I'm retired from allopathic (mainstream) medicine, and I never could see it before the last several years, but it's true that, if your signs and symptoms don't fit a pattern familiar to the doctor, their next thought is that it's all in your head and you're a nut.
I'm retired from allopathic (mainstream) medicine, and I never could see it before the last several years, but it's true that, if your signs and symptoms don't fit a pattern familiar to the doctor, their next thought is that it's all in your head and you're a nut.
1967. My 46 year old mom couldn't keep food down and her weight had gone from a normal 120 to 89 pounds. Doctors couldn't find anything obviously wrong with her so they decided it was all in her head. One doctor even told her condescendingly, "Well, now, I guess we'll just have to call this Dorothy's disease." Lucky for my mom, she got a new doctor (these were military doctors, by the way, my dad was in the military then) who figured it out instantly: celiac disease. He did an endoscopy to figure it out. He put her on a totally gluten free diet (hard in the 1960's!), she gained her weight back in about 6 months, got a second endoscopy a year later and they saw that her stomach and intestinal tract was completely healed. She ate gluten free the rest of her life and lived to 95. Had she not met that doctor, she would have died at 46.
Since that time (I was in high school), I have never entirely trusted most doctors. My skepticism in this regard has served me quite well my entire life.
You are correct. I had placenta previa with my first child and delivered a month early. They put him on forced room air to assist his breathing for the first 12hrs and rushed him to the nicu. I was upstairs in postpartum recovering from a c-section and used a wheelchair to get to the first level to visit my newborn. He was the largest child in the nicu and not requiring any special medical care. The forced air was not needed after the 12 hrs and I expected to have him join me up on my room. The nicu dr refused and brought in a social worker to condescendingly ask me what was wrong. I simply said I wanted my baby in a room with me. They threatened against medical advice and told me the stay wouldn’t be covered by insurance. We fought this for 5 days until a new doctor was on and walked in and asked why we were still there. I told her we were ready to leave days ago and the previous doctor refused. She immediately discharged us and we finally left that horrible place. Months later, a nurse contacted me and asked me to write a letter to Sutter Roseville in CA to explain the situation and file a complaint. The doctor who held us hostage was the head of the nicu and had done that to other patients to pass the nicu numbers. No surprise, I never heard the outcome.
Horrors! One of my daughters delivered a beautiful 9 lb. baby boy, who had aspirated some fluid he needed to clear. It was a midwife delivery and I’m sure it was because of the ‘sue happy’ world we live in, an ambulance was called and the baby taken to a hospital. We were terrified and praying fervently for fear of what they might do to him. Praise God, they released him the next day. Apparently they were pretty full up in the nice or who knows what could have happened. And the fact that we make big babies probably helped.
That's horrible! I had a previa and delivered 6 weeks early with my second child and did not have any of that experience. I can't imagine what that was like for you!
I have experienced this personally. I can't tell you how many times I was offered anti-depressants for something that turned out to be serious and required surgery.
I really really hate this about doctors. It’s so arrogant. Basically comes down to, “since I, the all knowing doctor, can’t find why you have these symptoms, you must be mentally disturbed and making it all up.” So it can’t possibly be because the doctor doesn’t know everything or is wrong 🙄
Also relevant: this piece from the Corbett Report on how psychiatry has been weaponized in the past against political dissidents or enemies: (you have to sign up to read it all but it’s really worth doing so)
I'm retired from allopathic (mainstream) medicine, and I never could see it before the last several years, but it's true that, if your signs and symptoms don't fit a pattern familiar to the doctor, their next thought is that it's all in your head and you're a nut.
1967. My 46 year old mom couldn't keep food down and her weight had gone from a normal 120 to 89 pounds. Doctors couldn't find anything obviously wrong with her so they decided it was all in her head. One doctor even told her condescendingly, "Well, now, I guess we'll just have to call this Dorothy's disease." Lucky for my mom, she got a new doctor (these were military doctors, by the way, my dad was in the military then) who figured it out instantly: celiac disease. He did an endoscopy to figure it out. He put her on a totally gluten free diet (hard in the 1960's!), she gained her weight back in about 6 months, got a second endoscopy a year later and they saw that her stomach and intestinal tract was completely healed. She ate gluten free the rest of her life and lived to 95. Had she not met that doctor, she would have died at 46.
Since that time (I was in high school), I have never entirely trusted most doctors. My skepticism in this regard has served me quite well my entire life.
Skepticism is a very healthy trait.
You are correct. I had placenta previa with my first child and delivered a month early. They put him on forced room air to assist his breathing for the first 12hrs and rushed him to the nicu. I was upstairs in postpartum recovering from a c-section and used a wheelchair to get to the first level to visit my newborn. He was the largest child in the nicu and not requiring any special medical care. The forced air was not needed after the 12 hrs and I expected to have him join me up on my room. The nicu dr refused and brought in a social worker to condescendingly ask me what was wrong. I simply said I wanted my baby in a room with me. They threatened against medical advice and told me the stay wouldn’t be covered by insurance. We fought this for 5 days until a new doctor was on and walked in and asked why we were still there. I told her we were ready to leave days ago and the previous doctor refused. She immediately discharged us and we finally left that horrible place. Months later, a nurse contacted me and asked me to write a letter to Sutter Roseville in CA to explain the situation and file a complaint. The doctor who held us hostage was the head of the nicu and had done that to other patients to pass the nicu numbers. No surprise, I never heard the outcome.
Horrors! One of my daughters delivered a beautiful 9 lb. baby boy, who had aspirated some fluid he needed to clear. It was a midwife delivery and I’m sure it was because of the ‘sue happy’ world we live in, an ambulance was called and the baby taken to a hospital. We were terrified and praying fervently for fear of what they might do to him. Praise God, they released him the next day. Apparently they were pretty full up in the nice or who knows what could have happened. And the fact that we make big babies probably helped.
Nicu
That's horrible! I had a previa and delivered 6 weeks early with my second child and did not have any of that experience. I can't imagine what that was like for you!
That’s awful 😞
I have experienced this personally. I can't tell you how many times I was offered anti-depressants for something that turned out to be serious and required surgery.
I really really hate this about doctors. It’s so arrogant. Basically comes down to, “since I, the all knowing doctor, can’t find why you have these symptoms, you must be mentally disturbed and making it all up.” So it can’t possibly be because the doctor doesn’t know everything or is wrong 🙄
Also relevant: this piece from the Corbett Report on how psychiatry has been weaponized in the past against political dissidents or enemies: (you have to sign up to read it all but it’s really worth doing so)
https://www.corbettreport.com/dissent-into-madness-the-weaponization-of-psychology/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email