Read time: 5 minutes

Talked with 2 people this week who have been dealing with significant joint pain. Knees/hips in particular. Both are women in their late 60s. They did some reading about the side effects of the medications they’re taking, including their statin medication for high cholesterol. Looked something like this: 

One stopped their statin that same day. 3 days later, their joint pain disappeared (not to worry, she’s also planning to speak with her doctor). The other cancelled their next injection, planning to wait and see if their doctor has a different  recommendation. 

What to do in this situation? Disobey doctor’s orders and risk a heart problem? Obey doctor’s orders but your quality of life takes a hit? I suppose it depends on your values. Do you want to get rid of all heart disease risk, no matter what it costs you in side effects? Take the statin. Do you feel healthy overall, have a relatively low risk for heart disease as it is? At what point is it worth disrupting your homeostasis?

But it all comes back to the “E word”: empowerment. Justin Welsh asks if your life feels like YOUR life. Sure, you’re living it. But are you shaping it? Making decisions that will lead to your life feeling more like it’s uniquely yours? Or are you living according to someone (thing?) else’s wishes for you? 

Same with healthcare. Do you feel like it’s yours? Or do you feel like you’re being drug through an algorithm generalized for 300 million people? Do you feel healthier? Do you factor autonomy and independence into health?

Just a statin, sure. Maybe I should chill. But if you’re not used to thinking for yourself, what happens when the next negotiation with your doctor is about an irreversible surgery? Are you prepared to do what’s best for you? Do you even know what’s best for you? Do you know which questions to ask? How to ask them? Who to ask? 

In my opinion, too many people are recipients of their healthcare but not participants in it. Pills, procedures, and physicians. None are evil. Miracle cures are a good thing. Modern medicine helps a lot of people. But, just like any other system, it’s built for efficiency and profitability. To solve for these 2, a compliant patient is the best thing a pharma company, insurance company, or provider could want. So empowerment isn’t exactly…encouraged. It’s an incentives problem. I don’t have all the solutions today, but I’m hoping that today’s issue helps you take a more active role in your healthcare. 

Before you go…

Got an appointment coming up? Maybe you left your last appointment feeling a little bit…unheard? Rushed? Confused? Frustrated? Maybe you want to check out this Appointment Prep handbook, see if something in there might be helpful?

And if you want, reply with what your next appointment is for and I'll reply with 3 questions you might want to ask your doctor.