[net.med] Experimenting with Vitamin C, etc.

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