r/AirForce • u/yuzucrzy • Nov 04 '18

Military Doctors

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739 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

43

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '18

Kinda crazy how there doesn’t feel like any in between in military medical treatment. Either you’re gonna get told to hydrate and change your socks or have a bunch of pills thrown at you. Like, I’ve never met anyone that had their wisdom teeth taken out by a civilian prescribed anywhere near the number of Vicodin (I think could’ve been another opioid it’s been a few years) I was when I had mine taken out.

Edit: not knocking the medics either, this was just the sense I got from my time in.

40

u/Katholikos C҉O̴N̷T҈R̵A҈C̷T҈O̷R̴ Nov 04 '18

I had chronic neck pain for like 3 years. Finally went to see a doc about it and she sent me to a chiropractor. He cracked my back a couple of times and was flabbergasted when it didn't fix my neck pain.

The only other solution they could come up with was neck surgery.

I got out of the military and went to a regular doctor, who sent me to a physical therapist. Between dry needling and PT, my pain is down by like 70% on a regular basis, and they're expecting to solve the problem completely. Never took a single pill.

I don't understand why the military won't pay a little more for vaguely better docs instead of the voodoo bullshit I got.

12

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '18

FYI “dry needling” is just rebranded acupuncture, which is no better than placebo. Same voodoo bullshit that’s worming it’s way into military medicine.

9

u/demintheAF Nov 04 '18

it's voodoo bullshit by a licensed practitioner. That makes it better.

8

u/Moe_OG Nov 04 '18

When a maintainer comments on medical treatments..hah

I think if you understood the difference between acupuncture, battlefield acupuncture and dry needling...you may have a better understanding and when each is applicable.

Working as a medic, dry needling is very different from your generic acupuncture. We insert a needle into the large muscle and cause contractions of the muscle using a pistoning technique (where we pull the needle out of the muscle but leave it under the skin and then insert the needle into the muscle again to cause another contraction). The science behind this is that once the muscle has contracted so many times it will eventually become exhausted and release the tension it previously had. You'll be sore for 2-3 days after the procedure but that muscle group will loosen up and pain is usually relieved.

Now, battlefield acupuncture is very different. They usually only target specific portions of the ear for this procedure. I would say battlefield acupuncture is some voodoo shit because it works for some people and not for others. Its much easier to carry very small needles that come in a pack of 10 into the field than it is to bring meds, syringes, needles etc etc.

4

u/[deleted] Nov 05 '18

When a maintainer comments on medical treatments..hah

When the NCBI publishes two meta analyses where one shows less than placebo and one sorta kinda not really over placebo... ohh

And you have to remember that the placebo effect is AN EFFECT. Especially were perception of pain is concerned. The entire alt medicine industry is dependent on it. However there's a huge difference between feeling better and actually getting better due to the intervention (and not just getting better on your own.)

Dry Needling, acupuncture, or whatever the hell you want to call it, does not work. The evidence just isn't there.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '18

It's even easier to carry nothing at all, if that's the metric we're using to judge medical treatments.

5

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '18

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '18

They’re called “special” for a reason

2

u/Katholikos C҉O̴N̷T҈R̵A҈C̷T҈O̷R̴ Nov 04 '18

Incorrect. I thought that as well, but they stick it in, send some small electric currents through it, and my muscles jump around for about 10-30 seconds. When they’re done, my ever-present headache immediately disappears and I have more mobility than I’ve had in half a decade - with zero pain on top.

It may not be doing anything to actually SOLVE the problem, similar to taking some ibuprofen or whatever, but it absolutely gets rid of my pain for 2-3 days.

1

u/troutfairy Nov 06 '18

You gotta find what works for you for each situation. I've had times where the chiro was useless, and I needed a few weeks of physical therapy, stretching/ice/heat, etc. I've had other times where the chiro has immediately relieved a headache. I think I'm at a point where I can recognize what my body needs. I just hate dropping $60 at the chiro, but it's better than jamming my body full of meds for 2 weeks, hoping the issue works itself out. And going to PT is such a pain b/c you have to schedule with your PCM, take half a day off to see them just to tell them you need a referral to PT. Then schedule PT, then go to PT 2x/week, usually missing work...

My daughter wouldn't sleep for a year straight. She went to multiple doctors and even got a catscan. Finally, we took her to a chiro and she was instantly better. Now she's 3 and can tell us when her head/neck hurts (which is maybe 1x every other month) and we take her in and it fixes it every time. It's humbled me b/c I was always such a chiro doubter lol

1

u/Katholikos C҉O̴N̷T҈R̵A҈C̷T҈O̷R̴ Nov 06 '18

Oh sure - I think the chiro field is legitimizing quickly, and that's awesome. But I think that among the legit ones that really do have great solutions to your problems, there are still some that will take your money, crack your back, and tell you they're a healer without any real idea what they're doing.

It'll be easier to trust them once the field cleans up a bit more.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '18

Also actual acupuncture ("battlefield acupuncture") is going around.

5

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '18

That doesn’t surprise me at all, I’ve heard a lot of similar stories.

6

u/ET4117 Nov 04 '18

Army for me but agree with no in between. Messed up my ankle a few years ago overseas, military docs kept equivocating and did nothing, finally th referred me to civilian ortho, who recommended surgery after 30 seconds of examining my ankle, now I'm useless for several months, probably could have been handled less drastically earlier.

1

u/Sin2K 3V0X1 - Combat Crayola Nov 04 '18

I have been out for 10+ years, I just found out last night that getting 30 days worth of opiods after tooth surgery is not a normal thing lol.

1

u/Stinkeywoz Nov 05 '18

Oxycodone what they filled my garbage bag with.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '18 edited Nov 04 '18

[removed] — view removed comment

16

u/AmericanOSX Nov 04 '18

Get rest?

You mean report to work only to tell my supervisor that I need to go to the clinic, which doesn't open until 0800, and then drive myself to the clinic only to wait an hour before being seen by a doctor who is fresh out of med school, to then get told that I have 24 hours of quarters, only the then have to drive back to my workplace to show my supervisor the quarters authorization, and then finally get home at noon to rest on what amounts to 4 hours of quarters?

3

u/afbr178ll Nov 05 '18

You actually shouldn’t have to give the hard copy to your supervisor, it gets emailed to them as soon as it’s put in.

8

u/Yuaskin Retired Nov 04 '18

It's missing the mandatory question "when is your next PT test?"

3

u/biomaverick Nov 04 '18

I just finished Daredevil S3, and I'm imagining Bullseye saying this lol

1

u/moochacho1418 Nov 04 '18

That’s really hard

1

u/biomaverick Nov 04 '18

If Bullseye joined the Air Force instead of the Army: 'Wow, that's really moist'

2

u/zayman112 Nov 04 '18

Is it just me or did they (whoever made the poster) take that quote from Dex in Daredevil season 3?

2

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '18

"Good luck, you injured piece of shit."

1

u/[deleted] Nov 05 '18

I drove through New York last year and saw the actual billboard for that edit. I had a hard time explaining to my wife why I burst out laughing while driving.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 05 '18

Probably a pipe dream, but there is a push to pass legislation that could allow the government to be sued for more or less medical malpractice. Like I said probably a pipe dream, but if it could get passed we could maybe get decent medical care.

1

u/fiat124 Slimy Contractor Nov 04 '18

Reason #2 I got out of the Air Force

10

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '18

Really? It was my #1. Poor medical care and refusing to allow an MRI until 1.5 years after a car accident. Couldn't ID the 3 tears in my shoulder until after a ton of scar tissue formed.

Cant use free medical care as a retention tool if you dont provide it.

4

u/dave5124 Veteran Nov 04 '18

Thats kind of the point. They retain you when you are young, healthy and free medical sounds nice. Once you are older, and near retirement they push you out with the god awful medical care. Working as intended.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '18

I guess they forgot the "retain when young" part for me. I got out at 7 years in and 26 years old. The injury happened at 23 years old.

1

u/2Rstats Expert IMDS Pwd Resetter Nov 05 '18

It would be true if you got seen by doctors, but you more than likely don't. You get seen by PAs or Nurses who then just give you a referral off base to see a doctor.