Males, Females & Doctors as Patients
Whole Health News – March 2000
by Aleks Strande, N.D., Ph.D.

Males and doctors are the worst patients and females are more likely to “fall in love” with their disease.

Approximately 80% of my patients are female and I do not think this is due to my good looks. Females have always been more eager to seek out Nature’s resolution to their health problems. They are more flexible and more in tune with their bodies. They are instinctively searching for what is good for them. Their care flows into their infants and children.

We men do not always have the same abilities. We are super strong and prefer strong drugs to achieve a quick fix. This is possibly why we drop dead before our female peers.
Male doctors (both orthodox and alternative) are much worse patients than men who are not associated with health care. I have never met a health care practitioner who would allow me to improve him (from whatever condition) by more than 30%. And even that would require substantial counseling and motivational chats.

Once I had a 70 year old MD in Australia who came to me with a health problem. After two weeks he called me and complained that he hadn’t improved at all. However, when I asked if he had finished his bottle of herbs, he said he hadn’t found the time to start it.
A woman brought her 80-year-old father into my Brisbane clinic. He suffered from bad post diabetic neuropathy. His lower legs were showing large ulcers and some gangrenous development. He said that he had the ulceration for more than ten years and since no drugs or creams did any good, the doctors suggested amputation of both of his legs below the knees. I dispensed various supplements including immune stimulating and tissue proliferating herbs. I said to his daughter that if her father’s compliance wasn’t 100%, then really all she was doing was wasting her money.

Because they were from out of town, I asked to see them in three and a half months. During his following visit I asked him if he improved at all.

He replied, “No, I actually feel worse.”

“And how are your leg ulcers doing?” I asked.
“I never had any leg ulcers in the first place” he answered.
I looked at his daughter and she was smiling.

I don’t know if any other doctors have similar experience, but I find that the older the male patient is, the less likely he will follow the suggested regime. And if he does improve, he probably won’t admit it. Also, he seems to quickly forget how sick he was in the first place. But then, it’s probably part of our nature to forget the bad and get used to the good faster. I feel that this could be part of our species’ ability to survive.

Most females, however, really do care about their health. In my experience with addressing difficult, degenerative conditions, I found that the longer their conditions were present (e.g. 20 years), they seemed to be less willing to let go of their disease. It’s like a subconscious decision of the mind. Any severe debilitating disease of short duration (e.g. three years) seems to attract less resistance to let go. It is hard to find a rational explanation for this. Perhaps by letting go of a long-standing disease, the person fears entering into an unknown area. This may include a fear of losing sympathy and the attention of their family and friends.

A female in her early thirties came to me diagnosed with four overlapping syndromes: Post Viral Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. For less than five years she had these syndromes, and she had been on a merry-go-round from one doctor to another. She could not open the door, drive, walk or think straight. She said she was ready to die. After the appropriate regime was implemented, her condition improved 74% within three months and 95% within 12 months. Her compliance to the suggested naturopathic regime was 99%. I have to say that most clients who are very sick for less than five years show good compliance.

Similar cases of overlapping immune syndromes for a duration of 25 years presents entirely different compliance, and the following presented case is not an exception. One woman became 50% better within two months. The texture of her skin evolved from gray/blue to strawberry fresh during that time. And that was it. Her loving husband was begging her to continue as the naturopathic approach obviously worked well. I ran out of persuasion tactics. Finally she just walked out, and her husband I just sat there for 60 seconds of silence.

Once I had a client in Australia who had three overlapping types of arthritis for 17 years. She said clearly, to my surprise: “I just want you to diminish the pain, but I do not want you to try to cure the disease.” I have only had one case like this in 20 years.
Overall, pain, seems to be a big factor in my patient’s compliance. Ironically, the more pain the better compliance and the faster recovery. No matter how dangerous the disease when there is little or no pain, compliance and motivation appear to be substantially lower.

Over time, I have learned a lot from my patients. Since laughter is thought to be one of the best medicines, one of my patients, a professional writer, suggested the following solution to my dilemma of teaching people to let go of their disease. He offered to write a book based on my rich supply of naturopathic experiences with non-complying patients. He would turn it into a comedy series resembling “Medical Files” or the series “X-Files”, but with more humor like the British series “Faulty Towers” with John Cleese. Such a book, with its sense of irony, could increase their motivation to heal.

Alex Strande, N.D., Ph.D., is a naturopath and a microbiologist. His office is in Irvine, California. He can be contacted for questions and appointments at 949-553-1882.