Which doc to see first??

[Yppej]

You have known for quite some time you need knee replacements. Ignoring those can create most of the other issues with your hips and back. And likely are responsible for the leg length differential. don't let them get any worse because the worse they are, the harder it is for us to get you a good result.

+1

[CathyA]

Gardnr......I choose not to get a knee replacement for philosophical reasons. If that's all I ever had wrong, I would be able to explain lots of other issues, but there have always been other issues, even when my knees were "good".

Hopefully, in just a few years there will be more options, in terms of knee repair.

[herbgeek]

I choose not to get a knee replacement for philosophical reasons.

Huh? I'm hearing you want doctors to do MORE, but then when they recommend things for you, you just ignore them. (not taking Cymbalta for example). What exactly do you expect any doctor to DO? You're in pain, but don't follow doctor recommendations. How do you expect to be any better?

[Tybee]

Cathy, what are your philosophical reasons not to get the knee replacement surgery?

My husband feels strongly about not getting hip replacement, and I think it is philosophical, so i am just wondering what your thinking is about not getting replacements.

[JaneV2.0]

A functional doctor would look for underlying issues, like food sensitivities or deficiencies. I remember you felt better when you avoided gluten or carbs--maybe you could try an elimination diet to pinpoint the culprit. Anecdotal reports abound of people turning their health around with dietary changes.

I may have some kind of surgery some day (oh, which joint to choose!), but it's my impression that hospitals are places you go to die--or get staph, MERSA, crappy food, and no sleep.

[CathyA]

Huh? I'm hearing you want doctors to do MORE, but then when they recommend things for you, you just ignore them. (not taking Cymbalta for example). What exactly do you expect any doctor to DO? You're in pain, but don't follow doctor recommendations. How do you expect to be any better?

Herbgeek....do you do everything a doctor suggests? I listen to them, talk to them, then think about it and research it. But mostly....I know how my body reacts to certain things, and I'm not going to keep trying things that I've had trouble with.
I do some of the things a doctor might suggest......but not all of them. I am on a couple meds, but have to have very low doses of them, or they cause problems. I have given certain other meds a try, and I'm sure as hell not going to keep taking a drug that has very unpleasant side-effects. And mostly......they can be even worse to try to ever get off of.

I am looking for a much more holistic approach, but they are not around here. Doctors are over-worked and they've lost their empathy. They turn to surgery, meds, etc., as a first choice. I've seen supposedly great docs and they've made mistakes, and/or have given up on their clinical judgement, before ordering every test in the book......or every procedure.

I guess you could say I keep hoping the doctors will do less........less of the defaults (surgery/drugs/procedures), and more of alternative possibilities. Medicine changes almost monthly, and there's always new treatments that the docs may have heard of.
My internal medicine doc has started bringing up more alternative stuff, which I think is great. And when I had GI problems, NO doctors....even the GI doc EVER asked about my diet. WTF?? And when I would bring up nutrition-related questions.......they would minimize that they cause problems.

As far as a knee replacement.......not everyone is glad they have it done. It's a violent, extremely complicated procedure, and I would rather just deal with my own broken-down knee, than problems with a replacement. Have you ever watched the surgery on video?

I will talk about my "philosophical" feelings on Tybee's post.

[CathyA]

Cathy, what are your philosophical reasons not to get the knee replacement surgery?

My husband feels strongly about not getting hip replacement, and I think it is philosophical, so i am just wondering what your thinking is about not getting replacements.

Hi Tybee. I feel that this country refuses to deal with growing old or having any pain and we've all come to think that it's unnatural. No wonder we have people who can't afford health care. Everybody wants and gets every joint replaced, every wrinkle removed, etc., etc. Any pain at all is unacceptable. And unfortunately, there's so many drugs out there to help eliminate the pain, but cause even more problems. There are always people who develop new equipment, new tests, new surgeries, and this country is rich enough to get them all up and running.........but there are too many people who expect to have all that done to them. I'm not very good at expressing myself. I'm just very sad and frustrated how incredibly complicated and un-simple medicine has become. And it's really sad that it's so hard to find a doc who is reasonable, and in touch with less-complicated and more natural ways of dealing with human pain and suffering. And they're so busy, they don't have time to spend with the patients, and have even less empathy. It's all a big business. I think I could tolerate some of my defective parts more, if I just felt some compassion somewhere. But I do think this country is spinning out of control with replacements, transplants, etc., etc.

[CathyA]

A functional doctor would look for underlying issues, like food sensitivities or deficiencies. I remember you felt better when you avoided gluten or carbs--maybe you could try an elimination diet to pinpoint the culprit. Anecdotal reports abound of people turning their health around with dietary changes.

I may have some kind of surgery some day (oh, which joint to choose!), but it's my impression that hospitals are places you go to die--or get staph, MERSA, crappy food, and no sleep.

Jane....my DS got me an audio book by a Dr. Greger...."How not to die". So far, it's pretty good. He talks about how the medical profession treats the end result of unhealthy eating, but never is concerned with how we got to that point. That's very true........like I mentioned earlier, even when I've had G.I. problems, the gastroenterologists have NEVER mentioned diet. How can that be??

I do believe that I eat pretty healthily......tons of veggies, fruits, and I've cut down a lot on carbs/red meat. But as far as my joints go, I think the damage is done. I think that's mostly genetic, and I've been overweight. But even when I was young and not overweight, I began to have joint and muscle problems. So even though I eat healthily for the most part, I'm feeling like it's most likely genetic. I have always worked physically hard most of my life, and probably wore out a little early because of that.

[Tybee]

Hi Tybee. I feel that this country refuses to deal with growing old or having any pain and we've all come to think that it's unnatural. No wonder we have people who can't afford health care. Everybody wants and gets every joint replaced, every wrinkle removed, etc., etc. Any pain at all is unacceptable. And unfortunately, there's so many drugs out there to help eliminate the pain, but cause even more problems. There are always people who develop new equipment, new tests, new surgeries, and this country is rich enough to get them all up and running.........but there are too many people who expect to have all that done to them. I'm not very good at expressing myself. I'm just very sad and frustrated how incredibly complicated and un-simple medicine has become. And it's really sad that it's so hard to find a doc who is reasonable, and in touch with less-complicated and more natural ways of dealing with human pain and suffering. And they're so busy, they don't have time to spend with the patients, and have even less empathy. It's all a big business. I think I could tolerate some of my defective parts more, if I just felt some compassion somewhere. But I do think this country is spinning out of control with replacements, transplants, etc., etc.

I think I get where you are coming from. It's a more holistic approach. See dr. Weil--and check out his website because I think you can look for folks trained by him in your area.

I knew a man who was in his late 60's early 70's who needed a lung transplant. He got himself to Mayo and bought his way to top of list and got the lung of an 18 year old who died in a car crash. that bothered me, on a philosophical level. A lot.

ETA: just to be clear, I'm 62, an if I need a lung transplant, I not going to take one from a young person, as I have had a fairly long life an gotten to do all kinds of things like be a mother and and grandmother and grow some wonderful gardens an spend time with folks an animals I love. Give it to the young one who needs it. that's my philosophical reasoning.

thanks for sharing yours here.

[JaneV2.0]

Jane....my DS got me an audio book by a Dr. Greger...."How not to die". So far, it's pretty good. He talks about how the medical profession treats the end result of unhealthy eating, but never is concerned with how we got to that point. That's very true........like I mentioned earlier, even when I've had G.I. problems, the gastroenterologists have NEVER mentioned diet. How can that be??

I do believe that I eat pretty healthily......tons of veggies, fruits, and I've cut down a lot on carbs/red meat. But as far as my joints go, I think the damage is done. I think that's mostly genetic, and I've been overweight. But even when I was young and not overweight, I began to have joint and muscle problems. So even though I eat healthily for the most part, I'm feeling like it's most likely genetic. I have always worked physically hard most of my life, and probably wore out a little early because of that.

I've done a surprising amount of physical work for an Arts and Letters major, too.

All in all, I'd rather have bad joints than many other complaints that older people have. As someone famous once said "Old age is not for sissies."