Less is more

I can’t tell you how many people are constantly looking for the right miracle diet to improve their health.  Or how many doctors continually run tests to prove that their patients need to change something.

I don’t see the point in either unless a person is ready to make a change.  In fact, it is my belief that it only adds stress to what is already a difficult situation.

Of course the doctor covers himself by running the tests.  He can point to them and say, “See I did all I could.”   But I don’t think the tests prove that at all.  They only prove he ran the tests.

I react to most things by eating and I eat many foods that are not particularly good for me, but when my doctor began running blood test after blood test and scheduling appointments every month or even more often, I quickly put on another twenty pounds!  I don’t think I am the exception.

We finally discussed this and lengthened the time between visits to six weeks.  Amazingly, my blood pressure dropped, my weight is slowly dropping and I’ll bet my other readings are improved when I go back next time.  For me stress was as much an issue as the measurable issues my doctor was concerned about.

Not everyone is the same, but I believe that really sitting down and discussing what is going on in a patient’s life might be just as useful as a year’s worth of tests and office visits when you get down to the nitty-gritty.