When I first heard about the woman who turned blue after taking her medication, I was shocked. It's one thing to know that prescription drugs can have serious side effects, but seeing it happen to someone in my community brought it home in a whole new way.

The drug in question is so common, almost everyone has taken it at some point or knows someone who has. And yet, after only weeks of use, this lady's arms and legs started turning a sickly blue-gray hue, causing alarm among her family and doctors alike.

I've always been wary of Big Pharma's influence over the FDA and the lack of transparency around drug safety testing. But hearing about someone suffering such visible damage made me question if we're really getting all the information we need before putting pills into our bodies.

So what did I do? Of course, I dug deeper to find out more about this medication and others like it. What I found shocked me even further: many of these common prescriptions have a long history of being linked to serious side effects that seem to be downplayed or outright hidden from public view.

The natural alternative for me has been seeking out herbal remedies, dietary supplements, and lifestyle changes whenever possible over pharmaceuticals. Whenever someone asks my opinion on medications now, I always caution them to research the drug thoroughly before taking it - and to question if there might be a safer route that doesn't involve swallowing a pill.

After all this time looking into health issues like this, it's become clear how little control we really have over our own wellbeing when Big Pharma and their cronies are pushing these drugs on us. And yet, the more I learn about alternatives, the better I feel.

This woman's story is a wake-up call for all of us to be vigilant about what goes into our bodies - especially from companies with questionable ethics who care far more about profit than people.