Marie Betz


Last Updated:Saturday, November 11, 2000
Created on Fri, 20 Oct 2000

I am 69 years old, mother of 10, grandmother of 12, and great-grandmother of 2. I was never one to run to the doctor for everything, had two home births, delivered one of my own grandchildren, and was at the birth of some others.

During the first five or six years of marriage we were very poor and were forced to eat noodles, macaroni, etc., every day of the week. I believe that's the source of most of my problems. To this day whenever I eat rice, potatoes or pasta my sugar readings hit the roof.

I think doctors are necessary when it comes to surgery, fixing broken bones, etc., but I'm finding that medications are not the answer to my problems.

Whenever I've had to go to the emergency room I have a list a whole page long of medications that I've had an allergic reaction to. I also have a list 2 pages long of my medical history. In spite of the fact I give them a written list, when I had an endoscopy, they gave me a drug that was #1 on my list, and I went into cardiac failure. When I was dying in February, they gave me morphine, which was another one on my "no-no" list.

One doctor had the nerve to tell me I would have to remove half of the drugs from that list "or no one will want to treat you."

What is so frustrating is that doctors don't even want to consider what your diet consists of. They are so quick to prescribe drugs. When I was raising my children and the doctor gave me prescriptions, (and we couldn't really afford to have them filled) I would throw the prescription on top of the hutch. When we were moving I found about 50 of them still on top of the hutch (evidently none of them had to be filled.)

We did have one family doctor who was just great. He was one who made house calls, too. My daughter was very ill, to the point where I was afraid of losing her. The doctor took one look at her and said, "I can give her a shot of this and in 3 days she will be better." I didn't like the kids to have to have needles. He then put the needle back in his bag and pulling out a bottle of pills, said, "Or I can give her a few of these and in 3 days she will be better." I said, "That's better yet." And he put the bottle of pills back into his bag and said, "Or, I can do NOTHING and in 3 days she will be better." Then he continued, "It seems like we have to DO something or people think we are not earning our money." He said, "The body heals itself, all we have to do is be patient, and that's my job, to teach people to be patient long enough for it to heal."

This doctor was paid by the town to work at the "baby keep-well station" (clinic) to give their usual shots. While the nurse left the room, he told me to refuse the shots, that many babies under 2 died from them...but, he added, don't tell them I told you." He said if he turned down the job they would hire someone else, and he needed the money. Now this doctor was really "one-of-a-kind."

There were many times when I had to disregard what the doctor said, and rely on my mother's intuition, and the outcome proved I was right.

When my gallbladder ruptured, I was grateful for the doctor's skill. When my daughter's arm was broken in two places, I was happy to know a doctor was available. When my son ripped off his entire bottom lip, I thanked God for the doctors. etc., etc., etc.

However, I could never understand how taking a pill could help. How does that little pill know that it is supposed to go to your head and take care of the headache, or go to your big toe to take care of the gout? Does it have a mind of its own?

I am interesting in finding out what other members think about:

  1. Dairy products
  2. Getting enough protein
  3. Can too much fruit cause diabetes?
  4. Are nuts a sufficient source of protein?


If you would like to write to Marie, you may send e-mail to BillMarie@juno.com

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