Doctors are busy and can’tknow everything about every ailment. Also, they are not able to keep up with all new things in the medical field. Thank goodness for the internet.
Here are some things I do to take my health in my own hands.
Become an expert in your problem.
You have the internet, use it. research whatever is ailing you. Understand what it is and the possible causes. Learn as much as you can about it so you can have a reasonable conversation with your doctor and about the options available. If you want to heal it then I think it is your responsibility to become an expert in it.
Question your doctor.
Don’t take what your doctor says at face value. Bring some of the info you have read to their attention. Ask what the options are. Sometimes they only give you options that best optimize your out of pocket cost when considering insurance. They may know of other options that may be better but may cost you out of pocket. Be aware, some doctors don’t like their patients bringing in info from the web. That is okay, though your doctor should be able to have a reasonable conversation with you about it. Remember, you can also find another doctor if need be.
Get second opinions
Other doctors may have another idea to solve the problem.
All of us are smarter than any one of us.
If one doctor knows of a simple remedy for a ailment they do not have a tool to share this with all of the other doctors. That is where the internet comes in. Not only can you do general internet searches about your problem but you can also visit sites like Quantified Self and Patients Like Me where individuals document their ailments and any details about them. See what others are doing to solve their problems. Be careful though, even though all of us is smarter than one of us there are a lot of dumbasses out there.
Alternative options
Google alternatives for the ailment and solutions you have heard of. See what else is out there. Alternative and holistic medicine are options too. Be careful of dumb hippies.
What are athletes doing?
Athletes need their bodies to work in top condition because their income is on the line. They may be using state of the art techniques that work much better than what your doctor recommends.
What are they doing overseas?
There are smart people all over the world and sometimes our FDA is really, really, really, slow at allowing a new treatment for something that has been proven elsewhere. Learn what they are doing for your specific ailment and ask your doctor if it is available here. Also, it may be worth it to travel over there for the fix. Most likely your insurance won’t pay for it but the prices there may be significantly less than here and their medical room conditions will be equal or better than here.
Heck, what are they doing on the coasts?
The east and west coast tend to set trends and this includes things in the medical field. Call some doctors on the coast and see what they have to say.
Read medical articles
Search for your ailment on PubMed. These articles are written by professionals and you can learn of other techniques for solving your problem. They may be hard to read because of a lot of words you don’t understand. Look them up, and keep reading. The more you read the more the unknown words will become known. BTW, be willing to spend some money on some articles if they look promising.
Supplements
Google what supplements people are recommending related to the ailment. Give these a shot but beware of any negative effects you may have to taking them and that you are buying them from a quality source.
Spend some money
Many available options will require you to spend money out of pocket. Don’t get sucked into the “my insurance won’t pay for it” mentality if it is an important enough problem.
Finally, be careful. with all the good info out there there is also really bad info. Take time to really consider trying things Don’t hurt yourself.