Lindsey

I love my cell phone, and wax lips make me laugh, but I hate, HATE, HATE my almost ex husband. If HE could be un-invented.....what a wonderful world it would be, for me. Doesn't that sound bitter....ewwww. How unbecoming of me.... On a less emotional level, I wish we could un-invent perfume. It's nasty. Gives me a headache. Peace~ linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

You know....I don't really like kissing a boy when I'm wearing lipstick or gloss either. linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

HA!!! I did the slip-n-slide this summer too. Hurt my back, but I AM approaching 40 now...lol. I had almost as much fun as the 5 year olds... linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

There was a time when we didn't know that Thalidomide would cause birth defects too. What we're talking about NOW is, not research about physiology and pathology, but research about medications. Here's a big problem we have in this area (besides drug companies....that's a different issue). In testing medications for efficacy and safety, there are several stages of testing. Early there's in vitro testing, then animal testing. When medications pass these early stages of testing, then they are approved for clinical trials, in which they're tested on people. In the clinical trials, the people chosen to receive these medications fit very stringent criteria regarding health, age, ability to take medictions as prescribed, motivation, and lots of other factors. After a medication passes this level and is approved for use, THEN we expect any other problems to be apparent in the next couple of years. This is because 1) there are a lot more people using the medication, so problems are more readily apparent and 2) the people using it no longer fit into that very specific group. I don't know what the medication was that your grandmother took, but that is not an uncommon story. Any medication that was put on the market and later "black boxed" has caused similar problems. My position on new medications is to use them VERY judiciously for quite some time, until their safety is better known. Peace~ linz Before I continue, let me clarify my statement since I think it was too vague. The pain killer she was given was specifically be given to pregnant mothers. If you want I can ask what the specific drug was, but she did tell me that a large portion of the mothers who were given this drug, had children who suffered medical difficulty. I would have to say ALOT of bad research went into that drug. From my perspective, the reality of modern western medicine is that its just a business. Its all about the money. Just like any other business, products and procedures that havnt been properly researched/tested will be released to the general public in the interest of profit. -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

I think the problem with reviewing research done by Homeopaths is that any meaningful research is virtually (if not totally) non-existent. I also think that Homeopaths DO have some good advice to give to people about things that are relatively minor....often the things that physicians pull our hair out over. For example....hypertension....when people are in the early stages of hypertension, we recommend (most of us) changes in diet, exercize, and in general healthy lifestyle changes. The people who are interested in following those recommendations are few and far between. A year later, their hypertension is worse, and we prescribe medications. Most still WON'T follow recommendations to adjust the way they live, and a year later, they're on 2 or 3 medications for their hypertension. There are SOME people who are willing to make changes. Some people are motivated to live a healthy lifestyle. I'd bet that MOST of the people who see Homeopaths are in this group. They're not the people who are unwilling to make changes because they are interested in taking control of their health. With this crowd, you'll probably find a lot of people who are happier and healthier when they find ways to live healthily and head off other health problems with basically good advice from homeopaths. Then there's the other group....that WE see....who have been to the homeopaths, but their problems are a little too big for them to handle. They show up at our clinics in hypertensive crisis (on the verge of a stroke) because the advice they were given was that they didn't need medication for this problem. Or their blood sugar has them in DKA because a homeopath told them that they could control their diabetes with diet and exercize. We see these people regularly. I think that there is a place for homeopaths, and I think that basically they give decent advice. BUT the research on natural remedies is VERY scant. That that HAS been done has been done by medical researchers. Some has been found to be helpful. Others have not. Some has been found to be harmful. Just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it won't kill you. I think that homeopaths are a decent resource for healthy people--wanting to stay healthy, and avoid everyday threats to their health. What I see a lot of, though, is people in natural medicine fields making a KILLING off of books and the like that have NO foundation (and are often contradictory) to scientific knowledge. They're simply getting rich off of whatever advice is selling....at the expense of people's health. Now if a physician tried to sell some of that advice, he/she'd be stripped of a license without hesitation. But since it's a person without any significant oversight, then they can get away with writing just about anything, without consequence, despite the adverse effects to people's lives. Then because they're "alternative" they have an immediate following. Blows me away sometimes.... Peace~ linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Ignorant git it's a Moto Guzzi California.

Obviously, these experiences are not the norm. But, where does the medical community draw the line for acceptable levels of bad doctors using bad research that harm and kill patients? The bad doctoring that you're talking about is bad doctoring....not bad research. There's no excuse for missing lactose intolerance. There's no excuse for telling someone he has lung cancer without a pathologist examining a biopsy. My personal experiences with physicians have been good. A very close friend of mine, though, was misdiagnosed with GERD when he had 5 coronaries blocked. I do wish there were fewer mistakes in medicine. I hope to minimize those in my own practice. But despite those mistakes, the RESEARCH that we have, and our knowledge base is by far superior to what you find in the health food stores. I'll stand by that. Doctors can choose to use the knowledge we have to be good doctors or not. Doctors can choose to care about their patients and take time with them or not. Doctors can be mindful of their patients or not. But that is a different issue than where our knowledge base comes from. Peace~ linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

While y'all were out skydiving today, we we planeless....so... Banjobill: Moto Guzzi of some sort or another Rickjump1: 'Real Teal' Road King Clerk: ElectraGlide Classic Linz: Dyna Wide Glide Babybird: Yamaha TT-R90 Picture 3: Look out for those 2 at Rantoul Ain't we the shit....lol edited to fix Moto Guzzi so as not to be referred to as an ignorant git in the future.... -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Hey, Kathleen.... Cholesterol again and scarring of the arteries. Like we've said, there are things that damage arteries....a big example is smoking....and cholesterol DOES deposit in those damaged areas. No doubt about that. BUT there is no reliable way of seeing damage in the arteries or knowing if it's there. What we DO know is that we have not seen an LDL level at which lowering LDL cholesterol does not decrease heart attack risk in a linear fashion. Studies so far include (I believe) LDL down to 70.....and the relationship to decreased incidence of heart attack is still linear. We haven't seen the relationship even start to flatten out yet. That's measurable. And there are definitely people (as demonstrated in a study like that) who have low cholesterol and still have heart attacks. There's also the issue of HDL cholesterol which we believe may pose a greater risk to people if too low than LDL does if too high. So THAT's the problem. We know what's happening to people's arteries as their cholesterol increases. There is no doubt about the relationship. These other factors, though they may contribute, are much smaller contributors and do not show nearly as significant effect. That's why I say what the fella says is dangerous. (That and claiming that "organic" meat doesn't raise cholesterol....that's just incorrect). And Cudlo....it's hard to imagine "doctor after doctor" missing lactose intolerance. That would be top of the differential because lactose intolerance is so common. That's not excusable. BUT, like in anything else, there are some crappy doctors out there. I still say....it's great to do your research. The more educated you are the better off you are. If you're gonna read up on lactose intolerance or whatever, I still say that for the most accurate information, read scientific articles by researchers in medical fields. -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

You're absolutely wrong if you think "mainstream medicine" doesn't want to listen. There are many natural remedies that we recommend to our patients pretty routinely. Others we don't, either becuase the research just isn't there or because the research shows that those either don't work or are harmful. Rather than believing that the medical community isn't interested (because we are) I believe that there are people who are SO anti-medical establishment for one reason or another that they are absolutely unwilling to accept that we haven't all taken an oath to follow the conspiracy. That's what boggles me. Look at ALL of the physicians, and (more importantly) the scientists in medical fields who dedicate themselves to finding the answers to health problems. If you REALLY believe that ALL of these people are hiding something from the public, then that's a different problem. I think it's wonderful to do your own research. But pay attention to the credentials of the people whose work you are reading. Credentials are VERY important unless you're looking for a witch doctor. Peace~ linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

All I'm gonna say is that is PURE bologna! The guy may *seem* like he knows what he's talking about, but my bet is he has NO medical education. Scarring of the arteries begins with cholesterol build-up. There are other mechanisms of arterial damage, but cholesterol deposition is primary in the VAST majority of humans. There's MOUNTAINS of research that this fella is absolutely ignoring (or doesn't have a solid enough knowledge base to understand). If you want to believe, then go ahead, but he's dangerous if that's what he's selling to people. linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Again, I understand what you're saying but 'my science is better than your god' lacks a lot. Like i said, mindlessly quoting high school science is akin to mindlessly quoting biblical passages in my mind. This issue that, at least originally, was/is being discussed is that our president endorses intelligent design being taught in the schools. I'll go back to what was said by Nightingale, and probably a few others, that it's probably fine for intelligent design to be taught in a philosophy or religion class. It has its place in our education system, but it doesn't belong in our science classes. It shouldn't be taught in a science class as an alternative to evolutionary theory. Peace~ linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

I posed a similar question to YOU. Who's gonna make you drink plenty of water so that you're able to move the next day? Who's gonna drive you with your head hanging out the window back to the hotel???? Who's gonna warn others not to get too near your side of the car...lol. And WHO is gonna get you on the GOOD loads (LOLOLOL!!!) It's gonna SUCK for you. Have fun. Be safe. Peace~ linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Too bad i won't be attending the convention, but it was nice to see some old friends. The Who's Staying Home list is mighty impressive . It may not be so lonely after all.... heh. linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

We can sit here and talk about last year's Blow Joe jump all week if you want! What?! You're not going to be there? I'll have company? The blow joe jump was definitely a highlight in the probably most stressful few days of my life.... Thank God for GI Joe and a whole bunch of jumpin' buddies. That weekend, I had just told my husband I was leaving. I learned on the trip to Rantoul that he was going to try take my son from me (which he's still trying to do), one of my friends from school stabbed his wife to death and then jumped from the top of the hospital. Bad, bad, bad weekend. But being at Rantoul was a helluva lot better than being at home.... Whew. Peace~ linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Me TOO! Is today the 4th? 8 months from tomorrow.... It's nice to be in such hot company....you, skymama, diva, bytch. -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

It's just like flying -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

yeah....I think I know her from that OTHER thread.... linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

BWAhaha! It was ME who was taking it too seriously....I wasn't talking about you, silly.... Peace~ linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

I love skydiving too....and even though I haven't been able to jump much in the last few years, I would not quit to satisfy my family's wishes. I sometimes consider not jumping until my child is grown....and I go back and forth on that one. Even though skydiving is important to me, there are other things in my life that are more important or equally important and that give me at least as much fulfillment and joy. Those are (Number 1) my son. He IS my life. There is absolutely NOTHING that can even come close to that. There are my friends--some jumpers, some total wuffos. There is my work, which I am highly engrossed in at this point (one month into residency)--of course I'm off this week b/c they MAKE us take a week off every quarter....but that's another story. Anyway, I don't know how I'd feel if skydiving were the thing that brought me happiness. I'm not sure if that's what you're saying. But either way, if it fulfills you and if it's an important part of your life, then the best you can do is let your family know that you love and respect them, but that each of us has our own path.... Peace~ linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

I think if you took a look at the educational backgrounds of some of the people participating in this thread, you'd see that there's a lot broader knowledge base than you're giving people credit for. Now if you're looking for people whose PhD's are in evolutionary theory, then you're probably going to come up short....but then I don't think you're in that circle either. I wouldn't so arrogantly dismiss these folks.... But then again, it's just another silly topic being discussed in our little corner. No need to take it all so seriously, huh? Peace~ linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

suspension....gagged and restrained? -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

When I saw your name on the "gonna try to be there list" I wondered where you were. So where are you then.... linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

You could beg forgiveness. Or maybe it's best just to keep your mouth shut and accept what you have coming.... linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Have you been drinking more of that pink beer..... (I think somebody must have billvon's login....lol) linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail