I've had two different kinds of experiences going to doctors. The first kind is where I do not do my own research and experimentation, but rely entirely on the medical professional to lead the troubleshooting. The second approach is where I become as informed as I can and partner closely with my personal physician to work on these problems.

The more educated and motivated I am as a patient, the more progress I make towards solving my own personal health puzzle. Most physicians spend the bulk of their time attending patients who are markedly unhealthy with very obvious health problems. When an apparently healthy looking person walks into their office and says they are not feeling optimally healthy and vibrant, they will most likely run a set of generic tests (which may show nothing at all) and find nothing seriously wrong. There's a big grey area between being completely healthy and completely ill. Now I am choosing to be a lot more proactive in managing wellness, rather than just continuing the current course until I develop a serious enough problem that is easily diagnosed. But, that is the approach I am choosing to do for myself

Some DIY health experiments are risky and even downright dangerous. Eating a high glycemic index breakfast and measuring your blood sugar a half-dozen times afterwards is not one of them. If you check my posting history you'll see that every time I have suggested that someone investigate iron supplementation I also urge them to see their doctor and get their ferritin tested, since taking oral iron willy-nilly can be quite dangerous for some people. I do not care for the implication that I am endangering the health of other members here simply by sharing information and advice.

Advice is just that - advice. You can take it or leave it. You're free to disagree with whatever you like.