“We’re really at an infant stage in terms of our clinical ability to assess traumatic brain injury,” a medical expert said.
Before he ended his life, Ryan Larkin made his family promise to donate his brain to science.
The 29-year-old Navy SEAL was convinced years of exposure to blasts had badly damaged his brain, despite doctors telling him otherwise. He had downloaded dozens of research papers on traumatic brain injury out of frustration that no one was taking him seriously, his father said.
“He knew,” Frank Larkin said. “I’ve grown to understand that he was out to prove that he was hurt, and he wasn’t crazy.”
In 2017, a postmortem study found that Ryan Larkin, a combat medic and instructor who taught SEALs how to breach buildings with explosives, had a pattern of brain scarring unique to service members who’ve endured repeated explosions.
Would you be more likely to visit a doctor who could confidently diagnose everything, or was willing to admit they aren’t 100% sure? Most people want answers, and would change doctors if they don’t get an answer, or an answer they want.
A doctor who can confidently diagnose everything wrong is the worst kind of doctor. Even one who confidently diagnoses a smaller portion of things wrong is dangerous, because they will ignore evidence to the contrary. I’d much rather have one who says, “I think this is what you’ve got but we’re going to test to be sure.”
In my experience going to appointments with non-techy/sciency relatives, the doctor uses the correct language like in your quote, highlights uncertainties, etc. But then the patient interprets that language as if it’s a black and white “you have X and you need Y.”
One good reason to either have someone go with you or record the doctor talk is that people under stress don’t listen well, don’t process well, and don’t remember well.
Also if they aren’t sciencey, it’s not unfair for them to look to the person who did all that school etc to have black-and-white answers for them. The other way leads to ivermectin, after all.
That is true. But it sounds like he had decent evidence?
I agree with the fact that doctors shouldn’t just diagnose everything because someone says that’s what they’ve got.
It’s not so much they don’t admit they don’t know, it’s that they tell you nothing is wrong.
I really appreciate that my doctor will regularly admit they aren’t 100% sure, and often sends me to specialists and for labwork to eliminate worst case scenarios and run things down.
I’d be more concerned if they just wrote off my concerns and symptoms because they couldn’t immediately connect it to anything other than say, stress and lack of sleep.
That said, my relationship with my doctor is probably not the norm due to some lifelong health stuff that keeps me going in every 3 months or so, and I’ve had the same provider for a good number of years. We’ve had enough time together for them to know how I approach my symptoms and health.
I’m also privileged that I have decent enough insurance, salary, and job that allows me to go and actually do all that. Most people don’t.
Back to the point though:
I totally understand the “just fix it!” mindset, but I feel like anyone who has had to spend a decent amount of time troubleshooting anything should realize that isn’t always possible. Especially with things regarding the human body.
How many different things can go wrong with a car, a computer, or a business process, that from the outside all look like the same issue? None of these are realistically comparable to the complexity of a person. You’re going to expect someone to just listen to a few minutes of your whining, pat you on the back, and send you off with an 100% reliable solution for an issue with something as mind bogglingly complex as a human body?
You can’t just drop your body off at the shop, have a crew of people take their time diagnosing and fixing it, and get it back when they’re done. You’re going to have to hual that death trap junk heap from place to place yourself to get it in front of the right people first. They might have to call in a guy who’s familiar with your specific make and model, or a guy that’s experienced with electrical systems.
I dunno, the idea of some sort of “quick result” doctor visit that solves your exact issues and doesn’t tell you things you don’t want to hear just seems incredibly naive.
Agree completely, I too have lifelong health issues and I relate a lot to what you’re saying. I hope you find better health and peace soon.
I’ve never met a doctor who was capable of admitting any doubt in themselves.