Medical Misdiagnosis All Too Common
Lyle Loughry
January 2009
The last time I went to a medical doctor (Holistic, MD) was in the mid-1970s, and he almost KILLED me! The lung problem I had was a fungal infection, and the prescription the doctor gave me was for something else, I learned later. Several days after getting the prescription filled, with no noticeable improvement in my condition, I nearly choked to death when I coughed so hard I tore something loose from the lining of my lung, and it lodged in my throat. My wife watched, helplessly, as I turned purple. Fortunately, I was able to dislodge the chunk of green fungus (I suppose), and went directly to the doctor's office. I told him what happened, and he took a sample of my saliva, and disappeared into his small, on-premise lab. After a couple of minutes of anxious waiting, I heard him exclaim, "Oh my God!" Obviously concerned, I ask him, "What does that 'Oh my God' mean in my particular situation?" He replied, "I gave you the wrong script." Well, he gave me the correct one this time, didn't charge me for that visit, and sent me packing to the pharmacy, where I paid for another expensive prescription. This one did the job, but the near-death experience was real. I never trusted my health to a doctor, again. I have been in charge of my own health, since then. You might be thinking, I'm sure that doesn't happen too often, but I have news for you. Mis-diagnosis is rampant!
Have you ever heard of the phrase, "polypharmacy?" It means giving a patient too many different drugs? How about "iatrogenic illness?" It means any illness caused by doctors. There is a similar term for any illness caused by hospitals. I'm not making this up. This is fully documented in the medical journals. These are medical terms, not made up terms, and according to the medical journals, polypharmacy and iatrogenic illnesses are rampant in this country!
The prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported that a patients chance of being incorrectly diagnosed in America's hospitals run from 67% to 75%, depending, in part, on whether they go to an inner-city hospital or a suburban hospital.
According to another study, no more than 15% of medical interventions are supported by reliable scientific evidence. Put another way, the odds are 7 to 1 that what your doctor recommends for you is suspect.
Another study appearing in JAMA revealed that "25% of America's elderly are getting drugs that are likely to do them more harm than good, and that 70% of doctors who treat Medicare patients flunked an exam on prescribing to the elderly."
All over America, nursing homes are filled with frail, feeble residents suffering from dementia. In many cases, these folks are so far gone they don't even recognize their own children. The unspoken secret is, many of these patients do not have dementia at all. Their memory loss, confusion, and delirium are caused by prescription drugs, and so are many of their other problems.
One study concluded that one of the major causes of falls in nursing homes is the side effects caused by medications.
Another study found that 97% of nursing home patients take at least one drug, with 17% taking 5 or more!
Yet another study found that many drugs can cause Parkinson's-like symptoms, and it concluded that "drug-induced parkinsonism is frequent."
And still another study listed 22 different categories of drugs that can cause symptoms that mimic Alzheimer's... plus 14 different over-the-counter drugs that can cause those symptoms!
This is an all-to-common scenario: A healthy person goes to the doctor for a checkup and is told his cholesterol or blood pressure is high. So he starts taking medication, which causes side effects. This leads his doctor to give him a second drug to treat those side effects. But, of course, that second drug causes new side effects. So the doctor prescribes a third drug to treat the side effects of the second one! (Statistically, two out of every three prescriptions are, in fact, written to cover side-effects from previously written script)
Before you know it, the person's health is spiraling downward and he soon needs people to take care of him. And everyone just chalks it up to "old age," except for the insurance companies. They know better. Taking too many prescriptions drugs may well be the reason some people are turned down by an insurance company, especially by long-tern care companies. The insurance companies aren't stupid. They know that if a person who is taking several prescriptions continues to take their meds, it's only a matter of time before their health deteriorates. And they don't want to be the ones footing the bill when that time comes.
How do you deal with a system of medicine that is off the tracks? Remember, common sense, and even a few honest doctors, will advise you that pharmaceuticals should be a last resort, not a first option. First of all, make sure you always try natural remedies. God has something in His nature that is better that most prescription drugs, and probably won't have the side-effects that drugs do, either.
If you already take more than one prescription, or you have a loved one in a nursing home who does, talk to an alternative-minded physician about possibly weaning them off the drugs. This single step may make a substantial difference in your health and well-being, or theirs. . . in the short-term, and for the long-term, as well.
More and more physicians are moving into practicing "complimentary" medicine, a combination of allopathy and naturopathy, and if you can find one who has a designation of FACAM after his or her name, it indicates that they are a Fellow of the American College for Advancement in Medicine, and signifies special contributions to both preventative medicine and to ACAM. If I ever need a doctor again, that's where I'll start.
In the interim, you can help yourself dramatically, by learning some of what you need to know to stay healthy where you are. I invite you to visit my website, drinkcleanwater.com, and consider some or all of the 50+ Health Related Bulletins, Featured Health Related articles, Recorded Interview, and information on the world-class Nutritional Supplements that have kept my wife and myself, "doctor-free" for over 30 years. Quality, current information is power! Lyle
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