Patients Have to Advocate for Themselves

One of the toughest things for me in terms of my medical care is trying to make decisions. I know that a lot of people avoid this problem by having their doctors make their decisions for them. I can’t do that though; I think that it’s really important for individuals to be informed about their own health care and to advocate for themselves when working with their doctors in order to get the best results.

A lot of people will just go to the doctor that has been recommended to them and will then take that doctors advice about what to do for their problems. I’ve never done this. I do a lot of research into which doctors I want to use for different problems. I then ask a lot of questions of those doctors and make sure that whatever we’re doing is really individualized to my own needs.

I’m not saying that I don’t trust doctors. I just think that individuals know themselves better than anyone else does. You know what your specific issues are. You can tell if medications are working right or not. You have a gut feeling about whether one solution is better than another even if it’s less traditional. I think it’s important to listen to yourself and to advocate for those things that you know you need. If you have a good doctor, the doctor will be happy that you’re so involved in your own care.

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