ABSOLUTELY no more DRUGS for my P... it's a sham!

[chardog]

when I first had P, my doctor gave me clobetasol prop.

it cleared then came back 10x everytime I used it; in short, it was a bad drug.

few months pass and I'ved tried a plethora of drugs; all only gave temporary relief. My uncle and cousin are physicians and told me not to take OTC's... It's a shame I talked to them AFTER taking these medicines.

They didnt give me much explanation, except it being the wrong drugs for what I had. They both gave me a few different sample diets to go on, but I cant stick to it.

Anyhow, my gripe is this:

The pharm companies and some doctors are a bunch of scam artists. The more I am around either, the more I see it. The more I hang with them the more I KNOW it. My wife works for a doctors office and I talk to them often. The pharms will sell you a drug that will temporarily rid a symptom, but then dish out 10 other side effects... once you get those side effects, you need to take more and more drugs.

The pharm companies WANT your P to recur.. but at the same time they need to show a little bit of result to get you coming back for more! If they cured your P, then you wouldnt come back, and ultimately, THEY WONT MAKE MONEY. They're just as bad as the tobacco company, but MUCH MUCH MORE diverse. They have full support from doctors, and often PAY them for endorsement as well!

It's a rediculous cycle that consumers are put through. Doctors and pharm companies will PRODUCE a disease in order to sell more drugs. They will conjure up a disease from a common symptom. Heartburn turns into acid reflux disease; it's not a goddamn disease... Being overweight has turned to obesity, a disease... it's not a goddamn disease, stop eating as much!

It's been a while since I've been here and I see too much stuff regarding conventional western medicine.

Natural is the way to go

/rant

[bratsareus]

WOW :eek:.........

[rottie]

while the drug companies are not faultless, many of their meds esp. for diabetes and heart disease keep many people alive. unfortunately at this time there no cures for many chronic diseases including p. the fact that so many people have chronic diseases at this point in time says something about our own stressful ,hectic lifestyles, bad diets etc..there are people out there like kevin trudeau who wrote the natural cures book that claim that there is a cure for every disease-his "cures" are mostly lifestyle changes. the drug companies are businesses and they want to make a profit, like any business. if you read current press releases from drug companies on p-they mostly write on the profits that can be made from finding new treatments. that might not be a bad thing. if there is money to be made, then maybe they will do more r and d and come up with better treatments for us.there are many people who benefitted greatly from pharmaceutical treatments for p-while others did not. you stated you started on a diet-but could stick with it. why don't you rethink that and try that route again.on the alternative boards there are people who are going the diet/natural route. they are very nice and will answer your questions, provide advice and give support. don't give up hope and good luck.

[JKNY]

I hear your pain but the simple fact is that life expectancy is longer than it has ever been partly because of products and advancements from the evil greedy profit loving drug companies.

Unfortunately, greed has permeated the world since the first caveman hoarded more carcasses in his special cave than he could eat while his fellow nomads tore each other apart right outside his cave.


In our modern USA, we have take the good with the bad. All this profit centered capitalism motivates developments which help us, while at the same time people get rich at the expense of others. Our culture has falsely overvalued the acquisition of material wealth. That's our fault- We the people are our own culture. We make it that way by what we watch and pay for. The rich and coporate CEOS are simply prostitues serving our desires ( as they see them). The buck stops with each one of us. Read books they are relatively cheap and there are even LIBRARIES! that Bush and local real estate developers haven't havent't cut yet .

Information and education and here it comes ( monitoring by some independent agency ) are our best hope against false promises and abuses.

There should be some incentive for our young brains to go into science and public policy and adminstration instead of trading stocks and bonds and geetting rich quickly by simply buying and selling intangibles!

Our public instituations are too often run by cronism ( FEEMA et al) and corruption ( the democratic senator from Louisiana who diverted rescuers to sve his own home).

How was it during the New Deal that all those government projects were monitored and run reasonably effectively? We need to make government work for us and be accountable for us. As for the "Free" market capitalistic corporations, well we know exactly what they are going to do next, OUTSOURCE US ALL TO INDIA.

The USA is WAY behind India, China and Korea in education. We need to make our public education work for us before we end up moving to those countries as nannies, gardeners, etc. They have public education and it is working.

This Katrina tragedy is our wake up call to improve our Public sphere- TO hell with the private-we can't depend on them. They will follow the dollars of competition to India, China, Korea, Russia, and someday to the mideast ( when they get past the feudal stage). They are not are friends!


So it's not that the drug companies and doctors are bad per se, it's that We need to understand what and why they are pushing stuff on us that we may or may not need, and we need our public instituations to monitor them for us.

[misales]

I've felt this way before and still do sometimes.

I no longer take drugs for psoriasis, just lights and a little coal tar every now and then. Moisturizer too but I don't think you want to throw those into the same drug class.

My only opinon on this is to give the derms light box a college try. I noticed you mentioned the diets and you are having a tough time sticking to them. I have the same problem with that too. The lights in my experience, need the "sticktuitiveness" to make them work correctly. You also need some patience, give it a month without giving up.

If you have insurance for the light treatments see if your derm will give you them 3X per week. The hardest part is going regularly 3X per week. Getting into the box is easy and won't change your diet one bit. Bonus is you'll get a free tan if you like those.

It's an old treatment regimine but it worked for me. Might be something to try. Another bit of hope for you is that after I was done I went into a remission so to speak. A lot report that when P comes back it comes back much more moderately which counters your experience with clobetasol.

Might be a last ditch effort. And if the derm wants you to take Soriatane with it I would say no and try the lights by themselves. Thats all it took for me. No internal side effects, just the tan and potential for burn but under the supervision of a derm that is unlikely.

I wish you the best and be sure to check out the alternative complimentary forums.

[Resist]

You have to understand there are no drugs that cure Psoriasis at this point in time. So the best we can expect is to just treat the symptoms, not the disease. It doesn't make the drugs a or Doctor's subscribing them a scam.

[Nykyfyr]

Doh, it's all Bush's fault!

Anywho, I just came back from Europe and am taking homeopathic medicine for P and PA. Doctor's there could not believe how doctors in the US only treat the symptoms and not the cause of illness - all illness.

I've got a pretty good feeling about my experience overseas and prescribed homeopathic remedy.

We'll see what happens!

[JSimantov]

Doh, it's all Bush's fault!

Anywho, I just came back from Europe and am taking homeopathic medicine for P and PA. Doctor's there could not believe how doctors in the US only treat the symptoms and not the cause of illness - all illness.

I've got a pretty good feeling about my experience overseas and prescribed homeopathic remedy.

We'll see what happens!


what do you take? can we get whatever it is here?

Joyce :confused:

[Resist]

Anywho, I just came back from Europe and am taking homeopathic medicine for P and PA. Doctor's there could not believe how doctors in the US only treat the symptoms and not the cause of illness - all illness.
Interesting, this coming from a part of the world that said they had a cure for Aids not that long ago. Turns out it was nothing but snake oil.

[Bearman]

I think it is great if someone finds an alternative or homeopathic drug that helps their P. But honestly I get tired of people saying that the drugs companies are all bad capitalistic entities that give a rats A$$ about the patients. In my career I have met some snake oil salesmen but that is the exception rather than the norm. Absolutely the companies are in business to make money. Do I think some corporate CEO's pay themselves way too much whether or not the company does well? Of course.

But as someone who has benefited from the drug companies and medical device companies in my life, I would say they are far from a sham. If you choose not to use them, great, but please don't assume b/c you had a bad experience that everyone will.

[bratsareus]

ditto......... :rolleyes:

[chardog]

I know that making people see the light is like converting a democrat to republican, or an aethiest to christian.

it's hard, and sometimes impossible. My P is at the lowest it's been for YEARS and I am in great physical shape. A combination of pagano, tanning salon, and alternative solutions my cousin and uncles have helped me with.

the funny thing about pharm drugs: my physician uncle, physician cousin, physician assistant cousin all oppose of it to family members, but to their patients, they NEED to prescribe something. Patients EXPECT a simple cure for everything, therefore they may be given a drug that may not help.

something that stuck with me: My cousin told me, I will never cure my P, but to get rid of it, I need to change my lifestyle. I need to heal my body from the inside out, NOT outside in. When my body is clean and healthy, it will begin to heal itself;

I can say he's mostly right. My allergies are almost completely gone, my asthma is totally gone, and my energy level is that of a teenager. My kids dont wear me down anymore.

[Nykyfyr]

You know, I've had P for a few years and only recently had PA to the point where I could not walk. After doing research here and visiting my doctor and taking prednisone and Celebrex I was depressed big time because I thought I would never be able to leave the US (live anywhere else) because here was the only treatment for P and PA in the world.

I'm happy to say that I am confident that there are treatments other than those common and prescribed here in the US. I went to three different people while I was overseas and am implementing their treatments.

The first person I met with was a цілитель (healer). First thing she said was that she would not help me unless I stopped drinking for a year or two because if I didn't, her treatment would not work - this was for the P. I stopped that day (5 1/2 weeks ago) and my P has improved dramatically. Her focus was not only the P, but to cleanse my system and I've been drinking a tea of different herbs in conjunction with her salve. I'm not saying I'm cured but it's nothing like it was and is getting better.

Second person I went to was a doctor. She gave me the once over and said my liver was likely bad. She also said that it looked like I had PA and that she was going to prescribe a treatment to stop the progression. I haven't started this one yet.

The final doctor I went to hooked me up to a copmuter and performed a diognostic screening. She told me the technology was from Germany - HEEL is what is written all over the medication and literature. So, I sat in a chair and she touched points on my feet and hands with a probe. You could see the result on a computer screen for each point and as a line graph through a blue, green and red field. I was REALLY skeptical at first but when she started asking me specific questions about other, specific things (like my minor loos of hearing in one ear) I started to become a believer. She said my pancreas was bad and that my stomach and kidneys has some problems as well (and other things - it sucks to get old). She gave me her treatment for my liver, stomach and other things. I'm doing this treatment for a month (for liver, stomach and overall system) before I start the more intense treatment geared toward PA.

So, for me, if your looking for treatment, you'll be surprised what you find if you think out of the box. My most important step to recovery is getting my body back to good working order. Then, it's likely I can at least alleviate my P and PA.

[JKNY]

Chardog, I think you are right, a doctor would treat a family member differently than a patient-because he knows his family well and can speak to them more openly ( ie safely from insurance claims ) and can apply his own personal opinions to his family but with patients/customers the relationship is totally different: he has to be more professional but:
malpractice issues
medical ethics issues
understanding level of patient
percieved intelligence( remember Drs have God complexes-they think they are soo smart
costs issues
but the real difference between those who easily prescribe drugs and those who don't is a difference in valid philosophical approaches-

Let Me explain:

I am very lucky I have a great general practitioner who sends to me to really great specialist-Doctors who really care about their patients, have great credentials and are really really nice!!! They talk to you and LISTEN!!!


My GP is really reluctant to use drugs. He will avoid using drugs unless there is no choice. He belives you should try adopting a healthy lifestyle change before resorting to drugs or elective surgery. He would not give me a valum or something when I said i was nervous or couldn't sleep or something. He didn't prescribe cholesterol lowering drugs until i tried dieting for a year or two.

A high rent district specialist he sent me too for gout easily prescribes pain killers and other meds and said take this if you are suffering. Believe me, this guy was the nicest warmest, most caring doc I have ever seen. He even sent me articles at home about ways to avoid gout and about PA with hand written notes. He said save the meds for next time if you don't need them now. His point was why not use this available pain relief if it is available to use.Why suffer? Remember you go to the doctor because you are suffering. His philosphy was that you came and paid him to relieve your suffering.

Would we keep going back for treatment and observation if they didn't do something to us? It's safer for them to recommend some sort of treatment than to do nothing PLUS they get to relive some of your suffering. Maybe they are just too good to us?

[bratsareus]

Chardog I'm glad your life style changes have made such a huge difference for you. I admire people that have the discipline to stick to the necessary changes that are required to see a improvment. Sometimes I feel like just giving up on all the treatments out there. I quit PUVA treatments recently, because I just didnt see enough improvment to make it worth while. Now I'm about to go on enbrel, but I'm so scared of how my body will react to it. On the other hand, I'm in such pain right now , I'm almost willing to try anything. Its a damn if you do, damn if you don't scenario. :(
Patty

[Bearman]

I know that making people see the light is like converting a democrat to republican, or an aethiest to christian.

.

Well if someone tried to convert me from one political party or one religion to another and their approach was like yours (ie You are wrong and I am right. Stop what you are doing and do what I do) I can understand why they would have difficulty.

I liken it to my wife who thought I wasn't eating enough fruits and vegetables and kept telling me to eat more. The more she told me she was right and I was wrong, the more my natural tendency to resist set in. When SHE changed her approach and just started making them easier to access (ie having precut fruit in the fridge) I naturally sought them out and can say I eat more than I used to.

So maybe tell us exactly what changes you made in your life to get clear. Tell us hey this worked for me and might work for you. Having tried many natural remedies for p, I am more than open to try new things. But just b/c something works for you doesn't mean it will work for everyone. And if you tell me something that DOES work for me is a sham, I well tend not to believe what comes next and will never see YOUR light.

[chardog]

ok, didnt mean to come off so blunt. I reread my posts and they do seem kinda pushy.

I've been off meds for over a year and a half. I was a heavy drinker, smoker, and pretty lazy. As corny as this sounds, I went to an Anthony robbins motivational speech, and man was he good.

That was my push; I quit smoking for over a year already (7 yr smoker), by far the hardest thing to do. I drink only in moderation, and mostly light beer or wine. I stick with the alkaline diet (pagano diet); Fruits instead of candy, wheat instead of white, chicken in favor of beef, whole grain ceareals, ect.

I've been eating good and keep my life active. I dont wake up tired anymore, I wake up excited for the day. I look forward to my life. I do cheat my diet plenty, but I try hard to keep it under control. A lot of my P on my back has gone, and I only have 2 plaques left. I have a lot of blochy scarring from old P that is no longer there. I still have P on a lot of my body, but it's a lot more controllable. Most people dont even know I have P, but I use to have a lot more and would always wear longsleeve shirts.

Now no more longsleeves :D

[Dulane]

Chardog,

You are one of many that believes this routine works. It may not irradicate the P completely, but you can get it to a point that is very manageable.

And once you start this 'lifestyle change', my experience is that flares are very infrequent, or if you have them they are less than 5% coverage and do not last.

Many of us who post in the Comp and Alt forum are sold on the plan, and certainly some have cleared and stayed that way for years...Soloist for one; she just posted over there.

But those folks tend to move on after they find their solution. A few still check in from time to time.

Jgirl, one of our success stories, was very inspired by Anthony Robbins. I'm glad that you also appreciate his perspectives. Jgirl tried to share that with our forum, but I think Mr. Robbins' perspective was just too much too soon for many people to swallow.

I, too, believe that we need to take much more responsibility for our own health.

[LoriASoCal]

First, I believe in a good diet, exercise and rest. And I believe that for some people that is all that they need to turn whatever disease process back on track. Great!

I don't think you should treat a mild localized basil cell cancer in the same way you would aggressively treat lung cancer, but that's just me. I think there's room for as many types of therapies as there are severities and variations of this disease. Hopefully, YOU will never have to use them. I wouldn't be so quick to try to rid the world of them though. Just something to think about.

[bratsareus]

Lori that sounds like a middle ground sensible approach. Not everything is black or white. You gotta look in the gray areas.