Participants: Nick Evenson (Host), Dr. James Marcum
Series Code: UP
Program Code: UP000076B
|
00:01 Welcome back! On today's program
00:02 we've been talking about the place for modern medicine 00:05 in your life and this is something that we've received 00:07 a lot of questions on, isn't it, Dr. Marcum. 00:09 In fact, "Heartwise Ministries" talks a lot about 00:12 modern medicine, there's a place for 00:15 modern medicine and we acknowledge that, 00:17 but there's a place for lifestyle, 00:19 and getting at the cause. 00:21 But I consider getting at the cause, hopefully, 00:24 that is modern medicine. Right 00:26 You know, but unfortunately the way medicine practices 00:28 it not always does that, it treats symptoms. 00:31 But I think, what we like to do at Heartwise, 00:34 that is sort of gives us a little distinctiveness, 00:36 is that we point to the Heavenly Father 00:38 as the Ultimate Physician. 00:40 Remember, doctors don't heal, God heals, 00:43 and God gives people the ability to heal. 00:46 So all power and all healing and all respect and awe 00:50 comes from that relationship we have with God, 00:53 and I try to really let people know that that is the most 00:56 important thing you can have... 00:57 Because even if you have a disease, Nick, 00:59 that's devastating, as long as you have that 01:03 relationship, you can have healing... 01:06 you know, it might be in heaven, 01:07 but you're going to have that healing and that's so important. 01:10 So I want those that want to learn more about this topic, 01:13 you can go to our website: heartwiseministries.org 01:16 We also believe in the treatment of prayer. 01:19 God answers prayers, God changes lives through 01:21 prayer and a lot of time, Nick, I've seen prayer 01:24 help people understand when to use modern technology. 01:28 I had a person come in, the other day, to the office, 01:30 and they had a rhythm called, "atrial fibrillation." 01:33 The top part of the heart was going fast and the bottom part; 01:37 1 in 3 strokes come from this rhythm. Really? 01:41 Yeah, and about 10% of older people have this rhythm. 01:45 So they really didn't want to take any medicine 01:48 to thin out the blood, they did not want to do this. 01:52 And so I said, "Why don't you pray about it, 01:55 and ask God about it," and give them the reasons, 01:58 the risk and the benefits and after thorough discussion 02:02 through that prayer, I believe that God helped to 02:04 show them that this is a place 02:05 that He can help use modern medicine. 02:08 So God can use modern medicine to help His people. Right 02:12 God can give power to make 02:13 lifestyle changes to help see to it. 02:15 Now I like to think that is modern medicine, 02:18 but unfortunately our system doesn't practice that way. Right 02:21 And I'd like to think that some day, 02:23 as we look back in history, they're going to say, 02:25 "You know, the doctors that took care of George Washington, 02:29 if they didn't take the blood out of George, 02:31 you know - they weren't a good doctor." Sure 02:33 And if you weren't part of that crowd, 02:34 they would say, "Hey, you need to leave." 02:37 Even in the 30s, Nick, they used to recommend 02:39 cigarettes for asthma. Yeah right 02:42 So some day, I'm hoping they will look back on 02:44 physicians that try to treat from a biblical perspective 02:47 using God as the guide, they'll say, "Wow, these guys 02:50 really knew what they were doing." 02:51 There was a place for medicine, 02:53 these guys really did know what they were doing. 02:54 No one listened to them then, but there was a place for this. 02:58 And that's what we try to do, is offer that balance 03:01 and, you know, we don't know everything... 03:03 We just give the best answers we can, prayerfully, 03:06 trying to use God's Scriptures 03:09 as a guide, and that's what we're going to do 03:11 with these questions today too. Right 03:13 Well let's jump right in here... 03:14 The first viewer that we're going to answer their question. 03:16 The question is: "I have gallstones and have 03:19 had pain in my belly and my doctor wants to perform 03:22 surgery, but I'm really reluctant." 03:24 "What are some other options?" 03:26 Well, unfortunately, the gallbladder is an organ 03:29 that digests a chemical called "bile," 03:33 and it digests that and sometimes stones form in it, 03:39 and the stones can't get out and it blocks up the duct. 03:42 When the stones can't get out, it can predispose to 03:44 lots of pain because of the pressure. 03:46 You could also get infections. 03:48 So when you're having symptoms from the gallbladder, 03:51 really the natural methods are not 03:53 going to help you at that point. Right 03:55 Now sometimes, if the stones are little, 03:57 you can do some things that will help you, 03:59 and we recommend the whole food, plant-based diet. 04:03 You know, just general healthy living, 04:05 but it has gotten to the place where you do have stones, 04:07 and some people have genetic stones. Oh okay 04:09 If you have that, then I think the benefits of surgery 04:12 would outweigh the risk. 04:14 And, we got some great modern medicine for gallbladders 04:17 where they don't even have to cut you, 04:18 they do it through ports. 04:20 They use 4 ports and they go and we call it 04:22 "laparoscopic surgery." 04:24 They look in it laparoscopically and through some very 04:27 small holes, they can take the gallbladder out. 04:29 Before, it used to be a big incision; 04:31 the patient would have to be in up to a week, 04:34 but now, it's almost outpatient surgery now. 04:36 So this is a good place for modern medicine, 04:39 but remember, it doesn't fix the problem... 04:41 Modern medicine is good for genetics that we can't overcome, 04:44 and for - maybe we didn't have some good habits 04:46 earlier in our life, but now we want to 04:48 get on some good habits. Right 04:49 So this will help us to have more time, 04:51 maybe we can avoid an infection, lots of pain. 04:53 So this is a good place for modern medicine... 04:55 if you are having symptoms, the gallstones are big; 04:59 I think this is a place to really consider having it out. 05:02 Gallstones is one of those things that we might 05:03 put in the emergency category where it's too late 05:06 for natural remedies sometimes and surgery is a good option. 05:09 Really, what will help them know that is the size of the 05:12 gallbladder duct, whether the enzymes are 05:15 abnormal and whether you're having symptoms, 05:17 but if it gets to the place where you're having lots of 05:18 pain, lots of fever, the stones are big, then that's usually 05:22 a place where your surgeon would recommend having a 05:25 cholecystectomy, where they take it out laparoscopically now. 05:28 All right, we've got another question that has come in 05:31 that asks: "What are some of the symptoms of an infection?" 05:34 Yeah, and that's another great place for modern medicine 05:36 because before people had infections, they would die 05:39 from the infections. 05:41 So the symptoms mean that their 05:44 immune system is losing the battle. 05:46 Now we want to teach people to have strong immune systems, 05:49 but, you know, sometimes no matter how strong you are, 05:52 you can get overcome with infections. 05:54 We have bacterial infections, we treat those with antibiotics. 05:58 We have viral infections, we have some antivirals. 06:01 The flu is a virus - sometimes we just let 06:03 them run their course. 06:05 We have fungal infections. 06:06 We have parasitic infections, lots of infections! 06:10 But when the infections overcomes our immune system, 06:12 that's not the time to say, "Well, let's do something 06:15 to help us out." 06:17 The symptom of an infection might be "fevers," 06:20 that's the body itself trying to knock down the infection. 06:23 A fever would be one - a person would be weak. 06:26 Depending on where the infection is, that might clue someone is. 06:30 If a person has an infection in the bowels, 06:32 they might have diarrhea. 06:34 Of course, if you have it on the hand, 06:36 you might see red streaks, you might have a fever. 06:39 If you have an infection in an ear, 06:41 you might have an earache. 06:43 If you have an infection in the back of your throat, 06:45 you might see pus back there 06:46 or you might actually see the infection. Right 06:49 So symptoms of infection are usually a fever... 06:53 Sometimes if the infection gets in the bloodstream, 06:55 you can have rigors which is shaking all over. 06:57 You can have a fast heartbeat 06:59 as the body tries to compensate for an infection. 07:02 So these are just some symptoms of an infection, 07:04 and sometimes you'll see it on your body. 07:06 If it's inside your body, you can't see that; 07:08 sometimes you might have pain in a certain part of the body 07:11 from the infection, but usually you have fevers. 07:14 Fevers and a fast heart rate are some of the characteristic 07:17 signs of an infection. 07:18 Now lots of other things can do it too, 07:20 but infections are right at the high end of causing fevers. 07:24 We've got another question that actually talks about the 07:26 pacemaker which you showed us earlier. 07:29 They say, "My mom is 95 and has a pacemaker, 07:32 how will I know when it needs to be replaced?" 07:35 Do you have to replace these every certain amount of years? 07:38 How does that work? Yeah Nick... 07:39 They have a battery in it and pacemakers, again, 07:42 are a place for modern medicine because 07:43 if she would not have had the pacemaker, 07:45 years ago her heart would have stopped. Right 07:47 But every 6, 7 or 8 years, depending on how much it is, 07:50 we check the battery function of the pacemaker with the device, 07:54 we check on the phone every month. 07:56 In person, we usually check once or twice a year. 07:58 So we can tell when the battery needs to be replaced, 08:01 and we get the pacemaker replaced long before. 08:04 It's sort of like changing a car battery, Nick. Right 08:06 You know, you sort of can tell it needs to be changed 08:08 you put the new battery in, you hook the wires up, 08:10 and it's a one day procedure. 08:12 It's a lot easier replacing the battery 08:14 than it is putting in the leads. 08:17 So we check it regularly in the office 08:19 and that gives us a feel how much battery life it has in it. 08:23 Our next question is kind of similar... 08:25 Someone has had a cardiac stent that is 2 years old, 08:28 and they are taking a blood thinner, 08:30 and they are wondering... Will they need to take the 08:32 blood thinner for the rest of their life. 08:34 Yeah, and again, remember stents are needed 08:37 in emergency situations sometimes. Right 08:39 But when we have a stent in, we've changed 08:42 one problem for another problem. 08:43 So we might have had coronary disease or a heart attack, 08:46 but now we have stent disease because a stent 08:48 actually damages the blood vessel. 08:50 And when the blood vessel is damaged, 08:53 Guess what happens? You'll want to clot. 08:55 You know, if I took my reflex camera and cut you and 08:59 damaged you, your blood would want to clot. Right 09:01 And if it wants to clot, that's good, 09:04 but if it's inside a blood vessel, 09:06 it keeps blood from flowing downstream. Right 09:08 That's bad - so when a stent goes in, 09:11 the blood wants to clot... so, depending on where the 09:14 stent is, how big it is and other circumstances, 09:17 your doctor will probably want to put you on some type 09:19 of blood thinner medicine. 09:21 There's one out there, the mildest one is called "aspirin." 09:24 We have one that's usually the first year 09:26 that they take the stent in, the healing the first year, 09:30 what happens is the stent sees the blood, 09:32 but the blood coats itself over it, 09:36 and that gives it more protection because the blood 09:37 stream does not see the stent as easily. 09:40 But during that first year, we give extra protection 09:43 with blood thinners - one is called, "Plavix," 09:44 another one is called, "Brilinta," 09:47 and there are several other types of blood thinners 09:49 that we add to that Plavix. 09:50 And usually after the year, depending on the circumstances, 09:53 we can cut back to an aspirin. 09:56 There are some circumstances where we say, "No, 09:58 we think the risk of being on blood thinners 10:01 are worth the benefits," and we have them on more than one, 10:04 and that would be in a smoker 10:05 or if the artery was in a bad position. 10:08 We'd say the risk of something happening within the stent 10:11 is greater than the risk of taking blood thinners. 10:14 And, of course, the main risk of blood thinners is bleeding. 10:17 Now we don't like to give any medicines including 10:20 blood thinners, but sometimes the benefits 10:23 of the blood thinners outweigh the risk of the blood thinners 10:26 in some stent cases, but it's a great place 10:28 for modern medicine because if the wouldn't have had 10:30 the stent, they might have died from a heart attack. 10:33 Now we know that water is important to the consistency 10:35 of your blood - is that also really important 10:37 after you've had a stent in? 10:40 It's always important to drink water. 10:41 Always! Regardless of what procedure you've had. 10:43 Sixty to 65% of our body is water. 10:47 When you don't drink enough water, guess what? 10:49 Stress happens in the body. 10:51 When stress happens long-term, it does damage... 10:53 Every cell needs water to work, so, yes, 10:55 it's important to keep the blood thin. 10:57 About 80 to 85% of the blood stream is water. Yeah! 11:01 So, you know, if you are passing out and getting dizzy, 11:05 low blood pressure - you'll want to drink water. 11:07 So it helps lots of different things. Right 11:09 But that's, again Nick, that's a place for modern medicine. 11:12 Not that it fixed the problem, but it helps deal with 11:15 the problem, so now we can work with that patient and say, 11:17 "Listen, you had coronary disease, 11:19 now, unfortunately, you have stent disease, 11:21 but what can we do to help you never need 11:24 to have another stent ever again? Right 11:27 We've got another question here and it says: 11:29 "I used to smoke and I have COPD; I wear an oxygen mask 11:33 at night, should I wear it also during the day?" 11:36 Well COPD is "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease," 11:40 that's where the lungs have been damaged. 11:42 Sometimes most likely it has been damaged by smoke, 11:46 but some inhalants can cause it as well. 11:49 Some chronic allergies can cause it. 11:51 Sometimes genetic things can cause it. Right 11:53 There is an Alpha antitrypsin deficiency that can cause 11:57 damage to the lungs, but anyway, 11:58 again, this is a place that's great for modern medicine. 12:02 You mentioned the body loves oxygen, 12:04 what's another thing the body loves? 12:06 Oxygen! Yeah, oxygen. 12:09 Water! Water and oxygen, 12:10 the basics. Right 12:12 So the body loves oxygen, so if you're running low 12:15 on oxygen, we can measure it. 12:16 It's a great place for modern medicine. 12:19 What did we do before we had 12:21 modern medicine and modern oxygen? 12:23 People would run out of oxygen, they would gradually get worse, 12:26 the cells wouldn't have what they would need, 12:27 and they would die premature deaths. Right 12:30 So I want everyone to remember, we need oxygen, 12:32 water and another thing we always need is enough rest. 12:35 Those are sort of the basics of care. 12:37 But again, this is another great place for modern medicine. 12:40 The lungs might have been damaged and he 12:42 can still live a fulfilling life. 12:44 He can help himself to be healthy. 12:45 Now other things that can help oxygen delivery 12:48 is taking deep breaths... holding it... 2 or 3 seconds, 12:53 letting out slowly, learning to deep breathe 12:55 that will help oxygen open up the air sacs 12:58 so we would get more oxygen. 12:59 An exercise program because it makes the blood vessels 13:01 do better. 13:03 So all those are little things in addition to oxygen 13:05 so he might not need to wear oxygen quite as much. 13:08 We've got another viewer who asks: 13:10 What actually is a "ventilator" and if one is put on 13:13 the device, is it permanent?" 13:14 Yeah and this is another place for modern medicine. 13:18 I see lots of people that are on ventilators 13:20 because their lungs don't work well. 13:22 So we sort of put them on a ventilator to see if we 13:25 can get the lungs better. 13:26 If it's due to heart failure or fluid in the lungs, 13:28 sometimes we give them fluid pills and get their heart better 13:31 and they don't need to be on the ventilator very long. 13:33 Sometimes it's due to infection. 13:35 Some people actually have trauma to their lungs 13:38 and they pop a lung - that's called a "pneumothorax." 13:40 I was taking care of a bicycle rider about 3 months ago, 13:44 he was riding his bike; he went over the handlebars... 13:47 I know you ride the bike. 13:48 Yeah, that's happened to me once or twice. 13:50 Yeah and he actually popped his lung. Really 13:51 And when he popped his lung, all the air rushed out 13:54 of his lung and squished it. 13:56 And his other lung didn't do very good, 13:58 and he needed to be on the ventilator for a short 14:00 period of time until we put a chest tube in 14:02 and then his lung expanded again. 14:04 So that was a place for modern medicine. 14:06 He is doing fine today. 14:08 He is not taking as many chances on his bicycle, 14:10 but, yes, a ventilator might not be permanent 14:13 if we can get at the underlying cause. 14:16 Dialysis is another one, that's another place 14:19 for modern medicine because before people had these 14:21 interventions, they would pass away. 14:23 Now, it doesn't necessarily fix the problem, 14:26 but it buys us time until we can hopefully 14:28 fix the underlying cause of the illness. 14:30 So ventilators maybe not permanently, 14:33 depending on what caused you to be on it. 14:34 We have time just for one more question... 14:37 It says, "I have polycystic kidney disease, 14:40 they expect dialysis will be needed, 14:42 are there other options to dialysis?" 14:43 Yeah and that's another great question for modern medicine. 14:48 Before we had dialysis and transplants, 14:51 guess what happened? 14:53 People would die of kidney disease 14:55 like polycystic kidney disease. 14:57 That's often genetically passed from one person. 14:59 You get lots of cysts or fluid-filled cavities 15:02 in the kidneys so the kidney doesn't work well. 15:05 Sometimes the kidney function goes down so much 15:08 that they need dialysis. 15:10 But is there an alternative dialysis? 15:13 Yes, and that's transplants and we have lots of places 15:16 for modern medicine where we can transplant an organ. 15:19 We have kidneys that can be transplanted, 15:21 corneas that can be transplanted. 15:23 They can transplant livers. 15:25 We could transplant heart and lungs, 15:27 and we don't like to do that, but transplants are possible 15:31 in some situations and this is 15:33 a great place for modern medicine. 15:35 Does the transplant or the dialysis take away 15:38 the polycystic kidneys? No, it does not, 15:41 but it gives this person another chance to do well, 15:44 overcome some genetics, overcome something bad that 15:46 has happened in their life. 15:48 So this is another great place for modern medicine. 15:51 Well it sounds like we are very fortunate to have 15:53 all the advancements and medicines that we do, 15:55 and there is definitely a lot of places where 15:57 it's really important to use modern medicine. It is 16:00 All right, we're going to be back in just a moment as 16:02 Dr. Marcum closes the program with prayer - stay with us. 16:09 Modern medicine can definitely be overwhelming. 16:16 You see all these advances in genetics and new procedures 16:20 and new pills and we've talked a little bit today 16:23 about the place for modern medicine... 16:25 And there is a place for modern medicine, 16:27 and that place is to help get us over the hump, 16:30 to help a disaster, to help bad genetics, 16:32 there is a place for modern medicine. 16:34 I hope you never need modern medicine, but thank goodness 16:37 God has given us men and women to advance technology 16:40 to do these types of things. 16:42 And who knows where modern 16:44 technology will go in the future... 16:46 But the important thing that I really want us all to focus on 16:49 is that Ultimate Prescription that we have 16:51 with the Heavenly Father. 16:52 So even if modern medicine 16:54 doesn't work out, we still have hope. 16:56 We still know that there is going to be 16:57 permanent healing. So let's pray together... 17:00 Heavenly Father, Thank you for giving us modern 17:03 medicine and giving us the wisdom through You 17:06 to learn how to use it appropriately, Father... 17:08 And we want to thank You for being a God that loves us 17:11 and takes care of us and wants to enter into a healing 17:14 relationship with us, Father, and there might be some 17:16 out there that need You in a special way today. 17:19 We want to pray for them that You be especially near to them 17:22 and speak to their hearts. 17:24 And thank You for giving us this opportunity to serve You today 17:27 is our humble prayer... Amen |
Revised 2016-10-06