Participants: James Marcum & Charles Mills
Series Code: UP
Program Code: UP00009B
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00:01 Modern technology, Biblical technology.
00:04 When do you use one? When do you use the other? 00:07 That's the question we're asking here. 00:09 You know, because it's pretty scary sometimes 00:12 to have a symptom. 00:14 You are not sure what it is. 00:15 You are not sure if it's gonna take you out. 00:18 You are not sure if you could just eat 00:19 a different diet that'll take care of it. 00:21 So let me put the question to you, Dr Marcum. 00:23 What should be our criteria of the symptoms 00:28 that determines what we do? 00:30 Everyone wants an algorithm for them to know what to do. 00:34 It doesn't exist. 00:35 But let's talk a little bit about what a symptom is. 00:38 Any feeling that you have that's not normal 00:42 could be cause or symptom. Okay. 00:44 And usually that's pain, can't breathe, passing out. 00:48 There are some that need to be attended to right away. 00:52 If you pass out, that could be a medical emergency. 00:55 If you, you know, low blood pressure whatever 00:57 if you're having fevers that are unexplained 01:00 that could be a medical emergency. 01:01 If you're having chest pain or pain anywhere 01:04 that's unexplained that could be a medical emergency. 01:08 Now if you bump your toe going to the bathroom, 01:11 that's probably not a medical emergency. Okay. 01:13 But it could be a medical emergency 01:15 if it happened three weeks ago, the toe got infected that-- 01:18 It's still hurting. 01:19 Got into bloodstream. Okay. 01:20 That bloodstream caused you to become septic 01:22 and lose the blood pressure. 01:23 So there is a little bit of common sense and knowledge. 01:26 And that's why when in doubt 01:28 either go to the emergency room or seek your doctor. 01:30 Now most people when they call me, 01:33 you know, it's something serious like, 01:34 you know, I'm having chest pain. 01:36 What am I gonna say? Well, you're having chest pain. 01:38 It's in the middle of the night. Why don't you stay home? 01:40 I hope it's not a heart attack. 01:42 I hope you live-- And good luck. 01:44 We're gonna send him to the emergency room 01:45 to get it checked out. Okay? 01:47 Let's someone say they're passing out and dizzy. 01:49 What am I gonna say? Well, stay home. 01:51 I hope you're not bleeding to death or septic 01:54 or have an aneurysm that's ruptured. 01:55 I hope everything's okay. 01:57 Headaches are a lot harder. Yeah. 01:58 A headache that will not go away, 02:00 that's the worst one in your life 02:02 that could be something serious. 02:03 It might need some further evaluation. 02:05 But, you know, headache that you're used to 02:06 that might not be as serious. Okay. 02:08 So we're gonna use modern medicine 02:11 to help diagnose the problem. Correct. 02:15 That's what it's really good at. Right. 02:17 Doctors and modern medicine 02:19 are really good at diagnosing the problem. 02:20 And the seriousness of it. Ad the seriousness of it-- 02:21 Yeah. Okay. 02:22 And so then when the doctor says, 02:24 "Here's what you have and here's how serious it is." 02:27 Then we can decide whether to continue 02:29 with the modern medicine route to save your life. 02:32 But if a doctor says, "You know, well, you're overweight." 02:36 Or "I think you have diabetes." 02:38 Or "Your blood pressure is up a little bit." 02:41 Or "Your blood sugar count is up a little bit." 02:44 That's not the time where we need 02:46 to really grab a medicine and hope for the best. 02:48 There are things we can do, right? 02:49 Well, yes there are, but sometimes 02:51 I use the medicines as bridges. Okay. All right-- 02:54 Let's say the blood sugar is 4 or 500. 02:56 And the person weighs 4 or 500. Okay. 02:59 I might say it's-- The serious kind. 03:01 If you can make lifestyle changes, 03:03 you might be able to bring your blood sugar down. 03:05 Let's say your blood pressure is 220 over 120. Yeah. 03:08 And, you know, you're about ready to blow up in the head 03:10 or an aneurysm or have a heart attack. 03:12 That might be a medicine until we see 03:15 if we can have a bridge with this other technology. 03:18 So I use modern technology as a bridge 03:20 to see if lifestyle changes are possible 03:22 or if they're not possible. 03:24 And unfortunately, most people come in, 03:26 the mentality now is people want the quick fix. Fixed. 03:30 They don't--it's hard, you know, society programs 03:33 and this is the way they have to live. 03:35 This is the way I have to eat. 03:37 This is the way I have to stay busy all the time. 03:39 I can't sleep because I got things to do. 03:42 I can't exercise 'cause I got to run over here. 03:44 I can't do these things. 03:46 And when they don't do these things, 03:47 at least we can help the symptom sort of, 03:50 you know, calms things down a little bit 03:51 maybe prolongs things before things just blow open. 03:54 So each physician though handles things different. 03:57 And, as you know, I'm a medical doctor. Yes. 03:59 We're trained different. Medicines medical doctor. 04:02 There are different types of doctors 04:03 that focus more on lifestyle too. 04:05 Now some medical doctors focus on these things 04:07 we've been talking, some do not. 04:09 So it varies from which physician, 04:11 which healer you go see. 04:12 So these are great question, Charles, 04:14 and I'm glad you brought that up 'cause everyone out there 04:17 is watching these programs 'cause they want answers. 04:19 But it's not quite as easy as we like to think it. 04:22 You know, I would love to say, "Everyone with this, this, 04:24 and this needs to do this, this, and this." 04:26 But if that were the case 04:27 would you really need to see a doctor. 04:29 Would there be varying opinions? 04:31 You know, sometimes three doctors 04:32 will look at the same problem. And doctors could be wrong. 04:35 Absolutely, Charles. Oh, my. 04:36 I've been wrong many times in my career. 04:40 And I admit that I've been wrong and hopefully, 04:42 I've learned each time I've been wrong. 04:45 And I've grown from that this. 04:46 But, yes, when you are handling many patients, 04:48 many decisions every day. 04:50 You're working many long hours. 04:52 Not only are we wrong sometimes, 04:54 but sometimes we make mistakes. 04:56 And that's why I think physicians need the wisdom 05:01 of the great physician to guide them, 05:04 to help them on a daily basis 05:06 to help them learn what they need to learn. 05:08 To help them help their patients 05:09 to lead them into ultimate healing. 05:11 To help them in--you know, one of the worst feelings 05:13 I have is when I don't plug a patient 05:16 into the great physician. 05:18 You know, you feel terrible 05:19 when you'd a chance to lead them to ultimate healing. 05:22 And then something happens to them. 05:23 You lose track of them and then you find out 05:25 that they have-- something terrible happens. 05:26 They might've even died. 05:28 And you had that one chance in a lifetime 05:30 to lead them to that relationship, 05:32 which could heal them perfectly. 05:33 So there is an enormous responsibility. Okay. 05:36 Let's get to the questions here. 05:37 Let's do that heartwiseministries.org. 05:40 Here are some questions that have been sent in. 05:41 And by the way, you can do this. 05:43 You're welcome to do this. 05:44 Send a question to heartwiseministries.org. 05:46 There's a place to click on there. 05:48 And we'll see if we can address your question either 05:50 there on the website or right here on the program. 05:53 heartwiseministries.org. Okay. 05:56 This is from Joe in Kentucky. 05:58 I saw my doctor last week after a stress test 06:01 and he said I needed a stent. 06:03 Should I seek a second opinion? 06:05 Well, it never hurts to seek a second opinion, Joe. 06:09 And what I tell my patient is, 06:12 "If you have a blockage in one of your coronary arteries 06:15 and it's in a very important location. 06:18 Or if you can't walk very far without having a symptoms, 06:22 a stent might be very useful." 06:24 Does the stent fix the problem? 06:26 Not necessarily, but it allows you to exercise and do more. 06:30 And if it's in a high risk location, it helps a lot too. 06:33 Now does it bother you as a physician 06:35 when one of your patients says, "Okay. 06:37 Thank you, Dr. Marcum, 06:38 and I think I'll just check this out elsewhere." 06:40 Does that bother you? 06:41 Um, yes, it does because that tells me 06:43 and I'll be honest with you. 06:44 It bothers me 'cause that means 06:45 they don't trust my opinion. Yeah. 06:47 And if they don't trust my opinion about one thing, 06:49 will they trust it about another thing. 06:51 Well, you just got through 06:52 saying that doctors make mistakes. Yes, I do. 06:54 And it would bother any physician 06:56 I think if their patients keep why even go to you 06:59 if they don't trust you. 07:01 But sometimes I don't have the answers. 07:03 And I don't know what's going on. 07:04 And I recommend to the patients that they get a second opinion. 07:07 But patients are free to go around. 07:09 You know, many people spend more time choosing a bank 07:12 or a supermarket than they do their doctor. 07:14 It's true. That's true. 07:15 Sometimes also patients want to find a physician 07:18 that will agree with what they want to have done too. 07:21 And how they want it taken care of-- 07:22 They don't wanna hear the truth 07:24 like I had some people they had talked to me about, 07:26 you know, would you want to be put on a medicine 07:28 to help them lose weight. 07:30 Well, that's one thing that I'm against. 07:32 I would rather do it God's way than take a medicine 07:34 and its potential side effects. 07:36 And so, it varies with patients when they go, 07:39 but if they're not gonna believe or believe in what you say, 07:42 then they probably don't agree 07:43 with your philosophy of medicine. 07:45 They probably need to find another physician 07:46 that they trust for what they want to 07:48 have done to their bodies. All right. 07:50 Okay. Very good. 07:51 Second question here. My grandfather-- 07:53 This is from Mary in Texas. 07:54 My grandfather had a bad foot infection 07:57 and needs an amputation. Oh, dear. 07:59 Would an antibiotic help? Yeah. 08:02 Usually, if they've been told they need an amputation. 08:04 It's beyond what antibiotics will help. Okay. 08:07 This is a place where modern medicine is useful. 08:10 Before we had modern medicine, 08:11 these infections would literally take over the body. 08:14 It could get in the bone 08:15 and cause a condition called osteomyelitis. 08:18 Sometimes these infections can also get in the blood 08:20 and damage the heart valves, which we call endocarditis. 08:23 So usually antibiotics are given in conjunction with this. 08:27 But if a doctor thinks an amputation 08:29 usually that's, you know, a terminal event, 08:31 and I would probably agree with that doctor. 08:34 You probably need to take care of the acute problem, 08:36 give antibiotics to help settle it down 08:38 and then do everything you can to prevent an infection again. 08:42 So if the doctor is saying that needs to be amputated, 08:45 it is at a point where the doctor says, 08:47 "This is pretty serious. 08:48 You better take care of this." Yeah. 08:49 And that's the place where modern medicine 08:51 wasn't there then something bad could happen. Okay. 08:53 Here is a J.B. in Florida says, 08:56 "I have been diagnosed with colon cancer 08:58 that was found on a screening exam. 09:00 Please let others know the value of health screening." 09:03 These are--I'm assuming these are the things 09:04 that go around from town to town 09:06 and you go and you have these tests done. 09:08 Are they good? 09:09 But most doctors will do that themselves. Okay. 09:12 At certain ages, they recommend screening 09:14 for colon cancer, for breast, for skin problems. 09:17 You know, they're general screening cancer. 09:18 And if we pick up colon cancer at an early stage, 09:21 Yeah. We can cure that. 09:22 If its spread, that's very hard to cure. 09:25 Certain types of skin cancer needs to be screened for. 09:28 In males, we're screening for prostate cancer. 09:31 We're not really sure what to do with some of the results of that 09:34 but we're also screening for that. 09:35 In women, of course, they're screening for breast cancer. 09:38 And if anyone has a genetic stress on them, 09:40 like a family history, we want to really pay attention. 09:43 Like, if your dad had colon cancer at age 35, 09:46 we're gonna wanna check your colon at 25 09:48 to see if we could pick it up at an early stage. 09:50 So screening tests are very useful. 09:53 They've been proven in studies. 09:54 This is a place for modern medicine. 09:56 And even including those little mobile screening 09:58 as it go around. If they know what they're doing. 10:00 There're a lot of them aren't licensed. 10:01 A lot of them don't know-- necessarily know 10:03 what they're doing. 10:04 So if they're good and they know what they're doing, 10:06 they understand what they're looking for. 10:08 You know they'll screen you for cholesterol. 10:09 But most of the things they screen for 10:11 your personal physician could do. 10:12 And I encourage everyone to go see their doctor 10:16 because, you know, your health is one of your most-- 10:18 its valuable assets. Absolutely. 10:20 So you need to take care of it. 10:21 Unfortunately, like I said we spend more time 10:23 choosing where to go on vacation or what bank to do 10:26 than we do to pick out a doctor and screen, 10:28 and take care of this asset. 10:30 'Cause once you lose your health, 10:31 it's hard to get it back. Oh, my. Okay. 10:33 And here's another question 10:35 from the heartwiseministries.org website. 10:37 My blood pressure is 145 over 88 and I am 50 pounds over weight. 10:43 Is it reasonable to take a medication? 10:45 This is Sally in Delaware. Yeah. 10:47 It's reasonable to take a medication 10:50 until like I said we can get at what causes it. 10:52 And there's many things that can help. 10:54 And that's why I wrote this book, 10:56 which is named after, you know, 10:57 the show is named after "The Ultimate prescription." 10:59 If you go on our website, you can get this book. 11:02 And this sort of helps people understand 11:05 where the appropriate care is. 11:07 Where is the place for modern medicine? 11:09 Where is the place for lifestyle and more than that 11:11 where is the place and how do we connect 11:14 with the ultimate physician? 11:16 Well, we know how to do that in this program 11:18 not only do we provide information 11:20 for you and education. 11:22 But we also wanna bring you to Jesus. 11:24 We wanna make sure that you have that connection 11:26 that it is working for you 11:28 and that it is a part of your life on an every day basis. 11:33 That is the ultimate prescription coming to Jesus 11:36 and learning to love His way and learning to love everyone 11:40 that God has put in our path. 11:42 We'll have a prayer with you in just a minute. 11:44 So stay right where you are. 11:50 Today we've talked about when to use modern technology. 11:54 There is a place for stents and bypasses, 11:57 and medicines and going to the doctor. 11:59 There is a place for that 12:00 but we also wanna focus on Biblical technology. 12:04 There is a place for what God has taught us. 12:08 Many of us you've called to our website 12:10 and wrote us letters asking for prayer for healing. 12:13 Prayer is so important 12:15 'cause it's in that conversation with God 12:18 that we enter into that relationship with Him. 12:20 So I want everyone to bow their heads right now 12:23 and we'll pray for healing for all those that have written in. 12:26 Father God, I wanna pray for healing 12:28 for those many people that have written in 12:30 and those that need healing today, Father. 12:33 We know sometimes you heal us right away. 12:35 Sometimes you heal us through lifestyle changes 12:38 and sometimes you heal us from modern medicine. 12:41 But we want everyone to be healed in that relationship 12:44 we have with You, Father. 12:45 And if there is someone out there 12:46 that hasn't entered in this relationship 12:48 that needs You, Father, please take them 12:50 to this place is our humble prayer. Amen. 12:54 You're probably not gonna hear a lot about these concepts 12:57 in medical textbooks or even other medical programs 13:01 because God has a unique way of doing things. 13:04 And we're hoping He's touched your heart today 13:06 to incorporate some of the things 13:08 you've learned today and to help you have better health. 13:11 If you might have a question, we want to serve you 13:14 by going to our website heartwiseministries.org 13:17 so we can address your questions. 13:20 We wanna thank you for your prayers and support 13:22 as we move this ministry, 13:24 this evangelistic ministry forward 13:26 'cause we think by doing this we can touch peoples' heart 13:29 and getting them back into the relationship 13:31 with their Heavenly Father. 13:33 We want you to keep us in mind. 13:36 As you watch the ultimate prescription, 13:38 we need your prayers and just stay with us. 13:40 Now I want everyone to remember 13:43 there's a place for modern medicine. 13:44 There's a place for technology 13:46 but stay with the ultimate physician. |
Revised 2014-12-17