I can't speak for anyone else, but currently, I see no doc's. I was diagnosed by a rheumy although he seemed more knowledgeable about
what the illness entails versus how to treat it, so I don't have interest in going back.
I'm going to visit a certified practicing Primary care doctor who uses many alternative treatments next year in my area (Baltimore-Washnington). His waiting list for new patients is an entire year, but I'd rather wait to see someone knowledgilbe who has helped people rather that someone I can see quick who is limited in knowledge of FM. Going to doc's that didn't understand FM has done more harm to my body than good. So I've been scared straight.
There is a list of doc's knowledgeable about
FM here, I think.
fmaware.org/site/PageServere7aa.html?pagename=resources_hcProviderDirectoryAlso, sorry, I'm not a doctor so keep that in mind as you read what I write, but I have to disagree with a doctor who claims that all a person's pain is necessarily attributed to low D or who suggests that taking extra D will necessarily correct the issue, although it may help some. Vitamin D is a psuedo-hormone, and so I believe that in some cases, low D may be a *symptom* of an underlying imbalance within the body, a sign that something is out of whack. I think low D can be looked at as more of an *effect* than a cause in some cases, especially in the case of autoimmune problems or maybe with FM. For instance, SOMETHING is causing the body not to produce or maintain enough D (even in cases when people supplement with extra D), and perhaps its THAT imbalance which inhibits proper D levels that is triggering the pain, and the low D only further aggravates the problem. But having a doc assume that taking D supplements is a sufficient solution to the issue shows that they may lack an understanding of how intricate the body is and how sometimes the seeming *causes* are actually *effects* of a broader illness/dysfunction.
Low D is often indicative of many illnesses like FM and other autoimmune illnesses. Is the low D
causing the illness, or is the illness causing the low D? I'm sure it could be a little of both, but I'm willing to wager its the latter in many cases. I think some illnesses cause low D. (and that supplementing with D won't fully get to the heart of the problem or the bottom of it)
But all that being said, I'm not a doctor. Just someone who reads a lot and tries to put all the info together and make sense of everything. So treat my opinion as an opinion.
Post Edited (CharmCityLady) : 11/15/2013 11:37:05 AM (GMT-7)