Dear FRONTLINE,
Thank you for the informative show The Alternative Fix. I saw only the last 15 minutes of the program but after reading some of the comments here, I needed to share some information.
I have been an RN for 25 years and am now having to learn all over again about what "real doctors" will not tell you or maybe just won't admit to themselves. My grandson, now 6.5 years old is finally talking in sentences and understanding language. His mom and I told the prominent pediatric neurologist in our community that we believed him to be autistic at 2.5 years of age and he sent us home after a 15 minute visit with two prescriptions, and a diagnosis of ADD and OCD and said see you in six months. He never addressed the child’s physical issues or did any blood work or EEG or take note of the gut issues he was having. We sought out people willing to help deal with these children’s different issues ( and each autistic child is different, just as all of us).
After learning about and implementing a diet free of casein and gluten, my grandson was potty trained at the age of 4.5 after one week on the diet. His eye contact improved and in general his gut improved and made his overall comfort better. We had been to speech therapy and in and out of different Doctor offices but no one told us there was a possibility of help like this. After finding a Doctor that is a Pediatric Neurologist willing to listen and step out and actually do some testing on the child, we got an EEG showing no hidden seizure disorder, blood work that showed low zinc level and many heavy metals stored in his body. We told this doctor that this child’s eyes dilating and he seemed to be doped up after consuming apples and bananas. This doctor listened and recommended Epsom salt baths. After one bath the child could finally pedal his bicycle. Now he can add these foods back to his diet without the side effects. After putting him on Zinc the child started making sentences instead of one word requests. (ie "water" to "I want some water please")
The medical community needs to practice case based medicine and be more receptive to new ideas based on medical facts. Just because it was not what someone taught you in Medical school, does not mean it is wrong. All that I mentioned about my grandchild and the testing that was done, is mainstream medicine but with someone orchestrating treatment to this child’s specific bodily issues. He has problems at the cellular level that some Doctors and Scientists in this world are working on, not turning a blind eye.
Thank you for this opportunity for a RN but "Granny" to be heard. If I can learn to be more receptive to this kind of treatments, anyone can.
Sincerely,
Gayle Leeth RN
gayle leeth
daphne, al
Dear FRONTLINE,
As a user of medicine drugs, surgery, complimentary health care, nutrition, chiropractic, naturopathic and herbal care I can tell you what has helped me the most. This is why the Harvard study showed an astounding number using alternative care. I was a biology teacher, a scientific background and have been able to look at the skepticism and outcomes more effectively than the so called "average" and "ignorant" person/patient.
After failure of medicine to give me health, although it did cover symptoms at times, the real health is and was in the care I paid for and not the "political medicine" dictated by insurance and drug company influence.
Your program was too short to be totally objective and just long enough for some good points both sides, add a bit of dramatic sensationalism at the end. Keep up the good work.
Richard Walford
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Dear FRONTLINE,
I think that Frontline represented this issue in the most unbiased way that was possible. The American public is confused and trapped in a vicious cycle of beliefs about what is "good" for us and what is not. The role of government and big business in our lives has drastically affected our ability to take care of ourselves and each other. I applaud the well-researched investigation of the FDA, the NIH, and the driving beliefs of those at the head of the scientific field. You gave your viewers more than enough information to gather, research, and hypothesise for themselves what they will choose to believe.
I believe that humankind suffers from a horrible disease that can only be called FEAR. We are quick to take on the beliefs of other people or "organizations" that we believe know better than we do. We are, in fact, a "quick-fix" society. Almost all of the current alternative and traditional choices stem from our ancient existence here as Earth dwellers. Science can both prove and disprove everything about our existence and abilities and will continue to do so as it is the nature of our reasoning abilities. I think that the reluctance that we have to listen to what our bodies are telling us is what causes our suffering in the first place. Mabye it's that we don't know how to. I believe that western drug-based medicine has been our forgetting. Resistence to acknowledging personal role, is what I believe to be the shuttle that chronic disease rides in on. The gentleman who died from pancreatic cancer showed that to us in his statement that "mabye tomorrow there will be a magic bullet." Mabye he thought that the doctor would heal him.
A healer can only provide the patient with the tools and the support neccessary to help themselves. If we continue to pretend like we are helpless, then this cycle will continue to replay itself. But, the evidence is in: we are continuing to question, challenge, and grow as a result.
I would suggest that Frontline follow up this program with more emphasis placed on the exploration of these alternatives, and the role that they have played in our evolution here since the beginning, and how they are currently affecting our societies now. For all your viewers, I suggest "The Sacred Balance" by David Suzuki, who you also featured on this program about a month ago.
Thank you,
Namaste
Erin Fletcher
Salt Lake City, UT
Dear FRONTLINE,
As someone in the Alternative Medical Field, I feel strongly there is room for both conventional and alternative therapies. Patients need to be informed about Both. Traditional medical doctors seem to be one sided unless they are educated in alternative therapies. I commend Beth Israel Hospital for all it has done to incorporate both types of therapies. Medicine has come a long way in the U.S.; however some of the old ancient forms of healing have some validity to them. Thanks for airing this show. It opens the door for people to make choices other than traditional ones. For someone who has lost all hope for whatever condition they have, it may bring some hope into their life. Some things in life and medicine just cannot be scientifically explained in black and white studies.
Mysticism, Energy healing, Prayer all have their place in healing people.
Barbara Grimes CMT
carlisle, pa
Dear FRONTLINE,
Western, chemical medicine is a recent arrival on the healing scene. Far older and far less dangerous is the international practice of herbology, the basis of much modern alternative medicine. Millenia have passed in the use and perfection of certain leaves and berries to bring healing, far older than science. Actually, there are plenty of studies to support the use of many nutritional supplements. These rash charges of "no science" are really just propaganda. These are ignorent people and it is shocking that PBS would give them air time.
Helen Anne Wilson
San Antonio, TX
Dear FRONTLINE,
Collaborative medicine is perhaps a better term for the emerging blend of allopathic and alternative approaches. While offering a glimpse of the better side, your program presented a biased sample of alternative therapies, emphasizing the more radical and less proven. For example, there are upwards of 50,000 chiropractors in the United States practicing a form of 'alternative medicine' which, for many musculoskeletal conditions, is supported by better research than similar allopathic approaches, such as extreme forms of back surgery or overprescription of dangerous drugs. Prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications alone, frequently prescribed for back and neck pain, account for an estimated 16,000 deaths per year in the United States.
As in any form of medicine, selecting the right patient for the therapy is critical. Today's chiropractors are highly trained in doing so, while referring to allopathic physicians when collaborative care is best for the patient.
Your program gave the impression that lack of research documentation was a universal problem for alternative practices. I would challenge this notion and refer those interested to explore the specific scientific literature related to chiropractic treatment of musculoskeletal conditions and the evidence-based approaches offered within the modern chiropracic profession.
Mitch Miglis
melbourne, fl
Dear FRONTLINE,
I was disappointed but not surprised that this report tended to focus on the 'mainstreaming' of holistic and complementary medicine. What this perspective fails to capture is that the frame of reference in holistic and complementary medicine is completely different than allopathic (western technoscientific) medicine.
When these therapies are introduced to the hospital environment, for example, it is as if a wild animal is put into a zoo. The nature of the creature is misunderstood without its genuine context: not in the hospital!
The healer-client relationship, the fundamentality of spirit, mind, and emotions to human health were completely ignored as the document preferred to view these wild creatures through the lens of science and established institutions: government and hospitals, and the research arms of medical science.
The problem is not how to adapt these therapies to the hospital, or how to adapt these medicines to our mainstream culture - but how these therapries and medicines are transforming the established culture - it will look entirely different in 100 years! Look out!
Michael Gomez
Austin, TX
Dear FRONTLINE,
I was disappointed that your program on so-called alternative medicine focused so extensively on dietary supplements. There is a tremendous qualitative difference between waltzing into the corner store and buying St. John's Wort, and designing an integrative approach to healing with the guidance of an alternative practitioner. Simply because there is a market for supplements, it is a gross exaggeration to present alternative practitioners and healers as money-grubbing frauds.
I find it interesting that there was such an emphasis on scientific proof. When it comes to suffering, must we always know why healing occurs? I, for one, do not care that there is no demonstrable trace of the original substance left in the homeopathic remedies I have been taking for over a decade. Excellent health is all the "proof" I need.
I was also surprised that you failed to discuss any forms of bodywork - from chiropractic to reiki to cranial-sacral therapy, to name only a few. Your omissions seem to indicate that your approach was both skeptical and poorly researched.
Susie LoCascio
New York, New York
Dear FRONTLINE,
As one of the thousands of Americans who wrote letters to the FDA in 1993, I feel responsible for the passage of the Dietary Supplement legislation. Personally, I am unable to tolerate any synthetic chemical medicines and have practiced herbal and alternate medicine since the 1960's. I was cured of severe respiratory allergies by a master homeopath in the 1980's. And I will continue to fight any attempt on the part of the US government to restrict the right of citizens to treat themselves with herbs, vitamins and alternate therapies. The right of the individual to take herbs and to choose one's own nutrition is ancient and predates organized government. Herbs are part of the divine plan for the benefit of man. Who is the FDA to impose their relative ignorance on the process?
Helen Anne Wilson
San Antonio, TX
Dear FRONTLINE,
As a third year student of "conventional" medicine, I appreciated your look into the "alternative" medicine in the US. My medical school does address alternative medicine, even in our first year of school, and doesn't just dismiss it as snake oil. Alternative medicine and conventional medicine have their roots in the same soil. Both intend to treat disease and the main difference is based on optimism. With conventional medicine, we see the glass as half full- that things probably don't work when unproven. Alternative medicine takes the opposite stance. Alternative medicine argues that the kiss mommy gives on the owie helps the scrape heal, while conventional medicine says it is the bandage and ointment. Both are correct, in this case. The child shown love and a stable family environment flourishes, the child without withers. The mind-body connection is undeniable and has been proven conclusively repeatedly. This is not to say that conventional medicine is "wrong", but that some in the field may be missing the point. Conventional medicine embraces therapies that are proven successful. Yew tree extracts are now first line therapies for some cancers. We do not ignore alternative medicine, but watch it carefully. What concerns me as a budding physician is not that people are using alternative medicines and techniques, but that some of the practitioners of these medicines are being deceptive and sometimes dangerous. Most therapies in C medicine have proof behind them- that is, we know how often they work, how often they don't work, and how often they cause harm. Therefore, we can never say to a patient "this will work", we have to say "this should work." From a mind-body influence standpoint, this is horrible. For a placebo effect to occur, the patient must believe in the therapy. We cannot promise success. I have seen some alternative therapists that do not use these qualifiers, but just say "this prevents cancer." From a mind-body influence standpoint, this is perfect. Any placebo effect in these therapies is bolstered by the undiluted claims of effectiveness. Thats what I believe is behind the drawing power of A medicine. We can't compete with that. I would love to see 8 patients a day for an hour each when I practice. The alternative medicine therapists have the luxury of time on their side. Many see doctors as cold and uncaring because we make them wait for an hour and see them for 5 minutes. We do not dictate this, money does. C medicine is in crisis in this country while A medicine is flourishing. C medicine is expensive, I have to charge enough to pay back my $247000 in loans for med school and figure in my 11 years of college and training. How much and how long was homeopathy school again? Who is the biggest profiteer off medicine in our country? Insurance. I'll keep taking my vitamins and studying.
timothy bradley
enfield, ct
Dear FRONTLINE,
What an assassination of the complemetary health care industry! You seemed to have skipped the simple premise that 8o% of what occurs in medical doctors' offices is not backed up by scientific research. Just open up the pdr and stroll through the scientifically backed prescription medications which mostly state "pharmacology unknown but presumed to be..." As for Dr Gonzales, why didn't you pick patients with confirmed by mri, ct scan results who did well, instead of the patient who he didn't even have a chance to treat. As for me,according to the medical doctors in my community, my patients have been experiencing spontaneous remissions for the past 19 years. Maybe next time you could talk to some of them.
Marc Gamerman
Hagerstown, Md
Dear FRONTLINE,
Your Program was a fairly balanced report but tended to lean toward the modern paradigm that says that unless a dietary supplement goes through the double blinded plecebo controlled tests the supplement may be dangerous. Historical and anecdotal evidence is ignored or mocked.
I have been taking dietary supplements for seven years and at the age of 66, I am in better health than most 35 year olds. No colds or flus or any sickness since starting.
The Health care system you have in the US should be promoting dietary supplements which WILL save the country many billions of dollars in health care costs. The Insurance companies should doing the same thing!
ONLY regulate quality. Let the people decide on the dietary product.
Charles Stiven
Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia
Dear FRONTLINE,
The discussion of the negative results of the NCCAM/NIH trial on St. John's wort should also have included the fact that sertraline (Zoloft), the active control, also failed to show any signficant effects, and that the study's authors noted that 35% of ALL trials on known (ie, FDA approved) antidepressant agents fail. The SJW trial did not really demonstrate the failure of SJW; it was a failed trial in which neither agent worked.
Mark Blumenthal
Austin, TX
Dear FRONTLINE,
It is interesting to me that the many failures of allopathic medicine (modern medicine) were not discussed in the show. Iatrogenic disease (doctor caused disease) is practically pandemic. The general public is aware of this.
one example that baffles me is the fact that angiography causes stroke and or death in 1 out of 800 to 1200 people. Yet, in Robbins text of pathology it states angiograghy cannot predict the on come of heart attack or stroke. Why do we continue this?
People want what the founder of medicine wanted... First, do no harm!
Donald Monteleone
Lewiston, New York
Dear FRONTLINE,
Thank you for your excellent program on Alternative medicine. In my opinion Frontline is the best documentary series I have ever seen. On today's topic I have 2 comments.
1. I as dismayed to hear that 10% of hospitals in America offer alternative therapies. I believe that the comment in the documentary that hospitals offer these therapies to incease their market share is likely correct. Using alternative therapies simply helps their profit margin and sadly in privatized medicine that is the bottom line.
We in Canada have what is sometimes disparagingly called "socialized medicine". In socialized medicine there is no need to worry about the market share and as a result alternative medicine is not part of our hospital system.
2. On the paucity of research on alternative medicine. Research is generally done or at least facilitated by the individuals doing the research. These therapies do not do the research because they are able to sell their therapies without research so why risk research which might invalidate there technique and lose them money? Second in order for a technique to be seriously studied there should be a reasonable theory consistent with our understanding. Theories like homeopathy fly against the proven understanding of physics, reflexology against our understanding of physiology etc. Unless there is compelling reason to consider these techniques there is no profit in studying them as they are almost certainly incorrect. And think of how many of these therapies and drugs there are..it would be a waste of resources. to study them all. Sadly the practioners and users of alternative medicine do not understand or believe in scientific research so negative findings would be dismissed in favour of their ancedotal evidence.
Please offer further programs on this topic.
philip veness
winnipeg, manitoba 
| 
