The New Doctor
I saw my new doctor today. He was a definite improvement over most of the other doctors I've seen. He treated me like an individual and seems willing to put time and effort into something that's obviously not simple or straightforward.
He isn't quite the super-engaged, close-attention, mind-like-a-trap type like the GI specialist. He asked several questions over again multiple times, seemed slightly distracted at times, and kind of brushed off some of my questions. But there were a lot of issues to discuss, so we had to prioritize and that was okay.
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He did say that even if I have a torn ligament in my shoulder (which seems likely) it's not something they can do much about this long after the injury, other than giving me exercises to do. I hope something will help enough that I can at least lift something heavier than a glass of water with that arm soon.
Dr. L said that he tends to think fibromyalgia/CFS/IBS are diagnoses given when they don't know what's wrong with you and "doctors are blowing you off." They're descriptions of a set of symptoms, many of which may be caused by different things rather than one concrete thing.
He tends to think that when there are tons of allergies with new ones popping up all the time, it's probably an indication of a larger immune system dysfunction rather than "just" isolated allergies. He's not a big fan of western medicine's tendency to look at something like allergies or other symptoms as a discrete thing in themselves separate from the rest of the body and systems.
Dr. L also said that, as he was sure I knew (which I did), it's unlikely he's going to be able to find some simple cause that will explain all my symptoms and that will be completely and immediately fixable. I've been dealing with this stuff for 10 or 20 years now, and it's not going to just go away just like that. Still, he thinks we should look for root causes and that he can at least help me feel better and manage things, if not cure me completely.
He was surprised and impressed that I'm not on a bunch of painkillers and other medications; he said that's unusual for patients like me. Usually people who come to him with similar histories are on numerous different drugs prescribed by various doctors that aren't really helping, but often become addictive.
He was really surprised at what tests had not ever been run for me, and ran some panels to check for autoimmune disorders such as lupus, etc. as well as looking at kidney function, an anemia panel, etc.
I liked that he didn't seem to have the doctors-as-gods attitude, but also didn't seem willing to just throw up his hand and say "who knows" either.
I also appreciated that he didn't just look at things as "normal" or not according to the official line on things. For instance, even though my creatinine levels fall within the official "normal" range, he said that for a person my size and weight they are a little high, and definitely warrant a closer look--especially considering the family history of hereditary kidney failure.
He had the lab draw blood and run several panels, and then will see me again to discuss the results. At that point he may refer me to a rheumatologist to look more deeply at possible autoimmune issues. He suggested that if all the tests come back negative and they aren't able to help me, I may want to look into alternative medicine such as homeopathy or acupuncture. I thought that was interesting, and somewhat unusual for an allopathic (traditional Western-trained) doctor.
All in all, I felt it was a pretty good appointment. I think this doctor will be one I can work with.
He isn't quite the super-engaged, close-attention, mind-like-a-trap type like the GI specialist. He asked several questions over again multiple times, seemed slightly distracted at times, and kind of brushed off some of my questions. But there were a lot of issues to discuss, so we had to prioritize and that was okay.
################
He did say that even if I have a torn ligament in my shoulder (which seems likely) it's not something they can do much about this long after the injury, other than giving me exercises to do. I hope something will help enough that I can at least lift something heavier than a glass of water with that arm soon.
Dr. L said that he tends to think fibromyalgia/CFS/IBS are diagnoses given when they don't know what's wrong with you and "doctors are blowing you off." They're descriptions of a set of symptoms, many of which may be caused by different things rather than one concrete thing.
He tends to think that when there are tons of allergies with new ones popping up all the time, it's probably an indication of a larger immune system dysfunction rather than "just" isolated allergies. He's not a big fan of western medicine's tendency to look at something like allergies or other symptoms as a discrete thing in themselves separate from the rest of the body and systems.
Dr. L also said that, as he was sure I knew (which I did), it's unlikely he's going to be able to find some simple cause that will explain all my symptoms and that will be completely and immediately fixable. I've been dealing with this stuff for 10 or 20 years now, and it's not going to just go away just like that. Still, he thinks we should look for root causes and that he can at least help me feel better and manage things, if not cure me completely.
He was surprised and impressed that I'm not on a bunch of painkillers and other medications; he said that's unusual for patients like me. Usually people who come to him with similar histories are on numerous different drugs prescribed by various doctors that aren't really helping, but often become addictive.
He was really surprised at what tests had not ever been run for me, and ran some panels to check for autoimmune disorders such as lupus, etc. as well as looking at kidney function, an anemia panel, etc.
I liked that he didn't seem to have the doctors-as-gods attitude, but also didn't seem willing to just throw up his hand and say "who knows" either.
I also appreciated that he didn't just look at things as "normal" or not according to the official line on things. For instance, even though my creatinine levels fall within the official "normal" range, he said that for a person my size and weight they are a little high, and definitely warrant a closer look--especially considering the family history of hereditary kidney failure.
He had the lab draw blood and run several panels, and then will see me again to discuss the results. At that point he may refer me to a rheumatologist to look more deeply at possible autoimmune issues. He suggested that if all the tests come back negative and they aren't able to help me, I may want to look into alternative medicine such as homeopathy or acupuncture. I thought that was interesting, and somewhat unusual for an allopathic (traditional Western-trained) doctor.
All in all, I felt it was a pretty good appointment. I think this doctor will be one I can work with.
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Posted by purple_kangaroo at 4:20 PM[Permanent link]
4 Comments:
That sounds really promising. And he sounds like a reasonable sort of guy.
I am hopeful for you. This doctor seems to be taking an approach that makes sense.
Finally someone who takes you seriously! I'm glad he's someone you can really work with.
It is good that feel that you can place some confidence in this doctor.
I don't know the nature of your allergies although you seem to have an extensive number of food and environmental allergies. Some researchers are beginning experiment with controlled helminth infestation (near the end of the piece): the commonest justification is that they 'distract' an over-sensitive immune system.
Regards - Shinga
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