Read Online Dr. Feelgood by Richard A. Lertzman, William J. Birnes - Free Book Online

as a professional physician in Berlin.

Chapter 3
Setting Up Shop in Berlin
    Max Jacobson and his new bride, Alice Lowner, set up their first apartment in a fashionable part of Berlin near a park surrounding the Chateau Belle Vue. Jacobson also opened his private practice while he continued to work as a member of a medical research team at the Charité Hospital, where he investigated the changes in blood chemistry. He worked with doctors who, in addition to experimenting on animals, also experimented on themselves to obtain insight as to the effects of new drugs, a practice that Jacobson would also adopt, which ultimately got him addicted to methamphetamines. Jacobson also tried to develop a clientele of patients across the range of economic classes. He had wealthy patients as well as humble ones from working-class backgrounds. But as much as his fascination was with his general practice, he also developed an interest in the new field of psychiatry. He made the acquaintance of the three greatest psychiatrists of the time: Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Alfred Adler. Max met Freud, who was suffering from a cancer of his tongue. Mouth, tongue, throat, and esophageal cancers are among the types of cancers usually associated with heavy cigar and pipe smoking. Although Freud had become famous all across the world by the 1920s, his life had been plagued by financial problems. Despite those, his research flourished. Early on in his studies of brain anatomy, he discovered the cerebral location that caused speech disturbance in children. He was one of the early researchers on the biology of the brain that demystified the operation of the human neurological system at a time well before modern brain imaging studies. He faced great resistance from the medical profession when he articulated his concept of psychoanalysis. There was much derision from his colleagues when Freud presented his ideas about the unconscious mind, the influence of the human sex drive on the development of personality, and the methods a doctor should use in trying to ascertain the root causes of psychological disturbances. Most people believe, Max once said, that for Freud, psychoanalysis was an end in itself. But that was not true. Freud believed that medical research would ultimately reveal the biological workings of the brain and would result in the development of medications that would treat pathological mental illness.
    Max also consulted on cases with Professor Carl Jung. In one particular instance, a wealthy patient suffering from a neurosis had contacted Max for help. Max contacted Jung, and the two talked not only about the case, but also at length about Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious and the archetypal symbols of human beliefs. It was while studying under these psychiatrists that Jacobson began to experiment with methamphetamines as mood enhancers and emotional stimulants and applied his skills in the science of organic and biochemistry to the study of psychology. His research under the tutelage of Carl Jung led him to first experiment with early psychotropic, or mood and mind-altering, drugs that would by the latter part of the twentieth century result in pharmaceuticals such as Paxil, Ritalin, and even LSD. Jacobson noted that Jung himself foresaw the development of drugs that would normalize aberrant brain behavior. Jacobson looked for ways he could mix these early mind-altering drugs with vitamins, enzymes, animal placentas, and small amounts of hormones to remedy illnesses stemming from malnutrition or the abuse of alcohol or drugs such as tranquilizers. 16 Jacobson experimented on animals, patients, and himself with these drug cocktails. He became fascinated with the effects of the drugs he concocted and came to believe he could effect remedies on a cellular level through his own types of biological elixirs.
    Max’s internship and assistantship in surgery with August Bier, though it introduced him to the basics of surgical procedures,