Has Your Physician Prescribed Vitamin D - Yet

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that an adequate amount of vitamin D should be obtained from a healthy diet that includes foods naturally rich in vitamin D, foods/beverages fortified with vitamin D, and/or vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D should not be obtained from unprotected exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
Epidemiologic studies suggest an association between low serum vitamin D levels and increased risk of certain types of cancers, neurologic disease, autoimmune disease and cardiovascular disease. And there is the rub. The would-be gurus suggest that every ailment known to man can be caused by low vitamin D levels. Newsflash: No one knows what adequate levels of vitamin D, let alone low levels are. And no one knows how to treat it.
After surviving the doctor induced epidemic of Candidiasis in the 1970's and the hypoglycemia epidemic of the 1990's we are now entering the hypovitaminosis D epidemic of the 21st century. It is so easy to diagnose this as a causative agent of any complaint. A vitamin D level is obtained and even if it falls into the acceptable levels published by authoritative laboratories doctors can conclude that the levels are in the low normal range and these also need to be treated. The error in this teleologic thinking is that most or all of the studies take people with a specific disease and then look at vitamin D levels instead of looking at people with presumably low levels of vitamin D and record what diseases they actually have. This is the classic cart-before-the-horse science that leads to erroneous conclusions. Most suggested therapies revolve around an intake of 1000 IU per day which is probably a homeopathic dose and incapable of treating actual deficiency. A more sensible solution might be 50,000 IU weekly for 1 month then repeating the dose monthly.
All of this ignores vitamin D toxicity which includes nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, constipation, weakness, and weight loss.
The spurious concept that everyone who has a symptom needs vitamin D is a result of the equally spurious belief that every symptom has a definable cause. Just like life, symptoms evolve. They may get better. They may get worse. What is worst is to take a remedy for an imagined disease.

If you think you won't get cancer - read this

I recently spoke with a woman I will call Jane. Read her story. It could be you some day and there is so much to learn from her. Jane has pancreatic cancer. For one year Jane had abdominal symptoms and a host of doctors misdiagnosed her and probably thought she was neurotic. They never tested her for pancreatic cancer, the fourth leading cancer killer in the world! Finally, after major weight loss, fatigue, and discomfort the pain radiated to her back. Her doctors would not listen. Jane is a radiology tech at a major hospital. She went to her friends in the radiology department and asked them to secretly do an ultrasound exam of her abdomen. Without the doctors' permission and with peril to their own jobs they did the test. They found pancreatic cancer! Jane went to a famous surgeon who opened up her abdomen and found the cancer had spread over the abdominal cavity. He closed the abdomen and told her she had 3-6 months to live.
Jane is a very strong woman, a religious woman with a deep belief in God. Jane turned to her God and found the leading pancreatic oncologist at the University of Chicago Hospital. Jane enrolled in a clinical trial. It is now 10 months later. Jane has gained 30 lbs! Jane is as upbeat as any human I have ever met. She may get depressed on her chemotherapy days and she turns to her faith to get her through the ordeal. Jane is loved by many friends which is how I found out about Jane and we were able to talk.
This story goes on. There are more injustices to come. Jane was able to secure a leave for disability from her job and she continues to receive 60% of her salary. She has had to sell her horse (an important source of recreation for her) and her car in order to make ends meet. This month her insurance will end and she will go on Cobra for which she will have to pay $700.00 per month. Jane has serious difficulties making these payments. Not surprisingly she says considering the cost of her care she is lucky. That is Jane.
Lessons:
In this medical system you are your advocate. Not your doctor. Your doctor will work with you. Your doctor may be cynical, angry, selfish, worn-out. Your doctor is constrained by your insurance deductible, insurance companies, hospitals, shrinking reimbursements.
An 80 year old man or woman pays a maximum of 270.00 per month for all the care he/she may need because he/she has Medicare. I am ignoring the supplemental which is discretionary. No matter how one adds it will never come to $700.00 per month.
A government of the people, by the people, and for the people is the people. Those who argue that they don't want government providing the financing of medical care are saying that the people, us, don't want to provide medical care. We are still the only industrialized country in the world without universal health care. We give a kidney or heart surgery to an 80 years old man in his last year of life and we won't treat pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer in a younger person who may live for decades.
Coming blog: Most adults with cancer do not enter clinical trials- the only hope for many of us to survive. Why your doctor may not send you to a recognized cancer center and why you may follow his advice in your despondency. How can you evaluate your doctor.

Why Does a Patient Have Surgery At A Med-Spa

Why does a patient have cosmetic surgery at a med-spa? Is it to save money? I just consulted with a patient who had been to a med-spa and my fee for liposculpture was actually 3000.00 less than the med-spa. Is it because of better advertising? To be sure med-spas have better visibility than individual physicians because that is their main overhead. Is it the greater fool theory, ie put something out there and there is always a client who will bite. Why would a patient have a medical consultation performed by a saleswoman as opposed to a doctor.
Yesterday Yahoo reported a female patient, who was a nurse, had liposuction performed at Weston Medspa in Florida. She is now on life support and it is unlikely she will recover. In 2006 her physician had been fined by the medical board and ordered to perform community service for his role in an insurance fraud scheme. Florida says the med-spa is not licensed to perform liposuction under general anesthesia but could do a scaled-down version.
I have a problem with the slovenliness with which we evaluate quality until something bad happens. Botox and filler injections by nurses and beauticians? Try blindness as one complication. I have a problem with any patient who consults a salesperson for cosmetic surgery. I have a problem with any patient who does not investigate and consult with a physician who will take care of her/him. I have a problem with people who think all doctors are equal, all accountants are equal, all lawyers are equal, all nurses are equal to doctors, and so on. I have a problem with people who do not take responsibility for their own care and then blame others when something goes wrong.
The title med-spa tells all. A spa is a spa. It is not a certified medical surgical center administered and conducted by competent physicians. Buyer beware? In the above case naive patient spells terminal life support.