Tag Archives: doctors

Medical Mayhem

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It really bothers me when doctors try and move your appointments around. The last time I drove my wife down to UCLA, which is about a four-hour drive one-way, her rheumatologist scheduled some scans that she wanted done there at UCLA. That was fine with us, and we took the appointment time they gave us and we were off.

I scheduled another day off of work so I could drive her down there, and she made sure her schedule would work and that there would be someone to watch the kids.

Then two weeks before the date, the doctor assigned to doing the scan changes the appointment, which the rheumatologist says was extremely important, to a date in mid-August. Oh, yeah… that can wait four months. Important? Nah. Who cares? She’s not my patient.

This stuff pisses me off to no end.

We are fighting to keep the same date we had, and the rheumatologist is doing what she can for us, but it’s really frustrating.

Holistic Medicine

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I’m in the middle of writing a longer post, but LupyKatie made a comment that I really wanted to discuss as its own topic.

She writes:

I have lupus and I have a very well intentioned husband who thinks that holistic medicine will cure me. Everyone tells me to that multivitamins, exercise, smoothies, will be the way! If that were the case…why hasn’t the medical doctors said anything??? My husband is very agitated that my primary doctor hasn’t recommended “natural” cures…maybe because there aren’t any!!!!!!

I have very strong opinions on this matter, which I can sum up in one sentence. Most forms of alternative medical treatments are a load of crap and are specifically designed to cure you of having any excess cash in your bank account.

Please note that some activities like yoga often fall under the umbrella of holistic medicine, and I think relaxing your body and stretching is a good thing and will probably make you feel better in the long run; however, if your yoga instructor says that yoga will cure your lupus, then that person is making a claim that is not supported by evidence.

That being said, I believe that the phenomenon referred to as the placebo effect may very well be something that is not just a psychological reaction but also a physiological process. If you believe that a treatment is helping you, your body reacts by producing chemical substances like endorphins and adrenaline that do actually make you feel better.

I share LupusKatie’s frustration. My wife has many well meaning friends that are positive that their multi-level marketing juice product or herbal treatment will cure her lupus. You may be thinking, well, what’s the harm? In my opinion, any belief or endeavor based on false assumptions that may prevent a patient from receiving actual medical treatment is harmful. If you stop taking your Plaquenil because your chiropractor says he can align your Chakra, well good luck with that. Now if you continue to follow the treatments prescribed by your rheumatologist and it makes your muscles feel better to get a massage, then that’s a wonderful thing.

Have Lupus – Will Travel

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My wife and I are making our regular four-hour excursion to the UCLA Medical Center to see her rheumatologist. It will be the first time we’ve been there since the disaster months of November and December, 2007. I’m taking the day off of work so I can be there and talk to the doctor. I think she’s an excellent doctor, and I trust her, unlike the score of medical wackos my wife has seen in the last few months.

It’s a terrible drive, and the sun is always a problem. We try and put something over a window so my wife doesn’t get too much sun, but it’s no fun for her. We try and cover her up, but then she gets hot and we have to blast the air conditioning, which quickly turns me into a snowman.

On the other hand, it is nice to get some quiet time together, even if it’s for a crummy reason.

I was wondering if anyone else has to, or chooses to, travel like this to see a lupus specialist that they consider worth the inconvenience?

MDs and ego

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As I mentioned previously, my wife is currently seeing too many doctors, and it’s really starting to bug me how each one thinks he or she has the answer. Not only do they have the correct answer, but all those other doctors are idiots for not having come up with the same answer as they did. I’m serious. They diagnose something that is within their specialty, and then call the other specialists stupid for thinking otherwise.

My wife recently had a neurologist suggest that go buy some colon cleanser product! What century is this? I really could care less if people choose to spend their hard earned cash on alternative treatments, but it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that herbal colon cleansers are quackery. If you’ve never visited Quackwatch.org, it’s worth a visit. Your wallet will thank you.

If I sound a little testy, it’s because I am. It’s been a very difficult few days. Neuropathy has been added to my list of things that really suck.