The changing face of medicine

April 2010

Last time I was home, Gramma, Aunt Liz and I were sitting around the table having tea and discussing our Fibromyalgia.

Yes I'm getting to the age where I talk about my ailments, some days that's all I can do is talk.

We all have been diagnosed with Fibrositis which is one of the most painful, debilitating diseases out there and up until ten or fifteen years ago was thought to be a psychiatric issue.

What made me laugh was the way each of us handles the pain.  I think of us as the "Got a Problem ==take a pill," generation, my kids as the "culture conscience" generation, Aunt Liz as the Hippie Generation and Gramma as the Old School generation.  Each generation has it's pros and cons but I'm really leaning towards Gramma school of medicine.

Medicine has changed that's for sure.

I remember when my doctor would tell me a good family meal consisted of lots of red meat, mounds of potatoes and butter, whole milk and vegys.  This is a recipe for an early heart attack today.

When Gramma was a young mum and her kids were sick, she would call the family doctor and he would drop by. 

When Aunt Liz was younger, she would call for an appointment later in the day at the doctor's office if it was an emergency or later in the week if it could wait.  If she was unlucky she would have to wait a month for a full physical appointment.

I had to wait in a 12 hour Emerg room or walk in clinic and if I want a full physical they can probably squeeze me in next November.  That's if I'm lucky enough to have a family doctor.

My kids are probably going to end up videoconferencing their doctor from home like the Jetsons when they are my age.

Then we got to talking about pain management.

My kids manage their health by preventing it, building up their immune system, making sure they are taking their vitamins and getting exercise.  My son won't even let his kids have antibiotics unless they are on deaths door.

I just pop some Tylenol #3, keep my weight down and go to bed with a good book.

Aunt Liz tries to keep her weight down, does yoga, uses a hot water bottle and goes to physio and massages and lives at spas.  She's eats grass and nuts breads, skim milk and would never think of eating something with more than two grams of fat. 

Gramma has my vote.  Tell her you pulled a muscle or have a cold.  She'll lather you up with Vicks, Ben Gay or her favourite-Dr. Watkin's Horse Linament.  You'll stink to high heaven but you will feel better.  If you have a cold she will make a "Hot Toddy,"  Tea, butter, sugar and a tot of medicinal brandy!  One day in a whisper, she admitted that her medicine cupboard under her bathroom sink has brandy.  "It's good for the nerves."  I almost died of shock.

We all drink tea homeopathic teas, mint or ginger for stomach upset, rosehip and hibiscus for energy and chamomile to sleep but knowing my little 'ol Gramma spikes hers puts me fairly in her camp.