OT -- perhaps

[ephraimh]

My new PCP is a DO not an MD. I picked her because I needed a new one & she was the first available. What experience do you have with DOs. I'm not dropping my sleep specialist at all. Just looking for comments. I have many health problems and been on SSDI for quite awhile. Thanks.

[chunkyfrog]

If it were me, I would run like the wind . . .
I prefer having a real doctor, even if I mostly see their PA.
At least the real, legit person is in the house.

[Wulfman...]

My new PCP is a DO not an MD. I picked her because I needed a new one & she was the first available. What experience do you have with DOs. I'm not dropping my sleep specialist at all. Just looking for comments. I have many health problems and been on SSDI for quite awhile. Thanks.

I've had two of them since 2011 and I have had nothing but great to good experiences with them.
When I switched to the one in 2011, at our initial meeting, he said....."I work for YOU!".
Unfortunately, the organization that had the local clinic he worked for wasn't paying their doctors enough and they've had a great deal of turnover there.
His replacement was an MD and she didn't stay more than a couple of years......and I'm now on my third physician with them and this one is also a DO and is also pretty decent to work with, too.

Read up on the DOs and I think you'll find good information.

Edit to add:

A little blip I found years ago when doing my own research:

About Osteopathic Medicine


You are more than just the sum of your body parts. That’s why doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) practice a “whole person” approach to health care. Instead of just treating specific symptoms, osteopathic physicians concentrate on treating you as a whole.

Osteopathic physicians understand how all the body’s systems are interconnected and how each one affects the others. They focus special attention on the musculoskeletal system, which reflects and influences the condition of all other body systems.

This system of bones and muscles makes up about two-thirds of the body’s mass, and a routine part of the examination DOs give patients is a careful evaluation of these important structures. DOs know that the body’s structure plays a critical role in its ability to function. They can use their eyes and hands to identify structural problems and to support the body’s natural tendency toward health and self-healing.

Osteopathic physicians also use their ears to listen to you and your health concerns. DOs help patients develop attitudes and lifestyles that don’t just fight illness but also help prevent disease. Millions of Americans prefer this concerned and compassionate care and have made DOs their physicians for life.




Den

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[SDBud]

My new PCP is a DO not an MD. I picked her because I needed a new one & she was the first available. What experience do you have with DOs. I'm not dropping my sleep specialist at all. Just looking for comments. I have many health problems and been on SSDI for quite awhile. Thanks.

My first PCP at the VA was a DO, and she was just fine, I had no problems or complaints about her.But she left, and I never found out why.

[Janknitz]

My daughter is in medical school in a DO program. They take the same tests, learn the same things, do the same internships and residencies as allopathic MDs except they also learn the skill of osteopathic manipulation in addition. DO’s are family doctors, pediatricians, OB’s, surgeons, neurologists, etc. Our family doctor while she was growing up was a DO who went on to become the much beloved medical director of our city’s largest hospital.

Some DO’s practice more toward the holistic and integrative end of the spectrum while others are more traditional like MD’s but with an additional skill.

DOs are as fully qualified as MDs and you’ll be fortunate if my daughter ever treats you. She’s just about to prove it on her first medical boards and starts her first internship next month. Be nice if you bump into a tiny (4’10”) blonde DO student. That’s my kid!

[palerider]

If it were me, I would run like the wind . . .
I prefer having a real doctor, even if I mostly see their PA.
At least the real, legit person is in the house.

From a DO? DOs are MDs with even more training.

[Madalot]

One of my all time favorite doctors was a DO. Her practice and methodology worked very well for me, and I felt she gave me exceptional care. If I hadn't moved 200 miles away, I'd still be with her.

[esel]

If it were me, I would run like the wind . . .

try this ...

wallaces-flying-frog-stephen-dalton.jpg

[Midnight Strangler]

allopathic MDs

FYI, "allopaths" is a term that MDs themselves do not use, and that many regard as pejorative. "Allopath" was coined by Samuel Hahnemann, the inventor of homeopathy, as an intentionally critical term. This term seems to be in common use at osteopathic colleges. Osteopathic training programs and their graduates should stop using this term, which is divisive and misleading. It's use often comes across, not only as critical, but also hostile.

[Janknitz]

allopathic MDs

FYI, "allopaths" is a term that MDs themselves do not use, and that many regard as pejorative. "Allopath" was coined by Samuel Hahnemann, the inventor of homeopathy, as an intentionally critical term. This term seems to be in common use at osteopathic colleges. Osteopathic training programs and their graduates should stop using this term, which is divisive and misleading. It's use often comes across, not only as critical, but also hostile.

I don't know if any osteopaths used this term, I am not an osteopath. Excuse me, no offense was meant, just trying to differentiate DO vs. MD. It's also pejorative when other people say "real doctor" vs. osteopath. Osteopath's are "real" too.

[Pugsy]

Osteopaths are "real" doctors too. They actually can have the same specialties as MDs have and all the board certification stuff in all areas.
The thinking that osteopathic doctors weren't "real" doctors went out the window back in the 80s....they have hospital privileges just like MDs. They write prescriptions and all that.

Nothing wrong with them plus they will often crack your spine if you want them to. Just ask a MD for an adjustment and watch them back paddle.

I wonder if the people thinking not a real doctor were maybe thinking of DC or Chiropractor???? World of difference between a DO and a DC.

[Okie bipap]

Over the years, I have been treated by both MD and DO. I have received good care from both, and I have also received mediocre care from both. I have found the level of care given is dependant on the individual, not the type of medical school they attended. My current PCP is an MD, but my prior PCP was a DO. Both are very good doctors. The only reason I changed doctors is one left the medical group we use. My PCP, my cardiologist and the sleep clinic we use are all part of the same medical group.

[zoocrewphoto]

Osteopaths are "real" doctors too. They actually can have the same specialties as MDs have and all the board certification stuff in all areas.
The thinking that osteopathic doctors weren't "real" doctors went out the window back in the 80s....they have hospital privileges just like MDs. They write prescriptions and all that.

Nothing wrong with them plus they will often crack your spine if you want them to. Just ask a MD for an adjustment and watch them back paddle.

I wonder if the people thinking not a real doctor were maybe thinking of DC or Chiropractor???? World of difference between a DO and a DC.

I had a doctor I liked a lot for several years. One time I went in with a pinched sciatic nerve. I had already gone to the ER with no relief. They sent mehome with pain meds that made me dizzy and didn't help the pain. I had no idea my doctor was a DO. She determined that my nerve waspinched by a tight muscle. She did some adjustments that help me walk out better than I walked in. And she prescribed a muscle relaxer (way better than the narcotic pain killer).

[chunkyfrog]

I was thinking of homeopaths. From them I would flee, as well as chiropractors.
Sorry.

[palerider]

I was thinking of homeopaths. From them I would flee, as well as chiropractors.
Sorry.

Oh yes, absolutely.