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Prescription Thinking

Today, I want to talk about giving up prescription thinking.  You know what prescription thinking is, right? 

You go to a doctor with symptom A and you are X age with Y family history (genetics), the doctor will prescribe B.  Sometimes it doesn't work at all or gives you other problems because you don't fit in the textbook diagnosis checklist. 

I had that happen to me a couple of years ago.  I went to the doctor because I had a pain in my right abdomen.  My appendix was removed 40 years ago so it wasn't an appendicitis attack.  The doctor, whom I was seeing for the first time, took one look at my age and family history and decided it was my right ovary.  She sent me for an ultrasound (not bothering to inform me that it might require a trans-vaginal ultrasound).   I tried to explain that I was already past menopause and I didn't think that was the problem as I have had my share of ovarian pain.  I was dismissed.  Several hours of diligent research to find the best price on an ultrasound and several hundreds of dollars later, the ultrasound showed nothing. 

It was at that point I decided to change doctors.  I had been seeing a wonderful doctor for years but she had moved out of town, about 40 minutes away.  I realized it was going to be worth the trip to go to her.  I did, and she asked insightful questions and quickly diagnosed an intestinal bug.  She prescribed the correct medicine and I was out of pain in no time.  She listened, she evaluated, and she made a decision based on me, not a standardized checklist.

We are bombarded every day with messages about what box we fit into.  There is an ideal way to look, to act, to achieve in our society and it takes courage and conviction to step outside that norm.  It is easy to come up with an idea for something you want to do and then check age, family history (socio-economic, education), and experience and decide that it cannot be done.  Many works of art, great inventions, and life-changing events would not exist if prescription thinking had taken precedence.   

I want to apply the same diligence and attention to my life that my doctor applied.   When I am faced with any problem, challenge, idea, dream, or circumstance and an immediate "common" solution comes to mind, I want to think about it.  I know if I listen to myself and take my feelings, my beliefs, and my resources into account, the common solution might not apply at all.  I want to find my own answer and not just look at the prescribed checklist.
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  1. Dennis TardanMarch 25, 2014 at 8:00 AM

    What a beautifully written and insightful column. It wasn't until I read this that I realized how much prescription thinking permeates my entire life. Wow! Even though I pride myself on my iconoclastism, my pride blinds me to all the ruts of prescription thinking that I am following. Thank you for your provocative, evocative column! Keep writing!

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