I Hate Western Medicine.

I hate western medicine, don't you? 
Hehehehe! Probably not but I do. And I hate the impersonality of the whole thing. And I hate the guilt tripping that doctors like to do. And I hate getting harassed about why my child isn't vaccinated yet. And I hate lugging multiple children to a doctor's office. I hate not being able to put my baby down at nap time in her own crib because I've been waiting at the doctor's office for 3 hours. Yes. THREE hours.
You know how you go into an urgent care and you really have no idea how long it will be before you are seen? About 30-45 minutes in, you're re-thinking the necessity of having gone at all but you've already invested the time! You can't turn back now! You have to stick it out because you have to make all that time MEAN something.
Well that was my morning. My ENTIRE morning. Because Iyov had a mad case of pink eye, which I have mixed feelings about treating. I have mixed feelings about treating ANYTHING really, especially mild infections like pink eye.  And then, by the time I get seen, THREE HOURS AFTER ARRIVING, the very LAST thing I want to talk about are the risks of not following the recommended vaccination schedule. I still feel on the fence about having gone because I swear his eyes were starting to look better before he ever got any antibiotics. But Brad probably would have harassed me about it until it cleared up.
Ugh! Social pressure sucks!
Along with the phrase "LOL" and being told I should vaccinate my 2.5 year old, I also get annoyed at people who overuse the doctor. As if healthcare prices weren't high enough, (and believe me, if you have never had to pay for your own private insurance, you have NO idea how expensive it is) you have people charging 200$ visits to their insurance companies like it's no big deal. Somebody pays for that, ya know. Aside from the monetary issues, there's just the simple fact that people are so heavily dependent on healthcare and they are OK with the fact that they know nothing about how their own body works because "Oh my doctor will tell me when something is wrong." It's just plain annoyingly ignorant.
And why do doctors ALWAYS have to treat you like you don't know anything? They're always all patronizing and sometimes even brisk and snide. Why do doctors think that just because they have a medical degree, they know EVERYTHING there is to know about health? They're so arrogant. I honestly think that sometimes they are worse than lawyers. They must learn some special language designed to convince you that you know NOTHING and they know EVERYTHING. It just really pisses me off!
*Breathe* OK, so I can't speak for every doctor, just the multitude of OB/GYNs, Pediatricians, and family practice doctors I have encountered.
Anyway, I say all this because I really want to avoid this type of situation in the future. I really would like to avoid the doctor unless something catastrophic has happened. The problem is that I don't have a naturopath (nor do I know any around here) and I am not knowledgeable enough to treat things that might need treating. I generally know when something is serious enough to need medical attention, but if I knew what to do to keep things from ever escalating that far, I would be a much happier person. I really get my panties in a wad about anything western medicine related and going to the doctor is sure to raise my blood pressure every time.  I don't think the stress is good for my health. So I'm going to start looking for some kind of way to educate myself... a book probably, so I can start being a more active participant in helping the immune systems of the members of my family. I'm up for suggestions for books you like or have used to be able to treat things yourself... if any of you readers actually do that. Otherwise, I'll be cruising amazon to find highly rated books about this stuff.

Comments

  1. Hey Rachel, sorry Iyov has pink-eye. I don't know any perfect books, but I do like the Mayo Clinic website (http://www.mayoclinic.com/). I like that the authors include a "Lifestyle and Home Remedies" because I also hate going to the doctor. Tell Brad "Hi" for me.

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  2. So why don't you tell us how you really feel...I am thankful for western medicine, for my lively hood and my "Son"

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  3. VERY well written Rachael. Although we do "use" western modern medicine for many things, I hate how doctors think they know all. I hate when they DO NOT listen to you when you know what the problem is (and 99.9% you are always right).And we don't go to the doctor unless we have too, because our preminums are INSANE, so I get where your coming from. I am one of those people who choose to not treat my children when they are sick, with a fever or anything else that can be cured on it's own. I don't give tylenol to "break" a fever, when it's there doing exactly what needs to be done. Looking back too, knowing so much that I know now, I probably would have waited on vaccines as well. I love how you wrote this entry.

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  4. If you recall, I HATED London's pediatrician in Pomona. I don't know if you remember, but London got sick soon after I stopped feeding her breast milk (at 9 months of pumping) and she told me that if I was still feeding her breast milk that she wouldn't be sick. I also had issues with the hospital that made me leave her there in the beginning so that they could better feed her, when in fact, they did not. That said, I'm SO happy with my kids' pediatrician now! She is open to my opinions and doesn't make me feel like she is the all-knowing doctor. Though I won't say all of my dealings with doctors and medicine have been positive, I am SO thankful for them. I have needed doctors and surgeons and such and I think that they are definitely important and needed. At least they have been in the life of London.

    One more thing, I had to answer a bunch of questions for the census and the lady asking the questions was shocked that I spent less than $200 for my entire family on over the counter and doctors visits in all of last year. I do think people use the doctor and medication WAY too much and I really do try to stay away from it as much as possible.

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