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Vitamins in Hospitals |
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Vitamins in Hospitals |
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A hospital, by
definition, is a collection of the sick, the injured, the infirm, and the
stressed. All these situations call for larger than the normal
quantities of dietary vitamins. When is the last time you saw a hospital
or nursing home routinely give even a daily multivitamin,
let alone specific high-dose therapeutic supplements? This can immediately
change, and you can help do it. Prepare to stand firm on what is
most important, and negotiate the rest. 1. If you want
to take your vitamins while hospitalized, bring them with you. A
written statement from your doctor that you will be doing so may save a lot
of fuss. I'm not exaggerating: hospital staff
often tell patients they may not take anything that the hospital
didn't authorize them to take. You can hardly count on them to provide
megadoses of vitamins. So it is a bit like a movie theater telling you that
you can't bring in your own popcorn, but they won't sell you any,
either. Vitamins are vastly more important to an enjoyable hospital stay
than popcorn is to a movie. 2. If a hospital staff member tries to take your vitamins away from you, say "STOP! That is my personal property. Please put it down right now." If they do not, immediately pick up the telephone and dial "9" and "1" while saying
"I have dialed 9 and 1. The next button I press will be another 1. This will be a call to the police to report theft of my personal property. Put it back immediately."
3. If you are given
a plausible medical reason why you should not take vitamins, be bold and ask
for written references. Look up each surgical procedure or medicine
you are offered. Is there REALLY a problem with a vitamin? Complete
information on drugs is contained in the PHYSICIANS' DESK REFERENCE (PDR),
found in any hospital pharmacy, library or doctors' lounge. Your public
library will probably even look it up for you if you telephone them from your
room. The PDR lists all
prescription medications (and there is another book for nonprescription
medicines) with all their side effects, contraindications and any
nutrient-drug interactions. It is quite rare for a vitamin to interfere
with a prescription drug. Any such caution is in the PDR in
writing. The same information is on drug package inserts. Do not
assume that you doctor or nurse has memorized the nutrient/drug connections
of some 3,000 drugs in the PDR. Surgical information may
be obtained from sources other than your surgeon. Try the public or
hospital library for the non-technical Good Operations, Bad Operations
by Charles Inlander (Penguin, 1993). To know
every aspect, two standard reference works are Textbook of Surgery,
David Sabiston, ed. (Saunders, 1993) and Principles
of Surgery, S. I. Schwartz, et al (McGraw Hill, 1989). By the way, any doctor or
nurse who makes fun of you for being thorough probably should be more
thorough themselves. Don't stand for harassment, especially when you
are in the right. Tell a supervisor. Unacceptable Reasons
for Stopping Vitamins: b. "Vitamins
will be dangerous after surgery." Since all nutrition
textbooks indicate a substantially increased need for vitamins during
wound healing, this is illogical. Some patients have been told that
their blood-thinning medications (like Coumadin brand warfarin)
are incompatible with vitamins, especially K, C and E. First of all,
your supplements do not contain any vitamin K, because your intestinal
bacteria make it for you. Vitamin C may lessen
clotting time, and vitamin E may increase it. Taking both allows the body to
achieve a natural balance. If you are given Coumadin, your prothrombin time should be monitored. Since they are
constantly taking blood for some reason or other anyway, your
"pro-time" can be checked often. Instead of reducing your
vitamins, doctors can simply adjust the amount of their drug. c. "Vitamins
are unnecessary if you eat right." I say, long hospital stays
are unnecessary if they FED you right. Since they don't, supplements are
the simple answer. If you find a hospital that feeds you a
vegetarian, three-quarters raw food diet (blended or juiced for some
patients, as needed) then I will lighten up. Until then, "hospital
food" will continue to deserve its almost pathogenic reputation, and
supplements are completely justified. It may be their
building, but it is your body. Accept nothing without an explanation that is
satisfactory to you. If the nurse or doctor or aide or clerk or orderly
or anyone else "says so," ask for a supervisor. If the
supervisor "says so," ask to see the hospital administrator.
If she or he is "too busy" for such contact, leave. There are
other hospitals. If this sound like shopping
for a new car, well, it very nearly is. Only this is more
important. Remember: all
bureaucracies are most sensitive at the top. Schoolchildren
(unfortunately) know that the principal is more likely to be understanding
than the teacher they just talked back to. The Board of Education will
be even more attentive. Do not argue with a nurse, doctor or hospital
staff member. DEMAND TO MEET WITH TOP AUTHORITY if there is any
unresolved problem. No hospital executive wants another lawsuit.
If it takes a call to your attorney to make your point, then do it. Perhaps, after a tirade
like this, you expect me to grab my broomstick and wail, "I'm
melting!" I have no apology to make for asserting your right to
assert your rights. Hospitals provide
essential services and save lives. They will save even more when they
fully utilize megavitamin therapy.
Andrew Saul is the coauthor of HOSPITALS AND HEALTH: Your Orthomolecular Guide to a Shorter, Safer Hospital Stay. This book is available from any internet bookseller.
He is also the author
of the books FIRE
Copyright C 2018, 2005 and
prior years Andrew W. Saul. |
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AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This page is not in any way offered as prescription, diagnosis nor treatment for any disease, illness, infirmity or physical condition. Any form of self-treatment or alternative health program necessarily must involve an individual's acceptance of some risk, and no one should assume otherwise. Persons needing medical care should obtain it from a physician. Consult your doctor before making any health decision. Neither the author nor the webmaster has authorized the use of their names or the use of any material contained within in connection with the sale, promotion or advertising of any product or apparatus. Single-copy reproduction for individual, non-commercial use is permitted providing no alterations of content are made, and credit is given. |
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