A little thing about Doctors….

I needed to shed a little perspective surrounding some recent learnings and interactions with physicians. Obviously my job lends to numerous interactions and experiences, but the examples I am about to share are from a personal experience. It is important to be aware that by sharing these storied by no means am I belittling or suggesting to reject allopathic medicine or its providers.

I brought our son to his Pediatrician’s office last week for his 6 year old wellness check/physical. I have become less concerned with these annual check ups, as they are truly meant more for checks and balances for attending school, playing school sports, and receiving vaccines. Since my son is not involved in any of the above, I am very comfortable in measuring his height and weight as well as administering/assessing vital sign status’. Never the less, we went. He checked out healthy as usual, is growing like a weed, and was deemed to be a happy and thriving child. I searched for and ultimately chose his Pediatrician because she was considered to be an MD that was supportive of parents rights to choose and be a part of the vaccine divide. I can say that we have always felt very supported and respected with our decisions. During the review of his medical history, she mentioned how he had molloscum contagiosum in the past and wondered if it was still a concern at all. I was actually shocked that I had not mentioned it to her in prior years, but that we were able to rid him of the MC though the use of colloidal silver soap in about 2 weeks. I mentioned how we all use colloidal silver soap now and that colloidal silver sprays were a staple in our medicine cabinet. She shifted into physician mode and reminded me regarding the concern of heavy metal build up in the body. She even referenced to vaccines and as to why heavy metals were a concern for not vaccinating to begin with. I agreed that heavy metals are definitely a concern, HOWEVER, there are some significant and important differences to be aware of. First, silver is NOT a heavy metal or known neurotoxin like aluminum. Second, we are speaking of ingestion vs injection. Colloidal silver is microscopic silver suspended in water, with zero adjuvants. It is consumed either topically, via nasal/throat sprays, or by mouth. It is never injected into the body. It does not contain polysorbate 80, that is required in vaccines bc it opens the blood brain barrier to actually allow the vaccine to work. Ingestion of colloidal silver will never cross the blood brain barrier, it is digested and excreted normally all while providing the unbelievably protective properties to the body. Either way, I explained that I am more comfortable with the perceived risks taken with ingestion than the actual risks taken with injection. She shook her head and agreed. We left the appointment with her encouraging me to keep doing what I am doing, and that she was looking forward to seeing what I do next. I am grateful to have the open and 2way communication that we have established, together. I have the utmost respect for providers that recognize that regardless of the initials that follow their name, they are still human and don’t know everything.

One of my close friends shared something with me that has left me disturbed since first hearing. She is friends with a physician who was sharing his personal story about having Lyme disease. He mentioned that he had terrible GI issues as a fall out and that he was prescribed Doxycycline* 120 mg/day. He described that after stopping the Doxy he had consistent and relentless diarhea so he went back on the Doxy. My girlfriend recoiled at the idea that a physician would first of all choose to go back on a heavy tetracycline antibiotic such as Doxy, but then further this by informing her that he planned to just stay taking Doxy for life. She immediately rejected this absurd idea and reminded him of resistance, disruption and dissolve of the crucial gut microbiome and the fact that he was taking an antibiotic to resolve an issue that is usually induced by the antibiotic to begin with. She questioned him on all the obvious concerns associated and he basically just poo-poo’ed her that there was a study done in acne patients that showed a reduction in inflammation, so he was using it for reducing his GI inflammation and happy with it. My girlfriend being so bothered by his callous disregard for excessive and somewhat reckless antibiotic use/abuse decided to research this study he referred to. What she found was that there was indeed a study that showed reduction in inflammation from a low dose of doxycycline. It was not a forever use either, it showed to be effective at low doses for the reduction of inflammation of acne. She was able to circle back and ask him if he had even read this study using Doxy and that he obviously had not or he would be aware that it showed a dose 1/3 less being the only effective dose for inflammatory reduction and that if he was going to stay on the antibiotic for long term to at least be dosing it properly. A few weeks passed by and she asked him if he had moved to the 50mg dose. He said that he had stopped taking Doxy all together a few weeks ago, and is feeling great again, no problems. Just to add a little more background to the story, the Physician is married to another physician who was prescribing him the Doxy to begin with. He never once acknowledged the fact that both he and his wife, both practicing physicians read the studies regarding what he was using a very volatile medication for. He never once thanked my girlfriend for having concern about his reckless attitude and researching the medicine HE was taking. The take away from this- he is a physician who was choosing to disregard important and relevant risks associated with a medication, bc he is a physician. The same stands for his wife, also a physician that prescribed blindly. I have known this physician for a long time. I really like this physician and know that he is extremely reputable. This doesn’t change my overall view on him as a physician, it just reinforces my confidence in ensuring that I am diligent about independent research.

I share these examples only in the name of researching your questions, yourself. You should never feel shamed or classified as an anti or pro anything for having questions. If your gut is telling you something is off, trust it. Don’t be afraid to seek beyond the professionals. They don’t always have the answers and sometimes unfortunately like the antibiotic physician example above, make irresponsible decisions and justify them in the name of their medical degree. It is never wrong to be completely and fully informed, especially when it comes to medications and bodily autonomy.

“If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely aquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” -Mahatma Ghandi

So much love and respect.

xo-e