Always see a medical doctor before you start to treat your symptoms as TMS

[Gigalos]

Hi Fred,
I understand why you feel the need to post these two examples and I am sorry for what happened to your dad and to you. It shows that regular medicine is still evolving and correcting itself, because it isn't flawless sadly.

I guess what it comes down to is that at a certain point there is a risk in everything you decide to do or not to do. My opinion is that, although flawed, regular medicine still remains your best bet to rule out anything serious. That doesn't mean that you can't be critical once they throw a diagnosis in your face and certainly when they suggest a therapy or surgery that you feel might be placebo or even may make you worse. The books that are written or endorsed by MD's give some clues about it, but that still leaves a lot of stuff about which it is difficult to say what is the most sensible decision, unless you can back it up with medical studies and lots of research.

I was lucky that I met the right doctors and therapists and that they didn't find anything wrong. I can imagine that for some people it can be quite a struggle, taking one route or another involves risks that are difficult to estimate. There is no fool proof way of approaching your health that doesn't involve a certain risk. We need to be aware of that and not blame the entire field of regular medicine for the mistakes that are made in certain fields or by certain individuals, given that the great majority of doctors out there want to help us the best way they can. Yes, some of them are MD for all the wrong reasons and the influence of big pharma is also not to be underestimated, but I still have faith that most doctors have the right intentions. By the way, you can say the same things about alternative medicine, but more often than not they have little scientific evidence to back up their ideas.

Another thing, it depends on the country which titles implicate that somebody received a proper medical education. As this is an English site, can anybody name them?? Or does for example the US have a registry that you can consult?? For any Dutch readers: https://www.skepsis.nl/blog/2011/10/een-echte-dokter-zoeken-in-het-big-register/ (Een echte dokter zoeken in het BIG-register – Skepsis Blog)

 

[dIK8Lsf3Bl3y4DTtSWEZ]

2. When I finally decided the pain on the right side of my abdomen, which sometimes radiated into my groin, might not be TMS and went to see a doctor to check for a possible hernia or appendicitis, I was told nothing was wrong. Even the CT scan was normal.

So assuming it was TMS, I continued to carry heavy stuff until the hernia bulged out of my groin. By then, of course, it was too late to avoid surgery, even though I tried alternative treatments for six months to avoid it.

But you went to a doctor, he said it was okay, then you figured out yourself that it wasn't. What is your conclusion?

 

[hodini]

We need to be aware of that and not blame the entire field of regular medicine for the mistakes that are made in certain fields or by certain individuals, given that the great majority of doctors out there want to help us the best way they can. Yes, some of them are MD for all the wrong reasons and the influence of big pharma is also not to be underestimated, but I still have faith that most doctors have the right intentions.

I agree strongly, there is a need for collaboration in order to get an effective outcome.

I am a builder also, I have to deal with architects, designers, contractors, and in this analolgy my client is the "patient".
Most of you are probably aware of horror stories in renovations, house building etc. if not personally, by word of mouth.
Quite a bit of finger pointing can go on during these kinds of projects. When all truly collaborate, the project moves forward to the intended goal, even if it had to be altered along the way for various reasons.

Collaboration does not mean agreement, there is often disagreement on various items which are understood to be overruled via democratic process, or, an authoritarian input by the client in some cases (the majority of which do not end well, though I have seen a few excellent outcomes from this approach.)

As I see it, when on infers the us or them (Alternative medicine verses Conventional medicine) and leaves an additional choice of collaboration it restricts ones freedom to responding to the situation at hand because it limits ones choices.

Having to make choices can be troublesome, time consuming and frustrating, just to name a few. making fully informed choices can be even more so.

I am a believer in multi disiplanary approaches to problems. The contributions brought to the table expand the boundries and possibilities further then one is able to do on their own.

If I find a Doctor who is not willing to collaborate with others in my care, most importantly ME , that is a huge red flag for me.

For me it all boils down to trust and that is also part of the problem.

We see the advances in phamaceuticals, yet there is an uncomfortable history around the expansion, methods of marketing, as well as horror stories that undermine trust in the industry for something we may be told we are required to put into our bodies on a prescribed basis.

As Giglos pointed out, there is no 100%, no absolute.

We do need to be on guard for our natural tendency to gravitate towards that unattainable goal though and the behaviors that may produce.

 

[FredAmir]

You both make very excellent points.

Practically, all of us here have taken the conventional route before discovering Dr. Sarno's work and realizing how little evidence there is for what we were told about the cause of our pain and the treatments we were prescribed.

My point for posting the links was to emphasize that going to a doctor does not necessarily mean it can help our condition or save your life, whether it is for back pain, clogged arteries, or hernia.

There are many dedicated doctors who, despite pressures and temptations to put profits first, do what is best for their patients. Of course, some of them, despite their best intentions, are still misled by false research or tradition that does not provide proper diagnosis and/or treatment. In this review of Worried Sick By Dr. Nortin Hadler of UNC at Chapel Hill, you can see what doctors and patients are up against.

http://www.fredamir.com/single-post/2016/08/28/Worried-Sick-A-Prescription-for-Health-in-an-Overtreated-America (Back Pain)

Hodini's point about collaboration with our medical team is extremely crucial and what we need to strive for the best possible outcome.

 

[karinabrown]

Hi all,

When i first entered the wiki two years ago, i remember reading ‘ seeking medical advise from a doctor’. (And i had done that too)
So its here.

Sadly i think its not possible to get full 100% certainty. That’s just a fact.
We all have our own experiences.
My dad had stumacpain at some point . Went to see his doctor : and because he was a nervous man with history of anxiety etc : this doctor who knew him
20 years diagnosed him with acid reflux (from stress) gave medication. Half year later it turns out to be cancer and he died. Ofcourse this effected my faith in the medical world.
But: you cannot really do much about this. Made me very angry ofcourse.
Indeed trust etc is key (he trusted this doctor) even then : mistakes happen.

At this point i think my opion is that this fear is also part of the tms challenge. These misdiagnoses happen frequent and they make believing tms sometimes harder an scarier
In fact is it not at
the core? : what if they are wrong’ what if there is dammage’ ?
Its a challenge to deal with this extra fear but also maybe key to live and not only strugle

 

[FredAmir]

Sorry about your dad, Karin.

Mistakes happen and can be deadly. What I recommend is learn about the top diseases, such as heart attack, stroke, cancer, etc. before they strike you or a loved one. Educate those around you so that if you are the one in the ER, they can act as your advocate.

Then if it happens, you are better equipped to deal with it.

 

[Tennis Tom]

Heard it said that your average doc kills 13 patients by accident in the course of their career. I've played a lot of tennis with docs and their calls aren't always right. Ultimately we are responsible for our health decisions--as Fred Amir advises, do your research evaluating all the possible treatments, allopathic and complementary--read below the fold of the google sponsored ads.

 

[Gigalos]

Also don't forget protocols. I don't know about the US, but here in cloggyland doctors have to kinda follow certain protocols that have been established by the state, health insurers and doctors by looking at statistics and costs. For example, if you have a common symptom that almost always proves to be benign or go away on its own, then they won't send you to a specialist straight away unless they see other stuff that could point to something more serious. This is especially painful for people who suffer from something life threatening that needs intervention as fast as possible. It is sad but it is also realistic as health care costs are already spiraling out of control.