A comment over at TerriblePalsy sparked some thoughts. About the practice of medicine, healthcare providers and a discerning consumer culture. I have quite a lot to say so I’m not going to edit it as thoroughly as I usually do.
I can’t speak for other countries in the world, but reading other people’s blogs I gather that things are the same, no matter where you go.
In South Africa we ostensibly have some of the best doctors in the world. South Africa was where the first heart was transplanted, because of our problems with HIV/AIDS we have done a lot of research on this particular issue and overseas doctors have told me that they come to South Africa to practice in hospitals like our local Edendale hospital because here you’ll find the most unusual diseases and build up the most knowledge. Mmmm…
Something you may not know about me is that I’m a specialist librarian. I currently work in an architecture and engineering library. But somewhere at the beginning of my career, I worked at Edendale hospital as a medical librarian. My job was to help put together a decent medical library and help out with information queries from doctors and nurses.
The medical field was very interesting. I picked up the jargon quickly. If you have an aptitude for languages, you do, for most medical terms derive from classical languages like Latin and Greek. The research part is easy if you are a trained information specialist. No rocket science there. In fact, I suspect that even rocket science isn’t rocket science if you have an aptitude for it, remains interested in it and have been trained in it.
My problem was not the subject field, but the attitude of the professionals.
All professional people have a certain attitude. Most architects are a bit arty-farty. Engineers are factual – and probably the easiest group to work with. Quantity surveyors are anal. In the best possible way. Attorneys can be difficult (sorry Dirk and Jacqui!) Town Planners are workaholics and usually very reserved. And so on.
But doctors! I could write pages upon pages of my time at Edendale, helping out at Addington and computerizing Kind Edward VIII and Wentworth medical libraries. Let me just say that I hated working with doctors.
These doctors thought they were God’s gift to mankind. They came from South Africa and most other parts of the world. Most of them could not speak their patients’ language. And when they came to ask for research, they could barely explain themselves or pronounce the conditions or diseases they were looking for in English. That was the overseas doctors. The South African doctors were just… assholian? One guy, an elderly South African, regularly visited the library. He would take the latest copy of the British Medical Journal, sit down in the most comfy armchair and promptly go to sleep with the journal draped over his face. He was a specialist and worked office hours only – in case you thought the poor guy worked nights and had no sleep. I’m not saying that these doctors weren’t good and there for the best of reasons. I’m merely saying that I often had my doubts about their efficacy- given the great divide between them and their patients and what I know of Zulu culture. And that their bedside manner probably didn’t matter, given the fact that their patients could not understand them and that their go-betweens could barely speak English too.
All of them were shameless thieves as far as books and journals are concerned. But that was the least of my worries.
So, as far as professional attitude goes, doctors tend to be a most unattractive bunch in my opinion and I had no time or interest in either fawning over them to feed their gigantic egos or becoming a world class bitch myself. Which was probably the only way to deal with them effectively. So, I was only too glad when a permanent post was created and I could once again work amongst decent people.
Let’s talk facts though.
Allopathic medicine is only one type of medicine practiced in the world. There are a whole lot of others, often scathingly referred to as “alternative” meaning tie-die and incantations without any scientific backing. In fact, most alternatives make a whole lot more sense than allopathic.
Prove it, you ask?
Think logically.
Think about what disease is. Disease is the body’s way of saying: “Something is not right.” Of course bacteria or viruses or fungi or whatever cause disease. But given a healthy strong body these things probably will not be able to overcome the body.
Fact. Pests such as insects and weeds only attack diseased or malnourished plants.
Most of our crops are planted with the bare minimum of nutrients they need in the soil. Most farmers only give two or three nutrients at most and plant the same crops year after year, depleting the soil from the nutrients the plants need. So, pests attack the plants, farmers spray poison, consumers ingest poison (also from many other sources such as preservatives, plastics etc.) which build up in their systems and ultimately needs to get out of the system or it will kill the system. We eat refined foods and don’t drink enough pure water and so the body’s elimination mechanism does not work fully. The body responds by trying to get rid of the poison as a last resort by getting sick e.g. getting a cold at the very least (all that mucus is trying to achieve something) or even growing cancer – which could be the body’s way of trying to filter blood.
So, what does allopathic medicine do? It tries to dry up the mucus or it bombards the body with radiation or chemotherapy to destroy the cancer cells. The effect of radiation and chemo is well-known.
The cancer cells may be destroyed, but what does the body do? There are in all likelihood more chemicals and poisons in the body now. Of course, it grows back the cancer, eventually. More aggressively.
What happens with a child with the type of CP Loren had?
Firstly, his muscle tone all over his body is low. Not just his superficial muscles – which actually turn spastic to compensate for his overall low muscle tone, but his organs as well.
Breathing becomes a problem, exacerbated by the inability to swallow. Which is caused by structural problems as well as low and high muscle tone. So, his oxygen saturation is below par often.
Digestion is problematic. He does not absorb nutrients the same way as any other child. He cannot eliminate waste as effectively as other kids do. And because of our refined Western diet most kids don’t eliminate waste effectively to start with.
He does not move as much or sweat effectively to get rid of waste.
His body becomes acidic.
His immune system is compromised.
His head is compressed because of low smooth muscle volume and so he suffers from neurological short-circuits called seizures
What does allopathic medicine propose?
Laxatives
Anti-seizure medication
Pain-killers
Anti-acids
Aggressive surgery
Injecting poisons into muscles to relax them
All of these things have sometimes horrific side-effects. But keep in mind that, once again, these medicines are not going to be absorbed and work in the in same way as in somebody without brain damage. Which makes their potential harmful effects all the more frightening.
Because allopathic medicines “work” fast and because the parent feels helpless and afraid of losing their child, they use allopathic doctors and medicine indiscriminately. We did. Everything I believed and learned went out the door the moment I thought that I would lose Loren. To his detriment.
Doctors know that very few of their “treatments” work on kids with CP. They know CP cannot be “cured”. So, they feel helpless too. Instead of admitting that they need to think out of the box on this one, they bumble along. Actually causing more harm in the process.
Doctors are just as vulnerable as other people. They are just people, after all. And the same prejudices concerning disability plague them too. Because they feel helpless in the face of disability, many, maybe most of them tend to dismiss a person with a disability as beyond help. And beyond help=not worthy of help eventually.
That is why the first thing they wanted to discuss with us when we brought Loren to them was a DNR order. That is why they are so afraid of genetic deviation. Anything that deviates from normal renders them ineffective.
Doctors are revered. They seem to take on a glimmer of “magical”. “Healer”. Medicine man. Muti man. Traditional healers. All the same thing.
People talk about “my doctor”. You don’t hear people say “my plumber” or “my electrician” or my mechanic” or “my attorney” do you? Children might say “my teacher”, yes. Think about the implication of that for a moment and hold that thought. We’ll get back to that later.
One day I was talking to a friend, complaining about something some stupid doctor said or had done. And she ever so gently suggested that maybe I had a problem with doctors. Maybe I was being a tad excessive in my dislike of them. (Choosing an unassisted homebirth kind of puts me in the realm of the slightly mad.) Because you see, doctors are good people who just want to help. Who wouldn’t trust “ their” doctor?
For a moment I was stunned. But then my brain started working again. And I thought. Hell, yes, she’s right! I DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH DOCTORS. Revelation!
I have a problem with doctors. AS I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO HAVE.
Let’s put it very plainly.
Doctors charge money in exchange for a service rendered. Lots of money. And, unlike a plumber or an electrician or even an attorney there are no guarantees of success. Medical science is actually not a science at all. It is a very loosely defined matter of trial and error. And then you bury your errors.
A friend once told me the beautiful and unfortunately true story of being a soldier in the South African Bush war in the eighties. They had the most advanced weapons and teamed up with another African organization in order to fight the “bad guys”. The South African soldiers were tasked with training the other soldiers in using the South African weapons. They took them out at night and told them to all aim for a star. This would help them to shoot parallel and not shoot each other. The order to fire was given. All hell broke loose. Each soldier had aimed for a different star and they nearly shot each other to smithereens. Medical science is kinda like that. If you don’t get killed by the disease, you just might get killed by the cure. Especially if it is used without much thought.
So, to get back to basics, nobody is doing anybody a favour here. Doctors charge sometimes exorbitant fees in return for…what? Health? Healing? Life? If you believe that doctors can give or guarantee any of those things you probably also still believe in Father Christmas.
So, if you ask money to deliver a service which I have no guarantee of to begin with I have every right to be fussy about that service. Especially when it is something that has a life-or-death influence.
Notwithstanding the fact that medical science gave us disasters before and are still caught with a biting-their-bottom-lip-oops-we-screwed-up attitude on a regular basis, people still tend to believe everything the doctor says. That was the first thing people wanted to know: “What does the doctor say about Loren? Will he walk? Will he talk?” Whatever the doctor’s said became the ultimate judgement on Loren’s life. In fact, the doctors knew just as much as we did in the beginning. And in the end, they knew a great deal less than we did about Loren.
It is, of course not only the doctor’s fault. Healthcare users are overall the most mindless bunch of people ever to populate this earth. And never fear, I am one of those. The same people who act responsibly and thoughtfully in all matters from their own professions to parenting, change into simpering idiots the moment they step through the front door of a hospital or doctor’s consulting room. They blindly follow “doctor’s orders”. Even the word is insulting. How can one adult – who isn’t even your boss – order any other adult to do anything?
Healthcare users live any way they want. And then expect miracles from the doctor. I usually just roll my eyes when somebody complains that they’ve been to this or that doctor and he wouldn’t even give them an antibiotic for their cold. So, he’s not as good as doctor X who gave them the antibiotic. But, by the way, they are still sick – a whole week after getting the cold! Must be a really bad bug. Maybe they should go back to the doctor to get another course of antibiotic. And then the second course “cures” the cold. Right around the time the virus would have worked its way out of their systems anyway….
I better end this before I get really angry. I dislike doctors as a group, withstanding the grudging respect I have for one or two individuals. I dislike all they stand for. I think allopathic medicine has greater potential to harm than to cure. And if any doctor feels slighted by this, he/she is welcome to it. I meant it as such. If you want to give yourself out as a toffee, you’ll get chewed. And your medical degree is no protection.
As for the rest of us: I think it is time that we start to think for ourselves.
14 responses so far ↓
Jodi // March 27, 2008 at 12:42 am
Nelba…you make some very good points. I don’t like lumping people in the same profession all together though. I wouldn’t want to be lumped with other social workers. Lately we’ve been giving naturopathy a go and…..believe or not….my son is finally getting better!
Katy // March 27, 2008 at 12:56 am
Amen, or something like that. The first week that Charlie was in the hospital I realized that these people we’re working with averages–they’re really pricey statisticians. We see this problems, so we think this might be the cause. We see this, so this might be the cause. I think Charlie’s chance of survival was 5% for about three of the different things that happened to him. And you know what? Kids defy the averages like he did all the time. Now, the doctors tell me that they think this this and this will happen. I nod my head but I take everything with about three grains of salt. A lot of the stuff they warn be about never happens. Stuff I was intuitively worried about usually ends up being the biggest deal–when doctors haven’t even noticed a problem. Hell, it was intuition that brought me into the emergency room the night Charlie was delivered. My doctor hadn’t noticed a thing 24 hours earlier.
One of my favorite of Charlie’s doctors is his nuerologist who asks me my opinion on things, asks other doctors what they think, openly calls some practices “voodoo” and seems to know that it’s all a crapshoot and nobody’s got ALL the answers. She also calls me on the phone to check on Charlie which no other doctor has ever done.
Whew, too much typing. You hit a nerve.
terriblepalsy // March 27, 2008 at 7:14 am
Bravo!
I wholeheartedly agree with you. I guess that one of the things that really shook me after Moo’s birth was how much of medical science was hit and miss. With a lot of misses. That is why we do treatments like ABR that look at Moo’s body more holistically and we address the bodies nutrients at a cellular level. It has always concerned me how quickly the docs are to recommend drugs that have major side effects.
You know I could talk about this subject quite a bit too but I do join your confession that I don’t like Drs as a group of people. And I also concur that attorneys are difficult people (sorry Dirk - don’t tell hubby I said that).
vygie // March 27, 2008 at 10:06 am
Negative stereotypes are associated with every profession and most even have some degree of truth in them. Jodi, I have a friend who absolutely detests teachers. Some bad experiences have her spitting mad at all of them. Another guy I know dislikes accountants. Who knows why? Lawyers are generally despised. I’m married to one. Social workers have bad negative stereotypes associated with them. I have two friends who are social workers and know a few casually. I have the greatest respect for them and for what they do. Librarians have their hair in a bun and lead colourless lives. Maybe it’s not right to lump all people from one profession together, but it happens all the time. Just depends on your experience.
I’ve had enough bad experiences with doctors to make my dislike for them last a lifetime. It would take a lot to make me reverse my opinion.
I’m glad that Kellen is better. As I mentioned to you before I rather like the attitude and thoughts of the naturopath Gary Martin from Australia.
Katy, I check in on your blog from time to time and Charlie’s smile is all that is needed to brighten my day. I’m glad that you found somebody who cares. You made valid points, particularly about instinct.
Jacqui, I thought I would get some response from either you or Dirk on my comment about attorneys.
How is Moo doing with the ABR? And the nutrition on cellular level sounds very interesting.
activevoice1 // March 28, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Society gets the doctors (and politicians) we deserve. When we must have answers because we can’t bear uncertainty, and we must have quick fixes becauses we’re too self-indulgent to learn how to wait, medicine tries to meet the need - usually inadequately. It is strange that allopathic medicine is so well known and highly regarded, when it is quite recent compared with, eg, Chinese herbal medicine. I know without a shadow of a doubt that my son’s nutrition is absolutely crucial to his very good health. I have met only 1 doctor who shares this view. Just as well I don’t bother consulting doctors any more for a mere brain injury in my son!
Fiona
nelba // March 28, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Yes Fiona, you are right. And the reason why allopathic medicine is so highly regarded is because it is marketed so well by people who make a great deal of money out of it.
Mel // March 29, 2008 at 3:21 am
Good post!
activevoice1 // March 29, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Occupational confession here: I am a journalist. Or trained and worked as one for 15 years before becoming physical therapist, educator, psychologist, OT, researcher, personal trainer, speech therapist, etc. I know journalists are loved about as much as used car sales people. But every day for last 10 years I have thanked God I chose an occupation that trained me to ask questions and keep asking regardless of defensive reactions, non-answers, lack of evidence or lies. Parents of children with disabilities have to understand that no medico or educator can take responsibility for their child’s health, well-being and learning. First step in the process of questioning whatever is offered is to seek evidence of treatment effects (doesn’t have to be empirical) from a variety of sources - parents, non-medical practitioners. Step 2 of course is trust your instincts.
Fiona
Heather // March 30, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Nelba, I think you are correct about not elevating a doctor’s random thoughts and opinions above your own. Doctors don’t have all the answers. Moreover, many of them are incompetent or lazy or just plain too busy just like people in other professions. Doctors don’t have the power to heal. They have the keys to the medicine cabinet, however (the contents of which, as you pointed out, might be useless at best in some situations). One of my favorite doctors liked to say that “biology is not physics.” Every person is unique and responds uniquely.
Katy // March 31, 2008 at 4:45 am
Come by and see Charlie’s smile any time! I’d like to second whatever was said above about nutrition and also add that I try unconventional stuff that most docs would never approve of. In case a specials needs mom is reading: Charlie gets mega-doses of Ambertose. I don’t know why, but it works for us. Improves digestion, and quite frankly, the docs can’t explain to me why Charlie’s spasticity keeps getting better when it should be getting worse. I suspect it might be the Ambertose. I don’t sell the stuff, I just think it works. I’ve also been amazed at what ABR can do, and if the time comes where I think we need it, I’ll be off to Canada in a heartbeat. Charlie’s physiatrist said it best: there might not be a double-blind study showing it’s effectiveness, but if it were my child. . . I’d do everything I could.
terriblepalsy // April 1, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Hi Nelba,
We are still on the ABR marathon. Moo goes through stages where he makes jumps and then regresses a touch whilst we go through the next “stiff” stage. It’s frustrating but at least we know we are going in the right direction. I’ve been meaning to do another post on improvements from ABR but each time I do, I seem to jinx us. Hence, my reluctance.
We also have him taking cell salts through Alex Sutton and that appears to be helping with his overall health. I found Alex to be great to talk to and discuss issues with. Fiona is probably going to send me an email answering this question, but who is Gary Martin?
Thank you for asking.
Jacqui
vygie // April 2, 2008 at 6:28 am
“Every person is unique and responds uniquely.” I agree, Heather.
Thanks Katy! We also tried Ambertose with Loren, but at that stage he had the ulcer and it was too acidic for him. I wish we could have pursued that.
Jacqui, we also experienced periods of regression, but overall we’ve done ABR for only a year before Loren died. So I think we saw a lot of gains initially. I still believe in this therapy very strongly. I had cell salts which I used on both kids and found them remarkably effective. Would have loved to talk to Alex Sutton, but had the impression that the costs would have been prohibitive.
Gary Martin is a naturopath running Living Valley Springs Health Retreat in Aus. I’ve listened to a series of talks by him on health and they make an enormous amount of sense. The website is:
http://www.lvs.com.au/
anon // April 4, 2008 at 11:56 am
I’m the same Dr who commented on Terrible Palsy. You’re obviously passionate about the topic… Well, sorry I didn’t feel slighted by your posting at all. I was too busy marveling at your profound ignorance of the reality of being a medical professional.
It surprised me, because I’m quite sure you’re not ignorant about it at all. You have an awareness of the fact that healthcare is an inexact science, where people, needs and demands are balanced and prioritized within a finite capacity of time, energy, funding and experience. Where we have way more questions than answers and sometimes decisions must be made between several sub-optimal choices that are preferable only to not doing anything at all. Where the reality is that external pressures and considerations impact us all despite our best endeavours.
You clearly have experience working with the general public and know how demanding and difficult they can on occasion be – just ask any taxi driver or check-out chick or anyone working with people. Imagine how far up the emotional volume is turned when the issues are to do with health, illness, people’s children, unsolvable problems, life and death… How impossible it is to be everything people want, or do everything that someone desires or expects in our consumeristic day and age. How when sometimes patients don’t hear what you’re saying despite every effort of communication – and then next week they angrily state “you never told me!!”… How sometimes someone must be the messenger of the bad news…
Of course we learn and practice communication skills, wholistic health care, non-conventional medicine, patient-centered practice and a whole endless host of other things to try and do better in some of the areas you mentioned in your posting. Maybe sometimes the fact that you don’t see it or sense it or realize it, stems from your prejudice against us, rather than our deficiency?
You rightly value motherhood very highly – perhaps one of the times you felt that a doctor wasn’t as immediately responsive to your requests as you would have liked, maybe that doctor was busy mothering her own child? Or isn’t that allowed? Perhaps she was spending time in a necessary long conversation with another equally deserving patient? Perhaps she needed a lunch break at 4pm or she would be no use to anyone? How to balance such competing demands?!
I don’t think I’m god’s gift to the planet, I’ve never stolen anything, I spend stacks of time with health care users and I would say that most are thoughtful, considered people trying to understand health issues and personal medical and mental health problems as best they can. They take an active interest in their self care and prefer to be well informed about the pros, cons, limitations and scientific evidence behind any of my suggestions.
So it’s a shame that things aren’t like this in your experience. I don’t wish to change your mind about me, I wouldn’t try to. I sense there are bigger issues at play for you. But I would hope that you and your readers would take an atom of encouragement from my report that, contrary to your perception, the majority of doctors I’ve come across (and I’ve worked in 3 countries) have been motivated by altruism and a desire to make a positive (if imperfect) difference in the world. Most of them freely acknowledge their limitations – professionally in knowledge and practice, personally, and in dealing with people. And many set to do what they can do improve their areas of deficiency.
You might also be minutely encouraged to hear that even today I’ve been involved in teaching the next generation of doctors at my local university, and even today the tutorials explored issues surrounding disability, philosophy of “diversity” and why it’s a good thing, communication skills, reflective practice, self care and support for children with special needs – and some of the input came from parents. We certainly don’t have all the answers but we’ll try to explore the issues.
Anyway, sorry but I’m not comfortable to leave my name. I will say that I’m a female GP working on the East Coast of Australia. I’ll be working tomorrow morning – yes, Saturday, - hoping not to wow patients with my knowledge (inadequate as it may be), not to boss them into anything, not to stroke my own ego or amass my fortune, but simply to show some care and support and a few evidence-based medical ideas alongside people as they pursue their own heath priorities and strive for personal fulfillment.
Good luck to you. I hope all that negative energy flowing at the first whiff of a doctor finds peaceful resolution in your life.
PS: On a literary note, when you spout vindictive generalizations along the lines of “These doctors thought they were God’s gift to mankind”, “All of them were shameless thieves”, “Healthcare users are overall the most mindless bunch of people ever to populate this earth,” you communicate your point of view less effectively because the reader is alienated. If they can identify even one example to the contrary of your statement, or even entertain the thought of a possible contradiction to your claim, they begin to mentally question your argument and authority, and wonder about the underlying issues that lead you to make such over the top statements. So take a deep breath, tone it down a notch and you’ll be more persuasive. Don’t let too much emotion ruin an important conversation!
Open letter to an anonymous doctor « Chocolachillie // April 10, 2008 at 2:44 pm
[...] I’ve developed a great deal of respect for. If I’m not right about your identity, thanks for responding [...]
Leave a Comment