It is my choice. I am 75 and have had a lifetime of bad experiences with doctors. It is not foolish to investigate the side effects of medications. It is foolish not to. They are also printed on the labels usually in print so small that you need microscope to read.
When someone writes that they need help with a so-called disease that has a name I never heard of, and I look up and it simply means low potassium and her being sold something that she cannot swallow it is so horrible, looking up what FOODS you can eat instead is not foolish. It is a simple solution. I had the similar experience and and was also given some gobblygook and could not drink it The pastor's wife told me to eat bananas. I did and viola I was fine.!
I have had so many bad experiences I could write a book. How I take care of myself has resulted better than most people I know. I have a list of 34 people that I knew that died, and almost all younger than me, died early because of their bad health decisions. Just this morning as almost every day, I cut down weeds for an hour and a half and then walked to town up and down hills. I know people my age that can barely creep around and are full of meds.
This morning, I went to visit my friend who told me she went for urine tests this morning because she said she was not urinating much!. I asked her how much she drank daily. She said very little.!!! I told her, if you only put in a little, only a little can come out!!. She got laughing so hard, she about wet her pants. She also has other problems because of wheat and too much sugar. etc. But there on her table was a cake pan with only one piece left. She said she could not resist.
The net and google is not the only place that gives misinformation and bad advice. - doctors do too, because of what the drug salesmen tells them, what they are taught, or mandated procedures that are profitable.
We all have choices. And we will all experience the consequences of the choices we make.
@lindy9 - you have made many good points here. And you are one of the few who appear to be “walking the walk” on many of the basic essentials for good health: exercise, diet, sleep, etc. That in itself is inspiring. My reference to the “physician having a fool for a patient” was not meant to discourage people from becoming informed about the details of their care, including side effects of drugs versus the benefits for your particular condition, and other recommendations for surgery or other treatment. The point is that in the course of our lives, and particularly with health care, there are times when we need the unbiased diagnosis of a health care practitioner. I don’t know your story, but mine has involved many such situations. Despite having both the internet and health care education, in the end it came down to whether I was going to trust my caregivers or just go it on my own. That is where, after all the questions and answers, we have to choose who to trust. Doctors are not perfect, but many other practitioners also have a history of the same faults. I wish you the best.