So you think you're a doctor?

Read time: 4 minutes

Good morning, 66.1ers.

Last week’s issue raised a few questions, prompted a few replies.

One reader asked if I think I’m a doctor? Replied, apologized for making this person think I was a doctor? They said no you’re missing the point. The point is, “Why didn’t you ask your doctor for suggestions before you went home and taped your mouth shut?” Hmmm. Thanks for challenging me, for making me think. Seriously.

Could write for days on this topic. I suppose it’s a combination of a bunch of things. Personality-wise, some might say Marcus likes to figure things out for himself. That’s not helpful, though. Why would any patient take matters into their own hands, going for the “home remedy” without even asking their doctor? Good question, important question. Think it drives at the crux of 66.1 and why I keep writing this newsletter. A few reasons that come to mind from my situation:

1. Fear?
   32 years old, generally healthy, potential sleep apnea, my uncle has a CPAP machine and it doesn’t look that fun, especially if you consider how many years a person would likely be on it? Kinda scary, IMHO. Why not try stuff on my own, do my own research, see if there’s a less invasive way to fix this?
   

2. Time?
   Doctors have a certain amount of time to see each patient. They do their best to answer everything in the allotted time, but of course they’re rushed. When they’re in a rush, there’s only so many times they’ll ask, “What else is on your mind?” Not their fault, but it shapes the interaction.
   

   

   
   

3. Unpreparedness?
   Red blood cells were barely out of whack. Previous doctor said it was from living at altitude, so I deleted it from my memory. With other lab values and “agenda items” on the table, I didn’t expect this would be a point of conversation. Prepared Marcus might’ve asked, “Is there something less ‘aggressive’ we could do to address this? Is mouth tape during sleep a crazy idea?”
   

4. Dis/mistrust?
   Maybe there’s an element of jadedness because there’s an algorithm for all of these things, and they seem to lead to medications, procedures, and devices. And it usually (always?) comes from a well-meaning place: a lab value is taken because it being out of “normal” range might mean something sinister is going on.
   
   Best to rule all that stuff out so you’re not mouth-taping when you should be doing something much more…decisive? But I’d done that stuff, had done every lab value imaginable to rule out cancer and other big/bad stuff. Felt like we were headed down another expensive rabbit hole that promotes dependency on an expensive intervention.
   
   BTW, have an important appointment coming up? Want to make sure you’re ready to get the most out of your 24 minutes? First 15 minutes are free.

I think it’s kinda like this? If a contractor came to look at your house, just check it over, because it’s not a bad idea to do that once a year, and said you needed a whole new roof for $50,000 (keeping in mind you’d never noticed an issue with your roof), would you say, “yes please, thank you Mr. Contractor, you can start tomorrow” without asking about other options? Would you say, “Thanks for your suggestion”, then never call him back?

Of course, none of this is medical advice. I’m not anti-doctor/anti-medicine/anti-science. Just pro-patient. You should ask your doctor all the questions you can think of, heed their advice, and make whatever decision is right for you.