Amazing victory for Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness yesterday. Her trainers Steve Ausmussen and Scott Blasi own a Precision Microcurrent “Blue Box” with 12 foot leads and have the FSM summary protocols. You don’t suppose….?
Unregistered Health Provider Ordered to Stop Misleading Cancer Patients
Published Apr 23, 2009
A Mackay woman who made misleading and deceptive claims about a mineral supplement has been ordered by the Brisbane Supreme Court to discontinue providing intravenous treatment to cancer patients.
Minister for Fair Trading Peter Lawlor said unregistered health provider Jillian Margaret Newlands was caught administering a concoction made from a mixture of citric acid and sodium chlorite to cancer sufferers and claiming the product cured cancer.
"The Office of Fair Trading was alerted to Ms Newland's activities following a Health Quality Complaints Commission investigation. The Office of Fair Trading sought an injunction under the Fair Trading Act 1989 to prevent her from misleading and deceiving consumers," Mr Lawlor said.
"Ms Newlands has no formal qualifications as a nurse or naturopath," Mr Lawlor said.
"Ms Newlands went so far as to inject her 'patients' with a 'miracle mineral supplement' while dishonestly promoting its benefits with no sci entific basis for her claims.
The court order obtained by the Office of Fair Trading banned Ms Newlands from administering any substance intravenously and supplying any goods, services or any other substance which has not been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration."
"Ms Newlands was ordered to pay court costs of more than $12,000 and has also been restrained from making any claims she is able to treat, cure, or benefit any person suffering from cancer" he said.
"She charged cancer sufferers up to $2000 for treatment services she administered in her home garage and went so far as to advise one cancer patient not to pursue chemotherapy treatment.
"There was no evidence of any sterile handling techniques or any proper storage of medical utensils and equipment used by Ms Newlands at her home.
"This sort of deceptive conduct is completely unacceptable.
If consumers have concerns in regards to their dealings with Jillian Newla nds, they should visit their nearest healthcare professional immediately.
May 3rd update
Jill Newlands only had to pay court costs so she only received a slap on the wrist whereas the patient who had the courage to complain has blood clots. She should have been charged with 'Grevous Bodily Harm'. She can still treat other major illness patients. I was the one who went undercover to expose her and there are many more like her operating 'under the radar' . Loretta Marron
End of story by Loretta Marron
I agree with Ms Marron's views concerning Jill Newlands, who obviously shows no empathy for her patients who are terminally ill and desperate for a cure. I believe that to exploit such people is a criminal act and should be handled accordingly. Jill Newlands previously treated one of my new patients who is terminally ill. (I am treating his back pain, not miracle cures for cancer). He is almost impoverished since Ms Newlands took him down for $2000.00 for 2 days of illegal therapy in unlicensed premises. She demanded he pay up front for her illegal intra-venous therapies that she didn't complete but refused to refund him the $800.00 for the services she did not provide, regardless of their eficacy. Jennifer Weekes
Naturopaths Move to Create New Regulatory Body
Posted
Herbalist and naturopathic associations are behind the move to set up the national body, which will set uniform standards to regulate the industry.
The register's spokesman, Paul Orrock, says the Government regulates chiropractors, osteopaths and Chinese medicine practitioners - but naturopaths are left out, and that is a concern.
"Despite being very good health professionals there is some risk in the herbs and nutritional supplements that are prescribed and there's some risk that their training isn't up to standard to recognise disease," he said.
"There's a big problem that anyone can call themselves a naturopath and herbalist without training and therefore the public really aren't well protected."
It is hoped the Australian Register of Naturopaths and Herbalists will be publicly available by 2010.
European Court Ruling Spells an end to Fluoridation
Fluoridated water must be treated as a medicine, and cannot be used to prepare foods. That is the decision of the European Court of Justice, in a landmark case dealing with the classification and regulation of 'functional drinks' in member states of the European Community. (HLH Warenvertriebs and Orthica (Joined Cases C-211/03, C-299/03, C-316/03 and C-318/03) 9 June 2005)
Functional drinks are those products that have two different purposes – for example, nutrition and exerting a positive effect on some medical condition. They include 'near-water drinks with added minerals' and, in view of the properties claimed for fluoridated water by fluoride advocates, it must be classified as a 'funtional food', and therefore falls within the scope of the relevant legislation.
Medicinal law takes precedent over food law.
The Court ruled that, where two different sets of rules appear to apply to a product, medicinal legislation must take precedent, and the product must be regulated as a medicine. It emphasised that medicines regulators in member states do not have the power to exercise discretion on the classification of such dual-function products. The repeated refusal of the British and Irish Regulators to recognise fluoridated water as a medicinal product is therefore an unlawful misuse of their powers, and one that requires immediate reversal.
ECJ rulings do not establish new laws, but clarify how existing ones should be applied, and are enforceable in the domestic legislation of all member states of the EC. In effect, this decision at last confirms the claim that I have made for many years – that existing medicinal law has always required that fluoridated water be regulated as a medicine. Fluoridated water has no medicinal marketing authorization ('product licence'), and because of this it is – and always has been - illegal to supply it to the public, as the 1968 Medicines Act confirms.
As a 'medicinal water', the protection afforded by the water quality regulations that shield consumers from hazardous substances in drinking water does not apply. Its use in the processing of foodstuffs is also prohibited, under the food safety legislation. Aa a direct result of this ruling, all English and Irish legislation providing for water fluoridation are at last exposed as having been in violation of that fundamental prohibition, and must now be repealed.
Prohibition of use of fluoridated water in foods
But the Court also ruled that such functional food products must not be used in the preparation of foods. As a 'medicinal water' the fluoridated product cannot be regarded as equivalent to the mandatory 'water for human consumption' specified for drinking and food preparation. So now every food wholesale and retail outlet in fluoridated areas of the UK and Ireland, from the corner chip-shop to the largest brewery, from the small high-street bakery to the largest supermarket retailers - all will now have to either cease production or install an alternative water supply.
Implications for international trade in food products
But the ruling also has an equally profound implication for export trade in processed foods and drinks. The Court stated that even if a functional food product (or a food containing it) is legally marketed as a food in one member state, it cannot be exported to any other member state unless it has a medicinal licence. So any company making a consumable product using fluoridated water in its preparation or as an ingredient cannot now export that product to any other state in the EC, even if their product is permitted in their home state.
The economic implications are enormous. Not only does the ruling ban the use of fluoridated water for all retail catering and wholesale food processing in the UK and Ireland, it also prohibits such trade from these states to other member states of the EC. But it goes much further than even this, because if British and Irish processed foods from fluoridated areas cannot be exported to the EC, this prohibition must also apply to the importing of such products into EC member states from any other country that practices
water fluoridation. The decision effectively bans all processed food products from countries such as the USA, Australia and New Zealand, unless they can be positively proven to have been prepared using only water that was not fluoridated.
What does this mean for water undertakers who fluoridate their product?
Before British water undertakers allow Strategic Health Authorities to order them to start fluoridating their water they need to be fully aware of the implications to them and their shareholders should they agree to do so. Not only are medical damages compensation claims likely to be far higher, with charges of negligently supplying an unlawful product forming the basis of class actions, food processers who lose their markets will certainly hold their water undertaker accountable in law for their losses. This ruling means that Courts in other member states of the EC must support demands from competing food processors that an embargo be placed on British and Irish products unless they can be proven to have been manufactured using only non-fluoridated water.
I have previously warned that this illegal product substitution cannot be permitted to continue, and that members of the public are entirely entitled to demand to be supplied with water that complies with, and is regulated under, the drinking water quality standards that are enforceable under both EC and UK (and Irish) law. Since the ruling must be enforced in all EC member states, water companies will now have to come off the fence and accept that fluoridated water is not an acceptable alternative drinking water.
The only way out - repeal all fluoridation laws and ban the product.
This decision completely supports the challenge that I have issued repeatedly to the UK Regulator, the MHRA - identify the case law that justifies your perverse claim that this product is not a medicine. Ironically, it was the MHRA itself that finally gave the game away, in a formal response to another Regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). In what I can only assume was a deliberate attempt to mislead the ASA, the MHRA actually cited this case in support of its continued perverse refusal to implement the medicines legislation that it is obliged to enforce!
The beginning of the end - fluoridation must now be banned, worldwide.
This ECJ ruling effectively puts the final nail in the coffin of water fluoridation, not only within the EC but worldwide. It establishes a very substantial but entirely justified obstacle to trade in food products that are prepared without proper regard to the protection of the public that is enshrined in law. The ruling must be recognised and enforced not only in every memebr state, but also in any external state that wishes to trade with the EC in processed foods. So just what can be done to resolve the present unacceptable situation?
One solution would be to grant a medicinal licence to fluoridated water. But the Court ruled that any evaluation of a functional drink may only be done under the rigorous procedures required to scrutinise any pharmaceutical product. In the present state of scientific concern over the evidence of its lack of efficacy and safety it is impossible to imagine that such a licence could ever be granted. If it were, it would immediately result in a world-wide denunciation from the scientific community that is fully aware of the improper commercial influence that is at the heart of the international promotion of fluoridated products.
The only acceptable response is to call a halt to this controversial practice now. The experience of the past half century has shown that it is completely unjustified - indeed, it is responsible for what may reasonably be described as a pandemic of avoidable chronic fluoride poisoning. In ruling that this type of product must be regulated under medicinal law, the Court has taken the final step towards bringing this disreputable practice to a long-delayed end. Let us hope that national Governments all over the world will heed this decision - the economic consequences will be dire for those who continue to attempt to continue this discredited and illegal practice.
For a professional review of the implications of the ruling to functional drinks by lawyers Steptoe and Johnson LLB
CLICK HERE
My First Research Project Sept 2001 - Published in 2002 - The Natural Therapist professional magazine
Complementary therapies: have they become accepted in Mackay general medical practice?
Research project submission by Jennifer Weekes ND
Objective
To establish the degree of acceptability and knowledge of the professional status of naturopathy and its role as a complementary therapy within general practice
Although the study question generalises on a range of natural and complementary therapies, the researcher’s concern is to identify whether Mackay doctors have an understanding and/or respect for the professional role of a naturopath as part of the health-care team. The purpose of generalising the research study is:
- To follow the original study design as undertaken in Melbourne by Pirotta, Cohen, Kotsirilos and Farish (Feb 2000).
- To offer the sample group scope to express opinions on a broader range of modalities in order to incite better response. Whereas some doctors may not understand naturopathy, an interest in another modality included in the project may invoke interest in the study.
- More than one independent variable provides a broader range of results, thus comparisons can be drawn on all modalities. Such statistics effectively gauge the level of acceptability and knowledge of naturopathy expressed by the respondents.
Research Design:
Forty packages were posted to the sample of doctors in the Mackay district on the 10th October 2001. Each package contained a covering letter, information guide on naturopathy and remedial massage therapy, plus a single page questionnaire and stamped self-addressed envelope. Questionnaires were anonymous and comprised of nine closed and two open ended questions.
After ten days, the medical groups were contacted to inquire about the doctor’s compliance to the survey. Within ten working days 50% of the questionnaires were returned completed, while one was returned unanswered (2.5%). Seven doctors were on leave (17.5%), while twelve of the sample selection were unresponsive (30%).
Data Analysis:
Results of the quantitative questions were as follows:
- 85% of respondents believe natural therapies have a worthwhile role in healthcare, while 15% disagree.
- 75% respondents agreed with the concept of referral of clients to a natural therapist in response to a patient request, while 25% disagreed.
- Where drug or other orthodox therapy is deemed inappropriate, 70% respondents would consider referring a patient to a qualified natural therapist. 25% were opposed to the concept while 5% were uncertain.
- 60% respondents acknowledged qualified natural therapists as allied health professional, while 40% were unaccepting.
- 80% respondents agreed they would acknowledge a patient referral from a qualified natural therapist. 15% were not in favour.
- 70% respondents agreed that where appropriate, and without breaching patient confidentiality, they would provide certain information to a therapist concerning a patient’s health if he/she felt alternate treatments may be in any way harmful to the client. 5% agreed only with a patient’s consent, while 20% were not in favour.
- 85% respondents agreed they would support legislation to regulate the natural therapies industry, prohibiting unqualified therapists from treating the public in receipt of a fee. 5% agreed depending on scientific evidence and 10% disagreed. Where disagreement was implied with this question, both respondents had answered no to all questions, suggesting strong objection to the natural therapies industry.
- The twelve modalities included in the survey for approval drew a varied response, with accupuncture 95% in favour; remedial massage and chiropractic treatment 75%; meditation 65%; naturopathy, Chinese accupressure and hypnosis 45%; herbal medicine and aromatherapy 40%; reflexology 30%; homeopathy and spiritual healing/reiki 20% in favour.
- Statistics on opposed modalities were: Reflexology and homeopathy 25%; aromatherapy15% and chiropractic 10%. Because a number of boxes were left unanswered, it was assumed that the respondents were unfamiliar with the modalities. Herbal medicine, naturopathy and accupuncture scored 5% question marks.
- Modalities endorsed as being of interest within integrated medicine by respondents were: accupuncture 30%; meditation 25%; herbal medicine and accupressure 15%; chiropractic, remedial massage and naturopathy 10%; homeopathy, reflexology, aromatherapy and reiki 5%. Other modalities of interest were nutrition and exercise therapy 5%. 25% of respondents stated they already practised natural therapies including accupuncture, accupressure, meditation and Ayuvedic medicine, while 5% stated it was part of his/her medical training overseas. One respondent commented that he is fully occupied with orthodox medicine without time to pursue other modalities. Another respondent felt alternate therapies would conflict with his current practises.
- Of the 20 responses, 70% provided further information stating their views on the natural therapies industry.
Evaluation of qualitative data:
From the fourteen qualitative replies by respondents willing to express their opinions on the natural therapies industries the following information has been extracted:
- 30% respondents believe there is insufficient scientific evidence to support therapeutic benefits related to natural therapies. They also feel there is a need for further research to provide some evidence of health benefits so that doctors can offer patients more information on what is likely to be the most effective therapy for them. One respondent remarked that there is sufficient unscientific practise in orthodox medicine without adding to the list of iatrogenic illnesses.
- 15% of the sample indicated difficulty in interpreting whether improvements shown following natural therapies were directly attributed to treatment or merely placebo.
- 46.2% respondents were concerned about quackery within the natural therapies industry, describing patient feed-back which suggests dangerous and subjective approaches to alternate treatments. Such comments imply there is still a high level of exploitation by some therapists of dubious credibility within the industry.
- 90% of respondents illustrated a real need to regulate the industry, providing GP’s with an uncomplicated method of checking on the qualifications of a therapist for a referral system to meet standards of acceptability approved for inclusion in the allied health professional team. One respondent stated that there is difficulty enough establishing the objectives of practitioners within allopathic medicine without pursuing information on the education, qualifications and practices of natural therapists with apparently less objectives. Two respondents commented that they did not encourage or seek out natural therapists due to lack of knowledge of the practitioners or their services. Another respondent demonstrated concern regarding difficulties in discerning which therapists are competent and which are dangerous or mad.
- 38.5% respondents indicated concern regarding certain natural therapists dispensation of herbal and other supplementary medications. One doctor remarked on an attitude within the industry that because herbal extracts are of natural origin they are safer than synthetic drugs. "All drugs, including herbs have the potential for side effects, so need to be regulated in some way to ensure safety and efficacy". Another respondent was of the opinion that all substances that have an effect on the body should be listed as a drug and should incur the same restrictions as drugs of equal therapeutic effects/danger. He was also critical of dubious false claims for therapeutic benefits of a popular nervine herb, which he claims recently failed in a double blind control study. Another respondent commented that he did not believe naturopaths could possibly have sufficient pharmacological training and knowledge to understand the implications of dispensing therapeutic medicines such as herbs and vitamins, which can often interact with allopathic drugs. "As natural therapies are not subject to TGA scrutiny, I am very circumspect in advising patients to obtain these goods." Another respondent objected to claims being made for treatments that cannot be substantiated. "Herbal medicines are listed as dietary supplements and not subjected to rigorous approval before marketing".
- 61.5% of respondents did not object to their patients receiving natural therapies, providing it was not financially exploitative, and improved their well-being without disrupting orthodox medical treatment. One respondent felt such therapies play a supportive role – ‘someone who cares.’ Another remarked that providing the treatment does no harm, provides a cure and is not financially exploitative, it must be of value. Yet another claim was "I am happy for my patients to receive natural therapies providing they are complementary and not alternative."
Report:
The findings of this study clearly indicate the need for further research into the acceptability of naturopaths as professional health-care providers by medical practitioners. Results clearly indicate a concern for the welfare of patients treated by GP’s when such therapists are involved in their care. Questions that need to be addressed are:
- Is the attitude concerning quackery one of bias and suspicion, or genuine experiences which are both dangerous and life threatening to their patients
- Is the concern regarding objectivity of the natural therapies industry merely an attitude which is entrenched in pragmatism and conveniently closing doors to new innovations, or a genuine concern about the need for further research into the benefits of natural therapies as part of a holistic approach to health-care?
- Is there a measure of ignorance by Mackay GPs concerning the level of research already completed or undertaken to gauge the effectiveness of natural medicine ?
- Are doctors adequately informed on the results of research trials concerning the safety and efficacy of herbs and the ongoing changes to legislation of the herbs permitted for use by phytotherapists?
- Are Doctors aware of the legislations concerning TGA recommendations for qualified registered naturopaths?
- Is legislation strict enough concerning the education, registration and practice of naturopaths?
- Are GP’s simply threatened by another less scientific approach which not only fills a gap in their health care needs, but often produces positive outcomes?
- In view of the strong switch towards natural therapies, is there a need for GP’s to rethink their attitudes to traditional medicine, regardless of scientific testing, and consider the need to incorporate a more integrated method of treatment, involving the use of natural therapists as part of the health-care team.
Summary:
Results of this survey indicate the need for further research into the role of natural therapies within recognised health-care parameters. There is clearly a great deal of diversity and misunderstanding concerning this issue requiring both education and regulations in order to harmonise the two diverse methods of health-care before meeting the requirements of the general population.
Conclusions:
Despite an element of doubt concerning the knowledge, training and ethics of some naturopaths and homeopaths in the Mackay region, there is an overwhelming support for regulation and practise of natural therapies. Although some issues of concern are valid, others are due to a lack of knowledge about the current regulations and research which govern therapeutic goods and services used in natural medicine, which is heavily scrutinised and controlled by the Therapeutic Goods Association of Australia.
References:
- Albright P., MD, Complementary Medicine,1997
- Bone K., PhD, Safety and Efficacy in Herbal Medicine, 1998
- Cabot S., MD, Women’s Health of Australia publications, 1996 – 98
- De Smet, PAGM, Adverse Effects of Herbal Drugs, 1992
- Fetrow C., Pharm D, Professional Handbook of Complementary & Alternate Medicine, 1999
- Itch, S et al: Dig Dis Sci, 1995
- Larrey D., et al: Ann Inter Med, 1992
- Micozzi M., MD, Fundamentals of Complementary & Alternate Medicine, 1996
- Mills S., & Bone K., PhD, The Modern Phytotherapist, 2000
- Medical Journal of Aust., Feb. 2000
- MIMS Manuel, 2001
- Peharic,l., et al: Drug Safety, 1994
- Penn, R., Australian Prescriber, 1998
Table 1. Questions are abbreviated – refer to data analysis 1 - 7 NT = natural therapist
|
Quantitative questions one to seven |
Yes |
No |
Ratio |
|
1. Support for NT's in healthcare |
85% |
15% |
70%+ |
|
2. Refer patient for NT's at his/her request |
75% |
25% |
50%+ |
|
3. Refer patient for NT's on own initiative |
70% |
30% |
40%+ |
|
4. Accept some NT's as allied-health team |
60% |
40% |
20%+ |
|
5. Acknowledge patient referral from NT |
80% |
15% |
65%+ |
|
6. Discuss pt condition in certain situations |
75% |
20% |
55%+ |
|
7. Support laws to regulate NT industry |
85% |
15% |
70%+ |
Table 2: Refer to questions 8,9 and 10 in data analysis
|
Modality |
Approval |
Disagree |
Unsure |
Unknown |
May Study |
Practise |
|
Accupuncture |
95% |
0 |
5% |
0 |
25% |
15% |
|
Chiropractic |
75% |
10% |
0 |
15% |
10% |
0 |
|
Massage |
75% |
0 |
0 |
25% |
5% |
0 |
|
Meditation |
65% |
0 |
5% |
30% |
20% |
5% |
|
Naturopathy |
45% |
0 |
10% |
45% |
10% |
5% |
|
Hypnosis |
45% |
10% |
5% |
35% |
0 |
0 |
|
Accupressure |
45% |
0 |
0 |
55% |
15% |
5% |
|
Herbalism |
40% |
0 |
5% |
5% |
15% |
0 |
|
Aromatherapy |
40% |
15% |
0 |
50% |
10% |
0 |
|
Reflexology |
30% |
25% |
0 |
50% |
5% |
0 |
|
Homeopathy |
20% |
25% |
0 |
55% |
5% |
0 |
|
Reiki |
20% |
15% |
0 |
65% |
5% |
0 |
Detox Kits
- by Jennifer Weekes
If you have spent a fortune on detox kits and vitamins yet remain constantly unwell, help is at hand. Hemaview live blood analysis will indicate whether there is a gut overgrowth and the need for some work. Jennifer will provide simple dietary changes and potent gut repair formula. Energy levels are rapidly restored whilst bloating, indigestion and flatulence disappear. Leaky gut is often the result of poor digestion related to diet, medications, stress, pollution, or long term illness. Weak digestion alters the pH of the digestive tract allowing bacterial overgrowth and malabsorption, the trigger for many illnesses. Detox kits are a waste of money without dietary and lifestyle changes. For more information on my detoxification protocol, select Detoxification from the menu bar
Colds & Flu
Although modern medicine has had many breakthroughs in treatments for life threatening illnesses, no quick cure is available for the common cold. Mild fever, runny nose, sore throat and rasping cough are typical symptoms of the common cold and duration is typically around five days. The doctor will normally suggest rest, plenty of fluids and paracetamol four times a day to reduce fever, antihistamines to reduce respiratory inflammation, and pseudo ephedrine to dry out secretions with stimulating effect. These drugs are commercially available in the form of cold and flu tablets. The downside is they suppress the symptoms but offer no cure, thus extending exposure time to the virus, suppressing immunity, and harbouring secondary bacterial infections of the respiratory system and ears
Naturopathic Recommendations
As with a doctor, a naturopath will also recommend increased fluids and rest, but will substitute the drugs with a herbal mixture to soothe the mucous membranes and reduce inflammation. A tonic herbal extract, to improve wellbeing, is also suggested. Fever is reduced with diaphoretic herbs that cleanse the lymphatics and stimulate the immune system.
Where there are symptoms of a mild chest infection or upper respiratory infection secondary to the cold, a doctor will certainly prescribe antibiotics. However, natural remedies are effective in most instances for treating these infections and more aggressive respiratory and microbial herbs will often wipe out the offending bugs without compromising the immune system. Steam inhalations with the addition of decongesting essential oils will assist in opening and cleansing the airways. A vitamin C and zinc supplement will improve recovery time along with vitamin A rich cod liver oil, a valuable tonic for the lungs. Certain homeopathic remedies offer remarkable relief in many instances.
Various studies over the past decade have shown that analgesic drugs inhibit the body’s natural immunity and actually extend the duration of colds and flu, and Jenny’s experience as a natural healer reinforces her belief in helping the body to self regulate with holistic treatment. Analgesics reduce fever, and with acute illness, where the temperature exceeds 38 degrees, they can be of benefit in the short term, particularly with children, who may otherwise suffer febrile convulsions. It is important in such instances to seek medical advice.
Flu Symptoms
Muscle pain, neck stiffness, fever and headache usually mark flu symptoms. Respiratory symptoms may be present, or nausea and diarrhea. Duration may be between 24 hours to 14 days in an otherwise healthy adult. Children and the elderly need to be carefully monitored for secondary infections of the ears and lungs. Although mild flu is less debilitating, a severe attack can lead to serious illness. Where the appetite is poor, fresh fruit and vegetable juices should be provided as well as copious water to prevent dehydration. Where there is a fever the body should be sponged regularly and warmth should be maintained. A massive sweat will reduce body temperature, but always check the temperature afterwards, particularly where there is shivering. If the temperature is elevated whilst shivering, it is possibly a rigor and medical assistance should be sought immediately. Acute respiratory infections and fever can be life threatening and require prompt medical attention.
Jennifer is an experienced acute care nurse. When in doubt, she always refers her clients to their doctor. She has two separate health provider registration numbers for massage and naturopathy, enabling many clients to receive a better rebate from their fund with certain treatment programs.
Digestive Complaints
People present on a daily basis with digestive complaints and symptoms which range from nausea, reflux, indigestion pain, flatulence, and erratic bowel habits referred to as IBS. Indigestion pain is often confused with symptoms of cardiac illness due to the central chest location. Patients often arrive at emergency departments with central chest pain to find the pain is resolved with antacids rather than anginine. This is a good method of eliminating the possibility of cardiac related illness and determining the real problem.
Nutritional Hints
Food processing destroys valuable nutrients thus artificial additives and preservatives provide a cocktail of toxins and allergens. Although nutritional supplements are of great benefit during illness and stress, taking a multi-vitamin does not substitute healthy food. Fad dieting and long term meal replacements will undoubtedly take their toll on health, leading to premature aging, gum shrinkage, osteoporosis, skin wrinkling, hair loss, poor eyesight etc. For more information select Nutrition from the menu bar
Treating tremor
I like to share with you the unusual and remarkable things that FSM does - even or especially when they are surprising. Today I did a closing examination and treatment on a young woman who was struck by a car while riding her bicycle a year ago. When I saw her in November she had sensory loss in both arms, pathological reflexes at the knees, 20 pounds of grip strength in her dominant hand (about one fourth of what it should have been for someone in her very physically demanding profession) and she could not feel her feet. The MRI showed two herniated discs pressing on the spinal cord. FSM could help keep the pain down but she needed and finally had a two level disc surgery and spinal fusion in February. Once she recovered from the surgery and began physical therapy it was clear she needed facet injections if we were to eliminate the neck pain in a timely fashion. During the second set of facet injections I watched her as she lay prone on the table partly sedated. Her right hand had a tremor, a resting tremor, when she had pain with the injection. Later when I asked her about the tremor she reported that it was random but predictable any time she did balance exercises in PT or got stressed or used her hand. Her physical exam today showed normal reflexes and sensation, 60 pounds of grip strength in her dominant hand and a resting tremor lasting 3 minutes after the effort.
I made a guess about what might be causing a tremor in the forearm muscles. Nerve and spinal cord function had been severely compromised for nine months and it seemed likely that there was a decrease in descending inhibition from some part of the brain caused by the long period of dysfunction. I know just enough neurology to be inquisitive. I had a hypothesis that the brain was invovled in the tremor and FSM was a good way to test that hypothesis.I started with “reduce inflammation in the motor cortex” with the positive leads at her neck and the negative leads in her hand after she provoked the tremor by gripping the dynamometer. Grip - tremor - place contact on her hand - “inflammation in the motor cortex” - tremor lasted 90 seconds not 3 minutes - so it helped. “Reduce inflammation in the midbrain, hindbrain, medulla”, no change in the 90 seconds of tremor after grip. “Reduce inflammation in the spinal cord and nerve” - made the tremor stronger and increased the decay time to 2+ minutes - made it worse. Interesting.
There is a frequency thought to “reboot” tissue - to help it find the lost instruction that tells it what to do next - kind of “control/alt/delete” for the target tissue. I tried it. Neck to hand - grip - tremor - “reboot / motor cortex” - tremor stopped instantly. Grip - tremor returned. Next structure down the path was the midbrain. Grip - tremor - “reboot / midbrain” - tremor stopped instantly. Then we put the negative leads contact around her wrist so we could run current and grip at the same time to see if we could prevent the tremor. Grip - tremor - “reboot / midbrain” - tremor reduced and then stopped in 20 seconds. Grip - tremor - “reboot hindbrain” - tremor minimal lasted 5 seconds. “Reboot hindbrain” - grip - no tremor. We tried numerous combinations in this fashion after this but “reboot hindbrain” was the only one that reduced the resting tone in her forearm muscles and prevented the tremor. Even when she could not see the machine she could tell when we switched back to that frequency by the way it made her brain and arm feel. The physical therapists are going to run it from her neck to her feet when she does her balance exercises to see if they can prevent the tremor when she does them.
I don’t know if the effect is going to last but that almost doesn’t matter - I expect that the connections will recover in time - what we did and saw today was otherwise impossible. Having the pleasure of watching the patient improve because the brain and nervous system responded so dramatically to one specific frequency combination - when the patient was blinded and the physician was guessing - was an amazing honor. I just LOVE being able to do this. CM
Notes from the field - brain and cord
HI - this is the sort of report that makes FSM so rewarding - you just have to love being us this is one of many notes sent in by this occupational therapist from a regional hospital who treats brain and spinal cord injuries with FSM. This is from Mike:
“I had another recent exciting case (this is the “short” version)…they weren’t in the hospital–it was someone that I had treated with Cranio-sacral in the past–she called and asked me to work on her husband. He fell and hit his head in December and lost his LT memory–didn’t know her, himself, family, etc….The medical system said he had alzheimer’s and wouldn’t release him to return to work. I was able to work with him twice using Cranio-sacral and FSM–only had the Custom Care, so I used the newest Dura protocal (got it from the PT from Michigan–Vanessa Cayle…), concussion, and brain fog over 2 sessions. Each time he got off the table, he immediately recalled new personal information about himself/family and began being active again at home!! They were thrilled and so was I!!! They haven’t been able to come back yet….but I think I’ll hear from them soon!Thanks again for all you do and all you’ve given to the medical world—it truly has been a career changing experience for me and is a life changing experience for all those I come in contact with!!
By the way, the 15 y.o. female that I presented at the symposium stopped by the rehab unit a couple weeks ago—no assistive devices including AFO’s, etc. She says she has NO deficits at all—and she was coming to sign up to talk to people with SCI’s in the future!!! She knows that FSM made the difference for her!!!!! Ok, Good night for now!! Mike
Herpes and Body Pain
Filed under: Uncategorized — Admin at 5:32 pm on Thursday, March 12, 2009
Ten years ago I saw a young woman who had full body pain that started after she contracted genital herpes. The infectious disease doctor told her the virus had gone into her spinal cord and was causing full body pain including burning in the legs and feet. One treatment using the frequency for shingles and herpes eliminated her pain for two weeks and a second treatment eliinated it for two months. Yesterday I saw a young woman with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia who had full body pain and burning pain in her legs and feet that started after she contracted genital herpes. The best fibromyalgia treatment program in the country had not been able to help her pain. She rated her pain at a 7-8/10 while taking 120mg of oral morphine a day. The frequency that is used for shingles and herpes only treats this one condition and we have not found anyone it doesn’t help. In shingles, it takes the pain away in 15 minutes and a single two hour treatment causes the lesions to scab over within 24 hours and resolve within a few days. In oral and genital herpes, the course of treatment and response is similar and it seems to reduce the frequency and severity of recurrences. I suspect that the frequency is dismantling bonds that hold the the viral capsid together but there is no way to know for sure and for now it is enough to know that it works and has no side effects.
In this young woman the burning pain in her feet was gone within twenty minutes and her body pain was down from a 7/10 to a 3/10 for the first time in two years after 90 minutes. The next steps are for her physician to reduce her narcotics gradually over the next month or so, for her to become accustomed to having her pain down, to rebuild her life and relationships and for us to treat the virus again when it reoccurs. This is a patient trial with an “n” of two in ten years. I don’t know how this one will turn out. But the beginning was a wonderful way to end the day. I’ll keep you posted about her progress.
The most amazing thing happened a few months ago. One of the practitioners taking an FSM Core seminar was limping around the room with foot drop and was clearly in pain. He was a 57 year old medical physician and his sensory exam showed numbness and hyperesthesia in the leg and inability to dorsiflex his foot. He said he had a low back disc bulge as well as full body pain and I invited him to be treated making the assumption that the foot drop was from the low back disc and the body pain was from spinal cord inflammation. We set him up with the leads from one machine at neck and feet to treat the full body pain using the frequencies to reduce inflammation in the spinal cord. We set up a second machine to treat inflammation in the nerve from the low back to the foot in an effort to improve sensation and motor function. His sensation improved but motor function did not.
As his pain started to come down he began talking about his six years in the hospital for polio treatment as a child. With that I switched to the frequencies for “removing polio virus” from the “spinal cord”, the “nerves”, the “hind brain”, the “mid brain” and the “motor cortex”. The pain completely disappeared, sensation normalized and motor function in the lower leg improved from +3/5 to +4/5. The patient did not know what frequencies or protocols were being used. When we switched to the frequencies to increase secretions in the motor cortex, the cord and the nerves on both machines his motor strength returned to normal. He had full locking contraction against resistance - +5/5. I was pleased and asked the physician how long it had been since he had been able to do that. With tears flowing he said, “It has been 55 years since I have been able to move my foot and 55 years since I have been out of pain.” When he came to the FSM Advanced seminar in San Antonio he said the pain was still gone and the muscle strength was still normal. Welcome to our world. There is a new possibility.
Fun at the AOA
FSM displayed last week at the American Osteopathic Association meeting and had a great time talking to people about the seminars. I had the pleasure of treating a veyr nice DO who had open heart surgery 10 weeks before. We had a nice time comparing bypass stories and then he mentioned that he still had the nerve traction injuries and chest wall pain that come with that surgery. Thoracic nerves get tractioned when they open the chest - and he got shingles a few weeks after the surgery so to add insult to injury he had some PHN symptoms contributing to his chest wall pain. He sat down when I said we should be able to fix that - the chest wall pain was gone in about 15 minutes. (Nerve traction injuries are easy but who would believe it until you do show and tell!) As he sat he mentioned that three fingers were still numb from the brachial plexus traction injury - radial nerve - so he blistered them when he took a bowl out of the microwave. I wrapped the red leads glove around his neck and put the other glove in his hand and warned him that when the nerve progresses from numb towards normal it would get hypersensitive but that was expected. The fingers became hypersensitive in about 12 minutes and we sat and visited for the next 40 minutes as they finished thier recovery. I finally got tired of waiting for the nerve and the brain to communicate and tried using the frequency to increase secretions in the sensory cortex and that seemed to finish it up. He had normal sensation in the fingers when we were done. It’s the most fun anyone could have. We met lots of fascinating people at the AOA - you know who you are! Look forward to seeing you at a seminar soon. Dr. C
A History of Aseptic Surgical Practices
Johnson & Johnson manufactured the first-ever sterile surgical dressings, but what did that really mean? Let’s take a look… Surgery in the 19th century was risky and dangerous, and patients undergoing even the most routine operations literally took their lives in their hands. The primary reason surgery was so dangerous was because it was not sterile. The operating room, the surgeon’s hands, and the surgical instruments were full of germs, which caused extremely high levels of mortality. Surgeons in the mid-1800’s often operated wearing their street clothes, without washing their hands.
19th Century Surgeon’s Coat with Needle in Lapel
They frequently used ordinary sewing thread to suture wounds, and stuck the needles in the lapels of their frock coats in between patients. Surgical dressings were also unsterilized, and were often made up of surplus cotton or jute from the floors of cotton mills. It was against this background that French scientist Louis Pasteur demonstrated that invisible organisms caused disease.
Louis Pasteur Sir Joseph Lister
Pasteur’s work influenced the eminent English surgeon Sir Joseph Lister, who applied Pasteur’s germ theory to surgery, thus founding modern antiseptic surgery. To disinfect, Lister used a solution of carbolic acid, which was sprayed around the operating theater by a handheld sprayer.
Surgery Using Lister’s Carbolic Acid Sprayer
Although many were slow to adopt Lister’s theory of invisible germs causing surgical infections, it was clear from the greatly increased surgical survival rates that his methods worked. At the time, Lister’s theories were controversial because many 19th century surgeons were unwilling to accept something they could not see – germs – as the culprit. Also, perhaps another reason that surgeons were slow to pick up on Lister’s methods was the fact that carbolic acid had a very strong and unpleasant smell. Sir Joseph Lister was invited to speak at a medical conference during the U.S. Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. This event celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and showcased advancements in technology and innovation, among other things. In the audience was Robert Wood Johnson the first, who immediately grasped the importance of Lister’s work and saw an opportunity to create and market the world’s first sterile surgical dressings. This site has a good description of the types of exhibits Robert Wood Johnson would have seen there, and this site has photographs from the Exposition, which show some of the sights that Johnson saw. (Just click on “Tour Centennial Sites” to see the photos.)
Robert Wood Johnson
Johnson already was in the medical products business, and his personal experience of having two brothers who fought in the Civil War with its terrible medical conditions also may have spurred him to think about ways to improve surgery. When he and his brothers started Johnson & Johnson in 1886, sterile surgical dressings were among the Company’s first products, as were sterile sutures.
Fred Kilmer published a treatise on sterile wound care in 1897 called “Asepsis Secundum Artem,” Latin for “According to the Art of Asepsis.” Kilmer’s treatise was widely read. A great deal of the scientific data in it was developed in the Johnson & Johnson Bacteriological Laboratory, which had been built to test and enhance improvements in sterilization techniques. The advent of the Company’s sterile surgical dressings and sutures in the market, and its ongoing improvements in sterilization methods, greatly reduced surgical mortality rates.
One of the Aseptic Rooms in the Company’s Early Laboratories
