Is there seriously any benefits at all to Western medicine?

[EndlessGravity]

My uncle was fit and fine 3 years ago before being told he needed a hip replacement. He went and got it done, and hasn’t been the same since. He never regained strength in his hip, the doctors then found other other things wrong with him and decided he needed spinal surgery - he’s now essentially house bound and has become depressed.

This seems to be a trend. Every person I know who's done hips or knees never recovered, went on to have multiple surgeries to fix problems which appeared to be caused by the first surgery, and then they always found extra things the person just needed to have done right away or else.

 

[CDRhodes]

I think we could learn a lot from alternative medicines and that much of western medicine consists of “here take this pill and take these pills for the side effects from the first pill”. There is almost no focus on preventative care, since there’s no money in it. With that said, there is still value to western medicine. I’m very grateful to the surgeon who did my ACL repair surgery and the techs who helped me with rehab to get me back to 100% and on the mats. Acupuncture and turmeric are great but they don’t grow new ligaments. I would say take the middle approach. Stay healthy and live right, but be willing to use modern medicine when necessary.

 

[scubadude]

Emergency medicine is amazing at stabilizing critically ill and injured people.

Neonatal medicine can keep a baby born at nearly half of full term alive and without many developmental delays.

Transplants save countless lives.

Most of the benefits from a general GP can be achieved through lifestyle changes. All these GP’s know that. They come out of Med school and into residency all bright eyed and safe the world. After the 10,000th time of telling someone about losing weight or exercising and they won’t even put the Coke down while you’re talking gets very demoralizing and eventually just give it nothing more than lip service. Not to mention most healthcare in the US has gone from Dr owned clinics to corporate and they make these GP’s see 40-50+ in what they call an 8 hour day.

 

[Blade Runner]

Like others said here, most of the benefit is in life-saving mechanical interventions, such as for heart attacks, strokes and other surgeries.

Secularism/consumerism has created a culture in which corporations suggest they can fix all of our ills...a pill, a lotion, etc. This has had a damaging effect on society in that some can't live with the smallest imperfections. Suffering even 1% of what Jesus did isn't possible for 99.9% of society. So we must fix whatever is bothering us immediately. Therefore, people will seek medical care at ERs for non-emergencies. Mass entitlement. The suits reinforce this. Market to the masses. Tell doctors how to treat. Make more money. More power. And you know the rest of the story.

The truth lies in Jesus and the power of suffering.

Amen, absolutely correct.

 

[Blade Runner]

This seems to be a trend. Every person I know who's done hips or knees never recovered, went on to have multiple surgeries to fix problems which appeared to be caused by the first surgery, and then they always found extra things the person just needed to have done right away or else.

Every person I know who has gotten it, drastically improved their pain and lifestyle. Something isn't jibing here.

 

[ball dont lie]

Older people with completely wrecked knees - complete knee replacement. My grandma went from homebound and depressed to back in the garden, going on walks, etc. My old wrestling coach had the same thing done - went from sad to beaming with joy. He had been in terrible pain with every step but just pushed it all down and hide it.

So Western medicine can do some incredible things.

Lots of "medicine" or pills, you are better off losing weight, eating healthy, getting good sleep, making sure to have a joyful hobby, spend time with friends and family, etc.

 

[Max Roscoe]

I think we could learn a lot from alternative medicines and that much of western medicine consists of “here take this pill and take these pills for the side effects from the first pill”. There is almost no focus on preventative care, since there’s no money in it. With that said, there is still value to western medicine. I’m very grateful to the surgeon who did my ACL repair surgery and the techs who helped me with rehab to get me back to 100% and on the mats. Acupuncture and turmeric are great but they don’t grow new ligaments. I would say take the middle approach. Stay healthy and live right, but be willing to use modern medicine when necessary.

Just consider that you never know the alternative outcome and you may be falsely attributing your recovery to a doctor. I had a similar injury, and have talked to many who are so thankful to doctors for "saving their life" but I rejected the surgery and instead did 6 months of physical therapy and now have great admiration for the physical therapist who helped me heal my own body fully (with none of the side effects--ie can you sit Indian style now? Ever have pains? Etc.)

And I view the doctors as at best ignorantly wanting to cut me for large amounts of money and at worst preying on me in a time of fear and weakness. I didn't use acupuncture or turmeric, but there are ways to heal after these types of injuries, and they dont involve cutting or $10,000 visits to surgeons.

As Basquiat stated there is the seen and the unseen. And rarely does the mind notice the unseen. The unseen is the outcome that what would have happened had you turned down the doctor's efforts, who you now credit with "saving" you.

 

[nagareboshi]

I think that a lot of modern western doctors have a god complex and enjoy lording their power over others, and they have some idea that being in control of someone's body on the operating table makes them a superior person. I have also heard from physicists that medical doctors are not exactly the smartest people in the bunch since the backbone of their education is all memorization.

I don't know how I could ever trust any doctor who didn't have a sincere belief in Christianity. Many of these people are godless atheists, or even worse, and they aren't interested in actually helping their patients with a loving attitude.

 

[nagareboshi]

Can't believe I forgot to mention this, my bad for the double post. Another aspect is that I've never, ever seen once in my life a doctor who said "I went into medicine because I want to help people." It has literally never happened, and this is despite the fact that I've personally met so many pre-medical students in high school and college. They don't even pretend to enjoy the telos of their profession. The reason without fail is "I want to make money" or "my family forced me to." It may not be their personal sin but it definitely reflects the problems with this society and its medical system.

Look at an electrical engineer, coffeeshop writer, or a punk musician, they go into their craft because of pure love for the profession. Now look at the medical industry, responsible for taking care of the boundaries of life and death to the maximal extent possible on earth. What do you see?

 

[Blade Runner]

We joke all the time that everyone says this, nagareboshi. I can't comment on what you've experienced, but I can state without hesitation that my experience in "the system" is not anywhere near what you report. And I am critical of the system, but I critically assess every part of it, both doctors and patients alike. Patients are hardly the blameless victims commonly referred to. That would be a good starting point for critical thinking regarding the system, if you want to assess it all the way around.