Posted by bleauberry on November 11, 2009, at 17:58:07
In reply to Re: Chronic Infection May Spawn Depression (Articl » southernsky, posted by floatingbridge on November 10, 2009, at 19:23:06
Have you ever seen the TV show Mystery Diagnosis? They are stories like yours, mine, and probably many of us here. That is, a doctor says there is nothing else he can do, you just have to live with it, and bye bye. But in the end, a doctor did know what was going on and how to treat it...it just meant finding that doctor. One or two visits is all it takes to judge the caliber of a doctor. Move on if they seem weak. There is a good one out there waiting.
We have to become our own advocates, because no one else will do it for us. I have come to believe that and will say it often. When treatment goes as planned, successful, there is no need for that. But when the road is rocky, it is absolutely imperative. In my strong opinion, that means including other areas of medicine along with psychiatry, not just psychiatry. Because the cause of the symptoms is probably outside of the psychiatrists knowledge. Without addressing all of the angles, any treatment is probably going to fall short.
Science. Yes, that is the way of the Western world. We are very strong on science. But there is so much we don't know, much more research to do, and it will take many decades or centuries.
In the meantime, the second largest medical system on the planet treats people from an experience point of view more than a science point of view. We can use that to our advantage. The miles do not need to be barriers to healing or knowledge or experience.
Inflammation may be big news these days in the Western world, but is old news in the East. They've been treating inflammation for hundreds and thousands of years with plants that are equal to or greater in efficacy than meds. Experience has shown what works. It will be American science that eventually explains how they work. But for now, they work and that's that, period. If someone has an inflammation concern, the cure is readily available. If they want to wait for science to explain why that cure works, it will probably be a long wait.
Not to cut the Eastern world short, there are actually literally hundreds of scientific research studies on the plants they use, in addition to the experience. They can tell us how plant XYX increases CD4 count, decreases a particular lymphocyte, prevents a certain cytokine, boosts infectious immunity yet suppresses autoimmunity simultaneously, reduces inflammation, analgesic, antioxidant, nervous system calming, and a more...all from one friggin plant.
Any single constituent of that plant would not likely provide the same effect. No for-profit pharm company will have any interest in marketing that plant, though they may try to duplicate its primary ingredients so as to get a patend and make millions. Meanwhile, it's already here and has been for eons. So while it would probably be a miraculous benefit for the right person, it will never happen as long as they only recruit the tools of their mainstreet psychiatrist.
> Thank you southernsky for your link. I've just had the door closed on me by my MD. He explained that people like me (with my condition: mental illness, depression) can expect compromised health. There's just nothing to do according to him. Felt he threw me on the junk heap. But that's not where I landed for long. Inflammation is big news these days, implicated in many diseases. I hope that someday soon, science makes more and more connections. I feel science is moving closer, at least in theory and it's leading edge. How long till it trickles down to treatments...? And then med schools for more savvy doctors?
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