really interesting point in all of this, apart from the fact, living drug free, means my health is good, I could end up saving the tax payer up to £1,000,000, if we take the cost of the treatment at £20,000 per annum.
Now that is quite the saving, and certainly lifts a fair burden from the taxpayer ✔️
Easter 2022 - Portugal
Anyhow, the good news is that after four years of studing nutrition, reading data, clinical trials, reading lots of books, speaking to people I admire, people who have expertise in this area, and finally, finding people who were doing really well with a similar approach to managing disease, I decided to have my last injection in April 2016, and the rest is history, as they say 👊
3 things I learned 📍
The three stand out things (there were many) I’ve taken from my transition to a lifestyle approach to managing disease, and focusing on promoting a healing journey within your own body, would be as follows;
Research is key. Keep reading, keep asking questions, do your own homework and decide what's best for you. There is an incredible amount of data and research now available on this subject matter.
Find people who have went med free and study them. They leave lots of clues, and often their journey is very similar to yours. These people have always given me an incredible amount of hope, as to what could be possible.
The body is always looking to heal, and your job is to facilitate this. We do this through changes in our environment and our own behaviour. This will be the best investment you will ever make.
Thankfully for me, I have had a new lease of life over the last few years.
My bad days are few and far between, and my zest for life, the old me, has finally returned.
I have to qualify this by admitting that it was not always like this.
For people who have read my books and followed my recovery over the last number of years, you will know that I went through five very tough years (2006 - 2011), at the beginning of this journey. Years where I was lost, in pain, isolated myself, had lots of problems going on in my body, my mental health was poor, with many physical symptoms at play. A really dark and challenging time for me.
The reason I post on social media, write books, and share my experience now, is that I don’t want others to waste their time on being down on themselves.
I now know, if you truly want to change your life, improve your health, and realise optimum healing within your own body, every single ounch of your energy is required to facilitate this long, but incredibly rewarding journey.
So as I look forward to starting another 12 months free from medication, I will take some time out this weekend to reflect on the last number of years, be thankful for the positive change that has happened in my life, recharge my batteries, and re-focus on the year ahead.
Final thing…. If I can do this, you can too.
Keep the faith 🙏
CD ☘️