04-03-05  13:56, Ardith Hinton told James Bradley about People...  2.

 Well, how do, Ardith?


 AH> Hi again, James!  This is a continuation of my previous message:

Ardith, Ardith, Ardith... We've got to slow down, or Dallas is going to get
suspicious. 

 
 JB>  A friend was well meaning, but petulant about miracle
 JB> [...]
 JB>  talk-radio. I had to tell him how gullible I thought he
 JB>  was on that one.

 AH> The less some folks understand about a particular issue,
 AH> the  simpler it appears to them... and the more convinced they 
 AH> are that they know what other folks should do!  I find it 

I think the advertising media has a roll in all this too. "This pill
will fix your headache, and that syrup will cure your cold..." It's
amazing what chemistry we have today, but enough is enough in my eyes when
it comes to OTC meds. I usually first point out how short a span of time
has passed since snake oil sales had a lucrative market, and the new snake
oil seems to be herbal remedies. I've read through a rather good text book
of herbal concoctions, and some of its promises now seems to be debunked.
Viva la process!

 AH> difficult to hold my tongue when the same person is
 AH> behaving the same way repeatedly.  Although the subtlety 

Hey, they just go with what they know. 

 AH> might be lost on them, however, I would avoid using words
 AH> like "gullible".  I'd probably say something like "I don't 
 AH> believe everything I hear [in the ads and/or on talk 
 AH> radio]."  If you have already done so & your friend is 
 AH> persistent, you could try emphasizing the unusual nature of 
 AH> your condition and/or telling him you're reluctant to mix 
 AH> large doses of herbs or whatever with the drugs you're 
 AH> already taking.  You may still find yourself getting 
 AH> nowhere fast... and your friend may still feel hurt that 
 AH> you chose not to take his advice.  But by commenting on 
 AH> your own feelings, rather than on his reasoning style, you 
 AH> can avoid adding fuel to the fire.  ;-)

I say, "Let it burn!" <-|[

The same friend I mentioned yesterday, is the one that insists I try X, Y,
*and* Z. Tempestuous we are, but a lot of fun. The crux of it is, that he
too wants to see me healthy, and I can't throw *that* in his face. After I
had ran out of, "Been there!" or "That would conflict with
this medication." statements, I pulled out the "Snake oil."
argument, *then* I told him to be less gullible.
 
The "I feel..." is one tactic I have yet to be totally
comfortable with. Maybe because I survived a stage when that's all I heard
from a couple of family members, (Just when it was all the buzz, and they
couldn't parlay a phone number to me without an "I feel..."
prefixing the number. What, is that a new area code? |-) until I stumbled
on the reply, "That's too bad for you, you feel..."  (You can
call me a brat any time you want. ;-) I tend to sway to "I
think..." or the like. Same destination, but because it follows a
different path, *I think*  it doesn't put as many cockles in a
knot.

 AH> We've had various writers in this echo over the years who
 AH> dropped  by to say a relative had been diagnosed with cancer... and, 
 AH> I imagine, to find out if I would recommend a clinic in a 
 AH> nice warm climate!  Most of them disappeared when I 
 AH> indicated that I thought the patient might do better to 
 AH> stay as close to home as possible & recommended borrowing 
 AH> some books from the library.  I'm glad to see that you've 
 AH> outgrown the need to find a magical solution & that you 
 AH> also realize not all of the people around you will have 
 AH> caught up yet, however.  :-)
 
Hey, (I likely shouldn't post this here, but...) I was just last year
thinking amputation could be a solution, if it wasn't for the possibility
of phantom pain. Likewise, there's some studies going on right here about
tetrodutoxin. (TTX) But again, one has to weigh all the variables. Is the
net result the same as if one kills the nerve? Might one still have the
side effects as if the nerve was still firing at will? Maybe my problem is
more to do with constriction, or scar tissue at an unfortunate location.
Panaceas, no, but you have to keep your eyes open too.


 AH> Yes... you probably couldn't go back to where
 AH> you were anyway.  As I said years ago, "normal" changed 
 AH> while I was occupied elsewhere... [chuckle].
 
LOL!
 
 AH> Today lower doses of prednisone are also being used in the
 AH> treatment of pediatic leukemia.  I'm glad for the folks who 
 AH> don't have to go through what we did... and I realize it 
 AH> was light years ahead of what was available a couple of 
 AH> decades earlier.  I reckon we did as best we could with 
 AH> what we had....  :-)

Oh, do I detect a theme? 



... James

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