Magical thinking in medicine

Not dead yet!

Well-Known Member
I thought I would start a thread for places where I've observed magical thinking in modern medicine. I think until we identify, acknowledge, and correct them, people will continue to be poorly served and confidence in medicine will remain shaky. I have three to start.. if you have more insights into them or if you have new ones, please contribute. The purpose isn't to say "medicine is bad" but to point out ways it can be better.

  1. Magical thought: "Systemic antibiotics will kill targets on mucous membranes like sinuses." Well, they will probably annoy them, but in my experience, topical nasal spray with antibiotics is much faster and cheaper, plus it doesn't destroy the gut flora. I was struggling yet again with a sinus infection for the thousandth time in my life and got fed up, cut one antibiotic in half, powdered it and put it in my nasal spray. One spray later and it was an amazing change. No amount of saline spray, steam therapy, or Afrin type sprays worked for more than a few minutes. A quick google search will locate several compounding pharmacies who do this for you, so it's not a new idea. I wouldn't have had that thought if women weren't so poorly served by the probiotics theory (see next magical thought).
  2. Magical thought: "Ingesting probiotics will improve vaginal flora." So... you expect me to let fecal matter touch my vagina, then? Because I'm also told to never let that happen with detailed instructions about how to wipe, even. The only way I've ever "improved vaginal flora" is by directly applying the probiotic to the target area. Directly applying things to the target area is not a new concept in medicine. when I had an infected cut in my mouth, I was told to swish for 30 seconds with an antibiotic before swallowing. When my relative had horrible toe fungus, he was told to apply antifungal topically and to use it internally. There's nothing wrong with using something internally, but there is something wrong with expecting an effective dose to arrive at a topical area, that's the magical thinking part.
  3. Magical thought: "If your TSH is high, then if I give you T4, it will drop because your body will convert it to what it needs." Complete whimsy. Many websites are dedicated to this fallacy. In my own case, my body was converting T4 into inactive T3. And I was low in iodine. It's not old fashioned to check someone for a vitamin or mineral level. They do it all the time for Vitamin D, so why not iodine? I should probably add: Magical thought: "If I make your thyroid work better then nothing else will be affected." Um, wait, doctor, you were the one who gave me the speech about how hormones are all in a delicate balance. Was that a lot of smoke? - I say this because my doctor was surprised I had adrenal symptoms after my thyroid got better. Why was he surprised? Should've expected that.
Ok, got it started. There's an obvious one for ME/CFS but I'll let someone else have the glory. ;)
 

Zapped

Well-Known Member
I’m at doctor’s office, request 3 of one rx for intractable insomnia. He replies “If I took ONE
of those I’d be asleep for 10 hours.” Guess what? He’s not me! (And doesn’t have CFS, nor
the same medical history as me.) Geez!
 

Not dead yet!

Well-Known Member
I’m at doctor’s office, request 3 of one rx for intractable insomnia. He replies “If I took ONE
of those I’d be asleep for 10 hours.” Guess what? He’s not me! (And doesn’t have CFS, nor
the same medical history as me.) Geez!

This is so familiar! I take 2 different meds to get to sleep, a heavy duty antihistamine, and a low dose seroquel. It took some talking to get it though. I was like, ok, so why is it ok to take three meds to prevent migraine, but if no single drug works for sleep, then I can't have a combination? That was the winning argument. It's like they're using manipulation to get us to be satisfied with ineffective care. He knows I have little mental or physical energy. So to have to battle him and come up with unassailable logic just to get medical care, that seems cruel.
 

Zapped

Well-Known Member
... That was the winning argument. It's like they're using manipulation to get us to be satisfied with ineffective care. He knows I have little mental or physical energy. So to have to battle him and come up with unassailable logic just to get medical care, that seems cruel.

Control freaks. They need an enema:yuck:
 

jaminhealth

Well-Known Member
As I see things in the medical INDUSTRY and I'm 79, so been around a long time and more years to go.

Been the allopathic/conventional medicine route and these doctors NEVER did me any good...some of their drugs more harm than good FOR SURE.

I started on the integrative MD path going on 15 yrs now and my primary is an Integrative MD, supplements first and IF necessary she'll write for a drug.

These type MD's and all my work and good friends who think as I do and support groups with similar thinkings, keep me healthy. I have issues but work on them and I sleep a GOOD 9+ hrs nightly.

I believe I posted my Sleep Remedy here somewhere.

Take desiccated thyroid support and not Syn (levo) T4 only which I tried due to an endo's insistence, and I was falling over with fatigue. I do best and Need T3T4
thyroid support.

BTW: Benzos and alzheimers are known to be connected. Benedryl too.
 

Not dead yet!

Well-Known Member
As I see things in the medical INDUSTRY and I'm 79, so been around a long time and more years to go.

Been the allopathic/conventional medicine route and these doctors NEVER did me any good...some of their drugs more harm than good FOR SURE.

I started on the integrative MD path going on 15 yrs now and my primary is an Integrative MD, supplements first and IF necessary she'll write for a drug.

These type MD's and all my work and good friends who think as I do and support groups with similar thinkings, keep me healthy. I have issues but work on them and I sleep a GOOD 9+ hrs nightly.

I believe I posted my Sleep Remedy here somewhere.

Take desiccated thyroid support and not Syn (levo) T4 only which I tried due to an endo's insistence, and I was falling over with fatigue. I do best and Need T3T4
thyroid support.

BTW: Benzos and alzheimers are known to be connected. Benedryl too.

When I was caring for a relative in early dementia, I noticed she would get fuzzy on days when she took cold medicine. There's a list of anticholinergics that do that to people with early dementia, but the mechanism isn't well described. I'd have to specialize in basic brain physiology to tell you why anticholinergics are temporarily harmful to the state of mind of some elderly people. Almost all antihistamines are on that list. Which is more brain physiology I don't fully understand.

Anyone know the connection between histamine and the brain, and why would an antihistamine (anticholinergic) cause brain fog? I'm still suspicious that antihistamines aren't that great for you, but I can't deny that a combo of tagamet and benadryl will get me up and motivated to be active. I know that's backwards... lots of things for me are backwards. Coffee puts me to sleep (but I figured that out, it contains natural melatonin) and I've got a high caffeine tolerance.
 

jaminhealth

Well-Known Member
In my world, I see all drugs as being toxic.

And I take a few for thyroid and blood pressure. And pain.

Histimine is mentioned in this thread.

https://treato.com/Bacterial+Infection,Grape+Seed+Extract/?a=s

Everyone WOULD do better on grape seed extract....once I got on them I did get my mother on them and she was about 85...she's gone now, but her health improved in many areas for the short years she took it.
 
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