Jeremy Lin is the basketball wonder who has gone unnoticed by the powers that be in the NBA, and has seemingly come out of nowhere to become a guy who previously warmed the bench and contemplated leaving the sport, to now being the highest scoring player in the league in the past 2 weeks since February 4th, 2012.

This story is fascinating on many levels.  Peter Savich of Duck and Gather eludes to a socio-politcal aspect of the story as seen here and here.  In these articles, he draws similarities between the rise of Lin and the rise of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Then there is the comparison with Tim Tebow regarding Lin’s strong belief in Christianity and the role it plays in sports – good, bad or indifferent.

The most recent ESPN article illustrates another aspect of the Linsanity phenomenon where a racial slur (unintentional or not) was the topic of debate.  When the Knicks lost to the Hornets after a long winning streak, the headline read “Chink in the Armor”, and the author of the article was subsequently fired and the anchor who read the story was suspended for 30 days.  Both proponents of this debate have good points.  On the one hand, all people, including, and especially peoples with a history of oppression, deserve utmost respect.  On the other hand, putting focus and energy into ridiculous words like nigger, chink, paki, kike, Indian, etc., gives these words power that they do not deserve.  In his response to this, Lin, who is Asian-American, acknowledged the apology from the author and from ESPN, and his attitude was basically to let’s move on.

Linsanity is also a story about cooperative team spirit, where a humble previously-unknown, now huddles with his entire team after the end of a game to strengthen team unity and team spirit.  The Knicks’ basketball play on the court affirms their intent in these post-game huddles.

The reason that I am fascinated with this story, is the reason I am fascinated with all triumphant underdog and all Cinderella stories;  that the possibility exists for people to achieve their dreams.  This doesn’t happen for everyone, and there are many dreams that people have that never materialize.  It just means that achieving dreams are a possibility, even if it means that one has to change the trajectory of his or her dreams, or completely let go of these dreams all together.

I saw an interview with Jeremy Lin where he said that he was confused about his life and career direction, and was prepared to completely step away from the game of basketball only a few months ago.  This is a very common experience, where people come to the brink of completely letting go of their desires and dreams that they once held so tightly, and then all of a sudden, these dreams take on a life of their own.  My guess is, I wouldn’t be too far off in making the assumption that Jeremy Lin would call this:  ”Let go and let God”.

I’m fascinated with the Linsanity phenomenon the way I’m fascinated with patients I have seen, who felt that they had come to the end of the road with their health, and then transformed their health for the better.  Like the man with lung cancer, diabetes and heart disease who was told “there’s nothing more we can do for you” after umpteen rounds of chemo and radiation, and now continues to enjoy life many years later with his great-grandchildren.  Or the man who developed incapacitating PMR (polymyalgia rheumatica), who now leads a normal life with the ability to play basketball as he did prior to his illness.

There are thousands and thousands of triumphant underdog stories everyday around the world.  Most don’t make the media headlines like Jeremy Lin, but they have their own unique, important and personal triumphs.

What Linsanity does for me (and I think for many people), is that it reminds us that there are possibilities in even those things that appear to be impossible at first blush.  And even if those dreams and desires end up being an impossibility, there’s always the sacred act of letting go and being open to what Life has in store for us.

The ‘Ramblings’ section is a category I created mostly for myself.  It contains thoughts rolling around in my head that I want to express in written form.  It also contains rants for my own therapeutic benefit.  Today’s blog is a therapeutic rant for myself.

I play morning co-ed basketball with players ranging from ages 15-58.  I am the oldest female on the court by about 10 years.  I am the least athletic.  The slowest.  The shortest.  If we were picking teams in the back of a schoolyard, I’d be picked last.  I am the underdog.  I don’t mind though, because I have lots of fun and I maintain my level of fitness on a regular basis as I age into my middle years.

This morning, we were playing 4 on 4 cross-court.  The opposing team had a fast break and I was the only one back on defence, so what we had was a 4 on 1 situation;  four opposing players working together, and me, being the sole person defending the basketball hoop.  I ran from person to person, working my butt off, trying to guess where the pass would be going, when all of a sudden, my aging body banged into another woman.  This woman set a pick on me on a 4 on 1 break.  I said to the woman, “That wasn’t fair.  You had a 4 on 1 break”.

Some people have no couth.  Why would someone try and squash the underdog in a friendly morning basketball game?  Because for some people, winning is more important than playing respectfully.  Even when winning is the all important goal, like in the NBA, I don’t ever recall seeing a pick set during a 4 on 1 break, probably because the game is played at lightening fast speed and there is no time to set picks.

I’ve always maintained that playing the game of basketball is a perfect metaphor for life and life experiences.

Underdogs get squashed all the time, and in very unfair ways.  Just read the news from around the world;  some in heartbreaking ways.

When I first started practicing naturopathic medicine in my small town, it was difficult.  This is because some of the patients I saw were true underdogs.  They had ailments they were suffering from and conventional medical wisdom had not offered solutions to their suffering.  And for some, their medical doctors would metaphorically squash them.  In the early days I spent a fair amount of time with these patients listening to their anger, observing them cry, and validating their fears regarding their relationships with their family docs.  These patients would experience ridicule, humiliation and be threatened with abandonment by their family physicians and by their specialists when these same patients told these professionals they were concurrently being treated with naturopathic medicine.  In private, I felt frustration, because I couldn’t understand why anyone, let alone professionals who were suppose to care about those they treated, would try to squash the underdog.

Today, my patients are fortunate.  Over the decades, there have been many turnovers in the medical staff in my town.  I can’t even recall the last time any patients expressed an experience of being disrespected by their medical doctors.  In fact, I now hear rave reviews about how family physicians listen to them, and how their choices are respected regardless of whether or not the doc agrees with their treatment choices.  No more squashing.  This is the best terrain for any healing to take place.

I suppose that squashing can help make some people stronger.  For those that aren’t as strong, squashing is not helpful.  It’s just couthless.

My mini-whine for the day.  I’m over it.

The transmission of this bacteria is thought to be from person to person via the oral-oral route or oral-fecal route.  One theory is that both water and houseflies act as reservoirs.

For those who are symptomatic, complaints of indigestion, stomach pain, nausea, heartburn, bloating and belching are common.

There is insufficient data regarding H. pyloris in the pediatric population.

Diagnosis involves one of 4 methods:  gastric analysis following endoscopy, a blood test (for antibodies to the bacteria), a urea breath test, or a stool test (for the antigen).  The blood test method is only useful for initial diagnosis but not for follow-up testing when assessing efficacy of treatment.  This is because the blood test will likely show circulating antibodies to the bacteria even after the eradication of the bug.

The choice of treatment with the highest proven success rate for this condition is a combination of 2 antibiotics along with a stomach acid lowering drug (usually a PPI or an H2 blocker).

A foster mom brought in her 13 year old boy to see me, diagnosed by her family physician as having chronic asthma.  This child presented with violent, frequent and continuous clearing of his throat, difficulty “catching his breath”, generalized intense tingling and itching of his skin, severe insomnia, and marked restlessness throughout the day.

Mom had been giving him Melatonin 3 mg before bed each night to help him sleep, with good results.  However, none of his other symptoms improved with sleeping better.

He had been on an entire assortment of inhalers for asthma, none of which helped this boy’s symptoms, and prior to seeing me, the next step for this child was for him to see a respirologist, a specialist in pulmonary diseases.

Listening to this boy “hork” violently every 5 – 10 seconds throughout his entire appointment with me was distressing.  And if I felt like that, I couldn’t imagine what kind of distress this poor kid was going through.  I had never before heard anything like it in my life.

I asked the mother, “Does this ever stop?”

“No”, she replied.  ”Only when I give him the Melatonin and he’s sleeping.  And sometimes he does this in his sleep”.

“How long has this been going on for?” I asked.

“Ever since we got him, which was about 6 years ago.  I don’ know what he was like before that with his biological mother”.

Six years (that we know of, maybe more) of horking like that.  I couldn’t imagine it.

When I examined him, his lungs were clear with good air entry throughout.  His peak flow reading was normal.  His respirations were normal, but he did appear to try and get a deeper breath, in between the violent throat clearings.

Then I examined his throat.  Never in all my life have I ever seen anything like it.  His pharynx was fiery red, swollen, and the entire surface was covered with numerous tear-drop shaped blisters, each about 0.5 cm in length.  I wasn’t sure if what I saw was a result of pharyngeal trauma from the constant violent 6-year plus history of clearing his throat, or if there was another irritant that was compounding this boy’s problem.

“I don’t think his symptoms have anything to do with his bronchi or lungs.  You might be wasting your time seeing a pulmonary specialist, but I’m not sure right now.  I believe your child’s symptoms are coming from his gut, even though he doesn’t have any stomach symptoms.”  This is what I said to his mother.

After determining his food intolerances, I recommended a restricted diet for the child which he adhered to with excellent compliance.  He returned in 1 month.  His restlessness greatly improved, his skin tingling and scratching were gone, but his horking was not much better.  The intensity of his throat clearing was a little less violent and the frequency had dropped to every 15 – 20 seconds;  but still far too distressing for this young boy.  On physical examination, is pharynx was unchanged.

It was then that I recommended we do a blood test, with a follow-up breath test for H. pyloris if the blood test ended up being positive.  The results of both tests were positive prior to starting treatment.  Even though there is little data on pediatric infections with H. pyloris, I opted to prescribe the triple antibiotic/PPI therapy to this child for the full 2 weeks instead of 1 week, given the length of time he likely had this bug.

Two months later he returned.  The violent clearing of his throat had completely disappeared.  Not even a mild clearing of his throat was heard.  His pharynx was almost normal, with no erythema, no swelling and only 1 blister left.

He remained as such for 6 months when I last heard from him.  I don’t know if mom ever took my advice to seek out a pediatric gastroenterologist for follow-up care.  I hope so.

The best way to treat H. pyloris is with antibiotics.  However, there are those patients who do not respond to this type of therapy and have undergone numerous courses of treatment with no amelioration of symptoms and no eradication of the bacteria.  In those patients, I often use Mastica Gum, Oil of Oregano and Goldenseal which are largely effective in these types of patients, as observed via empirical evidence.  However, there is little scientific data to support botanical medicines in the treatment of H. pylori, except for maybe here.  I have no experience with Monolaurin.

In order to prevent antibiotic-induced illnesses, Probiotics (preferably dairy-free) are crucial to take after undergoing a course of antibiotic treatment for H. pylori.

The bottom line is this:  throat clearing may occasionally be the result of problems other than common conditions like post-nasal drip (chronic sinusitis) or food intolerance/allergy.  It just might be a bug lurking in your tummy.

Dr. Hudson wrote a book in the late 90′s entitled, “Women’s Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine” and it is a book that I have used countless of times over the years for reference in my practice.  It appears as though it has recently been updated in 2007.

I have heard Dr. Hudson give lectures numerous times at various naturopathic medical conventions.  As well, for years now, I have prescribed many of the products she has formulated for a company called Vitanica, and find some of these nutraceuticals invaluable in assisting patients with their health.

I discovered her blog after reading a naturopathic student’s blog called, Natural Medicine is the Best Medicine.  I looked at the blogs this student followed, and lo and behold, there was Dr. Hudson.

Dr. Hudson’s blog is chuck full of the latest scientific studies along with her own clinical experiences regarding the particular topic of the blog she is writing about.  It is an invaluable read for all women who are interested in natural heath, or for those women who have not yet found efficacy with conventional medical treatments for their problems.

I have read books written by many physicians, both MDs and NDs on the topic of women’s health.  Dr. Hudson tops the list for me, and now I find her blog.

Dr. Tori Hudson’s blog.  Pennies from heaven.

Panacea was a mythological Greek goddess that was known to heal the sick.  She possessed a medicine that was known to cure every illness on earth.

Panacea and her potion was a myth, and yet as a collective society, we still believe in that myth;  that there is some treatment somewhere in the world that will cure everything.

It doesn’t exist.

That’s not to say that there aren’t wonderful treatments to be found in all types of medicines and in all types of cultures around the world that are extremely useful.  There just is no one remedy that will help all people.  Not a one.

One size does not fit all.

From here on in under the blogging category “Medicine” of this website, I hope to offer useful information regarding specific health topics;  not for everyone, but for those who would find this information helpful.

That’s only correct if I define that middle road to be very, very wide, at which point it would cease being a middle road, but just a wide road that contains room for all possibilities:   the choice for conventional medicine only, the choice for alternative medicine only, the choice for a combination of the two, or the choice for no medicine at all.  I promote all of these choices, provided that they are based on wisdom.  However, my worldview of medicine has little room for the willful ignorance and blatant fanaticism that comes from a tiny handful of healthcare practitioners;  some of whom are licensed professionals, and some, unlicensed healthcare providers.

I will call these practitioners Fringe Fanatics (FF).  FFs can be found both in CAM (complementary alternative medicine) and in SBM (science based medicine).

I’ll begin with the SBM FFs.

For me, there is a big difference between extremists and fanatics.  Extremists push the boundaries of the norm and intensify their focus in pursuit of the good for all people.  Fanatics use irrational zeal, not for the good of all, but to further their own particular agendas.

When anti-CAM MDs say that there are not enough double-blinded RCT studies done in complementary medicine to show efficacy, I’d agree with them.  In this way, these MDs are helpful extremists and motivate those practitioners of CAM into further research for the good of all people.

These same MDs cry quackery for therapies that are now becoming part of mainstream medicine, like acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, detoxification therapies, therapeutic touch, etc.  Via thorough case reporting, alternative therapies have shown good clinical efficacy in healing, and I can only come up with 2 reasons why anti-CAM MDs fail to address all of those people to whom conventional medicine has not been helpful for, and instead, have been helped by alternatives.  Fanaticism and ignorance.

If I were to guesstimate, I’d say that 50% of my practice consists of patients who repeatedly sought out conventional medical help for their problems, tried numerous pharmaceutical drugs with no improvement, then in exasperation came to my office.  I would also guess that 40% of my practice consists of people who want a combination of the best that both types of medicine offer;  both conventional medicine and alternative medicine.  About 9.9% consists of people who have no health complaints and are basically interested in preventive health.  And only 0.1% want natural treatments to the exclusion of all else.

For 50% of patients that I myself, personally see, conventional medicine had offered them little help.  I saw a 36 year old woman who was previously vibrant and active with no health issues.  She developed severe musculoskeletal and abdominal pain, where intercourse was impossible due to excruciating pain.  All of her numerous blood tests, all of her radiological reports, and all of her specialist examinations revealed that “nothing was wrong” with this woman.  An assortment of pharmaceuticals were prescribe to her by her family physician with no relief in her pain.  After assessing her needs, I prescribed a detoxification program as well as nutrient therapy for her. This woman no longer has pain and now enjoys her life again.

This is not an unusual anecdote for those who are unable to find answers in conventional medical wisdom.  This type of anecdote is actually quite common place in the practices of naturopathic physicians.

What is unusual, are the FFs who chalk up every positive clinical case report to placebo or to spontaneous recovery.  I have no doubt that data on case report statistics regarding healing with CAM, would counter this opinion.  But really, I don’t care.  Placebo or not.  Spontaneous healing or not.  I do care that people find the best quality of life that they can experience, which includes longevity and no harm, regardless the type of therapy or medicine they use.  That’s my bottom line.  It’s simply amazing how many hundreds of thousands of dramatic, long-term, positive health recoveries from a myriad of illnesses are seen in the offices of naturopathic physicians and alternative practicing medical doctors because of CAM therapies.  I guess there’s a whole hell of a lot of placebo and spontaneous recoveries going ’round.  Please pass the Kool-aid.

FFs also exist in the world of alternative and complementary medicine.

Whenever I hear of a case where a person has opted to have only natural medicine treatments, and there is excellent data regarding their prognosis if they chose conventional medicine, I cringe.  Natural cancer treatments are a hotbed for this type of situation.  I cringe when I hear of an alternative practitioner (usually unlicensed), saying to a patient who has refused proven conventional therapy and embarked on only alternative medicine:  ”The lumps are getting bigger and the pus is coming out of the cancer because you’re getting rid of toxins.  That’s a good sign”.

Sheesh.  Sure it is.  It’s a good sign that death is just around the next corner.

For aggressive cancers that have metastasized, almost impossible to treat, and lack scientific data for effective treatment –  it’s a crap shoot.  That territory is unchartered, and the patient’s intuition in that situation is almighty.

When it is the patient who displays fanaticism and ignorance toward a particular type of medicine be it conventional or alternative, I have compassion for their plight, even though I may strongly disagree with his or her choices.  However, I have little compassion for health practitioners who dole out doses of fanaticism and ignorance to those they purport to care about.

One size does not fit all when it comes to medicine.  Some sizes may fit many people and not others.  Special sizes may fit those who do not fit into the standard sizes.  Some people are still waiting for any size that will fit them.  For the fanatics and the ignoramuses, they didn’t even know we were trying on sizes.

Long ago, during my first years in naturopathic medicine college, I was the bane of some of my classmates.

I held the unenviable position of class skeptic.  Even though everyone of my classmates and I studied university chemistry and physics for our pre-med entrance into naturopathic medical college, it was always me who questioned the absurdity of some of the naturopathic therapies we would study.  Nutrition made sense to me.  Minerals, vitamins and massage made sense to me.  Even herbal medicine made sense.  But homeopathy?  Ridiculous.

Homeopathy is a type of medicine that was developed over 200 years ago by Samuel Hahnemann.  It uses extremely diluted substances, and uses these medicines based on the principle that “likes cure likes”.

For example, in many people, coffee can cause insomnia.  But for some people, a highly diluted homeopathic medicine made from coffee can ease their insomnia.  Likes cure likes.

(I should take a moment here to explain the difference between homeopathy and naturopathy since many people confuse the two.  Homeopathic medicine, in and of itself, is an unlicensed and unregulated practice in North America.  Naturopathy is the practice of natural medicine carried out by licensed physicians who use homeopathy as only one tool of many, for the purposes of healing.  There are six provinces and eighteen states that provide licensure and regulation for naturopathic physicians.  Nutrition, lifestyle counseling, botanical medicine, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine and intravenous nutrient therapy, are but a few of the modalities used in naturopathic medicine, along with homeopathy).

I worked in a conventional medical environment and at a teaching hospital for many years, and this undoubtably shaped my world view regarding science and what made sense to me.

Most homeopathic remedies are so dilute that they contain no molecule of the original substance left in the medicine, and they undergo a series of successions (shakings) with each successive dilution in order to “energize” the medicine.  According to the laws of chemistry and physics that we know today, this would leave us with exactly . . . . nothing;  plain water or plain sugar tablets for each homeopathic medicine.  A big honking placebo?!

And the law of similars?  That was weird for me back then too.  In the hospital, when we were treating an infection, we used an antibiotic.  Something to work against the bugs to kill the infection.  When we were treating severe inflammatory conditions, we used anti-inflammatories like steroids to knock down the inflammation and get rid of the symptoms.

Using a medicine that was similar to the disease itself in order to heal?  Weird.  It sounded like we were cooperating with, and supporting the disease.  I couldn’t wrap my head around it, so I thought about the mechanism of vaccinations.  Vaccinations are attenuated forms of the disease that one is trying to prevent.  For example, bits and pieces (acellular parts) of the whooping cough bacteria when injected, will attempt to prevent the whooping cough disease by stimulating the body to produce antibodies against the disease.  At least vaccinations had an antibody response after their administration.  Where were the direct measured responses and mechanisms after homeopathic medicines were given?  Believing that this medicine could actually work was a huge stretch for me, to say the least.

I was studying a medicine with nothing in it, and even if there was some “energetic” healing property in the medicine, the remedy was working in the same direction as the disease, and not against it.

Hmmmmmmmm.

As I said before, some people in my class were not too fond of me.

I took what I learned from the classes and thought, what the heck, I’ll try it out and see what happens.  At least I was willing to be open-minded about trying the remedies.  After all, they were just sugar pills.  They couldn’t harm me or my family.

The first experiment came during my first year in college.  My four year old at the time was turning the pedal of a stationary bike as fast as she could with one hand, and before I could get to her, she put her other hand through the spokes of the rapidly turning front wheel.  She started screaming with pain.  Her hand had a few small lacerations and she was reluctant to move any of her fingers.  I immediately gave her Arnica 200C under her tongue.  Within 5 seconds, she stopped screaming, she had no pain, she moved her fingers easily, and she developed no bruising or swelling after that injury as one might have expected had I not given her the Arnica.  In fact, looking at her, one would think that she had not experienced any recent trauma at all, except for the few minor lacerations that were gone the next day.

My daughter’s response to the sugar pill intrigued me.  Was it the Arnica?  or did her body just heal exceptionally quickly?  After all, she was healthy and very young.  I made a mental note that I would start paying more attention and start experimenting with this medicine more.

After using homeopathy for the past 23 years, I can say this.  This medicine is much more than placebo in its efficacy.  I don’t know how the heck it works.  It is not a panacea nor a cure-all for everything.  And it is most effective with functional pathologies as opposed to organic pathologies, where in the latter, irreversible tissue changes have already occurred in the body.

Case #1:  An 11 year old boy presented with fatigue, restlessness, no appetite, fever of 103 degrees F for 4 days, rib cage pain and headache.  Upon examination, he was pale, his oral temperature was 104 degrees, his chest was clear with good air entry throughout on auscultation, he had moderate splenomegaly, no signs of meningeal irritation, PEARL, ears normal, pharynx normal except for a tiny 2 mm white ulceration on the left side of his soft palate.  His tonsils were normal.  The throat swab for Strep A I did in my office was negative.  No lymphadenopathy.

I told the mom that I didn’t know what the problem was.  Obviously he had an infection, but I wasn’t sure if it was a bacteria or a virus that was causing his illness.  Mom did not want her child treated with antibiotics if that was possible.  I told her that I didn’t know if that was going to be possible.  I gave the child Phosphorus 10M after taking a homeopathic acute case history.  I told the mom to call me in 2 hours, and if her child did not experience any positive changes, I would call in a prescription to the pharmacy for a broad-spectrum antibiotic that she could pick up and start on that evening.  She called me back and said that within the hour after taking Phosphorus, her boy was in the shopping mall, back to normal.  His appetite was good, he had no pain, no fever, his colour was back, and he had much more energy.  ”I have my boy back”, she said.  This mom did take my advice because I was concerned about the splenomegaly I had palpated, and saw her MD the next day for blood work and for a follow-up pediatric referral.  The child was fine.

How does a medicine like that act so quickly?  Antibiotics don’t even act that quickly.  Not even intravenous ones.  Was it coincidental spontaneous healing?  or magic fairies with magic wands?  It is much easier for me to believe in a type of medicine that I don’t understand the exact mechanism of, than it is for me to believe in a magical world of fairies and fairy dust.  It is also easier for me to believe in the efficacy of homeopathic medicine, than it is to believe in the power and intent of a mom wanting her child healed and me wanting the child well.  Wouldn’t life be grand if we could all wish everyone to good health?  Good health doesn’t work that way.

If the reason for this dramatic response was merely coincidental spontaneous healing, then what is the explanation for the following dramatic responses I have observed?

Case #2:  A twenty-one month old girl with severe gastroenteritis, severe dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea, and severe lethargy, on the way to a hospital 3 hours away, was given Bismuth 200D and completely recovered in 2 hours while on the drive to the hospital.

Case #3:  A woman in her 40s who had a thyroidectomy for hyperthyroidism and was experiencing excruciating eye pain (because of hyperthyroidism) refractory to steroids and narcotics for the past 2 years, was given Belladona 50M and her eye pain improved 90% within 24 hours.

Case #4:  A woman in her 50s stung by a wasp with severe facial swelling where both eyes were swollen shut (but with no respiratory impairment), was given Apis 200C and within 1 hour, the swelling was 90% gone.

Etc., etc., etc., etc.  These are dramatic responses to homeopathic medicines.  I have not seen anything with conventional drugs (except those used during emergency medicine), that have worked as quickly and as effectively.

Then there are the thousands of cases I have seen over the last 23 years that one could ponder whether or not it was actually a spontaneous recovery that the patient experienced, or whether it was the homeopathic remedy that helped.  Like the 8 year old boy who had a history of 5 antibiotic-treated Strep throat infections in one year, and after receiving a dose of Pulsatilla 200D, his Strep throat infections were no more.  One could argue that this child would have recovered regardless and that the timing of the administration of the remedy and his complete recovery were just coincidences.  Or the 5 year old child who had warts all over her body for 2 years, and after one dose of Thuja 200C, her warts were gone in 2 weeks.  Spontaneous healing?  Maybe.  What about the woman with severe depression for the last many years who received a dose of Aurum 1M and 2 months later, her depression was relieved?  A placebo effect?  Quite possibly.

I know little about statistics and probabilities, but it seems to me that when coincidence after coincidence after coincidence starts stacking up, I have either got to believe in unicorns and fairy dust, or believe that there is something regarding the mechanisms of homeopathic medicine that I do not yet understand.

Trying to prove if homeopathy actually works or not by using blinded RCTs (randomized controlled trials) completely misses the point of homeopathy and the way information is gathered and the remedies administered. Homeopathy does not use one-size-fits-all remedies for a particular condition.  I cherry-pick which patients I prescribe these remedies to, not according to their disease, but according to whether or not there is a clear “remedy match” for a particular patient.  That remedy will be different for each person depending on the person, not on his disease. Obviously, I don’t treat every patient with homeopathic medicine.  I’d guesstimate that my use of this type of medicine comprises about 10-15% of my practice.  RCTs and the idea of cherry-picking patients are completely antagonistic principles.  Moreover, it is impossible to study homeopathic efficacy with RCTs because with homeopathy, different remedies are used for different patients for a given illness.  This is in direct opposition to the methodology used in controlled studies.  The best that evidence-based medicine can do to “prove” the efficacy of homeopathy, is to offer case reports and clinical expertise.  That’s about it.  This type of data is low man on the totem pole where evidence based practice (EBP) is concerned.

Does homeopathy work with every patient I have used this medicine with?  Of course not.  I have not yet seen any medicine or treatment with that type of resume:  neither in the alternative field nor in conventional medicine.

Dr. Kimball Atwood is a medical doctor who writes for a website called SBM (Science Based Medicine).  He is what you would call an anti-woo MD, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles regarding the implausibility of homeopathy, and the science, statistics and probability behind his opinions.

I can’t disagree with the science behind his reasoning.  The only thing I can say, is that the science box he argues from does not allow room for the possibility that the answers for both the plausibility and the mechanism of action of homeopathy may lie in the field of quantum mechanics or in other realms of physics and science we have not even yet fathomed.  I don’t know.  I would prefer to keep the box open and work with an expanding universe, rather than to assume that nothing further can be added to science in order to help us understand the contradictions apparent in the physical and chemical world in which we live, and with homeopathic medicine that works in clinical practice.

All I have is my clinical expertise and experience.  The bottom line for me is always the same:  is the patient getting well and is this happening without harm to the patient?  At least homeopathy has a brilliant record for following the pledge that naturopathic physicians are sworn to take:  first do no harm.

About 10 years ago, I saw a woman who had high cholesterol levels controlled with a statin drug, and had no previous history of coronary artery disease.  She developed severe myalgia (muscle pain) due to the drug, so she took herself off of the medication and I supported her decision to do so.  Her family physician called me up and asked me if I was aware how important it was for patients with hyperlipidemia to stay on the statin medications he prescribed for them, since these drugs doubled the chance for preventing cardiac mortality and non-fatal MIs in these patients.  I told him that I was aware of the benefits that these drugs produced, but that I didn’t realize their preventive capacity was that high.  I told him that I would work with his patient using botanicals and nutrition to lower her cholesterol since she could not tolerate this drug.

I bought into this bogus line of thinking regarding the efficacy of statins –  hook, line and sinker.  Wow, I thought.  Double the protection for heart attack prevention?  Could the number #1 killer disease in North America really be prevented by statins in 50% of the population?  Holy smokes.  You couldn’t get better odds than that at a race track.  On the other hand, I knew that nutrition, exercise, botanical medicines and nutrient therapies could also help prevent the #1 killer.  Obtusely, I didn’t bother to research the studies on statins.

After that conversation with the MD, I became a bit leery about supporting those patients who wished to discontinue their statins, but I assessed each case on a patient-by-patient basis, still leaving many people on their statins, while helping others to discontinue them.   I just took this unfounded information for granted; that is, statins were helpful drugs for people who tolerated them well.

I took a pharmacology prescribing course a few years ago, that now allows naturopathic physicians in British Columbia to prescribe most pharmaceutical drugs, after passing oral and written examinations.  I studied pharmacology in naturopathic medical school over 20 years ago, but only studied the mechanisms of the drugs, their interactions, their side effects and their general use.  Back then, naturopathic physicians were not licensed to prescribe drugs to their patients nor to discontinue drugs.

This particular pharmacology course  I took just blew my mind.  There were many drugs that I studied in that course that were not the golden goose I once thought they were.  Statins were among those drugs that took me by surprise.

Here and here are the conclusions from science based medical data.

In short, statins are completely useless for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cardiac death.  They do . . . . NOTHING.  Nada.  People with no previous history of heart disease who have high serum cholesterol levels, are taking these useless drugs and believe they are actually receiving benefit from them.  Statins do zippo for these types of patients.  NOTHING.  I have visions of George Costanza and Jerry Seinfeld doing a Seinfeld skit about NOTHING and statins for primary prevention.

However, for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease and death, there is some efficacy from these drugs as seen in the literature.  Let’s see what those figures mean exactly.  If a person has existing ischemic heart disease and chooses to go on a statin, (depending on which study you read), he or she will have a 1 in 23 chance of preventing a stroke or heart attack over 5 years, and a 1 in 56 shot of preventing death from cardiovascular disease over 5 years.  We don’t know what happens after 5 years.  It became very clear to me, that statins, while helpful, are no magic bullet or panacea for our #1 killer.  Not even in those with pre-existing disease.  What we have here, are many, many people taking statins, and very, very few people benefiting from them.  However, as cardiovascular risks start to accumulate (i.e. hypertension, diabetes and smoking) in a given patient, the efficacy of secondary prevention with statins also starts to climb.

Statins are no golden goose in the prevention of heart disease.  Moreover, serious adverse effects are often under reported in these trials, let alone the complete lack of reporting of numerous mild side effects.  It is well known now that Baycol, a potent statin, was pulled off of the market because it caused kidney failure from rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown) resulting in the deaths of 52 people.

So what do I now do personally, in clinical practice regarding statins?

I educate.  A few years ago, I saw a 56 year old obese woman with hyperlipidemia who was on Lipitor.  She had no history of heart disease herself, but had a strong family history of heart disease and hyperlipidemia.  Her family members were also obese.  I showed her the data regarding the lack of efficacy regarding statins (especially for women) and she didn’t care.  She was too afraid to discontinue the drug because she truly believed that she would be extremely susceptible to having an MI without it.  While I disagreed with her rationale, I supported her decision to remain on the med since she tolerated it well.  I then proceeded to prescribed CoEnzyme Q10, Vitamin D and Milk Thistle to support her body.  (Statins decrease levels of the first 2 nutrients, and this particular botanical medicine encourages liver health that can be adversely affected by the drug).

On the other hand, patients that I see with multiple and concurrent cardiovascular risk factors who have pre-existing disease, I encourage to remain on their statin unless they do not tolerate it.

Science based medicine is good medicine, but without looking at the particulars, it becomes medicine that is poorly utilized.

At the beginning of November 2010, we found out that dad had advanced metastatic prostate cancer.  My sister Julie, who had always been there for dad, both in proximity to where he lived and as an unending supportive force for him for decades, made arrangements for her older son to move into dad’s home in order to help him out.

Dad’s family doctor was a lovely and helpful man who initiated diagnostic radiological testing, along with the much needed narcotic prescriptions for dad’s initial bouts of excruciating and unbearable pain.

Every challenging disease contains within it, its own suffering, limitations, and heartbreak.  Comparative suffering between diseases seems to be an odd and pointless mental exercise, yet I clearly recall the thoughts I had more than 3 decades ago while I was in nursing school.  I was in our lecture hall at St. Mary’s hospital where we were  learning about disease processes, and one particular afternoon upon learning about ALS and PBP I thought to myself:  ”this has got to be the worst disease on the planet”.  Fifteen years later, my mom developed PBP.

During a profound clinical experience as a student nurse, I recall helping care for a patient with metastatic bone cancer, and I thought to myself:  ”this has got to be the most painful disease on the planet”.  Thirty years later, dad was experiencing this disease.  These were clear memories, and I found both coincidences to be a bit eerie to say the least.  It’s not that I don’t have other memories of disease experiences during my nursing studies.  I do.  I just don’t recall any being as crystal clear and as gut-wrenching as those I studied, that would eventually and coincidentally become diseases that my parents would experience.  Weird.

Because dad chose to wait so long before a diagnosis could be established, he did not initially have the benefit of the services of an entire oncology and palliative care team in place to assist him with his progression toward death and relief of suffering.

He did, however, have three children who were on the same page when it came to respecting dad’s choices regarding healthcare management, treatment or lack thereof, maximal assistance through the dying process, and any relief of suffering that was possible via any type of therapy.

All three of dad’s children were there for the last 2 1/2 weeks of his life, making sure that his descent into death was as comfortable as possible.

When I arrived at dad’s home from the other side of the country in the third week of November, it was very apparent that there was no way dad would be able to die at home without the knowledge, medications and treatments from competent oncology and palliative care personnel.  When I saw him, it was clear that dad needed more than Percocet and Hydrocodone for his pain management, he needed more than room air for his intermittent dyspnea, and he would eventually need aids like a wheelchair, commode, hospital bed and an emergency kit, if he were to die at home.

Two days after I arrived, dad had an appointment to see the oncologist.  ”Huh?!?!”  Dad could barely walk to the bathroom, he had severe episodic bouts of dyspnea, indescribable fatigue, and excruciating pain, where lying semi-flat was the only position that provided him a temporary measure of relief.

“Dad has to go to the oncology clinic today?!?  I don’t think so.  Dad’s not going anywhere.”  I was determined that there was going to be another way dad could get his needs met.  By phone, I spoke with the nurse in the oncology palliative department and told her of dad’s situation.  She said that she couldn’t do much about it because dad hadn’t seen anyone in their department and they couldn’t help him without seeing him first.  I told her that if we attempted to bring dad to the clinic, I hoped that she would be prepared in the event that dad would likely collapse and need a hospital bed to lay semi-flat on, resulting in an even more likely hospital admission.

She talked to the oncologist and told me that the doctor would make a house call later that day to meet dad and offer him assistance.

To this day, oncologist Dr. Sims of Cambridge, Ontario, and her drive out to see dad on that wintery day to make that all important compassionate house call, remains in my top 20 life experiences that stimulate profound gratitude in me.

My brother Peter and his friend Craig were sitting on the long couch, while Dr. Sims sat on the short couch.  Dad was lying semi-flat on his bed that my brother and I had brought into the living room from his bedroom the day before, in preparation to have more space in order to care for dad more easily.  I sat on the end of dad’s bed.  Dr. Sims then proceeded to inquire about dad’s medical history from me, and dad’s present symptoms from him.  I made it clear to her that not only was dad’s pain tolerance extremely high, but he was a man who was stoic beyond belief.  He wasn’t a person to complain about his symptoms, and when he would start to complain of pain, he had already reached beyond maximum threshold.

We told her that dad wanted to die at home.  Dr. Sims knew what that meant.  Clearly, she was not only a compassionate oncologist, but an experienced one, and knew what dying with metastatic bone cancer entailed in terms of palliative care.

“You’re sure you want to do this?”  Dr. Sims asked, looking directly at me.   I knew the question was meant for all three of us:  myself, Peter, who was sitting across from me, and Julie, who would have been there had she not been working her evening shift.

“Hospice care in Cambridge here is excellent”, she added.

I had no doubt, that hospice was a Godsend to so many who were in dad’s position.

“Yes, we’re sure”, I told her as I looked at my brother.  My eyes redirected back to her,  ”Dad wants to be at home”.

Dr. Sims then turned to my dad and said to him, “You must have done something right in your life”.

Always the modest man, dad replied, “Oh, I don’t know about that.  I’m very proud of all three of my kids”.

During that meeting, Peter and I both affirmed out loud that dad did a lot of things right in his life.  A lot.

Dr. Sims then proceeded to order all of the things we needed:  Hydromorphone, Lorazepam, Fentanyl patches, Decadron, Lactulose, Bisacodyl, Rabeprazole, an emergency drug kit (complete with drugs, syringes and needles), respiratory services for oxygen, occupational services for aids like a wheelchair, hospital bed, air mattress, commode and hospital table, and nursing staff that would come in every few days for half an hour to assess that dad’s needs were being met.

We were now on the road home, well-equipped with tools that would help see dad achieve as much freedom from suffering as was possible.

The implementation of comprehensive conventional palliative care was a major turning point in dad’s care.  Thank you Dr. Sims!

Alternative and complementary therapies are thought to be bogus by anti-CAM MDs for any and all types of conditions, and yet these therapies are anything but bogus, and do provide relief and comfort for those who are dying.  They did for my dying father.

Julie was involved with prayer for dad, which included the assistance of her mentors from her church.  We played cassette tapes of beautiful Serbian music that dad always enjoyed listening to.  While Morphine and Decadron were complete winners as far as palliative drugs go for relieving pain, the Lorazepam did nothing for his moments of fear and anxiety, and the homeopathic remedy, Arsenicum Album was much more useful and effective.  Julie and I took turns gently massaging his painful muscles.

One therapy that I used on dad, engendered a peculiar facial expression from him.  I started doing therapeutic touch on him (a practice I do rarely and only on my family members).

“What are you doing?” he asked me with a crinkled face that had skepticism written all over it.

“It’s called therapeutic touch, and it can help ease the pain in some people.  You’re my first guinea pig”.

He weakly laughed through the pain he was experiencing.  Whether it was the frequent dosing of morphine, the placebo effect, or something else, each time I would do therapeutic touch on dad, he would drift off into a peaceful sleep within the few minutes after I had begun.  I didn’t care what was helping.  I was just grateful that something was.

There is no doubt in my mind today, that the combination of conventional and complementary therapies that dad received, created the most beautiful death experience I had ever witnessed in my life.

I had seen many, many people die.  In nursing homes, in emergency departments, in ICUs, on general medical floors.  Lots of people.  I remember sitting with an elderly woman who was a DNR (do not resuscitate) in ICU and I was the only one around.  She had no family.  I held her hand until her cardiac monitor flat-lined, and I thought, “Gee, how sad it must be for some people to die alone”.

Dad had all of those who loved him, surrounding him during his final weeks.  He experienced maximal comfort, joy, love, laughter, peace and contentment.  It was both a time of the celebration of love, and the remembering of sweet sad sorrows of years gone by.  Everyone came to share with him, in a toast to his life;  new and old friends who were dear and loyal to him, friends of his children that had also come to love him, and the old friends back in the old country who he had forged bonds of tungsten with.

There were the daily visits with his 6 grandchildren who would surround his bed, loading heaps upon heaps of love onto him, but never being able to match that amount of love flowing back to them from their grandpa.  His 3 other grandchildren were not able to be by his side, so they sent their love to deda from California and British Columbia through the cyberspace waves of Skype.  He was even able to Skype with family members in Denmark and in Serbia.  Thank God for modern technology!

Everyone who had ever met dad, liked him, loved him, respected him, or all of the above.  His parents, his siblings, his wife, his children, the spouses of his children, his grandchildren, his old friends, his new friends, his co-workers, his neighbours, acquaintances, strangers.  Everyone.

Dad definitely did something right in his life.  A lot of things.

Gratitude.  Dad was overflowing with sincere thanks to everyone who came to visit him or care for him.  He took all of their hands in both of his own, shook them gently, and to each he would say, “Thanks, thanks a lot, thanks a lot for coming”.  It didn’t matter who they were.  The respiratory tech, the nurses, all of the visitors.  Everyone.  Even though the words of thanks were always the same, each utterance of gratitude from him was like I had never heard the words multiple times before, because each time he spoke them, it was with the deepest, most authentic, heartfelt sincerity I had ever heard.  Dad was a man who lived his entire life in gratitude, the difference in the last 2 1/2 weeks, was that the gratitude coming from him was ramped up to a phenomenal intensity.

Along with gratitude, there was so much humour and laughter in dad’s small house while he was dying, one would think that there was a major party going on, and not the dying experience of an 84 year old man with mets to his bones and lungs.

Dad always had a good sense of humour, but during his last few weeks, as with his gratitude, his humour also ramped up.  I was either laughing at his jokes or helping him with basic care.  There really wasn’t any time for sadness it seemed, during those last 2 1/2 weeks.

Dad was a very independent fellow and accepted the loss of his ability to care for himself with grace and humour.  When dad’s appetite bottomed out to zip, and we asked him if he thought he could eat some breakfast, he jokingly replied,  ”I’ll have 6 eggs and 6 bacon”.  When I asked dad to please ring the bell when he was finished on the toilet, and to please not walk out of the bathroom without my help in case he fell and broke his fragile bones, knowing that I was his relentless watchdog, he slyly said to me, “There’s only one door.  How can I get out with you there?  Maybe I’ll go out through the window”.

Dad was constantly thirsty because of the meds he was on, and everyone took turns every 5 – 10 minutes or so, holding a bottle of water with a straw to his mouth so he could drink.  When he could no longer get out of bed, he needed assistance to use a urinal to void.  One time dad was intensely thirsty and at the same time needed to void, so with one hand I held a water bottle with a straw to his mouth, and with the other hand I positioned the urinal so he could void.  He looked at me with tired but mischievous eyes and said, “Are you sure you’re giving me the right bottle to drink from?”

Through all of his pain and all of his loss of independence, he still thought of others before himself.  While on the phone, he shed tears for the plight and suffering of his  dear friend who was struggling with caring for her bedridden husband.  He shed tears for his old friends whose parents died tragically during WWII when recounting the stories of years gone by with them.

He never shed one tear for himself.  Not ever.  He was always thinking about how he could be of help to others even in the last 2 weeks of his life.  Julie was shoveling snow off of dad’s driveway one day, and he said to me while now completely bedridden, “I wish I could go out and help her”.  He was serious and he meant it.

“Dad, I think she is doing a good job on her own”.

Dad was determined to live to December 1st.  Why?  So that his children could benefit the most from his pension inheritance and dying before then would mean for him, that his children would not benefit maximally.  Who thinks like this?  A man who places the needs of all those he loves before his own, even when he is dying.

Peter used his phone to videotape dad talking about the many aspects of his life, from the days back in the old country to his experiences in Canada.  Peter also videotaped dad’s story about why dad wanted to make it to December 1st.  My brother did this for the sake of posterity and titled these 52 short clip video segments, “Conversations With Dad”.

One of the most joyful moments I witnessed during dad’s final days, was a visit from his old friend, Mr. Stevo Kangrga.  The plum brandy was flowing, noses and cheeks were flushed red, the Serbian Skype lines were open, and the laughter was contagious.  Thank you slivovitz!  Thank you Decadron!  Thank you God!

Toward the end, dad’s feet became swollen like big water balloons.  He wasn’t uncomfortable, he just didn’t like the looks of them and asked me if we could do anything about this problem.

“I’m afraid not dad.  That’s a sign that your kidneys are shutting down and that’s part of the dying process”.  He then gave me his all too familiar shrug of acceptance.

“Oh, okay”.

Dad was coherent and conscious up until 24 hours before he died, which was at 2:30 p.m. on December 9, 2010.  Julie, her son Jordan, and I – each one of us held dad close as he exhaled his last breath.

I have been blessed twice over.  Firstly, to have had a dad like this and to have shared him with my siblings.  Secondly, to have had the privilege with others, of caring for him during his final weeks, where I was able to bare witness to peace, love and joy in their finest states.

His, was a beautiful death and he got his wish.  Dad died at home.