When I pressed him further on what exactly he meant by that, he said, "Your symptoms aren't life threatening, so maybe you can learn to live with them."
My brain could barely process what I was hearing. Why wasn't my physician more curious about what was going on with me? Yes, I was coming to him with symptoms that didn't seem life threatening compared to a tumor, clogged arteries or gangrenous appendages, but my symptoms were not all in my head and they were definitely affecting my quality of life.
But he didn't budge. "Are you depressed?" he asked. I knew where his line of questioning was leading so I cut to the chase and said, "Let me explain the order of events. I don't feel well, and then that makes me depressed. It's not the other way around." When he jotted down the name of a psychiatrist he recommended I see, I stared at him incredulously. Then I said, "Let's not forget the nature of this relationship. I'm paying you for a service. Right now I'm not happy with the service I'm getting... so you're fired."
It wasn't the only time I would say those words to a traditional MD, unfortunately. It took two years of being poked, prodded, and probed before any doctor mentioned anything about Lyme disease. I swallowed radioactive pills, was blasted with X-rays, and was injected with synthetic dyes... all to track and record what my body was doing. None of it felt right to me. It wasn't until I went to a naturopathic doctor who diagnosed me based upon my medical history and then backed that up with an IGenex test, that I finally felt some sort of satisfaction with my medical service.
At that point, I stopped consulting with physicians all together. I realized that my intuition and knowledge of the way my own body worked and reacted to medications was always better than the physicians I was seeing. They needed very expensive tests to tell me things I already knew, and none of those tests ever shed new light on anything. It was after I became my own health advocate that I began experiencing better health through methods I had researched… herbal treatments, better eating habits and ways to keep myself positive.
I look back on those times and realize all the money I wasted on tests that kept me more confused. The treatments I was prescribed actually caused a worse quality life than I had before, and I wasted so much energy arguing with arrogant doctors who scoffed at any ideas I brought to the table. Yet none of these people had a clue what to do with me. So I fired them all!
I'm writing this blog to empower any patient right now who is being browbeaten by a know-it-all physician with a god complex who tells you your illness is all in your head. Please trust your intuition and listen to your body. You are the foremost expert on what you're going through so don't let someone confuse you with a bunch of limited advice and a battery of confusing tests results... all because they have some kind of learned degree. No one knows what you're going through better than you. So stand up for yourself and be your own health advocate and don't take crappy advice from anyone just because they have initials after their name.
Here are a set of red flags to look out for when choosing a physician:
The bottom line is, when it comes to Lyme disease, the days of going to a doctor and taking his or her full advice and getting a simple treatment with the outcome of complete recovery are over. It is important for you to be your own health advocate and always remember that you are the world’s best expert on your own body. Trust your instincts, don’t sell yourself short … and don’t be afraid to fire a doctor who doesn’t give you good service!
The above material is provided for informational purposes only. The material is not nor should be considered a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.