Saturday, November 10, 2007

Retraction

Okay, I apologize.

I should've delved a little deeper into my subject matter on my previous post before I made any "wondrous" claims, and I didn't.

My bad.

However, I will say this: I do believe in the general concept that the FDA will not benefit financially from approving herbs for consumer use. I do believe that there are indeed treatments from natural sources that can cure diseases, quite possibly even cancer (there are many groups of people who just don't get cancer; I believe that there are reasons for that. I also believe that there are reasons why my area has the highest concentration of breast cancer in the entire country. I'm just tired of the speculation; let's spend the money and find out why already, instead of wasting it by paying people who sleep at their desks or hold shovels for contractors). Having successfully eliminating high numbers of h. pylori bacteria from my stomach using mastic gum capsules instead of the two antibiotics prescribed to me (that I refused to take for the yeast infection they would inevitably cause), I will most likely always opt for the natural treatment first.

I digress. Let me get back on task here.

Thursday, I retrieved a letter from my mailbox addressed to me. I opened it up and started reading it in front of my husband and stepson. Apparently, because my "profile" (huh?!?) from my order of the Kevin Trudeau book was so special, I was one of a very select few people who would receive this invitation to belong to a private organization that would help me to realize my full potential in every area of life. I was told that I "knew" deep down in my soul that I possessed great talent and skill, and that this secret organization would help me to bring it out and succeed in ways I never dreamed possible.

I'm not quoting here for fear of being sued, but by the time I got to page two, all three of us were laughing our asses off. Apparently, there are major celebrities who I see every single day that belong to this "secret association", some of whom are extremely prominent (okay, I don't know about you, but a certain celebrity with the initials "T.C" started to come to mind). I began to guess the intent of this letter, and tossed it aside for future amusement when I had more time to read it.

Another thing that annoyed me was that I was also signed up to a web site that I can NOT get out of....I don't even know the address...and they take $9.95 a month out of my checking account for this "health care" site. They automatically sign you up for it when you purchase the book, and tell you that your first month is free; you can cancel at any time after that. What they DON'T tell you is that when you call to cancel, you will be on the line for 45 minutes listening to an advertisement for all sorts of natural products and books that repeats itself every ten minutes...and no one will ever pick up the phone.

I should've known something was up when the original operator who I ordered the book from tried to get me to order every other product under the sun, and then told me that just because I called, I won a trip to Las Vegas for two, and she wanted to give me all the details. I told her no thank you, I wasn't interested. She tried relentlessly to guilt me into taking this amazing trip, but I finally cut her off and said "Thanks, but no thanks. Are we done?"

Silly me. It was probably a great opportunity to go hang out with all of those "famous" members of the "secret association".

Well folks, I guess it's true...I've been had. And I'm sorry I promoted my ignorance onto all of you.

Thanks to Matthew for inspiring this post.

24 comments:

B.S. said...

Huh! I bought my Trudeau book at Sam's Club, so there were no strings attached. And it was discounted.

I haven't looked at the book in a while, but I believe there's probably some truthful information in it. And I definitely believe that the pharmeceutical industry is powerful beyond our wildest imagination, and they squelch natural remedies which interfere with the big drug business.

I do not trust the medical profession. I used to have an honest doctor who was delving into natural remedies. I saw her for bacterial pneumonia, the kind always treated with antiobiotics. She said she could either write me a prescription or I could go home and eat garlic. I chose the garlic, and recovered beautifully and effortlessly.

That doctor ended up going out of business- she just couldn't make money because she refused to connect herself into the insurance/pharmeceutical world.

I'm sorry that you ended up being scammed. That's disillusioning. Even the alternative field seems to be taken over, to some extent, by greed.

Hugs,
Betty

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Betty,

We are big on the garlic over here...the younger kids refuse to take it (they'll only take a pill form), but my husband and stepson have cured themselves of some major bronchitis with garlic cloves, although they stunk to high heaven!

I have known my husband for ten years, and he has not once ever taken a prescription antibiotic or even an OTC. Not even Advil.

We knew a doctor (female as well) who was struggling because even though she was an osteopath, she used holistic treatment and not conventional. She wasn't able to take insurance because her costs were so high. And she certainly didn't make a fortune. But she went into medicine because she wanted to help people; knowing her, it definitely wasn't for the money.

Yes, this was a disheartening experience, but it goes right back to me not trusting anyone in society. The only person in a public forum that seems to be real is Joel Osteen. I had started a post on him several weeks ago after I met him at a local Costco book signing. What a kind soul. Yeah, he makes money off of those books, but he doesn't take one dime of income from his congregation. And he's thankful for everything, all the time. He was really one of the only people I've ever met that was "famous" that seemed to be amazingly real, honest and, most importantly, humble. How refreshing.

Take good care,
Lisa

Carine-what's cooking? said...

Lisa, believe me there are many, many funny, but scary replies to some of any of our posts/articles. the one I wrote about dressing right was a case in point.
Evidently one person saw a bit too much of themselves in a description and wrote that I was akin to Satan himself and should just go blankity-blank! Okay, it's an article and my opinion-we do still live in America w/ a right to have a thought of our own right? LOL, still it did 'rattle my cage'

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Carine,

I was feeling a bit leery of certain things before the comment from Matthew. As I continued to read the book, I realized that, when talking about negative things the press has said about him, Mr. Trudeau leaves out all sorts of details and it just doesn't seem right. I'm not having a hard time swallowing what he's saying about the FDA and the FTC--I totally believe him in those cases--but the way he writes just leaves too much in question. For me, anyway...I need to know ALL the details!!

If you still have that kooky comment up, I'll have to come over and see it! Some people are funny, it's true!

Take good care,
Lisa

Constance said...

Good Sunday morning to you, Dust Bunny !

I think both traditional AND alternative medicine have things that work. And clearly, no culture has both that is totally effective - or one section of the world would ever get sick.

Now they DO say Japanese women don't get hot flashes because of all the soybeans they consume...

Anway, scams from websites.... Grrrrr. I hate that when they con you wth the free at first and then you can cancel.

Call you credit card company and say you want to dispute the charges.
At worst case, cancel your card (say it is stolen) and get a new number. The scammers won't have the new number, and the charges will stop.

Hugs,
Loving Annie

(and if you don't post before then -- HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Loving Annie,

The problem I have is that it's my debit account (stupid me...but I've been trying to get out of credit card debt, and I don't want to put anything on them anymore). I'll have to call on Tuesday when it's no longer the weekend, a holiday, after 5pm, lol...what a scam.

The problem for me now is that he lost all credibility with me, and I don't even want to finish reading the book. I'm funny like that.

Take good care, and have a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Lisa

Guilty Secret said...

I'm so sorry, things like that are so frustrating! I hope you manage to sort it out before they take any more of your money. It did provoke some interesting discussion here anyway :)

Young Werther said...

There are so many unknowns which cause various ailments in people. I have a friend who suffers from Parkinsons and he swears that it's caused by the CRTs in computers, that he been working with for many years.

A couple of years ago, it was found that a significant number of women who worked in a certain building (the Aust Broadcasting Corp's former Brisbane headquarters) suffered from breast cancer, 11x the norm.

LZ Blogger said...

Lisa ~ it is kind ofo easy for all of us to GET TAKEN at times. Rule if thumb for me... if it sounds TOO GOOD TO BE TURE... well it more than like IS! ~ jb///

Mark said...

I agree there are reasons why some get cancer and some don't and there is no doubt that there are natural remidies out there that could do or out do the drugs that are on the market, however the pharmacuetcal lobbies will have none of that.
Always, look for and read the fine print.

2bme said...

This is such a screwed up society. What is wrong and how do we even begin to pick up the pieces?? Well, I guess we know several things that are wrong. It will be a fine day when we find a corporation that is completely vested in the good of humanity without any back door interests.

Big Dave T said...

I'm too paranoid to ever let anyone ever take money out of my checking account automatically. My sons, who have all their monthly bills paid like that, think I'm way behind the times. But sometimes paranoia is good.

I think I know what that secret society is and I know who T.C. is. (And it's not Top Cat) Those dudes can really mess with your mind, I hear. Very powerful psychological stuff.

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Guilty Secret,

Yes, they will probably get at least one more payment out of me because I keep forgetting to call when it's not a weekend. That's why I asked them not to put me on it to begin with.

I'm using that Trump card, too...I specifically said I didn't want it, and they specifically said the phone call may be monitored for quality assurance, which means they know I said it!!

Take good care,
Lisa

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Young Werther,

I'm sorry to hear of your friend's suffering due to Parkinson's.

You're right, the environmental toxins that we're exposed to every day can cause a whole host of ailments. Think about the invisible "rays" emitted off of cell phones, remotes, radio, etc...we're walking through a minefield of things we can not even see or feel, but that exist all the same.

I'm not really sure how it works, but if you call someone's cell phone who is sitting right next to you, that invisible "ray" is so powerful, it reaches into the atmosphere, hits a satellite, and then comes back down into their phone, all in about two seconds. That's pretty scary when you think about it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Take good care,
Lisa

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Jerry,

How right you are!! What aggravates me is that I coud've bought this book at Costco, and saved myself a lot of trouble (and probably a few bucks, as well)...but the way it was advertised on TV made it sound like it wasn't available anywhere else!

Yes, my husband and I are definitely coconuts.

Take good care,
Lisa

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Mark,

My doctor used to hand me samples of prescription drugs all the time, and I eventually would end up telling him that I read the inserts and didn't want to take them. So he did what any self-respecting doctor would do...he started throwing out the inserts in front of me, and THEN handing me the samples!! And, of course, I still refused to take them.

...He has since stopped pushing drugs on me altogether! I think he gave up.

Take good care,
Lisa

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Simply Me,

Yes, wouldn't that be a lovely day. Sadly, not in our lifetime, I imagine.

xoxo
Li

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Big Dave,

I gave them my debit card number, which is connected to my checking account (big mistake), but that's how I paid for the books, not because I gave them permission to take $9.95 out of the account every month for access to a web site! I try very hard not to use my credit cards anymore for anything, so I can try to get out of debt, or at least control it a little.

...And I'm glad you knew who "T.C." was. Actually, I was hoping someone would connect the initials "T.C." with the picture of the couch, but I'm not really sure if anyone did!

Take good care,
Lisa

Constance said...

Hi Lisa! How are you doing ?

Hope that you and your family will have a wonderful Thanksgiving together !

Genuinely,
Loving Annie

LZ Blogger said...

Lisa - Hope you guys have a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING! ~ jb///

Kacey said...

I sort of figured out that T.C. was connected with a Kat from my town. Their organization is anything but respectable. Stay away from them at any price. Go to your bank---stop the debit and credit card ---swear that they are abusing your account --- get new accounts---do whatever you have to do to be rid of this. We all have to be very careful of this sort of scam or give up the INTERNET.
About medicine --- not all drugs are bad, but not all are good, either. I just survived an amazing proceedure where the vascular doctor put a camera into my femoral artery and a stent into my left armpit, then put it down through my aorta into my celiac artery and supra mesenteric artery. It took three hours and I lived through it ---albeit anemic from the Heparin, with a UTI from the Foley and using oxygen for a whole week from the shortage of hemoglobin and my arms are covered with black and blue patches. So, I am taking drugs, but am so happy to be alive, but I did have to stop them from using the Vancomycin right before surgery --- became allergic right away. Sometimes, we have to let the doctors do what they do best ---save lives.

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Loving Annie,

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm sorry I've been MIA lately, but life's been a little hectic!

Take good care,
Lisa

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Jerry,

I hope yours is wonderful as well!!

Take good care,
Lisa

Dust-bunny said...

Dear Kacey,

I'm so glad to hear from you!!! Thank God you came through your surgery alright. It's good to "hear your voice"!!

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Take good care,
Lisa