Alternative Medicine

Have you opted out of the American medical system? Are there any alternative medical services or products you use?

I am through trying to find an MD who will accommodate my issues with masks.

Vision
In another year when I run low on contacts I will need an eye exam - will deal with that then, possibly try out of state as my vision plan is national - they may less strict in that specialty in NH. It's been 4 years since my last specialty visit and I can still see so I think my central serous retinopathy healed itself, but to be safe I will continue watching my caffeine intake. I could also just wear glasses which I have. Or I could illegally buy contacts from another country that doesn't require a prescription.

Dental
Unsure if/when I will go to the dentist. It will be another four years until my dental insurance will pay for another new patient exam. The last dentist I went to no longer takes the insurance. It is a state not a national plan and to sit through a long new patient intake masked repulses me.


Everything Else
I will continue to carry both insurances in case of emergency. I pay $1 a week for dental and $20 per week for medical which will go up to $25 in February since it will be two years since I had a physical. Medical debt is the #1 cause of bankruptcy and I could be in a car accident and be transported unconscious in an ambulance to a hospital and be liable for all sorts of bills. But I do not plan to go to the doctor anymore.

So I will now treat myself. I have some nuisance ailments I believe correlate to my weight, so my first focus will be on that. One iissue is an occasional twitch in my lower back when I walk especially on concrete floors that may be sciatica. If so it's likely weight related but if not maybe I can find a chiropractor which I believe insurance would cover. Chiropractors have been great at challenging medical orthodoxy on things like fluoridation in my state. I might find one maskfree in MA but if not possibly NH.

It is liberating to be free of the system.

I also plan to avoid all vaccines, prescription drugs, or anything else related to big pharma.

Yes, your phobia/principle/health risk or whatever it is about masks requires that you pay more for your insurance. Seems like a fair trade off to me.

OMFG!

Are you even overweight based on BMI? See I half expect this is just another thing you are obsessed with that has no basis in reality like fear of masks (BMI is not perfect but it's a pretty good rule of thumb).

I have also often found myself arguing with doctors a lot because they wanted me to get tests I felt were not necessary and had risks (e.g. radiation exposure). I will not miss them.

I hit the obese mark but with recent weight loss am down to overweight. I have 25 more pounds to lose to get to the normal range.

The covid lockdowns and restrictions led me, like many others, to balloon up. Average covid weight gain in the US was 29 pounds.

There are more workarounds all the time: CBCs by mail, computerized eye exam apps, Cologuard, all kinds of monitors...If you're paranoid, or want to be, you have plenty of tools at your disposal.

As messed up as the American medical system might be, I don't see a lot of alternatives. My dentist no longer takes insurance, so I pay cash. It seems like there are some chain dental offices that could be cheaper or take insurance. They say good dental health maybe link to heart health. There are doctors out there who have non-traditional approaches like naturopathic. I fact check my doctors by comparing them to recommendations by the Mayo Clinic and a few others, with whom I have some degree of trust. I admit to not seeing an eye doctor for a few years, but have good vision.

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Originally Posted by Rogar

As messed up as the American medical system might be, I don't see a lot of alternatives. My dentist no longer takes insurance, so I pay cash. It seems like there are some chain dental offices that could be cheaper or take insurance. They say good dental health maybe link to heart health. There are doctors out there who have non-traditional approaches like naturopathic. I fact check my doctors by comparing them to recommendations by the Mayo Clinic and a few others, with whom I have some degree of trust. I admit to not seeing an eye doctor for a few years, but have good vision.

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We have always paid cash to the dentist and he gives 10% discount if you literally pay cash or check on the day of your appointment.

We also pay cash for the dentist, although DH had to get a full set of dentures and a hearing aid in one year, so we got a CareCredit card which is what doctors use for financing healthcare, and it's interest-free as long as you pay within 12 or 18 months. It's like a balloon payment. But it does help if you don't have thousands in cash to fork over.

I don't go to the doctor much at all, (good genes--no chronic issues) and my healthcare costs are very low, so I'm fine with my Medicare + supplemental plan. No need to seek out alternative medical care at this point.

My first husband's grandmother and one of my very good friends was Christian Science, so why not check out a reading room for support for your decision? You would be in good company, and there is a lot that makes sense about that religion.

I am not against medicine per se, just the way it is done in the US based on profits for pharma and insurers vs based on evidence.

My uncle's mother was a Christian Scientist, and my parents often shook their heads over her "extreme" beliefs. She had the last laugh, living to over 100, healthily.

I have found a local cheese producer. Visited their farm and saw the cows are not mistreated.

Now I am looking for a similar source for eggs. I know of one place but they are seasonal only.

Eating healthy local food is one change I plan to make, though my motivation is even more so kindness to animals.

I wouldn't say I've opted out but I certainly don't like the way medical care is done these days. I would imagine a lot of doctors feel the same way. I would however be grateful for medical care in an emergency. Recently, I had a weird stomach issue pop up and the docs I saw wanted to run a gamut of invasive tests. Not one of them ever did a physical exam to locate my discomfort which I thought was odd. I decided just to ignore their advice and it eventually went away on its own. I pay cash for any dental stuff and it is crazy expensive:( so routine care no longer happens.

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Originally Posted by Tybee

My first husband's grandmother and one of my very good friends was Christian Science, so why not check out a reading room for support for your decision? You would be in good company, and there is a lot that makes sense about that religion.

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Christian scientists fascinate me. Years ago I was friends with a family of them. The whole belief of ‘being is spiritual not physical’ seemed to be at their core and was not something an atheist like me could ever entirely grok. I did find it curious that E, the father of the family, wore glasses and had spent a fair amount of time in dental chairs dealing with various issues. Those seemed like fairly physical issues to me.

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Originally Posted by Yppej

Vision
In another year when I run low on contacts I will need an eye exam - will deal with that then, possibly try out of state as my vision plan is national - they may less strict in that specialty in NH. It's been 4 years since my last specialty visit and I can still see so I think my central serous retinopathy healed itself, but to be safe I will continue watching my caffeine intake. I could also just wear glasses which I have. Or I could illegally buy contacts from another country that doesn't require a prescription.

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I won't plug any one particular online site for contacts, but I will add this. Many of them allow you to take an eye exam online, cheap ($10 - $20) or even free. For contacts you're required to have a prescription that's not over one year old. I took the exam online, for free. Only takes a few minutes. You need to have a smartphone during the online exam (you'll be submitting some pics of your eyes during the exam).