The real tragedy, from my perspective, is how little help I got along the way. My GP still has my diagnosis as Bipolar and this is not going to change. I was (initially) turned down for thyroid meds and hydrocortisone, I had to lie to get tested for CCSVI, I was refused genetic testing twice and had to buy my own. Given a choice of giving me a hand up or holding me back, the medical community held me back. With one notable exception - of the 25 Drs, dentists, NDs, that I saw in 24 months, one Dr listened. He didn't know about MTHFR but he took the time to learn.
Perhaps, denying that mercury could be fuelling my illness(es) was the worst thing. Seemed that everyone agreed that mercury was poisonous, just couldn't get them to see that it would produce symptoms before it killed you. Of the Drs that I saw, only 3 knew the symptoms of Chronic Mercury Toxicity and they thought that I had it. The others, did not know the symptoms but were certain that it did not apply. Stupidity.
I ended up with an oncologist, dermatologist, allergist, 2 surgeons, 2 GPs, 2 NDs, 2 dentists, a psychiatrist and so on. No one would stand back with me and see that my long list of illnesses had to be driven by a common denominator (methylation). The odds that my list of problems, including the colon disease that is somewhat rare, to occur BY CHANCE in one person = one person in 10,000 planet earths - yes, I did the math. Western medicine has a psychotic disorder.
I agree that natural is best but it shouldn't clear out a person's (and his wife's) bank account. I needed someone at the helm when I was too fogged to keep me from wasting money on useless supplements and tests. I gave away about $1000 worth of pills this year - tried and failed. I don't regret my decision to go it alone - given how sick I was and that meds and ECT failed, there was no other option. But I have seen people who have stabilized well on meds with a good side effect profile - some like lithium and divalproex that raise glutathione levels and help protect the brain, and I think how much easier that would have been.
I could write a book. brad