29Sep 2012 by Marjorie 3 Comments

My second alterna-doc disaster

US healthcare system
When I was unable to convince my regular alterna-doc that I was hypothyroid, I made the mistake of returning to the only other major alternative medicine practice in town, a Den of Incompetence I had sworn never to visit again. Dr. Dumbass had left the practice and I convinced myself that my earlier experience was just a fluke. Desperate for help for tanking thyroid My thyroid symptoms had worsened significantly and I had made the startling discovery that my healthy diet was the culprit. It turns out that drinking raw kale juice every day for a year is a bad idea, even for healthy people. I printed out the articles I had found, including the one from a British running association's website that said one should only drink raw goitrogens…
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20Sep 2012 by Marjorie 3 Comments

This is your nail bed on cholecalciferol: my fingernails and vitamin D3

self-experiment
Further to my earlier post on supplements that helped to grow my fingernails, I can report that 15,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day for two weeks did amazing things. It basically did the same thing that 8 mg of methylfolate did, although the folate seemed to work faster. The weird thing is, the shape actually changed: the V-shape in the cuticle across the bottom straightened out to more of a U and the nail narrowed -- it no longer separated from the nail bed (and thus widened) as far down as it had before. The cuticle also retreated a bit and lengthened/deepened the nail. This is probably something only I would notice, and none of this applies to my index fingers, which remained as pathetic as ever. I had…
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11Sep 2012 by Marjorie No Comments

Spotting planted product plugs on discussion forums

reference
My last online research project on an alternative health product reminded me that even in the best-run, most closely moderated discussion group, you can find promo copy disguised as user experience. In this case, the manufacturer has been in business for 40 years, has very little competition, and is pretty much the expert on the subject. Why they felt the need to resort to these "fake-dotal" tactics, I don't know. Maybe I'm so paranoid about the subject that I just misinterpreted an enthusiastic supporter with poor social skills. I ended up buying one of their products anyway, since there were bona fide reviews on enough different sites to convince me it was worth trying. Many forums now forbid links and product names in posts, but marketing hacks still get around…
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