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Hi Astro

You're right. We do need to be careful not to make snap decisions when we are

not entirely mentally competant. That is one reason why I'm on these boards. I

can bounce stuff of others who have been where I am and find out what worked

for them, or find out if what I " m planning to do makes sense.

But if I were relying on my docs, I'd still be relying on meds that don't work

and tests that don't tell them anything, because they don't know what I've

learned from people with more experience.

Humility is seriously lacking in the health fields, and I'm not talking only

about doctors. I do have to be careful that I don't think I'm better or more

knowledgeable than someone else, just cuz I want to think so.

Some wise soul once said that insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and

expecting different results. That's where I've been with docs.

The one thing I could change was MY actions. I started to ask for what I wanted

specifically. So far I've been able to get what I wanted (like LDN for

instance) but if this stops, and they can't provide me a good reason for THEIR

lack of compliance, I am willing to strike out on my own with this.

I do realize that we can't rely on docs to know everything about everything.

That is unreasonable. But when they insist on treating something they know

nothing about they are showing me that they really don't care how I'm doing. If

they're willing to learn with me, that's great, but otherwise...

Jaye

>

> " Problem is, Astro, that if everyone waited to get appropriate, informed

treatment from their docs, most of us would not get it.

>

> Docs have brains and education. Patients have brains too, and can be educated

if they desire it.

>

> If one can find a doc who will take them seriously and who will treat THEM

instead of lab test results, that is awesome.

>

> IF it isn't happening, people can and will take matters into their own hands.

We can't allow docs to allow us to remain ill, when there are ways to be well. "

>

> That's all well and good for those who have the intelligence to understand

what they need, how much to take, what to watch out for (self monitor), etc.,

but even well informed people can still find themselves in big, big trouble.

>

> Since I'm on LTD and I'm single w/no kids, I have all the time in the world to

do research online, and I do it quite often. I see my LLMM every 3 months, and

for each visit I prepare a list of my current supplements/doses, recent health

events and possible causes, and a plan to address what I want to do over the

next three months. We then discuss everything and come to a consensus decision

on how to proceed.

>

> Over a year ago he told me that I should seriously consider " hanging out a

shingle " as a naturopath type health adviser, and that he believed that I knew

more about what was going on inside my body than HE did, that's when he handed

over the treatment planning process to me.

>

> Well, #1, like I wrote in a recent post, I'm not as smart as I think

sometimes, witness the Serotonin Syndrome mess I got myself into. Secondly,

making decisions when in a " brain fog " is pretty dangerous, any kind of

decision, not just health related ones. I also fight a tendency for my body to

go into the " fight or flight " mode when under a lot of physical or mental

stress, where the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) takes control of the body and

brain.

>

> When this occurs, lots of things happen really fast, but the one I want to

focus on here is what occurs in the brain - blood is shunted to the " hindbrain " ,

the brainstem, which " takes in, sends out, and coordinates all of the brain's

messages. It also controls many of the body's automatic functions, like

breathing, heart rate, blood pressure " . The forebrain (cerebrum) contains the

frontal lobe and other lobes responsible for " thinking " and processing

information, and when the SNS takes over the forebrain is starved of blood

because the hindbrain is demanding priority. Although you may feel all jazzed up

when in this state, adrenaline surging, heart pounding, this is another instance

in which your decision making process is very impaired.

>

> Summarizing those two conditions, when you're suffering from " brain fog " , or

in the SNS mode, you should NOT be making decisions concerning what to do about

your health issues. The problem is that many times we don't even realize how

impaired we are! That's why I tried to warn everyone to be extremely careful

about taking control of their own health care w/respect to hormone supplements

without the oversight of a doctor. You can (and probably will) make some serious

errors in judgment along the way with some very unwanted results.

>