An informed consumer consulting with his physician is 10 times more effective than any doctor's advise alone.

[Guest guest]

Roy wrote:

> Phil I couldn't agree with you more. There are too many guys trying to

> diagnose themselves rather than going to their doctors who are supposed

> to be better at this than the person trying to diagnose themselves.

It has been my experiences that people concerned about their own

problems enought to ACT become much better informed overall than any

physician they consult. I use my physicians for only two things. One,

getting prescriptions that they are the gatekeepers too for which I have

to make my case in a way that doesn't offend or buy internationally or

select alternatives, and two, just as a sounding board, tactfully, in

case I have forgotten something they " might " be aware of. Few doctors

speak to their " consumers " as peers working out options. Those few

doctors are hard to come by and one doesn't always get them on a good day.

My experiences has been, go to 5 doctors, get 5 opinions. Go to the

same doctor 5 times once every 6 months, get 5 opinions. Sometimes one

can go to the same doctor twice with only 2 weeks in between visits and

still get 2 opinions.

> Why

> go into all this crap when all you need to do is find a good doctor and let

> him diagnose you.

If only this were true. It has been my experiences that the ONLY person

that is best qualified to make decisions that are in their own best

interest is themselves. Doctors always have other conflicting limits, a

much much smaller set of information related to your specific symptoms,

no experiences walking in your shoes, and a zillion other patients s/he

needs to see in order put bread on their own table without pissing off

the people, groups, businesses, and organizations who think they are

stakeholders in your health when their influences should be zero.

I saw doctors for over 15 years across 4 states complaining about being

tired all the time and they often implied it was " mental " . Turns out I

had low T and serious cardiovascular disease since my 20s that was

blocking a good portion of the blood flow to my heart. One " good " heart

attack and 4 stents later and I have tons of energy while still having a

98% blocked LAD.

It is NOT possible in ones lifetime to find a good doctor that can

diagnose you accurately. It is an iterative process where one has to

education both themselves and their doctors. Medical practices seems to

often be 10-20 years behind the curve when it comes to the growing body

of knowledge.

--

Steve - dudescholar4@...

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