Thursday, April 17, 2008

My Doctor Appt Today

I went to see my general practitioner (see picture) today - I have been a patient of hers for approx. 10 years. I have come to trust her a great deal because she is forthcoming with information when you want to know what's going on and why. When she treats an illness - it works and everything is as she said it would be (you'd think that'd be a given with all doctors, but is not). I also feel she actually thinks about her diagnosis because she walks you through her thought process. And during the course of conversation sometimes she'll mention a seminar she went to or some medical journal she read about recent developments - so I know she is keeping current with medical developments. With other doctors it often feels like they don't really think about it and they just diagnose things because it's "most likely" that illness instead of really knowing definitively.

So this is why I opted to go see her about my asthma issues and the residual effects in my bronchial tubes, etc. I wanted her to hear what I've been through and know what I am experiencing now so she can give me her opinion on the matter. She said that she found it very odd that after getting the immunetherapy shots from my allergist for nearly 2 years my asthma started getting worse once I went on the monthly shots (when before it was manageable). She also said that there should be some plan of action for me to eventually get off the daily inhalers and that I may be on too many meds. She said that while it seems I'm getting better from the problem I've had the past couple weeks, perhaps I'd like to go see a pulmenary doctor to do a full test. One that is really indepth and takes hours to administer. This way there would be comprehensive data on what's going on and I'd have a grasp re: what's going on with me. Basically a measure to make me feel better and more secure about what my asthma and the course of treatment. Then the pullminary doctor can advise on whether I'm being given the proper course of treatment.

My appt. with the pullminary doctor is on May 2nd as this particular doctor is not available until then. Which is fine, since it seems things are under control for now. I will feel much better once I have a real grasp on what's going on. Asthma can be a scarey thing because if you can't breathe properly it effects all aspects of life and if you get a serious enough attack of it you could die. I want to do everything in my power to ensure this is addressed in the best possible way. Especially after what I've experienced these past several weeks.
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3 comments:

Hillary said...

Sorry for all the stress! I hope the "good" doctor's more holistic approach will take care of everything.

Genjer Leigh said...

Thanks. I hope so too!

Anonymous said...

It's always good to seek help from the doc you trust the most. Many of these "professionals", nowadays, don't have a clue. Which is very sad. I hope they find what is going on with you soon. It is frustrating not knowing. :(