[Anglyn]

Im reading a book called "Male Practice" written by a pediatrican (Robert Mendelsohn) who practiced for over 30 years and its a scathing condemnation of modern medicine in general and obstetrics in particular. I realize the book is 25 years old and things have changed, but not that much.

Im now considering never seeing a doctor again, ever, for any reason.

He claims that most doctors hurt more than they ever help and most diagnostics tests arent relaible leading to sick people who get missed and healthy people who get unneeded treatments that really do make them sick.

He says never go to an annual checkup because docs are not trained to keep you healthy, but to FIND problems, real or imagnied. I know how interventions can cascade in birth, does this carry over to all areas of medicine? Because yikes. I had no idea that pap smears were 30% inaccurate, among other things. Anyone able to shed some light on this? Is it true to mammograms and pap smears are unreliable or have they gotten better since this book was written?

 

[staceyshoe]

I love Dr. Mendelsohn's books! You may also enjoy another book that he wrote called "Confessions of a Medical Heretic". IMO, most drs are well-intentioned but the political and financial aspects of the industry have created huge problems that makes me distrust allopathic medicine intently. There are many many situations where standard med advice contradicts scientific research but "standard practice" clauses of malpractice insurance make it difficult for practitioners to break out of wrong norms. Drs also have limited access to info unless they just decide to do reading in their spare time. All med school texts, professional journals, and continuing educ has to be AMA approved. Again, this is MHE, but the AMA almost seems to be the political arm of pharaceutical and med equipment companies rather than an independent unbiased organization who looks out for patient welfare. Drs aren't educated on the benefits of alternative med. In situations of trauma, I do think our medical system excels, but for any chronic issue I would research and educate myself before making a decision about treatment based on a dr's advice.

 

[rareimer]

i haven't read this book in particular, but i loved Mendelsohn's book "How to Raise a Healthy Child...In Spite of Your Doctor."

i think that really is the gist of it for me, at least in my experience...that doctors are trained to find problems. so they will find one, or die trying. and then they will give you drugs that will screw you up even more, often causing chronic illness. either that, or you go in with a true problem, and they brush it off and don't help you at all.

i think my main problem with modern medicine is that doctors find "symptoms" and they use drugs to "cure" the symptoms....but they usually don't bother trying to find the actual underlying CAUSE of the symptoms, so even though a person may feel "better" because of the doctor's treatment, they still have the underlying problem, and often more problems because of the drugs. symptoms are a way for the body to tell us there is a problem, and most doctors don't seem interested in finding the problem. my family and i are much healthier when we avoid doctors.

 

[mavery]

I've read "How to raise a healthy child...", and I agree with a lot of what he says, to some extent. Doctors are trained to find problems, etc. But there are some things they are useful for, and for me the best thing to do with the ideas in Mendelsohn is to make myself an informed and sceptical consumer.

I never go to (or take my child to) a doctor unless there are signs that it's something other than a run-of-the-mill illness, or there are alarming symptoms I don't understand or it's not responding to home treatment. And when I DO go to the doctor, I question everything (often not directly to the doctor, but I do my own research before I undergo tests or take medications). I also changed doctors a couple of times to find people who would not try to railroad me into following their advice or get huffy when I refused to. I have a great GP who is very laid back, and though I consider myself better informed on certain topics than she is (nutrition and alternative treatments), she has some info I find valuable - even if it's just as a starting point for my own research and decisions.

 

[Yemaya1]

I love his books. Son was born at home. No we do not go to routine vists. Studies have shown the doctors are the third leading cause of death.

Here is the link.
http://www.mercola.com/2000/jul/30/doctors_death.htm