Nov 15 2012
CAM Docket: Functional Endocrinology
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20 Responses to “CAM Docket: Functional Endocrinology”
I was aware of the Denver TV station’s expose of Credeur from Quackwatch when large ads started appearing
recently in the Washington Post offering “gourmet dinners”. The ads were from chiropractors in both Maryland
and Virginia, and targeted diabetics and women with thyroid problems. One ad attacked Metformin as a “gateway
drug” to stronger drugs.
The Post, which like other newspapers, is losing money on its print operations, ignored my complaint referencing
Credeur’s modus operandi. The Virginia government agency that oversees chiropractic at least paid attention
and welcomed my information.
The Maryland Board, however, wouldn’t even send an investigator to a “gourmet dinner” held in a hotel in the same city in which the
Board is located, noting it’s not illegal to say these things.
Jann cites: The Colorado Board of Chiropractic Examiners alleged in its complaint that Credeur and other chiropractors under his supervision at the clinic violated state law and regulations by:
• Failure to take a history and do physicals on patients
tgobbi: This is ironic in view of a recent discussion about chiropractors wanting to be elevated to primary care physician status. How can they possibly be PCPs without doing a physical exam? Which, of course, they’re not qualified to do in the first place for reasons too numerous to address again here.
•Diagnosing patients with diseases (diabetes and celiac disease), which is beyond the scope of chiropractic practice
tgobbi: More irony! In the 30+ years I’ve been fascinated by the bizarre world of chiropractic, one of the most frequent claims I heard from, and read about, the chiropractic “doctors” is: “We don’t diagnose. We look for the root cause of the problem.” Which, of course, is the nonexistent subluxation. Or equally nonexistent food allergies and sensitivities – most commonly to sugar and white flour.
•Telling patients that they could reduce their medications
tgobbi: A personal experience that I may have mentioned before. A friend with MS (now deceased) was seeing a “doctor” of chiropractic for a chronic back problem. Upon hearing that she was an MS patient and questioning her about he medications, he told her flat-out the her neurologist (a real doctor) was overmedicating her and causing her serious harm! I found this unconscionable and bordering on practicing medicine without a license (as well as without a medical education). I requested her permission to telephone the DC to question him about his actions but she asked me not to do so.
•Failure to consult with patients’ physicians
tgobbi: This is another point that recurs and recurs and recurs. I can’t remember how many chiropractors I’ve been in contact with who insist that they work alongside MDs. This is another irony considering how common doctor-bashing is within the chiropractic community. Many even claim to have patients referred by MDs. I had a major battle (never resolved) with a DC in my area who claims to be a pediatrician (not unusual these days). Our local suburban newspaper ran an uncritical article about him. He was quoted as stating that MD pediatricians referred otitis media patients to him! The paper published my scathing rebuttal of this claim (and others he made as well). The “doctor” telephoned me and promised to supply me with the names of some of the referring MDs. (Pediatricians I’ve mentioned this to generally look at me like they think I’m making it up). He also said he’d send me published substantiation of studies demonstrating the effectiveness of chiropractic treatment for otitis media. I’ve been waiting for 25 years to hear back from him…
Note that Dr. Sampson also wrote about this subject four years ago in an article called “Functional Medicine – New Kid on the Block”
I have a sweet friend who I see about once a year. She is totally “new age”. She does have some thyroid issues, not sure if she was on meds. when she saw Credeur of not, but for whatever reason she consulted with him. He very much portrayed himself as an endocrinologist.
She was one of the people duped into signing a “loan” of close to $8000. All her friends were incredulous that she would have done that, but she said it was presented as an estimate of potential costs, and was signed much like you sign a consent form before surgery–you’re pretty sure there’s going to be no problem and you won’t get the therapy if you don’t sign.
She said “it was almost like I was hypnotized” when she consulted with him–they were talking and next thing she remembers is signing the papers. Given her willingness to believe all things woo, I can imagine this easily happening. She is however, extremely thrifty and conscious of every penny, so I also believe that she was mislead in a grand fashion.
She was ecstatic to find out about the law suit-partly because of the hope that she’d recover some money, but also because she wants to see him in jail. Unfortunatley, the contract seems to be a valid legal document. There are/were you tube videos of Credeur teaching other chiropractors exactly how to set up the fake endocrinology practice and I believe the Denver attorney general was prosecuting a case against him. I haven’t spoken with her recently so I don’t know how things stand.
Anyway, it illustrates to me how important it is to keep letting the world know that CAM probably means sCAM.
@ mho:
Your friend shouldn’t assume that the contract is valid or that it would prevent her from suing Credeur.
In Colorado it appears that the Attorney General’s office prosecutes cases for the chiropractic board and that is the only Credeur case I’m aware of that the AG is involved in — they one I mentioned that was settled with a stipulation. However, if anyone knows of another prosecution by the AG’s office or the State’s attorney, please let us know.
thanks Jann. I will contact my friend in the next week.
I wonder what one of these “functional endocrinologists” would say to someone like me who no longer has a thyroid. And how this is not considered criminal behavior in more states is beyond me.
Good to see an article on this. I’ve been following it for some time. Check out this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKqrkNdYAgk).
Ever think about doing an article on chiropractic practice management cults like “Maximized Living” and “Chiro One”.
I second Cowy1′s request for an article on chiropractic management cults.
Interesting that Cowy1 mentions Chiro One. I’ve posted about them to the HealthFraud list a number of times recently because they seem to be engaged in a “carpet-bombing” campaign in my area (Chicago suburbs). They show up at those ubiquitous “health fairs” run by senior centers, managed care facilities and the like as well as all the summer art fairs. They’ve run ads for free spinal assessments in such places as a nearby YMCA. And, most recently, they had a booth at a supermarket where I shop. (I stopped and asked if they were giving away free subluxations but neither of the two people running the scam caught the joke).
Their setup is always the same: a large sign advertising their name and a table with one of those scientific-looking charts (in color, no less) of the spine with a list of all the horrendous diseases that misalignments thereof can cause.
The real kicker is that the “doctor” of chiropractic never shows up in the flesh. Instead, a flunky or two from the “doctor’s” office are sent to “examine” the prospective customer’s* spine. Not that the flunkies are any more or less qualified as healthcare professionals than the DCs, but obviously the only “training” they’ve received is a lesson on the subluxation chart and a scare-tactic sales pitch.
*Note that I use the word “customer” rather than “patient” when dealing with this topic because I regard chiropractic as an elaborate marketing scheme rather than a healthcare profession.
So the chiropractor in my area who “diagnoses” patients with food allergies they never knew they had by having them hold a little plastic box with the item in it at arms length isn’t unusual. Nor is his “curing” them of the “allergy” by going up and down their spines with what I’ve been told is some kind of electrical devise.
At least people have stopped telling me about him now that I’ve accidentally cured myself of the case of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity I’d fallen into and so no longer need to wear a mask at work. My personal experience with MCS has taught me just how serious psychosomatic reactions can be.
The more I read here at SBM the more I’ve convinced that alt-med practitioners rely on and encourage such reactions.
Seems like every time I walk into the local Dominicks or Jewel I’m getting the “hard sell” from some chiropracty person. The fact that the chiro state board doesn’t shut these guys down speaks volumes about the profession.
Amalthea mentions two major delusions of the bizarre world of chiropractic.
The “plastic box with the item…” is an example of “applied kinesiology,” concocted by a chiropractor back in the 60s. See
The electrical device is probably the equivalent of a high tech version of the “neurocalometer” which was adopted from another chiropractor by B.J. Palmer, son of the founder of mondo chiropractic, D.D. Palmer. (I like to call ol’ B.J. the P.T. Barnum of chiropractic). See . A D.C. in my area shows up at all the health fairs and summer art shows with a device that he uses to diagnose “abnormalities” in the spine. It’s a black box with two attached electrodes that are applied to the customer’s back or neck. A three color printout shows the abnormalities: green, not too serious; yellow, borderline; red, uh-oh – you better make an appointment with the “doctor” right now, before it’s too late!
All of that sounds like magic to me. I suppose that if you mentioned this to alt-med practitioners they’d likely respond with outrage and a statement that they don’t cast spells.
Re: chiropractic promotions
On a recent trip I was walking through the Nashville airport when I noticed a sign advertising flu shots. I was just thinking how convenient it was for busy travelers to get their shots while waiting for their plane, and how that would contribute to raising herd immunity. My pleasure quickly turned to pain when I kept reading. The same store advertised “Does your back hurt? Chiropractor on duty.”
Ah, that’s interesting. They started showing up at free concerts and craft fairs down in my neck of the woods (sorry) this summer, but as the booths didn’t look too nutty from a distance, I never bothered to probe further.
Harriet says, “On a recent trip I was walking through the Nashville airport when I noticed a sign advertising flu shots. I was just thinking how convenient it was for busy travelers to get their shots while waiting for their plane, and how that would contribute to raising herd immunity. My pleasure quickly turned to pain when I kept reading. The same store advertised ‘Does your back hurt? Chiropractor on duty.’”
Pretty much the same thing that I saw last month at a “health fair.” Flu shots were available at the first booth while 2 booths up the aisle was a chiropractic exhibit – the same guy with the hi-tech subluxation detector…
I’m afraid that the place I got my flu shot at isn’t much better in some ways. The pharmacy that’s conveniently close to work and home is one of those places that also does compounding and sells several lines of supplements and herbs. There’s a full display of peg bags with dried plant bits in them with the name Rio Grande Herb Company.
@Harriet Hall:
I think those are the same advertisements that made me think that chiropractors were just physical/massage therapists when I first moved to the United States. But similarly, a friend (who’s American) recently defended chiropractors, thinking they were physical therapists. This stopped when I clarified to her the difference between the two.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/Viviscal-Review-Results-and-Coupon-Code-Savings-4045365.php…
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