Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health

I believe this book should be compulsory reading for al ldoctors so that they stop and think carefully before automatically reaching for their prescription pad "Does this person really need this? Am I going to prescrible this or that medication as a knee jerk reaction because that's what I always do?" Prospective "patients" - and it's obvious from this book that we're all prospective "patients" - should also read it and be aware that the doctor's not always right. I have personal experience of a doctor suddenly insisting that I had hypertension.I ended up taking pills unnecessarily for six months until one day I came to my senses, stopped wandering around like a zombie and having near misses when I was driving, bought a blood pressure meter and found that in fact I had normal blood pressure. I found a more trustworthy doctor who gave me several tests to make sure I didn't have hypertension. But what would have happened if I hadn't seen the light? And what about all the other people who are being prescribed various pills and lotions unnecessarily? Apart from being quite an eyeopener for everyone, this book is written in such a clear and interesting way that it's hard to put down. I originaally got it as an e-book but because the diagrams didn't show up as well on the electronic screen, I bought the actual book and everyone in the family's reading it after which it'll be passed on to all our friends.

Brilliant exposure of how we doctors have succeeded in making people with the greatest life expectancy in the history of mankind feel ill and at risk of health disasters. Of course the book also exposes the Big Pharma companies and politicians. Every doctor and medical student should read this book. Once finished move onto "Intelligent Kindness'

Well-written by a team of doctors. Makes you aware of what's going on in a very readable form.

An essential read for everyone.

An excellent book dealing with a very important issue for modern society. Thoughtful people should read this book and consider the arguments before going down the path of frequent medical screening. The author is a senior medical professional and the book had a clear message and argument without being 'preachy' and handled medical evidence and reports carefully leading to very thought-provoking conclusions.

A really informative book, full of evidence for what is being told. The sort of book you can dip into and read up on whatever is interesting you at the moment. I bet it is hated by some members of the medical fraternity but that is tough. We have a right to know the facts before making decisions that are right for us. Highly recommended.

Everyone should read this though-provoking book. Members of the medical profession should read this book and ensure all patients are fully advised of any potential significant risks associated with any proposed treatment . The book should be compulsory reading for all medical students.

Very easy to read, excellent points about the harms of over diagnosis and over treatment. A bit Americanized but lays out the evidence very clearly. A must read for primary care doctors.

The subject is much more complex than I thought . But the author doesn't hesitate to come back at length to reinforce or understanding , and while it could feel tiresome , it is in fact necessary to understand the self-reinforcing nature of overdiagnosis . Very good and intelligent book , but hard to summarize . Because ..... The subject is rather counter-intuitive . Reading it 10 years after publication, it allowed me to understand a bit better our new covid era , were you are deemed to be sick after a pcr test , even if you feel perfectly fine - while in fact you just may be potentialy contagious ( which is enough to incite you to stay at home )

The book shows how image scans and other health tests may create healthy patients with the sole purpose of making money. PSA low limits will induce unnecessary prostate biopsies, excess RMI may lead to useless and risky surgeries. A must read for doctors and patients as well.

An honest book on medical practice

I've always felt a bit like an outlier in the current medical environment in the US, meaning that I've always done my best to avoid doctors at all costs. It's good to know they are there if I should break a leg, but prefer to leave them alone otherwise. In my 20s this was easy. It became less so in my 30s when I fell jumping over a fence and suffered a serious knee injury (shredded posterior cruciate ligament) that forced me into seeing doctors, and having surgery and lots of physical therapy. But the outcome was good and I still use that knee today, 30 years later. :-) Then in my 40s I had an issue that forced me to see doctors again. It started innocently enough, mild nausea after eating. But it grew until I was nauseous after just about every meal, much intestinal distress also. I began throwing up on pretty much a daily basis, and finally began my series of doctors visits - and tests including abdominal X-rays, abdominal CAT scan, endoscopy, GI series .... and amazingly enough (especially after reading Dr. Welch's book) they found NOTHING wrong with me! I was throwing up my lunch every single day but I was in perfect health as far as all the tests went! The top-rated gastroenterologist I was sent to prescribed Prilosec and that seemed to help, so he basically said "No clue what is wrong since your tests are all normal, but since this helps I guess you will just be on Prilosec for life". That was NOT the answer I wanted since my goal is to be on NO meds if possible, or as few as I can manage. I didn't want a "for life" pill when I was only in my 40s, for a condition of unknown cause. It was a *neighbor*, whose daughter had recently been diagnosed as celiac, who suggested to me that I try avoiding wheat for a week or two. That was actually hard to do since wheat is so ubiquitous that it's in virtually everything, but it was easier than facing a lifetime of drugs. I gave it a try and in *ONE WEEK* all my symptoms vanished! No more nausea, no more GERD, no more vomiting, no more intestinal distress. Even symptoms that I though were completely unrelated (my stiff achiness when I woke up in the morning) went away! And never to return as long as I avoid wheat - but no doctor ever suggested it. I was later lucky to find a doctor whose attitude was fairly laissez-faire about medical treatment, didn't push the government line, was in favor of trying alternative methods like diet and exercise before turning to the prescription pad... but then I moved 1000 miles away so could hardly continue to see her. So for four years in my new location I had no doctor, just the way I like it. But I'm not getting younger and had a few sicknesses this winter, was in a somewhat serious auto accident, so decided I should be on *someone's* books just in case I had a serious problem and needed help. I went for a GYN appt first, and got coerced into a mammogram and a bone density exam - something I had never done as saw no point to it. If they don't like the density of your bones the only thing they will do is prescribe a bisphosphonate which I would never take anyway (and Dr. Welch backs that up). Sure enough, they found "osteopenia" in one hip and without even consulting me just TOLD me they had prescribed the bisphosphonate and I needed to start taking it immediately. They had already called in the prescription to my pharmacy. Luckily I think I've struck gold with my new primary care doctor however. I saw her for the first time the next week and told her the story. She was totally in agreement with me and told me not to fill the prescription: "way too many bad side affects for almost no benefit" was how she put it. told me to try some weight-bearing exercises, eat calcium-rich foods, and make sure I got enough vitamin D. She is not another pill pusher by any means. I don;t want to end up like my dad who was on about 20 different prescription meds by the end of his life, many with bad side affects, some drugs to combat the side affects of other drugs... He was prescribed a statin and blood pressure pills for NO GOOD REASON - 75 years old and a strong heart and a blood pressure of 110/65, but his cholesterol was "mildly" elevated (about 220) so the doctor said he needed both, and my sister and I are convinced that that was what ultimately led to his death. He lived for 6 more years but within months of going on the statins (which we were clueless about at that time) and BP meds he went from a strong vigorous 75-year-old to one who was hunched over, frail, constantly falling (as his BP would drop to something like 80/40 on the meds, causing him to faint), developed congestive heart failure (a known side affect of statins). My sister did some research and finally got his doctor to take him off the statins and BP meds - my dad was of the old school who did exactly what the doctor said and would never have dreamed of saying NO to any recommended med, or stopping one on his own. He did improve a bit after going off those drugs, but never really regained his health, and it was just a downward spiral from there over the next five years. So I'm totally on-board with Dr. Welch's "less is more" philosophy. I found the book a quick and easy read. It was written clearly in terms perfectly understandable to the layman. One needn't have training in medicine or statistical analysis to understand the points Dr. Welch is trying to make. He explains it so clearly that I think my 5-year-old grandson could understand it. His writing style is engaging and holds your interest. He doesn't have too many case histories, but the ones he does have are all went worth reading about. I would recommend this book to anyone, but I think it truly needs to be REQUIRED reading as part of every medical school curriculum in this country,

Very good read. Lots of info I'd never tapped into. I advised it to many friends and lent it, too.