Saturday, October 23, 2010

An Unfortunate Case of Myopia

When a motor neuron specialist determines that you have ALS, he or she will typically try to soften the blow by telling you something like “everyone is different … some live ten years or more… research is going on all the time to find effective treatment or a cure… don’t lose hope.” No matter how they try to sugarcoat it, the message of their underlying belief is always inescapable, “You gonna die!” The power and the impact of this message lie in how the patient chooses to hear it. Initially, the impact on me was devastating.

As I learned more about alternative medicine, I came to realize that the physicians who had diagnosed me were speaking from within the limits of a paradigm that shaped their beliefs. Eventually, I came to realize that when a conventional medical practitioner said to me, in whatever way the words were disguised, “You gonna die”, what he or she was really saying is “Within my knowledge base, I have no idea how to fix this.” Choosing to hear the message in this way opened up the possibility that another paradigm might be able to lead me to a solution.

My first exposure to alternative medicine was at the Kessler Clinic in Victorbur, Germany. It was there, under the care of Dr. Wolf-Dieter Kessler, that I first learned about functional medicine. This practice treats each person as an individual, seeks to determine the root cause of ailments rather than treat symptoms, and attempts to unleash the body’s natural ability to heal by removing obstructions and imbalances. The tools of functional medicine may include homeopathic remedies, vitamins, herbs, reflexology, medical equipment that uses frequencies to diagnose and treat pathogens and allergies and other conditions, kinesiology, and much more. If you would like to learn more about the tools and practice of functional medicine, visit Dr. Kessler’s website.

Dr. Kessler never promised me a cure, but he did express confidence that he could slow the progression, and I believe he did. In addition, the knowledge base I developed during the three-and-a-half years under his care helped me to become a better consumer of alternative health care. I am convinced that without that knowledge I would not be sitting here writing this blog. During my six visits to the clinic I met many people with various “terminal” illnesses who had given up on traditional medicine to find unexpected cure or improved health and extended life expectancy through he treatment they received there. My experiences there made me a believer in functional medicine and alternative practices as a whole.

Over the past twenty years there has been a significant increase of interest in holistic and alternative medicine. See Complementary and Alternative Medicine Facts. As a result, many traditionally trained doctors have formed complimentary practices in which they combine the use of conventional and alternative methodology. Still there are many other doctors who refuse to look into alternative therapies even when traditional approaches have little to offer. They claim they don’t have the time, or they assume that all alternative practices are quackery without even bothering to learn something about them. When they do look into an alternative approach they tend to evaluate on an all-or-nothing basis, meaning that if the technique doesn’t cure a disease all by itself, they conclude that it is worthless.

I am not opposed to conventional medicine. If I had a broken leg, I would not hesitate to seek out the services of a good orthopedist. But traditional medicine relies far too much on surgery and drugs, even when it makes matters worse, and when a more holistic approach could serve the patient much better. For a good example, see Mark Hyman, MD: Is There a Cure for Autoimmune Disease? .

Far too many motor neuron specialists are content to help their ALS patients be as comfortable as possible while they waste away. They offer them Riluzole in the hope that it might extend life a few weeks or months, if it doesn’t damage the liver first. They support research to find drugs that will do more than Riluzole, but I have not found a single study examining the common therapies (conventional or alternative) that might provide some insight as to what is keeping the few hundred of us alive who have been living with ALS for more than ten years. This unfortunate case of myopia is costing people quality of life, longevity, and possibly life itself. It’s time to wake up and start using some of the research money where it may do some immediate good. It’s time to try some new approaches, and challenge conventional wisdom. People’s lives are at stake!

What do you think?

5 comments:

  1. I just want to share my story so i can reach out to others. My mom was diagnosed with ALS (Lou gehrig's disease) in the summer of 2013. She is my best friend and all i have got in this world. And I was scared because when the doctor told me about how deadly this disease is i could not help but cry. She suffered all through the time, she could no longer walk as all her bones were weak, speak or even eat, this were years of torment as i have never seen anything like it or ever been so scared in my life and i wept as the days go by. We tried several drugs like Riluzole, and various therapy that was prescribed by the doctor but it came out even worse as she became very thin. She is 65 years old. I actually thought i was going to loose her after all i have spent. I was in church one day when a fellow in the christian faith told me about a doctor who has a cure and that this doctor had cured a colleague she knew suffered from ALS, i was in shock and recalled the doctor once told me there was no cure, she gave me the doctor's contact and i contacted him and told him all we have been through and he told me about his very effective herbal medicine that treats it permanently, though at that time i did not believe but i wanted my mom to be okay again so i decided to give a try and he sent me the medicine which i gave her as instructed by the doctor. In a month time i was amazed at the improvement and by the second month she was completely okay, during all these times she did not experience any side effects. To confirm all these we went back to the doctor to confirm, he ran all the tests and found no trace of ALS in her again. Today my mom can run, jog, eat and speak fine without any assistance currently she is baby sitting my daughter and till now she is still very strong. If you are suffering from ALS (Lou gehrig's disease) do not die in silence because there is still hope for you. Contact the doctor on (josephalberteo@gmail.com) i am very sure he can help you too.

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  2. I Am Jessica, I want to quickly write on a Powerful herbal cure doctor, who is well known around the world for his cures and help to humanity, This man helped me when i had the Lou Gehrig’s Disease ( ALS ). i and my family tried all possible best some few years back to get a cure for my dying husband who was also an ALS victim, but all our efforts came to nothing on a Friday night when we lost him to death. The same virus came on me some 3 months after the death of my husband, i tried all i could untill i came in contact with DR Camala in 14-6-2014. I went to collect my weekly treatment on the hospital which Dr Camala was invited to inspect some patients, i was upportuned to be inspected by him on his own free will. After the inspection, he gave me his Emails:( dr.camalahivaidscure@yahoo.com ) and his mobile number and ask my eldest son to help me get to him which we really did. We emailed him and he got back to us, in just 3 days of negotiations he sent me some herbal cure medicine and instructed me on how to take them. i remember taken the medicine for just 2 weeks, then i started receiving results. I am happy to say now that for the pass 1 year i have had no symptoms of the sickness and i have been totally and finally cured of ALS with no trace of the virus in my body ( laboratory scan and medical doctors checkup has reveled so) Am so happy and i want to thank Dr Camala for his help on me. i want whoever that is also with this virus to get the quickest and most assured cure immediately through the help of Dr.Camala on
    dr.camalahivaidscure@yahoo.com or call him +2349055637784.

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  3. My ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) symptoms started out with a "foot drop" on my left foot. From there my left leg lost all muscle tone and then the entire left leg muscles were gone. Also my fingers and thumbs "contract" at times. Left arm was losing muscle tone too.I was given medications to slow down the progress of the disease,i resorted to a wheelchair (Perbombil C300).This was till my husband's sister introduced my husband to a herbal clinic in Johannesburg who sell herbal medicines to cure all kind of diseases including ALS, we contacted the herbal clinic via their email and purchased the ALS herbal remedy, we received the herbal medicine via courier within 7 days and commenced usage as prescribed, its totally unexplainable how all the symptoms gradually dissapeared, my speech has greatly improved and am able to walk a distance now with no help, contact this herbal clinic via their email healthherbalclinic@gmail.com Or website www.healthherbalclinic.weebly.com

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  4. As a sign of gratitude for how my husband was saved from ALS, i decided to reach out to those still suffering from this.
    My husband was diagnosed of ALS in 2013 and it was really tough and heartbreaking for me because he was my all and the symptoms were terrible, he always have trouble swallowing , and he always complain of Weakness of the body . we tried various therapies prescribed by our neurologist but none could cure him. I searched for a cure and i saw a testimony by someone who was cured and so many other with similar body problem, and he left the contact of the doctor who had the cure to ALS. I never imagined ALS has a natural cure not until i contacted him and he assured me my husband will be fine. I got the herbal medication he recommended and my husband used it and in one months he was fully okay even up till this moment he is so full of life. ALS has a cure and it is a herbal cure contact the doctor for more info on drwilliams098675@gmail.com on how to get the medication. Thanks for reading my testimony.

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  5. I would like to thank Ultimate Health Home for reversing my father's Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). My father’s ALS condition was fast deteriorating before he started on the ALS Herbal medicine treatment from Ultimate Health Home. He was on the treatment for just 6 months and we never thought my father will recover so soon. He has gained some weight in the past months and he is able to walk with no support. You can contact them at ultimatehealthhome@gmail.com

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