Every pill causes an illness

My legs ache. It started over 5 years ago, right after I started taking ‘statin’ to control cholesterol. I took it on the advice of an experienced doctor, as a preventive measure because I was over 65, had high BP, borderline high cholesterol and a family history of heart problems.

I told my doctor about the ache in my legs. It is most unusual, as it hurts on the side of the leg; I could walk long distance without any difficulty and it hurts only at rest especially before going to bed. The doctor gave me tips to manage the pain but did not mention about the side effects of the drug I am taking. I trusted the doctor as he is from a very reputed hospital. I continued to take statin for nearly a year and soaked my feet in warm water or took a pain reliever every night.

The year I went to Australia and did the base walk of Ayres Rock with my son, I also read a book in the public library on The Great Cholesterol Myth. It was so shocking. It clearly said weakness and muscle wasting are the most common side effects of statin drugs and that the effect is not reversible. I stopped taking the drug. I felt I would rather have heart attack and die and not live with pain every day.

But the weakness and the pain in my legs persisted, some nights it was more severe. I did regular brisk walking hoping to strengthen my leg muscles and at night rubbed eucalyptus oil when I couldn’t go to sleep because of the pain. Over time I felt it was getting from bad to worst. In addition to that I also had restless leg syndrome.

During summer the pain is more severe. I have a theory that because I drink more water some of the minerals, especially sodium, potassium gets washed out. So whenever possible I would drink tender coconut water and with my drink of fresh lime and water I would add a tsp. of Electral, the oral re-hydration powder. These measures did give temporary relief.

I  consulted doctors casually about it but did not take any steps to explore why I have the pain, as I could walk a distance of 5 – 10 km, or climb 700 – 800 steps without any difficulty. I did the Ayres Rock base walk, hiked 5 km up the Kottamalai hills and climbed another 300 steps to go to Venugopalaswamy temple in Padavedu, climbed 1200 steps to go to the Narasimha temple at Sholingar. Now in Coimbatore, when the weather is pleasant, at the drop of a hat, I go to the Anuvavi or Marudhamalai Murugan temples climbing 500 steps.

Couple of months ago when I registered to attend a 10-day Vipasana programme, I was worried as to how I would do the meditation sitting for 10 – 12 hours as  I could neither sit cross legged for long or sit on the chair with my legs down.

I thought, may be, I will go and have a check up in a major hospital to find out the cause, as it could be due to varicose veins or a defective valve in the blood vessel. Of course, I was told, the first thing to do is to have a scan done. The thought of the hospital merry-go-round procedure put me off.

Just then we had a visitor to the Home who talked about an acupuncture treatment he is going through to manage his diabetes and that small aches and pains can easily be treated by this therapy. I was impressed.

On an impulse, I went with him to see this specialist Uma Maheshwari. I told her when my pain started. Of course she knew it could only be due to some medicine I have had. The motto on the wall said ‘There is no pill for every ill but there is an ill for every pill’. She did not examine my leg, check the place where I have the pain or touch it to feel. She told me not to have coffee, tea and milk or white sugar, not to do brisk walking, but to walk leisurely for a short time. She held my right hand and touched the tips of my fingers very gently for a few seconds and also held my wrist as if to check my pulse for a few seconds and said I would be alright. She did not do any acupuncture or pressure, as I had expected. I was sceptical. But I followed her instructions.

I had stopped taking coffee or tea on a regular basis since I had the Ayurvedic detox treatment in December but hot milk is my comfort drink. Yet I fully stopped drinking milk and with that the little sugar I was having too. Not going for morning walk and for my morning milk to the dining room at 6 a.m., allowed me more time to exercise. Within two days I felt my legs aren’t so restless and didn’t hurt much.  For good measure I went for another sitting with the Doc before leaving for Vipasana.

But sitting for long period wasn’t that easy. The first couple of days during meditation my legs hurt so much to sit continuously. Every 20 minutes or so, I would shift, change position and massage my legs. It was very painful. Every hour we were allowed get up to stretch our legs. I would walk for 5 minutes. By the 5^th or 6^th day the pain was not so severe. I was able to go through the entire 10-day programme.

I went to thank Uma for her service. She wanted me to continue with the treatment and said I should gradually stop taking any pill, first stop taking any vitamin supplement and then even BP medicine and thyroxin. Since I do eat nutritious food with plenty of fruits and vegetable, I could stop taking vitamins. This month I did not buy any. But I am not yet very sure I could stop the medicines. I plan to take them on alternate days and then try to reduce the dosage. I would do it very cautiously.  

Last night when I was chatting with my daughter-in-law she said she has restless leg syndrome. I said I have it too, but then I it dawned on me that I do not have it anymore.