Ever Felt Like Doctors Simply Aren't Qualified to Diagnose And Treat Pain?

General General TN & GPN (Old Site)
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Edit: I think you're right. I think people would never understand who haven't been in my position the type of power imbalances and abuse that occurs between doctors without expertise making 'subjective expert diagnoses' and patients with expertise in their conditions struggling against a system that invalidates their existence and experiences.

So I'll remove my post and move on with my life. These are nice support forums for people successfully diagnosed with 'real pain' in their tongue by socially appointed authority figures with no objective qualifications to measure 'real pain.'

I'm pretty much done with all human societies at this point. I hold no grudge against the social climate cultivated here, anymore than past societies and what they've cultivated. I am not compatible with any human society I've studied in the history of our species. I believe human nature is the reason why, it's probably not your fault. There are no places for 'witches' in witch hunts so I'm off the grid.

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Hi Kuchak,

Whilst I sympathise with your frustration, your article above is bias to the point where I've considered asking you to take it down. So here's a few things for us as a community to think about:

Its a belief and social construct that doctors are inherently good. Doctors are people with all the same human frailties as the next person, yourself included.

We are responsible for our own health and its management. Unfortunately, economics often comes into play when there is an inadequate state based health care system. The best thing to do here is learn about what is available in the system and try to leverage this as best we can. Hmshmom put up a great response to Carol who was in an awful place earlier this week with some really helpful ideas..

Because we take some thought diminishing medications, at times we can not be our own best advocates and we need to acknowledge this. If you are unable to advocate or manage the relationship with your doctor or neighbour or family even at times, constructively - try to find someone you trust who is willing to advocate on your behalf. Pain and frustration can wear us down at times, but society doesn't always factor in that consideration.

Keep records and prepare for appointments. It may just be a simple note book. but if you are unwell today and your appointment is not for three months, record it, record the question you have now - so when you see the doctor you can either give them the note book to review or use it as a prompt. If you are taking your advocate person, ask to spend some time prior to you appointment with them, so they can practice what you would like said and they can construct the conversation and evidence to support the appointment outcome you want. This may be a different medication, a referal to a surgeon or simply to be in less pain or with side effects that impact on your life less.

It is up to us to remind our "wellness team" that we are people, we haven't written ourselves off and we don't allow other to do that. We demand respect and we offer respect to those we work with on our health. If you are under multiple doctors, get letters from each so you can show to each of them what the other is doing, or following up on.

Make sure you wellness team functions as a team - not a bunch of individuals doing bits and pieces.

Doctors are human and like the best of us, don't like not being able to fix things. In our success oriented hero culture not fixing can equate to a fail. This can be hard for folk to deal with. We can always reframe for them - I like to think things come along in life to help us become better people and I offer that to those who treat my condition. I am not my condition, and when folk start down the psych pathway I like to ask them if someone hit you in the head with a mallet every morning noon and night, would you feel a bit sad about it at times? Angry? No one has said no - so empathy can exist. Most importantly though, we are not our condition. It impacts us, in that it forces us to re-evaluate who we think we are, what we think we'd like to do, achieve and be when we grow up - but it is not us. We go through stages of grieving, we fight for our quality of life and eventually we learn to co-exist with our condition, medications, side effects etc. We don't necessarily get better, but learn to live better, around it.

Arguing doctors are the problem will not help you live a better life. Only you can do that, and you are capable of of that.

Its a fabulously sunny day here, with no wind. My sunnies are at hand and I am going to take my cute puppy for a walk in the park and just enjoy now.

Hope this helps you reframe the issue, all the best.

Smiley:)

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Yeah, I thought that might be a reaction.

I've come to the belief that all medications should be legalized for the reasons of personal liberty, and science should be released into the public domain for reasons of human rights, rather than hoarded by the social elite for profit. This way human beings could study their own health care and make informed adult decisions rather than having 'child/parent' relationships with doctors.

It's a perspective. I'm not convinced it is bias. That usually implies a refusal to consider alternative perspectives? In my view, doctors could easily maintain roles as advisers whose role is to study scientific research extensively in such a society. I have no bias against doctors themselves, but I do have a perspective that questions authority. I can take it down you'd like, but it is a sincere belief formed after very careful analysis, as pain has no objective test to be measured, yet they still claim expertise.

So if I were to take it down, I'd probably leave too. As it is not intended to be inflammatory, it was an honest, carefully considered, and I don't do well in communities that censor expression from disadvantaged people, in favor of defending status quo power structures from elite social classes when a different perspective rocks the boat.

I thought maybe disadvantaged people who suffered pain, would be more understanding and tolerant of the voice of the underprivileged, without wanting to censor, coerce into agreement, or remove dissenting thought, so a consensus could be achieved and restore social 'order' which may in fact be broken. I know that's how human psychology works. So it's ok. Martin Luther King was shot for daring to question status quo thinking and questioning social elites. That's just the way of the world. I just know after experiencing enough pain, and having it denied by social elites who are often less educated than I am now, I thought maybe others suspected their human rights were being violated as well, and unity would be less important to such a crowd than having such a concern voiced.

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I'll try to deal with the status quo one last time and I will be civil. But that's it. If they pull tricks on me again, I'm going to survive like a witch in Salem from here on out. Out of sight and at the least mercy of 'socially approved experts' as is possible.

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Maybe if people are 'officially declared not a witch' it's easy to move on. I guess if I was officially declared not a witch, early on when the pain started, then others being tried by the fire for agonizing pain might be more of an afterthought. I might even be able to justify they a really are what everyone is saying, as long as it wasn't me.

But I know my pain is no more objectively measurable than my witchiness to any onlooker, including doctors who have said to my face I'm having an 'emotional episode' with a knowing smirk. Yet somehow these authority figures carry on their pompous nonsense, and society gives them the thumbs up like they always do to all authority. North Korea knows how to do it pretty well, and all the while people in pain commit suicide at alarming rates.

Trial anyone by fire and there will be death. Everyone burns. I genuinely hope one day this barbaricism simply stops and pain is recognized as a human rights and personal issue rather political, religious, public, and social issue that needs some kind of social 'trial' to prove the impossible. I don't think this will be in my lifetime. If someone ever gives me an official declaration that I have real pain, I'll take it. It will make my life much easier. Improve my health and make me safer, from my own witch burning society. But I won't count on it, and I'll know damned well after almost 7 years that I just got lucky, and someone else will be toyed with, given the 'trial' of the century to 'prove' the impossible. It's so horrific it's almost beyond my comprehension.