Susan O Susan! Wherefore art thou, Susan?
One day I’m blogging daily like a mad woman and the next I seem to have dropped off the planet. So much for my new found commitment to blogging regularly again.
A few weeks ago, my Father-In-Law passed away. Naturally, that took precedence and we gathered together with family to mourn his passing.
Then my health went downhill. Regular readers will know that my health is an uphill battle. A few visits to the doctor left me more frustrated than ever. I was appalled by the doctor’s treatment, or lack thereof. On my first visit, the female doctor (I chose a female doctor for a reason!) only made eye contact with me once. And that was while she was giving me instructions on using the strong medication she was prescribing. She tapped away on her computer keyboard the entire time! This left me feeling like she didn’t care a jot about my condition, how I felt or me as a person. Anyway like I good little girl, I took the medication. But now I’m wishing that I didn’t.
I had been on the medication for 3 days when I awoke one night at 2am with the most burning, raw, stifling pain in my throat. I have never experienced anything like it before. Probably didn’t help that I didn’t know what it was- fear of the unknown does tend to scare the wits out of me. 😉 My throat started to swell up and I couldn’t talk and was having difficulty breathing. John thought it was reflux… and he would know having suffered with gastric and digestive problems a lot due to medication over the last few years. The next day was Sunday and after church we went back to the doctor to receive the test results. While I was there I asked her if the medication could have caused such a reaction. She looked back at the medication she had prescribed and said, “Oh yes, it probably would have – antibiotics with antivirals certainly would!”. Well gee, thanks for telling me beforehand! As it turns out, I had absolutely no need for either medication. Argh!
I rarely go to the doctor’s… only when absolutely necessary. This whole episode confirmed to me my reasons. I don’t believe that the general practitioner is overly concerned with health and how to get better. I often get the distinct impression that many of the are in it for the money- from seeing patients and prescribing unnecessary drugs. Now I know that there are many good doctors out there and I’m really happy for those that have found them. Sadly, it is not my reality.
I understand that doctors are not perfect beings and I don’t expect them to have all the answers. I wonder if a lot of CFS and other auto-immune syndrome’s are simply what a doctor diagnoses when they have no answers. I am sick and tired of how GP’s frown upon natural health practices and just try to shove toxic substances down my throat… when they can’t even give me a straight answer! They don’t look outside the box. They don’t look at the person as a whole person. They don’t connect the dots. They simply look at the test results on paper and match it up with the information in their books. Doesn’t matter if a thyroid level has been on the low cusp for years- it can’t be hypothyroidism until it goes into the red zone. Doesn’t matter that that red zone is 0.01 below my low reading! Argh!
SuperMoon in March 2011
Anyway on to other things… aside from all that things are pottering along. John’s fatty liver hasn’t completely gotten better yet so we’re still doing green smoothies, a little juicing, and incorporating more fresh foods into our diet. Stress plays a large factor in fatty liver and aside from his father’s death, work isn’t stress-less at the moment. The boys are continuing with their lessons and Cadets and astronomy. Miss A had her 20th birthday last week… we went to the Coffee Barun for a scrumptious breakfast.
That’s about it! Now it’s time for me to pop around to some blogs and catch up.
God has taken my salvation out of my hands into His, making it depend on His choice and not mine, and has promised to save me, not by my own work or exertion but by His grace and mercy.
~ Martin Luther
Susan,
I am sorry to read of the sadness and stress you are going through. Stress is such a factor in our health problems. I feel really blessed to not only have a good woman doctor, but a christian and one who cares a lot about me, my family and her many other patients. This has helped us through many crisis in the past and when I read stories such as yours I realise just how fortunate we have been.
Hi Ruby, Yes you are blessed indeed to have a good doctor. I know that they do exist for we have had some… but not for the last 10 years or so since we’ve been on the move.
I strongly dislike ‘bagging out’ doctor’s but my experience has left a sour taste in my mouth. However I am really happy for those that have good doctors. 🙂
Mourning, plus health dramas, sounds like you have a lot on your plate at present. I’m not surprised you’ve no time to be blogging. I feel much the same about doctors as you have described. Last time I tried to get an appointment (one of the children had a cut that needed stitching) the receptionist didn’t want to give me an appointment – said I had clearly been going somewhere else. I tried to assure her that we can’t be held responsible for not getting sick often enough to justify our right to come to the doctor once a year or so!! {Doctor’s receptionists being one of the few breeds I like less than doctors!}
Hahaaa, we have had that too! Some people, including doctor’s and receptionists simply can’t believe that my children haven’t needed an appointment in years.