Follow up on Dr. Whitcomb & NRCT
So that happened!
I intended to write this follow-up post on my experience with Dr. Whitcomb and his Neurologic Relief Centers Technique last Monday, but have been sidelined by a bad flare-up. Yes, I do attribute my flare to the workshop and testing technique, but even so, I intend to give you a fair account of the workshop, although as with everything on my blog, it will be full of my opinions. It may be a lot to follow, so I hope I have managed to present a readable review.
The logistics of the day went like this:
I was initially invited to the workshop by a local acupuncturist who I will call “Dr. J.” The workshop began at 1PM on Friday, July 24. The local acupuncturist as well as several other local chiropractors actually paid for a training session with Whitcomb. They spent all of Thursday and Friday morning training to learn his technique. Then at 1PM on Friday, myself and the other patients whom each practitioner invited arrived for a lecture by Whitcomb. After the hour long presentation, we broke off with the practitioner who invited us to be tested to see if the technique would benefit us.
So What is This Technique?
The technique involves several minutes of firm pressure to either the anterior or posterior neck trigger points. The pressure is intended to release the tension on the nerves that travel through the meninges, and relive the pain and symptoms this tension causes. Whitcomb attributes most symptoms of FM to this compression. His name for this is meningeal compression, which he uses interchangeably with Fibromyalgia.
I brought three of my support group members with me. As you can imagine, given my impression of Paul Whitcomb and his clinic, I approached this event with a healthy amount of skepticism. Adding to my skepticism was the information one of my resourceful members shared with me about Whitcomb. He is still under investigation by the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners. There is still a possibility that he may lose his license for charges of administering “excessive treatment” and making “sensational statements which are intended to deceive the public.” He has recently closed his practice in South Lake Tahoe and is traveling nationwide to teach his technique. The reason he gave during the presentation for this move is to eliminate the need for patients to travel to him.
Whitcomb’s Presentation
The presentation Whitcomb gave was full of dramatizations: “Fibromyalgia patients are closest to prisoners of war.” “The Fibromyalgia patients who came to my clinic did not want to continue living.” “Eighteen percent of Fibromyalgia patients commit suicide.” I am really curious to know where he got that number, but unfortunately he did not allow for Q & A. He never once described Fibromyalgia patients as type A, as givers, or as overachievers, which in my experience is closer to the truth. Instead he painted a very bleak and desperate picture of us. Most of his claims were dramatic and over-the-top. He did not share anything about FM that I did not already know, but he did supply us with many statistics about his practice and the tremendous results he gets; such as 85% of his patients remain symptom free, only 6% lost the benefit of his correction and treatment after leaving his clinic. It makes me wonder why he would choose to close up shop.
As we moved on to the testing part of the workshop, we were all required to sign a waiver agreeing to let our test be recorded on video and used at their discretion. I refused, as did the other members of my group. I attended this workshop to research and share as much information as I could about Whitcomb’s technique. I would not agree to have my image shown in support of it and without my knowledge. Dr. J expressed our concern and they agreed to let him test us without being filmed.
I think because we were not being filmed, Whitcomb basically left Dr. J on his own, while paying closer attention to the chiropractors he trained and their patients who were being filmed. Also, Whitcomb unfairly sold Dr. J on training with him. He told Dr. J that “the test is the technique,” but then during the presentation he said just the opposite, because the chiros learning the technique also learned a particular adjustment that an acupuncturist like Dr. J is not legally qualified to perform. When I questioned Dr. J about this he said, “Yeah, I guess he kind of fooled me there.” So the “technique” that Dr. J paid to learn and implement into his practice is not complete. I really feel like Whitcomb snowballed Dr. J and any other non-chiro who paid to learn his technique.
And Now I Share Why I Have Been in a Flare
My first instinct was to not be tested, and I wish I had followed it. Instead I sat and watched many patients receive the technique and seemingly have instant improvements. One older gentleman with Parkinson’s had a noticeable reduction in his tremors. Another man was able to lift his arm above his head for the first time in months. I should note that we were not all fibromyalgia patients in the room, although the presentation was geared specifically to FM. After observing for some time, I was just too curious to opt out, so I hopped up on the table and let Dr. J proceed. After a short palpation he concluded I was sorest and tightest at the trigger points on the side of my neck below my ears. I concurred with this assessment.
He used metal rods with soft ends to place steady, firm pressure on my neck for five minutes. It did not take long for me to begin to feel nauseous. I tried to breath through it. Dr. J frequently check with me to see if I had a reduction in pain. I had rated my pain a 6 on the 1-10 scale, with 10 being worst. That day my neck, head, shoulders, upper back and hips were painful. I did not feel any change as I laid there. He asked me to focus on my hips. Laying still I felt no difference, but when I moved my hips, I eventually felt a reduction in pain. After the test, upon standing, my right hip was free from pain, and my left was improved. There was no improvement to my neck, head, shoulders or upper back.
I remained nauseous for sometime after the test. I had driven my members, and did not feel well enough to drive right away, so it gave us an opportunity to stay and talk about the workshop. The test had zero effect on two of my members, and two of us had a slight decrease in our symptoms. For one member the pressure was too painful to bear. Her pain level had been very low to start the day, and after her reaction to the test, Whitcomb remarked he wasn’t sure why she was even being tested if she had no pain. He told the second member who did not experience any relief that she was just being difficult. When I remarked to him that I did not experience any relief in my upper body he said I just needed to have the test performed longer. We all felt underwhelmed by the experience. It did nothing to change my opinion of him that his care for FM patients is motivated most heavily by his bottom line.
Conclusion
The proposed follow-up with Dr. J was to involve an initial consultation, and then three consecutive days of treatment, which would require three visits each day. After the three days of visits he would reevaluate and propose further treatment. It is expected to take weeks or months for complete healing, and then there is likely to be maintenance to assure the meningeal release holds. Given that I have been in a flare since receiving the test at the workshop, and that the improvement I felt in my hips lasted only an hour or two, I called Dr. J and told him I was not interested in pursuing this treatment. He then told me hed decided not to implement the technique into his practice, and that he too was underwhelmed by the experience. I have to say I think he made a very wise decision.
So there you have my experience and my opinion on the matter. I feel like a little guinea pig, but I am happy to have had this experience to share. When Whitcomb had his Web site up, there were a lot of testimonials of people who swear by his technique. One of my members who attended the workshop has personally spoken with several of his former patients who claim to be symptoms free. She was considering attending his clinic and did a tremendous amount of research. She was the most hopeful of us last Friday that his technique would benefit her, but unfortunately she was one of the two it did not.
If Whitcomb comes to your community to teach his technique, I cannot recommend that you attend his workshop, but as we all know, what works for one will not for the other. Even after this particularly bad flare, I still plan to keep an open mind about treatment options available and useful to us. But I most certainly will not be having my meninges released anytime soon!
NOTE: On Tuesday October 27, FibroHaven was moved from a WordPress domain to its own URL. In doing so the comments of each and every post have been affected. They are no longer chronological or nested (if they were a direct reply to a previous comment). It happened on each post, but because this particular post has been so active it is especially troublesome to try and follow the comments logically. I apologize for this confusion and we are trying to fix it, but it appears it may not be possible.
I can assure you no censoring or editing of comments has occurred. If you are interested and brave enough, feel free to read the comments and try to piece them together. I do warn you against taking things out of context as that has already happened. To avoid any more confusion, I am turning off comments on this post until the issue is resolved. If you have something you absolutely must say in response to this, feel free to email me at fibrohaven@gmail.com.
Cheers,
Dannette
10/28/09
Link still not working. Let me try again w/o the period at the end of the sentence.
http://www.quackwatch.org/03HealthPromotion/fibromyalgia/fms06.html.
At least I can comment again!
What, exactly, did I “regurgitate” about him tat wasn’t true? In my opinion, Stephen Barret is rabidly anti- alternative healthcare and pro- medicine. Anyone is welcome to go to quackwatch and make up their own minds. Here are a few more highlights.
As posted by http://www.publichealthalert.org
“The folks at Quackwatch claim they have no financial and or political ties to government/corporations. Anyone can say this, but it would be difficult to prove. Actions, attitudes and results speak louder than words. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” From what I’ve read on this website, it appears that the writers are extremely onesided in their views and seem inclined to attack and ridicule.
They speak a lot about “approved studies” and base many of their conclusions on these studies, many of which are carried out by universities and government agencies, which are funded by the drug companies. Of course, many drug companies directly carry out their own research studies. Doesn’t it seem very likely that their studies would be heavily biased?”
as posted on http://www.healthiertalk.com and forwarded by Dr. Saul Pressman
“Quackbuster Barrett Loses Appeal, Leaves Town
Self-proclaimed Quackbuster, Stephen Barrett, MD, who was recently handed
crushing defeats by chiropractor Tedd Koren and Ilena Rosenthal, has
announced he is leaving his home town and operating base in Allentown,
Pennsylvania.
On June 11th, 2007, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a lower
court dismissal of Barrett’s defamation suite against Dr. Koren. Barrett’s
case was so lacking in merit the judge blocked it from going to the jury.
Barrett simply had no case against Dr. Koren.
This followed another stunning defeat last month in California. There an
appeals court ordered Barrett and crony Terry Polevoy, MD to post bonds of
more than $400,000.00 after they lost a defamation case against Illena
Rosenthal virtually identical to the Koren case.
Perhaps the fact that lawyers and judges in Allentown are catching on to his
intimidation schemes explains why Barrett is moving to Chapel Hill, North
Carolina. Barrett can run but he can’t hide. Chapel Hill collection
attorneys are already being asked to locate his assets to pay his unmet
legal obligations. Assets of other Quackwatch, Inc., principals might also
be sought.
Who Is Steven Barrett, What Are Quackbusters?
Steven Barrett is an unlicensed Pennsylvania psychiatrist, who, though he
failed his psychiatric board exams and has been criticized for his lack of
expertise by several courts, still claims to often advise the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the FBI, State
Attorneys General, HMOs, Consumer Reports, medical journals and state
medical, chiropractic and dental boards.
The insurance industry cites Barrett’s highly opinionated “Quackbuster”
attacks to deny paying claims for natural healthcare.
Barrett and the “Quackbusters,” a vigilante group of self- proclaimed
skeptics of any medical or health modality that is not drugs, surgery or
radiation, attack almost all non-conventional healthcare practices as
quackery. Ignoring all scientific research to the contrary, they dismiss
Gulf War Syndrome, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Chemical Sensitivity,
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and dietary supplements as rubbish. Nobel Prize
winner Linus Pauling is on their “quack” list along with many well known
and respected doctors and scientists, including Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil,
and dozens of others.
Barrett claims to give over 500 interviews a year to newspapers, magazines,
and television shows, including CNN and the Today Show. He claims to have
been a peer reviewer for seven medical journals, including the Journal of
the American Medical Association, even though he had no license to practice
medicine when he did the reviewing.
The Quackbusters run over 70 websites. Millions of people go to them every
year. Look up chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathy or even vitamin C, as
well as almost every other natural health topic, on the Internet and you
(and the public) will be led to Quackbuster sites advising you of natural
health “dangers.”
In all these forums Barrett and the Quackbusters relentlessly attack the
consumer right to informed choice. These activities continue the AMA’s
anti-quackery committee’s activities that were struck down by federal courts
as an illegal restraint of trade in a landmark lawsuit brought by Illinois
chiropractor Chester Wilk. They also help insurance companies deny consumer
reimbursement claims.
At the same time, Barrett shills for products like aspartame (NutraSweet),
which is the subject of tens of thousands of consumer complaints.
Question (asked on Barrett’s web site): “An email message is being
circulated with many statements to the effect that aspartame is dangerous.
How worried should I be?”
Answer (from Barrett): “Not at all. The message is pure rubbish.”
What Did Dr. Koren Do to Provoke Barrett’s Shakedown?
Dr. Tedd Koren is a well-known chiropractor, researcher, writer and
lecturer. Barrett sued Dr. Koren in 2003 for calling him a Quackpot; saying
he was in big trouble because of a racketeering law suit brought against
him; and attacking his lack of a medical license in his internet newsletter.
The trial judge and three appeals judges agreed unanimously that these
statements were so far from defamation that no jury could be legally allowed
to call them defamation. Dr. Koren also said Barrett was “delicensed.” One
of the three appeals courts judges thought a jury might be able to find this
to be defamation. However two appellate judges disagreed and jurors
interviewed after the trial said they too saw through Barrett and felt that
he was a litigious, ungrounded and biased denier of the truth.
In part jurors formed this view because Barrett testified in the Koren case
that he had sued many doctors – close to forty !- in similar cases,
demanding up to $100,000 if they wished to avoid a costly court trial. Some
paid up – how many is yet to be discovered. Drs. Koren and Rosenthal and a
few others did not. Barrett has failed to win a single lawsuit in this
shakedown scheme in any of the cases that actually went to trial.
Dr. Koren’s Legal Team
Well known consumer advocate, James S. (Jim) Turner, general counsel to
Koren Publications, who several years earlier had persuaded the FTC to drop
an investigation against Dr. Koren (brought at a time when Barrett was a
consultant to the FTC), organized and coordinated the legal team that
represented Dr. Koren. Attorney Christopher Reid of Allentown, Pennsylvania
acted as associate trial counsel and appellate counsel and California health
freedom attorney Carlos Negrete acted as trial counsel.
Mr. Negrete said, “Fortunately for all of his colleagues, Dr. Koren decided
not to back down and took the case to trial. Barrett is part of a group of
intolerant individuals. I am not certain who the supporters of the so-called
Quackbusters are, but they seem to me to be just skinheads with
stethoscopes.”
During heated and often dramatic courtroom proceedings, Mr. Negrete pointed
out many of the questionable statements Barrett includes on his websites
attacking chiropractic, as well as facts about Barrett’s own credentials
that shocked even his supporters.
Mr. Turner says, “It is very important that a very responsible judge in
Barrett’s hometown recognized that he was making false allegations and
dismissed the case. Barrett has cost unknown numbers of consumers pain,
anguish and probably serious harm by his misrepresentation of the facts
about subjects ranging from acupuncture to zinc.”
Mr. Turner, who among other campaigns:
- led the team that got acupuncture needles approved as safe by FDA,
- worked with a Senate committee to abolish the dysfunctional vaccine
regulatory agency,
- worked with whistleblowers to stop the Swine Flu inoculation campaign,
- kept aspartame off the market for ten years, and
- played a key role in lobbying the Organic Food Production Act through
Congress, says,
“Our objective is to end Barrett’s abuse of consumers by eliminating the
false and misleading information from his website and his entire network of
websites and replacing it with sound, useful information for consumers.”
Says Dr. Koren, “This is just the beginning. Just as the FTC battle was not
about Tedd Koren alone but had ramifications for the entire chiropractic and
natural health professions so the Barrett v. Koren battle will have major
ramifications for all. We’re going to give the Quackbusters a taste of their
own medicine. They’ll learn how dangerous medicine can be.”
“Our mission is not just about revealing the Quackbusters to be the
unscientific bigots that they are. We are fighting for health care freedom.
One of our goals is to permit parents to make sound decisions about
vaccination for their children. There are too many sound health reasons for
children to avoid vaccination and the government has recognized too many
vaccine caused deaths and maimings (over $1.5 billion of compensation has
been paid to bereaved families by the federal vaccine injury compensation
system since 1988) to allow a non-vaccinated child to be refused day care,
school, college, or employment,” says Dr. Koren. ”
http://www.chiroweb.com
“Carlos Negrete is extremely active in his pursuit against Dr. Barrett. According to his Web site (www.healthfreedomlaw.com), Mr. Negrete has been involved in numerous lawsuits with Barrett, including:
In June 2001, Barrett dismissed his libel suit against Dr. Joseph Mercola, DO, just days before the trial date. In July 2001, an Alemeda County (Calif.) judge threw out Barrett’s libel lawsuit against Ilena Rosenthal, awarding Rosenthal attorney’s fees against Barrett.
In November 2002, a federal court judge in Eugene, Ore., ruled that Barrett is a “public figure” and dismissed Barrett’s $100,000 defamation lawsuit against anti-fluoridation advocate Darlene Sherrell.
In April 2003, the California Court of Appeals handed down a landmark decision in favor of homeopathy and against Barrett’s National Council Against Health Fraud (www.chiroweb.com/archives/21/13/22.html). The lawsuit was against King Bio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its president, Dr. Frank J. King Jr., ND, DC, for false and misleading advertisement and unfair competition. The court upheld a Superior Court ruling issued in December 2001, in which NCAHF failed to provide any supportive evidence that homeopathic remedies produced and marketed by Dr. King’s company were ineffective.
After his latest victory, Mr. Negrete had much to say:
“Stephen Barrett is part of a group of intolerant individuals that have labeled chiropractic as ‘Quackery.’ Even though they purport to be ‘experts,’ they generally have no training or even understanding of chiropractic. Ultimately, there is a danger that the ‘big lie’ that they spread could potentially be misinterpreted by the consumer and those that could benefit from treatment. Barrett is, perhaps, the most visible nemesis of chiropractic in this country. He is media savvy and has been regarded as the voice of anti-chiropractic advocacy.
“Dr. Koren, I am proud to say, had the courage and vision to stand up to Barrett and published revelations about this so called ‘expert.’ Dr. Koren published the little-known fact that Barrett, even though boasting he was a ‘medical expert,’ did not have a medical license himself since the early 1990s. This is something that infuriated Barrett to the point that he filed this meritless libel lawsuit against Dr. Koren, I believe to silence him and get money. Fortunately for all of his colleagues, Dr. Koren persevered and decided not to back down and took the case to trial.
“Indeed, in going to trial, Dr. Koren was able to de-bunk the de-bunker. At trial, while on the stand, Barrett had to admit that he not only gave up his license in 1994, but that he was, in fact, not a board-certified psychiatrist, because he had flunked the examination that was required to receive certification. More significantly, under intense cross-examination, Barrett admitted that he did not pass the neurological portion of the exam.
“Barrett has filed countless cases around the country against complementary health care professionals or supplement companies. Barrett admitted at trial that he has sued ‘approximately’ 40 people for libel alone. He has sued so many people that he could not even remember or testify as to how many he sued. Many of these never got to trial or were dismissed. Some of those cases unfortunately resulted in settlements by insurance companies and people that believed that it was “cheaper” to just pay someone off, rather that stand up to convictions. That is unfortunate and presumably inspired the continued filing of frivolous lawsuits. I have been blessed by having clients that believed in what they said or did and took ‘no settlement’ positions and, instead, stood their ground to fight the menace. I am pleased to disclose that our firm has not settled any case with Barrett or his affiliate entities. We take no prisoners when our clients are attacked.
“Frankly, I am not certain who the supporters of the so-called Quackbusters are comprised of, but they seem to me to be just skinheads with stethoscopes around their necks. They are distinguished by the narrow and simple-minded intolerance of chiropractic. Chiropractors have brought no harm to them, why then do they feel it is so important to minimize the benefits of an entire, well-established healing art? These people have, for years, threatened, intimidated and harassed anyone that is not obedient and accepting of their banter. Finally, there has been a loud voice to silence their bullying tactics. All chiropractors can take in a breath of fresh air.”
I have said enough on this topic. There is so much bias agains alternative medicine and chiropractic. I am so tired of fighting this same old battle.
The answer here is really simple. If you don’t believe there is anything to this treatment, don’t do it! Don’t read about it! Spend your time studying other ways to get better. Spend it on positive things.
I will not be posting on here again, but enjoyed meeting some of you, and wish you all good health.
Have a great weekend.
I blocked my comment notification to the comments on this particular post a few days ago and they’re still coming through loud and clear. Is WordPress having a moment or is it me?
I think this was an interesting conversation…but it’s played itself out and it has digressed and I’m done. Actually I was done once Katinka started marveling over her total success with the technique.
The whole putting Whitcomb on a pedastal only to change the rules and told everyone to only look at the technique, not the man(who’s blog is this, anyhow?) made me roll my eyes. And then to start bashing someone else over his opinion of Whitcomb (even thought what was posted what appears to be a direct quote from the administrative law judge, not Barrett’s opinion). I swear it’s like watching a train wreck.
Anyone know how to convince WordPress that I’m done hearing about this? I tried to “block” the subscription to the post within WP but that obviously didn’t work. Yes, I could hit delete w/o reading but it is a fascinating train wreck even though watching it serves no useful purpose.
“The answer here is really simple. If you don’t believe there is anything to this treatment, don’t do it! Don’t read about it! Spend your time studying other ways to get better. Spend it on positive things.”
This statement brings a quote to my mind:
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
Edmund Burke
I won’t be posting on here any longer – this has gotten ridiculous. I looked on here cause I wanted to see others responses to the treatment. Fibrohaven and Katinka I really enjoyed reading your posts. I wish all of you luck in what ever you are searching for. As for me I believe I have found the answer in the treatment. It is working for me and has improved my quality of life like you would not believe. I am moving forward and recommending this treatment to others. I personally know of others who are getting remarkable improvement with the treatment.
Ta ta all
Jeanette
Please find me on Facebook if you want. (Others on here have.) Just search for Katinka Connors. I would love to stay in touch with you.
Katinka
A few words to the wise… Whitcomb and the technique is completely Scientology. It’s all about money and a NOT-permanent “cure”. After they take you for thousands, you’ll still be sick. Everyone in the videos is a Scientologist.
I have seen the “miracles” with NRCT, too, but they don’t last and we should all be wondering just what kind of damage such a technique might actually be doing to our necks, spines, meninges and nerves. There is NO research on this. After almost 10 years, Whitcomb hasn’t published a darn thing. THAT should tell us all something.
It is absolutely NOT true that everyone in the videos is a Scientologist. I know lots of them. Please get your facts right before shouting them all over the internet.
I’m Stephen Barrett’s daughter and stumbled upon this discussion board while searching for something else. While you may or may not agree with my father’s stance on some issues, much of what I read above is inaccurate information. For example, he never failed his boards or had any difficulty with employment. My father scaled back his psychiatric practice as he became more involved in his writing and research, which he does for altruistic and not monetary gains. He is a good man, generous to those who call upon him (and there are many), passionate about aiding the underdog, infuriated when people are taken advantage of, especially when they are vulnerable. As someone noted, I do indeed have fibromyalgia. He has been a huge advocate for me. When I was at my most disabled, I moved back home, where my father helped in any way he could. He still does.
Because he puts himself and his work out there, he sometimes encounters critics and even libel. He has a sense of humor about this and admirable transparency — just check out the “cheers and jeers” section of his quackwatch website. He has posted there some mean-spirited comments that, as his daugther, were difficult to read. Everyone has a right to an opinion. But the above comments contained many factual errors and spins. For example, my father moved to North Carolina to be closer to me and my family, and not for any of the ludicrous reasons described above. While his views may be strong, he is much more open minded than his portrayal. His bias is to believe things that have been demonstrated to be effective by scientific standards. He His own lifestyle emphasizes a deliberately low-fat, high fiber diet, regular exercise, and supplements that are healthful to his life stage and circumstances.
I have no plans to return to this website. However, it did not feel okay to move on without responding to the venom I found here.
Debbie,
I am glad you took the opportunity to respond to what you read about your father.
I just find it too bad that you are taking the comments from ONE reader of my blog and determining that my entire blog is not worth returning to. This seems similar to the type of unfair criticism your father has received. Upon careful reading you should have noted that this blog is dedicated to encouraging and inspiring people with Fibromyalgia. It is a very positive space.
This particular post on Dr. Whitcomb is not an accurate reflection of my entire blog, and I personally said nothing negative about your father. I know little of him except his criticism of Whitcomb, of whom I am equally critical.
Hi Dannette,
Oh, my apologies. I’m very glad that you explained how you interpreted my comments. I did not mean to dismiss your blog or its credibility. I think you offer a very important forum and appreciate your tremendous support for people with pain. (We need that!) What I meant when I wrote was that I am not interested right now in engaging further in a dialog on this particular topic (my father’s reputation). I’m sure all of the readers understand that time and energy are scarce — and as someone with pain, two kids, two jobs, a relationship, and desires for a social life, I can spread myself too thin! If you have not already posted my comments, please feel free to remove that part. I just don’t want folks to expect that I will necessarily return to comment on future responses. I’d feel bad if they wrote expecting me to comment further and I did not. Make sense? Thank you, Debbie
Thanks Debbie for the clarification. I work so hard to share information and encouragement that I would hate for someone to judge my blog by a readers comment. That entire Whitcomb post got out of control, but I did not feel comfortable letting one person comment while censoring another. I just let it play out. Sorry it touched you personally.
I do appreciate that you are reserving your energy for what is important in your life – friends, family, work – and not burning yourself out debating with short-sighted people. Good for you. Thanks for the email. I really appreciate it.
Take care of yourself!
My Best,
Dannette
Dannette:
My suggestion to you is that you discourage the “personal” issues surrounding health care and its players – and stay focused on the things that might help. People with fibromyalgia, and other debilitating health issues, need ideas, information, and positive reinforcement – not negativity and bad feelings.
In a sense you brought this ill feeling discussion on yourself when you switched from focusing on Whitcomb’s technique to what happened to Whitcomb himself with the California Chiropractic Board. Katinka rightfully pointed out that the board, itself, was, just after the Whitcomb trial, investigated for massive corruption – and the Governor forced massive changes – including the firing of the board’s Executive Director who had signed the complaint against Whitcomb.
I suggest too, that you let people like me who specialize in the corruption of the US healthcare system deal with those issues. We do it well – but my articles can be very depressing due to their scope of interest.
And, as you can tell, I have absolutely no use for Stephen Barrett. I was very much instrumental in helping the US Court system, in a Published Appeals Court decision (NCAHF v King Bio), formally, and generally, declare Stephen Barrett “biased, and unworthy of credibility.”
That FORMAL statement about Barrett means exactly what it says.
Attacking the person, when there is nothing bad to say about the technique, is a propaganda ruse commonly used by Barrett. Don’t go there.
I don’t know Whitcomb. He didn’t hire me to help him, but if he contacts me, it is likely I can get his license back for him.
Tim Bolen – http://www.bolenreport.com
Again, close and careful reading of my blog would show that this is a place of encouragement and positive reinforcement, but thank you for your suggestions on what I should and should not focus on in my blog.
In the case of Whitcomb, since I am the one being marketed to with claims of “a miracle cure,” it is my right and duty to approach this topic from any and every angle I choose.
There is plenty bad to say about Whitcomb’s technique. I suggest to you a little due diligence before criticizing and confusing facts with propaganda. Former patient testimony would be a good place to start.
Also congratulations on using this post as a platform for soliciting employment with Whitcomb. I hope that works out for you.
Three cheers for fibrohaven’s comments:)!!!!!! And right you are!
Good grief, our openness added to our empowerment on the subject
of Dr. Whitcomb and his treatment attitude/plan to cure Fibro.
I resent being ‘told’ what we can and cannot talk about….especially
if it is our own experience and approached with dignity and respect
for another person. We have been honest. Yes, we have disagreed.
But we can make up our own minds. We don’t need anyone to
protect us.
As for me, this so called negative experience turned out to be a
cleansing one. So hurray for Fibro Haven! A service has been done
in a beautiful way.
I, for one, thank you again.
Julie
Thank you Julie for taking the time to leave your thoughtful and positive comment. I am so glad this has been a cleansing experience for you! Everything you said was right on and beautifully stated. I appreciate your cheers very much. My Best to You.
Great response, and I too find FibroHaven a place of peace respite. Thank you Dannette!
I also just wanted to point out that Mr. Bolen talks big, but I see no links supporting what he is saying. Same thing when I was checking the links that Katinka supplied in one of her comments, they didn’t seem to support what she was saying, although I didn’t waste a lot of time trying to see the connection. And when she mentioned Tim Bolen, I did look him up and I didn’t find anything good. It seems to be a circle game with him, no end (point) in sight. Once again I didn’t spend a lot of time looking; life is too short, especially if you live with chronic illness. My exaggerated sense of justice makes it hard for me to let go of these injustices, but I’m getting better with practice.
I have been getting the treatment for 10 weeks and I have improved from functioning at 30% all the way to 80%. There were a couple of weeks I was out of town and did not get any treatments and I did not loose any of the improvements I had made. The treatment does not work for everyone but it does work for a lot of people. One visit with the treatment is not enough to see if it will work for a person. All I can say is look into it for yourself . The treatment works – regardless of who started advertising it – it works. I have a life again. I can make plans and keep them! I can do things around the house and I am enjoying life again. It’s so much fun! I’m off all meds for FMS!!!! ALL – prescription free. You don’t know how good that makes me feel. (i won’t be responding to any comments – just wanted to update y’all)
Court Case: Stephen Barrett, M.D. vs. Tedd Koren, D.C. and Koren Publications, Inc.
Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County for the State of Pennsylvania
Court Case No.: 2002-C-1837
Barrett lost (again).
If anyone did a search on Barret’s testimonies in court they would find that he has lost almost 40 cases in which he brought defamation lawsuits against alternative health care providers, the supplement industry, and other individuals with one of the latest in October 2005, as stated above, when they disagreed with his views and told the public the truth. See the above website for more information.
I too have been successfully treated with Dr. Whitcomb’s method. I can sympathsize with those who did not get relief from this relatively safe treatment, but when you consider that approximately 250,000 people DIE* every year in the U.S. using medications that were “properly” administered by licensed medical doctors, I would rather take my chances with a properly trained chiropractor. Deaths* caused by doctors (iatrogenic – Journal American Medical Association July 26, 2000;284(4):483-5physican caused) are the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Note: The reference in the astrisked article is to the publication Journal American Medical Association July 26, 2000;284(4):483-5.
I can’t find a reference anywhere where Dr. Whitcomb’s method caused a death.
* http://www.naturodoc.com/library/public_health/doctors_cause_death.htm
In Hospital Deaths From Medical Errors at 195,000 – http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/11856.php
I am wondering what happened to Jeanette’s last positive comment about NRCT. Was it removed? Is this being censored, now? Surely not, as that would speak for itself in a very loud and clear way.
I thought you declared yourself done with commenting here Katinka. Lovely of you to come back and try to stir up problems.
Each and every comment is still here. I said before I would not censor and I am true to my word.
Work is being done on my site. It has been moved to its own URL and in doing so the comments are no longer nested and all new comments since the move are appearing at the top. It is something we are working on but have been unable to resolve thus far. It happened on every post, not just this one.
Thank you for assuming the worst. Surely that speaks about you in a loud and clear way.
Yes, I must very humbly appologize for assuming the worst. So I am.
I’m writing to clarify things about the NRCT. I’m not a scientologist, I’m a chiropractor, and I don’t know Dr Whitcomb but have learned the technique. By the way, Dr is the degree, not the license, so he will always be a Dr whether he’s licensed or not. NRCT is not only for fibromyalgia, but is being marketed to that group because it has the most potential to help. Your acupuncturist did the technique incorrectly, but despite this, you were helped. If you felt you would be completely out of pain after 10 minutes, you were misled, but you were helped. The test result benefits, if it gives relief, is for only minutes but may last months. It is only done to tell if you will benefit from a full treatment plan. My chronic TMJ was cured with NRCT, but now I need occasional “tune-ups”. Chiropractors and acupuncturists are receiving this training, but the acupuncturists seem to have more trouble with it. There is an additional adjustment that the chiropractors can do, but
I don’t personally use it. I use the same technique that an acupuncturist would use and it works just as well. In any profession, there are those that care more about their wallets than in their integrity, but there are doctors out there that truly want their patients to feel better.
I don’t know how to weed them out without exposing myself to them. That is why I went through with this test. What if this was the thing that would give me the best results? Obviously it was not, but without trying, I could never be sure. It would be great if we could come up with a less painful way!
I know you would! But I would not let you if it meant you had to suffer. This is mine to bear for a reason. I have you and Rob to love and support me. You help me be brave. Love you too!
Welcome Julie! I am happy you found me.
It sounds like your intuition served you well! I appreciate you sharing your experience. Whitcomb has charmed many patients into spending thousands of dollars – some say he helped. many say he did not. I wish I had listened to my intuition and not let myself be tested, but then if I had my review would have been less complete and authentic, so I guess it was worth the ten day flare!
Hope to see you back soon.
Thanks for adding your input Katinka. I can tell you are passionate about your work and about helping your patients heal.
If you had read many of my other post you would know that I am working closely with a holistic chiropractor and have made great strides with him. I am a huge proponent of alternative medicine and I write about it frequently. My opinion on Dr. Whitcomb does not equal my opinion on chiropractors and alternative medicine.
Yes, you are right, I did see people experience relief at Whitcomb’s workshop. I myself had improvement in my hips. But it only lasted an hour or two. I did not have the opportunity to follow up with any of the people he treated that day, so I cannot say for sure how long their benefits lasted. But I can report that I experienced a severe flare from receiving the test, as did one other member in my group.
I believe there is a relation between spinal cord compression and Fibromyalgia in some patients. I believe there is also some validity to his technique, but there are many things disturbing about it as well. He is under investigation for a reason. I understand that he is filming all of his workshops to use in his defense – to show the immediate improvements. But what all of his former patients that benefited while being treated, but once they resumed their normals lives the pain and symptoms came back? It is dangerous to ignore all of the facts.
Julie your comment is lovely – “I am learning to Pace with Grace.” Sounds to me like a great title for a blog!
And I too would love to hear updates on your patients Kantika. They are lucky to have such a caring and passionate practitioner. My best to you and to them.
Judy, your experience is exactly what is wrong with Whitcomb and his treatment. I am sorry your relief was not more long lasting. I am sorry for everyone who spent thousands of dollars for what amounts to a reprieve from their symptoms, not a reversal.
It is not even possible to get onto his website or send him a message anymore. He has taken everything down off the web. Why is this? Because things are not as he would like everyone to believe. It is disturbing to say the least.
I hope you are finding better ways to manage your symptoms. Thanks for sharing your story. My Best!
Jeanette, first I want to say Bravo for having a team of doctors who work together to create the best health plan for you. That is wonderful, and not an easy accomplishment. It is also great to hear about the positive results you are having with Whitcomb’s method. As I stated in the post, there are many accounts of patients feeling much improved while receiving the treatment. I am glad you are one of them. It sounds like you are doing a lot to improve your FM – acupuncture, massage, chiro. We all must be our own best health advocates and find what works for us. I hope you continue to feel the benefits of this treatment.
I am curious, if you don’t mind me asking, how long will you need to go 6 times a week, and what is the prognosis for when you stop going so often? That seems to be where many of the patients who originally benefited began reverting back to their previous symptom severity.
I have never been to a NUCCA chiro, but it seems like Whitcomb bases his technique on a lot of what NUCCA chiros know and practice. I do think there is validity to spinal cord compression causing chronic health issues. I just think Whitcomb created an extreme treatment protocol for profit – not to help patients. Now he has lost his license, and has been forced into the background in the teaching of this method. It is still being taught, and he is still profiting off it, he is just no longer the face of it.
The thing that really makes me mad, is that the practitioners who signed up for his seminar had no idea of the controversy surrounding Whitcomb. Don’t you think a little disclosure was warranted? But then again, if they were responsible and questioning like us FM patients, they would have done their own research on Whitcomb.
Thanks for having me on your blogroll and adding me to your Whitcomb list. Now that his license has been revoked is he still considered a Dr.? I am happy to have connected with you Sherril, even if it is by these circumstances
Katinka I just read what you posted. I also believe in a life commitment of spinal care. I have been in four car accidents and numerous operations where they’ve twisted my body and that wreaks havoc on our backs and necks.
I always go to the chiro first and more times than not he can take care of whatever is hurting. My teenage son goes too. It has helped him immensly – where family docs might give pain or relaxants we want to fix the problems not mask them.
I was getting a migraine on tuesday (first since I started this treatment and I used to get about one or two a week) and luckily I was seeing my chiro anyhow and after the treatment (nothing extra) it sorta popped and slowly faded away. About an hour later no headache and that is fantastic.