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Exactly.
I hear a lot of accounts on twitter of people who WANT their doctors to start giving them some of the more out-there suggestions for therapies or drugs or procedures that could fix [problem] but get frustrated because they have to navigate the standard process first and most doctors won't deviate from the script much, even when asked nicely. Some people resort to homebrews out of frustration, even.
It shouldn't be difficult for intelligent risk-seekers to hook up with intelligent doctors who understand risk and to mutually agree to try out more radical options, with some safety precautions in place.
The FDA is at least part of the problem, granted.
One of the under-appreciated perks of being a doctor is that, when you go see a doctor, they're far more likely to indulge such concerns.
For example, UK guidelines for contraception, which are also used in India, mildly frown on using IUDs in nulliparous women who want a family down the line. Yet when my girl and I went to see a gyno, we were able to convince her to approve and insert one, since I could convincingly argue that despite it being UKMEC 2 (meaning it works, doesn't do any harm, but is ~overall held to not be the best choice for that demographic, which would be UKMEC 1 like OCPs or implants), we know what we were getting into. Or various psychiatric consults I've had to do myself.
I'm sure the same is true for lawyers consulting lawyers in other niches, or mechanics seeing mechanics and so on. You get a sense of palpable relief from knowing that you don't have to rehash the basics.
Sadly short of having a medical degree or experience in an allied field, there are few signals, costly or otherwise, that declare the same thing to a doctor who has to also consider the deficit in both knowledge and common sense in the average patient. I certainly wish it were otherwise, or that there was something like a short questionnaire or form you could fill out to declare yourself the equivalent of a sophisticated investor in medicine, who is willing to step outside the norm without crying about it later if it fails.
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