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February 14, 2011
Greetings...
Happy Valentine's Day. I usually rant about the money-making, guilt-
ridden thought process behind this day, but not this year, I have
a bigger rant ahead!
By now, you probably think I fell off the face of the Earth given the
sporatic columns coming from me. I could give you some creative excuses
for it or just tell it like it is, which is what most of you have come to
expect from me all these years...
I'm still battling whatever it is that I came down with in December and
have been on a roller coaster of highs and lows thanks to doctors who
think prescribing medications without paying attention to, or listening
to their patients is the way to go to either keep you coming back or
get you out of their hair...
I realize we, in the U.S. are supposed to be "honored" to have the best
medical care compared to other countries to which I say...
God help us ALL...
I had multiple blood tests, three chest X-rays and a CAT scan through
this and because "treatment" is more profitable than actually finding a
reason or cure for what is really wrong, was treated for Pneumonia, (twice),
Valley Fever, a broken rib that is finally feeling a little better, a
fungal infection, a bacterial infection, and a few other things I won't bore
you with...
Prednisone seems to be the "drug of the week" in Arizona with two separate
doctors prescribing it in addition to receiving two shots in the rear a
week apart which really increased the "fun" I had...
For the past six weeks I have been barely able to get out of bed or off
the couch for longer than 30 minute intervals. The breaking point, so to
speak was an extreme adverse reaction to it all one night which literally
made me think I might not be among the living by morning...
So what turned it all around?
Waking up and throwing EVERY prescription away! Within a few days I started
to feel a little better and when I went back to my doctor for a follow-up
visit, I requested another Thyroid test to determine if I really did need
the low doseage pill I had been prescribed since my Thyroid surgery a few
years back. I requested one test and then another one six weeks later to
check the levels after I stopped taking the pill...
Guess what? Thyroid levels NORMAL without the medications!!!
I had rashes off and on with the medications I was given and Doctor Kevorkian
argued with me about giving me MORE Prednisone to help the rash when I know
that was what was causing me quite a bit of my problems in the first place...
I refused and got an attitude, which only made my attitude grow. Ha, the
fool thinks he can out attitude me?
My mom and sister begged me to come to Chicago to go to a Doctor there and
quite frankly, I could barely walk from my kitchen to the bedroom without
getting fatigued so walking through an airport and flying cross country
wasn't too appealing to me. Everyone knows it's highly unusual for me to
be down for so long...
If I may offer any ideas or suggestions from my two month long ordeal, I
would like to tell everyone to listen to their bodies, not the so called
educated "medicators" that all seem to have their own hearing problems
when it comes to their patients...
It was I who asked for the blood tests to determine if my Thyroid was out
of whack. It was I who asked for the blood tests to determine if the
Valley Fever I was diagnosed with a few years ago was flaring up again.
It was I who asked for an X-ray of my rib to find out if it was broken
after a month of pain that would not go away and refusing a prescription
for a pain pill for it. It was I who determined I was having a severe
allergic reaction to the Prednisone to the point of Anaphylactic Shock
and an ER visit...
I know most of you are thinking, "For Pete's sake Jamie, find a new
Doctor"! My answer to you would be...
This was more than one Doctor and...they're all the same in my opinion.
Some a little better, most a lot worse and it's unfortunate that such
a respected profession has been replaced by people that make more from
the drug companies peddling their medications loaded with dangerous
side effects and cross medicating because they barely know what drug
interacts with the other...
Cynical? You betcha. Am I way off base? Something tells me more of you
have your own horror stories to tell me I'm not crazy or wrong...
Listen to your bodies, you know it better than a Doctor who sees you
for 10 minutes, 15 if you're lucky...
Listen to all the side effects mentioned in the commercials on TV for
every drug imaginable. They're only mentioned to ward off possible
lawsuits. I love the part where they say, "If you experience any of
these side effects, call your Doctor". Why? So he/she can prescribe
something else? Maybe an erection lasting four hours or more might
seem like a "gift", unless the guy is planning on becoming a human
divining rod, I don't think it may be worth the risk, and I don't know
any women who would want to be in the same room as that guy!!!
Oops, typing out loud again...
I'm still very fatigued and trying not to overdo because this has really
knocked me for a loop and just when I think I'm over "whatever" it is I
have/had is gone, I'm back in bed for a few days. As you can tell from
my rant, I must be getting better!
:-)