# Losing faith in doctors



## BNB (Feb 15, 2017)

Over the past few years, I've lost a lot of faith and even respect for doctors. Everything almost seems to be about lining their pockets with money and nothing about the actual patient. 

Some examples:


My primary care doctor diagnosed me with GERD a few years ago because I was having daily acid reflux. He put me on Omeprazole, which helped, but caused severe diarrhea. He told to me to stop ASAP and monitor how I feel. It came back, and he told me to start a different brand, and that I'd have to probably take it for the rest of my life. That didn't sit well with me, so I turned to Google and tried to find natural ways to treat GERD. Long story short, I cut out some things from my diet that eliminated the problem. Told my doctor about it, who was skeptical about it, and almost seemed annoyed that I went against his instruction, but ultimately said we'll monitor the situation. Haven't had it in nearly 4 years now. 


At some point two years ago, I started having explosive diarrhea (sorry, I know, TMI) daily for almost 4 months. Saw a Gastro who insisted I get a colonoscopy done. I disagreed because, other than the diarrhea, I had no other symptoms and there was no reason to go digging in there. Saw another one for a second opinion, and he too recommended I get a colonoscopy before proceeding with anything else. Both outright refused to continue pursing other options until I got one. I went back to the first one and explained why I don't think it made sense that I get one. He ultimately sided with me and opted not to do one since he agreed I probably didn't need one. Anyway, he didn't help at all, and another diet change solved my problem and I haven't had diarrhea in over a year now. Btw, I found out that 70-80% of a GI's salary comes from performing colonoscopies. I wonder why they were pushing it so much? 


I was also having some autoimmune issues (symptoms included swollen/painful joints, fatigue, etc.) Rheumatologist recommended steroids for life. Yet again, a strict diet change and other lifestyle changes greatly reduced the symptoms, and they just thought it was a coincidence that the symptoms went away when I started the diet. 


I'm not one of those people that's gonna tell everyone that eating and living healthy is gonna solve everything, and I still think that medicine and doctors are important.... but I just can't really trust what they say or recommend as much anymore.


----------



## Adorable Danger Noodle (Apr 1, 2017)

_"The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease."_
*-Voltaire*

Of course the big problem is that not everything gets better on it's own and so sometimes you really do need what they're prescribing. But quite frankly half the time they could probably just give you a sugar pill and it would have the same affect.


----------



## BNB (Feb 15, 2017)

Adorable Danger Noodle said:


> _"The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease."_
> *-Voltaire*
> 
> Of course the big problem is that not everything gets better on it's own and so sometimes you really do need what they're prescribing. But quite frankly half the time they could probably just give you a sugar pill and it would have the same affect.


I would say that's true if what you're feeling is related to anxiety or stress.


----------



## shazam (Oct 18, 2015)

BNB said:


> I would say that's true if what you're feeling is related to anxiety or stress.


Eeee well now I wouldn't say that. Depending on your condition it may take some time to treat and find the right medication. Of course you know your body better than your doctor... well, in ways. I had some anxiety and stress issues and went on meds. The meds themselves were a process of trial and error. 3 different doses of different pills, and a weekly injection I didn't actually need. I was almost put on anti psychotics. It's shit but it's trial and error. Technology's always moving forward though.


----------



## BNB (Feb 15, 2017)

fartface said:


> Eeee well now I wouldn't say that. Depending on your condition it may take some time to treat and find the right medication. Of course you know your body better than your doctor... well, in ways. I had some anxiety and stress issues and went on meds. The meds themselves were a process of trial and error. 3 different doses of different pills, and a weekly injection I didn't actually need. I was almost put on anti psychotics. It's shit but it's trial and error. Technology's always moving forward though.


I didn't mean that a "sugar pill" would work for _every _anxiety/stress disorder, but that if it were to work, it would probably only be for an issue caused by anxiety or stress.

If you're having chest pain due to angina, a sugar pill wouldn't do shit. If you're having chest pain because you're paranoid that you may have a heart condition, however nothing is wrong with but your doctor still wants you to feel better so he gives you this miracle pill that takes away the pain, even though it's really a sugar pill, then it may work.


----------



## shazam (Oct 18, 2015)

BNB said:


> I didn't mean that a "sugar pill" would work for _every _anxiety/stress disorder, but that if it were to work, it would probably only be for an issue caused by anxiety or stress.
> 
> If you're having chest pain due to angina, a sugar pill wouldn't do shit. If you're having chest pain because you're paranoid that you may have a heart condition, however nothing is wrong with but your doctor still wants you to feel better so he gives you this miracle pill that takes away the pain, even though it's really a sugar pill, then it may work.


Oh right. But sometimes that stuff works. When it comes to doctors I think a lot of the time the over thinking of patients can make the doctor think there's something wrong mentally. The over thinking could be the issue also, but I'm not a doctor.


----------



## Allonsy (Mar 30, 2017)

BNB said:


> Over the past few years, I've lost a lot of faith and even respect for doctors. Everything almost seems to be about lining their pockets with money and nothing about the actual patient.
> 
> Some examples:
> 
> ...


Try Apple cider vingar or aloe vera juice


----------



## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

As a dietitian this issue saddens me greatly. I don't live in the US and things are quite different here with their attitude compared to what you are describing. For example, I had severe pain and diarrhea a few years ago and went to my family doctor, a ~70 year old retired woman who is very lively and overall a pretty good doc. She felt my intestine by using some weird techniques with her hands and sensed that I had spasms and along with my general history she concluded that it's likely just IBS. She did prescribe me meds but also gave me recommendations for my diet and after a while that I had rebouts and had to use antidiarrhea med I got so constipated I couldn't go for 5 days. She sent me to get an ultrasound and gave me glycerin tabs to shove up my butt and that's it. No colonoscopies and bullshit, I didn't even need to go to a gastro. I know things are fucked up with the medical system in USA as it's very for-profit based, it's a shame really.
People close to me have suffered from other GI issues like GERD and acute gastritis and the doctors ALWAYS gave them diet guidelines to help. My boyfriend had severe GERD a few years ago and even though his stomach is still a bit sensitive he only takes the pills when necessary and not daily. Many doctors here are uneducated in nutrition as well, but in my experience it's not as bad as you are describing. Even if they can't do the job of a dietitian they still know basic stuff, especially when it's matters of the GI tract where food is a big part of. 

However, to be fair, medical professions are much more difficult than they appear to be in the general public. The body is a hugely, mind-blowingly complex system and no one can know everything. The body of knowledge that exists is immense and new research comes out constantly, that takes years to integrate into general practice, after years of conferences and updates in the guidelines, which all medical professionals are obligated to follow due to profession ethics. That's especially true in matters of nutrition, as it is one of the newest modern medical fields and of course doctors who have graduated years ago have to put their own extra effort to learn. I think in my country, to become a doctor you need 1 or 2 classes in nutrition, in a 6 year course. I think it's similar in other countries as well. It's inadequate of course, but at the same time the course load is too big anyway.


----------



## Toru Okada (May 10, 2011)

My mom's life was pretty much ruined by malpractice. She had to have a revision knee replacement because either the doc or the hospital thought it would be okay to use an implant that was A) Too Large and B) composed of nickle which my mother is allergic to —the doctor was informed of this and had been treating my mother for years, selling her on surgery after surgery. Because of the nickle, the implant ate away at the surrounding tissue. The doc moved to the other side of the country to continue practicing. I can't remember why my mother didn't sue.


----------



## Fumetsu (Oct 7, 2015)

You can't cover everyone ( Including Drs.) with such blanket statements. Especially because of one incident. Some Drs are just God-awful. Some are great. I've had my share of both.

I've actually had a similar experience. 

I had some God-awful stomach pain. The medication I've been taking for the past 30+ yrs is known to inevitably cause everything fro ulcers to stomach cancer. I wanted to see my specialist but he is never around and was stuck with another Dr I can't stand.

After zero questions, exams or even blood tests she said " You're problem fine. Eat some yogurt or something."

They yogurt did actually help, some...for a little while. But the pain came back and much worse. I've just been dealing with it.

But about a year ago I had some severe chest pain, trouble breathing, dizziness ect. Again, I was stuck with her. 

I had just eaten at the cafeteria which is just atrocious, even by hospital cafeteria standards. Once again, she ignored my complaints of _chest pain_ ( which will get you at the front of line in an emergency/urgent care situation) and instead told me 
" You're stomach seems to bothering you an awful lot..." When I reminded her of my chest pain and trouble breathing she said " Eh, it's probly nothing. I'm gonna order some tests for your stomach though." and then she kicked me out the door.

I'm not an idiot, there are many simple tests for things like bacterial infections. Nope- got a call from the hospital. " Your Dr. ordered an upper GI and a colonoscopy." Again, with NO previous testing or even questions. " Yeah, I'm not doing that." and i hung up on them.
Just...ugh fucking ridiculous. I still don't know what's wrong with my stomach but I figure it wont go away as long as I'm taking my medication and I am already/have been taking Omeprozole for the rest of my life. 
It does seem to happen when I get hungry though. Instead of typical "hunger pains" " Kill me now" stabbing pain in my chest and upper part of my stomach and I blow up like a damned balloon. Eating a meal seems to make it worse. So I've just started eating a very little bit of something every couple hours. Seems to help.



fartface said:


> Oh right. But sometimes that stuff works. When it comes to doctors I think a lot of the time the over thinking of patients can make the doctor think there's something wrong mentally. The over thinking could be the issue also, but I'm not a doctor.


As someone who has spent a lot of time in hospitals and research facilities, I can say that there some terrible Drs...and then there are those who are just so worn out by whiny patients with shitty attitudes who are obsessed with their health problems.

I've seen this so much with Nephrologoists; sooo many angry, severely overweight type 2 Diabetes patients, angry and bitter at the world that they are now on Dialayis and sans toes because they couldn't stop stuffing their fat faces with garbage.

It must be so exasperating.


----------



## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

Fumetsu said:


> You can't cover everyone ( Including Drs.) with such blanket statements. Especially because of one incident. Some Drs are just God-awful. Some are great. I've had my share of both.
> 
> I've actually had a similar experience.
> 
> ...


Sorry to hear about such awful experiences. If you can find a better doc that will do at least some blood testing first it would be ideal. However, a stomach endoscopy is not that bad and you should probably do it, your symptoms sound out of whack. Colonoscopy seems totally unnecessary. You've had this problem for 30 years and still not know what it is?


----------



## Flamme et Citron (Aug 26, 2015)

Med students don't receive much nutrition training. Modern medicine seems to be more focussed on patching up problems as they come up rather than find preventative measures, possibly because there's no monetary incentive to finding out which diets work for what, no patent for that.


----------



## Witch of Oreo (Jun 23, 2014)

Cardiologist said my 24h heart monitor abnormalities were nothing serious and are neurological in nature.
Wait a minute, QT interval of 482 sounds really damn serious, especially since I have a history of fainting. For once I'm thankful to Google, or I could just overlook it.
Sometimes I wonder what runs through people's heads... Here's hoping the other doctor in Friday will take this more seriously.


----------



## atamagasuita (May 15, 2016)

I think it's the same with cancer? Like in chemo the percentage of success rate is low. Like doctors try to kill all the cells, including the good ones. They're searching for medicines for cancer yet nature can actually cure them. Get out of your garbage and i think it would have a better output than staying on your garbage whilst killing your cells just to get rid of the bad cancer cells. 

https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/questions-before-chemotherapy-treatment/


----------



## septic tank (Jul 21, 2013)

My boyfriend has been saying since I met him that a lot of our health issues could be solved with decent food and supplements. He absolutely hates doctors.

This thread makes me believe him more.


----------



## Antipode (Jul 8, 2012)

Doctors are as human as the thieves, and as human as you. 

However, they are trained, and they typically know what they're doing, and they often are in the business because they want to help patients--and get paid. 

When I worked at Best Buy, I realized just how often employees lied, didn't know what they were talking about, and pushed products customers didn't need. Makes you see how you should monitor what you hear. That said, most of the time, they were knowledgeable, and they wanted to help the customer.


----------



## la_revolucion (May 16, 2013)

For day to day ailments that aren't life threatening... Yeah, sometimes I don't always trust doctors. It seems they are often eager to get you doing procedures you don't need for the insurance money (yea, I live in the US) or just shove a bunch of prescriptions your way. I just hate the idea of unnecessary medications. Yes, they are imperative for some people, but I do feel doctors sometimes overprescribe. BIG TIME.


----------

