I once knew a woman named Sylvia who had worked for many years in a dermatologist's office. Although it was quite some time ago that I last talked with Sylvia, I specifically remember one thing that she said about working with skin doctors, and that thing had to do with drugs. Dermatologists see a lot of patients that complain about stuff that either goes away on its own or that no one can fix anyway. For instance, a common chief complaint might be too many wrinkles here, a blemish there, a small rash under this. Instead of telling patients that they're ridiculous and that no one can or even should try to cure such a minor issue, doctors give patients drugs. In Sylvia's case, drugs were synonymous with creams. They made creams for almost everything, with the only difference being the texture and color of the cream. The active ingredient was always the same: run-of-the-mill, non-prescription, find-it-in-any-drugstore-in-the-world cream that your great, great grandmother used to make at home. Remarkably, most patients swore by their creams and most patients got better, or so they thought. Make sense?

It makes sense if you consider the placebo effect. A placebo is a sugar pill. Study after study has shown that the placebo effect is a very real phenomenon. One study I recall showed that patients with fake knee surgeries, where the surgeon put the patient under anesthesia and did nothing more than open up and close the knee, improved to the same extent as those patients who had real knee surgeries. The bottom line here is that physicians, consciously and subconsciously, sometimes use drugs to get patients off their backs, so that the patient will leave the office satisfied that the doc actually did something to help. With Sylvia, this was OK, since the "drug cream" was wholly innocuous. But in many cases, when real drugs are used to get patients off doctors' backs, the results can be disastrous, unless you are enamored with the Betty Ford Clinic or multi-drug-resistant infections.

One general point here is that you should trust your doctor. In fact, I can guarantee you a rocky relationship with your doctor if she gets a whiff of your not trusting her. What I would suggest is that too many patients are drug seeking, regardless of what physicians say to them. My father is a neurologist, which means that he sees patients with headaches. Patients with headaches are often and understandably drug-seeking. But much of the neurologist's time is spent convincing patients that they would do better helping themselves without drugs or undergoing some other form of therapy. Unfortunately, many headache patients refuse to believe this and end up calling their neurologists at odd hours to demand medication.

In this society, pharmaceutical company-sponsored drug advertisements have taught us that pills solve all of our problems. Want to lose weight or cure an infection or grow hair or have better sex or rid yourself of allergies or stop smoking? Take pills, or maybe capsules if you like. My suggestion is as follows: understand that pills don't cure everything. In other words, there are many ways that your doctor can help you besides dispensing drugs. Because MDs are used to mollifying patients by giving them drugs, you will likely get a drug - whether you need one or not - if you are hell-bent on insisting that you get one. And that, my good readers, is not always good.

I've only known one doctor ever who always wears sandals. This one is from Turkey. He, like my father, is a neurologist and sees headaches a lot. The sandal-wearing doctor always said, "Whenever I see a patient with a headache, I ask the patient, 'What's wrong with your life?'" What he means is that there are other ways of curing a headache besides narcotics, barbituates, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. I suspect that our Turkish neurologist would agree that the vast - and I mean vast - majority of headache patients would not have headaches if they weren't so stressed, got more sleep, worked less, worried about less, had stronger friendship support structures, built healthier personal relationships, and took life less seriously.

Drugs are toxic. But don't believe me - just ask Elvis or Marilyn Monroe, or maybe even Jim Morrison on a good day. Or ask your typical 80-year-old who takes 15 different drugs every day before 9AM. If drugs, being chemicals, were generally meant to be in our body, I assume that millions of years of evolution would have put them there. Almost all drugs have side effects, such as liver disease, or impotence, or nausea and constipation, or cancer. To make matters worse, those side effects are worsened and new side effects develop when drugs are taken with other drugs. You can become addicted to drugs like Afrin nose spray or Valium. You can develop infections from drugs that range from trivial but annoying yeast infections to deadly but annoying multi-drug resistant bacterial sepsis. To drive the point home, I encourage you to digest the next topic, which presents lots of juicy examples of drugs you might consider leaving up to your doctor to impose upon you.

COLD DRUGS

Cold drugs only treat symptoms. Most have the same ingredients: an anti-histamine to dry up secretions (and put you to sleep), an adrenergic agent to open nasal passages, and perhaps a cough suppressant or a mucous thickening agent.

WINDOW TO THE SOUL

For patients on illegal drugs like heroin or other opioids, pupils are often constricted (smaller), resulting in a less noticeable pupillary response to light. In the old days, late-stage syphilis infection could be diagnosed or confirmed by abnormal pupillary responses.

Doctors often prescribe medication for drug-seeking patients. We seek drugs mostly because drug companies have convinced us that we should. But this can be very bad. Most drugs are toxic - even at normal levels - causing you to be miserable or suffer or even die.

1. Rather than telling your doctor that you need a particular drug, simply describe your symptoms. If you need a drug, trust your doctor to prescribe it for you.

2. Convince yourself that many problems - and most common problems - can be cured without drugs.

3. Understand that drugs are toxic. Read the package insert on adverse reactions for over-the-counter and prescribed drugs.

4. Ignore advertisements for prescription drugs.

_____________________

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hi we all caught colds ..everyone was like 2 days behind each other getting them. so the doc has given my little one ear drops and Zithromax. i hope it works. i first tryed to give her over the counter drugs to help.but it wasnt much help. i thought it was the cure. well i was wrong,who knew . i would like to thank all the docs,for ther help. they really do a great job..and me well the more i read the more i can help my allie anna. she means the world too me love pa pa. xoxoxo. the best thing you can do is for a cold is stay clean and healthy. knowlege is power...it dosnt come in a bottle..

-- allie anna 5 yr .mom+papa 37yr, March 20, 2002

in 1997 i stated to feel pain at my forehead (headache), now 6 months back i could not read clearly again, i stared to see something like clouds covering my eyes, especially the left eye.

i had a scanogram, and the report shows a ballooned sella with destruction of anterior and posterior clinoid processes and erosiuon of the dorsum sella. This was confirmed on the serial slices by an isodense mass seen within the enlarged sella encroaching on the carvenous sinus and either side and the sphened sinus atrophy. It was seen to be exended superiorly but appear to spaar the third ventricle. The mass is nodular in appearance and enhances with contrast mediuim features are in keeping with a pituitary adenoma. i need some prescription if possible. if there are some drugs i can take

-- oyewo, July 15, 2002

SPEAKING AS A PERSON THAT HAS SUFFERED FROM FIBROMYALGIA FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT I TELL YOU THAT THE INFOMATION IN YOUR WEB SITE LACKS ANY SUBSTANCE.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, STORIES EMPHASIZING A GOOD ATTITUDE, EXCERCISE AND FINDING A BETTER JOB IS NOT A CURE FOR FIBROMYALGIA. THESE STORIES ARE MISLEADING AND VERY IRRESPONSBLE. SUCH CONTENT IS BELITTLING A VERY SERIOUS AND FRUSTRATING CONDIDTION, IT'S A LOT MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT!

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2002

Fake knee surgeries? I'd be quite interested in reading more information or documentation regarding this subject, particularly the possible legal problems that could arise from such an unethical practice. Did the patients sign "fake" consent forms as well? There's quite a bit of difference between giving a patient an inert tablet and putting them under general anesthesia just to open and close. Bit risky just to try to prove a point, you don't think?

-- amy, February 17, 2003

Gee, you evidently have a real respect for your neurologist father (NOT), either that or he is an arrogant, judgemental, uncaring doctor that has fed this line of #%$# to you through your life. Someone is obviously on a pedistal.

Ok, we don't need him since "the majority of headaches and other illnesses are all in our heads, or we are seeking drugs"!!!?? We can all cure ourselves with better attitudes. To some extent I believe that to be true, however, your website is ridiculous, pompous and not worth the air space.

Gee, why is the country run by insurance/drug companies???

Perhaps to keep money in YOUR FATHER'S pocket??

I hope you and your father never become very ill and have to be at the mercy of attitudes such as yours; although I doubt either of you ever get ill....since you must have the propern attitude adjustmentments to be invulnerable to headaches or worse.

I agree in the "heal thyself" theory to a degree; however, there are other factors to be considered such as genetics, predisposition, environment, etc.

Where did you get your statistics that "MOST PEOPLE ARE SEEKING DRUGS!!??"

The baloney you dish out implying and insinuating that many or most illnesses are all in patient's heads is insulting, belittling, intimidating and just plain evil.

Has your father "the neurologist" seen your website!!!???

Best wishes.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2003

I too am so sick of doctor reactions to those seeking pain relief to simply make it through the day. I have Chairi's which is a condition where the back of my brain get squeezed down between the upper part of my spine and the spinal cord. Sound a tad painful? and YES, the pain IS all in my head. So far the strongest med I can get precibed is Celebrex and Flexeril, which both make me extremely sick and nauseous. I acquired a couple Oxycodones from a friend with cancer and took 1, JUST 1 5mg and it did more good than 10 Tylenol or any other combinations. So what's more harmful, living with constant headaches and having to always take time off from work and risk losing your job, taking massive amounts of OTC meds that can destoy your liver, being a doctors own little chemistry set, or taking a couple narcotic prescription pain pills that I MIGHT get hooked on sometime down the road! I'm all for immediate pain relief. This isn't the middle ages for gods sake! And I realise there are drugs seekers out there, but if the "doctors" of the world would take half a second to really listen and look into someones issues they may truly find there are real issues and that the right course of action is a pain med. Probably is the bs being spread like that hear makes it almost impossible for those of us with real problems to get a fair shot at a somewhat normal, pain free life.

I'm sorry, no amount of positive thinking or discussion is going to make my skull increase in size and make my brain go back where it should!

I also have another thought about using opiate (narcotic) medications. If these we're so bad, why would God have created the Opium flower with such abilities as pain relief. And at that fact, how about Marijuana, and any number of other naturally grown plants out there with pain reducing effects! Seems the real problem is the gov't making such natural things illegal and allowing the drug companies to create dangerous synthetic drugs that have all the nasty side effects.

Just my .02 worth.

Thanks for reading my vent!

-- Anonymous, September 1, 2004

SMOKING is REALLY BAD FOR YOU

HEALTH

smoking, could be really bad for your oun self and for other people who is near you so, you could stop smoking before is to late, because your family needs you and they want your live so you could be with then and have good thimes with them and your kids need you.

-- Rocio Calderon, October 25, 2004

i have suffered all most of my life with migraines the dr has put me onto another pill hope this works

-- annecatter, November 24, 2004

Doctors don't take patients serously. They just give them a drug and tell them to get lost.

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2005

Doctors don't take patients serously. They just give them a drug and tell them to get lost.

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2005

i see if you have a disease of any kind you should get what you need like my mom has multible sceleoris and she takes hydrocodone well thats sensible but people that take it just to be thats retarded and that is called a loser that has nothing else to do or dont feel good about their self for doing someone wrong or something of that nature and most turn to crack cocaine or herion,meth etc etc but you know it will catch up with them they will overdose, go to jail, something like that but you know everyone has different personalitys and thats what happens to people that like to copy what one person does and then they try it and they like it so the chain never stops

-- mary, February 24, 2005

Western medicine itself has many problems.

Mary, watch your mouth, doctors are tight with their script pads when they shouldn't be and loose with them when they should be. Your lack of knowledge on the subject of drug abuse, crack cocaine, heroin, and meth is astounding. Of course frequent use of these are degrading. THere is no evidence that an occasional use, just like opiods for pain relief, cause any problems. Not everyone who takes a drug goes to jail or has an overdose Mary.

Aside from that, I haven't even looked at but one page of this site and already think it's full of shit. Sure I'll check out the rest, but the opinions stated above are just plain ridiculous. Drug seeking? Try living with a chronic or semi chronic disease of some sort. I have had ulcerative colitis for a while and some doctors are assholes while others prescribe well, but for fear of being cut off from a decent non underprescribing doc, one can't ask for a refill too soon until the subject is brought up by the doctor or carefully by the patient at a visit (i.e How do I refill this, can I get something stronger if its not working, etc) Alot of the times the narcophobic doctors (like the creator of this site seems to share opinions with) will be taken aback by such questions. This is the wrong approach to the subjeective nature of true pain, especially when it has been medically and diagnostically proven.

Western medicine just treats the symptoms, they have no cure for many things. There are many natural and alternative treatments that should be researched for healing and conjunctive benefits, perhaps along with the tradiotnal treatment. I am sure there are many things that can be cured alot sooner if we were to study these areas as well. Of course figuring out the exact underlying nature of any condition and improving our medical techniques is critical. I am just pointing out that nature probably has many insights and helpful methods already established that would help or help us to learn. Until then, the best one can do is take a doctors advice, research independentely from many sources, research alot before you trust alternative sources, don't shell out for expensive scams or miracle cures they usually are the former. If you suffer from any form of recurrent pain there is no reason why one should not have an ample supply of sufficient pain relief, in my case the only things that are feasible and that work are opiates, rather than having to run to the doctor at every symptom, one shoud known when this is necessary, going to the ER all the time is just paying more money to the medical system.

-- Thoughts, April 21, 2005

I AM SO SICK OF THE MEDICAL/INSURANCE "CIRCUS"!!!

1. NOW-A-DAYS, YOU GO TO A DOCTOR APPT. AND THEY EITHER: DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME FOR YOU OR RUSH EVERYTHING GOING ON, INCLUDING: "NOT TAKING YOU, SERIOUSLY INTO 'CARE'"

(TOO BAD THE TV SHOW "STRONG MEDICINE" DOESN'T REALLY EXIST!!! NOW, THEY REALLY DO GO THE FULL 9 YARDS IN TREATING AND CARING FOR THEIR PATIENTS!

I DON'T EVEN TRUST MOST DOCTORS, BECAUSE ALL I SEE THEM DOING (AND I HAVE BEEN TO MANY, MANY, MANY DOCTORS OF ALL KINDS), IS: TRYING TO "RETIRE" QUICK AND EASY, OVERLOAD THEIR AMOUNT OF PATIENTS, WHICH CAUSES VERY POOR ATTENTION TO THE PATIENTS, AND: "CHA-CHING!"..............

HE/SHE IS CLOSER TO THEIR EXPENSIVE "RETIREMENT" RESORT!!!!!!

DOCTORS, PSYCHYATRISTS, THERAPISTS, SURGEONS, ETC., ETC., ETC.....(except for the very few left, who ACTUALLY care and take the time)

GO TO HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If need to I will look into it legally to make ALL OF YOU FALL, AND FALL HARD!!!!!!

-- LSD, June 2, 2005

I read the site too . I was offended . I am very strong and always was . I worked hard and loved my work . I was hurt in a simple whiplash accident . I argued and did not go to the hospital at first . I had been athletic and never thought I wouldn't get well . They say some of my injury is fibermyalgia now . My neck swelled up and I could not work within a few days . I have had Doctors argue with me and do nothing . Insurance pays them I can't so they seem to work hand in hand doing as little as possible .I never got better with PT so they stopped it but it was helpful in short doses just to give me hope . They simply do not know what to do .

Ten years later the swelling is still there . It has only got more painful . All the muscles in my upper body ache severely and the skin feels like it is burning underneath . Suicide is a viable option to end my suffering . I think about it often . I can barely get out of bed in the morning . I cry and drag myself to a chair and cover up in chills with a blanket . I did get perscription drugs . I became so bad I was ending up in emergency and they didn't want me either . I felt like the lady that said she was a "bad" patient . I am now very addicted to class two's . I can't get off myself or care for myself without them . I have no family but a mother that should be in nursing care herself .

I am so sick from ten years of pill popping I just sit in a chair all day . I tell the Doctors this isn't right I need to be hospitalized and cared for until they can get me either on the right drugs or off them and solve the pain problem . They have fused my neck and right after my thyroid stopped working but they wouldn't take responsibillity so insurance would help from the injury for more gland testing . I have lumps in my arms where the fenatyl patches caused growths . I am walking dead now and treatment seemed to make things worse . I just can't believe I have sunk so low and all with supposed unilimited medical benifits under no fault . The biggest rip off ever it feels as the car accident was not my fault . The pain is real , the drugs are dangerous , life seems very unfair . It is sad these drugs are just terrible and the system so slow to react . You have to die first to get to the head of the line . And then you better have your insurance information and credit card in hand . God bless to all the sufferers you are not alone . There are good Chronic pain support groups online at MSN where you can atleast vent . And no your not crazy nobody cannot suffer like we do and not go through psychological changes though . Again God bless .

-- Nick , December 22, 2005

I woke a few weeks ago with a sore throat and, I could tell, a temp. Really felt awful. Once again, I let it go, went to work, drank as much as I could at work, came home at night and fell asleep. Following week, after getting over the above, had a stomach flu-chronic running to the john...got over that and the 3rd week ended up with the sore throat through the night and the fever. I knew I was getting sick because a precursor for me is the ulcer on my tongue, or elsewhere in my mouth. Now in a panic because had a weekend trip planned and needed to get better fast. Called the MD and of course, she told me to come in. As usual, looked at my throat, agreed it was "red" (no culture for strep) and said there was nothing she could do for it and it was viral thank you very much give me my copay and make an appointment to come back in two weeks goodbye. I said to her I know the over use of antibiotics is biting alot of us in the rear, but I NEED DRUGS. I HAVE FEVER and how do you know it's viral when you've taken no tests? She agreed finally to give me an Rx for Zithromax 4 or 5 day therapy but she said she really did not want to, but I was forcing her. Well, by the end of that day, I could TELL I was getting better. The sore on my tongue immediately began to heal and I was able to go away on that 3rd day feeling so much better. What is with these doctors today? I know their sensitivity to overprescribing antibiotics and it's always viral, but what to heck? My old doctor used to give me a shot and some samples of stuff he had in his office and in a DAY I felt better. Don't say it's psychosomatic because it WASN'T. Give me the OLD DAYS and the OLD DOCS who are a dying breed.

-- Lor, February 19, 2006

This is my story. two weeks ago, let me start from the beginning i served in the United States Marine Corps for 4 years i just got out in Jan of 05 i served in Iraq for many months upon return from the war i got a kidney stone from what "DOCTORS" said was dehydration.. One year later and many stones later the "DOCTORS" have found that i have kidney cancer renal cyst cancer of the right kidney. Now they must remove my whole kidney leaving me with one kidney,and a whole lot of pain.. But the worst fact is that the "DOCTORS" in the Marine Corps new about the growth and did nothing about it because it was "NOT A CANCER growth", so they thought, an now all of a sudden it is how wonderful!! I ve been to the ER for many pain episodes and for the last couple visits i was treated like a "DRUG ADDICT" that is the worst feeling in the world....... Ive never lied stole or "DOCTOR SHOPPED" to achive relief but iam treated like a drug addict. I have only two doctors one is my GP an the other is my cancer doctor. the story is basically people with real problems need to be treated with respect and compassion!!!!!Hope all get what they need..Also for every drug seeker there are real people in pain so please dont always judge a person before you get all the information.

-- jarod, February 20, 2006

Medicine is a business like any other, and doctors are human beings who need to make a living. Nowadays, doctors who think like a coporate employee are successful, and doctors who don't are not. Yes, I'm tired of doctors trying to sell me supplements, etc., and who have turned their waiting rooms into stores full of product to purchase. I'm tired of doctors deciding I need to be tested for the disease du jour (eg. breast cancer), and ignoring everything else. All their talk about prevention is a joke. Western medicine is not a preventative model, it is based on medicine and surgery. If you don't want pills or an operation, you would be best to stay away from doctors of Western medicine because that's what their product is. That's what they're offering you. They didn't take any courses on alternative medicine in medical school. They didn't even take any courses on nutrition in medical school. They learned about medicine and surgery. And now that big pharma is in control of health care, there won't be talk of "alternatives" EVER. Go to a practitioner of Oriental Medicine, or a Homeopath if you are looking a different approach.

And be honest YOURSELF AND WITH YOURSELF. Too many people have very bad health habits that they don't take into consideration when wondering why they feel crappy. "I can't breathe very well, and I'm coughing up phlegm - maybe I have SARS or the bird flu." Yeah, or maybe you should quit smoking cigarettes or pot! Doctors don't have all the answers - you know more about you than they do. And this myth about "catching" disease with their preventative measures? You just happened to get a test done at the right time and it showed an abnormality to the doctors. It's a fluke. They are usually aware of your illness AFTER you are - that's why you went to them. Best advice: if you're not sick, don't go to the doctor. Practice a healthy lifestyle as much as possible. Be honest with yourself about how much you are contributing to your physical and mental problems, and make a few changes for the better before you go to a doctor and demand to be fixed.

re: headaches. I used to have a lot of headaches, too. I have come to believe that in women headaches are hormonal. Since menopause, I never have headaches. Peri-menopause is the absolute worse time for headaches. My suggestion is go to the drugstore and buy yourself a box of either B.C. Powders (aspirin based) or Goody's Powders (tylenol & aspirin based) - your headache will be gone in 10 minutes - it's the best stuff ever created and I have introduced many, many people to this old time headache cure.

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2006

hmm I'm a blue collar carpenter/scaffold builder in a refinery I'm 42 and been busting my but wrists elbows etc for 24 yrs in the blue collar trade 210lbs no fat considered fine /in shape and our type hurt moe and more with age no I don't lift weights don't need to .ok for tennis elbow I can wear a cast for a year to clear it up or get shots that will clear it up temporary but I do know to stay away from those shots because when I am 52 getting more shots would be a very bad move.When I hurt real bad it must be in my head even though I can't get the milk out of the fridge but wait I can get a pain pill that doesn't work because it will work the doctor said so and I won't get addicted /saw my first vic when i was 34 yrs old [saw] but i found out if you really really hurt the doctor will not help ease your pain thats why street drugs/precrip kind is the only way in our society for the blue collar guy.why can't a guy/girl get 1 script for a bit take some time off or even cut back on usage of certion ways one would work i used my left arm for 6 months more so not much choice in the matter gotta pay the morgage and feed the kids.to much school makes one lose touch thats for sure read a book to cook scrambled eggs

-- Anonymous, September 17, 2006

Experiences, Comments, or Tips of your Own?