why I avoid the medical profession

Consider it shocking and weird if you wish, but Yours Truly has not consulted a physician since 1996, and even than I was very lucky that one doctor, out of a group of them ringed around my emergency room bed, was able to size up my difficulty (labrynthitis/vertigo, an inner ear viral infection that resolves itself in about 3 weeks and dizzy/nausea symptoms can be relieved with Gravol) and silence the rest who were gravely muttering "stroke".

Little did they know that I had, just a few months before, walked away from a diagnosis that gravely, sternly, required radical surgery, yet there I was, and here I am, alive, to tell my subversive story.

There used to be a joke about how the doctors went on strike and the death rate statistics suddenly shrank. Then I found out that it wasn't a joke. Just Google this: doctors strike death rate goes down. And then Google this: cancer overdiagnosed overtreated.

And, if you watch TV, pay attention when Simon Baker's character in The Mentalist says, "Doctors are people who administer drugs they know little about to people they know even less about." (That may not be the exact quote, but it still says what he said.)

In fact, it's a testament to the human body's ability to cleanse and heal itself that we survive into old age, given that our polluted environment and even our health services seem designed to kill us.

And when you consider that Montreal is just one place where the population has been warned to run for shelter if a factory alarm goes off - why beer making is so dangerous I cannot fathom - and then add to all the above the nuclear accidents of which we may or may not be apprised, one has to wonder if we aren't actually super-human alien entities, especially considering that we have thrived to the point of frightening Malthusians out of their wits!

I'm not saying I don't sometimes suffer from aches and pains and other mysterious symptoms (I'm old for Pete's sake) but - and I don't mean to sound braggy - I haven't had so much as a cold or flu in 20 years, and I've never had a flu shot.

"You're lucky," I've been told by people who seem to spend a lot of time in doctors' waiting rooms for one mysterious ailment after another. "Yes", I answer - ironically, "God loves me way more than s/he loves you".

But I just happen to think that doctors are bad for your health, and that the occasional strange symptom will go away in a few days if you don't panic and end up on medication.

Part of the problem is that the TV says over and over, "Check with your doctor". When I was a kid we didn't have TV to make us doubt our own instincts, and the doctor was only consulted when absolutely necessary. Kids were allowed, even encouraged, to have colds, measles, mumps and chicken pox, but now the thought of those diseases sends mothers into a panic - because they've been taught to imagine the worst. It’s as if they’ve fallen under a spell cast by those wearing white lab coats.

If those diseases killed children, wouldn't I have known someone who died from them? They might have exacerbated something dire a kid was already suffering, but those diseases alone are not killers of healthy children. Vaccines can be, though, and shame on any doctor who would vaccinate an already sick kid.

The human body is designed to heal itself much like the alien in the movies that gets wounded in the belly and ZAP! the gash heals over instantly - except that, with humans, it takes a little longer and it requires that we give our bodies a chance to heal as they are designed to do.

Of course, if you have been abusing your body with a poor diet, no exercise, tobacco, excessive alcohol ... you still have a chance to correct all that by learning to take proper care of yourself.  I mean, have a little respect, why don't you, for the amazing creation that is called human.

And stay away from drugs; in my opinion they are pretty much all illicit. Not to mention that most are experimental and we're seldom told what the contraindications are. Instead we read excerpts from research that "proves", for example, that only 20% suffered side-effects.

That's a lot like "spreading democracy" via regime change, for the good of the people in someone else's country - where a large percentage of those people being "helped" actually get blown away - because the powers that be are willing to overlook the sad fates of a few "for the greater good".

Those same powers are also in cahoots with the fascists who feel the need to know where you, personally, are at all times. The American FDA has only recently approved a pill that has actually been in use since 2012. So, when you see your doctor, be very, very careful to act as sane and normal as you possibly can, because if you don't, you might become a guinea pig for this wonderful new "pill" - such a benign word for a tracking device.

It appears that not enough people are willing to be chipped voluntarily, so now they have to diagnose you with a mental problem in order to justify getting you to scarf down pills that will make you - what? - glow in the dark?  They're called "Abilify" because they give Big Brother the ability to track your whereabouts - for your own good, of course.

All to say why I recommend avoiding the medical profession, because although you may be reasonably healthy the doctor has the power to say you're not, even if he/she isn't 100% certain of the diagnosis but decides to take the better-safe-than-sorry route.

Repeated visits to doctors for symptoms that go nowhere is a huge drain on the health care system, but it enriches the Pharmers and provides another stepping stone to the long-awaited 1984.

One final warning: Women - stop falling in love with your doctor. It's bad for your health. You are not, I repeat not your doctor's favourite patient, no matter how often s/he tells you that! You're probably pretty special, but in most cases it's just a way of keeping you coming back.

And if you can't go for an annual without hearing the doctor say, "Hmmm, there's a little bit of (fill in the blank) that we need to keep an eye on", consider that it's probably just another method doctors use to ensure repeat business. They are a business after all, and they don't like surprises, and they want to be able to say, "Sorry, we're very busy and cannot accept new patients".

But don't take my word for any of this. Here are a few second opinions:

CBC: N.L.'s antibiotics addiction highlights need to 'start looking over the shoulders' of doctors, specialist says Infectious disease specialist says patients should also question treatment options

National Post: Inside Canada's secret world of medical error: 'There is a lot of lying, there’s a lot of cover-up'

Diabetes Health: Would you cure a profitable disease? Think about it: diabetes has now reached “epidemic” proportions and is a lifelong disease. This makes it [...] the “perfect disease.” For the pharmaceutical industry, that is.

Dissident Voice: Death by a Thousand Cuts: When the Cures of Big Pharma are Worse than the Diseases
The more chemicals, drugs, vaccines, additives, toxins they make, the more difficult it is to escape from big business’ straight-jacket

Activist Teacher: Why Should I Trust a Doctor With My Body?
Why should I believe someone wearing a white lab coat and who knows big words?

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