Now before anyone gets the wrong idea from my title post: No I am not having any doctor issues right now. No appointments even set up. However, I have some friends who are having health issues right now and it's made me think of my experience with doctors.
Typically I don't like to go to the doctor. Probably wouldn't if it wasn't for prescription refills that with any luck "will get me to age 65". The quotes are from a doctor 10 years ago. With my family history and my blood pressure doctors tend to worry.
It has been my experience that if you go to a doctor and tell him you are tired he gets concerned. I don't. My thoughts are: if you don't know what's wrong with you, you don't have to worry. Another point: do not ever, ever, ever, ever go online and look up your symptoms. This is the absolute worst thing you can do.
Twice I have gone to the doctor and mentioned how excessively tired I was. The first time my doctor gets concerned and starts an examination and every other sentence he is telling me you will be having surgery as soon as we can arrange it. He sets up tests immediately and then sends me to another doctor in the city (I was living in Bethany then). How I miss Dr. Hall. He called me every day or checked on me through my husband. Within the space of 10 days I had like 4 tests run, been referred to a specialist, saw my cardiologist, had a stress test, and had surgery. Once I realized how concerned my doctor was I also became a little concerned. Everything turned out fine. I had a volley ball sized tumor which they removed and life went on. This tumor was so impressive that they took pictures and showed around the hospital. They even gave us a picture which Gary would love to show you if you just ask him.
A few months ago, I again go in and tell my doctor that I am tired. I go through my nap routine with him. Yes, I have a nap routine - I have a special nap app on my phone for this. I tell him that it's the same way I felt when they found the tumor. This is a different doctor - he also becomes very concerned. He sets me up with some blood work to start with. I do that blood work and they call and set up more blood work and a couple of ultra sounds and then another round of blood work. Wow -- when a doctor is concerned they really get concerned. Listen to them - but don't look up anything on the internet! And don't let your husband look anything up, either. He will just worry. Everything is fine with me.
My point is - trust your doctor. And if a doctor is concerned know that you have a reason to be. And remember - no news from a doctor is good news.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting perspective, as my experience has been that doctors are only concerned enough to give you the latest miracle pill their local pharmaceutical company rep is pushing that week, hoping they'll help. They just don't take the time to truly diagnose the problem - it's all guess work. Now, I can appreciate how tough it might be sometimes to be a doctor because they have a lot in common with mechanics; they go through a flow-chart of symptom-to-known-fixes to arrive at a solution. Sometimes it fixes the problem, sometimes it doesn't, but at least they're trying. Most modern doctors seem to just guess what the problem is and thereby guess a solution - the very definition of a shade tree mechanic (myself EXcluded). Perhaps the real point of your writing is that small-town doctors continue to offer personal service and concern, while city doctors just churn as many cattle through the pen as possible?
ReplyDeleteTypically I would agree with you Michael on small town versus city. However, this post concerned a small town doctor and a city doctor. Maybe it's the sypmtoms that caused the major concern to start with (although I don't think tired is much of a symptom but when you sleep all the time perhaps they think it is). It might have helped that the first doctor I talked about (small-town) happened to be someone I went to school with. However, my current doctor redeemed himself this time as I was ready to find another doctor prior to this experience.
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