Dec 19, 2009
How Has Conventional Medicine Harmed You?
I'll show you mine, if you show me yours 
1) age 12-14 - I had horrible abdominal pains that were first diagnosed as 'ovulation pains' for which I was put on the pill, receiving no relief. Then the diagnosis was that I was looking for attention and was making it all up. I was referred to a psychiatrist who put me on antipsychotic drugs. The pain continued and I missed so much school as a result. Times when I would vomit from the pain, my mother took me to my doc so I could get a sick note for school, but the doctor's notes would read 'i see no evidence of dehydration, child needs more discipline at home'
Due to misdiagnosis I failed grade 8. I was so depressed and attempted suicide a few times. I was on so many drugs, for psychosis, depression, anxiety. My doc them suggested I live spend some time with my mother's family in 'the old country' for proper disciplining. During my time there I was not allowed any pain medication, EVER, since I was just making it up. It was hell.
Conclusion - after having been seen by at least 8 doctors, I decided to do my own research and came up with gallstones as a possibility. I approached a new doctor with this, she did an ultrasound and I indeed had stones.
2) Age 18. I saw my doctor for what I thought was a developing hunchback. She told me it was just fat. 19 years later a chiropractor saw this hump and told me my spine was deformed, likely due to the extremely tight muscles over top. After a few months of massage and chiropractic treatment, the deformity, as well as headaches, migraines and other associated symptoms, are all gone
3) Age 36 - severe muscle spasms, 100's per day, peripheral neuropathy, panic attacks, high blood pressure peaks, endocrine imbalance, torturous head tightness and a miscellany of other problems my MD diagnosed as 'stress', precribing me anti-anxiety meds, together with Lyrica from my neurologist. My naturopath ran the proper tests and found severe iron, calcium and magnesium deficiency, anemia, and chronic lead poisoning. My chiropractor worked on an area of of my spine that was associated with the nerves that caused many of the problems I was having, and massage therapists discovered and treated severely tight cranial and other fascia tissues.
Between my Naturopath, Chiropractor, Massage Therapist and my own Herbal therapies, My condition improved dramatically. While at the hands of my MD and Neurologist, I was in so much suffering I wanted to die on many occasions. If not for that dedicated team, and my views of health and healing, I might have ended up on drug after drug that never would address the core problems.
I have more stories, but would rather hear yours now.
Well,here’s some things that I will not deny,have made me “question” certain things…by the way,this is a great question:-)
1) Being a YA member in Alt Med,seeing certain things/attitudes LOL
2) Being in Cosmetology,my hands are pretty vital to me obviously…well,at 22 y/o I began to show signs of Eczema (on hands),so ofcourse I went to the Docotor (at that time I was still under the care of MD’s vs DO’s),over the course of the next few years,I saw all kinds of MD’s within my office…
They ALL kept giving more topical Steroids (stronger and stronger ones) ,one even gave me an RX for LACTIC ACID….ever tried to put “acid” on your hands when you have Eczema???!!!!!! Talk about BURN,sadly I was just young,and I blindly respected/trusted them……
Finally,and I stress FINALLY…they gave me a referral to a Dermatologist,he immediaetly took me off all the hard core steroids and told me that all these years,they were too strong for me,and making me WORSE! He puts me on a milder one mixed with Eucerin,it helps a lot…..for awhile….
Finally years down the road,I’m at a store,I see a book called the Bantam Medical Dictionary (keep in mind we had no Internet yet) I start studying myself….on my OWN,after years of MD’s,failed treatments…I make the link between Asthma,Allergies and Eczema(which I have all)…
Of allllll the Docs I saw,NOBODY ever told me there was a “link”,from there I found out that Benedryl had anti-inflamm properties on the skin when taken internally,again not even ONE of those Doctors ever suggested Benedryl to me……I am now Eczema Free 90% of the year….thanks to MYSELF.
Again…this wasn’t “one bad Doctor” LOL I saw atleast 10 during this time,b/c that’s how my Doctors Office was ran at that time,you saw whoever was available.
There’s others…but that would be “the” one that made me begin the quest to educate MYSELF
Age 5 I had infected tonsils that swelled up so bad they would have shut off my air supply and killed me. Luckily the hospital-prescribed antibiotics saved my life.
Age 18 I had a motorbike accident that shaved off an area of skin down to the bone. Luckily, careful dressing and treatment prevented the gaping wound from becoming infected and killing me either through septicaemia or other infection.
Age 19 I suffered an amputation of a finger. While the finger was mangled beyond repair or reattachment, powerful antibiotics coupled with excellent surgery ensured that there was no life-threatening infection and I could retain use of the rest of my hand.
Unlike your last 2 problems that would have gone away on their own if you had left them, mine would have killed me if left untreated.
Conventional medicine has never harmed me. But it has saved my life twice, once severe pneumonia. It kept my brother alive who was chronic asthmatic, saved my father after a heart attack, and keeps my mother’s diabetes in check.
I grew up with terrible migraines. We tried acupuncture and chiropractic, they didn’t work except I always developed a migraine after the neck manipulation. The only relief I could get was analgesics.
How do you KNOW that is was the Naturopath, Chiropractor, Massage Therapist and your own Herbal therapies, that fixed you? What were your controls? Could you have gotten better naturally? (Regression to the mean). You have no way of knowing this. How was the lead poisoning treated?
The fact they your doctor was an incompetent fool, it does not mean conventional medicine harmed you. It was just that one doctor.
Last year, I got whooping cough, and 2 different doctors told me it was just a cough even though I was going blue in the face (literally) and almost passing out. I went to a 3rd doctor to get a doctors note in order to do exams in isolation, and she said it could be whooping cough and gave my antibiotics and sent me for a blood test. It cleared up with the antibiotics, and the results from the blood test said it was whooping cough.
A while ago I had anxiety which gave me severe nausea. I could not leave the house it was so bad, because as soon as I did I would throw up then gag a lot. I went to the doctor to see what they could do. They repeatedly told me I was pregnant, and I said I am not sexually active, then they did a test and what a shock it was negative as I knew it would be. They never did help me, but I got over it by myself.
The health service is just crap, but it is the best we have.
Conventional medicine hasn’t really harmed me.
I did have breast cancer, which was put into remission by following a course of chemo, surgery, and radiation therapy.
I do suspect that there are some alt-med practitioners that get lucky and occasionally have success. Problem is, they are mostly unregulated and off the grid of medical care.
We always hear when conventional medicine fails. When alt-med fails, many people are too humiliated to admit that they chose this kind of treatment, and many are plain dead.
Here’s my story:
Aged 5, acute appendicitis. Had surgery without which I would have died.
Aged 50, stage 3, grade 3 breast cancer, which had spread to 13 lymph nodes. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy; have now been in complete remission for over 5 years and am fit and well. Without the treatment I would almost certainly be dead now.
There you go.
The medicine I take for my seizures, depression, and anxiety have made these things happen.
1. Total loss of sex drive.
2. Reckless behaviour because I just don’t worry about what I did.
3. Sleepy all of the time.
4. Made me lose an unhealthy amount of weight.
My wrist was in great pain because of a ganglion cyst on it. I was given “Ancient Incan Healing Mud” (no joke) to put on it to “draw the toxins out”.
After 6 months of that of severe pain in my wrist (I was on crutches from an unrelated foot surgery) I convinced my dad to take me to a real doctor, he got rid of it in less then 5 minutes.
So I guess that’s my story of how alternative medicine caused me harm. Conventional medicine has never hearmed anything but my wallet and my patience.
If it were not for conventional medicine, I would not be here today.
I have a peanut allergy and after eating peanuts by mistake I went into Anaphylactic shock,without adrenaline, and further management in hospital I would have died.
I had an acute asthma attack a few years ago, without treatment, l I would have died.
I had a horse riding accident when I was 15. Part of the horse fell on my chest crushing multiple ribs, I also developed a pneumothorax and PE. Without medical treatment I would have died.
If it were not for the asthma medication I take on a daily basis I would not be symptom free and my quality of life would be reduced and I would also be at risk from potentially fatal bronchial spasms.
Edit
To “Me” It sounds like your condition wasn’t managed properly, however one Doctors error does not reduce the efficacy of conventional medicine or validate sCAM. Is your argument against conventional medicine, Doctors or both?
Edit
Violet. I read your question (and the other questions you have posted today) but I thought it might be nice if you heard other success stories which may help put everything into perspective. Me sitting here ;pointing out the problems with your question won’t work will it?