The Blind Spot: Coming Into Focus #2

There is a difference between healing and treating. And there is a difference between following and deciding.

I recently went to my OBGYN for my annual visit. Lovely gal. She sees me for about fifteen minutes a year.

At the end of the appointment, she said, “At your age, you should be taking 1,200 mg of calcium daily.” I scribbled it down like a good little patient and went on with my life.

After two weeks, I finally sat down to research a more natural calcium brand so I could order it and start the protocol. But as soon as my fingers hit the keyboard, my internal alarm went off. Wait. How does she know I need calcium? She didn’t run bloodwork. She didn’t review my latest labs. She didn’t ask what I eat, what I already take, what my levels were, what my family history is, or what else might be going on in my body.

And then I realized something even more uncomfortable. I hadn’t reviewed my bloodwork either. It had been sitting in the portal for eight months, and because my GP never called, I assumed everything must have been fine. So, I logged in and looked for myself. Everything looked fine, except my calcium. It was high. HUH?

Before going down the calcium rabbit hole, I uploaded my bloodwork into AI and asked one simple and obvious question: should I start taking 1200 mg of calcium a day?

You can guess the answer.

To be very clear, AI can miss things, misunderstand context, and it does not know your full medical history, your medications, your symptoms, your family history, or the full picture of your body. I am not suggesting anyone use AI as a doctor, diagnosis tool, or replacement for medical care. What it did do, in this case, was make me pause long enough to ask better questions. It suggested I follow up with my doctor, rerun some labs, and look at a few things that had not been part of the conversation at all.

But one of those things jumped out at me. It was a mineral my holistic father talked about constantly. My father lived physically healthy until 91, and then his battery simply ran out. His heart.

That mineral was magnesium. Not calcium.

I decided to order a magnesium supplement. The bottle suggested three per day. I take one before bed because that felt like the right starting point for me. Not three. One.

And again, I am not a doctor. I am not giving medical advice. I am not telling anyone what to take, what not to take, or how much of anything belongs in their body. I am simply telling you what happened when I questioned the automatic protocol and paid attention.

Within two nights, my husband mentioned that I was not waking up constantly from his snoring. I was not jumping awake when he entered the room after I had already fallen asleep. I was not waking because I sort of had to pee. I was not sleeping lightly with one foot still in the hallway of consciousness.

And he was right.

My sleep has felt like real sleep. Deep sleep. Restorative sleep. I wake up feeling clearer, less cloudy, less bloated, and more like myself. It has only been ten nights, but instead of snoozing until 7:45am, I have been waking an hour earlier and actually getting out of bed because I feel good and energized.

Can I prove that all of that is because of magnesium? No. But the timing is hard to ignore.

And honestly, this letter is not about magnesium. It is not about calcium. It is not about supplements. It is not about replacing doctors with AI or becoming your own rogue medical experiment.

It is about noticing how easily we hand over our authority to someone who sees us for fifteen minutes a year. It is about realizing that standard advice is not the same thing as individualized care. It is about asking, “Based on what?” before we blindly follow a protocol that may or may not apply to our actual body.

Doctors matter. Bloodwork matters. Expertise matters. But so do your questions, your records, your symptoms, and your intuition. You are your own advocate. Let guidance be guidance, not a commandment. Let expertise inform you, not override you.

Because ultimately, you are the one living inside your body. You are the one who gets to decide what feels aligned, what feels off, what needs a second look, and what course of action makes the most sense for you.

Not because someone said so. Not because a protocol exists. Not because “at your age” automatically means anything. But because you participated in the decision.

Do not swallow every instruction whole just because it came from someone wearing the title.

Pause. Look. Ask. Verify. Then listen inward and decide from a place of participation instead of blind obedience.

Make sense? Was there ever a time you paused before automatically following guidance and realized your inner authority was asking for a second look?

'Til next time,

Your Fellow Traveler, Patty

PS: Fasten your seatbelt and turn it up. My song Sacred Traveler is the soundtrack to The Override Letters, and inside The Listening Room, you’ll find playlists for each part of the journey.

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Keep on walking with me...no noise, no overwhelm, just occasional reflections for the road. I'll ping you when the next letter is published.

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A gentle note for the road: The Override Letters are created for reflection, self-awareness, clarity, and reconnecting with yourself. This space is not meant to replace therapy, medical care, crisis support, or professional guidance, and is not intended as a resource for addiction, abuse, crisis intervention, or big "T" trauma work. Please honor your nervous system and seek the right support when deeper care is needed.