Announcing the Institute for Science in Medicine

[HuckleB]

http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=1317

"I have stated before that I think one of the most important battle lines for skeptics and science promoters relates to issues of science in medicine. The science-based standard of care is being systemically attacked on every conceivable front – not just public opinion, but legislative, academic, and commercial. Promoters of dubious health treatments and products, what used to comfortably be called “health fraud” have successfully rebranded their products as “natural” and “alternative.”

But at its heart, the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) movement is about eroding science as an obstacle to selling bogus treatments.

I created the Science-Based Medicine site in order to confront the public opinion and academic angles of this important issue. But educating the public and exposing the flawed arguments and weak evidence of CAM does not directly address what is perhaps the most important front – legislation. Ultimately, it is laws and regulations that establish or weaken the science-based standard of care.

That is why Larry Sarner and Linda Rosa have brought together an international group of 42 physicians (and growing) to form the Institute for Science in Medicine.

..."

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It's ridiculous that this is necessary, but, oh, is it necessary!

[Shanti Mama]

1. As someone who suffered for 20+ years with issues that no MD could figure out

I believe that "alternative" treatments should not be dismissed out of hand. I find that most often, if the pharmaceutical companies can't make money off of something then it's poo-poo'd as pseudo-science. Many MDs don't keep up with new treatments unless they're educated by drug company reps so they don't know how to help folks like me.

I went to about six endocrinologists who were unable to help me and who, instead, dismissed me as a bit crazy, an unhappy middle-aged woman who needed antidepressants, anti-anxiety medication, even a just a good fuck. A nurse practitioner, who had decided to educate herself about my various issues, was able to name my problem and help me immediately. I've used products and practices she recommended ever since without ever buying a patented drug.

Another thing I've come to realize is that, for a number of reasons, MDs don't like to diagnose based on clinical presentation. They want tests, numbers. I'm pretty sure this is to protect them from malpractice suits. No judgment calls, no malpractice. My numbers were often "within acceptable ranges" so my clinical presentation was ignored. The fact that the "acceptable range" is a bell curve and few people are near one end or the other is irrelevant to the test-driven MD.

Yes, there's plenty of nutty stuff going on that feeds off of people's fears. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[Confusious]

2. Science is numbers

The theory of relativity? Not just a idea, there's math behind it.

A lot of times, a number can tell the doctor what is wrong. High white cell? infection. Low red cell? anemia.

[Shanti Mama]

3. True, but....

If a test has a range with <10 being too low and >90 too high, and my result is 12, I don't think I should be treated as a nut case, and I was. This happens all the time.

If it's a yes/no test that's one thing. But if there's room for interpretation the actual number needs to be looked at, not just the info that it's within the normal range.

[Chemisse]

4. When my daughter was little - 30 years ago - they used to examine

Her skin, reflexes, etc when assessing her thyroid levels (she was born without a thyroid gland) as well as the blood results.

Now they just look at the numbers. Period.

[Shanti Mama]

5. That's exactly what I'm talking about

There's lot of new information -- not yet hard science -- about the thyroid's functioning, yet most doctors know nothing about it. Those who decide to learn can make their own, informed decisions, but they need to go beyond tests and drugs.

[gkhouston]

6. This is so true that it is profoundly unfunny. I can't tell you how many doctors

it took to get diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, because so many doctors blindly rely on the TSH. Mine was still barely "normal", so I was declared "normal". Didn't matter that I hadn't had a period in a year or that my husband and I were looking for a cheaper apartment because I was on the verge of giving up my job due to the overwhelming fatigue. I had one doctor firmly tell me the problem was "definitely not my thyroid" just two months before another doctor told me that yes, the problem was my thyroid and that based on my history, I'd probably had Hashi's for a decade. :banghead:

[Chemisse]

7. Sometimes I think that doctors

Have no better critical thinking skills than auto mechanics.

I know that is a sweeping stereotype, but it is born of frustration.

[gkhouston]

8. Actually, I have a great auto mechanic right now, so that's something of a disservice to him! n/t