The Limitations of Western Medicine

Tests that I've had: Abdominal CT Scan with contrast, Abdominal CT Scan without Contrast, Pelvic CT Scan with contrast, Pelvic CT Scan without contrast, Abdominal MRI with contrast, Abdominal MRI without contrast, Pelvic MRI with contrast, Pelvic MRI without contrast, Prostate Exam, neurological exams, blood tests, stool tests, urine tests.

Things I've been tested for: Lyme Disease, Diabetes, Celiac Disease, Food Allergies, HIV, RPR, Chlamydia, EB virus, Typhus, RMSF, West Nile Virus, Ehrlichia, rare bacterias, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and more.

Drugs I've taken: Ciproflaxen, Metronidazole, Levaquin, Flagyl, Zithromax, and Doxycycline.

All of this could not cure me. While I do believe that western medicine is one of the greatest tools in diagnosing and curing ailments, it is not without limitations. A few of these limitations include but are not limited to (1) Diagnostic tests can have false positives and false negatives, (2) All ailments are not defined, (3) Treatments have not been developed or proven for numerous ailments, (4) Existing treatments are not 100% effective, (5) Some treatments cause more problems than they solve, and (6) The economics of diagnosis and treatment is sometimes prohibitive.

My diagnosis and treatment was not limited by economics; nor was it limited by physician resources; it was limited by knowledge. My father ran out of illnesses to test for and specialists to consult. All medical tests that I've had been subjected to over the past couple years have pronounced me a normal, healthy 30-year-old male.  It took years for me to contemplate and rationalize why western medicine pronounced me healthy when I was anything but.  In an attempt to help shorten that time frame for others who are suffering, I have started a new series in this blog titled The Limitations of Western Medicine, which will expand on particular reasons why western medicine fails.