keaton (03/31/83)
I propose the following: When confronted with such a question (not necessarily just Vit. C), why not simply ask your doctor about it? He will give you one of three answers: 1) Procedure X has been proven to be beneficial. (In this case you should try it.) 2) Procedure X has been proven NOT to be beneficial. (In this case you shouldn't.) 3) It has not been proven whether or not procedure X is beneficial. In case three, if you insist on experimenting, ask your doctor under what conditions it would be COUNTER PRODUCTIVE and DON'T try it under those conditions. If you let him know that you intend to experiment if it won't do you any harm, he might even have some special advice for your case. Then if it works for you, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I know it isn't always that black and white, but speaking from experience the above does help in most cases. When in doubt, don't take the plunge. With my severe allergy conditions, I have had to learn when I can take care of a problem myself and not have to go see a doctor. This is necessary to avoid wasting the doctor's time and my money. HOWEVER, I have also had to learn, in painful detail, the hard way, when I SHOULD go see the doctor. This is more important than it sounds at first, especially to someone like me. At any rate, if you're about to "take the plunge," why not check with your doctor first. Wouldn't you feel stupid if you got sick and then found out you caused it? Hoping YOU can learn from MY past mistakes, David Keaton ucbvax!unmvax!nmtvax!keaton
keaton (03/31/83)
<flame on> Come on, people! What I just said was nothing more than common sense. If you couldn't figure it out on your own I should have let you find out the hard way. Yes, I found out the hard way, but I'm young and foolish -- what's YOUR excuse? <flame off> David Keaton ucbvax!unmvax!nmtvax!keaton
bhayes (04/04/83)
#R:nmtvax:-27200:sri-unix:15400001:000:1170 sri-unix!bhayes Apr 3 15:13:00 1983 Doctors are not magi. If you believe that your doctor sees all, knows all, and tells all, you should beware. Some are better than others, but you can't expect your doctor to know everything. I find that I get better results finding articles about things that concern me, reading them, and making up my own mind. Yes, I often ask my doctor for advice, but that's just another source I use. Just to show you some of the motivation, I'd like to recount a short conversation I had once with my ex-doctor. I had just broken my leg, and was given a perscription for Tylenol with Codine... Me: "Do I have to worry about mixing these with other drugs?" Dr: "Oh, no. They're quite safe." Me: "With anything?" Dr: "With anything." Me: "What about alcohol?" Dr: "You shouldn't drink while you're taking these." Me: "What sort of effect would it have?" Dr: "Very bad." Me: "Like?" Dr: "Like you could stop breathing." Well. I gave my medico two chances to tell me, and getting the information was like pulling teeth: If I drank two beers with two pills, it stood a good chance of killing me. Well, I have a new doctor now, and a PDR, too. -barry bhayes@sri-unix