Dr doesn't want to see me anymore

[Tracker]

Patients believe their doctors are following rigorous scientific principles. The hallmark of science is to be skeptical of what it is you believe is true and always try to falsify that belief. Reality is, most docs don't spend the time. They have a hectic scheduled as it is. So they defer to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and it's National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines (NCEP)...not knowing how those guidelines came about. IOW he follows a script that was conveyed to him by drug companies and the NIH.

I wonder if your doctor even knows about the following petition to the NIH. Email it to him. Note who the university medical professionals are that signed it (page 9) wanting a re-review of those guideline:

PETITION TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
SEEKING AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW PANEL TO RE-EVALUATE
THE NATIONAL CHOLESTEROL EDUCATION PROGRAM GUIDELINES
https://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/finalnihltr.pdf

Dr David Diamond PhD, neurologist, USF talks about this petition in this lecture that he gives to cardiology conventions. He rips into the NCEP guidelines as being financially bias.
http://www.cas.usf.edu/news/s/169/#VIDE ... 20epidemic
Here's the link to the Power Point Presentation. See pages 43-45. Especially see page 45 because it's the response the NCEP sent back to these petitioners. Pretty much a short and sweet PC version of go fly a kite.
http://www.cas.usf.edu/news/Diamond_USF.pdf

Drugs have an NNT (number needed to treat) and an NNH (number needed to harm)
http://www.thennt.com/?s=statins
Statins: http://www.thennt.com/nnt/statins-for-h ... t-disease/

Benefits in NNT
1 in 83 were helped (life saved)
1 in 39 were helped (preventing non-fatal heart attack)
1 in 125 were helped (preventing stroke)
Harms in NNH
1 in 100 were harmed (develop diabetes*)
1 in 10 were harmed (muscle damage)

And that's why your muscles were hurting.

Dr Diamond points out this Lipitor Ad. See the "*" after the %. It refers to the blue font on blue background in the lower left corner. If you were in this study and your doctor gave you Lipitor you had a 98% chance of not having a heart attack. But if you were given the sugar pill you had a 97% chance of not having a heart attack...and that's without having side effects. Now which would you choose? The difference between the sugar pill and Lipitor was actually 1.1%. To get a 36% reduction they divide 1.1% by 3%.


In addition to Diamonds lecture I also like this talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGOpjPNtjes

And then this: http://m.openheart.bmj.com/content/2/1/ ... ign=buffer

[thestudiokid]

I work in an ER, which many patients use as a clinic. MDs here have the luxury of telling a patient no because they think they don't have other options. This just isn't the case, even for the uninsured. Medical care is a two way street.

Find a new doctor.

[92f-fan]

Prof Tim Noakes makes my irony detector go off
An ultra marathoner gets type 2 and does years of research to find blame.
He admits he wrote a science based nutrition/sports book and later in his own lifetime has found the conclusions in that book wrong ...
He promotes 25 grams a day of carbs as the recommendation ...
Interesting. I encourage all of you to try that
I wonder if he will live long enough to change his mind yet again ...

Any apply the high fat diet to the rest of the world with limited access to ANY food. How do you create enough high fat food to feed the billions ?
Then factor in the impact of all the animals needed to create that protein and fat and their impact on the world. http://timeforchange.org/are-cows-cause ... ethane-CO2
All those animals need acres of grain each... The acres of grain, where ? watered with what ?
The math doesn't work. Of course it rarely does in academia

[mojo84]

There are fats that do not come from animals and the purpose of a high fat low carb diet is not feeding the world, it's eating a healthier diet that has a positive impact on one's health and cholesterol.

I have done the low carb, 25 or so grams per day, and I did feel better and my body composition improved. I won't say the diet is for everyone but it helped me. Unfortunately, I have not been as disciplined the last 2-3 months.

[WildBill]

Also you might research Duane Graveline, M.D., M.P.H.

Lipitor, Thief of Memory; The misguided war on cholesterol "By Duane Graveline, M.D., M.P.H.
http://www.spacedoc.com/articles/lipito ... -of-memory

My personal introduction to the incredible world of transient global amnesia (TGA) occurred six weeks after Lipitor® - atorvastatin - was started during my annual astronaut physical at Johnson Space Center. My cholesterol had been trending upwards for several years.

All was well until six weeks later, when my wife found me walking aimlessly about the yard after I returned from my usual walk in the woods. I did not recognize her, and only reluctantly accepted cookies & milk, but refused to go into my now unfamiliar home.

I "awoke" six hours later in the office of the examining Neurologist with a diagnosis of transient global amnesia, cause unknown. An MRI performed several days later was normal. Since Lipitor was the only new medicine I was taking, the doctor in me suspected a possible side effect of this drug. Despite the arguments of the examining doctors that statin drugs just did not do this, I stopped my Lipitor."

That's an amazing story from Duane Graveline!

[Bayoutalker]

There are quite a few common foods that can lower cholesterol such as spinach, oatmeal, cheerios, etc. Sometimes that is all it takes. It just depends how bad your problem is. In my case I still have to use statins. I've tried 3 different ones until we found the right one for me.

As for the doctors, my wife's doctor has a sign in each exam room that if you don't want to follow his directions you will cease to be a patient. Fair warning.

[Tracker]

There are quite a few common foods that can lower cholesterol such as spinach, oatmeal, cheerios, etc. Sometimes that is all it takes. It just depends how bad your problem is. In my case I still have to use statins. I've tried 3 different ones until we found the right one for me.

As for the doctors, my wife's doctor has a sign in each exam room that if you don't want to follow his directions you will cease to be a patient. Fair warning.

Bayou, I use to believe all junk science about diet and cholesterol. Nutrition and diet has been something of an obsession of mine. That was mostly due to my obsession with natural bodybuilding.

I was about 20 years old when I got interested in nutrition as a science and that was due to Mr Universe, Mike Mentzer, premed student.

I quit believing that cholesterol bull in my mid 50s. There is no evidence that you need to have your total cholesterol below 200. That guideline was created by 9 people, 8 of which have financial ties to drug manufacturers. Here's a petition to the Nation Institute of Health (NIH) arguing points I just said. The NIH is where you Doctor gets his guidelines from. Notice the pedigree of 36 professional signatures. It would presentable in a court argument:

https://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/finalnihltr.pdf
Take that to your doctor and demand an explanation. The NIH refused a re-review.

This is the lecture where I learned about that petition http://youtu.be/3vr-c8GeT34

What matters with heart disease isn't your total cholesterol. It's the ratio of triglycerides to HDL. Eating carbohydrates raises triglycerides and lowers HDL. So don't eat those. The only thing you can eat to raise HDL is saturated fat. It's an association, not a known cause effect but, Lower cholesterol puts you at a higher risk of cancer.

There's way too many people on statins http://youtu.be/YGOpjPNtjes

Metaboilc Syndrome is was causing the rise in cancer, dementia, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Genetics loads the gun but environment pulls the trigger.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL39F782316B425249

[WildBill]

There are quite a few common foods that can lower cholesterol such as spinach, oatmeal, cheerios, etc. Sometimes that is all it takes. It just depends how bad your problem is. In my case I still have to use statins. I've tried 3 different ones until we found the right one for me.

As for the doctors, my wife's doctor has a sign in each exam room that if you don't want to follow his directions you will cease to be a patient. Fair warning.

Texas is an at will state, so you can fire your doctor at any time, and he can fire you without warning.

[winters]

The first thing you did wrong was tell your doctor your not going to do as he says. Doctors don't like being told what to do. But most doctors are merely pill pushers and won't do anything outside of their comfort zone or won't prescribe drugs outside of whatever drug company pays them to push. I have never heard of any law saying they can't get rid of you until you find another doctor though. Most doctors that fire patients are whiney brats themselves. Though i do feel sorry for ones that have to take care of people like my father who thinks he knows more because he looks up everything on the internet.

[rotor]

Actually a doctor that terminates a patient without reasonable notice is in violation of the Texas Medical Practice Act. Also a doctor can be charged civilly with abandonment. So it is not as clear cut as you all are saying. So as in many things on this forum there is fact and there is.....

[Surgeon]

There's a simple test anyone can take involving a cheek swab that will tell the physician "exactly" what medication and dosing is tailored to your genetic make up. It's called pharmacogenics and reduces side effects to a minimum while providing maximum efficacy. It explains why the same medicines and dosing don't have the same effect with every patient. Ask him about having it done. Insurance covers it.

[mojo84]

This is another unintended consequence to Obamacare. http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-promo ... 1427303546

WASHINGTON—Paying doctors, hospitals and other providers for improved care rather than treatment volume will benefit patients and lower U.S. health-care spending, President Barack Obama said Wednesday.

As the Affordable Care Act reaches milestones in expanding coverage—nearly 11.7 million people had signed up through late February—the Obama administration is turning its focus to revamping the way providers and health systems are paid.

If a doctor is going to be penalized based on outcomes, why would he not fire a noncompliant patient?


Votes matter.

[Redneck_Buddha]

I resisted statins for 13 years until I discovered nothing I was going to do would bring my cholesterol down to a reasonable level and my resting BP was pretty regularly at 160/105. Started taking the simvastatin (generic Zocor) a mild HBP drug, bought a Versaclimber, started yoga, cut out red meat, fried food of any kind, pork, pizza, empty carbs, the whole nine. BP is now around 114/70, HR 53, bad cholesterol at 68, good cholesterol at 48, down 35 pounds. Hopefully on April 4th I will be taken off both the blood pressure meds and the statin. In this case, I'm glad I caved in to the statin.

[Tracker]

I resisted statins for 13 years until I discovered nothing I was going to do would bring my cholesterol down to a reasonable level and my resting BP was pretty regularly at 160/105. Started taking the simvastatin (generic Zocor) a mild HBP drug, bought a Versaclimber, started yoga, cut out red meat, fried food of any kind, pork, pizza, empty carbs, the whole nine. BP is now around 114/70, HR 53, bad cholesterol at 68, good cholesterol at 48, down 35 pounds. Hopefully on April 4th I will be taken off both the blood pressure meds and the statin. In this case, I'm glad I caved in to the statin.

Buddha, watch the link I just posted where Prof David Diamond is giving a talk. It's a talk he gives to cardiologists. High/total cholesterol is not a good marker for heart disease. I can give more links to credible MDs who are saying the same things.

Such as:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL5-9ZxamXc

and Stanford School of Medicine's Christopher Gardner. Gardner is a vegan who says in their diet study that pitted Atkins, Traditional diet a cardiologist would prescribe, Ornish, and the Zone (A TO Z diet study)...he says Atkins won. Here's the lecture. Gardner was one of the signatures on the petition I linked to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eREuZEdMAVo

Uploaded on May 22, 2008

January 17, 2008 presentation by Christopher Gardner for the Stanford School of Medicine Medcast lecture series.


The case for low-carbohydrate diets is gaining weight. Christopher Gardner, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, has completed the largest and longest-ever comparison of four popular diets using real-world conditions, which he discusses - the lowest-carbohydrate Atkins diet came out on top.

Stanford University School of Medicine:
http://med.stanford.edu/

Stanford University Channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/stanforduniver...

Category
Education
License
Standard YouTube License

[stroo]

Find another doctor.

I took statins, specifically Lipitor, for several years until I figured out that it was destroying my memory, hip joints and peripheral nerves. There are lots of other things you can do to reduce cholesterol, many of them natural. Any doctor that wouldn't work with me on finding those tactics is a doctor I wouldn't trust.

After I dropped Lipitor, my hip problems went away, my memory got better although it still is nothing like it used to be and my peripheral nerve pains in my feet stopped getting worse. I now am on a regimen of metamucil, fish oil and exercise (although I don't do enough of that) and my cholesterol is down significantly. There are other things that can work as well.