@matrix that's extremely fucked up man holy shit. i almost died when i had my first seizure because everyone thought i was being dramatic when i said i wasn't feeling good. you gotta' take that shit seriously.
This actually happens often, especially at Kaiser here in California. They always tell people it's their diet or their mind at intake. I know numerous people who have loved ones who have died as a result of that leading to a late or no diagnosis. The doctors are then insulated from malpractice because their pedagogy followed their "best practices" guidelines — they have experts testify that by flowing the guidelines, the doctor acted within the "professional standard of care." Then the doctors all rub their hands and go home.
The death of the private practitioner can be traced back to Stark Law. The risks and exceptions pushed doctors into large hospitals and group practices. It's been 40 years in the making.
Doctors just suck, intentionally. The entire incentive structure and their work environment is for them to have as little personal connection with the patient as possible, ignore your symptoms, and get the appointment over with ASAP while giving you as little actual medical care as possible.
You suffer for months, finally call the doctor, get an appointment 8 months out, drive an hour, wait an hour, sit in the exam room for an hour with a nurse popping in to do very basic shit, then finally see a GP nurse practitioner for 15 minutes who has 20 other appointments that day, and MAYBE get a referral to go through the same bullshit again with a specialist who's also going to dismiss your symptoms and gatekeep you from health care as hard as possible. People with symptoms of a thing should be checked for that thing, even if the shitty, minimally-invasive tests suggest otherwise. Even ERs in America don't really care unless you're literally currently dying - think cardiac arrest or heart attack, not unstable angina, coronary artery spasm, arterial dissection, or cancer (even though those things will all kill you and need to be found and treated ASAP).
@Silverwolf@Humpleupagus@beardalaxy@matrix@cereal Also keep in mind that doctors are used to dealing with retards and neurotic women who google "headache" and WebMD tells them they have cancer. I'd expect most people here are the opposite, the type who avoid interacting with the medical system until it is absolutely necessary. If you are one of those people, don't let the doctor fob you off on a therapist or recommend "wait and see", firmly advocate for yourself and make sure you are getting the medical care you need.
Stark was the first openly atheist member of Congress, as announced by the Secular Coalition for America.[42][43] Stark acknowledged that he was an atheist in response to an SCA questionnaire sent to public officials in January 2007.
On September 20, 2007, Stark reaffirmed that he was an atheist by making a public announcement in front of the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard, the Harvard Law School Heathen Society, and various other atheist, agnostic, secular, humanist, and nonreligious groups.[44] The American Humanist Association named him 2008 Humanist of the Year,[45] and he served on the AHA Advisory Board. On February 9, 2011, Stark introduced a bill to Congress designating February 12, 2011, as Darwin Day; this was a collaboration between Stark and the American Humanist Association. The resolution states, "Charles Darwin is a worthy symbol of scientific advancement ... and around which to build a global celebration of science and humanity."[46]
In 2011, he and eight other lawmakers voted to reject the existing national motto, “In God We Trust."[47] The next year, Eric Swalwell, his challenger in the Democratic primary campaign, criticized him for this vote.[48]
Stark served on the Advisory Board of the Secular Coalition for America.[49]
At Kaiser, Kaiser Insurance is the single payor for Kaiser Hospital and the Kaiser Medical Group. Guess who really sets medical group policy. It's not the doctors despite what it says on paper. Kaiser is also the primary provider for all state employees, so guess who's immune from any investigation regarding such questionable practices.
@AidanTTIerian@Silverwolf@Humpleupagus@beardalaxy@matrix@cereal Funny, that's basically the opposite of my experience in the US. GP appointments are a few days tops, they are happy to refer to a specialist, and specialists are more than happy to run expensive tests. That's how everyone gets paid, by providing medical services. The shitty part is trying to make sure you don't get screwed by your insurance provider during one of the steps along the way.
Sometimes you just have to be clear with the doctor that you aren't a retard, it isn't a psych issue, and that you already tried "wait and see" before you scheduled an appointment. It really helps to have a long-term GP, since then they have track record with you and know that you aren't a hypochondriac.
Runny nose and sneezing for years. It all started shortly after I met my wife. Doctors tell me I have rhinitis, gerd, etc. Never fixed anything. After twenty years, I finally figure out what I have, thanks to my wife.
@InceptionState@Humpleupagus@matrix@Silverwolf@AidanTTIerian@cereal the problem is when the specialists don't know what they're doing. I have been to two different ENTs because my ears have had an eternal itch for 10 years and neither of them knew what was happening. Neither of them asked about potential diet changes. One gave me GERD medicine (even though I don't have acid reflux) and the other gave me allergy medicine that did nothing.
I went to a church recommended (licensed) therapist once and even though I had been diagnosed with a mood disorder previously she said nothing was wrong with me and I just needed to pray to god :MonkaChrist:
Then you have to factor in younger people. Young adults and teens don't really have that same kind of firmness and experience with doctors. If the doc says something is wrong then they must be right.
The sneezing issue is really a thing though. Appatently, one of the doctors who studied it said he met a woman who divorced her husband because he would sneeze when he saw other women.