When we go to a doctor, we expect him to know everything. But this is not the case.

Add to this the fact that a chronic illness must be treated very differently from an acute illness, and there are many questions that medical professionals may have in making an appropriate treatment plan for a patient.

Therefore, treatment plans for chronic patients are very different than for a patient who goes to the doctor with an acute condition. Most doctors have a hard time determining what to do when a patient has symptoms that are chronic and recurring.

One of the main complaints of patients with chronic diseases is that they experience prolonged pain and discomfort. Some don’t sleep well and feel very tired and can’t keep doing what they used to do even a year or so ago.

But there are also other shades of discomfort for every chronic patient. It doesn’t really matter what the nuisance is, it seems that doctors can only prescribe drugs that they think will help. However, there are times when the medication does not do much for the patient. It is at these times that we have to resist blaming our doctor for not being aware of all the available treatment options.

Given the ubiquity of chronic disease and the aging of our population, more and more doctors are looking for non-medical ways to help the patient cope with pain and discomfort, such as physical therapy, massage therapy, naturopathic medicine, and other herbal ways to deal with pain and discomfort.
And patients often have positive results with these non-medical treatment options. They find ways to self-manage their pain and discomfort, as well as fatigue, in ways that a pill cannot provide.

But also, the patient will discover new ways to self-manage their disease. And the more people with chronic illnesses learn to seek new ways of thinking about their illness, the more hope there is here that something will at least get past the pain and fatigue for a while. Also, people with chronic illnesses are less likely to visit their GPs complaining of pain and discomfort all the time.

Also, if a patient keeps looking for new ways to deal with their pain and discomfort, their life will ultimately improve. Therefore, they are less likely to feel more hopeful and out of control. And that’s a win-win for everyone.