We live in a world of knowledge, technology and communication. Just about anything a person wants to know is available at the click of a button. Information is readily available. Why is it that in this age of knowledge so many people suffer weeks of illness without help from the medical world? Sure, the medical professional subscribes medication and treatments, but do they actually solve the problem or just mask the symptoms?
My current state of mind on this matter comes from three very different situations with the common denominator being months of illness. My husband and I have watched a close friend put himself at the mercy of doctors for the last 8 months and have watched his physical condition literally detioriate before our eyes. Before he got sick, he weighed about 190 lbs and is 6 ft. 2 in. tall. Currently he is 133 lbs. and still 6 ft. 2 in. tall. The only way to describe his appearance is he is a walking skeleton. You can see just about every bone in his body. Does this concern the doctors? He was given pain medication to mask the abdominal pain he has, treated for two weeks for an ulcer, and subjected to two stays in the hospital because of severe dehydration after vomiting for days on end. One doctor’s opinion – he’s bulimic. I personally would like to strangle that doctor. I realize the details are sketchy but in no way, shape or form is this man bulimic. He is sick. However, in this age of knowledge, the doctors have been little help. Finally, after another go-round of endoscopy and colonoscopy, the doctor prescribed a medication. Wow, it actually helped – 8 months and 60 lbs. later.
Yesterday, I had a discussion with someone about a medical condition he had suffered from for over a year. After he endured as much as he could, he visited the doctor, was told to take pain medication and take it easy for a few weeks. He consumed a lot of pain medication and whiskey in hopes of dulling the pain. Well, that didn’t work. He made an appointment with a specialist who recommended surgery. Then in a conversation with a friend, the friend suggested taking a simple over-the-counter mineral to see if it helped. After 2-3 days of that treatment, the problem cleared up and hasn’t been a problem since. Pain medication? Surgery? The solution was a simple mineral deficiency.
Then there’s myself. For years, I unknowingly was hypothyroid. A little over a year ago, I was diagnosed and started on the routine daily medication. I had my ups and downs until the dosage was straightened out. Even now I still have good days and bad days. Yesterday I stumbled upon a wealth of information. I studied up on thyroid diseases when I was first diagnosed. Over the year I’ve learned what makes me feel better – eating a lot of organic foods (easy to do when you live on a farm), avoiding processed foods and those with a lot of fructose corn syrup, and the list goes on. Yesterday I stumbled upon an interesting piece of information. Because my body was hypothyroid for so long, it is deficient in some essential nutrients. Can I believe that fact? Sure, because I have quite a few symptoms that lead me to believe it. My doctor was concerned about writing me a prescription, seeing if I felt better and moving on. Never was there education involved. She did tell me to take a daily vitamin. What she didn’t tell me was the strength. I had been taking a regular vitamin similar to Centrum. Not enough to make up for the deficiencies. Plus I never saw much difference taking the vitamin or not taking the vitamin. Why? Because some of the vitamin levels should be extremely higher than the average vitamin. After doing a little more research yesterday, I developed a standard recommendation of vitamin intake for hypothyroids and marched off to Wal-Mart to find the best match. After taking two doses, I notice a slight improvement. I’m going to see how things develop and possibly add more to my vitamin regimen. Now, the question is, why couldn’t my doctor inform me of these ideas if she feels qualified enough to treat my disease?
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