3 Comments
User's avatar
⭠ Return to thread
Jim Ryser's avatar

Google is the WORST place for attribution bias and I have family members and friends who still search “Dr. Google” for the cause of a problem. And of course I have been guilty of an occasional dip many years ago...the more I know the more I don’t know, and in my own case it’s best to leave the hard work to my PCP and specialists!

Expand full comment
Unagnu's avatar

Wrong. The more you know (and you know YOU best) the MORE you can ADVOCATE for YOU. Doctors miss a lot of things (to be fair patients often don't tell them important things either) - 15 minutes in and out and here's the damn pill. Like BP and Statins. Oh, take that Statin and that BP...for example please do. Statins are useless or next to and come with some pretty bad side effects. Want to reduce hardening of arteries? Test for Insulin Resistance, and if that's positive put them on a Keto reduced sugar/carb diet, check the autoimmune diseases and the thyroid/parathyroid - look for the root causes, get them on the natural BP reducers from foods (Beets, tart cherries, hibiscus tea. Prune out the bad fats, incorporate the good ones. Check for sleep apneas and the like. Incorporate those changes into the diet. Exercise, get them to walk 5 times a week 30 minutes a session. Stop smoking, reduce alcohol. .. Do that and follow up in 6 months. See the difference in those folks if they take the prescription for diet, exercise ...balancing of their system's needs....But that takes work on the doctor's part. And effort on the patient's part. And we are a very LAZY nation that doesn't want to make the changes necessary for good health. And doctors who only believe in pills...

Expand full comment
Jim Ryser's avatar

I said that tongue in cheek - I truly am my best advocate! I remember my medical director (I was a program director for addiction and pain) telling a patient once he could be off of at least 5 drugs if he changed his life habits - some of which you describe above. The patient said, “Nah, I’ll just keep eating the way I want and I like smoking so u just keep giving me those pills.” CRAZY true about Americans.

Expand full comment