Physicians' power and limits

As nasal polyps patients, we expect great things from our physicians. Some of them are clear and justified, while others are not. To understand what we should expect not only from physicians, but also from ourselves, we need to clarify these assumptions.

These expectations are, according to me, rooted in three areas:

High tech medicine

We rely on medicine for our quality and length of life, for the aging of our population, and for the solidarity of our society - but it comes at a cost. Medicine has become a high-tech industry in its own right. On a daily basis, our news sources talk about how medicine restores hearing to deaf people, restores sight to blind people, makes disabled people walk, etc. It is natural for us to assume that our "little" polyp problem can be cured easily. How is it that modern medicine, which can treat so many serious illnesses, would not cure nasal polyps?

Pills-land heaven

A country with a strong pharmaceutical industry can be proud of itself. However, we should also keep in mind that it can impact how we perceive health, disease, and solutions as well.

Some people who are overweight do not want to stop eating their favorite comfort food even if it is full of saturated fat, and they do not want to watch one less episode of their favorite show to walk 40 minutes. They want an anti-cholesterol medication. It's a whole lot easier to take a pill than to change eating habits and start exercising. We are also taught in pharmaceutical commercials that people seem happy and active because they take their pills every day.

Without even realizing it, we come to expect drug prescriptions from our doctors. The physicians themselves speak of the pressure they face from patients who cannot imagine leaving a consultation without a prescription.

Although we are not all like that, our surrounding environment affects us more than we realize. Without even realizing it, we have come to expect medication to cure all of our diseases. The problem is that this expectation may lead to a lack of interest in other solutions. How may this expectation affect our ability to take ownership and responsibility for our health?

A patient's perspective

It wasn't our fault that we got sick. It is not fair that we have been plagued with this life-threatening illness. That's right, it's unfair. This feeling of unfairness may lead us to expect that someone else should be responsible for our recovery instead of ourselves. Whenever we need medical help, we expect it to come from our doctors, they are knowledgeable, and it is their job to take care of us.

To caricature our expectations of our physicians: we want them to give us a mint-flavored drug that cures our nasal polyps, since lemons aren't our favorites. Even though this is an exaggeration, it's worthwhile to challenge our perspective on medicine. 

Without clear expectations from our physicians, we may spend months or even years unable to progress on our road to recovery. After clarifying our predisposition to view medicine, we will discuss physicians themselves in more detail.

Physicians

It is vital for us to understand what physicians know about nasal polyps and their treatments in order to manage our physicians, our disease, and ourselves effectively.

Personally, I have seen a lot of physicians. I have been treating my nasal polyps for nearly twenty years. Through my research, I have explored different domains such as allergies and intolerances, nutrition, psychology, and homeopathy. As a result of moving several times, I have had to find new physicians. One of my friends is a physician who suffers from Samter's Triad. My surgery was performed by one of Europe's best ENT surgeons.

Over the years, I have had many discussions with physicians who all had different viewpoints. Among them, some were particularly pithy, some occasionally strange, and some were discouraging.

Over the last ten years, I have asked the same questions to every physician I meet. The following excerpts highlight some of the challenges we all face.

Me: “Doc, I think I’ve had a problem with sulfites for several years, and I would like to have an allergy test to find out for sure.”

"A test for sulfite allergies?" he asked. “I don't think that's possible. It doesn't exist!”

I later found out my physician's answer was incorrect and showed a real lack of knowledge. There are tests for sulfites sensitivity, but most physicians are unaware of them.

When I was suffering from an acute outbreak, my new ENT physician prescribed steroids and antibiotics: the sledgehammer approach, meant to get me back on my feet quickly. After the seven-day treatment, I was in a terrible state. Not only did I not feel better, I was even worse.

ME: "Doc, I felt pretty bad after taking steroids. Given how I felt, I wonder if the sulfites were a contributing factor. What are your thoughts on that? ”

Him: “What? That’s impossible! And I don’t understand why you keep talking to me about sulfites!”

Me: “It’s just that the steroid you prescribed me, which I’ve never taken before, contains sulfites. I spoke with the allergist you recommended, and he confirmed that he has had other patients with this problem..."

In the face of his ignorance, this physician couldn't admit to himself that he didn't have an answer. Instead of saying he would investigate the sulfites intolerance, he simply said:

Him: “Okay then… Well, I’ll see you in one month.”

At my follow-up appointment with the allergist, I discussed this issue. The answer he gave was no better:

Him: “It’s a problem I see with other patients; I would advise you to write to the lab.”

Even though he confirmed the problem, he told me that I should write to the laboratory? Although I want to take responsibility for my illness, there are limits to what I can do.

The next time I saw my ENT physician, I discussed it with him. Throughout the conversation, he showed absolutely no interest.

From my perspective, I have learned a valuable lesson. I now know that most physicians have no clue whatsoever about sulfites sensitivity, so I will always request a different steroid. Like me, I'm sure you have a lot of similar stories.

To summarize, physicians do not know why we develop nasal polyps. They don't know how to cure them and can only ease their symptoms. Their interest in what might cause the problem is minimal.

Now let's discuss what we might expect from different types of physicians. These are personal opinions that can sometimes be blunt. My hope is that they will allow you to take a step back and form your own opinion. The opinions presented here are only relevant to nasal polyps.

Patient or client

In general, I have found physicians to be very dogmatic, if not pretentious, especially those who have worked at hospitals or clinics. Is it their medical education that shapes them this way, or does the medical field attract these personalities? Is it the amount of knowledge they must absorb? Is it the job's emotionally-demanding nature that causes them to show detachment?

Due to physician attitudes and approaches, I prefer to think of myself as a client rather than a patient.

The majority of our physicians practice medicine, but do not conduct medical research. As a result, they only use what is already established and recommended; they do not search for new solutions.

There are few physicians who have real convictions, such as those who see a person, not just a condition, those who are humble enough to admit their limitations, or those who are curious about other disciplines.

General practitioners

It seems to me that general practitioners are generally automatic and brief in their consultations, and I am unsure of what they can contribute in our case.

However, they can be helpful in certain situations: if we are traveling and have an acute outbreak, seeing a general practitioner for a steroids prescription is faster and easier than going to a specialist.

Homeopathic physicians

There are some who believe in it, and there are others who remain skeptics. The purpose of this book is not to convert you to homeopathy. There are already many informative articles on the subject.

During my relapse, one of my friends who is an ER physician himself and has nasal polyps recommended that I consult a homeopath physician. Treatments in homeopathy are based on three elements: constitution, terrain, and causes.

Homeopathic treatment is individualized, like a tailored suit. A homeopathic physician determines our homeopathic profile by asking us unusual questions. Based on our answers, they classify us as Carbonic, Phosphoric, Fluoric, Muriatic, or Sulfuric Silicate.

Terrain: a homeopathy diathesis is the body’s predisposed reaction to a given threat, and different patients experience different homeopathy diathesis. We will be classified as either a sycotic, a syphilitic, a psoric, or a tuberculinic.

Cause: A homeopathic physician will treat a patient's problem by treating the cause. The origins of nasal polyps, however, are unknown to homeopathic physicians just as they remain unknown to traditional physicians.

I remain somewhat skeptical regarding homeopathy's ability to deliver real results for nasal polyps, despite some remedies such as tuya purported to work. In my experience, they are effective for treating small ENT problems that need to be addressed right away (I will elaborate later).

Despite being a skeptic, I admit that my 30-45-minute discussion with my homeopathic physician was constructive. His explanation made me realize that nasal polyps have multiple causes: physical, biological, and emotional. Therefore, it is essential to address our health holistically. For me, this awareness alone helped trigger all of the actions that followed (and that I discuss in this book), leading to my eventual recovery.

ENT specialists

In general medicine, students with the least talent usually become general practitioners after they graduate from medical school. The best students specialize, and the very best specialize in surgery.

As specialists gain expertise in one domain, they also tend to move away from other medical disciplines. Their interests and knowledge in other areas decrease the deeper they delve into a specific field. The more expertise in details they gain, the more they lose sight of the big picture.

I had many discussions with the ENT physician who monitored me when I was on the verge of a second surgery and searching desperately for alternatives. He was brilliant and already the clinic's head. However, I discovered that he was not knowledgeable about allergology. Moreover, he mocked nutritional medicine and homeopathy.

As a result of these experiences, I have come to realize that ENT physicians are, first and foremost, surgeons. Their job, skills, and interests revolve around surgery. An ENT surgeon will not hesitate to perform five operations in a row to remove nasal polyps if steroids are not helping. In his opinion, surgery is the best (if not the only) option. By focusing on drugs and surgeries for years, this perspective has been narrowed down.

In the case of nasal polyps, monitoring is essential. It is necessary to visit an ENT every six months or so, despite some challenges.

Quacks

In the midst of my vacation, the pollen that was irritating my nasal mucosa turned me into such a wreck that I was unable to breathe through my nose. In a small village, I went to a general practitioner to get a prescription for nasal decongestant.

Having explained my nasal polyps condition and treatments, this particular physician launched into a tirade about nasal polyp causes. He discovered what caused nasal polyps: a series of temperature changes our nasal mucosa could not handle. This was of course only conjecture. I found this kind of talk to be extremely damaging and painful to hear.

It is important to trust your physicians, but we should also beware of those who boast and seem to know everything. Often, they are incompetent and don't care about us.

Become our own physicians

In the case of nasal polyps, trying to find a pharmaceutical cure alone is not an option. As individuals, we must take responsibility for our own health, become our own physicians and take ownership of our recovery. Physicians are familiar with hundreds of diseases, their symptoms, and recommended treatments. We only know nasal polyps, but on a much deeper level since we have lived with it for years.

We shouldn't misunderstand this last point: it doesn't mean we should avoid seeing a physician by going solo. We should place ourselves on the same level as our physicians when it comes to nasal polyps, and take an active role in their treatment.

In Summary / Take Action

- It's not reasonable to expect our physicians to provide pharmaceutical cures. It is only a waste of time and energy to hold on to those expectations.

- We should take responsibility for our health and take an active role in our recovery.

- We should choose a homeopath as our general practitioner.

- We should take the role of coordinators, working with our general practitioner to find specialized doctors and asking them plenty of questions in order to avoid leaving any problems unattended.

- We should choose an ENT physician who is empathic and open to different disciplines to ensure we get a complete diagnosis. In case of nasal obstruction, loss of smell, or taste loss, we should contact an ENT immediately.

- There is a common "old-boy" network among physicians: they may refer patients to one another because they golf together, but that is not always in the patient's best interests. In cases where we need to consult other specialists, we should not rely solely on the recommendations of our physicians without researching first.