Alternative vs. Conventional

I was reading a very interesting commentary on CNN.com today.  Here is a link:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/10/24/commentary.brawley.cancer.treatment/index.html

The commentator, Dr. Otis Brawley, is expressing his opinions that actress Suzanne Somers needs to be careful about dispensing alternative medical treatments for cancer since some people may take her advice and then die.  He makes a very good point that each cancer is different and each cancer patient is different and it isn’t something with which you play around.  I especially like how he refers to her as a “comedic” actress.  Kind of discredits her credibility as a medical specialist right from the start.

I also like the last part of the article where Dr. Brawley advises people to be careful about mixing seemingly innocuous vitamins and minerals with prescription drugs.  I agree with this totally.  I found out that taking thyroid medicine within four hours of taking calcium or iron would cause the thyroid medicine to be less effective.  So I experimented.  I started taking it first thing in the morning and then putting off my multivitamin, which contained calcium and iron, until lunchtime.  About two weeks later I went in for my blood tests before my doctor’s appointment.  When I went to see the doctor, she said that something had changed and now they were giving me too much thyroid medicine.  I explained to her what I had done and she said she had never heard of that.  She also said that as long as I continued taking it the same way, she would lower my dosage.

That is one thing I have discovered in my experience with doctors and pharmacists.  Doctors are great for knowing what prescriptions to give and how it will affect the body.  But they aren’t all 100% up to speed on the interactions of drugs.  Which is ok.  That is what the pharmacist is able to do quite effectively.  A pharmacist was the person who told me that soy and thyroid medicine doesn’t mix well (I know…Oprah Winfreys said she drank soy milk when she was recovering from her thyroid episode…really not a good thing to do). And now the pharmacist was the one to tell me about the calcium and iron thing (he put the label on the bottle that said that).  I always check with the pharmacist when I start a new medicine, even over the counter cold medicine.  He has my list of medications and he can tell whether or not something will cause a bad reaction.  My doctor has to research it to find out.  My doctor is very good about researching it but I have had some doctors in the past who are clueless and prescribe drugs like a great experiment.  “Let’s see what this will do!”  Let’s not since I’m not a guinea pig.

I love my doctor and it took me a long time to find someone I trust and who takes good care of me. But I think it is also helpful to know that my pharmacist is looking out for me and keeping an eye on the medications I take.

Read the commentary if you can.  And please be careful about everything you do when it comes to medical advice.  You are the best advocate for your own medical care.  It’s your life.  Be careful with it.