Subjecting Yourself to Experimental Meds 348
ghostlibrary writes "Even while NIH is getting new ethics regs,
patientINFORM is being evangelized
as a way for ordinary citizens to look up experimental treatment online, in essence circumventing their doctor, and the FDA long ago tacitly approved this. /. debated Wikis in hospital. RSI fans track risky or untested procedures from the Typing Injury FAQ and Health-Hack
covers IT-related self-help medicine. Laser-eye stuff is now mainstream and doesn't need a check beyond google. Any other sites out there for those willing to dictate their own medical course? Does this mean Internet users will become test subjects more than the usual college students and elderly?"
If nobody voulnteers no cures will be found (Score:4, Interesting)
Just not on me.
Re:If nobody voulnteers no cures will be found (Score:4, Funny)
Some of them are particularly good, I can taste the color green and I'm growing a fine pelt of electro-luminescent body hair!
Re:If nobody voulnteers no cures will be found (Score:2)
Now purple, there's some good eats.
Re:If nobody voulnteers no cures will be found (Score:2)
Well, Purple is a fruit [snpp.com]
Re:If nobody voulnteers no cures will be found (Score:2)
Re:If nobody voulnteers no cures will be found (Score:5, Interesting)
If I had a terminal condition I'd ideally like my doctor to lay out all my options, and explain them fully. This includes the conventional (but probably not so effective or pleasant), and the unconventional (and not have to worry that I or my family will sue him later). The reality is that traditional doctors can be a bit CYA, while the research doctors may be inclined to not tell me what I need to know. The laws and our social behavior are set up in such a way as to continue this situation.
The next best option is to do my own research and run it by a couple conventional doctors and see how their answers disagree. It's not perfect but it's a step towards the ideal. This facility would seem to offer that, provided people who use it consult with an actual medical expert.
Bottom line, if I am dying from a particularly untreatable form of cancer, I may be inclined to try something new. I just need to know what the options are, and what the odds are. Only I should be allowed to gamble with my life.
Re:If nobody voulnteers no cures will be found (Score:3, Funny)
Re:If nobody voulnteers no cures will be found (Score:3, Funny)
sentence 1: wtf (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:sentence 1: wtf (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:sentence 1: wtf (Score:2)
Re:sentence 1: wtf (Score:2)
Re:sentence 1: wtf (Score:3, Informative)
Ah yes (Score:3, Insightful)
This is just ripe for law-suits galore.
Just wait and watch, until people figure out whom to sue to get the maximum out of. And then we can see this whole thing wither away...
(Yes, I know. I'm quite cheerful on Mondays...)
Re:Ah yes (Score:2, Insightful)
Hell, I live near Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and I can tell you they are *constantly* putting ads in the paper for experimental programs related to drug abuse and various other experimental treatments. Something tells me an institution as such has looked into the possible legal troubles they
Re:Ah yes (Score:2)
But still, it really depends on the extent to which the medication may affect and a lot of other factors - for instance, I'm quite certain that I cannot feed a man cyanide with the intent of "helping" him in any way.
Negligence and a tonne of other factors would need to be considered - and if something goes amiss, well! Lawsuits, lawsuits.
Re:Ah yes (Score:2)
Of course, it is just plain water at the end.
Re:Ah yes (Score:2)
Yeah, and then you sugar-coat it!
Re:Ah yes (Score:2)
Be careful (Score:5, Interesting)
I've also been on the bad side of experimental drugs and have suffered thru some major side-effects. It's not a great feeling when the medication you are taking to eliminate pre-ventricular contractions makes you feel like you're living underwater.
As for people volutarily subjecting themselves to experimental medications and treatment: TALK WITH YOUR DOCTOR FIRST! He knows your particular case better than any other doctor and can help you evaluate if you are a good candidate for the experimental treatment. It's a good thing that it's becoming easier to find out about available experimental treatments, but don't think it's going to be the "magic-bullet" cure until you find out more and talk with your doctor.
Re:Be careful (Score:4, Funny)
That, or you're a zombie.
Re:Be careful (Score:3, Funny)
Paramedic #1: You have no pulse, your blood pressure's zero-over-zero, you have no pupillary response, no reflexes and your temperature is 70 degrees.
Thewiz: Well, what does that mean?
Paramedic #1: Well, it's a puzzle because, technically, you're not alive. Except you're conscious, so we don't know what it means.
Thewiz: Are you saying we're dead?
Paramedic #2: Well, let's not jump to conclusions.
Thewiz: Are you saying we're dead?
Paramedic #2: No conclusions.
Paramedic #1
Re:Be careful (Score:2, Interesting)
As I said above, these drugs have to be tested on someone. When the time comes to say.. "Your dead.. but we can try this and see if you will be alive.. well, Lets try
Re:Be careful (Score:3, Funny)
Oh really? You expect us to believe that you are alive *just* because you posted on slashdot? Ha!
I'm afraid we'll need further proof...
Re:Be careful (Score:2)
It was hell.
In the end I don't know if my acne would have gone away by itself or if it went away thanks to the medicine, but having talked to other people 15 years later who underwent the same treatment, I know that they gave me a much larger dosage (5 to 15 more depending on their case) than what is currently prescribed nowadays.
If I could go back in time, I would not take that drug again.
No. (Score:2, Funny)
Its your life (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Its your life (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Its your life (Score:2)
Re:Its your life (Score:4, Interesting)
Ditto for PCP. It was originally procuded as an anesthetic for humans later used by veterinarians. Now, neither uses them because of their potential for abuse. Ever heard of Ketamine? Another popular anesthetic used by vets. It is in the same family of drugs as PCP.
Re:Its your life (Score:2)
Re:Its your life (Score:3, Informative)
Likewise it is true that PCP was pioneered as an anesthetic, but it was never very useful and has been supplanted by ketamine, which as you pointed out is related, but is clinically superior. Therefore PCP has no medicinal value given that
Re:Its your life (Score:3, Funny)
I can vouch for the use of cocaine as a local anesthetic by doctors. My niece was bitten by a dog on the mouth a few years ago and they uesd it to numb her face while they did the initial repairs. Not sure about what was used by the plastic surgeon in the later operations.
As for PCP it did have a recent resurgence of use experimentally for treatment of stroke patients. Most stroke patients have the majority of their brain destruction caused by the production
Re:As for Ketamine... (Score:2)
Ketamine is not intended for human consumption, therefore your comment is a non-sequiter. Find me one vet who will tell me otherwise and I will retract this statement.
Here you go [metrohealt...thesia.com]...retract away.
(P.S.: You might find page 7 [metrohealt...thesia.com] especially enlightening...
Re:Its your life (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Its your life (Score:3, Interesting)
In exactly the same way drinking and driving is a liability to others.
You're not going to run down some schoolkids every time you drive after a sixpack, and you're not going to kill random strangers every time you get juiced on PCP, but you're statistically an unacceptable liability.
Re:Its your life (Score:2, Insightful)
What you say applies to drink without the driving. Drunk people are much more likely to engage in violent, anti-social behaviour than sober people. But that's a piss-poor reason for prohibiting booze (or PCP), because it indiscriminately punishes the well behaved and the ill-behaved user equally.
I bet you $100 that more people are killed by drunks than PCP users, even after y
Re:Its your life (Score:2)
This is an amusing theoretical stance on the basis of the virtues of liberty, but it is of no practical value. As for your qualification that drunk drivers are more dangerous than PCP users, it is also fallacious, useless, and misleading.
Re:Its your life (Score:2)
People should be allowed to drink bleach, whip-up a batch of the nastiest crank you've ever seen, and sit in their homes snorting away, if that's their thing. None of this bothers any of us, until they wander out into the street, or on the highway.
What's the worst that can happen? Dude wins a Darwin award? That makes us all better, if you think about it.
Re:Its your life (Score:2)
No, he puts his infant daughter in the oven (has happened).
Re:Its your life (Score:2)
(anyone still use PCP out there?)
Are there PROPORTIONALLY more people killed by drunks than PCP users is the question you need to ask.
Re:Its your life (Score:2)
Normalize that to the number of people who drink (just about everybody, at least in america) vs the number of people who use PCP (very few), and I'll happily take your bet.
Re:Its your life (Score:2)
It's more clear with an example. PCP can cause auditory hallucinations, paranoia, and psychosis in certain people and in certain quantities. Let's say Sober Joe is a peaceable guy... never has a bone to pick with anyone, never been in a single fight. Joe takes some PCP, has the aforementioned reactions, and knocks out a cab driver because h
Re:Its your life (Score:2)
Take either of them for a couple of months. Better yet, take both for a couple of months. When you get out of the institutions, come back here and report any insights on how crack, PCP, etc are liabilities.
I've met several junkies and crackheads. They all agree that outlawing it doesn't help. They also agree that they wish it did help: they all wish they'd never started. Whether we're talking about heroin, crack, cocain, LSD or
Re:Its your life (Score:3, Funny)
I tried snorting that angle dust once. You have to be careful, the good stuff is nothing but right angles. If you get the cheap shit, you end up with nothing but obtuse angles that don't even fit in your nose, or worse, acute angles that scratch and sting like hell.
Re:Its your life (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Its your life (Score:2)
Re:Its your life (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Its your life (Score:3, Interesting)
Heck, even if one was on such a drug and physically capable, they wouldn't pass the medical requirements. You need a certain level of health to be allowed to drive a truck.
I got no insurance (Score:2)
I'm all for people consuming anything and everything they want -- crack, heroin, asperin, ibuprofen, cialis, PCP, sugar, caffeine, water -- whatever you want.
I'd rather try an experimental drug, rather than pay out the nose for what little sick-care I can afford. Hopefully, it'll be something I like.
Re:I got no insurance (Score:3, Insightful)
It is not nebulous or ill-defined at all, it is quite plainly spelled out in the narcotics laws of your local jurisdiction, which are by definition the local standards for materials that impose a higher perceived cost than benefit. If none of this makes sense to you, try Tierra del Fuego, I hear you can set up your anarchy there for little cost.
Re:Its your life (Score:2)
In all honesty, what you're proposing is lunacy. Even if you majored in biology in college, the amount of info
But we do this already (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Its your life (Score:4, Interesting)
I disagree with your claim for a number of reasons.
First off, if you look around at a historical account of the formation on the war on drugs, you'll see that it stems largely from the general racism towards the Chinese, the African Americans, and the Mexicans during the early to mid 20th century.
Secondly, many activities that we partake in daily, over time, inflict a far, far more disastrous financial burden upon society that the individual does not pay for. Examples? Alcohol, tobacco, excessive unhealthy / fast food consumption, lack of exercise, etc.
Am I free to refuse to contribute my tax / insurance dollars towards your health care because I disapprove of your lifestyle? If I don't think your exercise regime is sufficient, or I feel that your diet doesn't meet my standards of healthiness, am I free to request that you pay your own hospital bills?
I daily engage in a good 40 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. I eat naturally - opting to completely avoid unhealthy fats and artificial ingredients - and organically, when feasible. I also choose to use certain drugs, usually illegally, because I've spent man-months researching psychopharmacology, neuropharmacology, ethnobotany, etc. and feel that the substances that I do use offer far more benefits than risks. My doctor is well aware of my drug consumption and condones it, feeling that it is probably far more beneficial in terms of relaxation, spiritual growth, etc. than it is detrimental.
WTF on the challenges? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:WTF on the challenges? (Score:3, Informative)
It took me a while to figure out that you were referring to:
from the evangelized [libraryjournal.com] link in the original story.
To address your question, I think at least one site lost information in paraphrasing. APS states "While this outcome arguably could be
Day Job: Lab Rat (Score:5, Interesting)
One of my favorite unknown alt.country singers, Slaid Cleaves, tells the story of his day job: lab rat for experimental medicines at a center in Austin, Texas. The rest of the story (including the lab's phone number, if you're interested) can be found at Slaid Cleaves' web site [slaid.com].
Re:Day Job: Lab Rat (Score:3, Funny)
Wait, those weren't alt.country song lyrics? I was coming up with a little tune in my head to go along with it while reading.
I'd argue the opposite.. (Score:2, Interesting)
what??? (Score:4, Insightful)
How is gathering infromation on experimental treatments "circumventing their doctor"? It seems to me that it is better to be informed about potential or experimental treatments for an ailment you are suffering from - if you are interested, bring it up with your doctor. And no, that doesn't mean you should TELL your doctor you want this or that treatment; the idea is to inform yourself, not attempt to replace the years of training and practice a doctor has. Seems like a non-issue to me.
Re:what??? (Score:2)
I agree with you. When I get sick, I'll let the doctor tell me what's best. I might research it some just to have a be
Re:what??? (Score:2)
Re:what??? (Score:2)
As
Finger joints (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Finger joints (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Finger joints (Score:2)
Democratization of Information (Score:3, Insightful)
Personally, I have a strong science background so I feel slightly confident about investigating remedies on my own. I do fear for people with poor educations though. That's one thing that the web is good for - it helps people self-educate.
/. abbreviation (Score:5, Insightful)
Can we please refrain from starting sentences with the
Re:/. abbreviation (Score:2, Interesting)
Trust in Medical Professionals (Score:5, Insightful)
Now just like calling a computer tech, your visit to the doctor may not be that fruitful. It is possible that you will discover something your physician doesn't - after all, it's your body. In many cases, the doctor may not be willing to spend hours of research time finding a possible treatment for you. It's not surprising that you're willing to spend those hours on Google or other resources.
What I'd suggest is that you do your research and present your findings to your doctor. Work with him or her to approach these findings from an objective (try) standpoint and leave your emotions at the door. If your doctor will not work with you and you believe that one of these treatments may be successful, find another doctor who will be more receptive.
A few months ago, I went to the doctor with what I feared to be bronchitis or pneumonia. He told me I had the flu and prescribed a couple of things. I was skeptical of his anti-viral Rx, and when I went to get them filled the pharmacist told me that these drugs were only supposed to be prescribed on the first or second day of symptoms (I was in my fourth). I felt like the doctor (not my regular, but someone filling in) just gave me something to get me to leave. I did some research, and sure enough, there was no reason he should have prescribed those pills other than to mollify me.
Like telling a user "run a defrag."
Re:Trust in Medical Professionals (Score:3, Insightful)
While I agree with everything you said in your post, you shouldn't forget that the doctor may also find something that you would never be able to diagnose (in your analogy think of a keylogger that AdAware or SpyBot don't detect). Just because you found something online that you think may help you, you should always remember that the doctors are the experts in the field. And as always, you should get a sec
Re:Trust in Medical Professionals (Score:3, Insightful)
Always get a second opinion if you don't feel your doctor is giving you the best care you can get. Of course, there are folks out there that simply refuse to believe what doctors tell them so they end up hurting or deluding themselves.
Re:Little Boys & Hammers (Score:3, Insightful)
It's certainly possible that Osteopathy has benefits. But unless you can provide the studies that *back that up*, I'm going to stick with what is proven.
It's common for "alternative" medicine believers to tell grandiose stories about how the "establishment" is trying to cover up their mistakes and promote "bad" treatments.
But, think about this: if "conventional" medicine is reall
Re:Little Boys & Hammers (Score:3, Insightful)
An allopath (99% of M.D.s) believes that a body's symptoms are the problem, and gives his patients substances which counteract the symptom.
Man, does this reek of superstition and scam...
You didn't stop for a minute to think what antibiotics, antivirals, surgical excision of a tumor do, right? I'll tell you: they remove the cause of your illness. Symptoms are cured to make you feel better, as well as to provide relief when the initial cause of the disease cannot be treated.
If you got off the magic carpe
Experimental drugs... (Score:4, Funny)
I've tried plenty in my time...didn't know you could get paid for doing so...
^_^
Experiment test subject (Score:4, Interesting)
Most of the experiments were totally harmless, but I have a couple of good horror stories. One experiment was a medicine for lowering blood pressure. It worked let me tell you, I almost passed out when running up some stairs the second day, and I'm normally fairly fit. It also contained beta-blockers, which turned out to give me horrible nightmares. Serveral nights I dreamt of being paralyzed, drowning while being tied up, buried alive etc. When waking up from the nightmares I was panicking, but I had problems moving. My body felt sluggish, and my heart was punding very hard but slow, though it *felt* like it should be racing.
A lasting positive effects of the experiments was that I lost my phobia of needles and blood after giving blood samples once every hour for 24 hours.
Re:Experiment test subject (Score:2)
Can you dictate the treament to your doctor? (Score:3, Informative)
On the news in England [bbc.co.uk]: a man afflicted with a degenerative brain condition has won a court ruling last year that will force doctors to give him water and food even if he cannot ask for it possibly a reaction to the then-ongoing Schiavo case in the US. Doctors are protesting that this "undamentally altered the nature of doctor / patient relationships and was not in the best interests of the patient."
I have not read the ruling, but I think it should be self-evident that if this guy wants to be sustained even when he can't ask for it, this should be done.
Doctors claim the ruling means they "would have to provide treatment which they knew would be of no benefit or could even be harmful", which is why I am making the post here. Indeed patients should not be able to force any particular doctor to give them treatment that, in his judgement, is medically unnecceary. Of course, they should be free to find a doctor who agrees with their choice of treatment. Of course, this can be bad for them, as the heading story points out, but it is their problem.
That said, I fail to see how giving someone food and water can be "harmful". It may be "of no benefit" only to the extent that the person's life is of no benefit, which is not for the doctor to judge especially when the patient has spoken on the matter.
All medications are experimental forever (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, all I can tell you is that.... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Well, all I can tell you is that.... (Score:2)
as quoted..
--
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
---
Is that Sig about your.. erm. umm.. yeah, you know?
Desperation? (Score:3, Interesting)
But, then again, there ain't no cure for the summertime blues.
What is a doctor? (Score:5, Interesting)
You should be given a thick manual with pages of fine print on all the available drugs and the interactions/warnings of each.
The scary part is that it will be choked full of advertising.
For example; notice the thick tabbed glossy insert for "Viagra".
This may not be as fraudulent as this:
http://www.whistleblowerfirm.com/pharmaceutical-f
However, it does beg the question, "What is a doctor?"
If they are being swayed by advertising and free samples, than they are nothing more than a sales agent.
That be said, there are no doubt a class of doctors who see beyond this garbage and choose to educate themselves to offer an unbiased and professional service for their clients.
Good on ya, if you have found the later, otherwise you might as well just subject yourself to experimental meds.
Re:What is a doctor? (Score:2)
Exactly. I routinely fought w/my doctor about how many meds she was prescribing for me and why. Yes, diruetics are supposedly the first method that doctors should try when faced with someone who has high blood pressure. Problem is that I was diagnosed at 18 and only treated at 22+ (due to D1 athletics). She had started treating me over a year and a half after I was already on other meds.
Diruetics c
New Test subjects? (Score:2)
So when did we change from prisoners and the military. I know a WWII & Korean War veteran who claims he was subjected to radiation to "test it's effects".
Re:New Test subjects? (Score:3, Informative)
The CDC Tuskegee experiment [whale.to]
1955 - Army Chemical Corps continues LSD research, studying its potential use as a chemical incapacitating agent. More than 1,000 Americans participate in the tests, which continue until 1958. 1955 - The CIA, in an experiment to test its ability to infect human populations with biological agents, releases a bacteria withdrawn from the Army's biological warfare arsenal over Tampa Bay, Fl. 1953 - Joint A
patient directed medicine (Score:5, Insightful)
There is a general problem with medicine in the US, and this story is part of it. The medical system considers us "patients" who are to be taken care of. But the insurance system considers us "customers", who have to manage our own health care, and figure out how it will be paid for.
Here's my latest example: I have good reason to suspect I have high LP-a, a condition that can be detected with a simple, inexpensive blood test. The results are easy to interpret, but the test is not standard procedure, especially for someone my age (young).
The local hospital does the test for $30. My insurance won't cover this test, so it is going to be out of pocket for me. BUT, the hospital won't do the test without a doctor's prescription (read: permission). They say this is so that it gets "billed to your insurance" correctly (even when I say that I am paying out of pocket).
I can go find some doctor (I don't have a regular doctor), pay a few hundred dollars (insurance won't cover this visit), and explain in gory detail why I want this specific test, hope that they don't think I am kook and give me the prescription. Then I pay the $30.
The kicker is that the hospital still won't give me the results. Instead, they will only send them to the doctor, requiring a second visit, and more money I don't have.
So how does this make sense:
- A test is being done on me
- But doctor must consent (no mention anywhere of my own consent, by the way)
- The results, in medical file, are kept hidden from me
- And I am expected to pay for the whole thing
- Yet can not influence any of the process
Medical Tourism time... less cost, more ownership (Score:3, Insightful)
While it might not apply to your single-test request, Medical Tourism [www.cbc.ca] might help. In your case, for less than the total cost y
Pass the Drugs (Score:2)
On the flip side, lots of newer drugs delivered to the US market since Reagan "streamlined" the FDA are still experimental. Because they haven't processed the effects data, or ignored some less flattering results, the dr
Its not circumventing, it is working with your doc (Score:5, Insightful)
Therefore, I feel it is my job to research as much as possible, find experts in carcinoid with which to consult and the latest paper to forward on to my current doc. Medicine should be a cooperative venture between doctor and patient, never just one or the other.
--Ron
Similar: I did it, it was fun and weird (Pharmaco) (Score:2, Informative)
It wasn't too bad: I've described it before as a mix of summer camp, hospital, insane asylum, and low-security prison. (These last three, I guess could be usefully combined.)
The biggest problem is that I failed to think as I should have about hydration: you need to drink enough water if you're going to have a fair amount of liquid extracted through holes in your arms; at one point, after various u
Health misinformation can be very dangerous. (Score:3, Interesting)
I say this both from experiencing it for myself and years of research into "RSI" (while I had the symptoms of). The only thing that ever made sense and was able to cure me was John E. Sarno's book "Mindbody Prescription." Do a Google search for "sarno tms [google.com]" for more info (though the link above on the Harvard site [harvard.edu] is the best starting point to understand what he is talking about).
Take random health information on the internet with a grain of salt, especially since it can cause you to exhibit psychosomatic problems if you are prone to it (which more people are than you would think).
I know this is a controversial idea, but please at least read all of the document I linked to and give it a chance.
Re:Health misinformation can be very dangerous. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Health misinformation can be very dangerous. (Score:3, Insightful)
"In the course of his medical experience, Dr. Sarno realized that TMS is not just limited to musculoskeletal manifestations. Following is a list of conditions which Dr. Sarno believes commonly serve the same purpose. They are conditions which, emotionally induced, can work as a distraction and can be cured through education and awareness.
Low back pain, diagnosed with one or more of th
SERIOUSLY rolling the dice... (Score:4, Insightful)
And then one day she got a phone call: "Stop taking that medicine. Don't take the next pill. Go see your doctor immediately." One of the other patients had died from a side effect of the medication.
But for my mother, it was a real miracle drug. It has put her arthritis in remission for 10-15 years - and that is unheard of in the world of arthritis treatment.
Fen-phen comes to mind as another example. Playing games with stuff that hasn't been well studied may have great benefits, or serious consequences, or both. If the FDA hasn't done due diligence (or if you don't trust the FDA), then you'd better do your homework like your life depends on it. Don't just look for the reports of how wonderful the results can be - look for how bad the downside can be.
Experimental drugs vs. tried and true alternatives (Score:5, Interesting)
There seems to be a whole branch of the pharmaceutical industry that is interested in deriving new medications to substitute for older tried-and-true medications, because the older meds often demonstrate "positive side effects" that we somehow view as undesirable.
What we're ignoring is that while the newer medications may eliminate the positive side effects (which may be addictive, or encourage abuse of medications, etc), these are not just vanishing; they're often being replaced by negative and potentially dangerous side effects.
From my own dealings with the medical industry, I present several examples:
The list can go on: Ultram invented for pain in lieu of the opioids (despite the fact that it's still very addictive), Ambien invented for inducing sleep instead of barbiturates and benzodiazepines (because it was, and still is assumed to be safer - ignoring the fact that it can and often does cause dramatic hallucinations at standard prescribed doses).
Personally, when I have severe pain, I want codeine or morphine. When I need to be sedated, give me some Valium. Don't try to haul this new, safer, poorly researched crap on me. Opiates, for example, have been in use for hundreds or thousands of years, and are well understood. I'd be much more likely to put my faith and comfort in them than some experimental drug that's but a couple years old.
OT: A little editorial advice (Score:5, Informative)
Here is the original article:
Let me suggest this as a better rewrite:
I think this is a bit clearer. A general word of advice -- try to put what an article is about in the first clause of the first sentence if possible
Be involved! (Score:5, Interesting)
Now, the reason I went to 3 other doctors (the 4th being the one who correctly diagnosed my problem), is that the albuterol (a stimulant that opens the airways) was making my attacks WORSE, not better. But the second and third doctor said it was all in my head and to stick with it.
It turns out I was actually having panic attacks. So the last thing I really needed was to be sending a stimulant directly into my lungs which is just shy of injecting one right into your veins. I actually stopped taking the albuterol shortly after the second idiot doctor and just kept going back saying the same thing until I finally got a doctor who was willing to actually check if I really had asthma.
Now this is just a single example, but it's also not the first misdiagnosis I've had. I've been prescribed antibiotics for flu. I've been told I had food poisoning when I didn't.
There are some good doctors out there. There are a number of really, really, bad doctors out there. And most doctors, good or bad, are rarely willing to take the time to really investigate their patients' problems these days. You simply can't count on doctors to do the homework on your condition. Someone should be doing the homework. The doctor can run tests, but what if they're not running the right tests? You need to do at least some homework and be willing to make suggestions to your doctor. And if that bugs your doctor, find a new one.
I know we can't all get medical degrees and it should be the doctors' job to figure all this crap out, but the fact is with HMOs and the like, doctors aren't doing their jobs. They're working on a factory line and getting through as many patients as they can as quickly as they can.
Lyme disease, or why doctors suck (Score:3, Insightful)
Went to my usual doc; he tested me for it using the (quite flawed) ELISA test. Came back negative and all other bloodwork was fine. Two months later, I has a bad case of sinusitis, and was given an antibiotic which just happened to be effective against Lyme.
After experiencing a worsening of symptoms (known as a Herxheimer reaction) on the third day of treatment, I started feeling much better. Joint and back pain was reduced almost to zero, headaches were gone for the first time in 10 months or so.
Of course, the doctor said: "you can't possibly have Lyme, you tested negative for it." I told him that I read that the test is not 100% accurate and the NJ state health depertment had even advised doctors not to use it as the sole diagnostic criterion. "Well,
So far, after 10 days of that antibiotic (Omnicef) and a week more of self-administered amoxicillin, my symptoms are 90% gone, but since 2 and a half weeks of antibiotics isn't enough to treat Lyme, they'll undoubtedly come back.
Fortunately, I was given the name of a good specialist, whom I'm seeing in two weeks, and there is still a faint mark from one of the rashes, so there is evidence that I was infected. I suppose that if I were desperate, I could always go to Mexico and get antibiotics or order them through a pharmacy site like Master's Marketing, which is reputable but isn't too particular about prescriptions for non-narcotic drugs.
-b.