Sunday, August 27, 2017

Doctoring Between The Lines

I don't know about anyone else but I have a primary care and then an oncologist, breast surgeon, endocrinologist, rheumatologist, pain management, orthopedic surgeon, meds therapist, social worker therapist, dentist, and periodontist. They all have their own specialties and focuses on specific portions of my body. But I swear they like to color outside the lines.

Last week my rheumatologist started commenting on my regimen to control my acid reflux from my hiatal hernia. How does heart burn relate to my rheumatoid? And why did I need to explain it to her?

In the past six months my pain management doctor has been messing with some of my meds that were prescribed by my meds therapist for depression. There is some logic there because the same drugs are used to treat to nerve pain and depression but when one drug gets changed, then others need to be changed. And my meds therapist didn't like the most recent change my pain management doctor made and said she wouldn't prescribe that combination. This left me in the position of having to explain his most recent thinking.

My primary care once messaged my endocrinologist to question my thyroid levels which resulted in me getting a snotty letter from my endo a few weeks later and no changes. Thanks....

I don't mind if my doctors talk to each other about me. That's fine. But I don't want to be put in the middle. Please talk to each other and say we both like this change and take me out of the hot seat. Thanks.

1 comment:

Andrea said...

Drugs interact together and I think that's most people's problem. Too many doctors, too many different medications, the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Caroline, I think we're both about the same age (I'm 61yo... are you anywhere close to that?) and my advice to you, as a retired RN & pretty much holistic thinker, is.... get OFF 75% of the Rxs you're on. Each new prescription fixes one thing but breaks another. It's my guess that after you detox from all that stuff you will not realize how bad you felt taking all of them. Too many doctors prescribing individually... doctors prescribing not realizing what another doctor has already prescribed... people going to too many "specialists" for this and that... that's what has got our country into the massive disarray it's in as far as prescription drugs, addiction and side-effects are concerned. I think you're caught up in the medical hamster wheel of doctors & prescription drugs... and you need to get off. *mega hugs* Said with love & concern, Andrea (PS~ I have been on Rx medications for nearly life-long hypertension. I now have diabetes I developed from a broken back almost 2 years ago. I have hereditary BAD knees and my back hurts like crazy. My doctor would have me on all sorts of Rxs if I let him... but I won't let him. I handle the knees as best I can with occasional Tylenol but mostly ice packs and elevation. I eat less than the minimum of carbs allowed each day on the diabetic diet so I have to take the very minimum of diabetes medicine. I am radical about following a diet which aids in my hypertension. So I'm not ailment-free either. I just won't allow myself to be talked into stepping one foot on that hamster wheel, even though my doctor(s) throughout the years have wanted to help me on it.) xoxo

I Started a New Blog

I started this blog when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. Blogging really helped me cope with my cancer and its treatment. Howe...