Well - we had a chance to meet Rich's new cardiologist and I, for one, am thrilled.  They have already run a 24 hr. EKG and will do an echocardiogram and blood panel next week.  Rich's blood pressure was good and his heart is in sinus rhythm at the moment, all very good and so he doesn't need to resume the digoxin or the diltiazam!  Yeah!!!  We had a chance to ask some very pointed questions and I feel confident that they are taking our concerns seriously.  I asked if there was any possibility of getting off some of the meds in the future - obviously it is something that he'll have to work hard to do and may not be able to - and they told us that some may be able to be reduced or eliminated - but right now they need to get a baseline of where he is at now. 

Part of my concern about the meds is because of having watched my Mom...it seemed like they gave her one med to fix this problem, then gave her another med to fix the problem that med created, and so on, until she finally passed away.  In my heart I know that isn't really fair but I really resent the dispensing of meds without investigating other alternatives first.  I think many physicians become "pill rollers" because they don't believe that their patient will make the necessary life-style changes...and perhaps that is true.  But it seems to me that Joseph Smith was correct when he cited the strength and success of the LDS people as a result of "teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves."  I think the same thing applies to medications and health.  If a patient has been truly taught all they need to know about their situation and then will not make the necessary changes - then roll the pills!  But too often I think we put our faith in pharmacology rather than the Lord - meaning that He is the creator of our bodies and knows them and how they work and how they will respond...hence, The Word of Wisdom and other counsels.  And, because I have battled weight for many years I understand how difficult it is to overcome self...but I also know how many times I wanted to believe that I had no control because that would mean that I am not responsible for my choices.  However, no matter what fairy tale I wanted to believe, the truth is still the truth, and I am still responsible for me and my choices.  I realize that I am speaking in general terms because there are health issues that are the afflictions and trials of the human condition and no one has control over, except the Lord.  But most of the health issues that I personally face are of my own making at this time.  I am grateful for modern medicine and the support I get...but I still think it is better to tell me or someone I love that they have diabetes or are pre-diabetic but there is something you can do about it...that you may not be able to be completely free but that there is a good chance you can be if you will just do what you need to do.  And the same thing can be said for so many of the modern health issues that are part of our lives...not all...but many. 

And then I really have a problem with the "science" of health too.  I am old enough to remember when everyone ate butter but then a "health scientist" postulated that the reason that people had heart problems was because of butter, red meat, etc. or saturated fats and it wasn't long before the government was extolling us on the virtues of margarine and urging us to use it instead of butter.  Twenty and thirty years go by and new research is showing that the trans fats in margarine are really unhealthy and what do you know - butter is really okay!  Or how about eggs?  Everyone ate eggs - but then came the big cholesterol scare and all of a sudden we have to eat egg whites only and throw out the perfectly good and HEALTHY yolk or use some concoction that is supposed to resemble eggs.  Now new research is showing that people who eat 6 and more eggs a week actually have lower cholesterol levels than people who only eat one or none - go figure!  And that the yolk has important nutrients such as lutein that are readily absorbable in our bodies which support good eyesight.  Or how about coconut oil - bad for you because it is a "saturated" fat - but not so fast - new research shows it is an important component in a healthy diet, increases satiety, lowers inflammation, and is one of the few fats available to provide medium chain fatty acids.  Then there is the government's food pyramid - and the whole movement to get us to lower fat - all the while we are becoming fatter and fatter as the days go by.  I know - I'm on my soapbox.  But even medical procedures are an area where I am suspicious - 30 years ago if someone developed breast cancer they would automatically do a double mastectomy...but now they are saying that under most circumstances a lumpectomy is just as successful.  Cholesterol medication and the numbers are another area that I just don't trust - it doesn't help that the 2004 study that was responsible for the government's current guidelines was conducted by 9 "scientists and doctors" - 8 of whom were receiving payments from the drug companies that all of these cholesterol lowering drugs make and there was no real, hard data to prove that lowering your cholesterol to these numbers was even effective - but you would certainly need the drugs to get those numbers!

I know that there are lots and lots of good people who are in the medical community and they are trying the best they can to treat their patients to the best of their ability with the knowledge that they have.  But I also believe that Lord knows best how we should care for our bodies and He also knew that "in consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring me in the last days" that we would need to have a way to optimize our health without falling prey to the snake oil salesmen of our day.  Ironically there is much interest now in nutrition and herbs - but for many years our doctors went through their entire medical training without ever taking a basic nutrition course.  And even now the majority of the AMA are resistant to a holistic approach to medicine.  And if anyone dares to question - well - they just have to be heretics!  There is so much we don't know - but too often we are expected to just follow blindly when much of what is being suggested just doesn't make sense and is counter to the Lord's directions.   I think I have just decided on a major!