medications

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by *Danielle*

.......... You can not possible blame her doctor because she is obese. Are you seriously telling me she has no idea that hypertension is caused from being over weight? Does she really need a doctor to tell her that? Maybe she should have lost her weight and changed her lifestyle and then went to the doctor for her problem if she is concerned about treating the symptoms only. It sounds like to me she wanted the bandaid...

And, for most serious illnesses it is the symptoms that make people feel uncomfortable. It is the symptoms that people want to be relieved from. That is why they feel bad and make the appt in the first place. The high fever, vertigo, soreness, cough...that is what people want to be relieved from. Bottom line, you have to make your doctor work for you. If he doesn't, you have to find a new one.

The KEY here is to go to the appropriate TYPE of doctor. All people with chronic and degenerative diseases are MUCH BETTER SERVED by going to see a Naturopathic doctor NOT a typical medical doctor who is only trained in allopathic medicine. Go to the typical medical doctor for acute life or death situations when you have only days or hours left to live. For chronic problems go to the doctors who are the experts -- the Naturopaths. They have the training to not only alleviate the symptoms but while doing so actually diminish the problem and not do any harm in the process which is impossible for medical doctors since all drugs have side effects. I know naturopaths who get people off their high blood pressure medication by actually lowering the patients blood pressure so they no longer need the prescriptions. Eventually diet and lifestyle change are also called for but a person does not have to lose 50 or 100 pounds to get his blood pressure into a normal range with natural medicine. They may be required to immediately stop eating certain foods however that are exacerbating the blood pressure.

[*Danielle*]

I guess I just don't trust people who don't have standard licensing procedures for practicing. No testing or upkeep on their licenses either....Only 12 states license them... I think I will stay with the mainstream MEDICALY TRAINED AND LICENSED doctor when I absolutely need to go. After a long search my entire family has found medical doctors who do practice a little bit of the natural medicine along with traditional...acupunture, herbal medicine etc etc coupled with his knowledge and accessability to modern day meds when needed... So I guess I get the best of both worlds... There is no way I would put my health into the hands of someone who claims to be a physician and can get their certificate to practice over the internet.

[bluedevilz]

Originally Posted by emilybh

The KEY here is to go to the appropriate TYPE of doctor. All people with chronic and degenerative diseases are MUCH BETTER SERVED by going to see a Naturopathic doctor NOT a typical medical doctor who is only trained in allopathic medicine. Go to the typical medical doctor for acute life or death situations when you have only days or hours left to live. For chronic problems go to the doctors who are the experts -- the Naturopaths. They have the training to not only alleviate the symptoms but while doing so actually diminish the problem and not do any harm in the process which is impossible for medical doctors since all drugs have side effects. I know naturopaths who get people off their high blood pressure medication by actually lowering the patients blood pressure so they no longer need the prescriptions. Eventually diet and lifestyle change are also called for but a person does not have to lose 50 or 100 pounds to get his blood pressure into a normal range with natural medicine. They may be required to immediately stop eating certain foods however that are exacerbating the blood pressure.

Chronic conditions:
Rheumatoid arthritis
Hypertension
Diabetes
Ulcerative Colitis
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Congestive Heart Failure
Coronary Artery Disease
Anemia
.....the list goes on and on

I wouldn't trust a Naturopath to treat ANY of the above never mind the myriad other chronic medical conditions that are best treated by an MD.

Hippocratic Oath:

...first off do no harm

Do naturopaths take such an oath?

Do you seriously believe "natural remedies" come without side effects?? They are unregulated and untested...many OTC "natural remedies" can kill you as easily as prescription medications but who is watching out for the consumer of nutraceuticals?? NO ONE

For the anecdote about naturopaths lowering a patient's blood pressure....what do you think antihypertensives do? They lower blood pressure which for idiopathic hypertension is the whole goal. Very few cases of hypertension are actually secondary hypertension with an underlying cause that can be treated. So how does substituting an herbal product that is unregulated in its production, QC and potency and is likely having no more than a placebo affect differ from giving someone HCTZ or Lotensin?

Hypertension is a difficult condition to treat and often takes more than one medication, I can guarantee you there are NOT more effective NATURAL CURES available. Could weight loss, dietary changes and lifestyle differences help in treating hypertension....absolutely....bottom line is most folks won't make these changes in the real world....they just don't do it...

To state unequivocally that naturopaths are some how " better " trained in there 4 years of alternative therapies that undergo no scientific testing, peer review or proof of efficacy compared to the MD that trains for 7-10 years in a much more rigorous and scientifically based discipline is a fairy tale....

[swbtoo]

An endocrinologist may agree to work with you in the use of Armour, but wll probably tell you that it is harder to regulate the dose than in synthetic drugs because the Armour is not consistent in its strength. Find a doctor who is willing to work with you if you feel strongly about this.

[verynicebecky]

Originally Posted by southward bound

An endocrinologist may agree to work with you in the use of Armour, but wll probably tell you that it is harder to regulate the dose than in synthetic drugs because the Armour is not consistent in its strength. Find a doctor who is willing to work with you if you feel strongly about this.

I have read this very same thing as to the reason dr.'s don't like to prescribe Armour.

There is a yahoo group where you can get information about doctors who prescribe Armour thyroid.