Third party can assess situation

Dear Dr. Gott: My father has a chronic blood disorder that seems to be responding to appropriate medications. However, my concern is that my stepmother, his caretaker, believes strongly in alternative medicine; she adds compounds to his food and drink against his will. She won’t admit to this but I have observed that she adds things nonetheless. What those substances are I cannot say.

I have tried to resolve this issue with her by discussing it face-to-face. I have also urged her to inform Dad’s physician of the additives, but she refuses.

I am at a loss. Are there blood tests that we could obtain to check for toxic levels of vitamins and minerals?

Dear Reader: In many instances, traditional healers and alternative practitioners attempt to work together for the patient’s best interests. This type of cooperative enterprise is often highly successful; each party can learn something from the other.

When there is a conflict between the traditional and the alternative, it’s the patient who suffers, in large part because of competition and secrecy.

If your stepmother is, indeed, adding substances to your father’s food and drink, the practice needs to be analyzed: she could be giving him chemicals that might react badly with a treatment such as chemotherapy, a situation that must be avoided.

On the other hand, if your perceptions are incorrect, she may be blamed unfairly for being less than a competent caregiver.

Judging from your comments, you and your stepmother are not likely to reconcile; therefore, a third party should enter the picture. I vote for your father’s physician. Aside from questions such as “What is really going on?” you and the doctor need to identify the compounds (if any) your dad is receiving, how often and in what dosage. Blood tests may be necessary.

My guess is that your stepmother is probably spicing up your father’s meals with herbal remedies, vitamins and minerals – a harmless practice, in most instances.

Nonetheless, she and the doctor must work together to make sure this is a cooperative (not a competitive) venture that will be safe and appropriate for your father.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Vitamins and Minerals.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.