For the record I am not that old, but I am not that young. Old enough to know better, young enough to THINK I can still do the things I did in my 20's and 30's!
I had worked in a clinicle setting for about four years when a "older buddy" of mine came to me to try and get back in shape...a possition I now know O'so well! He wanted to start running with me and take up Karate. Also he was hitting the gym pretty hard. We were running for about a week when I figured we would start doing interval running. We ran for about a half hour and had just finished our first real interval series and we were begining to go into our second when he started turning white. I slowed right down with him and we were walking, he began looking REAL bad and started getting sick, complained of chest and arm pain! "Danger Danger"!!!! I called for a EMS and they grabbed him and took him to the Emergency. It took all of three minutes for them to get to the park and grab him, he crashed twice on the way to the hospital and a few more times once he was their. scarry Shit man! I have been in a bunch of life or death situations, some mine / some theirs and I can tell you they are NOT Fun and Not something to brag about! I was almost physically Ill once the adrenaline dump ended. Any ways when he was out of the ICU I had this young doctor ask me if I was his trainer, I said no...just a buddy helping him get in shape. I got THE LOngest Lecture about suplaments in MY LIFE from him...and I was confused. Turns out Ed had figured he would pick up a muscle magazine and read it from cover to cover and make it his bible. At the time EAC the Ephedrine/ ACA/ Caffine stack was being pushed as a magic pill....yah it was...QUickest way to the grave! Ed almost died because his heart could not take the increased pressure. Turns out that Ephedra or Ephedrine/Ma Hung/ ext. Causese a sharp increase in blood pressure and heart rate. It can damage nerves and muscles and cause memory loss, stroke, phychosis and the big D (Death)! He had taken alot that day and it nailed him.
I am not talking steroids here, you have to be a complete moron to think that taking a synthetic medication is safe with out doctors supervision, hell when my mother was on steroids for cancer she was medically supervised every week! Some on guys I have to many stories about body builders and athletes going to the gym, pumping their ass full of roids and then the horror stories that come out of that...that would be a cheap ass Chronicle if you ask me...
One of my "wheat grass friends" was having tea with us one night...yes tea...what old people drink! My wife was feeling a bit edgy and she told him that she had problems sleeping. We both do...having the life style and family issues I have we tend to not sleep alot! so he actually brings out a bottle of Kava Kava and says "take a few of these, they will help". At the time I really have to say...dont know much about each Herb on the market so I did some research prior to my wife taking them...yah, Kava....directly linked to Liver Toxicity and liver failure in 11 of 20 trial patients....Yah, 55% of the time..you end up with Toxic liver issues...like it shutting the hell down on you. NOT GOING TO TAKE IT!
As most of you know I lost a brother to cancer, almost lost a mother and Had a scare myself. I right away started researching my suplaments (mostly vitamins and min's now) and found that even one a day vitamins are not recomended for Cancer patients due to the effects that larger than normal doeses of specific vitamins has on the system. It may cause some cancers to grow faster than normal and may cause some hidden tumors to grow very quickly.
Creatine is a common and well used suplament, most people have little to no ill effects from its use, hell I like the stuff and if my goals were to get bigger again I would jump on board with both feet, after my MD clears me! Creatine itself has clinically been linked to the Heatstroke and sub-clinical dehydration that has lead to a few deaths in young foot ball players...why foot ball....who knows? also taking large doses of Creatine has been linked to Kidney toxicity and damage. Thats right people your pee pee is toxic..well more so when you take big doses of Creatine. Recently a Houston Astros base ball player was rushed to the Hospital suffering from Heat stroke and dehydration as well as KIDNEY STONES! Damn those things hurt! All because he was using a suplament that had large ammounts of Creatine in it
Also, sometimes suplaments are deamed "harmless" to healthy people but Impurites in the processing are not. I just read a study were 30 people in the states died while taking a sleep aide. Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome occured in over 30 people causing their deaths. the deaths were blamed on a contaminant present in L-tryptophan, an amino acid supplement widely taken as a sleep aid. So even if the label says "X Y Company" and they have the biggest add in the Muscle mag...be careful of what you are taking and read the labels.
first thing I learned in Prev/Care of injuries in University is that even normal every day vitamins can be contraindicated in cases were people have a hidden or "undisclosed" medical issue and taking a complete work up and history is VERY important or you could be giving them a vitamin that indirectly kills them!
Contraindications for a specific vitamin or supplament may be hidden. I was called to the neighbors one night because the young wife was having a seasure. I am trained in first aid at a first responders level and our friends often call me next door or to help out. The young girl was in full distress when I got next door, and ambulance was already called. I asked the husband what she was doing. Just sitting down after coming back from the doctors. first thing I asked was what meds was she given. The answer "No meds...just Folic acid"...she was prego and just found out! The ambulance came and I told them she was pregnant and just was given a perscription for Folic acid....Commonly found to cause Hidden Epilepsy to kick in! Folic acid is the most common over the counter suplament given to pregnant ladies....and one of the best ways to find out if you have an as of yet seen case of epilepsy apparently!
Here is a no brainer, had a guy once go in to Anaphylactic shock in the clinic after a "fellow" patient had suggested bee pollen to the guy for some reason...was not part of the conversation....the thing is...the guy wase very allergic to bees. How Darwin would laugh!
...oh, he was okay..after the epi pen and the EMS guys took him away. One lady kept coming in to get her physio and was sick all the time. The therapist asked her to see me for a consult and I asked her all of her alergies and she told me she had seasonal alergies only, but they were real bad...and it was winter! Next I told her to "Dump her drug cabinet" or her purse...She was on Echinacea...which has been shown to cause Allergic reactions in people sensitive to Ragweed or flowers..which she was...She never did stop taking it...she did not want to catch a cold!
One of my older athletes was complaining that he brused real easy and his cuts bled for a long time. Weird symptoms till I told him to "dump the drug cabinet". turns out he was taking Ginko biloba to try and ensure he had his wits about him in his old age...Ibuprofen for the new work out stiffness and the odd low dose Aspirin his MD suggested to him for heart heath. The thing is they all have effects on his blood and thining it...DUH. He did not believe me and went to his MD...who gave him hell and said he could have killed himself! Wonder if he will remember that one when he gets older!
Most of the pharmacology F*ck ups that I had seen were because of guys looking for the magic pills to get rid of weight, to get in shape. Normally this happened after a specific age, life change or....and this is the scariest...post op! I once had a friend who was rushed to the hospital with major leg pain. He was a heart attack survivor and was on blood thinners to treat him for clots ext. Specifically Warfarin. He knew the risks and the fact that Warfarin is not someting you screw around with. so, when he wanted to get back in shape, and the guy looked to be in shape before the heart attack he had the year before, he figured...Suplaments that are "Natural" are safe...and did not check with his MD about them. Well he started on Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) a supplament he thought he need to take because he was also put on a Cholesterol lowering drug. The problem is that the CoQ10 countered the Warfarin and he developed blood clots in his leg! He was okay, but his doctor yelled at him for about an hour!
Again, the point in all of this is that simple meds and sups are sometimes not that simple. What about the American who gave his father Aspirine for a stomach ache! And KILLED Him! the upset stomach was a ulcer and the ASA Put him over the edge, he bled out! Nothing we put in our mouth that is made in a machine is 100% safe and going to that guy called a DOCTOR who will do a work up and who will KNOW the kinds of drugs you are on or the interactions they may have with your body and or your meds is the smart step. Dont stick to what a bunch of body builders say in a muscle mag..that and they are their to sell the suplaments. The magazines barely make enough money on sales to pay for the paper...it is the suplament ads that sell them. Remember they want your money and dont care if you are healthy after! See your doctor before taking a suplament or medication, OTC or other.
