3 ms·

That particular story seems like reasonable behavior on the doctor's part. But my personal experience has been that no doctor has ever brought up anything but p

by glaugh 11y ago

That particular story seems like reasonable behavior on the doctor's part. But my personal experience has been that no doctor has ever brought up anything but pills to treat any condition I've had or my wife has had (and we've each had a condition that we later mitigated with a relatively small amount of experimentation, once we sort of realized it was up to us). So to me the answer is "The doctor needs to start with non-pill solutions (if they make sense), then if the patient gets pushy or is uncooperative resort to pills, with fair warning that for the most part she's treating symptoms instead of the root cause." Does that sound like a reasonable compromise that we should all be able to agree on?

cromulent 11y ago
No, I can't agree. The doctor should do what their training and experience leads them to believe will lead to the best outcome for the patient. Pills are not evil. Optimise for good outcomes.
- kaitai 11y ago
  Doctors are trained to use pills to treat conditions, so that's what their experience is in. Few have training in other treatment modalities; you can't get reimbursed for many other treatment modalities; you can't carry out an effective CBT session or really work on behavioral change in 12-15 minutes. Doctors are very well-trained in a very narrow area, which emphasizes pharmaceutical approaches. That's why many good docs refer you (to a physical therapist or dietician or psychologist) if they are aware of other effective non-pharmaceutical treatments for your condition.
frenchy 11y ago
I'm assuming this is specific to the United States? My anecdotal experience in Canada has been that it is not unusual for doctors to misdiagnose, but pill pushing isn't particularly a problem.
- tim333 11y ago
  Yeah, not much of a problem in the UK either. The US system is a bit unusual. I daresay they'll still prescribe the pills if you ask - there are an awful lot of people on antidepressants.
- epistasis 11y ago
  In the US I've been to 5 doctors over the past 10 years (lots of moving), and none have ever been pill pushing. I'd say maybe it's region specific but I've been on the East coast, Midwest, and West Coast.

by glaugh 11y ago

cromulent 11y ago

No, I can't agree. The doctor should do what their training and experience leads them to believe will lead to the best outcome for the patient. Pills are not evil. Optimise for good outcomes.

kaitai 11y ago
Doctors are trained to use pills to treat conditions, so that's what their experience is in. Few have training in other treatment modalities; you can't get reimbursed for many other treatment modalities; you can't carry out an effective CBT session or really work on behavioral change in 12-15 minutes. Doctors are very well-trained in a very narrow area, which emphasizes pharmaceutical approaches. That's why many good docs refer you (to a physical therapist or dietician or psychologist) if they are aware of other effective non-pharmaceutical treatments for your condition.

frenchy 11y ago

I'm assuming this is specific to the United States? My anecdotal experience in Canada has been that it is not unusual for doctors to misdiagnose, but pill pushing isn't particularly a problem.

tim333 11y ago
Yeah, not much of a problem in the UK either. The US system is a bit unusual. I daresay they'll still prescribe the pills if you ask - there are an awful lot of people on antidepressants.
epistasis 11y ago
In the US I've been to 5 doctors over the past 10 years (lots of moving), and none have ever been pill pushing. I'd say maybe it's region specific but I've been on the East coast, Midwest, and West Coast.