Evidence of Harm: Pharmaceuticals & Medical Scans
View top-line evidence at a glance. Select quick links to dig deeper.
Contents
Scroll down to review evidence of harm for each of these. Or select links in this list to go to articles covering only the individual subject.
Pharmaceuticals & diagnostics, generally + over-prescription
Acid blockers: PPIs, acid reflux, GERD, heartburn, GERD, gastric ulcer drugs
Psychiatric drugs: antidepressants, SSRIs, anti-anxiety, benzos, other psychotropics
Scans, radiology, & ultrasounds (e.g. mammograms, CT scans, X-rays)
After the drug summary, you’ll see Context, where you can see how this subject fits in the bigger picture, and get links to related topics.
#1 Pharmaceuticals & diagnostics, generally
“Prescription Drugs Are the Leading Cause of Death: And psychiatric drugs are the third leading cause of death” (2024) — “Overtreatment with drugs kills many people, and the death rate is increasing. It is therefore strange that we have allowed this long-lasting drug pandemic to continue, and even more so because most of the drug deaths are easily preventable.”
The Medical Establishment and Individual Doctors Have Taken No Responsibility for Prescribing Unimaginably Addictive Drugs, Instead Spouting Pharma Propaganda that Withdrawal Symptoms are Mild and Short-Lived — “Mark Horowitz, a Clinical Research Fellow in Psychiatry in the UK’s National Health Service… said doctors should not be prescribing antidepressants without warning patients about the difficulty of stopping the drugs. ‘You wouldn’t sell a car without brakes. I think the same should apply to antidepressants. The drugs should come with instructions on how to stop them safely.’ For decades, patients have been told that withdrawal symptoms are ‘mild and only last 2 to 3 weeks.’ But Horowitz said that’s not true for most people who’ve been taking the drugs long-term – and the longer you’re on them, the harder it is to stop.”
It’s Business as Usual to Put Children, with their Developing Brains and Bodies, on “Cocktails of Powerful Psychotropic Drugs” — “Rates of mental illness in children are rising rapidly, with psychotropic drugs being the conventional solution… Children in the U.S. often receive cocktails of powerful psychotropic drugs that have numerous side effects and health risks, with minimal evidence of benefit in many cases. The long-term effects of polypharmacy in children remain unclear. Some experts warn these drugs alter brain development when prescribed at young ages, causing lasting changes. Alternative therapies like occupational therapy and family-based interventions are encouraged. As parents, you must advocate for your children and consider nondrug approaches to address behavioral issues.”
“The Alarming Trend of Inappropriate Prescribing for the Elderly” — Study shows half of older patients on NSAIDs, opiods and other “medications” don’t need them… The culprits? Proton pump inhibitors, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioid painkillers, and sedatives like benzodiazepines. ‘The high rate of deprescribing potential warrants prompt action to increase patient safety and decrease polypharmacy,’ the authors wrote, sounding the alarm on a silent epidemic of overprescription that could be jeopardizing the well-being of millions of older people.”
Numerous Prescription and Over the Counter Drugs Contain EDCs, which are “Among the Most Destructive Chemicals” We Encounter — See also: Top Five Tips to Avoid Dangerous Chemicals; “Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are among the most destructive chemicals in our environment. Exposure to them is linked to growth, neurological and learning disabilities, obesity, diabetes, male and female reproductive dysfunction, birth defects, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.”
Quality Control is Lacking: “Nationwide drug recall: Injectables mislabeled, may result in overdose and death” — “Bags of IV drugs distributed nationwide are being recalled for being mislabeled as a lesser-dose than what the drugs actually are, increasing the risk for overdosing and even death, according to the FDA.”
“Hidden Dangers of Prescription Drugs: Are Your Meds Destroying Your Body?” — “Startling statistics reveal the extent of prescription drug use, with the average American male spending nearly half their life taking medications, and most women on prescription medications by 15 years old. While prescription drugs may provide temporary relief, they often come with a hidden cost: nutrient depletion that can cause even more problems than the medication is intended to solve… You’ll hear: Surprising statistics on prescription drug use in America. Essential vitamins and minerals that common medications deplete from your body. Natural remedies and mindset shifts that can address the root causes of illness. Practical strategies to reduce your reliance on pharmaceutical drugs.”
Prescription Drugs as a Whole Have Many Negative Effects — Other side effects which are commonly noticed by patients taking prescription drugs include: confusion, hallucinations, tremors, fainting, wheezing, palpitations, blurred vision, depression, sweating, ringing in the ears and sexual problems such as frigidity and impotence.”
One in Four People are Victims of Diagnostic Errors or Issues in U.S. Hospitals — “It was found that 23 percent of patients either received incorrect diagnoses or experienced delays in diagnosis. Of these cases, 17 percent resulted in temporary or permanent harm to the patient. The study’s results are published in the January edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.”
Nearly One-Third of Diagnostic Tests Upon Hospital Admission are Wasteful & Unnecessary, Increasing Risk of Harm — “Excessive testing is… one part of… low-value health care, a term that refers to services that provide little or no benefit, cause potential harm, incur significant costs, or waste limited resources. This… comes with plenty of risks — and little reward… The study, published in The American Journal of Medicine, focused on unnecessary testing in the first 24 hours after hospital admission… The study found that, upon physician review, over 31 percent of day-of hospital admission tests were needless and did not change the course of the patient’s care.”
Long Term Effectiveness & Harms form Surgeries are Rarely Acknowledged and Discussed — “Those undergoing prostatectomy, the surgical removal of all or part of the prostate, faced a more than sevenfold increase in the risk of urinary and sexual complications compared with untreated men over 12 years, according to the results.”
#2 Antibiotics
Antibiotics Damage Healthy Gut Microbes and “May Directly Damage Gut Barrier, Increase IBD Risk” — “Often used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, antibiotics may be causing the very condition that they are prescribed to heal.”
“Life-Threatening Skin Reactions Linked to Commonly Prescribed Antibiotics” — “According to a large, two-decade-long study of older adults, commonly prescribed oral antibiotics are linked to skin reactions known as cutaneous adverse drug reactions (cADRs), which can be life-threatening.”
“Antibiotics Fuel Kidney Stones by Skewing Microbiome Balance” — “Antibiotics disrupt your kidney’s microbiota, reducing beneficial Lactobacillus species and promoting the growth of harmful Enterobacteriaceae, which are linked to kidney stone formation.”
A Number of Antibiotics Were Found in a Study by UPenn to be Among the “17 Drugs Most Potentially Toxic to the Liver” — “A new method enabled researchers to more accurately determine the potential hepatotoxicity of various drugs.”
