Fear not: a summing up of 2015

In his book, Less Medicine, More Health, Dr. Gilbert Welch concludes, “If the American public knew the full story about the benefits, harms, and uncertainties of medical care, many would choose to have less…meaning the interventions of testing, medication, procedures, surgeries, and devices.” This is the position I have taken, as discussed in my years’ worth of posts in 2015. For me, this means—

• Not going to the doctor unless I’m sick; in other words, no annual checkups.
• Not worrying about cholesterol, germs, saturated fat, or most anything else.
• Not getting mammograms or other screening tests.
• Not using prescription medicines (I admit to taking Advil pretty regularly).
• Not getting flu shots.
• Etc.

 My rationale is based on a number of things, most of which I’ve gleaned from my research:

• I don’t get sick (admittedly, this is dumb luck).
• Forty percent of doctors’ treatments have no value.
• Ninety percent of scientific journal articles are flawed.
• Pharmaceutical and device companies drive much of medical practices.
• Accepted medical practices are often discovered—too late—to have been wrong-headed and harmful.

I’m willing to go to the doctor if the situation calls for it. (My last visit was about four years ago, when I had wax removed from my ear and my do-it-yourself efforts using Debrox were unsuccessful). I refuse to worry about some hidden malady that might be lurking in my body just waiting to be discovered by a test. Where my health is concerned, I don’t believe in “better safe than sorry.” I believe in “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Next week: Another rant about pharmaceutical companies

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.