Sally Lybrand
Commentary Editor

   If you suffer from any type of persistent or chronic illness and you take prescription medicine, you know how expensive medicine can be. It is especially expensive if you do not have insurance coverage. However expensive that may be, I discovered last week that herbal, or alternative medicine, is not much cheaper.

  At Thanksgiving lunch, my aunt commented on the fact that she had been taking these supplements for an illness and she felt better by leaps and bounds. She ordered these supplements from a vitamin company that publishes a catalog and offers various supplemental and herbal remedies for illnesses such as fibromyalgia, hypertension and arthritis. 

   Being that I have fibromyalgia -- a disorder similar to arthritis -- I was curious to see these natural remedies. If I could replace my prescription medicine with something like this, I could save my body from the side-effects of prescription medication and possibly save some money. I opened the catalog, and the first bottle of pills I saw was “the solution to pain associated with fibromyalgia.” For $129 I could be pain free. Something sounded amiss, so I looked more closely at this offer. This company -- who shall remain nameless -- wanted all this money for vitamins B-6, B-12, C, E, and folic acid. It was a stupid multivitamin. I buy the exact vitamin cocktail at Wal-Mart for about $5. So far, I am not pain free.

   I looked even more at the catalog and found that this company is selling common supplements and herbs that people can buy at any drugstore, supermarket and nutrition outlet. The problem is that they are astronomical in cost and probably do little to help the people buying them.

   Someone also told me that I should buy Tahitian Noni juice and all my problems would vanish. Have you ever smelled Noni juice? It smells like rotten eggs. I am not drinking that. But get this: Companies that sell Noni juice get no less than $20 for a small bottle. 

    This infuriates me. What pushes me over the edge is these are “Christian” companies. I guess everyone is out to make money these days. But a Christian company is sort of an oxymoron in itself, isn’t it?

   Think of all the people who are being ripped off by these companies. Think about the people who really believe taking vitamins will cure their heart disease. It is a sad deception.

   What is so special about the B-12 you sell that I should pay more than $100 for a 30 day supply?  I doubt anything is really that special about it. B-12 is B-12 no matter how you package it.

   If you still want to shell out the big bucks for a few vitamins and weeds, know this: The FDA does not test these supplements. Since they are not tested, no one is accountable for any damage that may happen to your body.

   We pay so much for prescription medicine because it is carefully tested by the Food and Drug Administration. Yes, it can get pretty ridiculous, but in a sense, you pay for the peace of mind. With insurance, my co-pay on a bottle of Lyrica is about $50 -- but I know it works and someone tested it before I swallowed it. 

   I have no problem with people who chose to purchase from these companies. Do it if it makes you feel better. Just know that you could save tons of money if you bought the same exact thing at the drugstore.