[ConsiderThis]

My title should have been, "Can a community such as this be dangerous?" . . . that's because I didn't mean this forum, but another forum within the Neurotalk community.

Yesterday I was participating in a thread about Liver Cleanse.

What happened yesterday is causing me continued distress today, and I am therefore thinking about it.


One of the things I am thinking is how my doctors failed me when they put me on antidepressants rather than increase my B12 prescription. Why do I think that was a failure? Because after a few weeks of euphoria on Serafem I suddenly had double incontinence and other side effects. But the double incontinence was the worst.

Since that time I have had tetanus and after having several weeks of Metronidazol to kill the clostridia bacteria I was given a prescription for a B12 shot a day because of the extreme difficulty I was having walking due to loss of sensation alternating with extreme sharp pain.

What is of interest about that is that despite having my home foreclosed after that and several other intense problems, I was not depressed. In fact I had a lot more mental activity in terms of thoughts about what to do, and I was successful in saving my home in the end.

So, if a doctor can be wrong, then what makes members of forums think that their idea of what is right is absolute and the be-all and end-all?

My feeling and something I say in almost all the forums I belong to, is that people need to keep some kind of written track of their symptoms, vitamin intake, medications, and test results, so that they themselves can see if they are improving or the opposite.

Without having written notes on my health from the time my neurologist suggested keeping what he called a "Time Line" I would not have been able to see what a big difference there was in my life as a result of taking B12. That's' because my memory was impaired when my B12 level was very low, so I wouldn't have remembered clearly.

The notes show me what the facts were.

It is vitally important for people to know their own history on a day to day level, and it is vitally important to realize that doctors are not always right, that doctors are often encouraged by drug saleswomen who are extremely attractive physically to prescribe the drugs that they are selling.

If doctors can make mistakes with the health of their patients then what on earth gives forum members the idea that they are infallible in their "diagnosis" and that if they are not given the utmost respect and their word taken as gospel, then they have the right to say that the other person is a danger to themselves?

I am writing this because I remain shocked and my muscles are all tight again from the stress.

I want to warn members that other members can not know your health as well as you can know your own health if you keep track of daily symptoms, what you are taking, and what your tests say.

Other members may have excellent advice and their experience may be extremely useful, but once they take the attitude that they are so much more knowledgeable than you then it's time to realize there is a danger in forums like this. (and it isn't you)

In my humble opinion.

[Ellie]

Thanks for bringing this up.

I do not believe a forum such as this could be dangerous as long as the readers understand the intents of these types of communities.

Members of the forums should always keep in mind that information posted on this website (and others of this type) such as links, posts, quotes, etc. is not intended to replace the advice of your health care (or legal, financial, etc) professional.

Also keeping in mind, it is possible in these types of situations there can be two rights. For example (pardon my babbling); You may have one type of treatment which is successful for you, however, I may get the same treatment and have adverse reactions - so another treatment would probably be best for me. This is why people should be very careful when taking advice and to discuss everything before trying it with their health care provider.

Thanks again, this topic helps all members remember to discuss things with their providers before trying anything new.

[Alffe]

In the spirit of this holiday season may I offer you an olive branch...or some cereal snack...or perhaps a hug? (((whoever needs one)))

[ConsiderThis]

Originally Posted by Ellie

Thanks for bringing this up.

I do not believe a forum such as this could be dangerous as long as the readers understand the intents of these types of communities.

Members of the forums should always keep in mind that information posted on this website (and others of this type) such as links, posts, quotes, etc. is not intended to replace the advice of your health care (or legal, financial, etc) professional.

Also keeping in mind, it is possible in these types of situations there can be two rights. For example (pardon my babbling); You may have one type of treatment which is successful for you, however, I may get the same treatment and have adverse reactions - so another treatment would probably be best for me. This is why people should be very careful when taking advice and to discuss everything before trying it with their health care provider.

Thanks again, this topic helps all members remember to discuss things with their providers before trying anything new.

Thank you. Though I think you rather missed what I was saying. In my case, my health care provider was adverse to vitamins and extremely PRO antidepressants.

As you most likely saw, there was a news announcement this last week saying that antidepressants must now carry a suicide warning on them. So, it appears that there is an inherent danger in antidepressants to a large number of people, or the warning would not be necessary.

At the time that I had my antidepressant problem I found out an interesting thing. Because I was trying to sue the doctors who had failed to diagnose and treat my B12 Malabsorption Illness in time to prevent nerve damage, despite the fact I told them my mother had pernicious anemia, I was able to learn things in the Discovery process. For instance I learned that the doctor who told me he thought I should be on Prozac for life had been sued successfully for hiring a depressed doctor who made some sort of extremely bad error that was apparently blamed on the depression.

So, I have to ask, was he thinking I should be on Prozac for life because of the legal responsibility he was judged to have when he failed to attend to the depression in a doctor he hired to work in his practice?

My feeling is that he was prescribing for me based on something other than what was actually good for me.

I think that if he'd had my true welfare in mind he would have increased the B12 prescription, since it has been shown many times over the years that there are no ill side effects from B12.

What he did instead, was prescribe a drug which had been shown to have some severe side effects, and I got some of them, the worst of which was the double incontinence.

So, I think that people need to keep a running record of their health and if they have any symptoms of low B12, I think they should take it and see if it makes an improvement.

My experience has been that doctors prefer to prescribe expensive drugs with some horrible if not deadly side effects, in preference to vitamins.

And what really scares me is that people eat less well when their prescriptions are expensive, so their bodies grow flabby and less healthy for want of proper protein, and vitamins and minerals from Good food.

I think it is of the utmost importance to take care of ourselves. Yes, go to doctors, but don't expect doctors to be right all the time, and if doctors are less than interested or well informed about vitamins and herbal supplements, then do some research and if you try those things, keep records of what happens.

Why do we believe the studies that are published on the news (even though year after year there are conflicting results) and yet not want to do our own running study.

Look how many women did not want to give up hormone replacement because their doctors had advised it... yet now it has been shown with massive numbers that after the warning last year, following which vast numbers of women stopped taking the hormones, the rate of breast cancer has vastly diminished.

Doctors like lawyers are not always right.

It is so important for us to keep track of our health ourselves.

[ConsiderThis]

What happened to that other really nice reply?

I was going to reply to the person who wrote it because it was clearly so concerned and thoughtful.

I just have this horrible toothache from the stress. I can't handle stress very well anymore.

Or at least not in the amounts I've been experiencing it.

As I remember it the reply was written by someone who had experienced something similar to what was so stressful and upsetting for me.

It was really nice of the person to share, to try to make me feel less isolated.

My deep thanks.

Please, is there a way of restoring the post?

[ConsiderThis]

Originally Posted by Alffe

In the spirit of this holiday season may I offer you an olive branch...or some cereal snack...or perhaps a hug? (((whoever needs one)))

I would love a hug...
(I started to write that I could sure use one.)

[loisba]

ConsiderThis, I for one find this community to be anything but dangerous. It is a wonderful place to come if you just need to rant about something in your life. Most of the others have been there and done that!
When I do post a question about my condition, I know that others with the same condition are going to respond to my question. They may say, "Sorry, don't have an answer for you, but I just wanted to share a hug." And that's OK! But they may offer a suggestion of what worked for them, or share something that their doctor told them, or some research that they found online. And I greatly appreciate all of those things.
Of course, I realize that what works for them may not work for me, but I am grateful for the suggestion, if for no other reason than that it has now been posted and perhaps it will work for some other member of our big family.
And if I post my suggestion, I know that not everyone is going to take it, or like it, for that matter, and that's OK, too!

So, considering the matter from all angles, I would have to say that I do not at all consider this community to be dangerous. It is loving, and caring, and supportive, and often informative. Anyone is welcome to stay or leave, as he pleases, but we certainly hope they stay, as part of the community.
Of course, that is just the opinion of one member, me.
Hugs,

[Alffe]

(((ConsiderThis))) http://ecard.ashland.edu/2004admission/index.html

[Jomar]

Sometimes you just have to let the words go, don't hold on to them, they are only words from a person on the internet.

Maybe both of you were at bad point in time and just happened to have a clash of viewpoints. Sometimes you just have to agree that you disagree on things.

There are some options-
PM and try to resolve any feelings off forum
ignore the persons words and move forward

We all need to try to not take words on any forum so personal, most of the time we really have no clue about the real person behind the words.

[ConsiderThis]

Originally Posted by Alffe

(((ConsiderThis))) http://ecard.ashland.edu/2004admission/index.html

Hi Alffe, I LOVE that card!!!!!

Thank you SO much for posting it! I posted it yesterday at another forum.

Maybe more people would see it if you posted it in a separate thread.

(((((((((Alffe)))))))))))

Happiness!