Someone said in another thread got me thinking about my doctor's visits, and how I try to orchestrate things so that the doctor actually focuses on the problem that I'm having, rather than something else.
For example, I regularly check my blood pressure, pulse, oxygen saturation, and so on, and the Apple Watch monitors some of these and some other things, as well, so I know that I don't generally have high blood pressure, and I know that a pulse rate of 40 is not something that I need to do worry about. The founder of the Heart Hospital in McAllen, Texas, was our medical director when I had an ambulance company, and I spoke to him about my low pulse rates.
However, I might go to a doctor because my left ankle hurts. That's what hurts first when I am on the elliptical machine: it's my left ankle that keeps me from running, and I think it might be behind a few falls I have had. However, when I see my doctor about my ankle, if my blood pressure is on the high side of normal when they check it before the doctor comes in, the whole session is likely to be about whether I should take blood pressure medication. I think it's easier for them to focus on that kind of stuff than on real problems.
Whenever I get a new doctor - and the clinic I do go to changes doctors often - my first couple of appointments will focus on my low pulse rate, as if it's something I should fix, when I view being able to regain my normal low pulse rate as a positive sign, since it came about only after I began exercising regularly.
Likewise, I don't buy into the idea that a cholesterol level on the high side of what they consider normal is something I need to worry about, and, to the extent it is, it is something to be controlled by diet, not statin drugs.
So, for the week prior to an annual doctor's appointment, I "study" for my test by being very careful about what I eat, I get plenty of sleep the night before, and I try to go into meditation mode while they're taking my blood pressure so that the whole thing isn't derailed over things that I don't consider to be important. It isn't that I think I know more about this stuff than the doctors do, but that I recognize that they're not spending more than fifteen minutes with me, generally, and one blood pressure reading, often with the cuff misplaced, is not representative of my blood pressure, and I don't want to suffer the ill effects of a statin drug just because I ate some of the wrong stuff in the days before the blood test.
Do you find you need to orchestrate things to keep your doctor on track?
For example, I regularly check my blood pressure, pulse, oxygen saturation, and so on, and the Apple Watch monitors some of these and some other things, as well, so I know that I don't generally have high blood pressure, and I know that a pulse rate of 40 is not something that I need to do worry about. The founder of the Heart Hospital in McAllen, Texas, was our medical director when I had an ambulance company, and I spoke to him about my low pulse rates.
However, I might go to a doctor because my left ankle hurts. That's what hurts first when I am on the elliptical machine: it's my left ankle that keeps me from running, and I think it might be behind a few falls I have had. However, when I see my doctor about my ankle, if my blood pressure is on the high side of normal when they check it before the doctor comes in, the whole session is likely to be about whether I should take blood pressure medication. I think it's easier for them to focus on that kind of stuff than on real problems.
Whenever I get a new doctor - and the clinic I do go to changes doctors often - my first couple of appointments will focus on my low pulse rate, as if it's something I should fix, when I view being able to regain my normal low pulse rate as a positive sign, since it came about only after I began exercising regularly.
Likewise, I don't buy into the idea that a cholesterol level on the high side of what they consider normal is something I need to worry about, and, to the extent it is, it is something to be controlled by diet, not statin drugs.
So, for the week prior to an annual doctor's appointment, I "study" for my test by being very careful about what I eat, I get plenty of sleep the night before, and I try to go into meditation mode while they're taking my blood pressure so that the whole thing isn't derailed over things that I don't consider to be important. It isn't that I think I know more about this stuff than the doctors do, but that I recognize that they're not spending more than fifteen minutes with me, generally, and one blood pressure reading, often with the cuff misplaced, is not representative of my blood pressure, and I don't want to suffer the ill effects of a statin drug just because I ate some of the wrong stuff in the days before the blood test.
Do you find you need to orchestrate things to keep your doctor on track?
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No doc has ever forced me to take any prescription or do anything I don't like. If I don't like what they say, I argue with them or just ignore it. 
!
I replied, "Well, someone had to step up and take my health seriously." 
A good friend suggested I start wearing scrubs and one of those little surgeon caps when I go to doctor appointments. I have shopping to do, it seems. Anyone have a good scrubs ensemble and stethoscope recommendation? 