Some Things Most Doctors May Not Know

A relative of mine (John) came down with diabetes when he was about 14. He had just gotten over a very serious case of the flu that kept him in bed for nearly a month. Shortly after that he started to develop symptoms of diabetes. His uncle was also diagnosed with diabetes at about the same time.

His uncle had complained of excessive thirst, weight loss, and having to go to the bathroom frequently. The boy noticed that he had the same symptoms as his uncle had. He told his parents about it and they took him to the family doctor. The doctor told him that there was nothing wrong with him. It was just "growing pains."

But the boy kept getting weaker and weaker. He asked his parents to take him back to the doctor. Again, his symptoms were dismissed and he was told that he was just worried about his uncle and trying to identify with him. He was warned by the doctor that if he kept this up he would hospitalize him for a "psychiatric evaluation."

John noticed an ad from the American Diabetes Association in the local newspaper and sent away for a urine test. The test showed that John had sugar in his urine, another symptom of diabetes.

Finally, his parents got involved and insisted that the doctor do a blood sugar test. The doctor resisted, saying that the urine tests weren't very accurate, but then finally agreed. Back then the blood glucose test involved several trips to the doctor after fasting and then eating a big meal. The results showed that John's blood glucose was over 900 or 9 times average.

The above shows that doctors can make mistakes and generalizations and it can be very difficult to change their minds. They can also miss an obvious diagnosis like this doctor did. It shows the importance of taking an active role in your treatment.

One thing that a lot of doctors seem to miss is that one treatment does not fit all. Each patient is different and will react differently to treatment. In the future, one of the great advances in treatment will be that each one will be custom tailored to fit the patient's needs. Drugs, for example, will be genetically tailored for each individual patient. But for now, the more information we have about our condition that we have before we go to the doctor's office, the better.

According to the Healthy Planet Magazine, here are a few things that will help you be better prepared: For example, flax seed can promote inflammation in insulin resistant diabetics and anti-inflammatory drugs shouldn't be used with antibiotics. (A doctor once prescribed both of them together to me.) Some other things to watch out for are:

• Iron supplements can aggravate inflammation.
• Only 20% of your cholesterol comes from diet. Inflammation in the body can cause it to increase.
• Soy products can increase estrogen.
• Some sunscreens can interfere with vitamin D absorption.
• The malt dextrin commonly found in a lot of food products has a glycemic index of 130. Sugar is only 65.

Is your doctor open-minded to learning new things or close-minded like John's was? Does he take the time to warn you of possible food and drug interactions when he prescribes medication for you? Or is it "What's wrong? Here take this." Find out the most you can about your condition before you visit the doctor. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You'll be glad you did.

Source: http://thehealthyplanet.com/2011/07/are-you-a-square-peg-in-a-round-hole-2/