On Being Duped ...

[Note: I sent this out, in email format, to several people ... but felt that it deserved wider exposure ... so here goes!]


We've been duped, folks.

Including me.

Five years ago, at the age of 43, following a "standard procedure" bone scan, I was diagnosed with "osteopenia" ... which I was told is the precursor for osteoporosis. With stern voices and intense expressions they told me that I was in serious danger of fractures, due to thinning bones (as I am white, petite, small boned, of northern-European descent, and had a long previous-history of bulimia).

I must, they said, begin taking high doses of calcium, and do weight-bearing exercises. Thing is, I'd been doing that for 30 years. So, they said, I had to begin taking Fosamax -- a prescription that would keep my bones from thinning further.

Like a good non-questioning patient, I got the prescription filled, and took it ... when it came time to refill it, I happened to be pregnant ... while pregnant or nursing, Fosamax is a no-go, so I suspended it. My intention had been to get another bone scan as soon as I was done nursing ... but, a funny thing happened; when I stopped nursing my last baby, I was just no longer feeling compelled to do the bone scan, or to return to the Fosamax regimen. I didn't understand that ... after all, I'd been told this was medically necessary - urgent even! I just had a funny feeling that wouldn't go away ... I couldn't shake it. Having no peace about taking Fosamax, I didn't follow through with the plan prescribed for me.

And now I know why ... it finally makes sense...

Last week, I happened to catch a story on national pubic radio, that featured the whole "osteopenia" story ... and then I *knew* why I'd been led to not take it again. Turns out, osteopenia is an entirely fabricated condition -- not a medical condition! It was created so that a drug company could make a significant profit (though doctors were led to believe that this would save many women from the dangers of broken hips). Further, Fosamax can even end up doing harm to bones, when taken long term -- it's particularly hazardous for women younger than 50 -- as I had been when prescribed.

Yes, we've been duped.

You deserve to know the TRUTH, so go here to this link, and give yourself the gift of listening to the broadcast ... and reading the story. It's important to know all the facts, before you make a decision that will affect YOUR health, and YOUR life.

(Ironically enough, I had my scan done in the very imaging center that's mentioned in this story -- in Fairfax, Virginia, where we used to live.)

We are being led, in many subtle and even misleading ways, to accept what we are told by the medical experts ... when some of them are far more motivated by profit -- whether directly/knowingly, or indirectly/ignorantly. I'd like to lean toward the latter, as I know many good-intentioned folks in the medical profession. The medical system, however, while created to assist us, has become yet another institutionalized-machine that demands our service, our allegiance, and all too often, our health. That doesn't mean it's "all bad" ... it means we need to use discernment. It means we need to be proactive with our own lives. It means we need to trust the Spirit of God within, more than the ego of man without.

Be informed. Question. Research. Be intentional about your life.

Shalom, Dena