Beckymd

[sarab]

I have to tell you I think it is wonderful that the world will have a dr in the future who in knowledgable on nutrition. Just because we don't "agree" on everything does not mean I think you are useless. I guess some people got that impression from the colon post. However, I do not want you to think I am trying to put you down. I can tell from your posts that you work and study hard.

I do have a bit of reluctance when it comes to drs. I think this is due to some problems I have had with them. This has made me lose faith in some of them. I have learned that drs don't always know what is wrong with their patients. I am studying education and I certainly do not know everything (especially algebra...yuck!)

My daughter is 18 months old. At her 15 month appt, she lost weight. From 12 mths to 15 mths, she was weaned from breastmilk and started teething. Everytime she would get a new tooth (which was one right after the other), she would get diarrhea for 4-5 days. Naturally, she would lose weight. At this time, she did not care much for milk, but she loved 100% juice. (I would water her juice down and I still do.)Her ped told me to stop giving her juice because of the sugar. Then he told me to put chocolate in her milk to get her to drink it. I did not take his advice. I would rather her have 100% juice sugars rather than chocolate milk mix!

So, I am glad you know, study, and push a clean diet. That is wonderful. I want you to know that even though some thought I was trying to put you down and blame the med society, I was not. If you think so, I apologize. I like to think we were agreeing to disagree!

Also, if you are interested, pick up a book by Doug Coffman (from the site I gave you). It is interesting reading and something you can certainly add to your microbiology studies. If you are not interested that is fine, too. As I mentioned above, I am going to school for education. I know my classes are not teaching me EVERYTHING I need to know about teaching. I am not sure, but I would guess you might be in the same situation.

Anyway, thanks for listening and thank you for studying nutrition. Your future patients need this knowledge.

Sara
http://www.picturetrail.com/saraburnham1

 

[Imafitnessfreak]

Just wanted to 2nd everything Sara said and say I truelly appreciate all of your input on the other post. For us to be thoroughly informed, we need to be exposed to all sides from every angle. It's the only way to avoid ignorance!

Also, Sara...my kids would get diarrhea when a tooth came in, too. It would cause a nasty, nasty rash that took an aggressive cream to rid of the rash. That is how I new it was a tooth and not something else! Funny to think...our kids poop told us so much about their current state of health!!:7

 

[sarab]

Sarah,

My daughter would get a horrible diaper rash. She would scream when I changed her diaper. I am glad that does not happen anymore. I usually use desitin and she would scream when I put that on her rash. I has to smear it in her diaper instead of putting it on her bottom.

Sara
http://www.picturetrail.com/saraburnham1

 

[Imafitnessfreak]

Mine would get slight specks of blood! The smear it on the diaper is brilliant! Wish I thought of that!! Broke my heart to smear that stuff on knowing it hurt in the process!

Sorry! Did not mean to take away from your thread!!!

I LOVE that name, by the way..."Becky". It's my most favorite girl name ever! All the nicknames are so pretty, too! Rebecca, Becky, Bec...I call my little sister "Bec". When we were kids, I called her Beck-a-leck. My DH has a law against naming our kids a name that someone in the family already has, so I couldn't snag "Becky" for my DD.

 

[beckymd]

I agree that we were just agreeing to disagree. I understand that there will always be people who feel differently about issues. That is what makes the world an interesting place.

I do truly believe that the best medicine is a healthy lifestyle (good diet, healthy stress relief methods, exercise, good support systems) but unfortunately the climate of our country is often one of fast-fixes and high-stress. It is often easier to get a patient to take a medicine than to get them to change their lifestyle. The goal in the end is still good health. I agree that often doctors get so used to seeing patients who don't care to change their unhealthy ways that they just get used to prescribing medication after medication. That is unfortunate. I am still "wet behind the ears" and optimistic about the future, so when I see patients I still attempt the healthy lifestyle talks...but often I can tell that certain patients have no interest in what I am saying, so we precribe a medication.

I guess the thing is that all doctors are humans...we do make mistakes. We do have moods and bad days too. But we do have multiple years of education at many different institutions and by many different instructors (4 years of undergraduate work, 4 years of medical school, and 3-10 years of residency....the residency length depends on which specialty a dr chooses) so we do get a fairly well-rounded education. We are now taught to weigh evidence before making a decision. We don't just do a procedure/make a diagnosis/prescribe a med just because one of our predecessors said to. We have to have studies to back it up. But we still don't know everything about the human body. (and this is why I love medicine...I'll never stop learning) Research is always being done to understand it more and more. Even with all of our education, there are still some things we just don't know (or that no one knows), but we do try.

Here at Florida State College of Medicine we even have a student interest group called CHAOS which deals with complementary/alternative/osteopathic treatments...so some of us choose to learn about these things. I am actually very interested in these concepts. I may not believe all of them, but I do believe that it is really important for physicians to understand them, as many patients will try other therapies as well as those offered by traditional Western (allopathic) medicine.

The one comment that was made that really bothered me (and I don't believe it was you) was that pharmaceutical companies fund medical schools. That is definately not true. Some research may be funded way down the line by drug companies, but that isn't the bulk of the research funding...much of it is from government agencies and non-profit organizations. There are many physicians and medical students (myself included) who feel like those doctors that allow the pharm reps to buy them lunches/dinners/trips are "whoring" themselves out. I am committed to my patients. I enjoy the autonomy of medicine and I don't want to lose that by being accountable to some drug rep.

Actually, I intend to go into surgery, so I often won't be the one "pushing meds". I just enjoy cutting things.

I am sorry you have had trouble with the medical profession in the past. If ever a dr gives you advice that you don't agree with, let the dr know. Have him/her explain exactly why that advice is better than what you believe. Have him/her point you to research/papers that support their beliefs. Some older physicians still hold to the old paternalistic view of medicine where the dr is always right and the patient should do what he/she is told. I don't feel that way and most medical schools have ceased to teach that way (mine has).

I do wish you all good luck and good health in all of you endeavors.

-Becky

Oh, and thanks for the compliments on my name. Believe it or not, it is just "Becky", not "Rebekah". Actually, my middle name is Sue so my name is "Becky Sue". How Southern can you get?

Edited to change "2" to "3" when discussing the length of residency.

 

[hokypoky]

I tend to think (and I could be completely off base here) that younger doctors are taught to be more open-minded. Or are exposed to new and different things than their older counterparts. I suppose it depends on the specialty. I always felt like my (older) family doctor wasn't very open to anything that wasn't his opinion.

Or I might be wrong ...! ;-)

 

[sarab]

Actually, I did say pharm companies fund med schools, but I wasn't sure so that is why I said I was surmising. This is something I have "heard" in the past. I never knew if it were true or not. Maybe I should not surmise....I don't like offending people.

You sound like you are doing a great job and going into the correct profession. If you ever do read a book by Doug Coffman let me know what you think of it. I would love to hear your opinion on it. If not, that is fine, too!

Good luck to as well!!

Sara
http://www.picturetrail.com/saraburnham1

 

[Imafitnessfreak]

This is all very interesting and enlightening! I forget that the majority of patients are not open to making healthy changes in their lifestyle for sake of better health and therefore become "repeat patients". It makes sense that MD's would get into the habit of writing a perscription since most of our society is not only unwilling to make healthy changes, they are cluess as to what that entails. Ignorance on my part or just caught up in doing my best to raise a healthy family.

So the query is, doesn't it make sense that those who are much more serious about their health are the ones looking towards a more natural, less westernized form of therapy? Again, not a "looking for a fight" question. Much more of an "I'm enjoying the view points" question.

 

[sarab]

Something that might go with this topic....

My stepdad has high blood pressure and is overweight. My mother has tried to get him to change his lifestyle, but has failed. He went to the dr for the hbp and the dr put him on medication and told him he can keep eating junk, smoking, and drinking beer. My poor mom had smoke coming out of her ears; she was soooooo mad. I think the dr should have told him to lose weight, quit smoking, and limit or quit drinking beer. However, he is taking the meds instead. My mom and him are like night and day when it comes to health!

Sara
http://www.picturetrail.com/saraburnham1

 

[pixie9]

It is my opinion, that those who are most interested in health and fitness are drawn to those industries(doctors, physical therapists, dieticians, personal trainers, etc). These people must have some sort of scientific background to do these jobs. They must have some background that provides them with EVIDENCE based knowledge to help their patients/clients with their goals.

Working as a personal trainer and fitness instructor, I have met sooooo many people like myself who are interested in keeping themselves healthy and in top shape, while providing the best for their clients. They must constantly keep up with the most recent peer reviewed research and do their best to dispell health and fitness myths. I have had so much fun and learned so much from this job that I personally plan to get a Master's in Exercise Science and possible become an RD someday. I think that the more informed you are about training correctly, the less likely you are to be sick, so the less likely you need to see a doctor on a regular basis (with the exception of regular check ups and dental stuff).

The problem I have with many alternative medicine fields, is that MANY of them don't do peer reviewed research. The most many of them offer are testimonials, which are a sure sign of non evidence and probably quackery. The research I do see presented is always reviewed by their own fields of study (example, chiros only publish research that has been reviewed by other chiros, a practice that seems a little shady to me). I feel I have an obligation to my clients to have a solid background in my field. This is why I'm constantly reading about the subject and trying to expand my knowledge.

As a side note, my boss, a yoga instructor, is deeply into yoga and believes strongly in the importance in evidence based medicine and fitness. I say that because yoga is traditionally known as a "non western" practice and I'm glad to know that that isn't always the case. I believe that yoga is a great way to lower blood pressure and stress levels.

carolyn

PS: If anyone has seen Nacho Libre, I love the quote from Stephen: "I believe in sciiiience". I'm so down with that.;-)