Re: Trusting Our Doctors

[Guest guest]

I agree that we need to trust our doctors, but we also need to be our own health

advocate, educate ourselves, make sure the providers we partner with are

well-qualified, and just as importantly, listen to our intuition rather than

just trusting blindly.

Doctors are humans. They have biases, just like we do. They also have

limitations, just like we do. One of my doctors, who I trust very much,

recently said to me, 'There is just so much to know. There's no way to know it

all. The more I learn, the more I realize there is to learn.' These words

actually make me trust him more.

A pulmonary specialist said to me last week, " The information a specialist knows

is very limited to his or her area of specialty. I know about the lungs.

That's my specialty. My knowledge 'kind of' extends to the diaphragm, but

that's barely in my area. " This explains why it's very easy for a CMT patient

to be passed back and forth between a neurologist and a pulmonary specialist.

Many times doctors are also limited by not having a full medical history in

front of them or dealing piecemeal with a patient's condition.

As educated consumers of healthcare, it's our individual responsibility to learn

as much as we can about our own health condition, provide our doctors with as

much information as we can, make sure they have all the information they need to

treat properly, and then advocate for ourselves. When faced with something like

surgery, it's also important to make sure that the doctor is qualified for the

treatment/procedure being performed, i.e. is in good standing with the medical

board, is board certified in his/her specialty, and also has good

recommendations from other doctors.

, if you have specific concerns about the doctor or the surgery itself,

there are many on this list who would gladly help. If not, then you've done all

you can to ensure the likelihood of a positive result. But that doesn't stop a

mother from worrying, I know.

Kind regards,

AG