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Unsupportive Doctors??


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  • 1 month later...

I think our poor health is caused by two factors: 1) big pharma is pushing/bribing/encouraging/teaching ordinary physicians to cure with pills and the FDA to make money and influence gov't decisions and also cherry pick their results from safety testing, and 2) Processed food industry has taken over/infiltrated various governments to do the same! Many other world governments (Canada included) rely on the FDA and other US government agencies to be honest, and in the best interest of the people they are meant to serve. The FDA has approved all sorts of GMO's without ANY testing and big pharma pills that not only dont do what they are supposed to, but in fact cause harm. The FDA plans to remove all supplements from the shelves, not because they hurt people, but because big pharma wants the pill business to themselves! Okay, i sound like Im on my soap box, but I hate that the govt of ONE country controls the health of people around the world, and that the agencies that we rely on have been infiltrated for financial gain.

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  • 3 months later...

Doctors drive me nuts.

Last year I switched health plans so I could get a new doctor, and this one prescribed me the thyroid medication I so badly needed, based on my symptoms instead of inconclusive lab work. Still, no mention of food as it related to the remaining symptoms that were unresolved, and by that time I had developed asthma, occasional inflamed joints and very dry eyes. The next doctor visit was to the rheumatologist who diagnosed me with Sjogren's, and recommended I see an opthamologist for the dry eyes. Still no mention of food!!!

I found Whole30 on my own after the opthamologist told me I need to start putting gel in my eyes every night - I wasn't willing to accept treating the symptom, I wanted to address the underlying cause. Now I've been paleo for only four short months and it's resolved 90% of my symptoms. Now I just switched to my husband's insurance (Kaiser) so I have to find a new doctor yet again. I only hope I can find one with somewhat of a holistic mindset. Based on prior experience I'm not optimisitc, but having solved so many of my own problems with zero help from doctors is a good reminder that no doctor can influence my health like I can.

This thread drives me nuts. I'm currently working as an oncology pharmacist and have been working both in the in-and-outpatient setting for over 10 years. First, I am sorry you could not find a doctor that respects your needs/understands your lifestyle. But bouncing around from physician to physician searching for a diagnosis, you will get tons of opinions and different approaches to treat a specific diagnosis. I attended a tumor board where a physician cited a report that when a doctor recommends to a patient to change their diet and loose weight, about 2% of them listen.

There is nothing but an abudance of data which dictates that poor diet = poor health. However, there has yet to be a randomized control trial to show the benefit of all the health claims being made of the paleo diet. Until you get some real data associated with the benefits (plenty of testimonials, however no official case reports popped up during my pubmed search.)

There is a sea-change within medicine. Lots of physicians support diet (whatever your diet of choice) and exercise to be the best method to maintain health. There are tons of studies that have shown people who lose weight and exercise have better outcomes and diabetes control compared to those on medication alone.

If you want the paleo diet to be supported within the medical community, well, then you have to play by the rules. Do a well-designed study to document and support the claims that are being made!

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My doctor was the one who steered me to the Whole 30. I was complaining of sleeping problems and salt cravings among other symptoms, and instead of giving me a pill, he recommended to give the ISWF book a read and try the Whole 30.

But I wish he'd listen to my concerns about that last thyroid test I had recently.

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when a doctor recommends to a patient to change their diet and loose weight, about 2% of them listen.

Doctors still mostly don't tell patients to change their diets in a way that's sustainable and will lead to weight loss -- they just tell us "eat less move more", and they tell us to cut fat way down and get most of our calories from grain, which is not exactly helpful. It's not that patients don't LISTEN. Of course people would rather not be fat. It's that doctors are giving advice that is the opposite of what will work. And then patients get called "noncompliant" and treated with contempt by the doctor, because the standard-issue dieting advice is just wrong.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I noticed a post in this thread regarding Sjogren's syndrome. I have finally received this as a more concrete diagnosis, with my rheumatologist recently ruling our Lupus.  My symptoms include very dry eyes, leukocytoclastic vasculitis (mainly on my lower legs), fatigue, and sometimes depression.  I currently take plaquenil to attempt to manage fatigue.  What are your thoughts on Sjogren's? I've also heard there is a link between Sjogren's and gluten intolerance. Can anyone verify or give more information. Is the Whole30 going to mitigate these symptoms?  I'm 29 years old and hoping that things are going to get progressively worse from here.  I'll do what it takes to stop this disease, and hopefully reverse it.  Comments, criticism, and advice welcome!

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I am married to an MD.  Not a general practice one, but still... these people seem to need a journal or a peer reviewed, double blind, placebo controlled, federally funded and approved study for them to believe the results.  It is maddening.  I don't know how many times I've set out my copy of Well Being Journal for him to read the articles on inflammation, coconut oil, fish oil, supplements and such to manage heart health without meds (he takes a statin for a slightly elevated LDL when all other numbers are great) but he doesn't believe it.  

 

"Doctor knows best" has become their mantra, partially because we as patients have allowed them (or pushed them) to be that way!  I know many of us are not guilty (now), but most Americans walk into a doctor's office wanting an easy fix rather than being told to eat less, exercise more, stop smoking, etc.   Give me insulin so I can continue to drink my soda and eat my Snickers.  Give me pain pills instead of asking me to lose weight and exercise to reduce the pressure on my aching knee.  Blah Blah Blah. 

 

We have helped create this mess, and slowly I think we can help reverse it!  Become your own advocate and make the hard changes in your life (you are). More and more physicians are also making changes in THEIR lives and some are actually brave enough to talk about it.  They really can get into trouble from above if they advocate what goes against the medical norm.  Find a pediatrician that will tell you not vaccinating is OK and see how hard it is!  BUT... find a friend who is also a pediatrician and learn that some of them don't vaccinate their own children or do it slowly.  Very odd.

 

I'd work with chiropractors, natural medicine doctors, naturopaths (if you are lucky enough to live in a state where they can function as MDs) if you are healthy enough.  If you have underlying conditions that require specialists, then the job might be a bit tougher.  

 

Lastly, show them that they are wrong!  Ultimately, this is your body and you can eat what you wish.  Try a test:  get a full blood panel run before you go Paleo or Whole30 and again 6 months later.  See what happens with your cholesterol panel, CBC/Metabolic Profile.  My total cholesterol went up (desired), but all of the 'bad' values went down despite eating grass fed meat and coconut products with abandon.  Not that my doctor noticed...  hah

 

Finally, how any medical professional can say we must eat dairy or we must eat grains is a sign of someone who has just stopped treating patients as individuals.  Crazy.  I'd find another MD if I could.  Dark leafy greens are much more efficient sources of calcium than cheese or milk (especially skim/low fat).  Almonds, too.  Carbs are EVERYWHERE, and believing we can only get them from whole grains is stupid.  Sorry.

 

Glad you found a chiropractor!  I love my chiro.  He isn't my primary, but I never see my primary care doc anyway.  My goal this year is to find a primary doc that is along the same mindset as I am... just for fun.  I find more open minded MDs are popping up all over the place, so ask around!  If you have a food co-op or natural food store, see if any MDs/clinics advertise on their bulletin boards or in any publications they have at the store.  Ask the manager of their Personal Wellness Products department if they know of a clinic or MD.

 

~Pam

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Oh don't get me started on Docs,  I have had 33 years of bad health, I have been diagnosed with more illnesses than you can shake a stick at.  My 2 daughters are mirror images of me.  In the very end I was diagnosed with anorexia by a doctor.  My coach at a loss what to do with me and my family worried sick about me sent me to a well regarded nutritionist that works with a lot of athletes.  She introduced me to Paleo but I had broken down so badly I was allergic to everything accept meat & veg and struggling to recover from a recent op to remove yet another body part that had failed.  Amazingly enough all my 'illnesses' disappeared along with my all my asthma and allergy meds.  I then started my daughters on a GF diet and all their illnesses and asthma / allergy meds stopped.  Despite all this, my doctor thinks I am being very unfair to my daughters (whom I may add refuse to eat gluten themselves as it makes them feel sick) and inflicting a terrible life on them.  and the only reason I'm well now is because I'm eating normally.  However, I do know from my nutritionist that my doctor has referred no less than 4 patients to her in the last year, so obviously she does have some believe in the Paleo / whole 30 lifestyle.  But yes, in Ireland too, you will drop dead from not eating grains and consuming dairy lol

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  • 2 weeks later...

If I were looking for a new doctor, I would search the database of the Institute for Functional Medicine... https://www.functionalmedicine.org/practitioner_search.aspx?id=117. I was surprised at the number of doctors that came up when I searched for providers in my area. Of course, I live in metropolitan Atlanta, so I am probably relatively spoiled for choice.

 

I was pleased to come up with a doctor in this database who's also in the database of internists from my insurance. The doctor's website seems a little moonbeams and rainbows though. In fact the contact info starts "Unicorns@" so it does not inspire my trust. Ha. I might just have to ask around for recommendations to a nutritional therapist and pay out of pocket somehow. :-/  I don't want someone who is a "weight loss clinic" or pushing supplements or whatnot, but I am new to this and going to a traditionally trained doctor who barely holds back from rolling their eyes at me when I say I am avoiding grains is already exhausting. I wish I was still in NYC. It would be easier to find support there, I bet. I'm in the Florida 'burbs now and it seems daunting. 

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