dyer@spdcc.UUCP (Steve Dyer) (04/21/86)
In article <139@PSUECL>, pat@psuecl.BITNET writes: > Arthritis is very common in my family. My mother is a music (piano) > teacher, and arthritis got in her way. So she went to a doctor in San > Fransico who specializes in these things. (what does this have to do with > calcium? I am getting to that.) > The doctor found that the majority of my mothers arthritis was caused > by allergies, and lack of certain vitamins. One of them happened to be > calcium. Why am I telling you this? Because I too have arthritis. My > mother spoke to her doctor who told her that my arthritis could be caused > by totally different things, in fact it probably is (my mother has to take > HCL because she doesn't have enough acid in her stomache, while I have an > acidic stomach) and I should see a doctor and have tests run before I start > taking any kind of vitamin or whatever. If your doctor has determined that > you need calcium, or whatever, by all means take it. But don't take any > kind of minerals unless you KNOW that it is needed. Otherwise you may end > up sicker after than before. Arthritis is not caused by lack of vitamins or minerals, the amount of acid in your stomach, or allergies to food or dust. I wonder if your mother might have misunderstood what her doctor had been saying, because the summary you give doesn't jibe at all with traditional medical knowledge (other than the warning against self-medication instead of visiting a qualified doctor.) If that *is* what her doctor is saying, I'd get the both of you to a more t-r-a-d-i-t-i-o-n-a-l allopathic practitioner pronto for a second opinion of your conditions and recommended treatments. -- Steve Dyer dyer@harvard.HARVARD.EDU {bbncca,bbnccv,harvard,ima,ihnp4}!spdcc!dyer