doctors

how come,docs today seem to think that more drugs/chemicals are the answer to everthing?is that all they learn in med school?

(quoted from post at 20:16:46 05/12/10) how come,docs today seem to think that more drugs/chemicals are the answer to everthing?is that all they learn in med school?

Click to expand...

ickbacks!

You should try a V.A. doctor some time. They throw you lots of drugs that are like putting a band aid on a bullet wound. I.E. they do there job if you take 10 of them a day and that is if your lucky.

Doctors prescribe drugs because their patients are unwilling to change their diets and start exercising.

As an option, you might check to see if there are any physicians of osteopathic medicine in your area.

Thanks to the drug manufacturers being allowed to advertise on TV, the patients already know what ails them and what medicines they want.
If a doctor doesn"t prescribe it to them, they will switch to a doctor who will and the original doctor will lose business. That, and the doctors have the medicine companies beating a path to their door.

(quoted from post at 23:16:46 05/12/10) how come,docs today seem to think that more drugs/chemicals are the answer to everthing?is that all they learn in med school?

Click to expand...

First, did you ever think that maybe the drugs are designed to be the answer for a problem?

Second, if they DIDN'T prescribe them and you found out later that there was a drug that would help your condition (notice the ubiquitous ads on TV: "ask your doctor about ....") you'd be the first to jump up and down and sue the doctor and call him incompetent.

I would bet that if it wasn't for modern medicine and the pharmaceutical industry today, that many of the people who frequent this forum would not even be alive today.

Everyone screams about the high cost of health care, but this ain't the days of a doc in a buggy with a black bag and stethoscope. People go to a doctor for a problem ("my neck is sore") and EXPECT a perfect diagnosis AND a PERFECT outcome. MRIs, CAT scans, lab tests, joint replacement, these things did not exist 50 years ago. You want the Cadillac of health care? It costs $$$$.

It's any wonder that a kid would go to medical school today with the 8-12 yrs of expensive schooling followed by people complaining that they make too much money, patients suing the pants off of them if they make any kind of little mistake.

Just heard the other day from my wife (who is a nurse) that BC/BS only will reimburse $43 for a return patient visit to her clinic. Heck, an oil change costs close to that these days. And her clinic is a specialty clinic (doctor referrals required) where patients go whose doctors can't help them. I think she said their cost for a patient visit was over $100.

Almost every day, I hear people brag about going in for a procedure to a doctor who is the "best" guy in town and then complain when they see the bill.The guy may have just saved their life but once they are cured, it's a different attitude toward the guy.

So, the next time you go for a doctor's visit, think about the knowledge and experience of the people in the office (or hospital) and the fact that some of them are making around what a guy with an 8th grade education working the assembly line at Ford is making.

And think about the guy in the lab at Pfizer who is working on a drug to ease your arthritis or cure your cancer.

Because when they tell people to lose weight and exercise they don't do it.

Old is my buddy, but I differ from his opinion of the VA. In my opinion, the doctors don't get a kick back from the meds. No other doctors probably don't have that option.

The days of magic pills and snake oil is over for the most part.

If you don't believe in pills, just don't take them and complain in the next world. Or better yet, tell a sick loved one to stop using the modern medicine, and doctors. As with all folks, doctors included have different opinions.

Seems we are living longer nowdays ---yea I know your grandpa smoked and drank and lived----bla bla bla. But if it wasn't for modern medicine and doctors etc. you would not live long enough to complain.

The medical profesion is not perfect, neither am I, but overall they are making life better. Heck my great grandmpther layed in bed for either thiteen or eighteen years with a broken hip. My mother was standing the next morning after hip surgery.

In my childhood I recall kids that died from some pretty minor problems when mom and dad believed if they prayed enough it would all go away.

My grandma told of her as a child taking coal tar and honey for a cough, and sometimes kerosene.

I hope your wife gets better, but I'm a thinking her odds are better in the modern medical world than if she choose not to use the new (but not perfect) options.

Delta Red I know your feeling. I could write pages about my feelings about some doctors and I can write about the good ones. It was the knowledge and action of our children and a DO not MD that pulled my wife through. The MD would run blood tests and she was always Anemic. Ended up she had NPH in the brain. If I were young I would like to have gotten that
S-A young MD out behind the barn. Enough said!
gitrib

Have you ever thought about Homeopathic? Not a bad thing at all because it concentrates on the cause and not the symptom. You'd have to use your own judgement as far as decent or quack though.

Dave

Went to the doctor's Tuesday morning, I've had a bad cold that seems to have gotten worse. Saw nurse/practitioner Jenny and she doesn't think it's full scale phnumonia...yet. So she told me I should take a week off and rest and quit my d**n smoking! Ok let's be realistic here, neither one of those options are likely going to happen. So she did the best she can do, a strong dose of antibiotics, re-upped my inhalers and said to rest when I can and have the young bucks do the hardest stuff for awhile.
Is it her fault that it will take me about 2X as long to get over this? NOT hardly! She did the best she can. In the end WE are responsible for our own wellness. The doctors can only do what they can.

My wife and I got spoiled. Our family doctor, who retired several years ago, was and still is a water skiing and deer hunting buddy of mine of some 35 years standing.

My wife and I are convinced to this day if it weren't for him we wouldn't have our daughter. My wife had a couple of miscarriages where other doctors had let nature take its course. By the time she was pregnant with our daughter "Doc" was our doctor, and when my wife showed the usual signs of miscarrying, he experimented with hormones and brought her through OK. Our daughter is now a 33 year old paralegal in a real estate title office in Washington DC. When it came to accidental death and miscarriages, Doc was a sore loser.

Doc's replacement is a young gal who took over when he retired. She's a real sweetheart and a "keeper", also. Just like Doc, she's laid back, always ready to take time to talk in detail about a problem, just like Doc if she gets into an area where she isn't sure of herself, she isn't afraid to admit it and consult with someone else who might have an answer, etc.

The point of this rambling is, just like in any profession, there are doctors who are fantastic and there are boneheads. Unfortunately, thanks to the insurance companies and government intervention it's almost impossible for the marketplace to weed out the boneheads from the great ones.

Tell me...or better yet yourself, are you so in love with smoking that you'ld rather die with the comfort smoking brings you or live free from a deadly habit? It's your life and your decision, no one else is involved really. This is how it was presented to me 17 years ago....I quit the stinking things and at nearly 76 years of age now I thank God and the doctor who asked me, "Who's in charge of your life, you or Joe Camel"?

Oh believe me I understand why they do not give out stronger stuff and in some ways I'm glad they do not but at times it would be nice not to be in pain 24/7 but then you have the other problem if your not in pain 24/7 you also would be in bad sleeping or out doing what you should not be doing and end up dead because you where drugged up to much. Of course one thing that did not help me was a V.A. doctor I was seeing retired not long ago and he seemed to do his best to help those he saw and the ones they have that took over seem to play pass the buck, I have not seen the same one in the last 5 appointments. Oh and the one I liked calls me every once in a while because he owns a 9N or 2N and need help fixing it LOL So at least I made a friend ad we talk on the phone one and off a lot

Guys,please foregive my rant.I guess that I am just worried,frustrated ,confused.My imagination is working overtime.Steve

(quoted from post at 07:40:49 05/13/10) Thanks to the drug manufacturers being allowed to advertise on TV, the patients already know what ails them and what medicines they want.
If a doctor doesn"t prescribe it to them, they will switch to a doctor who will and the original doctor will lose business. That, and the doctors have the medicine companies beating a path to their door.

Click to expand...

Drug companies are there to make a profit by selling their product, just like Ford or GM. And in many cases the only ones who can create a sale of their product are doctors (by writing a prescription) so that that is who they have marketed to.

Interesting trend these days: The drug reps used to bring in lunch 1 or 2 days a week to the hospitals and put on presentations about their products. Doctors and nurses could be educated on new drugs, their side effects, their uses, etc basically on their own time (lunch) and get a free piece of pizza or chicken. With all the hoopla about "kickbacks", many hospitals have banned the reps from doing this. So my question is: Why was this bad? It was an effective way of keeping the medical profession aware of new advances in pharmacy. Do they really think a doc will "push" a medication just because he got a free lunch? LOL.

And Kruse, you are right about patients asking about drugs they see advertised. My wife says they get patients all the time asking about a drug and they don't understand when the doctor tries to explain why it isn't the right thing for their particular case.

Red: Here is part of a poem I wrote about four years ago. Just remember the great love you have for her and do not apologize for your feeling . May the Lord look after you both.
gitrib

VALENTINE DAY LOVE

Sixteen months ago I placed her life in the hand of the Lord.

She could not feed herself.

She did not know me.

Today I called,

“Happy Valentines Day, Honey”.

“Come and get me”.

My personel doctor at the VA is a young blonde, and a perfect doctor / lady that acts as a very concerned friend to all her patients.

We all agree she is a hottie, and our blood presure is not real accurate when she takes it.< When it is bend over time, I always ask if we are flipping coins to see if she is first or me. Another time I told her while she was digging to try and find my dignaty.p>That is the honest version, however at our local coffee shop, she somehow turns in to a super super model, cheerleader that wears a skimpy bating suit when dealing with us Vets. Every story seems to get better. Once in a while we even fall off our stools dreaming about her.

I do actualy see the same doctors a majority of the time, and they all seem to enjoy working for the VA. They have mentioned that overall the VETs appreciate everything, and expect very little.

I have asked a few insiders about the patients that are real butt heads, if there is a signal on the computer screen to warn everyone of a trouble maker. The one gal said they have their ways, and smiled at me.

I'm very greatfull to have such a wonderful staff at the VA, and such great care at a afordable price.

One thing that is both good and bad about the V.A. hospital I go to is that is is sort of part of the MSU hospital so you have a lot of student doctors which can be both good and bad