Medical Quotes

It's a lot safer for doctors  to kill their patients with treatments that have been approved than to cure them with treatments that challenge tradition. -- Jane Fagen

Medicine has been defined to be the art or science of amusing a sick man with frivolous speculations about his disorder, and tampering ingeniously till nature either kills or cures him -- Jeffrey


The witch doctor succeeds for the same reason all the rest of us succeed. Each patient carries his own doctor within him. They come to us not knowing that truth. We are at our best when we give the doctor that resides within each patient the chance to go to work. -- Albert Schweitzer


Patients come to us, little knowing that there is a doctor inside their own heads.  The answer to our problems is locked up inside ourselves. -- Albert Schweitzer

When your sitting on a tack, it takes a incredible amount of aspirin to make you feel better.  If your sitting on a hundred tacks removing one isn't going to help very much. -- Sydney S. Baker

"A medicine ...is always directly hurtful; it may sometimes be indirectly beneficial. I firmly believe that if most of the pharmacopaeia were sunk to the bottom of the sea, it would be all the better for mankind and all the worse for the fishes." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes
(Surely the above quote is an overstatement of fact; or is it? I have a friend who quit his job as a pharmacist for $32 an hour and is now working as a truck driver for $14 an hour - because he had a conscience -- ds ) 

The dean of medicine at Brown University told a medical school graduating class, "Fifty percent of what we have taught you is wrong. Our problem is that we don't know which 50%." -- Dean David S. Greer

"I die by the help of too many physicians." -- Alexander the Great, 323 B.C
.

Older people shouldn't eat health food, they need all the preservatives they can get. --
Robert Orben

God who sends
 the wound sends the medicine. -- Cervantes
 Source: Don Quixote

The arrival of a good clown exercises more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than twenty asses laden with drugs. -- Thomas Lydenham (17th century physician)


The same vehemence that led Galileo to be condemned by the Church for his theories, in spite of the scientifically demonstrable facts, is now being used by medicine to reject any thesis that is contrary to its own dogmas.  -- Olivier Clerc


"If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as the souls who live under tyranny."
-- Thomas Jefferson



Unless we put medical freedom into the constitution, the time will come when medicine will organize itself into an undercover dictatorship. To restrict the art of healing to one class of men and deny equal privileges to others will constitute the Bastille of medical science. All such laws are un-American and despotic. -- Benjamin Rush, physician, Revolutionary war hero, and signer of the Declaration of Independence


















 

   

 
 

“I continue to be astonished at how dramatically and completely Darrell can get rid of severe pain. I have seen with my own eyes thousands of people becoming completely pain free when they thought they would have to live with pain for the rest of their lives. … This book contains many important ideas for enhanced health and well-being. They are founded on the basis of published medical literature, and I believe are sound medical concepts.”  -- Dennis W. Remington, M.D., P.C., Author, How to Lower Your Fat Thermostat, Back to Health, The Bitter Truth About Artificial Sweetners

"Deafferentation, neurogenic pain - which is the most treatment resistant is due to loss of neurologic signal from the periphery due to conduction loss - both neuropathic and tissue "volume conduction" changes.  Stoddard's concept of reconnecting the system by use of conductive tape is a philosophical and practical "out of the box" end run for pain therapy..... The day will come when no surgery will ever be performed wihout putting a silver product such as Biotape over the incision as a final dressing" (To keep the site sterile and to reconnect the neurological signals between cells.)  -- R. P. Iacono, M.D. FACS Neuroscience/ Neurosurgery, Explored the underlying physiology of chronic pain at U.S.C. and Duke University. Pioneer of sterotactic pallidotomy brain surgery for Parkinson’s disease.  Has performed more than 1500 such surgeries.  Has a waiting list of 1000 more.  See Iacono Bio at: http://www.pallidotomy.com
 
Darrell Stoddard presents information that when accepted and implemented will change the way modern medicine treats pain. Everyone suffering from pain will benefit. -- Kent Pendleton, Health Educator

I am pleased to recommend Darrell Stoddard’s book Pain Free for Life that provides a valid, low-risk, low-cost, alternative to modern medicine’s drug and surgery approach to pain. Darrell’s work is based on many years of hands-on experience with thousands of people. He has demonstrated that his simple, non-invasive treatments cannot only relieve pain quickly, but actually stop the cause of pain. Medical practitioners would do well to incorporate his methods as a first response for dealing with pain. -- Mark C. Belk, PhD Zoology

I have seen Darrell Stoddard relieve chronic intractable pain in hundreds of patients – patients orthodox medicine could not help.
-- Dennis Harper, D.O.

Since I began using Biotape 5 years ago I would say that it gives great results 90% of the time. I have sent it home with many patients with the instruction to apply it where it hurts! It always works within a few minutes to an hour and usually within a few days the disability is gone.  -- John E. Gambee, M.D.

This book presents a 180-degree paradigm shift from the drug based pharmaceutical approach of managing pain, to treating the cause of pain.  It is “outside the box” thinking that should be considered by every medical doctor. -- David Voss, D.O.

I have watched Darrell work and produce dramatic pain relief for my wife.  We had one of the machines he uses in our home for a number of years and I was able to relieve my wife’s pain and that of many others.  I have also used the instrument to measure resistance before and after treatment.  There is no question that the resistance decreases with a decrease in the pain. -- A. Owen Smoot M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon
 
"Society has already gained immensely from Darrell Stoddard's work - his 'impossible dream.'  Those who are fortunate to read 'Pain Free for Life' will assuredly agree!” -- John W. Gofman, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Molecular and Cell Biology, U.C. Berkeley, Former Director Biomedical Research Division, Livermore National Laboratory, Author of nine books and more than 120 articles in peer review scientific journals.  “Has undoubtedly saved more people from cancer than any man who has ever lived.” Seven-page letter from Dr. Gofman defending the work of Darrell Stoddard is on file.  Concluding lines read, “The Darrell Stoddard Concepts deserve widespread confirmation and extension.”

"I have found that people in chronic pain do not usually get better with medication.  In many cases the medication causes a worsening of pain over time.  On the other hand, I have seen Darrell Stoddard miraculously relieve difficult-to-treat pain in many of my patients and hundreds of others in just a few minutes and without medicine.  His theories concerning pain-relief, though controversial in the medical community, have proven effective over and over again." -- Judith S. Moore, D.O., co-author of Marie Osmond's best-seller Behind the Smile and author of Healing from the Heart: the Inherent Power to Heal from Within

“To learn what could be the cause of chronic pain and revealing how to heal pain makes this book worthwhile.  Uncovering a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease would be another breakthrough.  This book presents compelling evidence for both discoveries.” -- Curtis Van Alfen, Ed.D., Author, Opening Doors to the Heart

Dear Darrell,

 

I have to thank you for the opportunity to participate in a wonderfull experience managing the unmanageable. As you know I am a neurologist and I have selected 23 patients from my practice who experienced intractable pains for many years. You have administered your treatments and results are remarkable by any standard.

 

50% of these patients have significant relief of their pains (80-100% reduction of pain) even after two weeks.

 

The remaining 50% who didn't do well after two weeks, experienced initially brief relief of pain (few hours - day) but then pain has returned. However many of these patients take narcotic pain medications and, as we discussed, they would be much less likely to respond to initial treatment. I am confident that after repeating the auriculotherapy treatments I will be able significantly help these patients as well.

 

In comparison to traditional pain management techniques this is far superior. Most patients under "pain management" alternate between bad and very bad pains without any permanent relief. Thank you again for sharing your expertise.

 

Best Regards,
Julius Bazan MD.

__________________________________________________________________________

Darrell Stoddard
Pain Research Institute

I have been retired from the medical field for over 10 Years with Board Certification in Preventative Medicine, Diagnosis, and Pain Management.  I created seven health care clinics including Chiropractic, Medical, Multidiscipline, and Physical Therapy. Over 100 doctors have worked for me over a period of about 27 years.

I am writing to tell you that I believe that your patented Biotape is nothing short of a miracle.  When I first received the tape I had just injured my ankle severely and had been unable to walk at all at first and very little even after several weeks of treatment.  The day I put your Biotape on the pain decreased at least 80% within about a minute and I was able to walk about 1 mile the next day.  After that it felt and functioned like nothing ever happened.  I was overjoyed to say the least.  Then several days later I awoke with a terrible headache that nothing has ever helped.  I have suffered with these for more than 35 yrs.  When they first started I was put in a hospital for a week of tests because they thought it was a brain tumor.  Well this night I put a strip of tape on my head and the pain went away immediately.  I could not believe it.  It was like magic.  Then I woke up later that night and felt a sharp pain on just one small spot on my forehead.  I got up and looked in the mirror and the spot where I felt the pain was where the tape had fallen down while I was sleeping.  I pressed the little bit of tape back on and that pain went away again instantly.  I have started telling the doctors and they have just started to use this in their practice. From what I understand several patients with permanent impairments of their back have already reported profound relief.  You have really created a miracle.  Thank you!

Dr. Paul E. Jondle
_________________________________________________________________________

Hi Darrell,

       You sent me some biotape a while ago and I have used it here and there with varying success. I want to tell you about another situation where I used it successfully.
       I am plagued with Menieres Syndrome - vertigo and nausea episodes. After trying everything (I am an MD), in desperation I stuck a short (2 cm) piece of biotape on my mastoid bone on the affected side and for the first time in a long time I felt better.
       Another patient, an elderly lady was referred to me by a neurosurgeon for vertigo and light headedness and he could find nothing wrong with her after extensive tests and investigations. He had heard about my Menieres and the tape so he thought this might help her. It did and I have an extremely grateful patient who has maybe contacted you by now to purchase tape as I gave her your e-mail address. So the biotape works for this as well !!!

Thanks,

Russell Raath, MD Anesthesiologist
___________________________________________________________________________

Chronic pain odyssey: adventures into the unknown

        Darrell Stoddard is a gentleman and is sincerely interested in helping you to overcome and control your pain. He cares deeply about the people that he treats and wants to tackle the most difficult pain problems. He has just finished working in my clinic for 2 weeks and has seen and treated about 60 people with very good results. Not a single person was injured in any way. Most left the office with greater than 80% pain relief. He saw only the most difficult and longstanding pain problems as my practice only cares for the most difficult cases that other physician have given up on as incurables.  He handled every situation that I could throw at him with grace and compassion.  Yesterday he provided a woman that has been suffering from back injury pain for the past 2 years, despite all treatment that “conventional medicine” could offer, complete and total relief from her pain.  The woman was understandably joyously tearful.  We are very happy for her.
         I am a neurosurgeon and pain management specialist.  At present my practice is limited to pain management in an office setting and is entirely nonoperative.  During my 20 years of operative neurosurgery I preformed hundreds of surgeries for pain including complex fusion operations. I have implanted many spinal cord stimulators and intrathecal morphine pumps for people that have severe intractable chronic pain.  My practice has seen the successes and failures of modern neurosurgical care.  Early on in my career it became apparent to me that the vast majority of people that have pain are not viable candidates for surgical relief of their pain.  Their pain is usually too complex to be controlled with surgery.  It also became apparent to me that most neurosurgeons were not interested in this large group of patients that were coming to them for help.  Their major goal was to find patients with lesions that they excise to their financial gain.  If the patients were not benefited they were essentially abandoned after being told that the benevolent surgeon had done all he or she could do for them and that they would have to learn to live with their pain.  People have told me some of the most amazing statements that their surgeons have told them after surgery failed to relieve their pain.  I developed a somewhat morbid interest in trying to figure out how to help these people to overcome their pain; both the people that I had operated on and that other surgeon had operated upon.  I have always been proud of my philosophy of using surgery only as last resort measure after all conservative (non-surgical) measures had failed to relieve the person’s pain.  Unfortunately even when preformed under these conditions and even when done technically perfectly surgery often fails to help people and may actually make them much worse.  The actual success rate of surgical care for pain relief is unknown and is probably much lower than any surgeon would be willing to admit.  I was somewhat amazed at a spinal fusion symposium in Long Beach when an internationally recognized spine surgeon told us that despite all the recent technological advances in spinal fusion operation that the success rate in pain relief with these operations remained solidly fixated at 30-40%.  He was not optimistic that this number would ever be improved upon.  These international experts were equally pessimistic about the eventual success of disc replacement surgery.  Studies done at the hospital that I was operating at showed similar poor results with “technically successful” spinal fusion operations.  As surgeons we were advised to inform our patients of the low success rate of surgery. Few people informed of such results ever agree to spinal fusion operations.  If the person undergoes such surgery they often become chronic pain patients with “failed surgery syndrome”.  A massive amount of these operations are being done in the USA at tremendous cost.  I still believe that an occasional person might be benefited from spinal surgery and do refer people for surgery but the vast majority of people do not need surgery and can be helped with simpler, safer and less expensive treatment. Spinal surgery is very expensive and I am too embarrassed to tell you what my fees were for surgery.  Let’s just say that when I was operating I could make as much in 1 hour as I can make now in a whole week of office practice.  The amount of money that the hospitals are making is even more astounding.  Surgical treatment is BIG business.
        During my training in neurosurgery at Loma Linda University in southern California we received no training in pain evaluation or treatment.  Our neurosurgical textbooks had little information about pain treatment. Despite this I was very interested in pain.  As Dr. Norman Shealy has pointed out “pain is the most common complaint that a patient has when they present to a neurosurgeon yet they do nothing about it”.  It seemed peculiar to me that we would not be able to offer any viable treatment for this common complaint.  In practice pain remained the most common complaint and the most common procedure was disc excision to relieve extremity pain.  The neurosurgical literature is replete with splendid success rates for certain operations that I never saw in the real practice of neurosurgery.  Microlumbar diskectomy was touted as have in 90% success rates in relieving leg pain but no mention was made of the relief of lower back pain.  I never saw this level of success with either my patients or with my colleagues patients.  Furthermore this operation did almost nothing for lower back pain and oftentimes made it much worse.  On a long-term basis and for the patient’s overall pain this operation accomplished almost nothing.  It is also interesting to note that other countries of the world seldom preformed this surgery and that the long-term outcome with or without surgery was unchanged by surgery.  Yet a surgeon operates.  When you are a hammer everything starts to look like a nail.  Financial advisors told me that I make money operating and not by talking to patients or attempting to solve their problems without surgery.  I was literally cutting my own financial throat by listening to my patient’s complaint fully, evaluating their pain complaints thoroughly and sparing them from unnecessary and expensive surgery.  I still remained interested in the truth and about wanting to help the people that were coming to me with their chronic pain.  
        During the past 10 years I have been immersed in trying to help people in chronic pain.  Oregon has been at the forefront of the pain management movement. A courageous Ashland orthopedist, Dr. Morrison decided to start treating people who were complaining to him about their pain with opiates.  He eventually had to do battle with the Oregon Medical Board and essentially won the ability to offer people some degree of pain relief.
        I have always believed my patient’s complaints about pain but now decided to actually do something about it and started to treat pain with opiates.  I went to many courses and read about the use of opiates for chronic pain not caused by cancer.  Many of the concepts that were taught in medical school about pain management and addiction was challenged and the evolving field of pain management was started.  New organizations formed and grew to expedite the expansion of pain management.  Uncharted waters opened up with their attendant risks and benefits.  I became an “interventionalist” pain management specialist offering the latest in technological treatment for chronic pain.  This meant that I trialed and implanted high technology devices such as spinal cord stimulators and intrathecal morphine pumps.  A very small minority of patients required such expensive intervention and the vast majority of people could have their pain controlled with much simpler measures. Furthermore, in my opinion a large number of patients treated interventionally were not made better with this treatment but by the other measures that we provided to them.  Many patients were complaining of the same degree of pain long after their interventional devices had been implanted and repeatedly adjusted.  Many of the people that were treated with oral opiates when carefully questioned were still complaining about unchanged pain and its attendant impairment of their lives.  Although treatment of chronic pain has been helped immeasurably by the liberalization of opiates prescribing and other medications for pain management there has remained a significant number of people that have not been benefited by current pain management techniques.  Many dangerous treatment situations have developed from this evolution of our pain practices and undoubtedly many lives have been lost or ruined. This has bothered me profoundly. I have always learned more from my shortcoming and failures and am forever optimistic that something can be found that will solve these riddles of pain.
        Wandering in bookstores has always been a habit of mine.  Searching for new information in stores or the Internet has helped me to solve many problems.  Doing this one day led me to purchase Darrell Stoddard’s book PAIN FREE for Life: How to Heal Yourself Naturally without Drugs or Surgery.   Reading it in a single sitting interested me enough to email Darrell at his Internet site.  He called me the next day and we talked for quite a while on a rainy Sunday morning.  He wanted a chance to prove himself to me and demonstrate his techniques with the most difficult patients in my pain practice. At his own expense he came to Oregon from Utah and has stayed here for the past 2 weeks helping the most difficult pain problems imaginable.  He has been remarkably successful.  He is heading home today but will be heading to Florida in March.  I look forward to continuing to work with him.  I definitely do not have all the answers to treating chronic pain but am thankful that Darrell wrote his book and came to Oregon to share his thoughts and techniques about chronic pain.

Thomas J. Purtzer, MD
Neurosurgeon and Pain Management Specialist
                                                           
National Medical Director
Fourteen Back 2 Backs Pain Management Clinics
Medford, Oregon

“I tried the Biotape and it worked. I placed the tape over a sore elbow that I’ve had for 6 months, and 10 minutes later when I was working on a patient, I noticed that the pain was gone. I have many patients that I can use the tape on.”  --Thaddeus Srutwa, M.D.

Dear Mr. Stoddard,
I first became acquainted with 4th Generation BioTape from an
infomercial. When the tape arrived I placed it on an area of my spine
which had experienced constant pain of varying intensity since the
vertebrae had sustained compression fractures in a roll-over motor
vehicle accident in 1968. ( Until BioTape, the only times I experienced
being without pain in that area was at those times I was hospitalized
and receiving intravenous Demerol for other matters.)  I applied the
BioTape in the early evening.  When I awoke the next morning the area
was completely comfortable.  In fact, I could not elicit or provoke
pain regardless of motions which ordinarily made the resting pain level
increase.  Since then I have recommended the product to my patients who
are interested to have alternatives for pain management.  When applied
within the considerations recommended, the results have been excellent.
  The exceptions are as you describe -- dehydration, and some
medications individuals may be using.

Every effort should be being made by all institutions of healing to
perform clinical verifications of the efficacy of these products.  That
any other attitude could be expressed towards BioTape is
incomprehensible, except for financial motives.  You have greatly
helped many people.  In return,  blessings should come to you.

Appreciatively yours,
F. Rocco Ruggiero, DC

Darrell, I have a question that only you can answer. Is this conductive tape thing real or a Dumbo's feather. A few weeks ago extreme discomfort recurred for no apparent reason and suspecting impedance buildup because at leat two weeks passed, I removed the tape, scribbed the area with alcohol and reapplied the tape. Almost immediately my comfort level returned to normal. Yesterday I awoke to severe overnight increase in discomfort, what I suppose could be called an electrophysiologic storm, terrible increase in med requirement and only today, after nearly 18 hours of growing discomfort, found where a three inch segment of the vertical tape had pulled free of my back. Reapplied the tape and now , within a few minutes, back to normal. I never expect to be free of these awakenings because of the steel/body interface reaction to stress and strain. Now I expect I should initiate a program of replacement every two weeks, even if they seem okay. Is three thousand years of Oriental Medicine that good? I have been skeptical but I guess I have to believe. Duane
(Duane Graveline) M.D., MPH, and former Astronaut

Return to Homepage of  the Pain Research Institute