When you go to a technician, you expect to tell that person what you want and have that person do that service for you. A few examples come to mind: a massage therapist - who you tell to rub your muscles with a certain amount of pressure, and a hairdresser, who you tell to cut your hair a certain way. With a technician, you are the one who directs the service. You have an expectation, and you want your expectation to get fulfilled. When you go to a doctor, do you expect the same thing? Do you know better about the causes of your health condition than the doctor you visit? If you think you do, then why are you even going to that doctor? Do you even care about his opinion, or do you go there just to tell him what to do? Does the doctor do any kind of physical evaluation? Do you have any experience doing a physical examination and knowing what it means? Does the exam he does seem meaningless to you? Do you think you don't need a physical evaluation because you already know the answers? Ask yourself where you get these ideas. If your past experience with doctors is why you think this way, you seriously need to see a completely different kind of doctor! It is extremely unfortunate that pharmaceutical commercialism has been driving the message that you should "ask your doctor" about a particular medication. Everyone knows that this notion of "ask your doctor" about their drug is just a covert way of telling you to "tell your doctor" that you want him to prescribe their drug, based on the advertisement you just saw. Prescriptions based on advertisements? This is one of the most dangerous manifestations that can come from the multimedia-marketing blitz of pharmaceutical drugs, and it is one of the reasons why our current health care system is broken.

Who is the doctor? When you go to a doctor, especially for an alternative second opinion, it would be foolish to tell him what you want his opinion, or treatment to be. More so, why would you even bother to ask the doctor to examine you if you know you are only going to tell him what to do, or what to prescribe? Do you think it would be better for your doctor to operate like a California medical marijuana dispensary, where you go there to just pick what you want? What kind of "doctor" would work for such a place? One who doesn't want to think about the causes of disease? Maybe all the doctors you have ever seen are not looking for the causes of disease, and that's why you want to have it your way when you go to the doctor; just like the last time you went to Burger King. Have it your way? At a doctor's office? Are you kidding? It is a sign that you seriously need to see a completely different kind of doctor! What if the doctor you seek for an alternative second opinion is able to evaluate your condition through a detailed physical examination that you are unfamiliar with, and is able to give you an alternative perspective and find the reasons for your condition that you had never even considered before—because you are not a doctor? Isn't that what you need? What if this alternative second opinion doctor can address nerve tone—the level of activity in your nervous system that influences muscles, your spine, organs, and most functions of your body—but you expected something else? Would you cast it away as meaningless? If you jump to your own simple conclusions about what you need, and follow your own advice anyway, aren't you just playing doctor yourself? If you want to play doctor yourself, you really should not be seeking the educated opinion of a doctor who will take the time to physically evaluate you. Instead, you should seek the service of a technician, whom you can micro-manage to your heart's content. You know, most people tend to get in their own way when it comes to making some real progress in their lives, whether it be in finances, or whether it is about their own health and lifestyle choices. That's largely why people seek expert opinions. This is just a fact. All the top speakers in the world tell you to "get out of your own way." So weigh your new options for healing. Does the alternative second opinion doctor have a logical method to reveal the causes of your condition? Is there a way he will measure progress? If the doctor's recommendation is not dangerous, risky, overly costly, or nonsensical, give it consideration. You went for an alternative second opinion, not for a massage, or a haircut. The success of your case may very well depend on which one of us is the doctor!

Barry J. Lieberman, D.C.

Beverly Hills, CA 90212 - Talk with Dr Barry Lieberman, DC Today: Call 310-282-8882