Comments on: What would really like to know…(and perhaps too much information.)

By: Lucy

Lucy — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:53:46 +0000

I’m Canadian so our health system is a bit different than yours. I still miss my doctor in Vancouver (we moved), who spent much of her time in appointments trying to find the underlying emotional & lifestyle roots to the symptoms. In my experience, most docs don’t take this kind of time or have this kind of empathy – but they’re out there, I’m sure. You find them by word-of-mouth & many have wait-lists (in Canada, at least.)

To follow up on the comment above, one of the things I really appreciated about my doc was she often recommended blood-work – & often found out that I was low in something that could explain the symptoms I was experiencing, something as simple as needing more Vitamin D.

Hope you find a health practitioner you trust, in whatever form they take. Be well.

By: jo(e)

jo(e) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:18:56 +0000

A doctor can be helpful if you’ve broken a bone and need someone to put on a cast. Otherwise …. eh.

I went to midwives during my pregnancies.

By: Kerri

Kerri — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:26:47 +0000

Ditto on nurse practitioners. I have felt like mine is a better listener than my doctor and actually request her rather than my doctor (though I like my doc a lot too).

Your situation is different than mine. When I was pregnant I had better immunity than ever! I was taking care of other sick children and my husband and somehow pulling through without getting sick with anything! Influenza, the stomach flu, and even colds didn’t take hold though my family was getting violently sick!

When I was nursing I came down with everything so that was tough. I was getting severe ear and sinus infections. Luckily my babies got immunity from my milk and were healthy.

Something a doctor can do that alternative medicine doesn’t provide is a good blood work-up of hormones. My sister wasn’t feeling well with her pregnancy and found out that she has hypothyroidism. Her doctor had the sense to send her to an endocrinologist to make an accurate diagnosis and treat her with medication. That has made a huge difference for her!

My best advice is to examine your life and radically change your expectations so that you don’t have that nagging guilt of what you “should be doing.” Letting go brings much-needed relief. I know that when this season of life (raising pre-schoolers) passes, I can go back to things that are important to me that I took a break from.

By: tomzgrrl

tomzgrrl — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:37:14 +0000

I trust my pediatrician to the end of the world because she listens and talks and knows me and my children — and I can feel her love for my children. And I love my OB/GYN because she is a great communicator. I trust her when it’s time for medicine and she trusts me when I want to try something else. Even my asthma doctor is one who will talk it out and offer different strategies to try vs. one course of treatment — and he’s a guy!

I think the key is truly finding a doctor who respects your philosophy and will talk out a strategy *with* you and not *for* you. I won’t doctor with someone I don’t trust — and I don’t trust people who talk to me like I’m an idiot, a child, or an answering machine. I need a two-way exchange of information, suggestions, and questions.

Feel better soon and good luck. I know that nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants are both more prone to conversation.

By: ~kristina~

~kristina~ — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:13:32 +0000

You’re probably already doing this, but do you drink Kefir and take a good probiotic? It seems to help me fight off colds, etc.

Yes, most doctors have not impressed me. But I have found an amazing doctor now, for which I feel very blessed. She takes lots of time to listen, is funny and authentic, doesn’t act condescending or rushed. She’s helped me address a lot of longstanding issues that other doctors were always quick to dismiss.