Ha, drwtsn32, you must be a doctor! It's ok - I actually like some doctors.
Actually I'm not a doctor. Not even close. :) I am a skeptical thinker with a strong interest in medical claims though.
The good thing is that eventually, after listening to this 'anecdotal evidence' for several years, blind, double-blind and controlled studies are being 'considered' and from what I understand, already in the works re: the bee venom therapy.
There is certainly nothing wrong with anecdotes leading to studies being performed. Who knows, it could work! But controlled studies HAVE been done on bee sting therapy, and they have been shown to be ineffective in helping MS.
You bring up a good point about blinding the study though... it does seem like it'd be difficult to properly blind it. But they have figured out how to blind acupuncture trials..... so who knows.
... and then when things go sour and you have a 'couple of deaths', do a recall, and let the still living sue for 'damages'.
Are you serious? The millions of dollars spent doing legitimate medical research is partly to help ensure something is not dangerous (not to mention truly effective). Do things sometimes slip through the cracks? Yes. But you don't really suggest that we go to a system where things are promoted without being tested, right?
Remember, anything that affects your physiology has the potential to affect it negatively, too. That includes alternative treatments.
The conspiracy is not to keep 'people sick'; it's to keep the drug cartels in business, whatever it takes...and PROMOTION is the key.
There's no difference, IMO. It's still the idea that there's a conspiracy. The opposite would be to say the promoters of "alternative" therapies are trying to get rich without doing any real work. They probably didn't go to medical school, and they are promoting unproven and sometimes dangerous treatments. The are under almost no regulation by the government which I think definitely needs to change.
Sorry to side track this thread...