Searching for the best alternative
By Miryam Wiley, MetroWest Daily News, MA, August 28, 2004

Raise your hand if you shop at a health food store. I do. Now raise your hand
if you trust that the companies behind those products are all on your side. I
don't.

We need to do our homework and ask questions. There is organic, but who
is checking? We must understand and support those who are doing the right
thing.

What is the alternative to allopathic medications? I have been asking
this question for years, and I am often overwhelmed.

My daughter with differences started taking medications because of my
thirst for more natural alternatives. She was about 7 when the first talk of
meds came to be. I was against it. The doctor said he could see the advantages. I
asked him if there was any alternative treatment. He said some people treated
these children with mega doses of vitamins, but he wouldn't know where to
refer me.

A couple of months later, I was in Brazil and went to visit my aunt. A
cousin who lived in Sao Paulo was there and said she had thought of me because
a doctor was having a lot of success treating children with developmental
delays with mega doses of vitamins. I couldn't believe my ears. You can't help but
think there is a message from the universe in moments like this. I saw the
doctor on TV during a very serious interview. Some children were suddenly
learning better. I talked to my husband and decided to pursue this natural
treatment. It was all a mistake.

The doctor had a full waiting room. He did brain mapping, about 20
minutes per person. Talking in a very friendly manner he mentioned his guru, Dr.
Frank Duffy, from Boston's Children's Hospital. The doctor in Sao Paulo
prescribed manipulated medicines we could get in a special pharmacy. The liquid was
filled with beta-carotene and other mysteries, including drops of a medicine we
later learned to be a dangerous medication.

After three sessions of brain mappings at a high price, we got back here
and soon, there we were, seeing Dr. Duffy himself, because someone we saw
knew him and got us an appointment. He also did a brain mapping, this time some
three hours. Then he suggested we give our child Ritalin. I resisted, my
husband didn't. The doctor said it was easier to try than to debate it.

Many claim Ritalin has helped their children, but it was chaotic in our
lives because it triggered Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. So started our long
running experience with anti-depressants, which were supposed to help the OCD.

When I asked Dr. Duffy what he thought of our treatment with the doctor
in Brazil, he said: "Technology and charlatanism go together around the
world."

Ever since, we've stayed mainstream. We've seen doctors who have in
their offices books called "Alternative Medicine," but seem to avoid questions
that sidetrack drug conversations.

Why, I often wondered, do we have to give so many drugs? Had I been able
to pinpoint a serious condition before the beginning of this roller coaster,
I would be less afraid of the question "What is the diagnosis of your child?"
often asked by other parents in similar circumstances. Truth be told, for
years I've thought my daughter suffers only from side effects and I have met
several parents who agree their experience is similar.

Last week, after I wrote about my daughter's pain with Paxil, I received
a fair amount of letters. Some people told me of their tragic stories. One
shared his exact moment of despair, happening as he wrote. One person thought my
take was unfair because "doctors' brains can't keep up with all the
information out there." A couple of people said Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, from
www.drugwareness.org, is their hero.

She is mine too. I have learned a tremendous amount reading her book and
listening to her CDs. She was busy raising her children when one day, almost
15 years ago, she decided to verify for herself why her friends, who didn't
drink, suddenly would binge in alcohol. They asked for her help.

"I heard the fear in their voice," she said in a phone interview. "I
went out and I got a package insert from Prozac and I thought, 'Oh, my gosh!' It
was all right there, the danger of hypoglycemia."

She kept researching, learning soon that serotonin-altering medications
are dangerous and side effects often deadly. She eventually did her doctoral
dissertation on this subject. She has testified as an expert witness in Prozac
and other anti-depressants before the FDA and Congressional subcommittee
members and in court cases around the world.

"I want people to stop disconnecting the body from the brain, because
you can't treat just the brain and ignore the body," Dr. Tracy said.

I'm paying attention to the alternatives I see in her Web site.
Essential oils from a top source may become part of my life forever.

I am also anticipating what happens in the upcoming hearings about the
"suicidality in the course of treatment of pediatric patients with various
antidepressants" Sept. 13 and 14 in Washington. People I love take these drugs. It
is my business to know more about them.

To reach Miryam Wiley, e-mail inamericacolumn@yahoo.com