3 ms·

The worst thing about it is that they wanted to put him on severe medication with nasty side effects, some of which they can't even quantify. A lesser parent

The worst thing about it is that they wanted to put him on severe medication with nasty side effects, some of which they can't even quantify. A lesser parent would have gone for that without consulting their child. The arrogance of the medical profession to just 'throw drugs at the problem' astounds me. As for the 'we're so different' aspect of it, I disagree with you there. It does seem to present a major challenge, and it's a personal story, very well written, and one which I for one really enjoyed reading.

loewenskind 16y ago
>The arrogance of the medical profession to just 'throw drugs at the problem' astounds me. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that this very arrogance (in the medical industry and outside of it) are what caused the issue in the first place.
sethg 16y ago
The nasty side effects of the drug have to be weighed against the nasty side effects of the condition that the drug is meant to treat, and from the article, the parents didn’t do that. The kid hated needles and didn’t want his balls to shrink (when oversized testicles was one of the symptoms of his condition) and that was the end of it. I’m sure that lots of people with juvenile diabetes, when they were first diagnosed, hated the idea of injecting themselves with insulin every day, but they learned to cope. This child could have learned to cope. ETA: According to a comment by the father toward the end, the endocrinologist agreed with the decision not to give drugs.
- paulnelligan 16y ago
  So, if he agreed with the decision not to give the drugs, why were they recommended in the first place? Also, I don't think regulating someone's blood/sugar levels can be equated to altering the course of their puberty and shrinking their testicles. The damage could be untold and irreversible. I don't share your faith in the medical system, and it's infallability (although many do a great job under difficult circumstances), and I'm definitely not alone there. Many respected cellular biologists are claiming that the medical profession has got it wrong in relation to treatment of many conditions.

loewenskind 16y ago

>The arrogance of the medical profession to just 'throw drugs at the problem' astounds me. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that this very arrogance (in the medical industry and outside of it) are what caused the issue in the first place.

sethg 16y ago

The nasty side effects of the drug have to be weighed against the nasty side effects of the condition that the drug is meant to treat, and from the article, the parents didn’t do that. The kid hated needles and didn’t want his balls to shrink (when oversized testicles was one of the symptoms of his condition) and that was the end of it. I’m sure that lots of people with juvenile diabetes, when they were first diagnosed, hated the idea of injecting themselves with insulin every day, but they learned to cope. This child could have learned to cope. ETA: According to a comment by the father toward the end, the endocrinologist agreed with the decision not to give drugs.

paulnelligan 16y ago
So, if he agreed with the decision not to give the drugs, why were they recommended in the first place? Also, I don't think regulating someone's blood/sugar levels can be equated to altering the course of their puberty and shrinking their testicles. The damage could be untold and irreversible. I don't share your faith in the medical system, and it's infallability (although many do a great job under difficult circumstances), and I'm definitely not alone there. Many respected cellular biologists are claiming that the medical profession has got it wrong in relation to treatment of many conditions.