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I had much more success researching my own health problems than by visiting any doctor (and have seen a lot, unfortunately). As a bonus, I learned a lot about t

by outime 7y ago

I had much more success researching my own health problems than by visiting any doctor (and have seen a lot, unfortunately). As a bonus, I learned a lot about the body and the mind. I see misdiagnosis happening at a very high rate but I also understand they don’t have the time and/or energy to dig very deep into each patient and they do fine (money and respect-wise) by doing the bare minimum so many don’t try to fight it by e.g. setting up their own consultation and trying to do better (not necessarily making less money). Of course, a bunch of exceptions can be found and they do shine a lot, but the average doctor isn’t going to be helpful after the very typical and simple checks don’t yield anything and they’ll happily prescribe things that won’t actually help you. That’s been my experience in at least couple european countries. Edit: typo

AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
In my experience the situation in the US is about on par, only with very few shining exceptions. I never bother to see a physician unless I'm fairly confident there's something going on I can't fix and I have a good idea of what it is and isn't. The alternative is spending 20 minutes talking to someone filling out forms on a PC and pretending to listen before working as quickly as possible to get you out of their office. Oh, you have some kind of acid-related chest pain? We'll just prescribe a proton pump inhibitor for the rest of your life rather than worry about fixing anything, thank you come again. Hell, when I was a child and my thyroid failed physicians spent 2 years telling my mother that I was just lazy. My symptoms were so textbook that a coworker of hers diagnosed hypothyroidism, sight unseen, from the mere description. Even so, she had to demand they perform the incredibly simple blood test to confirm. Needless to say, I have very little respect for physicians in general.
ssully 7y ago
I think it's very important for people to be proactive about their out health and care, but I think listening and working with your primary care doctor is just as important. If you don't think your doctor is helpful or listening then you probably need to find a new doctor.
- rurp 7y ago
  The problem is that, IME, the vast majority of primary care doctors match the OP's description. They order a standard test, check if the results match the most common problem, and then either prescribe the typical medicine the patient probably came across with a few minutes of searching, or shrug and send them on their way. I know in theory they are supposed to look at the big picture and weigh a myriad of factors in coming to a diagnosis. In practice, they mostly just check if any of the blood test results are outside of the reference range and call it good. I'm sure there are great primary care doctors out there that want to defy their own incentives and do the right thing, but trying out a bunch of doctors can take a lot of time and money, often with no payoff.
- drdeadringer 7y ago
  > be proactive about their out health and care My mother did this on my behalf when I was an infant, just a few weeks old. "Nothing is staying down. Always throwing up. Not gaining wait." "Oh yea yea sure new mother. You'll get the hang of it. Come back next month see you then. Naturally under weight since birth it's normal for the kid. Thanks bye." Rinse and repeat until some doctor got bloody tired of the repeat visits. "Fine, come on in and I'll take a look." A few minutes later it was "oh fuck" and I was on a gurney being wheeled into surgery. So now that it's decades after I didn't starve to death thanks to a procedure that didn't exist before 1912 [official diagnostic criteria at 1888] ... yea. Maybe sometimes you should bother your doctor(s). Sure, humour them and leave a lot of the time but when you know it's Not Good ... make them stop humouring you. And yes, "I have the scar to prove it".
  - lonelappde 7y ago
    Nowadays is the baby isn't gaining weight after the first week the standard is to hospitalize.
legohead 7y ago
Just watch a season of Mystery Diagnosis if you want to lose faith in doctor prognoses. Most of the individuals end up figuring it out themselves and then finding a specialty doctor. Main treatment program for a doctor: go home and see if it gets better

by outime 7y ago

AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago

In my experience the situation in the US is about on par, only with very few shining exceptions. I never bother to see a physician unless I'm fairly confident there's something going on I can't fix and I have a good idea of what it is and isn't. The alternative is spending 20 minutes talking to someone filling out forms on a PC and pretending to listen before working as quickly as possible to get you out of their office. Oh, you have some kind of acid-related chest pain? We'll just prescribe a proton pump inhibitor for the rest of your life rather than worry about fixing anything, thank you come again. Hell, when I was a child and my thyroid failed physicians spent 2 years telling my mother that I was just lazy. My symptoms were so textbook that a coworker of hers diagnosed hypothyroidism, sight unseen, from the mere description. Even so, she had to demand they perform the incredibly simple blood test to confirm. Needless to say, I have very little respect for physicians in general.

ssully 7y ago

I think it's very important for people to be proactive about their out health and care, but I think listening and working with your primary care doctor is just as important. If you don't think your doctor is helpful or listening then you probably need to find a new doctor.

rurp 7y ago
The problem is that, IME, the vast majority of primary care doctors match the OP's description. They order a standard test, check if the results match the most common problem, and then either prescribe the typical medicine the patient probably came across with a few minutes of searching, or shrug and send them on their way. I know in theory they are supposed to look at the big picture and weigh a myriad of factors in coming to a diagnosis. In practice, they mostly just check if any of the blood test results are outside of the reference range and call it good. I'm sure there are great primary care doctors out there that want to defy their own incentives and do the right thing, but trying out a bunch of doctors can take a lot of time and money, often with no payoff.
drdeadringer 7y ago
> be proactive about their out health and care My mother did this on my behalf when I was an infant, just a few weeks old. "Nothing is staying down. Always throwing up. Not gaining wait." "Oh yea yea sure new mother. You'll get the hang of it. Come back next month see you then. Naturally under weight since birth it's normal for the kid. Thanks bye." Rinse and repeat until some doctor got bloody tired of the repeat visits. "Fine, come on in and I'll take a look." A few minutes later it was "oh fuck" and I was on a gurney being wheeled into surgery. So now that it's decades after I didn't starve to death thanks to a procedure that didn't exist before 1912 [official diagnostic criteria at 1888] ... yea. Maybe sometimes you should bother your doctor(s). Sure, humour them and leave a lot of the time but when you know it's Not Good ... make them stop humouring you. And yes, "I have the scar to prove it".
- lonelappde 7y ago
  Nowadays is the baby isn't gaining weight after the first week the standard is to hospitalize.

legohead 7y ago

Just watch a season of Mystery Diagnosis if you want to lose faith in doctor prognoses. Most of the individuals end up figuring it out themselves and then finding a specialty doctor. Main treatment program for a doctor: go home and see if it gets better