Archive for the ‘Bone Stories’ Category

Rant about Allopathic Medicine

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Susan Brown’s last newsletter had an article about a woman who followed a doctor’s advice and took every drug in the allopathic arsenal and none of them worked at all. Her bones got worse and worse until her teeth started falling out.

Now I have a woman calling me who has been told by a doctor that on a breast biopsy she has PRE-CANCEROUS cells. She is in her late forties. The doc wants to cut her breast and also the lymph cells under her arm and she has told her it is very urgent and she should not even think of looking into alternatives because there is NO time. This is on PRE-cancerous cells!!

Now the woman can’t sleep with worry, which of course makes everything worse. She is imagining this stuff growing in her breast and creating it with her imagination, instead of creating radiant health.

Cancer is not my interest, I don’t know much about it. I comforted her and told her how to do research to find an alternative, integrative or naturopathic doctor where she lives and she just called me back later and said it was too confusing.

It is confusing! Just try putting ‘cancer cures’ in google and you’d go crazy.  Most have worked on SOME people but many of them are just scams. People put out money for this and that cure until they are picked clean.

I know because I did that for the diabetes and Chronic fatigue. It finally worked because I am feeling better now than I did since before menopause, but it was a long and expensive road. I also didn’t have anyone in my life telling me to just to do what the doctor says, like a good girl.

But allopathic medicine will just use surgery, poisonous drugs and radiation which will shorten most lives enormously. What we really need in this country is an open attitude to ALL ways of curing the body from everyone in the healing field. I am open to radical options like surgery if nothing else can be done and everything has been tried - but as a first resort! NO.

For me the first resort is always to correct the pH balance, then diet, supplements and nutrition, and to connect to a positive and healing  frame of mind. We all heal ourselves with our miraculous minds and bodies.

So I guess I was feeling powerless over this. The woman is far away, has no-one to talk to and doesn’t know what to do. This happens to me a lot because of my website but I’m not allowed to give medical advice.  I’m not an alternative physician and I don’t want the responsibility of someone else’s health and well-being. When it comes down to it we must all be responsible for our own health.

We all have inner guidance and hers is speaking to her right now otherwise they’d be wheeling her into surgery. If she listens to it the right person will pop up on her radar and she will get the right answers for her. Ok, that makes me feel a lot better.

Have a blessed day,
Pam

Posted in Bone Stories, Diet, Osteo-News | No Comments »

Forteo, Not a Great Solution

Friday, July 10th, 2009

On Dr Susan Brown’s bone blog recently there was a great article about Forteo. I have had women ask me about it before but I wasn’t believing the good reports from it since they are so short term and seemed to come from the company that sells it. I also didn’t think too many of my weight vest customers would be interested in a drug that has to be injected daily and costs over $500- a month.

Anyway Dr Brown’s article is really well done and here is her bottom line:

“As near as I can calculate, since its development, studies on this drug have included only 1943 patients. According to the manufacturer, a study of one year is considered “long term,” while the maximum length of any study was only two years. Thus, not only is Forteo relatively new, but it is also experimental and, I would say, inadequately tested. In addition, it is very expensive — the drug costs upwards of $600–$700 per month! Further, it is inconvenient to use as it must be given as a daily self-administered injection. Most importantly, since this drug has shown to cause cancer in rat safety studies, its use by humans is limited to two years or less. While there may be significant bone density gains while using Forteo, the research is clear that these gains are lost once the drug is stopped. To maintain bone density gains, antiresorptive drugs such as Fosamax must be used after stopping Forteo.”

You can find the whole blog entry here.

Now here is a coincidence. This morning an old customer called me. She had bought a vest some years ago, loves it and still uses it faithfully, but she has many health issues that are causing her so lose bone. She is very tiny, has digestive problems that prevent absorbtion of her food and has had many broken bones. So she is obviously not your average woman. She was put on Forteo and hopes to build some bone in the two years her doctor told her she could stay on it. Her doctor told her that she has had thousands of patients who were on Forteo for two years and still kept the bone gain ten years later. This is obviously not a study of any kind but it is interesting input. Whenever someone says thousands I’m inclined to think they are given to exaggeration. How many severely osteoporitic patients can one doctor have? And twelve years ago when the drug was new? But she is in Miami where lots of older folks live so maybe it’s true.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that there are many opinions, many stories, often many conflicting studies with different outcomes, and we are all different. This woman needs to do everything she can to build bone. She actually called me to ask how I was doing with the bio-identical hormones so I will update that in the next post.

Many of the women reading this will be younger and will not have to take drugs that may later turn out to be dangerous, if they take care of their bones with diet and exercise early enough.

So get with the program, women, start pumping out those hindu squats as if your wellbeing depended on it. How hard is it to do 5 every time you go to the bathroom? They will help with elimination at the same time as build muscle and balance.

Enjoy some sunshine today,
Pam

Posted in Bone Drugs, Bone Stories, Osteo-News | No Comments »

Successful Bone Building Program

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

I got some great news last week from a customer and her testimonial has an interesting point that I’ll go over later. Here it is:

Last year I purchased your weight vest after receiving negative results on my bone density test which showed rapid bone loss over 2 years. I began wearing the vest on walks, taking “muscle pump” classes at YMCA, supplements (calcium, magnesium, Vit D, multi-minerals, multiple vit, K, C), bio-identical progesterone cream [Emerita], and diet.

In one year (from Feb-08 to Feb-09) my scores improved significantly. My doctor said 2-3% doubles bone strength–I exceeded 3% in both locations!
 
T-Score Test results below:
Date            Age            T Scores
                                   Hip       Spine
10/06          54          -1.4         -2.3
*2/08          56          -2.3        -2.9      *started wearing vest Mar-08
2/09            57          -2.2        -2.8

1-yr improvement      4.34%     3.45%
 
My physician, Dr. Kochumian, was extremely sceptical last year when I refused to take Fosomax, and previously when he prescribed Boniva, but agreed to see what would happen in 1 year. He was amazed at my results!
Carol

What I didn’t realize before was that 2-3% improvement equals doubled bone strength. Some women have been disappointed when their T-scores have only gone up one or two points, but according to this doctor they are doing very well with that improvement.

As Carol said later in her email, it wasn’t easy to get the bone gain. She had to work at it, but the working gave her many other gains in her life as well. You can exercise and eat right because of your bones but your whole body is affected. That’s why I call our post-menopausal bone thinning a great wake-up call for women. It tells us it’s time to stop the downward slide into ignominous old age and bounce back.

Have an active life,
Pam

Posted in Bone Stories, Exercise, Testimonials, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Fruits and Veggies Can Strengthen Bones

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

Well, what a coincidence! Just as I am starting on a rawfood diet there was a study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism saying that fruits and veggies can strengthen your bones.
The study, done by Tufts University, explored the connection between the acid diets that are common in the US and bone loss. Grains, meats and dairy, plus processed food in general, tend to make our systems more acid.
The study included 171 men and women aged 50 and older who were randomly assigned to receive a placebo or doses of either potassium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or potassium chloride for three months. The people who took bicarbonate showed significant reductions in calcium excretion and bone resorption. I have been telling women for many years to take a drink of sodium bicarb with lemon juice at night before bed to cut down on bone loss and to add to the alkalinity of the body. You’ll find that info on my pH balance page.
So the study didn’t actually test any veggies or fruits because it is already well known that they will also add to the alkalinity of the body in a more natural way. Your body will create sodium bicarb out of them itself.
I heard about Dr Douglas Graham and his “80-10-10 Diet” several weeks ago when I read an interview he had done on a raw food site.I have been using more raw foods lately because I am unhappy with the long-term results I was getting with my low-carb diet.
There are two doctors who I have been listening to, via books, to keep the diabetes under control, Dr Rosedale and Dr Bernstein. They both say we don’t need any carbs at all and should take as little as possible so our blood sugar numbers stay stable. Well, when you cut down on carbs then the only thing you are adding is fat and protein.Long term, that is a nightmare for the body. The liver and kidneys can’t deal with all that fat, even the good fats. And too much protein is just as toxic to the system.
So I have been longing for fruit for the two years I have been trying to stick to this diet. As with all new diets, in the beginning you always feel better, and I did. But for the last 6 months I have been feeling increasingly toxic and sluggish. I found out that my blood was in a rouleau pattern typical of people who eat too much fat. The blood cannot do it’s job of oxygenating the body from that pattern so I was increasingly tired and weak.
So when I read what Dr Graham said about fruit and diabetes and fruit and candida, I was very intrigued. He says that fruit has gotten a bad rap, that it is fat that causes diabetes and candida. The fat eaten along with the fruit coats the sugar in your intestines and prevents the insulin you take or make from being able to react with the sugar and push it into the cells. So I was convinced enough to give it a good try.
This diet is considered radical even in raw food circles because he says that 80% of our diet should come from carbohydrates, 10% from protein and 10% from fat. Interestingly these numbers are supported by the World Health Organization. Since leafy greens and fruit actually have about that much protein and fat in them, it means you rarely have to eat anything else at all, a few nuts a week maybe. Most rawfooders eat huge quantities of nuts.
People who do not like fruit would have a hard time on this lifestyle because you can’t get enough calories from greens. I love fruit but you have to eat an awful lot of it. I am actually eating 5 times a day because I can’t eat too much at once. Some athletes are eating a dozen bananas at one sitting, or a half gallon of fresh orange juice. Dr Graham has coached Olympic level athletes and is an amazing athlete himself so he has a lot of credentials for superior performance on this lifestyle.
My immediate reaction to the diet - one month -has been profound.

  • I’ve got my energy back to where it was before I got sick so many years ago.
  • I’m sleeping less, wide awake at 5 and ready to go.
  • I’ve cut down on the thyroid and adrenal meds.
  • I am calmer, my mental chatter seems to have gone away.

One last interesting thing - I have never been athletic in my life. Work has always been my exercise. Now that my work takes place on a computer a lot of the time that is not good for my body. So I am actually starting to look forward to my rebounding and walking and even considered running or jogging!
Have a wonderful Holiday Season and don’t worry about 2009. Depression starts in the mind, don’t let it take root in yours.
Live in Abundance and Joy, Pam

Posted in About Me, Bone Stories, Diet, Exercise, Osteo-News | No Comments »

More Jawbone Problems with the Bisphosphonate Drugs

Friday, October 19th, 2007

I just got this email from a customer who wants me to pass it on.

Hi  Pam, I have been sent to a dental  specialist due to the jaw pain which has now been definitively diagnosed as a break in the lower portion of the root of a tooth of an old root canal  and crown causing massive  infection.

The pain and infection will get worse and I am told there is no way to fix it other than tooth extraction or another invasive jawbone surgery which will save the tooth-"apicoectomy" -they remove a flap of the lower gum, remove the lower bone around the tooth and put a filling at the site where it broke and restitch the gum.

I took Actonal for only 11 mos but even that short time increases my risk for the jawbone not healing well after dental surgery. Thank heavens I hadn’t taken it for the full  5 yrs it  usually  is recomended for. Even though I’ve stopped this drug it has a half life of over 10 yrs in the bones and will continue to exert an influence on the jaw and on the rest of my bones.

I always looked after my teeth and saw  a dentist several times a year.This is to let others know that even if your teeth are healthy  when you start these drugs [all bisphosphates] things can happen further down the line.How many people realize their crowns and root canals do not last forever?

Unless you have dentures or no teeth think twice about taking these drugs especially if you are youngish [50's] because of their long term effects on the jaw which makes any  future dental surgery a risk.

I will have to risk the surgery and hope I don’t develop jaw necrosis as a result of the surgery.

My family doctor  is  now calling the manufacturers of this drug to get recomendations on how to best proceed with this.When the pain first started my regular dentist thought  it was related to Actonel and changes in the jaw related to that.

Please spread the word to all your friends and family so others will realize the risks they are taking. If you never need future dental surgery - fine but who can predict the future? I will be this specialist’s first patient he is doing surgery on that has taken these drugs.My family doctor  tells me I am the first of his patients taking these drugs to need invasive dental surgery.

As Clint Eastwood said in one of his movies "Do you feel lucky?"

I had another letter this week from a 60 year old woman who took Fosomax for 1 1/2 years and has spent the summer with her jaw wired shut and her lower teeth out. This is no longer rare and both of these events were after a pretty short time on the drug. Why aren’t doctors wising up about this. Through someone I know in a dentistry organization who is getting the word out to dentists, they are getting up to speed on this problem. But doctors still have their heads in the sand.

Blessings to both of these women.

Pam

Posted in Bone Drugs, Bone Stories | 1 Comment »

Osteoporosis and Falls

Sunday, May 27th, 2007

My mother fell again last week. This is her fourth fall in the last few years. Given the condition of her bones with fractures through all her vertebrae, as you can see on by scrolling down to her picture on the left of the first page of my site weightvest4osteoporosis, she sustained very minor damage. She lost her balance in the garden and fell on the concrete garden path. She has bruises and scratches and her arm is very sore but she broke no bones.

According to Gillian Sanson’s book, "The Myth of Osteoporosis", it is not the condition of your bones but the particular circumstances of the fall that influences your rate of fracture. I have definitely seen that play out in my mother’s case. Her first fall was on the library steps. She tripped up the step and fell forward, her arm hit the edge of a step and fractured. It was such a small fall really.

The second fall was in her bedroom at night when she fell backwards on her hunched back. It took a year to get over the pain from that. The third was in a parking garage where she missed seeing the small step down and fell forward. She fell hard on concrete but sustained no injuries.

Now this fall involved very painful bruises on her arm and knee, but bruises heal. According to the fear-mongering going on around Osteoporosis nowadays she should have sustained a hip fracture each time she fell and would be marked for death. She is 87 now and still gardening and sewing, and walking daily with her rolling walker. Her quality of life is high compared to most women her age.

I have done all I can to help her prevent falls and be mindful of her movements in space. But when she gets excited she forgets she is old and unstable and she whizzes around like the young woman she is in her mind. That’s when she goes flying. I sometimes get annoyed with her for her carelessness but I have to get over it. She is a bright, living, dancing Spirit who happens to be living inside a body that is getting more and more restricted. But she’s not giving up, not my mum! And I’m grateful.

Blessings,
Pam

Posted in Bone Stories | 1 Comment »