Living a long healthy life without a doctor (water, horse, well)

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by SifuPhil

The way I see it (and I'm sure I'm in the minority here, as I am everywhere else), I'm 53 years old, I've done everything I wanted to do, there are no surprises left for me in life, and most importantly, I made my peace with Death a long, long time ago.

Most people, when they see Death coming up the path to their house, run and hide, lock the doors and bolt the windows and break out in fervent prayer, beseeching whatever celestial being they believe in to save them.

I'll open the door wide, turn on all the lights and fling open the windows, put on some Pink Floyd and break out the libations.

Welcome any time, Honored Guest!

Phil, you may want to look at moving away from the Pennsylvania winters. A winter home in the Caymans, perhaps?

[ognend]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

I would feel pretty stupid if I were dying from an illness that could have been easily dealt with if I had been routinely checked by a urologist, for example. Especially if my reasons for avoiding that urologist were borne out of some irrational principle.

You could die from a cut on your hand (even after you cleaned it and applied neosporin on it), you can see your doctor every year and still die from a heart attack....

I would feel pretty stupid if I died from something my doctor thought he found and I went for the treatment that ended up killing me.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by ognend

You could die from a cut on your hand (even after you cleaned it and applied neosporin on it), you can see your doctor every year and still die from a heart attack....

I would feel pretty stupid if I died from something my doctor thought he found and I went for the treatment that ended up killing me.

I'm sure you realize that these are less than superlative counterpoints...

[brightdoglover]

I think the problem with not carrying health insurance (or, rather, having it mandated) is that healthcare providers and hospitals cannot opt out of treating you if you decide to come into the hospital (or are dragged or carried in). Now, if that part of the law could be changed...

[SifuPhil]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

Phil, you may want to look at moving away from the Pennsylvania winters. A winter home in the Caymans, perhaps?

The only way THAT would happen would be for me to win the lottery, which I don't play.

Are you implying that I have SAD?

[ognend]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

I'm sure you realize that these are less than superlative counterpoints...

Oh by they do happen, often, to a lot of folks. I knew a few people who died due to negligence, overall lack of care and competency...

I personally don't trust the doctors or the hospitals. I have been in this country for 9 years now and if I think about it more than 80% of my doctors were incompetent or did not care or both. The 20% were OK or great. Those are pretty slim odds

[ognend]

Originally Posted by SifuPhil

The only way THAT would happen would be for me to win the lottery, which I don't play.

Are you implying that I have SAD?

There is a pill for that! Side effects: possible cancer, bleeding out of your ears, peeing in bed at night, blackouts and suicidal thoughts....

[ChrisC]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

You're right, I guess I was pushing medical care on everyone and infringing their constitutional rights.

No, your government is. But most of us are blind followers.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by ChrisC

No, your government is. But most of us are blind followers.

I resent my government just as much as you do. I also resent insurance companies. There is no reason that medical care should be so expensive other than the useless middleman who drives costs up by paying health care providers less and less every year for the same services. BCBS, for example, may pay 40% (and probably a lot less than that in reality) of whatever they are invoiced for including your deductible. To avoid starving out, the providers have to bill 250% of what the work would be worth in a direct patient-to-doctor transaction. BCBS also contractually forbids in-network providers from arranging patient-to-doctor payment options at a discounted or, more appropriately, real rate.

I apologize for getting caffeinated with you yesterday, I just couldn't understand how questioning the wisdom of principled avoidance of routine screening amounted to blindly following the government.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by ognend

Oh by they do happen, often, to a lot of folks. I knew a few people who died due to negligence, overall lack of care and competency...

I personally don't trust the doctors or the hospitals. I have been in this country for 9 years now and if I think about it more than 80% of my doctors were incompetent or did not care or both. The 20% were OK or great. Those are pretty slim odds

I understand that they do happen and that there is some risk incidental to every single day, that routine screenings do not necessarily do anything to save people from glioblastoma multiforme, exotic infections, pancreatic cancers and other catastrophic illnesses and I also understand that medical practitioners are not all created equal; I'm still confused about the correlation between seeing value in attending routine screenings and assuming that "anything must live and survive, no matter what". Correct me if I'm wrong please, but you seem to be saying that you can still die from a cut on your finger even with soap and neosporin and that medical provider competency follows a bell curve, so why go to the doctor ever. To me, that philosophy yields pretty slim odds of maximum happy.

I'm saying that there are a number of common maladies that will result in an unpleasant and undignified death that may be avoided by early detection and simple procedures. I don't want one of those to be what kills me if I can help it.