7 Reason I Don’t Go To The Doctor

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I don’t like to go to the doctor and I don’t care. When I’m sick, the last thing I want to do is drag my butt to the doctor’s office and sit there for three hours.

Shhh, I don’t go to the doctor.

I don’t think anyone wants to wait for hours to see the doc, but so many do because they need a sick note to give to their employer. That’s a pretty pathetic reason to go to the doctor.

In fact, it’s becoming an epidemic.

Most employers these days don’t believe you’re sick and request a sick note. If you have a migraine or laryngitis, you have to prove that you’re not capable of working.

It’s not about going to the doctor for medication as much as it is about the sick note.

Antibiotics don’t work for viral infections anyway, and doctors shouldn’t be giving them out like candy. It will only make us resistant.

But that’s what is happening.

Antibiotics are being overprescribed and the results have toxic consequences. It will destroy valuable gut flora and can cause a lot of stomach and digestive issues.

We all know the immune system lives in the gut, so if we destroy it, we can actually make ourselves sick.

Not only that, but the overuse of antibiotics especially when we don’t need them, will prevent the drugs from working when we really do have a bacterial infection.

It annoys me that doctors prescribe medications when they are not necessary or don’t follow up when they prescribe them.

I emphasize, “don’t follow up” because I know many people who have been given some strange medication without a doctor monitoring how it affects them.

If the doctor is going to prescribe something, he must follow up on how you react to it. So many don’t though, and that is really scary.

Have you ever read the information sheet when you pick up your medication? The side effects of the drug are often worse than what you’re taking them for.

It’s almost as if doctors are becoming drug pushers for the pharmaceutical companies. Scratch that, they are. They blindly issue you a toxic substance and send you on your merry way without a second thought of how it might harm you.

Sure, there are many excellent doctors out there. I know a few. I’m not saying doctors aren’t necessary. They save lives every day and I am grateful for that.

What I’m saying is aside from life-saving surgeries, we don’t need to run to doctors for every little sniffle.

In fact, we shouldn’t!

I’m one of the odd ones, I know that. You might think differently and that’s okay. I highly respect those who want to go to the doctor when they are sick, or for a yearly check-up. If that’s you and you are comfortable doing that, then go for it.

I just don’t share the same viewpoint, and that’s okay too. I have that right. I don’t expect anyone else to understand but I do want to present my 7 top reasons I don’t go to the doctor.

1. THEY DON’T KNOW MY NAME

I have been going to the doctor for decades and many times, my family doctor of 30+ years forgot who I was. That’s not okay!

I can understand that he sees a lot of patients in one day, but it was not comforting at all when he forgot who I was. What if he gave me the wrong medication? What if he gave me the wrong diagnosis because he thought I was someone else?

These are things that went through my mind and I didn’t like it.

I thought after that many years he would at least remember my name. After all, I remembered his. It’s a common courtesy to familiarize yourself with the patient’s name.

Don’t get me wrong, my family physician was a great guy, and served my family well over the years, but please, remember my name.

When he retired, I had trouble finding another doctor. I went through so many doctors that I finally gave up. They didn’t seem to remember my name either and just stared at the computer the whole time.

I can’t fault them for not remembering my name because I was new, but I couldn’t shake the impersonal vibe I felt with them. It was as if I was just a number.

I had to share intimate information with them, yet I felt a disconnect. It was almost as if they didn’t really want to know who I was.

I remember the last doctor I had. She had a good personality and everything, but when it came time to listen to what I was saying, she didn’t seem to be interested in my life at all.

It was all business, and that was that.

Now, probably many of you who are reading this are saying the opposite. Perhaps you have had a great family physician your entire life who knows and cares about you and your family.

That’s great if you have found that. Many do not, and feel alienated when it comes to their personal health. Many have had to go it alone because they feel there is no other option.

I think of my mother who went through brain cancer. It was so hard finding her the proper medical help. She saw many doctors who didn’t even know why she was there.

I remember going with her to her biopsy, just to witness the botched effort between the emergency staff and the doctors who had booked her the procedure.

She had to re-tell her story over and over to each doctor she saw.

It was disgraceful when we brought her into the hospital for her scheduled biopsy and the doctor asked, “So, what can we do for you today?” Are you kidding me? SHE HAS A BRAIN TUMOR!

We got the sense that nobody really cared. And at the end of the day, the only one that really knew what was going on was my own mother. That was a shame!

The doctors didn’t do a lot. They performed procedures and gave her treatments, but the follow-up care was almost nonexistent. She was alone fighting the battle of her life.

That should never happen to anyone!

We have all this faith in doctors, but in reality, they don’t always have our best interest at heart. We are often forced to be our own health advocates. That’s a good thing, but it’s not always understood.

I understand that, and that’s why I don’t need a doctor to tell me I’m okay. I don’t need a doctor to remember my name because I remember my name.

I have my best interest at heart, and that’s all I need.

2. THEY DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING

I hate to burst your bubble, but doctors do not know everything. Most of what they do is guesswork. They try to solve a puzzle like a mechanic tries to hunt for a rattling sound in an engine.

It’s trial and error, and that’s it.

You are their guinea pig whether they find the cause of the problem or not. Many missed or false diagnoses are made every day, even with cancer.

That is a shame!

Yes, they are only doing the best they can with the knowledge they have. I understand that. I don’t fault doctors for not finding my mother’s brain cancer right away.

She had been told by her ophthalmologist that it was a rare eye disease. They didn’t find the brain tumor right away, which was disheartening but understandable. These things happen.

Doctors don’t know everything. We shouldn’t expect them to. After all, they are human beings just like us and they make mistakes.

Sure, they are the ones with the training. They’ve gone to school for years to become a doctor and they should know more than we do, but oftentimes that’s not the case.

For me, that just makes me want to be my own health advocate first before I take a step into the doctor’s office and waste their time. I can evaluate my own self.

I know, I’ve been told that’s a dangerous practice but I don’t care!

If my wrist is hurting because I typed too long, I don’t need a doctor to tell me that I should rest it and take it easy. (Unless I’m only going there to get a sick note – wink!)

That’s only common sense. Go buy a wrist brace from Walmart. This actually happened to me a few years ago and I was proud that I found a way to fix my own problem.

What I find is a lot of people don’t use common sense anymore when it comes to their own health. Know your own body. Understand the physiology of it, and take care of yourself.

You know yourself better than any doctor does.

Running to the doctor for every little thing is not going to help you learn to be more careful. Only you can do that. Only YOU can be your own health advocate and watch out for yourself.

Be self-aware because you’re the only one that really knows what’s going on.

Don’t expect a doctor to know everything, because they don’t.

3. THEY DON’T LIKE NATURAL MEDICINE

My last doctor did not like the fact that I took herbs and self-medicated with natural remedies. I understand why because it can be quite dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.

It can also harm you if you take too much, or conflicts with prescription medication you’re presently taking. You have to be very careful with herbs and natural remedies because they are still medications.

Too much of anything will affect you in a negative way. Be smart!

Still, if left to our own demise, we have to do something. Each time I tried to find a family physician it backfired. There was always something I didn’t like.

I know no doctor is perfect, but there was no replacement for the doctor I had for over 30 years who retired. He was old-fashioned. He was a kind man and went above and beyond even if he did forget my name once in a while.

When you can’t find a doctor you’re comfortable with you go to the next best thing: natural medicine. You become your own health advocate out of sheer necessity and you do the best you can.

That’s what I did.

I’m actually proud of the fact that I’m an advocate for natural medicine. I think it’s better for you then the drugs Big Pharma pushes. I think everyone would be healthier if they would explore natural remedies.

I cured my own vertigo after 20 years, with magnesium.

I take a lot of natural supplements like turmeric, coconut oil, pink Himalayan salt, magnesium, B Vitamins, Vitex, kombucha tea, and many other great natural remedies.

As soon as I hit menopause, I started researching natural ways to go through it. I decided to write a blog, Crunchy Menopause and share what I found with everyone.

I want other women to know that they don’t have to be on medications for the rest of their life just because they are going through menopause.

I decided not to do hormone replacement therapy and want other women to know that that’s okay. There’s another way. You can be your own health advocate and be healthy even during menopause.

I used to take a Statin for high cholesterol for five years. I believed the doctor when he told me that it was the only way to get my cholesterol down. Well, he was wrong.

I found a natural way.

One day, I dumped my bottle of Statin pills in the toilet and said never again.

I did my research first and was appalled by what I had found. I couldn’t believe how bad this drug was for me. In my opinion, the side effects were much worse than having high cholesterol.

It was a decision I made with pride and I stick to it to this day. Why? Because I like natural medicines and feel that my body is healthier when I take them.

The problem is, most doctors don’t like natural remedies. I have yet to find a doctor that works in conjunction with natural medicine to the point that I am comfortable with.

Aside from finding a naturopath doctor, which is few and far between in my neck of the woods, I will continue to go doctorless if and until I find someone that will embrace the natural journey that I am on.

4. THEY AREN’T AVAILABLE

Why aren’t doctors available when you need them? That is the question. I don’t like seeing doctors in association. I want to see my doctor.

I understand that doctors have a life too and they aren’t always available when you need them especially when it comes to having babies.

My family physician only delivered one of my three children. The first birth he didn’t make it to because he was on vacation. I had to see another doctor in association.

My own doctor delivered my second child.

However, he didn’t make it to my third delivery because the baby came too quickly. I get that and I don’t fault him for that. It is what it is.

But generally speaking, when something bad happens to you and you go to the hospital, you think your family physician would be notified. That doesn’t happen.

You see a different doctor, usually the ER Doctor who doesn’t know you. When you’re done there, you’re told to follow up with your family physician.

I get that too, but I just don’t like it. I guess I’m old-fashioned and wish things were like they were in the old days when the doctor came calling with his doctor bag in tow.

He made a house call and sat at your bedside like he really cared. I know, unrealistic. Only in the movies, right? Oh, how I wish it were like that now. The world would be a better place.

Bottom line is, doctors are just not available when you need them. I think of my husband who has had 10 surgeries in a span of 10 years.

He has seen so many doctors over the years. The end result was that none of them really investigated properly. Because of that, the problem persisted for 10 long years until someone finally found the problem and fixed it for good.

That was negligence, but also the result of having to see a different doctor each time because the previous surgeon was unavailable or had moved away.

If you have a recurring problem like my husband had, you go into the ER and see a different doctor each time. His entire medical history had to be reiterated to whoever was on call.

That was exhausting.

The end result was that I was forced to be a healthcare provider. Yes, I felt like I was the only one who really knew my husband enough to help him the way he needed to be helped.

Granted, I couldn’t do the surgeries he needed, but I remember one time when I was asked to be the assistant in the ER because they were short-staffed. True story!

I had to hold sterile tools for the doctor and nurse while they did a medical procedure on my husband in front of me. I remember nearly passing out at the sight of all the blood. It was awful!

I was completely unqualified and in way over my head.

I was required to take care of my husband post-op, so I had better get used to it. I was the doctor by proxy, and I did my husband’s aftercare after each surgery.

It was a rude awakening to the fact that follow up care is little to non-existent.

Home care helped but not enough, and so I had to change bandages, clean wounds, and do all the after-care just like a doctor would.

So, why do you even need a doctor?

5. I CAN DO BETTER MYSELF

Yes, I started thinking that I could do better than a doctor could. I had to do a lot of health-related things with my husband.

I was already my own health advocate and his too.

I remember suffering from a severe dizzy spell that could not be explained by my doctor or any other healthcare professional for over 20 years.

One morning it was so bad I couldn’t even stand up in the hallway. Everything was spinning out of control and I felt like I was having a stroke. It was the worst it had ever been.

I immediately woke my husband up and told him what was happening. We went to the ER in hopes that someone would find out what was wrong with me for once.

I had experienced severe dizzy spells many times before and they always went unexplained.

This time, because it felt so much more severe, I expected to have a real diagnosis. Nope! After spending all day in the ER, the only thing the doctor could say was that they couldn’t find anything wrong with me at all.

I was so upset. I swore that was the last time I was going to rush to the ER in hopes to find help for my dizziness. Nobody could help me. I was on my own.

I decided I could do a better job myself anyway.

I researched for hours and then stumbled upon magnesium. Magnesium changed my life and it continues to do so today. Not once did the doctor ever suggest taking magnesium for my dizziness.

I know there are many reasons why doctors are absolutely necessary. I don’t want to minimize that or undermine their authority. They save lives every day.

They helped my mother beat brain cancer so she could finish writing her last book. You can check her page out through the following link, Margaret Afseth Author Page.

They performed open-heart surgery on my mother when chemo destroyed her heart valve. I am forever grateful. They gave her an extra year of life so she could meet her new grandson.

Surgeons saved my husband’s life when he was in intensive care for three days and nearly died because of a blood infection.

My beloved (retired) family doctor of 30 years who forgot my name, saved the life of my middle child when he got stuck in the birth canal because he was a big posterior baby.

I will never forget how he encouraged me to push that baby out when the surgeon refused to do a C-section because it was too late.

Doctors are necessary, but I choose to evaluate what they are necessary for. For me, they are not necessary for all the small little things people pile on their shoulders.

A lot of it I can do myself, and that’s okay. That’s my right!

The crux of the matter is knowing when it’s time to call a professional. If or when that day ever comes, I hope I choose wisely.

6. FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY

You always want a doctor on your side, and that’s because we feel secure when they’re around. After all, they will save the day, won’t they?

Not always, I’m afraid.

I had to learn that the hard way after giving birth to three posterior babies that nobody was going to deliver but me. Not the doctor. Not the nurse. Me!

After such high hopes that the doctor knew exactly what he was doing and I had nothing to worry about because I was in perfect hands, the end result was either I push that baby out or I wouldn’t have a baby.

Basically, doctors are just there to catch the ball.

After having a nearly disastrous birth with my middle son, I quickly realized that doctors were not the gods I thought they were.

I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way.

I simply mean that just because the doctor is in the room, doesn’t mean that everything will be okay. It doesn’t mean they will do the work for you when it comes to delivering a baby or recovering from an extensive injury.

There is this false pretense that makes us believe a doctor is our savior, but that is simply not the case. We put too much faith in them, and not enough in ourselves, or the creator who made us.

The human body can do great things but we forget that.

If we would give our bodies a chance to heal on their own, we might be surprised that getting well is completely within our grasp.

I found this out when I started doing intermittent fasting. I even wrote a book about called, Hungry Old Lady – Intermittent Fasting for Menopause.

I became overweight suddenly when I started going through menopause. I tried everything to lose weight but nothing would help until I stumbled upon the fasting lifestyle.

Fasting taught me many things. It taught me that I had the self-discipline to get through anything. It taught me that I didn’t need as much food as I thought I did.

Mostly it taught me that my own body can heal itself if I let it.

I began to try long fast for 3 to 4 days. During those fasts, I witnessed things like my skin healing and better digestion.

It was strange because I didn’t think things like that could heal on their own. I always thought medication did that.

I woke up to the fact that the human body was designed to heal itself. In fact, when you do intermittent fasting you turn on a switch in your body that produces cell regeneration.

I know it sounds crazy but I witnessed it first-hand. I used to have a circle rash all over my body for many years. The doctor called it eczema, but I didn’t agree.

I did have eyelid eczema. One year I had it for three solid months and it was painful and upsetting. I never wish that upon anyone.

But the circle rashes were different. They seemed to resemble the circles you get from a tick bite. Yet, I didn’t remember ever getting bit by a tick.

I had other neurological problems that popped up throughout my life that would make me think that perhaps I had Lyme disease, but it was never confirmed.

My point is that as soon as I started doing intermittent fasting, the circle rashes disappeared for the first time ever. To this day they are still miraculously gone.

Coincidentally, my eye eczema has never come back either. My neurological problems are also nonexistent.

Not only that but because of the intermittent fasting lifestyle I have adopted, I managed to lose 50 pounds and kept it off even though it’s been several years now.

We needn’t fear that because our lives aren’t dictated by a doctor for every little thing, that we will be unwell. That is simply not true. We need to be more confident in our own body’s ability to heal on its own.

Even cancers have been beaten because of cell regeneration due to intermittent fasting and natural remedies like turmeric and coconut oil specifically.

So, if left to our own demise, we might be better off.

As I said before, doctors are necessary in certain situations, but I choose to believe that being my own health advocate is a good way to maintain a healthy lifestyle long-term.

Knowing the human body was created to heal itself, reassures me that going doctorless isn’t as bad as the world makes it out to be.

I feel more secure being my own health advocate than I do with trusting a doctor to make me better just because he’s a doctor.

7. THEY WORK FOR BIG PHARMA

Just because a doctor is a doctor, doesn’t mean he has your best interest at heart. Some doctors just want to make money from sick people.

Often times, doctors are endorsed by a pharmaceutical company. They are given samples to distribute to their patients in hopes they take it on a permanent basis.

I know someone who was told he was diabetic and led to believe he needed medication right away. When that person got a second opinion, he found out he wasn’t diabetic at all.

That infuriates me!

I even know of a patient who was poked in the side with diabetic medication against his will during a doctor’s visit. After the doctor gave him the shot without his permission, he was told, “Don’t worry, it will help you.”

That should never happen. You must always give consent. It is your body!

Often the elderly are used as guinea pigs for Big Pharma. It’s not the first time that I’ve heard of someone being prescribed medication by their doctor that they don’t even need.

Some don’t even know why they are taking a specific drug. You should always know why you are taking what you are taking. Always! Never just blindly trust.

I have learned to question everything. I do the research and I determine if I need a certain drug or not. That is my right.

That is my right!

I choose to be my own health advocate because I don’t want to trust someone with my well-being just because they are a doctor. They might be wrong and then I have to live with the consequences.

That’s not okay.

Missed diagnoses and false diagnoses happen all the time because of human error, but nobody seems to question that. If it came from a doctor it must be true.

Always get a second opinion.

Always question why you need a specific drug and do your own research. Not all doctors have your best interest at heart.

That said, I just wanted to reiterate that there are some really nice doctors in the world. We have to remember that too. I have to remember that.

I have to remember that doctors save lives, and for that, I am forever grateful.

At the same time, for the little things anyway, I choose to be my own health advocate. I choose to allow my body to heal on its own whenever possible.

I choose another way. I choose the natural way until I can’t anymore.

Going doctorless is my human right. It may not be understood by most people, but I don’t care. It’s empowering to know that I have control over my own health.

I’ve been told, that’s all well and good as long as you are healthy, but as soon you get sick, you’ll sing a different tune.

To that I say, maybe, maybe not. I don’t really know what I would do for sure. I hope and pray I never have to find out. But at least I have a choice, and that’s what I am advocating.

You do have a choice!

At this point in my life, I think I’ve had enough life experience to know that I can get through some really tough situations without a doctor if I have to. On the other hand, I hope I recognize if or when I really do need a professional to make me well.

Until then, I will continue to be my own health advocate, and maybe just maybe, the DIY doctor craze will become the norm instead of being seen as dangerous or abnormal.

After all, isn’t being well the most important thing anyway?

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References

• Science Daily
• The North American Menopause Society
• Harvard Health
• Endocrine Web
• NCBI (Pub Med)
• Alternative Medicine for Menopause (LCBI)
• Healthline
• WebMD
• Women’s Health Concerns
• Reader’s Digest
• Mayo Clinic

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Author Kathleen Morris

Kathleen Morris is a successful published author, blogger, and Youtuber. She enjoys writing about things she’s passionate about and making a difference in the world.