Celeste, these are general guidelines, and I fear that you might have taken them to extremes. Nowhere did I say or suggest that if you or I have symptoms, avoid doctors. However by the same token there is vast research that argues that we are over medicated, especially older folks.

I have regular checkups, but I always. Research and balance what I hear with much more recent research, and I also seek out nurse practitioners and physicians assistants, who have more leeway, listen better and are often more schooled in non pharma therapies. Please don’t put words in my articles that aren’t there. I strongly advocate for personal responsibility in our own healthcare, which is very different from saying don’t see a doctor at all. In my long and often troubled history with the medical community, there is a great deal of ignorance, arrogance, and a seriously dangerous lack of knowledge about recent research. That’s in part because there’s so much of it,but also because too many docs stop studying when they start practicing. This is easy to research on line, it’s not just one person’s opinion. I appreciate your comments, but kindly don’t take my words out of context. Every article has a take and none can cover every base every time or we’d all be writing dictionaries.