Things They Don

My name is Lee Turner. I have 2 degrees: Zoology and Nursing.  I am a Registered Nurse, with training in computers. I’ve written video games, and build/fix computers.  My hobbies are finance, medicine, and computers. I work for a large healthcare monitoring company and spend most of my time in the OR teaching doctors and nurses how to use ECG/hemodynamic monitoring equipment.

I read constantly.  My goal is to find ways to make my life longer, more pain free, less expensive, and more enjoyable. I am also a long time member of Alcor (www.alcor.org). I change my lifestyle based on whatever the newest studies say, and have been doing so for 30 years. This practice is very similar to the NoLoad Fundx strategy of upgrade investing; www.fundx.com

What I hope to accomplish with this blog is start a grass-roots movement of people who challenge their doctors to be puzzle-solvers. Doctors are just like you and me. The only difference between us and them, is that doctors understand pharmacokinetics (how drugs work in the body) and they have a database of what works and what doesn’t (this database is called “patients”).

There was a time when doctors were puzzle-solvers. You, the patient, would present your symptoms, and the doctor would work with you to attempt to figure out what is wrong with you, fix you if possible, and improve your life.

That type of doctor is not so common any more. Yes, they still exist, but they’re not needed. There is MUCH more money in just being a representative of the drug companies. Today, drug companies tell the physician what to prescribe for each ailment, and the doctor regurgitates that upon you, the patient. If one medicine causes you a problem, they prescribe another drug on top of the first drug to fix the side effects of the last drug, until you’re taking a dozen drugs, and feeling worse than when you started. Occasionally, your mind is so numb and damaged from the drugs that you’re not aware that you’re worse off. Unfortunately, real problem solving is not often accomplished.

Typically, the doctor is done with you in 15 minutes, so they can easily move 30-40 patients through their office a day. At $100 a visit, that’s easily $3000-$4000 a day. Not bad! Not much thought, follow the “standards of care,” do what the law requires so you don’t get sued, pretend you’re interested in the patient, and drive home in your Mercedes at 5pm.

Please understand that not all doctors are like this, and I do not intend to defame or denigrate the medical practice in any way.  I know some fantastic doctors who are true puzzle-solvers; they use their gifts and knowledge to better the lives of others.  The purpose of this discussion is to tell you only one thing: YOU HAVE TO BE YOUR OWN DOCTOR AND MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS ABOUT YOUR HEALTHCARE.

No one will take better care of you, or be more interested in your own health and well-being, than YOU. What do you lack to become your own doctor?  Two things:

• Knowledge of physiology & pharmacology;
• A patient database (which tells you what works, and what doesn’t).

I read JAMA, Journal of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology, Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, Medscape, Dr. Rowen’s Second Opinion Newsletter, Dr. David Williams Alternative Newsletter, Guyton’s MedPhys, and everything printed by The Life Extension Foundation (a wonderful organization www.lef.org).  I hope to use my hobby to help you live better, and your feedback will help me.

What I hope to accomplish are two things:

• Impart what I’ve done to improve my own health (as well as my mistakes);
• Gather your experiences, to help myself, and others.

So let’s get started. But first, this disclaimer: Everything I write about is my own opinion. I am not a medical doctor, I do not recommend that anyone do what I suggest. I am only detailing what I have done personally in experiments upon myself over the last 30 years. You should not do what I do. You should do your own homework, talk to your own doctor before doing anything to yourself. Otherwise, the FDA (a really awful Gestapo-like organization, that is grossly incompetent) will bust down my door, handcuff me, and I will never be seen or heard from again. Seriously. No joke. I’m not kidding.

Read the following link if you think I’m joking:

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/jul2008_The-FDA-Indicts-Itself_01.htm

So, in summary, this footnote:  The FDA is all-wise.  All knowledge on Earth comes from the FDA.  You should ONLY do what your doctor and the FDA tells you to do.  If anything I say violates the holy ordinances of the FDA, I was only kidding and didn’t mean it.