Wellness

[Mmsfoxxie]

Or do you have both?  Do you NEED both?  I'm changing to an osteopathic doctor because my sister goes to one and she seems to get more care for her whole body.  Her doctor recommends a lot of vitamins instead of just medication.

Thanks!

[Sooner]

MD only. Better traning and experience.  Tighter requirements for students to get slots in programs and for   credentials to practice in some hospitals and clinics.

[LizzieInSRQ]

DOs have a wee bit more education. MDs tend to prescribe more; DOs are more preventative. You do not need both.

I do not have a preference. Personally I found the Dos I knew in my last job more fun lol but that was just how my office wa

[Mmsfoxxie]

@LizzieInSRQ, I've heard this, too.  But I've always had an MD.  

My sister, who has a DO, seems to have more and better care.  I've never been told I have osteoarthritis other than my systems of wear, tear and more pain as I live.  I do get bone density tests but that's not a diagnosis.  For years I've had this chronic cough and my md says it's bronchitis and I've accepted it for years.  Now, I get choking sometimes when eating.  No test.  Bottom line, I think my care is not up to par.  I'm almost 75 and I think I need more care.  I read how people get MRIs and other test, I wonder why it's not suggested for me.  Or at least medication....not that I'm yearning to take any.   I do take glaucoma medication from my ophthalmologist.  I'm just suspicious. 

[Janey2]

I do not think you can compare generally. You have to compare the individual care from each doctor. I am sure there are good and not so good of each kind of doctor. 

@Mmsfoxxie  It sounds like you need to find a doctor that will look into your cough since it now has gone further.

[RedTop]

@Mmsfoxxie 

One of my brothers had issues swallowing his food, and would choke easily.   He finally mentioned it to his doctor, and his issue turned out to be GERD.  Once he started taking a pill for it daily, he's been fine.   

My current medical provider is a DO, and he is as good as the MD's I have seen in the past.   

[beach-mom]

@Mmsfoxxie - We go to a practice that includes doctors with both degrees.

As I understand it, MD's treat specific concerns, but DO's treat the whole body- more of a holistic approach.

 I have a close friend who is a DO. She retired before the pandemic due to health issues.

My family practitioner is a DO. So is my OB/GYN. My family practitioner I adored is an MD. She moved across the country because her husband was transferred.

Funny story: my GYN delivered DS. I've been going to him since, and I trust him. He likes to train medical school students during their OB/GYN rotation. I've seen many. So a few years back I was on the table under the sheet when he walked in with his latest student. I looked and said, "Sam?" He was a senior in high school and the Boy Scout senior patrol leader when DS was just starting Boy Scouts! DH knew him - and his dad - better than I, as this troop went camping monthly. I was glad when my doctor ushered him out, and I got to talk to him later for a while. But that would have been too much for me! My doctor apologized and laughed. I laughed too!  

[Venezia]

@Mmsfoxxie - I'd insist on getting that cough checked out, especially since you've had symptoms of choking.  It sounds like it could be Barrett's Esophagus.

I'm no doctor, but my DH has that and he got to the point where he had trouble swallowing even a large size vitamin capsule.  If that's what it is, the sooner you find out the better as, left untreated, it can turn into esophageal cancer.  (You won't need an MRI, just an endoscopy.)  And the treatment is simple (a proton inhibitor).

It might not be even remotely what you have going on, but it's worth getting it checked out.  JMHO.   

ETA:  I was in the middle of writing this and got interrupted, but it's essentially what @RedTop is talking about.

[Ainhisg]

This is a great thread. I have always seen MD's. I recently was referred to a DO (by my MD), who specializes in sports medicine. My MD had been treating me for nerve pain in my ankle, but after ordering an MRI, it showed something different. The DO examined my foot thoroughly, said he'd looked at the MRI, but then went ahead and said that he didn't believe the MRI was showing the issue and that his belief was that I had Achilles tendinitis. He gave me some exercises to do, and voila! I was cured in 6 weeks. I wish I could see him as my regular doctor, but he is specialized in sports med. He and I also talked about some supplements I could take. I'm now considering finding a DO after this experience. I think the DO I saw would have diagnosed me correctly off the bat without the cost of an MRI.

PS...it's my understanding that a DO actually has more hours of training than an MD. They can prescribe and do everything an MD does but approach treatment from the whole-body perspective.

[hckynutjohn]

Pretty simple for me. Without MD's I would have died in 2002.

hckynut  🇺🇸