A New Era Of Medicine Has Finally Arrived

[Dizzysillyak]

Great article about looking for and treating causes of illnesses ...

http://drhyman.com/a-new-era-of-medicine-has-finally-arrived-3497/

A New Era of Medicine has Finally Arrived

JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE a diagnosis doesn’t mean you know what’s really wrong with you!

Don’t believe that?

I didn’t used to, either!

As a doctor, I was trained to believe that all people with the same diagnosis were the same.

That means, I thought that one person’s asthma was the same as someone else’s asthma and that depression was the same in everyone.

That made my job pretty easy — once I made the diagnosis, all I had to do was match the pill to the ill, the drug to the disease.

What’s wrong with this approach?

When doctors practice medicine this way, we end up treating the NAME of a disease — not the CAUSE.

The truth is, everyone is different, even people with the same diagnosis.

I have no doubt that this treatment changed my patient’s life — and that this way of viewing disease is the new way of practicing medicine.

Take a group of people with the same condition — let’s say depression. That group might be depressed, but they may have 10 different causes for it.

How does conventional medicine treat this group?

Everybody gets an antidepressant — and that’s that.

But that’s not how I practice medicine.

The way I see it, if there are 10 different causes for depression in that group, we need 10 different treatments.

I tried the traditional approach for 15 1/2 years and all I got was sicker. Now trying this approach has helped me recover from a wide variety of my "ME / CFS" symptoms. It turns out that looking for and treating symptoms can help alleviate them ... tc ... d

[sue1234]

I have been trying since last winter to get to a doctor that studied with Dr. Hyman. Unfortunately, these kind of doctors(functional medicine) take cash up front, which can be alot. I was so busy trying to pay off my huge deductible that I couldn't afford to go. But, I have read many of his articles on his website. When I was reading up last summer on the influence of intestinal bacteria on our body systems, I ended up at his website. I totally believe their philosophy that there is always an underlying element to disease.

[Dizzysillyak]

Hi sue,

Actually dr hyman is doing the same thing my integrative doctor is. Mine takes medicare and files it for me.

She doesn't take other insurance tho.

I started down this path before meeting my integrative doc. To get started all you need to do is eliminate common food intolerances, all chemicals and eat healthy foods. You can treat for candida and parasites without being tested.

I opted for the Paleo / low - med carb diet because it's good for blood glucose problems.

I had most of the tests run that dr hyman does and the result for me was pretty much what.s considerded

the norm for anyone with leaky gut. Everyone's nutritional deficiencies will vary but b12, magnesium,

D, and iron are common.

That will be $1 please ... Tc .. D

[sue1234]

LOL--here's an imaginary $1 for your imaginary bill!

The doctor I was going to see said that the doctor visit and some of the testing would be covered under my insurance, but I still had to pay up front and wait to get reimbursed. It was probably going to amount to around $1000, give or take. I'm still waiting for a time when I am done paying my darn medical bills, and can put some cash to the side for this kind of visit. I was very interested in the stool test that did DNA or something like that of the intestinal bacteria, to see if there was an imbalance of pathogenic vs. normal bacteria. Ten years ago I saw a holistic MD that did all the yeast stuff, and I didn't have any luck doing all the stuff for that.

[Dizzysillyak]

Thanks .. I'll just add that imaginary $ to all my other imaginary dollars. Lol

I'm a newbie at this still, but I'm not sure how valuable that kind of bacteria test will be at this point. From what I understand,

scientists are still learning which bacteria are good and bad. And they keep learning more on

bacteria everyday. Imho, Bacteriophages may pose a bigger problem than bad bacteria.

I had a cdsa recently for bacteria and candida. I was negative for bad bacteria, yay, low on lactobaccillus and had a tiny

bit of candida left. I had a bad candida infection a few years ago tho. What did you do to treat it ?

I have a freind who's cdsa keeps coming back with bad bacteria despite treating it tho. There are

some threads on pheonix rising about sibo. It appears that these bad bacteria can to be hard to get rid of.

I can.t get the links right now cause I.m using my tablet. A search on sibo should get these tho.

Tc ..d

[sue1234]

Ughh! My mind is blank! I started out with a couple of months on Nystatin, the anti-yeast med that only works in the gut. Then, a couple of weeks of xxxx(can't remember the name), that is more of a systemic yeast killer. I actually did this a couple of times, many years ago, and it didn't really do anything. I'm pretty sure my problem is, and has been, SIBO. I took Flagyl last summer, and I had a glorious couple of weeks with NO bloating. I could sit up straight in a chair and not feel like I was suffocating due to the over-blown intestines(from all the trapped gas) pushing up into my lungs. That proved to me that I can be bloat-free. I just need someone to get it to be permanent!

[Dizzysillyak]

Here's the thread from celiac dot com ... it appears that some of them have tried what you tried.

http://www.celiac.co...-sibo-troubles/

My doc refused to give me any prescription meds for this ... and she's an md so she could've .. If I remember correctly she saw too many patients have problems from these .. I was told to use Candidase + Virastop + anything that's known to kill candida. I used raw garlic, pau d'arco, olive tree leaf, etc ...

IMHO, Following a candida diet is important in the beginning but I haven't been watching it in the last few years and I seem to be ok ... kow ... I hardly ever eat candy tho and never eat grains tho so that helps .. And I treat with Candidase + candida killers for a few days at time on a regular basis.

BTW. .. here's the info that got me started on Dr. Hyman's website ..

I skipped the beginning of this article but it explains the part I copied in ...

http://drhyman.com/u...ive-stress-154/

UltraWellness Lesson 6: Energy, Mitochondria & Oxidative Stress

Much research has been done on antioxidants and disease, and the results are mixed. We are used to looking at things through the wrong model. Studying a single anti-oxidant that we isolate from food, like beta-carotene, is completely counter-physiologic.

If fact, it underscores the fundamental lack of knowledge by most doctors about nutrition and the redox system.

We are looking for answers based on the drug model – a single drug, a single effect, a measurable outcome. You give a pill for high blood pressure and the blood pressure goes down. Studying oxidative stress is completely different.

First, antioxidants are part of an overall team that controls and manages the excess free radicals we produce. You couldn’t put Michael Jordon on a basketball team by himself and except him to win a championship. Why would we expect that one antioxidant alone could do any benefit? In fact, you could guarantee that Michael Jordon would lose EVERY game if he played by himself.

Second, by definition, any anti-oxidant becomes an oxidant.

In other words, the anti-oxidants work by giving up one electron to neutralize the free radical, and then by definition they become a free radical. They in turn need to be neutralized by another free radical, down a chain like a hot potato, until they are finally neutralized by the mother of all antioxidants, glutathione, which can be recycled and restored.

This is why studies show that beta-carotene can increase cancer, or vitamin C may cause DNA damage. In addition, some of the most powerful antioxidants are not in vitamins and minerals, but in food, such as the proanthocyanidins in grapes and berries.

This provides an important lesson. We should obtain the bulk of our antioxidants from food – namely whole, real, unprocessed plant foods. And we should take antioxidants as a team, not individually.

Whew! That’s a lot of biochemistry and physiology, and I really wouldn’t go into so much detail if it weren’t so important.

So here’s what to do to protect your mitochondria and prevent rusting.

• Eat less processed, junk food, sugar and empty calories. In fact you should really avoid them altogether
  
• Detoxify – get rid of environmental and internal toxins
  
• Address inflammation
  
• Balance your hormones
  

Here are things to boost and protect your mitochondria:

• Exercise – interval training increases the efficiency and function of the mitochondria, and strength training increases the amount of muscle and number of mitochondria
  
• 
  
• Eat whole real, colorful plant food – 8-12 servings of fresh vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains every day full of antioxidants and phytonutrients
  
• 
  
• Take mitochondria protective and energy boosting nutrients such as acetyl-L-carnitine, alpha lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, n-acetyl-cysteine, NADH, D-ribose, resveratrol, magnesium aspartate
  
• 
  
• Increase omega 3 fats to help build your mitochondrial membranes
  

Taking care of your mitochondria will allow you to increase your energy, lose weight, and age well. It is a cornerstone of creating UltraWellness.

[Dizzysillyak]

I really like this doctor. He makes it easy to understand this stuff ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/5-steps-to-kill-hidden-ba_b_739213.html

5 Steps to Kill Hidden Bugs in Your Gut That Make You Sick

[Sallysblooms]

My integrative MD's have been doing good work for years. I have done great with my CFS and now POTS, no precriptions, I have to stay away from toxic drugs. All supplements, good healthful food. Common sense and great integrative MD's. There are many things to help, most reg. doctors just have no training with supplements. They just write prescriptions... ugg

[ramakentesh]

The understanding of POTS is greatly advancing in recent years. So this kind of CFS-related 'warm and fuzzy' medicine will be a thing of the past.

[Dizzysillyak]

Hi sally,

Good to hear that you're doing better. It's always great to hear from someone else who's being helped

by their doctors.

I get similiar reactions to drugs so I stick with food and supplements.

Tc .. D

[Dizzysillyak]

The understanding of POTS is greatly advancing in recent years. So this kind of CFS-related 'warm and fuzzy' medicine will be a thing of the past.

Hi Ram,

I really can't see how any progress has been made in pots. Do you want to start a thread on what progress has been made ?

I don't understand the cfs relatded warm and fuzzy medicine comment. Dr. Hyman is an md who practices both

traditional and holistic medicine. It seems to me that any doctor who advances their knowledge

this way will be more capable of helping their patients. My integrative doctor rocks ...

Tc ..d

[ramakentesh]

Sorry - i was a bit harsh

Massive progress has been made in the understanding of POTS in the majority of cases. I regularly post about that fact. Take the time to do some reading and you will see that this is the case.

Imagine a situation where two of the three major subsets of POTS are caused by either too much or too little of the same molecule. Confusing? In other words what could be helping one group - even dietary - could make another group potentially feel worse...

[sue1234]

Rama, I know that nitric oxide is "your" thing. The one thing that still doesn't explain everything is, what causes more NO synthesis or lack of? We have been talking for a year or more of various things going on in the body that influence NO. I can think of two things, bacterial overgrowth and hyperinsulinemia, and there's probably more.

I personally think the doctors don't need to worry about how to fix the NO levels, they need to fix the underlying issues CAUSING the NO issues.

[abnel]

While that may be true concerning advances being made in terms of understanding causal mechanisms, I really don't feel that some of the specialists I've seen are any the wiser on treatment options.

I saw another POTS specialist recently and he wasn't convinced that understanding the type of POTS or the cause of POTS was helpful in determining treatment options. In his opinion it was a case of whatever works for the patient is what can be prescribed. He said that at the end of the day, doctors just want us to feel better.

I raised Chinese medicine with him and he said as long as it makes me feel better why not try it?

I tend to think that if Integrative Medicine helps a patient feel better, then we should consider it given that there is currently no cure for POTS.

[ramakentesh]

True - the recent research progress has not translated into new or better medical interventions - very good point. Infact, I agree in that both of the specialist I used to see (I dont bother myself any more) had no idea about any of the research.

What ever works works I guess. But I do hope that one day soon we see some real treatment progress for those of us that dont have much success with the conventional treatments.

As for causes of the NO problems - genetic defects are implicated.

[Sallysblooms]

Deletlng, words were added

[skiberthoud]

I am a huge fan of integrative and function medicine. These are the docs that have helped me the most!