Doctor, Doctor

Unless you were born in the back of a taxi, at home, or something like that, your life started in a doctor's hands. For most people, you then visit a doctor once a year or so after that - less if you're lucky. If you're my husband, you go to the doctor once every 3 years or so... Oh, to be one of those people!

My medical problems really got started around 6th grade, but they didn't really kick into gear until I was 18 or so. I still remember getting to college and running around asking people what doctor to go to because I had never found one on my own before! By my 21st birthday, I had already been to my fair share of doctors, probably more than most 50 year old people have in their whole lives! Now, I'm kind of a pro at finding good ones! I have tricks up my sleeves! 

First of all, you need to know that if there is something wrong with you, there is NOTHING wrong with getting help for it. I felt so ashamed of myself for being in the doctor so often. I was embarrassed because I felt like every time I walked through the door they were thinking, "oh, no...it's her AGAIN." If you have a doctor that makes you feel that way, you need a new doctor. If their staff makes you feel that way, you need to either tell your doctor, or fill out one of those anonymous "how are we doing?" cards. If they are treating you that way, odds are they are treating others that way as well. It is not acceptable behavior and it should not be tolerated. It's like Eleanor Roosevelt said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

I have had good doctors, bad doctors, TERRIBLE doctors, so-so doctors, but only one amazing doctor. I hope those odds aren't discouraging. To me, they're still awesome because that ONE doctor is the one that figured out what was happening to me. The bad doctors helped, too. For example, I used to hate shots so badly that my blood pressure would sky rocket for about 30 minutes and there were always quite a few tears as well. This woman would give me shots for anything and EVERYTHING, even if there was a pill form. Those few years I went to her, I had so many shots and blood draws, it was ridiculous. It basically made me immune to it over time, and now needles don't bother me at all! It's actually kind of awesome because it freaks the phlebotomists (people who draw blood) out at how little it bothers me. I always let them dig around in my arm for a vein because mine are so hard to find. It's entertaining.
When I got my blood clot, I had to have my blood drawn once a week for 3 months and I had to give myself a shot every day, twice a day for a week. Now, because I'm at risk for more clots, any time I travel I have to give myself those shots the whole time I'm traveling, even if it's just from Dallas to Houston.
I probably would have just died had that crazy lady doctor not forced me to face my fear. I still fondly refer to her as my "shot-happy doctor."

Anyway, here's what I have to say about doctors:

1. Do your research. I personally like to look on http://www.healthgrades.com/  but I would definitely recommend looking on multiple websites. I usually try to find everything I can on a doctor before I visit them.
2. Read the reviews. Read reviews on doctors from several different sites. This one kind of goes hand-in-hand with #1, but it's just as important. Be sure to read ALL of the reviews, too. Some people are just snobby people that will never be happy with anyone and they are going to give a bad review no matter what, so look for genuine people. I usually check for the "helps patients understand their condition" section in the reviews because yes, they may be a nice doctor, but they might not tell you what's going on in your body.
3. NOTE: THIS IS NOT A PREJUDICIAL OPINION, JUST A PERSONAL/CULTURAL OBSERVATION: Sometimes, if you are a woman, and you see a male doctor from another culture (particularly Indian) many of them do not explain things to women. I have been to several Indian male doctors, and the only times they ever told me ANYTHING were when I brought Randy. It's just a cultural thing. Which, is ok, but I want more information. I don't just want a "here's your prescription, be on your way." I want to know what's happening to my body and WHY. Some of my favorite people are from India, but I have noticed this as a female patient.
4. Find a doctor you trust. Obviously you won't know this until you've been there a few times, but you'll probably have a pretty good idea of how things will be after the first appointment. My favorite doctor, Dr. Peikari, he spent an hour and a half with me in my first appointment listening to everything I had to say, looking at me, and formulating a game plan. It was amazing.
5. Just because you are referred (sent to) to a doctor by a doctor, even if the referring doctor is a great doctor, the doctor they are sending you to may not be that great! I just recently ran into that problem. Dr. P sent me to this neurologist (same neuro mentioned in the introduction post) and he was AWFUL. That doesn't change my opinion of Dr. P, but it showed me that maybe doctors don't act the same with their patients as they do with their colleagues. I have discussed this doctor's behavior with Dr. P and he is MORTIFIED that he sent me there.
6. Make a list of things you need to talk to them about/tell them and write down the things they tell you to do or things they tell you about your condition. Sometimes appointments are overwhelming and it's hard to remember what they say or what you need to say. You will not be looked down upon if you have a journal that you bring to the appointments for this reason. You are paying them for their time. They can take a few seconds to wait for you to write.
   
7. Make copies of all of your records that you take to a doctor. If they want to keep them, make sure you have a spare copy. I once had an urologist look at a record of a CT scan for a few minutes to see a kidney stone, give it back, demand an xray (even though he had the CT, which is MUCH BETTER than an xray...) and then he called me a few days later to say "we can't do the surgery, the kidney stone is only 3mm." To which my response was, "Uh, my CT scan report in my hands says it's 5mm." His response, "Really?!" Mind you, he had JUST had the paper in his hands. If he had kept that report and maybe lost it, I never would have been able to prove it. Crazy people.
8. Make sure you tell them EVERYTHING that happens. If it seems "off," tell them. If you'll remember back in my "Introduction" post, if I had forgotten to tell Dr. Peikari about that one episode, I'd probably still be trying to figure out what's going on with me! It seemed like every other day I was having another weird, new thing and I kept thinking "he's going to think I'm making all of this up!" Because I had an amazing doctor like Dr. P, he just kept listening and writing down all of my symptoms. Great guy. The smallest detail can be the key to diagnosing your condition. That doesn't mean you have to keep a log of the color of your snot every day for the rest of your life, or tell him the details of every meal, but if you have something strange happen - even if for 5 seconds - it might be important. It might be the difference between another year of trying to figure out what's going on and finding a solution. It was for me.

So, the last 3 on that list weren't really "doctor finding" tips, but I think they're still good doctor tips. 

My next tip is one I have trouble with:

Be a good patient!

I have been told countless times to get good sleep and to take my medicine on time, and I am SO bad at it. If you don't follow what you're doctor tells you, you make their job incredibly hard.

Taking it in the mornings is totally because my amazing husband wakes me up at 7 every morning (thanks, babe!), but I have been awesome at remembering to take it between 6 and 6:30 every afternoon. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud of myself ;)
Sleep is a different story, though! I did get 13 hours last night! Yay! I'm getting there, I suppose!

Tomorrow, I'm going to Houston for my nephew's baptism, then I have class on Monday! Crazy life!

I see Dr. Salmon in ONE WEEK! I'm Excited!