To Donna Pruitt

[Guest guest]

> I know I'm new on this list, and right now am way too sick to get

into much

> discussion - I relapsed after a trip to NY to see my folks - but I

really

> need to join this discussion then will shut up about it. I have read

your

> second posting, and I have read Rita's posting, and I have been a

patient of

> Sherry , and am currently a patient of Allan Lieberman in

ton,

> SC and Dr. Cheney. I've seen lots of specialists in between, and no,

I'm not

> rich, just sick. In defense of Sherry , she probably saved my

life 4

> years ago by sorting out all my food and environmental allergies,

and

> getting me on nutritional supplements at a time when I crashed so

badly I

> was losing five pound/week and too weak to even walk anymore. Her

waiting

> list was long, but I got in quickly because my mother has been a

patient

> since 1985. We have a long history with Sherry . However,

Sherry

> listens to no one but herself and her own program. When my husband

and I

> first saw her in 1996, we told her we thought I had a problem with

mercury

> and lead, and gave her our reasons why. She poo pooed us, and when

my

> husband had the nerve to ask questions, she called him a doubting

,

> and for the rest of our visit, that is how she referred to him, both

to his

> face and behind his back. He left after day 2 - said he had no use

for her,

> but if I thought she could help, then I should do what I thought was

best.

> So I spent $2500 being allergy tested, and no she does not accept

insurance

> either, and came home with vials of extract for foods and for all

other

> antigens. The food shots I gave myself daily, and the antigen shots

I had to

> have a doctor in town give me, at $20/shot, twice a week. My monthly

cost

> for extracts was over $500, with an additional $500 for supplements.

> Sherry's visiting time was limited. first visit one hour, 30 minutes

every

> visit thereafter, for over $100 for each visit. She makes her money.

She

> writes books, something like 10 now I believe, plus a monthly

newsletter,

> something like $30, or is it $50/year? She lives in Florida, and I

don't

> know if she sees patients there, but she writes there, and she sees

patients

> in NY for one week every month. She probably does see more patients

than

> Cheney, because they still only get thirty minutes of her time. I

could

> never get through half of her questions in thirty minutes, so always

walked

> away wondering what the hell I was doing there. And then two years

later,

> after I pleaded with her nurse to write a prescription for a hair

analysis

> because my husband and I wanted so desperately to have children that

we were

> going to start intrauterine inseminations, and I wanted to know what

damage

> I was possibly going to do to a child if I conceived (almost 90% of

the lead

> or mercury in a mother's body can pass through the placental barrier

and

> through the blood brain barrier and permanently damage a fetus), my

hair

> analysis came back with high mercury levels! Two years I lost to a

doctor

> who would not listen!!!

>

> I then switched to Dr. Lieberman who is a wonderful man, listens to

what I

> say, reads what I bring in, and answers my questions. You can book

his time

> in blocks according to how much time you think you need. He knew

about

> mercury. Then! Dr. touts mercury NOW, as it is the flavor of

the

> month for her. And the best thing for my pocketbook with Dr.

Lieberman is

> that he combines all my foods and inhalants in one vial, lets me

give my own

> injections, and only charges $155 for the exact same number of

antigens! He

> is a man out to help people, not make money. I really wish I could

say the

> same thing about Dr. .

>

> I do believe I can say the same thing about Dr. Cheney. I'm not

rich, and

> Dr. Cheney's prices do indeed hurt my pocketbook, but I get what I

pay for.

> I get undivided attention. I get answers to all of my questions. I

get

> education, and yes, I want education. I will not take or do a

treatment

> without knowing why. I used to work in a hospital, and it is

abominable how

> the god attitude prevails! Don't ask questions, just do it! Well,

most

> people won't do what you tell them to just cause you say to do it,

even

> PWC's. We've been through too much already to do one more treatment

just

> cause someone says to. My husband accompanies me to all visits, and

gets

> respect when he asks questions - and he does. He's an engineer who

works on

> jet fighter engines and details is his life's work. He needs to know

the why

> of things, and since I've been seeing Cheney, he is MUCH more

supportive in

> all ways, not just with the checkbook as he was before. He is

starting to

> understand, and I can't tell you how much that means to a person who

5 years

> ago was working 12+ hours /day, commuting an hour each way, working

out

> three nights a week for two hours......and now considers a good day

one in

> which she can cook the evening dinner! Nor do I mind that at least

my

> dollars are going into research that may help us ALL one day, not

help

> someone write a new book. And Cheney's protocols are always

changing,

> sometimes even because patients give him information they happened

to see

> and he looks into it. And he doesn't mind that his work, or his

protocols

> are followed by patients who aren't even seeing him, often spread by

groups

> such as this. That's how he reaches the people who can't afford him.

Right

> now go to www.immunesupport.com site and you will find all of his

current

> theory to take to your own doctor.

>

> And by the way, though I haven't read her new book, I have read all

of the

> others. Except for the macrobiotics books, they all say about the

same thing

> with a slight variation of theme. By the way, they aren't bad books

- great

> primers for folks with MCS and Environmental Illness! I still use my

first

> one for reference sometimes.

>

> Please excuse the diatribe, my chest feels a LOT better, and those

of you

> who were uninterested long ago fell asleep at your keyboard for a

much

> needed nap, or flipped me off. Thanks for the vent.

>

> Donna in NC

That was an stellar report you wrote. You really have a gifted writing

style. I could write a few doctor stories myself. My favorite egotists

are the neurologists. One yelling at me, You can walk, I dont see any

foot drops. well I was only walking 10 feet, hardly a major distance.

well I dont have MS, I think I would rather be dead than have that

illness and deal with those psycho neurologists. And the drugs the

use. Hey its dirt cheap interferon, an " old " cancer drug by the way,

and those greedy Bast**rds charge 10,000 dollars a year.

I'm stuck with the Chronic fatigue Syndrome and my huge " stash " of

suppliments, which I take a vast array of!

You have my compassion and concern that you were such an overachiever

5 years ago. Well You could easily make a quick recovery. have you

thought of setting up a Home Gym?? How about a Bench with a Squat

Rack, some Parallel Bars, and a curl Bench. I lift 6 times a week and

find having a home gym is awesome I can workout when my energy p[eaks!

Then go to a Gym, on that rare good day for some more snazzy workouts.

Try NY Barbell or Buckeye Barbell, ill check up on it if your

interested for Home equipment. It does help compensate for weakness to

have strong muscles..... Beats watching some lousy sitcom TOO. GOOD

luck Missinglynx in Portland