Doctor, Doctor...give me the news
What happens when you and your doctor aren't on the same wavelength and you feel like you have different agendas? I'm really not sure what the answer is to that question. You can always change physicians but sometimes that's just not feasible. It also leads to a lot of frustration and can impact your health.
Let's look at my situation which seems to change on a daily basis. In the last year, I've dealt with three internist. One doesn't really count. He's a friend, who lives in southern Indiana but he was the one who told me get help and do it IMMEDIATELY!! So we're down to my two regular doctors, who have a small practice on the north side of Chicago.
Doctor #1 is about 75 years old. He's winding down his career and working part time hours. He also takes a vacation every winter to warm up. Snowbird!! He's also very thorough. Each appointment takes about 45 minutes. He'll go over his notes three...four times to make sure nothing is missed. Now this sounds pretty good, doesn't it? The problem is he focuses on things that really have nothing to do with why you are seeing him. You finish up and you feel like you haven't addressed the reason for being there.
Doctor #2 is his partner. He's about 25 years younger than #1. He gets right down to it. He'll ask why you're there, you tell him, he'll scan the notes and check out what is making you feel ill. Twenty minutes with him is considered a long time by his people. But it's a solid twenty and you leave thinking you've been helped.
My regular physician is Doctor #1. Don't get me wrong, he's been great with some other issues. He got my high blood pressure under control in two visits, when my previous doctor never could in four years.
I also have a Neurologist. I need a referral from my primary to go see him. My primary thinks we can handle things without him. I don't. So not only do I have to get the referral but he's made me see other specialists recently before getting me to Neurology. FRUSTRATION!!!
During the winter, I was seeing Doctor #2. Things were progressing nicely. He got me in to see a couple of specialists. I was feeling better. Life was looking up!! And then winter was over. A month ago I needed to visit my doctor. I asked for doctor #2 was told #1 was back and that was who I could see. It was like starting over. Everything I mentioned in the first couple of paragraphs, happened that day. The way the visit ended was I was going to see an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist to see if I had Vertigo in addition to Parkinson's. I left the office was so upset that I was close to tears. That was the low point so far in this battle. It got lower quickly. Walking away from their office, I lost my balance and fell, hitting a tree. See....things can always get worse!!
I did go see the ENT specialist. He was great. I arrived early to fill out paperwork and he had an opening, so I saw him right away. His exam was thorough but quick and after fifteen minutes, he said there was no reason for me to be there and I should be seeing my Neurologist. This was actually ok. I did waste a couple of hours on this visit but now I had some ammunition for my next primary care visit. That visit was earlier today.
I was actually excited to go today. I knew something good was going to happen. I was wrong. I never would have guessed this one. My Neurologist is ill. He suffered a stroke a couple of weeks ago. It was touch and go for a time but he's going to live. He's also going to start a rehab program shortly. There's no guarantee he'll be practicing medicine again. We are not quite back to square one but this was a big step backward and kids, I don't walk forward all that good these days, so going backwards is disappointing.
So that's my story about doctors. I'm not making judgments on the profession. I'm just reporting about a personal situation. I'm sure I'll have more to say about them as we continue this journey. As Roseanne Rosannadana, or maybe it was her mother, said "it's always something".