I am not going to say doctors are gods or anything, but they did go to school for many years more than I did so I can easily admit that they might know more about medical crap than I, even if their bedside manner really sucks at times.
I also strongly believe that as patients we owe it to ourselves to do our research, listen to our options, and do what we feel will help us best. And if this includes juicing, yoga, fasting, acupuncture, turmeric, coffee cleanses, or whatever, we also owe it to ourselves to listen to the advice of our medical professionals.
It is a real shame that some people die when they choose to ignore medical advice and advancements. New research out of Australia focuses on young cancer patients who are ignoring medical advice to cure their cancer through diet changes and result in unfortunate outcomes. These popular bloggers are not properly trained medical professionals so its not that surprising that these are the results are what they are.
If diet could cure us, we wouldn't need doctors.
We must listen to our doctors advice, and sometimes question it, but heed it for the most part. If we don't listen to our doctors and heed their advice, we can't fully question it and then make our good decisions based on our experience with it.
Showing posts with label doctors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doctors. Show all posts
Jan 6, 2020
Dec 30, 2019
Back to work....
Today I am back to work after almost three weeks off. I had to dig around to find a pair of pants and haven't yet found my shoes. Summer vacation means shorts, sandals and sneakers, not long pants and work shoes. Our lunches are made (yes I make lunch for both of us every week day) but the nice cat is out so I have to get him back in before leaving. The evil cat is busy plotting our demise....
Yesterday I had a good PT appointment. The therapist thinks that I probably didn't damage any major ligaments and probably only the meniscus, which sometimes does not require surgery. It depends how it heals and how badly it was damaged.
Also my rheumatologist thinks I am doing pretty well - this means no blood work for two whole months and no follow up for three months. Sometimes I have blood work every two weeks and appointments every six weeks so this is much better.
Finally my therapist is an idiot. Okay maybe a little harsh but she doesn't seem to understand my family dynamics so it was a fruitless discussion. She may become my former therapist shortly. After every appointment with her, I wonder why I am still seeing her. But I try to manage the amount of change in my life and next week I see my new PCP for the first time. So the jury is still out but its not looking that good for her. The real decision is do I still need a therapist.
But now to find the cat and my shoes so I can go to work. Maybe they missed me....
Yesterday I had a good PT appointment. The therapist thinks that I probably didn't damage any major ligaments and probably only the meniscus, which sometimes does not require surgery. It depends how it heals and how badly it was damaged.
Also my rheumatologist thinks I am doing pretty well - this means no blood work for two whole months and no follow up for three months. Sometimes I have blood work every two weeks and appointments every six weeks so this is much better.
Finally my therapist is an idiot. Okay maybe a little harsh but she doesn't seem to understand my family dynamics so it was a fruitless discussion. She may become my former therapist shortly. After every appointment with her, I wonder why I am still seeing her. But I try to manage the amount of change in my life and next week I see my new PCP for the first time. So the jury is still out but its not looking that good for her. The real decision is do I still need a therapist.
But now to find the cat and my shoes so I can go to work. Maybe they missed me....
Dec 9, 2019
My doctor appointment yesterday
Yesterday I saw my knee surgeon. He operated on my right knee, formerly known as my bad knee, 15 years ago. He and his physicians assistant are very nice and have a good sense of humor, which is the most important skill any medical professional should have. I admired his tie - a Jerry Garcia. His PA cracked jokes and made fun of my use of my bad knee to climb up on the table. She told me I was supposed to lead with the good knee.
They both poked and prodded my knee. Physical therapy has helped but not enough and it has been giving way on me.
I did ask which knee was my good knee now. The doctor said the left knee was catching up to the right one (which has two meniscal tears and a partially torn ACL). He thinks there might be a meniscal tear in the left one now to go with the osteoarthritis in both. And he thinks I am too young to need a knee replacement yet.
Before leaving the doctor said does it hurt when I push here on the back of my knee? As I levitated off the table in pain, he decided it was time for an MRI and to come back and see him after.
The last thing I need in the middle of moving is knee surgery.
They both poked and prodded my knee. Physical therapy has helped but not enough and it has been giving way on me.
I did ask which knee was my good knee now. The doctor said the left knee was catching up to the right one (which has two meniscal tears and a partially torn ACL). He thinks there might be a meniscal tear in the left one now to go with the osteoarthritis in both. And he thinks I am too young to need a knee replacement yet.
Before leaving the doctor said does it hurt when I push here on the back of my knee? As I levitated off the table in pain, he decided it was time for an MRI and to come back and see him after.
The last thing I need in the middle of moving is knee surgery.
Apr 2, 2018
Medical reversals
We all hate them. These are when you received a medical treatment and find out months, years, or even decades later we find out from new research it wasn't helpful or could have even been harmful. We justify it to ourselves that it is because the medical world was using the best information available to them at the time and they had no way of knowing.
I have found this out for myself numerous times with my medical history. Treatments that I received are no longer accepted practice.
Now there are a couple of doctors out there who wrote a book on how we need to change these 'flip-flops' in clinical practice. They are actually called 'medical reversals' (not the most aggravating thing you can find out about your medical treatments). Here is a quote from the article:
"...hormone replacement therapy as being sort of the seminal reversal for doctors of his generation.
The thing that really was seminal for me was the routine use of stenting for stable coronary angina. It's a very costly and invasive procedure, and it continued to be done in a very widespread fashion. The evidence for it was always unclear and then in 2007 with the publication of the COURAGE trial, a lot of the evidence was contradicted."
We all remember HRT was found that it was later shown to actually increase the patient's risk for breast cancer.
"In every case of our book, we found an example of something that was perfectly logical, it was incredibly plausible, it made perfect biological sense, but it was broadly accepted without those definitive confirmatory studies to really prove it actually does what you think it does. And in the years that followed, people over time became a little bit more skeptical of it and eventually some brave investigators said hey, you know what? Let's sort this out once and for all. Let's put this to the test.
Their point is that we need a huge overhaul of our medical system to prevent these 'reversals'. I couldn't agree more. The old way of doing things, based on traditional ideas and ways of doing things, needs some change.
"...we do advocate for a complete overhaul. A couple of chapters talk about how doctors are trained and how academics should work. A couple of chapters talk about how drug and device regulation should work. A couple of chapters talk about what our professional responsibilities are."
They advocate for a lot of change which will take a good deal of time. I think this sounds like a great first step in identifying how we are now able to say, and should say more often 'more research is needed' and 'are we really doing this the right way?' I know I get frustrated when I hear about a medical breakthrough that might help me and then hear that more research is needed. But now I understand better why this is said.
I have found this out for myself numerous times with my medical history. Treatments that I received are no longer accepted practice.
Now there are a couple of doctors out there who wrote a book on how we need to change these 'flip-flops' in clinical practice. They are actually called 'medical reversals' (not the most aggravating thing you can find out about your medical treatments). Here is a quote from the article:
"...hormone replacement therapy as being sort of the seminal reversal for doctors of his generation.
The thing that really was seminal for me was the routine use of stenting for stable coronary angina. It's a very costly and invasive procedure, and it continued to be done in a very widespread fashion. The evidence for it was always unclear and then in 2007 with the publication of the COURAGE trial, a lot of the evidence was contradicted."
We all remember HRT was found that it was later shown to actually increase the patient's risk for breast cancer.
"In every case of our book, we found an example of something that was perfectly logical, it was incredibly plausible, it made perfect biological sense, but it was broadly accepted without those definitive confirmatory studies to really prove it actually does what you think it does. And in the years that followed, people over time became a little bit more skeptical of it and eventually some brave investigators said hey, you know what? Let's sort this out once and for all. Let's put this to the test.
Their point is that we need a huge overhaul of our medical system to prevent these 'reversals'. I couldn't agree more. The old way of doing things, based on traditional ideas and ways of doing things, needs some change.
"...we do advocate for a complete overhaul. A couple of chapters talk about how doctors are trained and how academics should work. A couple of chapters talk about how drug and device regulation should work. A couple of chapters talk about what our professional responsibilities are."
They advocate for a lot of change which will take a good deal of time. I think this sounds like a great first step in identifying how we are now able to say, and should say more often 'more research is needed' and 'are we really doing this the right way?' I know I get frustrated when I hear about a medical breakthrough that might help me and then hear that more research is needed. But now I understand better why this is said.
Aug 23, 2016
Who is with me on this?
I was totally disgusted but also happy when I read this article about this moron oncologist, Farid Fata, who told over 500 patients they had cancer and treated them unnecessarily. Or even if they had cancer, they continued to receive chemo long after they were in remission. The result? Hundreds of people with lasting health issues and even some deaths. Then I found this article with more background.
He also over billed Medicare and insurance companies for millions of dollars as patients received over 9,000 injections or infusions. Some received unnecessary chemo for over five years.
The only thing more despicable than people who claim they have cancer and don't to raise money for themselves, are doctors who mistreat patients like this.
I just want to get in line with all these other patients and smack him in the face for his lack of morals and crimes.Who is with me on this?
He also over billed Medicare and insurance companies for millions of dollars as patients received over 9,000 injections or infusions. Some received unnecessary chemo for over five years.
The only thing more despicable than people who claim they have cancer and don't to raise money for themselves, are doctors who mistreat patients like this.
I just want to get in line with all these other patients and smack him in the face for his lack of morals and crimes.Who is with me on this?