Really cranky about medicine

Seems to me that medicine is so much about the blind man and the elephant. One goes to a specialist and they immediately recommend invasive tests for whatever their specialty is. I am wary of this and I ask, so uncomfortably, what might be found, and if it is, what's next and do I want to deal with it? Why should we have radiation ( a great risk)? Why should we sign on to be perpetual patients?

I am a seventy year old woman, weighing the same as I did at twenty, seemingly in good health. No lumps anywhere, I poop on schedule, I have all my parts, and I have more energy than lots of people far younger than I. My years outdoors have begotten some low level skin cancers and I deal with those. And I am not about to unearth marginal ailments that will make me a chronic invalid until I die!

But in the last two years my husband and I have had some major issues with sinus infections. We have taken antibiotics for pneumonia and ear infections. But the sinus problems persist. He coughs and deals with asthma, I blow my nose. For three months one of my ears was plugged up, so horrible. At times my husband's cough is so loud, all conversation stops. I am particularly concerned that no doctor considered that we both had the same problems! What does this mean? (Do we have whooping cough? Are we allergic to the same thing?) I have asked and gotten a blank stare. Might a sympathetic doctor help my husband control the volume of his cough? So many unanswered questions!

We have seen specialists who don't really have a clue. My husband has had everything x-rayed and cultured in his lungs and sinuses and all that can be said is that nothing vile was found (so more invasive procedures must be done!)

I wander along the aisles of any drug store and see how many nostrums there are for sinus and allergy. Seems that lots of other folks are in our boat.

Here is what I would wish for. I want a doctor (or equivalent) who would be interested and attentive to the whole person! This person needs to ask such questions as the regular things about smoking and exercise and life style and diet (none of our doctors have ever asked this!) It is probably key in the diagnosis about why we cough, that maybe this is an environmental concern? How long have you slept with your dog? Do you use A/C? Do you change your filters often? Do you spend much time outdoors? What do you eat?

Consider an allergist. I could go on and on. Our doctors are so time stressed they cannot ask or listen to answers and think about all possibilities. They cannot diagnose anything. They just rely on the blood work and the radiation and the recommendation that we do another invasive thing.

No thanks, we'll have to go it alone for now. We need Obamacare as it plays out over the years when our doctors can be free of the healthcare for profit and we can get real sensible answers to our health needs. This will take time and meanwhile we have to pay attention and suffer no fools.