Desperation Medicine

For 10 million patients suffering from chronic illnesses caused by biotoxins coming from our changing environment, reading this book will be the first step to recovery. From chronic Lyme Disease, sick building syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and more, to illnesses caused by neurotoxins from Pfiesteria, ciguatera, cylindromspermopsis and chattonella, the spectrum of chronic toxin-mediated illness is vast. Physicians can't diagnose the illnesses with standard blood tests -- and antibiotics don't work. A new biomarker, visual contrast sensitivity (VCS), successfully identifies the presence of the effect of neurotoxins. New treatment protocols, described in detail, lead to successful resolution of symptoms and the VCS deficit. These illnesses are environmental in origin and the politics of denial are summarized in the chapter, "The Appearance of Good Science". The case histories are true and the patients are real. The science is rock solid. The book serves as a warning to all of us as our environment is changed by the chemical age. The good news for long suffering patients everywhere is that successful diagnosis and treatment of these destructive illnesses is now at hand! The good news for practicing physicians is that a recently discovered biomarker can rapidly pinpoint the true cause of symptoms which are now being incorrectly blamed on such vaguely defined conditions as depression, fibromyalgia, stress and irritable bowel syndrome.

Ritchie C. Shoemaker, M.D., named the "Maryland Family Practice Physician of the Year, 2000", has published numerous articles in medical journals and other publications on "chronic, neurotoxin-mediated illness," and his discoveries are now changing the way science thinks about disease. Trained as a molecular biologist at Duke University, Dr. Shoemaker used the experience he gained during 20 years of Family Practice to open the window on a frightening new disease threat now emerging from our chemically polluted environment.

Along the way, he fought numerous political battles with entrenched State and local public bureaucracies (along with the powerful CDC) who were intent on denying the existence of these new pollution-linked diseases.

Desperation Medicine reflects Dr. Shoemaker's broad, multi-dimensional approach to science. While exploring topics as varied as wetlands ecology, the genetic basis of cell functioning, philosophy from the Ancient Greeks to the Moderns, and the interactions of populations, the author raises disturbing new questions about the relationship between social ethics and disease.

Crafted from Ritchie Shoemaker's wide-ranging interests and his willingness to challenge existing dogma, Desperation Medicine is based on a fundamental principle: "The key to understanding is casting out false knowledge!"

Ritchie Shoemaker, M.D., is the author of two previous books on science and health: Pfiesteria: Crossing Dark Water, and Weight Loss and Maintenance: My Way Works.