4 questions that will tell you if it is time to fire your doctor!

Is it time to fire your doctor? Before we answer that question, let's pause to fully appreciate the people who decide to become doctors. We are all very grateful to those who sacrifice years of their lives to study, put in the necessary long hard hours, and dedicate their lives to trying to help us all feel better and recover from medical disease or trauma. Our hats go off to you and your families who support you in this endeavor. However, even those doctors with best intentions cannot correct the fundamental shift that took place somewhere along the line: today's medicine is focused on symptoms suppression and the ability to process large number of patience in a single day. While not necessarily the fault of an individual doctor, it's up to us as individual patients to take charge of our health by finding the right doctor who can help us along on our healing path...

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The fact is that in many countries, our medical doctor training programs and our insurance systems combine to create a medical care system that focuses on treating symptoms or a specific diagnosed medical condition, prescription drug based treatments without significant regard to nutrition, and/or an insurance regulated treatment protocol including how much time a doctor can spend with a patient during each visit. For most patients, this results in:

• Doctor visits that are limited to 15 or fewer minutes
• Treatment plans that are limited to recent symptoms with little regard to on-going conditions
• Medical advice that is NOT based on a holistic patient and body system view
• Limited or just plain absent nutritional advice
• Assumptions that 'stress' is simply an emotional issue and therefore, should be treated with prescription antidepressant drugs

Is it time to fire your doctor?

• Have you been chasing symptoms for months or even years with no underlying root cause found?
• Have you followed your doctor's advice with no real positive changes in your health and well-being?
• Are your 'test results' coming back 'in normal range' but you are still not well and your doctor tells you that you are fine?
• Has your doctor told you that your symptoms are all in your head?

If you answered yes to any of these questions it might be time to fire your doctor and take your health into your own hands!

You might be thinking: "are you crazy? I'm no doctor!" Well that might be true but you are the only person who can really get in touch with what your body needs. Let's face it, you are the only one who can tune in to what your body is feeling and how it is reacting to any treatment you receive. That said, you still need experts to help guide you along your healing journey. But you should always be in the driver's seat on the road to improving your health. The decision to fire your doctor is a difficult one especially if you have been seeing the same doctor for years or even decades. You need to decide if this person is able to partner with you to address your medical conditions. If not, perhaps it's time to move on. 

You fired your doctor. Now what?

You are now ready to find medical partners who are not only experts in their field of study and come highly recommended, they are also open to the idea of focusing on your medical issues holistically. If you have chronic conditions or unknown root causes, you will likely need more than just a 'primary care doctor.' 

HEY's recommended first steps:

1. Tune in to your body and become more mindful. Pay attention to potential causes of your symptoms and conditions. 
2. Do your homework. Learn everything you can about your symptoms and diagnosis. 
3. Be open to new ways of attaining health. We traditionally see one doctor for everything. Perhaps it's time to build your team of experts who can help you achieve optimal health.

Building your team of experts:

• Functional Medicine Practitioner "Functional Medicine is a personalized, systems-oriented model that empowers patients and practitioners to achieve the highest expression of health by working in collaboration to address the underlying causes of disease." 
• Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Health Coach "Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® (FDN) is a holistic discipline that employs functional laboratory assessments to identify malfunctions and underlying conditions at the root of most common health complaints."
• NUCCA Chiropractor "The NUCCA procedure is unique because it frees the nervous system of interference by using a precise, non-invasive, gentle touch technique."
• Biological Dentist "Biological dentistry is concerned with the whole body effects of all dental materials, techniques and procedures. It is fluoride-free, mercury-free and mercury-safe. Individualized testing for biocompatibility of dental materials is a must."

The experts listed above will become your foundation partners and will often help you find additional experts you need on your road to wellness. 

Are there experts that you think everyone should have on their health team? Post a comment below. 

Always take responsibility for your health!