Keeping Doctors on Track

Ken Anderson said:
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?
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I agree with all you just posted.
 
Don Alaska said:
My point was that you can receive palliative care at home. You don't need to be in a facility. The same is true with hospice care. The care is similar but the ends are not the same. Supposedly you have a 6-month life expectancy in hospice, although that is not enforced. No such requirement exists for palliative care, and the insurance requirements are different. Many, although not all, of the techniques are similar.
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And my point was that I am very familiar with palliative care and hospice; I just don't need it at this time. I was simply making a comment about my friends dying and how it makes me feel. I didn't ask for any advice.
 
Yvonne Smith said:
That is exactly what i try to do as well, and it does seem like doctors only want to focus on blood pressure and cholesterol. Not only that, they have several times over the years lowered what they consider to be an okay reading for both of these measurements.
In 1950, a BP of 160 was fine for an older adult, and 300 was considered normal for cholesterol. Since our body actually makes most of the cholesterol we need for our brain, our level is going to be affected by what we make as much as what we eat that has cholesterol in it.

When I was doing the Apple Watch study, and had to take BP twice a day, they had me sit quietly for 5 minutes, feet flat on the floor and sitting up straight in the chair, , then wait a minute and take a second reading.
At the doctor’s office, we might have been walking a ways from the parking lot, climbing stairs, or whatever, and they just put the cuff on (usually WAY too tight so you tense up anyway), and then take your reading; so it is definitely not going to be as accurate as the method I was using in the study.
Even then, my readings varied almost every time i took the measurements.

Pretty much, I just depend on the doctor visits to see what my lab results are, and when I did have some other thing that I wanted checked out, they didn’t really do much anyway.
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My calcium levels were great as was blood test just 2 weeks from other doctor., they all 4 doc's lied like dogs, said no stents just going in to look around.
Jake and I believed them but did not read the paper I sighed giving the liars permission.
I'm the same way, and very involved in my care. in 2019 my BP was real high, I go to emergency room in county hospital, he tells me wait for a bed, brining it down too fast can actually kill you, his exact words.
We sit in waiting room for hour's among lots of coughing sick people. We go to UF emergency, students tell us to go to drug store fill BP med, take it at the store immediately
Why did we forget the first warning, don't know. Local drug store maybe 5 minutes from home, soon as we get home I start weeding garden like 15 minutes later, and have a stoke Jake catching right before I fall and takes me to ER.
Short story, they caused me to have a stoke that partially blinded me all perithial vision gone, vision now blurry!

I FF to calcium part, although I think whole video is interesting too
 
Faye Fox said:
I don't do anything special before visiting the doctor, besides taking a shower, but only if I fail the self arm pit smell exam or a sniff test reveals anything that smells fishy. :sneaky: 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. :cautious:

When my old doc retired that had talked with my Neuro-otologist and read the medical text on inner ear and viral pathology, that I loaned her, I went through two new docs before I found one that would stay on the same program as my old doc. My current PCP doc goes by what former specialist have on my records and sends me to specialist, if it is above her pay grade. She didn't care to borrow my text or listen to my lecture, but had no problem keeping my meds the same that had been working for years. 😇

I still can't believe one doc wanted to cut my anti viral med to once a day. She couldn't comprehend that each capsule has a 12 hour half life meaning it is half strength in 12 hours. Her theory was I shouldn't take another one until 24 hours when it had no life. She couldn't comprehend that once this drug passes a half life, it may allow virus to replicate. It works like a firewall. Even one pharmacist wanted to argue with me. Stupid little 💩!

I remember one doc I argued with saying, "So you're a doctor now." 🥼 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? :ROFLMAO:
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You are my clone!:love:
 
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