My daughter has struggled with gastrointestinal issues her whole life. Our second (of many) gastroenterologist was a highly recommended physician who worked with early intervention, Easter Seals, and practiced at a well-respected hospital associated with a medical school in the Chicago area. I liked him right away. He was the first to really take her symptoms seriously. This was a serious doctor who used western medicine very well, but he also prescribed natural treatments – including homeopathic treatments. I trusted him and we used what he suggested. I think that it helped some, but really the underlying problem was yet to be identified – so in reality he did the best he could, and he definitely did no harm.
When this doctor switched practices, he thought we needed to be with a doctor who could order some tests that he wasn’t able to order. We switched to a doctor at a prominent hospital. The first conversation I had with this physician was one in which I had to defend myself for giving my child homeopathics. He actually asked me how a PhD could do such a thing? As a result, I had to be on my “best behavior” for almost a year – following his laxative schedules and keeping a journal – before he would take us seriously. Finally, this doctor thought we should rule out a tethered spinal cord, and ordered an MRI. He made it clear that he didn’t think that a tethered cord could cause the level of constipation my daughter was suffering, but it was the easiest possible cause to rule out. The radiologist report did suggest that there was a tethered spinal cord, so we went to see a neurologist at the same hospital. This neurologist looked at the MRI with us and said that tethered cords don’t cause gastrointestinal problems, and that he didn’t think she needed surgery. In fact, he said: “she just walks funny. Get her some physical therapy”. I’m so glad that we went to physical therapy, because she is the one who finally helped us get the help we needed. After 6 months in physical therapy, a total loss of continence, and an ER trip due to a back-up we discovered that the tethered cord was causing all of these issues. Once we found our awesome neurosurgeon and urologist (and ultimately a new equally awesome gastroenterologist), the girl was on her way to recovery. She had surgery at the age of three, and now four years later we are still dealing with nerve damage…but things are getting better (thanks again to an alternative treatment). Our new gastroenterologist suggested a special type of physical therapy. When I was looking into this, I was surprised at how biased insurance companies are with regard to any new ideas. A treatment that clearly does no harm, and has been shown over and over to help, is still not covered because it’s “experimental”. Why do we have all of this bias in medicine? Why do parents (patients) have to work so hard to find those doctors open to a variety of treatments?
My family is more open to alternative medical treatments than our education levels might predict. Although I have a PhD in the biological sciences, I still feel like homeopathic treatments are worth a try. Maybe they won’t help, but what is the harm in trying? Occasionally, I think that they might even work. When I ran across Jo Marchant’s recent book Cure: A Journey Into the Science of Mind Over Body, I was eager to learn what this PhD in genetics and medical microbiology and self-professed[1] skeptic of alternative medicine would find. I found this to be an absolutely fascinating book! I appreciated Marchant’s honesty about her skepticism towards the subject, and her honest approach made some of the findings all the more incredible to me. The book investigates the physiology behind the placebo effect and how conditioning can improve the efficacy of lower doses of medication. She also investigates new ways to use the mind to address everything from pain, fatigue and performance under stress. Marchant produced a solid review of the scientific literature and presented it in an accessible way. In addition to numerous successful studies, she includes studies that were not successful – and I believe this adds credibility to her review. Chapters 1-7 investigate the success of (alternative) medical interventions. I was interested in the design of the studies that have resulted in these therapies. The researchers faced enormous design difficulties including ethical controls. It is difficult to come up with designs that the scientific community would accept, and even when well-designed many are skeptical of the results. Marchant demonstrates the tension between practitioners, patients, pharmaceutical companies and researchers. Often it is impossible to design or fund studies of a treatment that ultimately will not result in a large profit to the pharmaceutical industry. Chapters 10-12 address how we might live – beyond medical interventions. Topics in this section range from how meditation and mindfulness training can decrease stress and inflammatory responses to the power of friendships and community. Miracles also are included in this section, and this is the weakest part of the entire book. Marchant focused on those who try to “prove” the existence of miracles rather than the power of prayer (which would have paired nicely with her chapter on mindfulness and meditation). Overall, this was an excellent book, and I highly recommend this read for anyone interested in learning more about the power of the mind. Perhaps I’ll buy this book and send it to some of my daughter’s past physicians… but then again, maybe they will never be convinced!
This book was provided by Blogging for Books for an honest review of this book.
[1] “So although I believe that the alternative medicine advocates are deluded with their talk of water memory and healing energy fields, I don’t think that the skeptics have got it completely right either. “ p. xiv
This is a wonderful review! AWESOME!!!