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Dear Walt,
Any insight into COPD and the causes?
My Mom has suffered from chronic pain, mostly attributed to being over-medicated, for 10yrs. She no longer has a pain free moment. She was prescribed prednisone 10yrs ago to stop bronchial spasms and now suffers from every side affect associated with prednisone.
She also has a severe magnesium deficiency. We go to the hospital 3 times a week for IV treatments. She is dying, slowly and painfully.
The list of her meds would floor you. Each new doctor who sees the list is surprised.
She suffers from Neropathy, Osteoporosis, constant headaches, chest pain, joint pain, and has lost most of the feeling in her extremities. Her symptoms are endless and would take a while to explain them all.
She has been diagnosed with Conn's Syndrome. Do you know much about the syndrome? Could you offer some advice? I feel helpless watching my 57 year old Mother die a slow and painful death. Conventional medicine has let her down.
Thanks.
Namaste' Pam
In Reply to: COPD and Conn's Syndrome posted by Pam on December 02, 1999 at 18:18:48:
Hi, Pam.
Your mother and about 250,000,000 other American Citizens!
First, was she a smoker? Is she ever exposed to passive smoke?
Next. do you think she still has the capacity to be willing to learn a different way of thinking and to actually DO something about it? It is not going to help her at all for you and me to know. SHE is the one. If not, you should not bug her about it and just love her as she is until she passes.
If I knew the part of the country she is from, perhaps I would know someone excellent in her area. There will really be no point of her seeing someone of that quality UNLESS she is going to be willing to put a lot of work into this.
To start with, you might find some helpful stuff by using the search engine for this 'site. Among other things, pay attention to rebounding, wellness, bracing, SR and emphysema.
By the way, one of the things every doc is taught in medical school is that as soon as any patient gets on more than 3 medications, it is a certainty that the side effects of, and interactions between, those medications will always cause more harm than good. That means that: if she were shipwrecked on a desert isle for a few weeks, and only had her most important 3 medications with her, she would be a lot better at the end of that time.
Let me know if I can help.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: COPD and Conn's Syndrome (Typical crisis medicine for a chronic condition.) posted by Walt Stoll on December 03, 1999 at 12:50:59:
Walt said:
Every doc is taught in medical school is that as soon as any patient gets on more than 3 medications, it is a certainty that the side effects of, and interactions between, those medications will always cause more harm than good. That means that: if she were shipwrecked on a desert isle for a few weeks, and only had her most important 3 medications with her, she would be a lot better at the end of that time.
My dear wife (the RN who knows it ALL, bless her heart) must be taking 20 different medicines, most presctiption, but many not. For diabetes, high blood pressure, diuretics, sleeping pills, BC pills, high cholesterol medicine, anti-inflamatory stuff for her arthritis, allergy shots, benedryl, plus stuff I have no idea what it is for. And of course I get to pay for it all.
How in the world would a chronically-ill person like this ever get down to 3 medicines. She takes two different kinds of insulin, and that would leave only one more medicine for her, if a person got legalistic about it.
All I have to do is mention Dr. Stoll and she gets defensive, so I know not to waste my breath or her patience bringing it up again. If she keeps on doing what she is doing, she will keep on getting what she's getting, most likely worse. :-)
Suggestions? (Divorce is not acceptable)
RHJ++
In Reply to: Re: From the Mouth of Dr. Stolls - on side effects and interactions between more than 3 medicines causing more harm than good! posted by RocketHealer Jim++ on December 03, 1999 at 13:14:13:
An interesting comparison: professional body builders will take ANYTHING at ANY DOSE if they think it will help them. Anything - even vet drugs. They get tested for nothing (much like your wife), not even scheduled drugs like steroids, EXCEPT ... diuretics. Why? diuretics are the most likely to kill them. (Except for abuses of insulin, which can't be effectively tested for.)
Of course, as a RN, she knows about the dangers of diuretics. Just like she knows a screwed up dose of insulin can kill. If she's a diabetic, then maybe taking a life-threatening drug is something she considers normal. So what's a few more?
In Reply to: Re: From the Mouth of Dr. Stolls - on side effects and interactions between more than 3 medicines causing more harm than good! posted by RocketHealer Jim++ on December 03, 1999 at 13:14:13:
RHJ,
Insulin is ONE medication and would not really be considered in this listing of 3 at all since it is a replacement of a hormone she is deficient in. If those docs, whom she has placed her life in the hands of, were doing THEIR jobs they would ask her every time they see her what she is taking and finally get her down to 3 or less.
THEY know that a lot of her symptoms have to be from medication interactions but they are too lazy to deal with it.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: From the Mouth of Dr. Stolls - on side effects and interactions between more than 3 medicines causing more harm than good! posted by Walt Stoll on December 04, 1999 at 10:23:27:
Hi Walt,
You are soooo right. Most of the doctors my Mom has been too are surprised by the meds she has been prescribed but won't do anything about it. Instead of investigating why she was becoming so sick, they prescribed medications that are known to interact adversely. I was too young to understand this at the time she first became sick, but have since done my best to educate myself so that I may be more aware of the reasons why she is now so critically sick.
I didn't realize more than 3 medications was detrimental, until now. It helps me to understand why she suffers all the side affects she does. Problem is, it may be too late to help her now. She was put on the back burner by her previous doctor. He wouldn't answer messages, would miss appointments HE set up. We could never locate him.(My Mom is a home care patient and is unable to go to an office). I actually had to barge into his office several times without an appt. to get a script refilled, or to ask why he had missed an appt. He sometimes didn't see her for months at a time. I tried everything in my power to contact him.
Mom now has a new doctor who cares about her and has apologised for the other doctor's actions. He has tried to help her, and was visiting quite often and speaking to other specialists...begging them to see her. But now he is also difficult to contact. He decided to close his family practice and work in Emerge only. But decided to keep Mom as a patient until he can set some of her problems straight. He isn't in an office, so if we need to speak to him, we call Emerge. Normally, the nurses tell us he no longer sees patients and to look for another doctor(even after we tell them she is still his patient). I have had to go to Emergency to try to find him several times. To no avail.
As you can see, this is very frustrating for me, and my husband as well. We want to help her but sometimes don't know where to turn.
I live in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, where healthcare is at a critial all time low.
I know that if we had been introduced to a doctor, such as yourself long ago, her condition wouldn't be so critical. And I wouldn't be facing the prospect of losing my blessed mother at such an early age.
Thanks for listening while I vented.
Namaste' Pam
In Reply to: Re: From the Mouth of Dr. Stolls - on side effects and interactions between more than 3 medicines causing more harm than good! posted by Pam on December 04, 1999 at 11:37:21:
Thanks, Pam.
Perhaps your "venting" will help someone else realize what is going on before they would finally be forced to it by physician damage. Is it any wonder that medical practice is the 4th leading cause of death and disability in the USA? Just counting the deaths in the hospital, it is the 8th leading cause of death in OUR country.
I can hardly stand to read your note since I have seen this as the "standard of practice" in the USA for so long that I am deeply angry at my profession. I know that the only way they can get away with such sloppy practice is that we have a monopoly over the thinking in medical care.
Sventually, people will tumble to the fact that medical care is NOT health care. THEN, medical care will take its proper place as a very small part of the health care system.
This is why I wrote my book and why I donate so much time to this BB. The medical monopoly must be destroyed to begin to realize the potential of health possible in the next millenium.
Namaste`
Walt
In Reply to: Re: From the Mouth of Dr. Stolls - on side effects and interactions between more than 3 medicines causing more harm than good! (TESTIMONIAL) posted by Walt Stoll on December 05, 1999 at 09:13:35:
Walt said: The medical monopoly must be destroyed to begin to realize the potential of health possible in the next millenium.
This reminds me of the story of the lady who was asked, "Do you advocate the overthrow of the US Government by force or by subversion?"
She thought about it a while and answered, I'll choose subversion!
In Reply to: Re: Reminds me of the citizenship oath posted by RocketHealer Jim++ on December 05, 1999 at 10:33:44:
Thanks, RocketHealer Jim.
THAT reminds me of the quote from Gandhi.
When approached by the British press as he came out from his appearance before Parliament: He was asked "What he thought about Western Civilization." He paused for a moment and said: "I think it would be a good idea."
Namaste`
Walt
In Reply to: Re: From the Mouth of Dr. Stolls - on side effects and interactions between more than 3 medicines causing more harm than good! (TESTIMONIAL) posted by Walt Stoll on December 05, 1999 at 09:13:35:
Hi Walt,
My Mom's previous doctor was a friend and collegue of hers. She worked with him for years before she became ill and respected him greatly...until she became a patient. We thought his personal knowledge of Mom would be a plus, that he would want to see her become healthy. All he did was keep her alive on prescriptions and now they are causing her emminent death.
Quite the turn around! As patients we were always told a pill will cure and the more a person takes the better(this has been my experience and may not pertain to all patients). I come from a family in the medical profession. My Mom was an RN, so were her two sisters. I have two uncles who are doctors. When I was young and complained of a sore throat, it meant a trip to the doctor and, almost always, a trip to the local pharmacy to have the script filled.
My mother, along with many vitamin supplements, has been prescribed more than 10 wonder drugs and antibiotics. They have taken away her quality of life. Most of the energy she has left is spent trying to care for herself. She has skin lesions resulting from prednisone. She and her homecare nurses spend hours a day trying to dress the wounds with opsite. She is a walking advertisement for how well opsite sticks!
I have often wondered if Mom's primary doctor thought about this when he began prescribing all the drugs. Did he stop to think what they may do to her quality of life? NO, he was enslaved by the almighty dollar sign. How do I know this? On one of my barging into his office occassions his nurse asked for my health card. I asked her why. He hadn't written a script. She proclaimed with glee...so he would get paid for the two minute consultation!!
I realize not every doctor practices in this manner, but my experience has proven different. Each doctor I have taken Mom to has been surprised by all the medication prescribed. Normally they take her off of one pill and give her another one to counteract the side affects she's suffering.
Your statements are all too true and I realized this before I became sick myself. This is the very reason I checked out this site and mailed you. I am not willing to become any doctor's guinea pig and end up dependant on the health care system. This is why I am open to natural health methods you advocate. They don't injure the body but help the mind and body to work as one.
I appreciate your candor and your comments. You are a gem.
Namaste'
Pam.
In Reply to: Re: 'Standard of Practice' posted by Pam on December 05, 1999 at 19:06:47:
Thanks, Pam.
NOW, if we could just get everyone to read your note!
Namaste`
Walt
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