No, you should not expect your doctor to know the details of specific supplements.
A “general practitioner” is a generalist. Their job is to recognize and treat many common things. For uncommon things, their job is to be able to narrow it down enough to find a qualified specialist, and refer you.
Not all general practitioners are created equal! Much like with lawyers and therapists, finding the right professional for your needs makes a huge difference. If you like to read scientific papers, there are GPs out there that will be genuinely interested in what you find.
Also, it never ever hurts to take notes. Particularly when dealing with emergency medicine or multiple specialists, it’s easy for stuff to slip through the cracks. I know of one case where having relatives who took notes saved someone from a dangerous and inadvisable procedure. I know of another case where someone was on horribly inadequate pain medication, and the doctor explained why things had to be that way for several days, and the doctor turned out to be 100% correct. But you don’t know unless you ask.
Patient participation in care is vitally important. But at the same time, no, your GP isn’t going to be aware of the details of supplement research. Not unless you pick your GP carefully, at least, or get referred to an appropriate specialist.
No, you should not expect your doctor to know the details of specific supplements.
A “general practitioner” is a generalist. Their job is to recognize and treat many common things. For uncommon things, their job is to be able to narrow it down enough to find a qualified specialist, and refer you.
Not all general practitioners are created equal! Much like with lawyers and therapists, finding the right professional for your needs makes a huge difference. If you like to read scientific papers, there are GPs out there that will be genuinely interested in what you find.
Also, it never ever hurts to take notes. Particularly when dealing with emergency medicine or multiple specialists, it’s easy for stuff to slip through the cracks. I know of one case where having relatives who took notes saved someone from a dangerous and inadvisable procedure. I know of another case where someone was on horribly inadequate pain medication, and the doctor explained why things had to be that way for several days, and the doctor turned out to be 100% correct. But you don’t know unless you ask.
Patient participation in care is vitally important. But at the same time, no, your GP isn’t going to be aware of the details of supplement research. Not unless you pick your GP carefully, at least, or get referred to an appropriate specialist.