@sometexan84
I have a complex, multi-organ system disease, I've been fighting for 4 1/2 years. No MD in my area would help me. They wouldn't run tests, they wouldn't let me see an immunologist, they wouldn't interpret my testing to find the actual problems I had, and wouldn't treat them. Meanwhile, I was sliding downhill, sleeping 16 hours a day, and was totally brain fogged.
Meanwhile, I was seeing a functional medicine doctor who took the time to spend with me, listening, ordering tests, and starting me on the path to wellness. Appointments with him lasted 30, 45, and 60 minutes. He took my insurance, and I was thrilled. However, my insurance doesn't reimburse for that kind of time. So, how does a doctor pay the rent, pay the staff, pay gur malpractice insurance, pay for software, keep the lights on, and buy all the supplies needed to keep the office running, and break even, or even maybe pay himself?
That's why these doctors sell supplements, for the same price you can buy them online or at Pharmaca. And, in my state, I don't have to pay the regular 10% sales tax if I buy from the doctor. They make the same profit that the online or brick and mortar sellers do, and save me 10% sales tax.
And, in return, I get 30, 45, or 60 minutes of brainpower working on my complex problems. This system has greatly helped me improve.
In time, I've had some conventional MDs who have helped me. They have the same financial strains but they handle it differently. One doesn't take insurance, two others stopped taking it due to battles with insurance companies about how much time to forms with patients and they now all charge $350 to $600 per visit. This makes it very difficult as a patient to continue to get help - hopefully one recovers before one runs out of money. Unfortunately, this disease is complex and takes time.
So, I had to pick one of the three as I couldn't afford them all. one was my primary care doctor and the other two specialists. One has been incredibly helpful to me, and I wouldn't have improved as much without this help but doesn't do what my functional medicine doctors do that has also helped.
All of these talented people deserve to be paid for their services. Medical care is expensive. The doctors are caught in this system just as we all are with all kinds of constraints in what they go and costs of doing business. They make different decisions about how they turn their businesses - many don't want to be business people and end up working for large healthcare systems that have all kinds of rules that stand in the way of ME/CFS patients getting the diagnostics and treatments they need.
Most doctors don't want to deal with ME/CFS patients. We are time consuming and a hassle. The few doctors willing to help and are competent have waiting lists and a lot of competition from other patients to see them.
Supplements have been a big part of my care, and I wouldn't have made the progress I've made without them. They've helped my POTS and MCAS, greatly improved my energy, feed my mitochondria, get rid of heavy metals and mycotoxins, support my hormones and immune system, and deal with the many nutrient deficiencies and imbalances caused by the infections and immune system problems that conventional medicine has helped.
I am much better and have an active life these days and am very thankful for the care I've received.
As for quoting Quackwatch, you might want to learn more about the man behind it:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/quackwatch-fraud-david-rowland
https://naturopath4you.com/quack-watch-what-you-need-to-know-about-dr-stephen-barrett/
https://chiro.org/LINKS/FULL/Quackwatch_Founder_Loses_Defamation_Case.shtml
http://www.humanticsfoundation.com/QuackWatchWatch.htm
There are several evidence based treatments that I've benefited from that have been panned by this failed psychiatrist. Any time any doctor proposes a treatment to me, I do my own research and look for evidence that supports trying that treatment and that it is right for me. I've had very bad reactions to 8 prescription drugs, one that almost killed me and some with long term consequences, so I've learned to be properly suspicious of any treatment.
This is a complex disease. It is not easy to find help, and there is no known cure, no standard of care, and no FDA approved drugs. So, as patients, we need to carefully choose who we work with, choose treatments carefully and use our resources wisely. I've found treatments I'd never heard about before that have been essential to my progress. If I'd been put off by buying supplements from my doctor or some sloppily researched Barrett article slamming a treatment I was considering that proved to be successful, I wouldn't have made progress.
There's a lot to learn... Good luck.
