Articles like this make my blood boil!!!!

Having just finished our immunology course in med school, Im really not surprised at how we get ignorant doctors like this

at best it is extremely simplistic, and I would say misleading

Dr. Bilstrom quoted in this article is the director of the Bingham Memorial Autoimmune Institute.
He says this: : "They're really underestimating the ability of the body to fix problems. Usually the body is ready to go, it knows how to fix it, just something has gotten in the way. And you get that out of the way, the body goes, 'Whoosh,' thank you and starts fixing things beautifully."

Really? All I needed to do this whole time was "get out of the way" and my body will heal itself?
And he is the director of an auto-immune institute? Something fishy or badly written or both.
Of course anyone can start up a business and name it anything they want to.

Also from this article:

Doctors have stated that the amino suppressant medications Frey was taking for the rheumatoid arthritis could have been why he gained the others.

My comment: I have never heard of this--that UC develops due to rheumatoid arthritis medication. Previously I read that Frey had IBD symptoms for quite a long time so his RX meds may have contributed to his getting opportunistic pneumonia but did it give him UC? Not from what I've read. Name the doctors that stated this, guessing Dr. Bilstrom is the "doctors". I smell quackery.

It is well known that someone with one auto-immune disease is susceptible to getting other auto-immune diseases.

edit to add: further searching reveals that the Bingham Memorial Autoimmune Institute is less than a year old and Dr. Bilstrom has no research background in autoimmune diseases. His previous specialties were in physical therapy and other treatment.

Post Edited (imagardener2) : 1/25/2016 5:25:27 PM (GMT-7)

Before the mob lynches the doctor it is worth remembering that the press often gets things wrong. They oversimplify, takes statements out of context, sometimes misquote or otherwise misrepresent subjects they don't fully understand. I have dealt with technical press enough to know they rarely get a story completely right, and local nightly news shows usually just get sound bites. The doctor may have a more nuanced view than shown in the clip.

I don't think the general public cares about the perspective of autoimmune diseases unless they are knowledgeable or that they have it.

Yes, some believe they can be cured. I've never met anyone yet.

Healing and cure are different stud....and yes, meds work...not all meds for all patients for all AI illnesses. Meds aren't without side effects, depending on what, how much, how long, etc.

Quality of life...subjective.

q

microbiome said...
"amino suppressant". Says it all as to the quality of this article.

I agree. I have dealt with the press quite a bit over the past 12 years and I can tell you that they get part or all of the story wrong more than half the time. I am not offended by what the doctor said (if that's actually what he said). I'd even be willing to see a doctor like him, provided it didn't cost me a dime out of pocket and it didn't involve sitting in a circle, holding hands, and chanting "WHOOSH" as a cure.