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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

by 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.

by ssully 7y ago

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.