January 2004

A pharmacist's perspective

by Dr. Madeline Behrendt

Each new year many people start off with goals to take better care of themselves. What to do ‑‑ go with the natural approach or try some of medicine's hot, new drugs?

This month we have an interview with Robert (Rob) Dunn, R.Ph., who has been working as a pharmacist for seven years, currently in a hospital environment and previously in retail, for his thoughts on the medical approach.

When Rob chose to become a pharmacist, his sincere hope was to help others. At that time he thought traditional medicine offered the best choice for overall health care. However, after only a few years as a pharmacist, his hope turned to disillusionment.

Rob was frustrated the medical system treats symptoms, not the underlying causes of poor health. He realized that health and wellness is a process, not a commodity that can be purchased in the same manner as an automobile tune‑up. Yet, traditional medicine is made up of complicated and expensive tune‑ups with little regard for how things got out of tune in the first place, or whether the purchased tune‑up will "solve" the real issue.

As he began to wake up to taking responsibility for his health and wellness, the contrast at work was even more striking.

I became clear to Rob that the actual practice of medicine delivers the (unspoken) message that, as a patient you are losing the ability to maintain homeostasis ‑‑ the ability to maintain healthy balance in one or more body systems. We won't concern ourselves with why you're losing this ability. We'll just accept the loss as normal and try to reverse the symptoms that result from it by giving you medicines. You may need to take these medicines for the rest of your life.

Rob's experience showed that in acute conditions drug therapy can serve the patient, but when it becomes a part of the packaged program that promotes the loss of homeostasis as normal and natural, it can dishonor the patient. He learned that allopathic medicine is not always the best approach for all health issues.

After Rob started receiving chiropractic care, his allergies went away. He no longer took an antihistamine/decongestant combination 1‑2 per day for most of the year. Before he experienced this for himself, he wouldn't have known it was possible.

This type of success story is not covered in the pharmacy school curriculum. And, information on chiropractic often doesn't appear in the media when a health topic is being covered. What information IS in the media today are drug ads.

How does a pharmacist view drug ads ‑‑ touted by drug companies as important because they educate the consumer? Rob is very clear: "The purpose of drug commercials is to provide an additional avenue to sell as much of the drug as possible. I do not regard drug commercials as a legitimate avenue for providing objective information."

Unfortunately, most consumers are not overly concerned with the potential for side effects from drugs as side effects are minimized in many ads. People usually become more concerned once a side effect happens to them personally or to a friend or family member.

Since Rob moves between the medical world for work, and the chiropractic lifestyle for his personal growth, I asked if he saw a difference in the clients. He observes that traditional medicine patients are mostly passive in allowing someone else to define health and illness for them, often being less conscious of and less willing to take responsibility for their health care.

There's an aspect of consumerism in traditional medicine and many patients feel they should just be able to purchase the expertise and medication that will make their problems disappear. In chiropractic, people take more responsibility for their own health. They are more awake. They are more conscious of the divine spark in all of us that's brought the complexity of the human body into being and continues to maintain it in balance and health.

Rob has decided to leave the pharmaceutical profession to become a chiropractor. He believes that we are living in a time when human consciousness is evolving at a rapid rate. For him, chiropractic care has been key to his own awakening, and he would like to share the gift of health and living consciously that chiropractic offers.

Finally, Rob shares these thoughts from a pharmacist's perspective: "The power of truth and belief is incredible. Be careful and aware of what you believe concerning your own health and wellness. Don't allow someone else to tell you that it is normal to slowly lose control of body systems and to compensate that loss by relying on medications for the rest of your life."

(Dr. Madeline Behrendt is chair of the WCA Council on Women's Health and associate editor of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation [JVSR]. An author and speaker, she is committed to connecting women to chiropractic and chiropractors to women, and may be contacted at drmadeline@drmadelinedc.com)