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Originally Posted by Angeline
In the film Supersize me, we are shown a patient about to undergo Gastric Bypass. He is very overweight. He confesses that he was drinking over 1 gallon of pop every day. That he is diabetic should come as a surprise to no one.
Yet the doctor almost proudly declares that gastric bypass is the only procedure known to cure diabetes. The emphasis is mine. It's obvious to us why this procedure "cures" diabetes. But most people listening to this will automatically assume that gastric bypass is the only cure.
The whole medical and pharmaceutical approach to diabetes, more than anything else, has made me completely disillusioned with the health industry. It has opened my eyes to the fact that we are brazenly lied to. If they can be this wrong, if they can so stubbornly close their eyes to reality, what else are they getting wrong? It's really scary.
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I'm at the point where I now realize healthcare is just as much a money making scam as any television channel or magazine. The goal is product pushing and placement... buy buy buy. They convince you that you have diseases that aren't real, or that can be treated by lifestyle changes. They convince you the only way to get rid of your "diseases" is with drugs and surgeries. They damn well know the truth. Just like television they spin a false reality to get us to consume their products.
You know I went to my doctors office the other day. I was really shocked. the tissue boxes has pharmaceutical adds on them. In fact, several items int he office were clearly "gifts" from pharm companies. In the few minutes while I was waiting, a pharmaceutical rep came, dressed up nice and proper in his suit just like a door to door salesmen. He opened his briefcase of drugs, and was clearly trying to set something up with the receptionists to court the doctors.
My experiences with the doctor weren't much better. As a whole, every doctor I speak with seems concerned only with treating the symptoms one may have at the moment. Actually helping people achieve maximum well being is pretty much unheard of.
Just to give you an example, I went to see my doctor about the fact I haven't had a period in months. I also asked for a complete blood work. I did mention to him that I had recently lost 150 lbs and this was the reason I was concerned about my health. I told him I suspect I have PCOS (and I'm quite certain I used to when I was really heavy and eating carbs) so the period thing might be related to that.
I was told the results were normal, and was given a referral to get my ovaries checked for cysts or abnormalities.
Since I don't trust doctors, I looked at my results myself. Then I saw my LH (luteinizing hormone = stimulates the ovaries to produce sex hormones and implies reproductive health) was only 2.1 and well below the FSH. In a healthy young woman LH and FSH should be about equal. In PCOS, LH is at least 2 times higher than the FSH. PCOS Is marked by the body
overproducing sex hormones and in an incorrect balance, causing infertility and all other symptoms (most often because one is eating too many carbs and the high insulin is creating a disaster of the endocrine system).
When LH is low like that and periods are missing, you don't have PCOS. There are two main causes of this. The least common of which is hypopituitarism (pituitary isn't functioning, and isn't releasing enough of the hormones to stimulate the ovaries, or thyroid, or whatever).
The much more common cause of low LH is physiological stress and malnutrition (e.g. eating a poor, low energy diet). It commonly happens to anorexics and athletes.
Seeing as I have just lost 150 lbs rather quickly and was eating very small amounts of food for months, I think it's obvious why my hormones are so messed up. The stress of creating such large caloric deficits to produce the rapid massive weight loss led my body to shut off reproduction.
That my doctor would just say the results are "normal" and not even bother to tell me that the weight loss, not a return of PCOS, is probably why my periods stopped says volumes about why I think what I do of doctors. Every experience with every doctor I've ever had has gone over similarly to that.
From the time I saw that endocrinologist at 18 with complete amenorrhea and "high testosterone" (with obvious PCOS and carbohydrate insensitivity BTW, a classic case)... and was stupidly advised to "just lose weight" (no mention was made of the role of insulin and diet) and take birth control to cover up the symptoms...
To now, when presenting with massive weight loss and secondary amenorrhea and blood tests which link the two...and somehow the doctor didn't care enough to inform me of the connection, or was too ignorant to see it himself.
I've never had a good experience with a doctor or any health care professional. Every positive change I've had in my health has been because I took my symptoms and lab reports into my own hands and did my own research. Doctors are nothing but pill dispensers who treat symptoms. The only use they have is to serve as access to get the tests that the patient can use to make intelligent health & lifestyle choices.