How does one explain to a parent that their 'cure' is BS?

[Moky]

I'm having a small issue with my mom. She likes to think that all things can be cured with vitamins.

This started when I was young, she found a company selling vitamins and now she's convinced that they can cure everything from depression to athsma to cancer. I bought into it too. I was young and after all, mom knows best right? Then I started to get older and I started to think for myself, I learned more of the human body. I realized that the vitamins aren't all they are cracked up to be. While vitamins are needed to be healthy, taking extra amounts isn't going to be an amazing cure. I stopped taking them for a while because I was sick of taking up to 40 pills each day. (20 in the afternoon and 20 in the evening) Nothing happened. The only difference was that I avoided the minor nausea of swallowing a large amount of pills. When I tried to explain to my mom that nothing changed, she started to come up with these claims that my grades were higher when I took the vitamins and I wasn't sick as often. Both claims are bogus, my grades and health have been getting better without the vitamins. When ever I say I need to go to a doctor, I'm not feeling to well, her responce would be, "Oh that wouldn't have happened if you took your vitamins." It's one of the most frustrating things ever. I would be blunt and argue but she's just as stuborn as I am and she's my mom. I can't be mean without feeling bad myself. And there's a slight language barrier. If I tried to debate her, I would be caught up in my own web. If the only solution is to grin and bear it, then at least I was able to vent this out. It's very frustrating having someone shove a miricle cure down your throat, literally, that doesn't work. At most, it's a placebo.

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

Trying to explain the issue and asking why does she believe that the vitamins do everything that she believes it does. If she mentions the experts then take her to listen to the opinion of a real doctor, better yet take her to listen the opinion of a real doctor anyway.

 

[Homunclus]

How much of an exaggeration is "40 pills a day"? Cause huge amounts of vitamins can be dangerous you know? As a matter a fact there is no reason why one should need vitamin supplements at all...unless you have a deficient diet.

 

[darthrender2010]

How much of an exaggeration is "40 pills a day"? Cause huge amounts of vitamins can be dangerous you know? As a matter a fact there is no reason why one should need vitamin supplements at all...unless you have a deficient diet.

seriously, I'm surprised he's not dead if that is anywhere close to accurate.

 

[Aught3]

Is it a whole bunch of vitamin C? But even that's unhealthy in high doses.

 

[Moky]

It's not an exagertation at all actually. It was 21 during my lunch hour and 21 in the evening. So the number is 42. I thought way more than that would be needed to kill me. The body just wouldn't absorb that extra amount. Or am I wrong?

And yes, I told her many times I'm in no danger of malnutrition, but she keeps insisting that I don't eat enough and she thinks doctors are all out to get our money. Even if thats true, I would really like to go to one now. I'm going to need those vitamins soon because my throat is getting to swollen to eat without a good amount of pain. I'm suffering way more than I have to right now.

(I'm a she btw.)

 

[Sando]

Demand to go see a doctor. She's not going to force you into not going, is she? Just have her talk to the doctor about it... I don't know who else could possibly change her mind. Or is she getting her ideas from somewhere specific?

How old are you by the way?

 

[Homunclus]

Have you tried to show her a list of the consequences of some hypervitaminosis?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypervitaminosis_A#Presentation

Or here is one even better: http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/hypervitaminosis-a/overview.html

Apparently hypervitaminosis A can cause: "Impotence and ejaculation failure" - who would have fought? :mrgreen:

It's not an exagertation at all actually. It was 21 during my lunch hour and 21 in the evening. So the number is 42. I thought way more than that would be needed to kill me. The body just wouldn't absorb that extra amount. Or am I wrong?

Well I don't think it will actually kill you (especially if you stopped) but yes it can be dangerous as the articles above indicate

It might also help to point out that vitamins aren't an actual group of substances but in actuality an artificial grouping of all the substances of organic nature that the body only requires in small amounts - they have nothing else in common and preform task that range from blood clotting (vitamin K if I'm not mistaken) to constituents of the eye (A)

 

[CosmicSpork]

My mum has a thing about vitamins and suppliments, but she doesn't go completely overboard and a lot of what she says has merit, chemical imbalances can cause all sorts of problems and lacking certain vitamins can do that... Also, Zinc was great for acne when I was a teenager. However, do think of vitamins as a cure-all is a bit silly.

 

[Moky]

I'm 17, so I'm to young to get any prescription meds. She also never let me have a job until now and I'm looking. I can't pay for a doctor visit at all. The issue is, I can talk to her all I want, show her all the proof I can, she's always going to attribute it to someone corrupting me or that it's wrong and shes right. Like I mentioned before, there's a language barrier, I can't get scientific. I would trip myself up.

I'm looking at the list of symptoms and all I can think is, "Holy hell, does that explain a lot." XD

 

[darthrender2010]

(I'm a she btw.)

oh sorry 'bout that

 

[CosmicSpork]

You can overdose on almost anything... vitamin C for instance, if you have more than 1000mg a day for a prolonged period of time it can kill you, or so I was told. Though as a water soluble vitamin it's one of the least dangerous, it's vitamins A, D, E, and K that can be dangerous as they are fat soluble and remain in your system for longer.

 

[GoodKat]

I'm going to need those vitamins soon because my throat is getting to swollen to eat without a good amount of pain. I'm suffering way more than I have to right now.

You may need to be calling child services instead of posting on an internet forum, this appears to be a case of negligence.

 

[Jotto999]

You may need to be calling child services instead of posting on an internet forum, this appears to be a case of negligence.

This.

You need to call child services. What she is doing is simply not normal. Do the right thing, make that call. Seriously!

 

[RestrictedAccess]

My parents do the same thing with coconut oil. Seriously, when I had gall stones, they were telling me to ingest the stuff so it can break the stones down and help them pass. :roll:

My mother-in-law is on the same kind of health kick. We've tried to talk her out of it, but to no avail. Some people just can't be convinced. Right now we're working on trying to convince her that it's better to ingest a few hormones in her milk and other produce items than spend money she doesn't have on organic versions.

 

[CupOfWater]

Sucks to be you.

I take vitamins too, but it's nowhere near your situation... I only take 5 pills each day. 2 fish oil, 2 kalcium and 1 vitamin with all kinds of stuff.

It's not like you HAVE to take the pills. If you deny, she'll get the point soon. You could also go to a doctor with her, and have the doctor explain why what she's doing is useless and wrong.

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

As the point seams clear, your situation demands more action then atempts to try and reason whit delusion. If there is a time to rebel against your parents that time is now. Superstition can put you in big trouble, if you do nothing the situation can escalate in such a way that you will regreat it for the rest of your life (no matter how short that would be). If there is something that you need to set straight in your head is that your life is yours and yours alone, you don't get a new back when some one ruins it.

 

[Moky]

I would've called child services a long time ago if this wasn't the only issue. This really is the only issue because other wise she's a great mother. I haven't taken the damn pills for a year, I'm good without them and I'm just as stubborn as she is. She's not getting anywhere.

She probably just bought into the, "Doctors are evil, I'm the good guy" bullshit the vitamin companies give you. And it's terrible. They give this false hope that the vitamins will cure, say cancer for instance, and some poor person buys into it. Not only did they waste precious time, they were deceived. They bought into a delusion for the profit of someone else. It's not any different with anything else. The same thing is preached with electro-magnetisim, it's all the same crap that helps no one besides the person spewing the lies. I found a lovely site that posts things about stuff like this. My particular favorite is how to spot if someone is trying to sell you something that won't work.

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/spotquack.html

It's a nice article that helps point out some signs that you're being taken for a ride and I like the url title.

 

[GoodKat]

Let me rephrase my post, you should threaten to call child services, maybe start crying and saying that she doesn't love you.

 

[Moky]

All I do is chant, "One more year and I'm off to college." I never thought I would be so glad to get out of school to go to a more intense school.