The Doctor Debate

So- this post is more about gaining information than giving it.

I really want to hear what you have to say on this subject.

First off- Doctors are important and helpful and yes I would go to the doctor for an appendicitis or broken leg or to take care of painful symptoms of flu etc.  I USED to think we should go to the doctor to get WELL or Healthy as well.  Is that my mistake or have we been charmed into believing that we should?

Should the phrase Buyer Be Ware need to be posted on the front door of the hospitals and doctors offices?

We just went to a wonderful Wellness Expo here in Addison just outside Dallas.

It was small and the room was packed with what I expected.

There were psychics and incense and crystals and tarot but there were also people who had really GOOD HEALTH products and information.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I LOVE crystals and even bought a bag of rocks!  I believe there are gifted people who know things the rest of us just don't have access to.

But the surprise was the Chiropractor who was there to teach about Applied Neurology.  His story is that he was in a bad car accident that left him in a world of hurt.  Chiropractic care could only do so much and as he studied to find his own healing he became fascinated with how the brain worked with the nervous system and every other part of the body.  His business is not only about alignment which is important but to teach how what we eat effects brain chemistry,  how stress sends out messages that makes the brain react differently and the body shut down, how nutrition plays a factor in cognitive abilities and general health.

Then there was a couple selling their own brand of Apple Cider Vinegar because- again- he had health issues doctors could not solve for a very long time but his family, who comes from another country and have been in the same place for generations (over 1000 years he told us) knew the solution to his problem was EASY to fix because the apples they grew had been used for healing since ....well... apples started growing I guess.  They had all the science well documented and compared major brands to theirs and explained why theirs was better and how to use it.  (By the way- he did not go back to his doctor for a year after his family fixed his long on going problem in just days by drinking their special Apple Cider Vinegar.  When he did the doctor said GREAT!  Our medicine is working!  This man did not bother to tell him he quit the medicine before taking the Apple Cider Vinegar because he knew the doctor would not listen to him or believe him).

This convention was filled with people who had found healing in what we refer to as "non traditional" ways because they first tried medicine and it didn't help them.  They were left on their own to figure it out.  And they DID!  And now they want to share that knowledge but they have to be soooo careful to make it clear they are NOT giving medical advice.

In comes my dilemma- 

Should doctors dealing with patients in the field of diabetes be expected to know that Apple Cider Vinegar is tremendously helpful in improving general health and even healing that chronic disease?  Should they be obligated by their medical oath to mention it and educate their patients?  Isn't that what we are paying them for?  Their expected knowledge.

Is it reasonable to expect a G.P. to say to an obese patient- your diet needs adjusting and KNOW the basics of good nutrition (not the 1950 pyramid) or at least who to recommend them to- or is a doctor's function to fix the problem once it occurs-end of story?

If a doctor answers a patient's health question with inaccurate, outdated or just plain WRONG information- should the doctor be held accountable and to what level?

This idea that we are ultimately responsible for our own health is fairly obvious and yet- we are not really taught that are we?

Our first reaction is to call the doctor or go to the drug store because we are taught (brainwashed dare I say?) that they are the ones who SPECIALIZE in this field of knowledge.  They have "special" education that focuses on making us "feel better" (not heal I now realize the difference).  There are boards and tests and plaques on walls that all PROVE to us these Doctors KNOW what we don't and we are protected from ourselves by laws that INSURE  (insurance) that we don't get a wild hair and try to take on this responsibility and accidentally do ourselves or others harm.  Am I right here?

Do they insinuate they can help you heal or do we just assume on our own that is part of the package?

Is it really OUR FAULT that we are gullible for wanting to do what is easy and trusting what information is poured into us from birth- actual birth- where the doctors bring us into this world.  Our lives are literally in their hands.  From that point on they appear as our second god- giving life or death to us.  Saving us in the ER or by their word- "Diagnosis" or should I say "DIEagnosis" they decide FOR US what is and isn't possible and encourage us not to ask too many questions as we can't possibly know enough to understand.  Or is that just me and my perceptions?

One of the toughest things for me to deal with on our ALS journey is this attitude that I am unreasonably laying blame on these poor, well meaning, hard working, caring doctors who have sacrificed their lives for the betterment of society.  That I was somehow naive and should have realized that they are human and have limitations.  That I should have KNOWN their business is NOT HEALTH or HEALING.  It is Diagnosis and Medicine.  They are MEDICAL Doctors. They do their best to get rid of an illness but they are not responsible in any way to promote good health.  They don't know diddly about water skiing or kite making and in the same vein I should not expect them to know about Health.  Drugs and diagnosis yes- that is what they went to school for.

So- where did I get this idea that they ARE healers?  How did I get so misinformed?

Was I duped or was it me being oblivious to what is clearly there? Ad after ad after TV ad listing all the things doctors can help you do.  Sleep, sex, sports, comfort.  They never actually do say that they promote good health like the cereal commercials do they?  They list the millions of deadly side effects you may experience from their little pill while a happy couple dance off to frolic under the sheets.  And yet millions of people buy into it.  They ASK for a pill with (possible) permanent damaging (possibly deadly) side effects to have clear skin or my favorite- the anti depressants that make you suicidal. 

I want to state that I don't blame them for not having a cure for ALS.  I don't expect them to know every drug trial that is being tested.  I hope they DO find a drug that works and when they do I will be at the front of the line.  Until then- why would they not share their mothers advice about helping ailments.  Has anyone ever died from a vinegar pack for sore muscles or warm milk to help sleep or warm prune juice to keep things moving?  Why are these options not mentioned as they write out their prescriptions as an aid?  Is it possible that they don't know?  Is it reasonable that they don't know?  Really! I want to KNOW!  Tell me what you think about this.

 

What other industry would you be comfortable using that logic while spending your own money?  What if you took your car in to be serviced at what is advertized as the Expert Car Fixer Upper Shop and someone said- We are the experts and I am telling you- this just can't be fixed.  Here is the bill for us looking at it.  You pay it because the sign and the expert said "you can trust us".  Then down the block you found a shop advertising that they are fixing this problem and for half the price of the original car place and their customers are very satisfied.  You take the car in and voila!  Fixed.  Would you go back and ask for you money back?  Or would you figure- My bad.  I should have done more research. When is it false advertising?  When do you call the BBB?

Since doctors have a monopoly basically on the "health" industry do they not have some responsibility to either know, admit that they don't know or share who might know how to deal with the problem you have come to them for because of advertising?

Can't wait to hear back from you on this one.

Thanks,

Happy Healing:)