# The Doctors



## Anne (Sep 26, 2013)

Anyone watch it today??  I don't usually, but was surprised to hear them talk about how doctors overprescribe, do unnecessary testing, and are too quick to recommend psychiatric drugs when not at all necessary.   Guess we all knew that; but they admitted that so much of it is $$$$, and we are too anxious to get help, that we expect a pill to fix everything.  
They admitted the system is 'broken', and it's up to us and them to fix it...also that the US is the only country marketing drugs directly to the patients - that it should not be allowed.   
I dont know about 'banning' the commercials; but we certainly should be doing our own research before asking for a drug because of a commercial.   

It is my hope that someday the allopathic and alternative doctors will be working together to find what works best for each individual.  I've only had one dr who was willing to work with a naturopath; the rest seem to resent my asking, and/or are prone to thinking that natural medicine is for the most part, snake oil.


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## nan (Sep 26, 2013)

I have found the Doctors to be a good show, and very informative, and much better than Dr Oz,it's a pity that Drs didn't know that alternative practitioners will send their clients on to Drs, if they know that the patient has a problem that they can not heal.
It is the over prescribed drugs that are causing most of the health issues that people have today, if only they realised it.


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## MercyL (Sep 26, 2013)

I have never watched the show, but I do believe that people should really research treatments before consenting. This goes for all treatments, allopathic and other alternatives included. No treatment, regardless of type or source, should be undertaken without understanding there are risks.

As far as advertising goes, I am sorry our government ever allowed it. I resent paying a pharmaceuticals advertising budget when their business gouges U.S. citizens so deeply.


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## SifuPhil (Sep 26, 2013)

I've been seeing a lot of Victoza commercials on my oldies TV channel lately, and it points out the massive gulf between allopathic and alternative practitioners.

Here's what has been running - note the listing of benefits as opposed to side-effects ...







Yes, they advocate - VERY briefly - diet and exercise. Look who they show as the 5 main patients - overweight / morbidly obese. Listen to what they say at the beginning - "although it is not a weight-loss drug it _may_ help you lose weight".

... probably from the pancreatic decay it induces.

Have these people been told - been YELLED at - by their allopathic practitioners to go on a strict diet and get a lot of exercise? Not likely. That takes too much time and effort. Far easier to prescribe a helper drug like Victoza and move on to the next income-generating patient.

Although I hear of the occasional partnership between both worlds the truth is that it is a VERY rare happening. The money is just too good with the drugs, it's just too easy to get that big cash infusion when you don't have to really work for it. 

And I don't see it changing any time soon.


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## Katybug (Sep 26, 2013)

I didn't see the show, but enjoy it when I'm home.  My complaint....doctors hand out anti-depressants as if they were candy. No matter what is wrong with you, they'll give you a script for them.  Almost everyone I know is on them or has been on them at one time.  Getting older and life in general can be depressing -- no question, but for me the side effects are worse than the mild depression I had at one time.  For others they may be a godsend. 

So far, I'm on no daily prescription medicine , but I know at my age that won't last long. My doctor/clinic is very cautious and I'm grateful for that, but nation-wide that's definitely not the case.  I hear the ads and know how effective they must be...very worrisome as there are some incredibly serious side effects from some of these drugs that should be shouted from the rooftops.  With one, the TV ad actually said a side effect could be tuberculosis!  My gosh, how bad could your problem be that you're willing to risk TB??!!  But we all know there are way too many drs in bed with the pharmaceutical companies and it's up to us to be responsible for what we ingest.


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## SifuPhil (Sep 26, 2013)

Katybug said:


> ... But we all know there are way too many drs in bed with the pharmaceutical companies and it's up to us to be responsible for what we ingest.



And therein lies the main problem - we have been conditioned since childhood to see "our" doctors as wise-men and shamans, all-knowing and concerned only with our health. We were taught to do exactly what they told us, and you NEVER disobeyed or argued with them. They were above reproach and above suspicion. 

That was no doubt the way things were a long, long time ago but not now, at least not as the norm. Folks are finally learning to question, to shop around, to get second and third opinions. The Internet has helped immensely in exposing the dangers of thoughtless obedience to authority figures such as these, but the fight is really just beginning. I think it will take another generation or two before doctors are brought down to the level they deserve to be on - plain human beings who know a little bit about anatomy and physiology, not gods with magical powers of healing.

Meh ... the only meds I've ever taken beside aspirin have been marijuana and alcohol. layful: Oh, and that polio vaccine they forced on me as a kid, but I plead stupidity due to youthfulness on that one.


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## Katybug (Sep 26, 2013)

SifuPhil said:


> And therein lies the main problem - we have been conditioned since childhood to see "our" doctors as wise-men and shamans, all-knowing and concerned only with our health. We were taught to do exactly what they told us, and you NEVER disobeyed or argued with them. They were above reproach and above suspicion.
> 
> That was no doubt the way things were a long, long time ago but not now, at least not as the norm. Folks are finally learning to question, to shop around, to get second and third opinions. The Internet has helped immensely in exposing the dangers of thoughtless obedience to authority figures such as these, but the fight is really just beginning. I think it will take another generation or two before doctors are brought down to the level they deserve to be on - plain human beings who know a little bit about anatomy and physiology, not gods with magical powers of healing.
> 
> Meh ... the only meds I've ever taken beside aspirin have been marijuana and alcohol. layful: Oh, and that polio vaccine they forced on me as a kid, but I plead stupidity due to youthfulness on that one.



Don't feel stupid on the polio vaccine, Phil.  I had polio at age 9 and consider myself extremely fortunate -- no braces, no limp, no iron lung, no physical impairments whatsoever,   but I am a highly nervous person, one of the major side effects.  AND, it can return in later life which scares me to death.  Be glad you had the shot.  I had to be tutored at home and missed a year of school and the fun, friendships & interaction that went with it, but jumped right back in and refused to talk about it to anyone going forward....I was too embarrassed.  I remain eternally grateful there were no side effects from it other than I'm a nervous Nellie more often than not, .just as the drs said would happen.  Given a good day, I can cover myself on that, but let me get overly tired/stressed and it really takes a heavy toll on me. I've had several of those days lately and, as always, end up in my dr's office.  

For those who question all the shots the children are forced to get these days, jury is still out, but polio must never be one of those eliminated.  It is suffering of the worst kind and I don't want anyone else to know that pain.  And mine was a very mild case, tho it didn't feel like it at the time! It's almost stamped out here exclusive of the return of it in later years.  Thank God for that!


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## Anne (Sep 26, 2013)

I went to the dr a few times every winter as a child with tonsillitis, and was given penicillin each time; then, as an adult it returned, and more antibiotics.  Same with my daughter, tho they took her tonsils out when she was about 7.  After that, it was ear infection; more antibiotics for years.   As I understand it now, they don't take them as quickly, as it seems the tonsils are there for a reason, as is every other part of us.     I know now that there are more natural ways to kill infections like that, but I didn't have access to that information then.
Yes, they do prescribe too quickly, and as some of you say, we thought doctors knew it all, and never hesitated to take what they recommended.  Now, they seem to be so quick to suggest surgery to take care of so many problems, and I am always skeptical of that, unless the problem too far gone to be helped in other ways.

It's all money these days, and it's sickening.  I do hope that when my grandchildren grow up they will have more choices, and insurance companies will be covering more natural things.  Sure, I'm probably dreaming, but one can always hope.


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## SifuPhil (Sep 27, 2013)

Katybug said:


> Don't feel stupid on the polio vaccine, Phil.  I had polio at age 9 and consider myself extremely fortunate -- no braces, no limp, no iron lung, no physical impairments whatsoever,   but I am a highly nervous person, one of the major side effects.  AND, it can return in later life which scares me to death.  Be glad you had the shot.  I had to be tutored at home and missed a year of school and the fun, friendships & interaction that went with it, but jumped right back in and refused to talk about it to anyone going forward....I was too embarrassed.  I remain eternally grateful there were no side effects from it other than I'm a nervous Nellie more often than not, .just as the drs said would happen.  Given a good day, I can cover myself on that, but let me get overly tired/stressed and it really takes a heavy toll on me. I've had several of those days lately and, as always, end up in my dr's office.
> 
> For those who question all the shots the children are forced to get these days, jury is still out, but polio must never be one of those eliminated.  It is suffering of the worst kind and I don't want anyone else to know that pain.  And mine was a very mild case, tho it didn't feel like it at the time! It's almost stamped out here exclusive of the return of it in later years.  Thank God for that!



I'm sorry that you had polio at such a young age - that had to have been scary. 

I wonder if you experienced that in 1952 or 1953 - there was a surge in polio cases in those two years, from a usual 20,000 cases per year to 58,000 and 35,000, respectively. That drove the development and implementation of large-scale immunizations of both injected and oral modalities.

My viewpoint is that polio was supposedly officially eradicated in the Americas in 1994. For the past 20 years children have still been receiving vaccinations - _why_, if the disease is no longer present? 

I also object on a philosophical basis, which I know would pale if I were to have experienced the same symptoms as you. But injecting monkey kidneys into my body on the theory that it will boost my auto-immune system has never sat well with me. I am Luddite enough to believe that we are born with everything that we require to fend off disease - if we succumb to any it is because we are doing something wrong with our lifestyle, whether diet, lack of exercise or even something as unavoidable as excessive socialization. 

As I always claim, I think our minds have progressed far more rapidly than our bodies can keep pace with. Disease is the result.


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