Potassium Deficiency and Those on the Autism Spectrum

[Streetwise]

but that predisposes the the presumption that whoever administers these therapies is perfect and the medicine will heal and not harm

Show me plenty of research and tests and a good old fashioned scientific study that can be replicated and I'll believe it.

 

[the_tortoise]

the guidelines from the aforementioned countries and the W.H.O its just playing safe

Thanks for clarifying -- yeah, they do play it safe for sure and there is a lot they don't know.

And I think maybe you have to go into the resources for professionals sometimes before you get past the paternalizing stuff that paints their guidelines as black and white...when in reality, they aren't black and white at all. (Which sucks, because for a lot of research and things you need to pay for studies or actually be a doctor -- thankfully some public libraries subscribe to journals, and if you are a post-secondary student who likes to research stuff your access to journals is probably amazing....I miss my student library card....it also sucks because a lot of that stuff is hard to understand.)

I would be playing it safe, too, if I had that kind of responsibility (was given that level of authority) in the welfare of others .... however, I like to think I'd be less dismissive and that I'd find ways to make things easier to understand without actually changing my message from "this is my guess, it is safest to do x and not y " to "this is how it is, do x and never do y"

 

[Streetwise]

for some practitioners yes but not enough

a lot in the uk are not fulfilled by medicine and you can't heal diseases ,disorders if the government of the country just don't want to pay for a health service if you saw the list of drugs that are now denied you'd be astounded or the insurance companies deny any claim they dont want to pay

In Canada doctors are paid by the government as well (mostly -- some things you have to pay out of pocket, but not very much).

Drug companies do have an alarming amount of influence in the medical field -- if nothing else, because they are a huge (maybe the biggest? I wouldn't be surprised but I don't know) source of funding for research.

I also know that doctors themselves get visits from drug reps who offer free samples and the like....very concerning stuff.

Personally, though, I think that while the influence of corporate greed in medicine is quite real, I don't think it is the only factor involved when doctors dismiss non-mainstream remedies or patient concerns.

 

[Streetwise]

thats just as dangerous in a different way ,

Thanks for clarifying -- yeah, they do play it safe for sure and there is a lot they don't know.

And I think maybe you have to go into the resources for professionals sometimes before you get past the paternalizing stuff that paints their guidelines as black and white...when in reality, they aren't black and white at all. (Which sucks, because for a lot of research and things you need to pay for studies or actually be a doctor -- thankfully some public libraries subscribe to journals, and if you are a post-secondary student who likes to research stuff your access to journals is probably amazing....I miss my student library card....it also sucks because a lot of that stuff is hard to understand.)

I would be playing it safe, too, if I had that kind of responsibility (was given that level of authority) in the welfare of others .... however, I like to think I'd be less dismissive and that I'd find ways to make things easier to understand witht actually changing my message from "this is my guess, it is safest to do x and not y " to "this is how it is, do x and never do y"

 

[Butterfly88]

I found this article that mentions potassium helping sensory over-stimulation. Maybe it helps some people, like the person in the article but I don't think a potassium deficiency is the cause of autism, just my opinion.

Can Potassium Help Treat ADHD and Sensory Overstimulation?

 

[the_tortoise]

if you saw the list of drugs that are now denied you'd be astounded or the insurance companies deny any claim they dont want to pay

I haven't seen the UK list but I know the Canadian ones can be shocking. Usually it's clearly financial (and I blame drug companies for being greedy and think that governments should do more around patent protections and pricing policies to prevent them putting profits above human welfare, but I know it's not an easy thing to set up that kind of legiilsation....a lot of people would oppose it, even poor and working class people who suffer the most from the lack of its existence....you also don't want to make it so drug companies won't do business in/with your country, or you could be in a whole lot of trouble and without any access at all to many needed medications....I'm sure there is a lot of international law and/or a lot of international agreements, that have the system set up the way it is now so going against it or changing it is not a simple thing to do).

 

[Gracey]

but that predisposes the the presumption that whoever administers these therapies is perfect and the medicine will heal and not harm

That's why I'd like to see the test results, the evidence, the facts that potassium can, in some way help(?) Autism specifically and in what way it helps/works before I nip to Holland and Barrett and start buying and taking suppliments.

I personally would be impressed if they could find a cross section of the planet to use as large enough numbers of participants and control groups whose Autism is almost identical to make the potassium study effective.
Not that I know of one. Just sayin' ....

 

[the_tortoise]

thats just as dangerous in a different way ,

Playing is safe? My approach to that specifically? How so?

 

[Streetwise]

Playing is safe? My approach to that specifically? How so?

because not doing it properly is bad properly isnt relying on what was done in the past or the future if it is wrong
if you don't want to be a therapist( this is anyone) have the courage to get out
its a vocation so you'd take the time to do what your conscience tells you not an insurance company, a government; a board of directors, a peer review, the W.H.O ,the local health authority ,nothing but your conscience

 

[Streetwise]

doctors know for instance that plain vit c in high!doses can cure terrible infections but instead they suck up to antibiotic manufacturers who strong arm them so the god greed is properly appeased

That's why I'd like to see the test results, the evidence, the facts that potassium can, in some way help(?) Autism specifically and in what way it helps/works before I nip to Holland and Barrett and start buying and taking suppliments.

I personally would be impressed if they could find a cross section of the planet to use as large enough numbers of participants and control groups whose Autism is almost identical to make the potassium study effective.
Not that I know of one. Just sayin' ....

 

[Flinty]

Is this trying to tell me that my trouble started because I cut from two bananas a day to one?

Wait, that might be plausible.

 

[Manuheleku]

All in all, doctors are doing what they are trained to do, administer aid how they have been trained to do. They have gone to school and have become proficient in examining patients in a way that has been scientifically determined to help. That said, most studies are done by the pharmaceutical industry who has a vested interest in selling drugs. The insurance companies who pay for this treatment are also only going to pay for what has been approved for, also things that have been shown to help via scientifically performed studies or that have shown results in the past. The doctor has to work within these restraints. Now, if a person wants to supplement with vitamins, great, in most cases no harm is done and it might help. My doctor has in the past recommended certain supplements that he doesn't need to write a prescription for. He's mentioned that I need to loose weight, that I should cut back on the carbs, that I could take fish oil and other supplements for various reasons. He's just a regular doctor in a regular business that provides insurance company covered care in a big impersonal city. He also writes prescriptions that are beneficial to me and has nothing to gain from informing me of other options. He does it because he cares about his patients. Doctors who care can work within the industry rules and make suggestions otherwise. If you have a doctor who doesn't seem to care, maybe another doctor is in order. Doctors who perform full service care will be in demand, others will not, the patient can drive the market.

 

[Alaska]

Here is a link to learn what foods are highest in potassium:

Top 10 Foods Highest in Potassium

I think that it is best to get your nutrients from food whenever possible. I have seen many food and nutrient fads come and go. It is a good idea to use your own experiences as much as you can and avoid fads, both among doctors and others.

If you think it is possible that you may have an insufficient amount of potassium, try eating more high potassium foods for a little while and notice if there are any changes. I was low in potassium for a while, so I upped my consumption of potatoes, bananas, and apples for a bit. Sure enough, I got a lot better. This was not a magic cure-all, however.

The pharmaceutical industry has a stranglehold on what research is funded, and what results they want to pay for and get. They are also getting an increasingly good grip on the medical profession. Doctors have to be afraid for their future careers if they don't go along with the pharmaceutical industry.

 

[Streetwise]

not if you have a wasting disease!!!!! or a medical condition that prevents digestion

Here is a link to learn what foods are highest in potassium:

Top 10 Foods Highest in Potassium

I think that it is best to get your nutrients from food whenever possible. I have seen many food and nutrient fads come and go. It is a good idea to use your own experiences as much as you can and avoid fads, both among doctors and others.

If you think it is possible that you may have an insufficient amount of potassium, try eating more high potassium foods for a little while and notice if there are any changes. I was low in potassium for a while, so I upped my consumption of potatoes, bananas, and apples for a bit. Sure enough, I got a lot better. This was not a magic cure-all, however.

The pharmaceutical industry has a stranglehold on what research is funded, and what results they want to pay for and get. They are also getting an increasingly good grip on the medical profession. Doctors have to be afraid for their future careers if they don't go along with the pharmaceutical industry.

 

[the_tortoise]

because not doing it properly is bad properly isnt relying on what was done in the past or the future if it is wrong
if you don't want to be a therapist( this is anyone) have the courage to get out
its a vocation so you'd take the time to do what your conscience tells you not an insurance company, a government; a board of directors, a peer review, the W.H.O ,the local health authority ,nothing but your conscience

Oh....thanks again for clarifying....I think maybe we are talking about different things, and/or I just wasn't clear about what I was talking about....I might still not be clear on what we're talking about (and might still not be communicating clearly)....we might have very different conceptual mappings for stuff too ....

I agree, a doctor should offer their own opinion / make up their own mind, but I think most of them actually do that. And when they defer to others, I think that for most doctors it's because they truly believe that others have more knowledge.

There are lots of bad doctors out there...some even had bad intentions and should never have been allowed to be doctors in the first place, but I choose to believe the ones with bad intentions are the minority, and that most are doing the best they can with good intentions (even if they actually suck at being doctors).

When doctors refuse to have any part in treatments/remedies that are not researched (or not well researched) my thoughts are this:

Doctors take an oath to do no harm, and I assume that to them it seems like doing nothing is safer than doing something that may cause huge amounts of harm -- maybe more harm than is possible with the treatments they do know about. They have no way of knowing.

I think doctors need to be more open to new ideas and prepared to question what they've been taught, but they have to be given enough reasons to do that and they have to be able to access credible alternative information.....doctors usually don't have time to do a lot of their own research beyond what's minimally necessary to keep up with advances in their own field (which, for family doctors/GPs, is sort of everything.....so I don't know how that works for them)....

Nobody can independently do the kinds of research that big organizations like the WHO and drug companies can do -- you need a lot of time and a lot of people and a lot of money (for equipment and physical spaces and to pay all the people you need to help you do the work). If doctors didn't trust any of their colleagues and the research that's out there then what is the alternative? No single person (or even single clinic/research facility) could possibly reproduce all the studies that have been done to arrive at current guidelines .....so they have to just read them and read the sources cited for them and decide whether or not/how much to trust them. They can't start from scratch.

I would be afraid of a doctor who didn't use any research in their practice, or ask for the opinions of others, or who totally dismissed guidelines (that seems as bad as dismissing new, unresearched ideas)..... looking at what other doctors and scientists think is part of doing things properly, in my opinion, unless you are dangerously arrogant.

The official guidelines for nutrition/vitamins aren't black and white -- it's explicitly stated that they are meant to represent what works for most people, not what works for everybody. Doctors should keep that in mind though....a lot of them don't.

 

[Streetwise]

and therein lies the rub as shakespeare plagiarised, do you play the lottery with your health or suffer the other quotient is your own attitude do you want a quick fix (high)from for instance opiates or antibiotics because you constantly appease your vice whatever it is

Oh....thanks again for clarifying....I think maybe we are talking about different things, and/or I just wasn't clear about what I was talking about....I might still not know what we're talking about.....

I agree, a doctor should offer their own opinion / make up their own mind, but I think most of them actually do that. And when they defer to others, I think that for most doctors it's because they truly believe that others have more knowledge.

When doctors refuse to have any part in treatments/remedies that are not researched (or not well researched) my thoughts are this:

Doctors take an oath to do no harm, and I assume that to them it seems like doing nothing is safer than doing something that may cause huge amounts of harm -- maybe more harm than is possible with the treatments they do know about. They have no way of knowing.

I think doctors need to be more open to new ideas and prepared to question what they've been taught, but they have to be given enough reasons to do that and they have to be able to access credible alternative information.....doctors usually don't have time to do a lot of their own research beyond what's minimally necessary to keep up with advances in their own field (which, for family doctors/GPs, is sort of everything.....so I don't know how that works for them)....

Nobody can independently do the kinds of research that big organizations like the WHO can do -- you need a lot of time and a lot of people and a lot of money (for equipment and physical spaces and to pay all the people you need to help you do the work). If doctors didn't trust any of thir colleagues and the research that's out there then what is the alternative? No single person (or even single clinic/research facility) could possibly reproduce all the studies that have been done to arrive at current guidelines .....so they have to just read them and decide whether or not to trust them. They can't start from scratch.

I would be afraid of a doctor who didn't use any research in their practice, or ask for the opinions of others, or who totally dismissed guidelines (that seems at least as bad as dismissing new, unproven ideas)..... looking at what other doctors and scientists think is part of doing things properly, in my opinion, unless you are dangerously arrogant.

The official guidelines for nutrition/vitamins aren't black and white -- it's explicitly stated that they are meant to represent what works for most people, not what works for everybody. Doctors should keep that in mind though....a lot of them don't.

 

[Alaska]

not if you have a wasting disease!!!!! or a medical condition that prevents digestion

No, eating a good diet is not going to cure everything, but it will at least help most things. I still go to an MD and see a wonderful Osteopath and a Neurologist. I do whatever I can to see them as little as possible.

 

[clg114]

yes but doctors don't tell you everything about every medicine you take and they are narrow minded about therapies that aren't synthetic if orthodox medicine is so pure why are there thousands of children with shortened limbs from the thalidomide drug for morning sickness and why are people resistant to antibiotics because doctors didn't take the time to analyse their health problem doctors are not demi gods they are weak feeble humans

Doctors will tell you what you want to know if you ask them. You just have to be involved in all off the aspects of your treatment and know what questions to ask. I know that not all doctors are great, this cardiologist is my third one. You have to know that it in your best interest to be very involved in you health care and ask the right questions. Just blindly believing and doing whatever the doctor says is not in you best interest.

 

[Streetwise]

but thats what im saying i didnt know i had a staph infection and that it would ruin my digestion and that food just isnt enough there are no guarantees especially when farming is so toxic pesticides. Antibiotics to aid vile factory farming,medicines that damage your digestion or liver, kidneys.
food was great 200 years ago then ultra greed began and the financially poor started to suffer!

No, eating a good diet is not going to cure everything, but it will at least help most things. I still go to an MD and see a wonderful Osteopath and a Neurologist. I do whatever I can to see them as little as possible.

 

[fairy_girl]

To me it's not something to be cured but helped to manage it. I have now heard that the newest thing is radiation from electronics "causes" Autism. I call BS on most of all that stuff.