Think Like a (Good) Doctor!

I possess impeccable clinical training from being an Ophthalmic Medical Technician and eventually, a Clinical Supervisor.

One of the best lessons the first surgeon that I worked for taught me was a lesson that he was taugh in medical school. 

He said "Grace, you always expend the least effort

for the best result when trying to cure or at least control

a patient's problem.  Take Glaucoma for example.  We can't cure it but we can control it.  So depending on the patient's status, I start out by putting them on just one eye drop,

then when I see them for their follow-up, if it's still elevated,

I add a second drop.  If after that next follow-up it's still elevated then I prescribe Diamox, and if at that follow-up

it's still not well controlled, then I'll suggest that we put tubes in to drain the eyes and keep the pressure from building up. 

I don't just go straight to tubes when just one drop or even two, may be all that person needs to get their best results."

He was an exceptional person as well as doc and I have never forgotten that lesson that doesn't just apply to health but really, to a lot in life.  

Thus, if you want to enjoy your best health, you need to learn to think like a good doctor!  It is why I take my Rx's as I do. 

There are many immeasurable upsides to taking Rx's as the exception and not the rule, not the least of which is when you take them like I have since going herbal has allowed me to, you don't build the tolerances anymore that require you to keep having your doses upped, and by default, they are more effective when you do take them!

The opposite of good doctors are obviously, bad ones which leads me to share this next article:

Healing Doctors vs. Unhealthy Doctors

Every person on this planet has had something happen to them from which they need to be healed in their head and heart.  If that statement weren’t true, psychologists, psychiatrists, and other counselors wouldn’t be a thriving industry and psychotropic drugs wouldn’t gross billions annually, in just the United States alone! 

Though many of these professionals can indeed be a blessing because they are doing what God created them to do, as with all professions, some people did not choose well and are not best suited to help others in these fields. 

If you seek counseling, please realize that finding one who meets your best interests is as vital to your success as you showing up, talking honestly, and then doing the work of initiating healthy changes. 

Due to my health, I have been under the care of multiple specialists.  I have seen neurosurgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, neurologists, doctors of osteopathy, pain management surgeons, chiropractors and once, a “physiatrist”.  No, I didn’t just misspell psychiatrist; a physiatrist (to my best recollection) specializes in body movement/range of motion and functionality.

When it comes to doctors, I have had great docs that delivered terrific care experiences and desirable outcomes and reprehensible doctors who produced worst case experiences and outcomes. 

Thus, I instituted a policy of giving a new doc no more than three appointments to help improve or begin to improve my health.

With that said, I would be remiss if I didn’t state the fact that the onus on you is of course, to have realistic expectations. 

Doctors don’t have magic wands and if you are really messed up, the more work and appointments it will take to get you back 2 good. 

Thus, I am not saying every great doctor will or should be able to heal what ails you in three appointments or less. 

I am saying that you should see and/or feel some improvement, even if minimal, by or after following their instructions over one to three appointments. 

If you do not, you (and they!) need to question their plan; and if applicable, the lack of efficacy of any prescriptions that you take. 

I personally have a 2 week policy for both herbs and Rx's.  If I feel no results or improvements whatsoever, I discontinue them because in my vast experience with both categories, those that helped, did so anywhere from day one to day fourteen, with exception to collagen which took three weeks.

Remember, just because you don’t reap any benefits from a prescribed drug, does not mean it isn’t still harming your system. 

Thus, why set yourself up for future health ills from medications that aren’t resolving or even relieving, the very issue for which you take them?

Just as there are red flags in new friendships, work relationships, and romantic ones, so there are too in doctor/patient relationships. 

Not every doctor you see is the best and healthiest choice for you. 

Mutual respect and mindsets are the non-negotiable foundation of any relationship, including doctor/patient. 

A complete lack of respect from a new doc that I saw in 2015 inspired my page "Does Your Dr. (Dis) Respect You?".  It's worthy reading for everyone, but especially those who see docs for chronic health conditions!

If you realize in the first appointment that a doctor doesn’t fit your criteria for the mutual respect necessary to help you reach your best health, don’t book a second appointment. 

We are very blessed in this country to have many choices when it comes to everything, including doctors!

So many people just don’t know how to stand up for themselves at all, let alone when at the doctors. 

Inarguably doctors know the human body better than laypersons; however, you know your body better than they do, after all you are with you 24/7/365! 

Doctors are with you for what?  5-15 minutes, a few times a year?

You know a lot more than you realize, so stop and think about your health so that you may be a proactive and contributing member of your care team.  Remember, you have as much of a responsibility to contribute to your best health as your medical providers and their staff do.

Since more people than not, don’t know how to speak up at the doctors let alone stand up to a doctor, I share this perfect recent new dr. appt example to help the millions who don’t think they have the right to speak up, to realize that you do indeed and how to recognize when you should.

I fell backwards and landed very hard in the garage.  I instantly flared up my lumbar spinal pain so bad that in addition to my low back pain, my sciatica began throbbing and the fall also jacked up my right shoulder and neck pain as well.

I had no need for any of my prescriptions to be refilled and I had just gotten a Toradol injection the week before; thus, there was no reason to see my pain doc because there was nothing beyond out-pt procedures that he could offer. 

In my desire to feel better naturally, I sought a chiropractor because I wanted expert manual traction of my neck and low back by a chiro since it has always provided me both immediate and immense relief in the past.

Let me preface this story with the fact that when you are a new patient that has the spinal and shoulder history of damage and procedures that I do, it is A LOT OF WORK to prepare for a new doc visit in gathering MRI CD’s and their reports, updating my  herb, vitamin and supplement list (it fills an entire Excel spreadsheet), my Rx list, etc., and because I have had bad doctors hurt me by doing things during the physical exam that they should have known better than to do with someone of my 6 pages of proven damage and pain-causing diagnoses, I now give a list of things that they may or may not do so I never again have to suffer ineffable pain by the very professionals trained to (allegedly) relieve my pain, not add to it. 

This is all in addition to the myriad of their paperwork that you have to complete! 

When you have the kind of pain that makes typing and/or writing painful, it takes me hours over multiple days to prepare for a new patient consult, and it is utterly exhausting.  

So I eventually get everything together and go to this (new to me) chiropractor’s office. 

When giving him as brief of a synopsis as someone with my spinal status can give, I handed him a piece of paper that clearly stated what he could and could not do to me regarding chiropractic care.  (Below.)

When I saw a quick but severe flash of anger cross his face as he read my paper, I was absolutely startled and couldn’t imagine what part of it would create such a negative reaction. Here is what he was reading:

What works for me:
Muscle stim w/electrodes
Ice/heat
Manual C-Sp traction is very beneficial - especially when occipital bone flares, which yesterday's fall, made it.

NEVER DO ON ME:

Due to neck fusion at C5-C7 I can NO LONGER enjoy neck twisting manipulation.  If I over-extend my neck I can end up in severe pain that takes 2 wks to calm.

NEVER do ANY compression/pressure/pressing on my head or neck.  EVER. 

After reading this note, he proceeded to view my latest MRI CD’s in his computer and their reports.  He spent at least 10 minutes doing so which restored my hope that we’d have a successful appointment because it showed a genuine interest in learning about my specific patient status. 

At some point he said “I have never seen so much damage in someone so young.”  This is a regular comment to me by doctors over the last decade and is bittersweet to hear, no matter how many years pass.  I told him he wasn’t the first to say that.

When he was done, he turned towards me, crossed his hands over his knees and said in a negative tone, “So, I can’t fix you.” 

Again I was startled by him and his nasty, negative, and unhealthy attidue as I hadn’t expected him to fix me, asked him to, nor insinuated that he should.  (Especially considering the typed note I gave him.) 

Instead I said “Believe me I know that, only God can and He will when He’s ready, in the meantime I’m here for manual traction.” 

This statement very quickly let me know exactly what angered him as he read my note because his face once again went negative and he stated "I don't mean to sound lazy but I really don’t do that much anymore (meaning manual traction) thanks to machines”.  

I was instantly displeased because of a horrible experience with a slimey  chiropractor in Corpus Christi and his equally useless DRX-9000 traction machine years earlier that was not only the biggest waste of money ($5k!), but the treatments were not even applied properly to me by his $9 hour office assistant/receptionist. 

Listen, people in severe pain are DESPERATE for relief.  When a doctor sings a song of natural pain relief, you fall for it because relief is what you live for. 

I also had no idea until it was too late that he would pass me off to someone lacking in the confidence to execute the machine properly. 

She admitted this to me when the straps would fly off of my head and my neck would slam to the table during treatments. 

If you are considering any type of expensive treatments like this, please think long and hard before committing, and most importantly, PRAY!

I stupidly did not trust my God-given instincts and continued this initial consult. 

His machine was equally awful and I didn’t last

a full minute on either area because it was

too severe for someone with my fragile spinal status.

I had him stop and asked that he please do the manual traction that I know works. 

He touched my neck with angry hands. 

How effective and healing do you think that was?

In all of my 10+ years as a chronic pain patient, in different 3 cities

and 2 states, having seen about 2 dozen specialists,

I have never seen a doctor behave this way.  

Additionally, I have had a dozen different physical and massage therapists work on me throughout the last decade.  Thus, I am well aware and used to proper, professional, even strong but appropriate pressure and touch. 

His touch demonstrated grossly unprofessional and misplaced anger indicating that he has severe anger issues and has no business being a doctor when what he spreads is the antithesis of good health. 

It was the first time I ever left a chiropractor’s office having had manual traction done and reaped absolutely no improvement.  Thus, my first visit to this awful chiropractor in Cedar Park, Texas was also my last. 

Given his statement to me about never having seen so much damage in someone so young, you would think that fact alone would have been impetus enough for him to not be lazy when I stated my preference for manual traction because I know best what works for my body!

Clearly his practice is about him, not his patients’ best interests! 

If and when you meet a doctor who falls short of your reasonable care needs because he/she is more concerned with their own needs, do not return to that doctor and if bad enough, WALK OUT.  Wish I had.

I honestly should have but when I invested all of the time in preparing for that appointment that I did and was as desperate for relief as I was, I felt like I had to give it a chance. 

It was a dumb call on my part because I left more frustrated than when I went in.

Not only did I not reap any relief from his lousy treatment, but for the first time in my life after having electrode stimulation therapy at a chiropractic office, I had a very weird feeling in my L4/5 area and I didn’t even feel the vibrations on my left side.  I brought these things up to him but he just stared at me hatefully.

And I hadn’t even insisted on manual traction yet, so his anger only continued to build. 

Being a fair person is my best trait; thus, given the severity of my damage and the fall to that side, I figured it must have been my body; until I used my own TENS unit at home and had neither issue. Thus, I believe he just didn't even place the electrodes properly.  HE WAS A QUACK AND A HALF!

As I said at the beginning, I possess superior experience as a tech who worked her way up to Clinical Supervisor.  Thus, I am well aware of and deliver what it takes to deliver, and to be an excellent patient. 

I am early or on time, organized, knowledgeable of my conditions by their medical terms, knowledgeable of my Rx’s both by dose and by brand and generic names, and often have to spell them for medical staff!

I make sure to take any test results with me for my latest blood labs, MRI’s or other relative medical results.

I have a typed list of my questions to not waste time in forgetting what I want to know, I document what they tell me, if I am not compliant, I have sound logic behind why. 

When I as the patient,

with my expert clinical knowledge,

understanding of all that docs go through,

have reasonable expectations of them,

exude more sense and professionalism

than the medical professional with 8-13 years

of training who are treating me,

I am quite comfortable

drawing the conclusion that

there is something seriously wrong with that doctor.  

We tend to remember the really good and the really bad in life. 

Stop and think of each of your doctors.  What emotions and thoughts instantly came to mind as you did so?  Those are your first clue about whether or not you should stay or find another. 

If you aren't sure about whether you should stay with your current provider please click this STB2G page and may it help you greatly! 

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