HEALTH
When talking to your doctor
about the studies (or
abstracts) you are providing,
be sure to point out the
respectability of both the
institutions where the
studies were performed and
the journals in which they’ve
been published.
I also put together abstracts of all the small studies
done on LDN for various diseases. These abstracts
all appear in the government-run PubMed, which
doctors respect. You can find abstracts for similar
studies for different treatments by going to PubMed
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) and typing the name of the treatment in the search bar. In
the case of LDN remember to use the whole name
of the drug, and to put quotation marks around it:
“Low Dose Naltrexone.” This way, all your “hits”
will be about LDN. If you don’t put quotation marks
around the three-word term, you will get lots of extraneous information about treatments containing
the words “low” or “dose” or “naltrexone,” but not
all three words together. Only by putting quotes
around the entire term will you get the information
you want. If you want to find abstracts for studies
about low dose naltrexone for Crohn’s disease or
fibromyalgia, simply add the word “Crohn’s” or “fibromyalgia,” without quotation marks.
When talking to your doctor about the studies (or
abstracts) you are providing, be sure to point out
the respectability of both the institutions where the
studies were performed and the journals in which
they’ve been published. Note, too, the promising
conclusions, if there are some—conclusions like
“significantly improved,” “appears effective,” “improves clinical and inflammatory activity,” “an effective, highly tolerable treatment,” etc.
If you want to have a better chance of convincing
your doctor to be your partner in this effort, bring
27 | NEW CONSCIOUSNESS REVIEW
the articles to your appointment neatly in a folder.
Say, “Doctor, I’ve put together some information
about a treatment I’ve been studying for my condition. I’d like to leave it with you and make another
appointment to come back and talk to you. When
do you think would be an adequate amount of time
for me to make another appointment?”
Your doctor will either say, “I’m not interested,” or
he’ll tell you to make another appointment to discuss the treatment in two weeks—or three weeks,
or even four weeks. Either way, you’ve been successful. When you return, be sure to bring an identical packet with you. Make sure you’ve studied the
information in the packet thoroughly, so you can
have an INTELLIGENT conversation.
Several of my clients have been able to convince
their doctors this way. Others have not. When this
happens, I have my clients say, “If I find another
doctor to prescribe xyz treatment, will you still be
my doctor and will you still follow me?” Hardly any
doctor has refused to follow a patient when this
method is used. In fact, one of my clients calls this
sentence/question “Julia’s magic words.” Then, if
necessary, I help these patients find a doctor who
will prescribe the treatment.
AS YOU CAN SEE, PRESENTING INFORMATION
TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT A TREATMENT HE
OR SHE DOESN’T KNOW ABOUT CAN BE COMPLICATED. BUT, IF YOU HAVE BEEN TAKING THE
MEDICATIONS YOUR DOCTOR HAS BEEN PRESCRIBING, WITH LITTLE OR NO SUCCESS, YOU
SHOULD BE READY TO FOLLOW YOUR GUT—
YOUR INTUITION—AND START LOOKING FOR
TREATMENTS THAT MIGHT BRING YOU GREATER RELIEF. THAT’S HOW MOST PEOPLE BECOME
EMPOWERED PATIENTS!
Julia Schopick is a patient advocate, health
writer, and creator of the award-winning
blog Honest Medicine. Her columns and articles
have appeared widely in the national press. Her
mission is to inform people about little-known
but promising treatments, and to empower
them in making health care choices. Contact
Julia through her website, HonestMedicine.com.