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[Sunshine]

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[Kritters]

Runswithscizzor,

Excellent, thank you. It's good to keep that in mind as it gives the incentive to keep on researching ourselves for the answers and not be in timidated by thoughts of ineptness or awe of the medical information we read.

I recently read a book called, "The Truth About the Drug Companies" by Dr. Angell who is a past editor of the New England Journal of Medicine. It was a major eye-opener to me having been in my own little world previously, thinking all Medical practice and research is done altruistically and we can just go about the business of living life knowing we are in good hands. bs bs bs I woke up. That was just one area of awakening in the last few years.

In it, Dr. Angell explained that the drug companies use very little of their disgustingly high profit off the drugs they sell for R and D (research and development..they use the initials and I didn't know what they meant ;-) but rather lavish the doctors with gifts and trips and spend on advertising for more people to tell their doctors to give the prescription for them. Also, that there are 'me too' drugs hammered out which are the same as the previous drug which they are about to lose the patent on and so change a molecule and keep the patent. Testing is done rarely by independent labs, so we become the guinea pigs as evidenced by so many drugs taken off the market (not voluntarily, mind you). And speaking of profit, the drug companies charge three times the amount other countries do. Older people who rely on very little income actually have planned bus trips to Canada to get their drugs. I believe it is just now being allowed to buy drugs in other countries because of pressure from informed organizations.

As I was researching through the net just the other day, a thought came to mind. When you read through all the types of testing, staining, and much of the jargon which that article brings to mind, one would think, "wow... we really need a base of knowledge to begin to understand the process" And while it is true that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, so they say, as well as knowing how very important it is to be informed and educated in order to understand and move forward, it is the pressure of people like us who are dedicating so much time to try to figure this thing out through researching via the internet (thank God for it) which will force those in the medical peer research groups to step up and sharpen their skills.

I hope I didn't digress from your intent. And yes, alternative medicine (which predates modern medicine) and preventive medicine would seriously cut into the big pharma profits.

Kritters

[Jason]

Hi Runs,

I agree with what your saying i worked for a big pharma in Glaxo Smith Kline and i know first hand how they operate. We use to see pipeline seminars they presented on new drugs coming through and the politics/corruption in getting them approved by the FDA etc etc. Also these drugs produced were normally for terminal diseases where people were in 3rd stage of breast cancer and many other cancers, there approach in these seminars were trying to show how many people (by using statistics) they were going to be able to capture and guided there researchers to produce drugs that would be most profitable. Hence producing drugs to treat the symptoms and not tackle the cause. So if they thought they would make more money by treating a person in the last stage of the cancer which the person would inevitably die anyway then thats where they would focus their research on.

This is how the western world operates in every sector of business, its all about maximising shareholder wealth. This will never change whilst we live in a corporate world.

[Sunshine]

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[Bad_Boy]

Runswithscissors,

What this article says about peer review is disturbing. I had to look peer review up to make certain that we were talking about the same thing, and yes we are.

Peer review was supposed to be a means to ensure unasserted opinion wasn't disseminated--no soap boxes allowed. Unasserted, I thought, was supposed to be without experimentation (when applicable) or logical structure (by logic, I mean in the formal sense, the investigation and classification of the "structure of statements and arguments, both through the study of formal systems of inference and through the study of arguments in natural language" --wikipedia entry). If what this article says is true, then personal, possibly emotional, bias is now becoming a standard of what is accepted. Even a whole group, if there are no dissenting members, can have a "mob mentality" and therefore exercise the same sort of bias.

When PhDs defend their Doctoral Dissertation, they have to meet with a panel of experts in fields related to the one in which their dissertation is based. Therefore, there theoretically could be a sociologist, a statatition, a geneticist, etc. Certainly, the would be PhD may choose his advisors, but it's very hard to construct a thesis without the help from another field if someone wants to prove their theory properly. To merely create a valid test, the applicant has to have a good statistical background--chances are that person needs someone with a little more experience.

So what happened? Were my memory better, I could dredge up historical examples detailing how mathamatitians, botanists, early anthropologists, etc collaborated (Please, if anyone can think of an example...). Go back enough years, and one was expected to have knowledge in more than one field. This may be why today faster advances are made in the fields of traditional collaboration: computing, communication, robotics, various disciplines of design, and....art. Ok. Had to put in the plug for the artists . Still, a modern peer review sounds more like a club than an "ok, looks like you're properly referenced".

To be rejected by peer review might not be the end of a theory, however. some people have to prove their study for years. Here's a less dramatic example: Endiosymbiotic theory.

By the way, has anyone studied anything related to computing? They say the person's speciality is obsolete as soon as they find it published in a book

BB

[Sunshine]

The conclusion I keep coming to is this. The long and the short of it is that OUR people need to be PUBLISHED in a peer reviewed journal of some kind for our disease to be taken seriously. To date all the information in the PUBLISHED journals which our MEDICAL community is reading/viewing online and otherwise, is skewed toward the antiquated findings of dermatologists who are overreaching their bounds into the psychological realm. I would almost make a bet that those very same dermatological FINDINGS which are PUBLISHED, which suggest strong antipsychotrophic medications for our "condition" are backed by these very same drug companies.
What do we need to do, find a antiparasitic drug company to back our research so we can find an "almost" cure?! At least that would make more sense if that is closer to what we need for an antidote. All antipsychotrophics are going to do is to make us less productive and numb to the fact that we are still afflicted and less aggressive in seeking answers to the REAL questions.

The woman's article I've posted above is quite negative albeit truthful but I've always used a cautious eye when seeing broad stroke generalizations used when describing any segment of the population. In my heart of hearts I do beleive that there are those who are in the scientific and medical community who are not completely corrupted by cash and ego and are in their life calling to do good toward the betterment of humanity. However, I'm not sure there is a place on this planet where a human being would be completely uncorrupted by bureaucracy. There are accepted guidelines these people have to follow and I guess I am going to just have to accept them as fact and swallow that dirty little pill of reality.
Yes, I am a walking, talking contradiction and I'm sorry if I seem so, but this comes from trying to see both sides every situation and come to some semblance of truth which usually lies somewhere in the middle. Right? Keep those thought provoking posts coming guys. Thanks again!!

Runswithscissors

[Bad_Boy]

What do we need to do, find a antiparasitic drug company to back our research so we can find an "almost" cure?

I don't think we need sponsorship . Not from a drug company, anyway.

Bubba's started collecting a survey together. She may be having some doctor friends help her construct it--hopefully someone with some test design experience. Maybe she needs a volunteer with experience in that area. It's a small step, but it would be a start. She probably has her hands full with the ice storm & etc right now.

As far as sounding contradictory, isn't that sort of standard procedure when mulling ideas? As I get new information, my "theories" change. Glad to know you're considering all angles, too--means you'll probably present information from a fresh perspective. In fact, you already have . Loved the little dig at pharms who specialize.

BB

[chester]

Thanks for all the info, i will copy and give it to my physician assistant daughter, who is in her 2nd year of school. It is expensive to go to the school, and considered an honor...as the grades, tests, and interview make it more than elite. The tests are hard, the studying overwhelming, and the stress level is humbling. Students are put right next to doctors in surgery, an eye opening hands on experience. This point of contact is not the battle ground of ethics and debate. The students learn as much as they can, as fast as they can....but, can they evaluate all they are learning? Well, i dont know, im just "ordinary", yet she and i have butted heads on some issues. How does one enforce honesty and intregrity in research, and where are the truths that are self evident? My eye opening experience was in the dental chair. A root canal was ready for a post and crown. The receptionist came in and glued on a permanant crown, saying that the dentist was busy. I did not know she had no training, did not know that there was no post in place, did not understand why the dentist with whom i had an appointment was busy with another patient. Nor did i know that the receptionists husband had made the crown at home. So i went home with my new crown. Problems developed. When i would swallow food, the muscles in the jaw/neck would freeze and i couldnt swallow...a few seconds later...the muscles would unjam. Not understanding that this could be because the crown was too high, i thought something was horribly wrong with me. In the seconds that the swallowing muscles would jam...i began to have extreme anxiety. I solved this problem with a creative distraction. During the jam i would slap my leg, diverting my focus to ouch, instead of panic. Thats how i ate for a couple days. Thats why i could not attend a convention dinner with my husband. Can you imagine the distraction i would have created at the dinner table? Resolution came in a surprising way. A birthday party attended by my daughter was at a home with a stable. This stable and horses pricked a dads interest... to pick up his daughter at the end of the party. That is how i met him, he told me he was a dentist specializing in jaw problems. I told him mine. He instructed me to make an appointment with only my dentist, and only talk to him. I had already at this point....called about my problem and been there 3 times for help already. Each time the receptionist had scheduled me on a dentist day off. I had been in that office with it empty, except for the receptionist who took the drill to the crown and then would ask me .....is it all better now? Standing by the stable and horses, i was instructed by this jaw specialist to tell my dentist what was going on, but also explain that i was reporting this to the dental association and also would be leaving his care. The jaw specialist had a friend whose practice was closed to new patients. He was the pres of the dental society....but, the jaw specialist assured me that when he heard my story....he would take care of me. Sure enough...i was welcomed to the new office. So, in following the advise of the jaw specialist i made an appointment with my dentist. When i got there the receptionist told me they were running late and would i like to be rescheduled. I said no, and ended up waiting two hours to get into the chair. My dentist extended the chair to reclining position, and from that humble point i began to strongly point out that i was leaving and reporting him. At that point the receptionist came in to see what all the discussion was about. The dentist shoed her out and shut the door. I asked him why in the world he would allow this woman to jepradise his practice. Why was he letting her work on patients? I called the dental society and reported the situation. Months later i received a call from a member. I kid you not,...his name was Dr. Doolittle. He tried to convince me that i should drop the charges based on the fact that i was using the tooth, and that i had been re-inbursed money wise for it. I told him i didnt feel like dropping the charges. I will never know if anything was ever done to set any of that straight. I went straight to the new dentist. He was important in the dental world. He encouraged me to first set an appointment for assessing just how out of allignment my teeth were. This was an expensive and lenthy appointment, but very interesting. It involved head braces, and him banging my relaxed lower jaw up and down against the top row of teeth. Lots of hot wash clothes on the jaw assured that the muscles would remain relaxed during this rather fun exploration and exageration into why my swallowing muscles had protested the once too high crown. The fact is that muscles remember the correct allignment...so, you might say, if it is off, they get pissed off. My allignment was fine to me at this point, but...his testing pointed out it could be better for about $10,000. The thing i did learn that was invaluable during this appointment, was that his front teeth were not perfect. I have never had that alllignment done, the post was never put in my crowned root canal as he retired soon thereafter....but, with morgellons afflicting my teeth, i look at them and have a bit of courage as they fall apart. It will be alright for a time i tell them. First i get the lesions out of my face, then the repairs. After all, the pres of the dental society was comfortable with his teeth imperfect. So...the story continues. I was so angry with myself for being so trusting. I decided to teach myself a lesson. The receptionist left darling motherly recordings on the answering machine at the old office. It was just this very thing...her sweet nurturing personality that made me so dumb and trusting. I would call after hours and listen to her rambling message...."hello, we are closed but tomorrow will be a beautiful day, and with a little rain and maybe even some thunder and lightening it will be a cozy day.".... You must admit that folks who talk like that are pleasant, but the goal was for me to tell myself that as happy as that talk was, my swallowing reflex was important to protect, and i could no longer swallow injustice in trust issues....i needed to learn how to protect myself. Well, as it happened....the dentist appeared at my husbands office furious! Your wife ,he yelled....has been calling my office after hours and its scaring my receptionist! If she doesnt stop these afterhours calls i will call the police on her! Then my husband came home all upset with me and wanted to know what in the world i was doing calling the old dental office. Well, dont you know, i was just trying to teach myself not to trust motherly, nuturing, sweet talking medical folks! Of course he didnt understand and demanded i appologise. The whole fault really was that ....that office had just gotten a caller id installed . So thats how i ....ah hum...the victim....got into deep ****, but learned a lession in not trusting. Now, i felt really stupid, embarrassed, and in trouble with the dentist, the receptionist, the medical society and my husband. The jaw specialist was not there to advise me. But, i was watching an old episode of "Leave it to Beaver", and in it....he got into trouble on the school bus. He was forced to write a note of appology. He was mad about it, cause all the kids were treated unfairly by the bus driver. So he wrote the note to the bus driver, and made copies to sell to the rest of the kids...cause they would be in trouble soon enough. And that is how i resolved my situation. I wrote a note of appology to the receptionist and made copies. I figured maybe i could sell them to the rest of their patients who might freek out from problems in that office. It is hard to learn to not trust. In doing so you might find yourself in trouble like me. Do you need a note? If not....please dont follow my example! So, what advise do we have in resolving the morgellons mystery? To me instinct has the strongest voice...."get it out, get it out!" In doing so, i have become addicted to the microscope and camera and silly experiements i think about all day long and perform nightly. My life is out of "whack" because research is so time consuming. Now, i find out i cannot even trust myself to prove anything. What i am left at is "trusting God to guide me". I need to write myself a note of appology, trusting myself to figure this out is way too hard. IN the midst of the complicated mess life hands us ...is a simple truth, self evident...".in God we trust." Well, on that note i will end my story of trust issues....gee, where have i seen that quote before? "IN God we trust".

[Kritters]

Hi Nancy,

http://www.healthgrades.com/?tv_eng=Google&tv_kw=doctorsearch&gclid=CNaixqP6qp ACFQSOFQodKVkF7A

Happy Holidays

Kritts

[Sunshine]

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