Love my doctor!

I've had a lot of different doctors over the years as I've moved around. I've liked some, tolerated some, not known I could have done better earlier in my life. I finally found a doctor who is amazing.

One big reason is what she did for my parents.

I mentioned in a prior post how I searched for a doctor for them and found the doc my Dad was already seeing. He's a nice guy, liked him. However, he spent maybe 15 minutes with us on Mom's first...and although that's more than the average of 8-12 minutes per patient, it was a typical visit.

He did the basic tests, did the standard recommendation. He didn't probe. He didn't ask a lot of questions. Didn't talk about diet, lifestyle, etc. But again, that's kinda standard. Everyone is a specialist these days so they kinda act like a clearinghouse to some degree :-). Can't fault him, do like him.

Contrast that though with my doctor. Mom & Dad showed up for their first appointment and I think we spent maybe four hours with her. She asked questions. She went into great detail about what was going on with mom, tested her reflexes, checked her out physically.

I had sent her a list of tests pertaining to issues Mom was dealing with. She asked mom questions about every single item. Talked to all of us. Treated Mom like SHE was in control, something none of the other docs we've seen have done. Mom loved her. Dad liked her --- told me numerous times that she was different, gave him hope for the medical profession, first time he'd ever been impressed with a doctor. Ha.

What doctor would spend that amount of time with a patient (no extra charge)? Do every kind of test under the sun to try and identify potential issues and/or eliminate causes for various issues? All covered by insurance.
When I go to the doc the people at the front, the medical staff, all ask how Mom & Dad are doing, ditto for the doctor. When Mom goes in they all greet her, talk about God with her when she brings it up. Yep, it's a Christian based group of praying, caring people. But not in your face and not a group that prays to heal. Well, I'm sure they pray for the healing of their patients...just mean they are doctors, PAs, well-trained, do it by the book and then go the extra ten thousand miles.

If that wasn't enough there is the way she has treated me... She gives the standard suggestions re we can prescribe this or that, but when I say no she talks with me about other options. She asks about diet, exercise, sleep, etc. She listens. She will research options. She pulls up things on her computer and shows me things. 

When I first went to see her it was for blood work. I walked in, expecting the standard panel. They checked me in, then I went to get the blood taken...except in walks the doctor. She sat with me for maybe 45 minutes or longer. She asked about any health concerns I had. She asked about past issues I might have had. She and I talked about everything health-related under the sun. She found out what I wanted, liked, what I preferred re prescriptions, taking care of myself. She asked about exercise, diet, so many things. She asked knowledgeable questions about genes as it related to issues when I mentioned I'd done the health genetic testing.

She took 7 vials of blood and tested for every issue I had mentioned. She discovered minor issues that could have become major issues if she hadn't done the testing. And she gave me suggestions on how to address them in my follow-up appointment.

I send questions via their portal and danged if she doesn't answer. I've gotten where I tag her PA rather than bug her --- it's already difficult enough to get in to see her!

I'm not telling her name 'cause I don't want her overloaded :-)  She is the energizer bunny. She teaches Pilates in a side studio. She has chef's come in to teach people how to cook healthy meals. Her brother comes in once a month to do massages and he's booked out for six months I think. She hosts panels periodically on things like dealing with stress bringing in other specialists.

Love my doc. Love that she truly cares. Love that she listens. Love that she truly heard my mom, gave her so much attention. If doctors were half as good as she then we'd all be healthier and happier and not complain so much about our medical care!

Love my doc. Oh wait, I said that... Here's another: I respect my doc. I am so impressed with her work ethic, her caring --- and the fact that I don't have to introduce myself every time I go in like with most other doctors. OK, last time... LOVE MY DOC. :-)

Fibromyalgia and Food "Fix"

Years back, when I worked a desk job, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

I had been running regularly, working out, taking aerobic classes, and was very active (but not overly so). Slowly I got to the point where getting out of bed in the morning was painful. I hurt. I was miserable. Sleep was sporadic and I was slugging through the day.

Luckily, being in a management position which gave me fantastic health benefits, I was able to work with my doctor to try and figure out the cause. We did every test imaginable over a long period of time. Finally I ended up with a rheumatoid specialist who came up with Fibromyalgia.

She gave me a whole slew of prescriptions and toldl me to get on the treadmill and walk for ten minutes a day. I laughed, thinking of the races I used to run & thought she was really underestimating my abilities. I couldn't walk for five minutes.

I filled the prescriptions and took them for a few days. I really, really 1) hated the idea of taking all those pills and 2) hated the side-affects. I stopped and went back to being miserable.

However, I didn't give up. I started a search for another answer. I did NOT like the idea of being weak, spiraling into medicine dependence, or being labeled.

I ultimately went to see a nutritionist. Not your typical hospital nutritionist (here's your food pyramid, eat like it says). I went to a private doctor who believed in using food, vitamins, minerals and all that's natural to combat illnesses.

She put me on what she called a shock diet. Nothing white in my diet at all for two weeks. If it was processed with anything white I couldn't eat it. It truly was a shock. I went through withdrawals I suppose. For about three days I walked from refrigerator to pantry to almost banging into walls as I detoxed from all the junk I had been eating (I thought I was a healthy-eater!). By the time the 2 weeks were over I was comfortable with eating whole foods and rather liked the diet.

Long story, but after the shock diet, dumping all the vitamins I thought I needed and narrowing them down to a few select choices, changing my diet, etc. I have never had any of the symptoms of Fibromyalgia... It wasn't an overnight process but it was a fairly quick turnaround. (Note: when I go back to bad eating habits, don't allow myself to get sufficient sleep, I can tell when my body is heading back in the yikes direction. I adjust and get back on track.)

That was my very first real experience with looking at diet and nutrition as a "cure" rather than going with the drugs most doctors automatically prescribe. Since then I've looked for doctors who say diet, exercise, lifestyle before pulling out the prescription pad. They are hard to find.

When my cholesterol started going up my doctor (at the time) told me I just had bad genes, luck of the draw. She "allowed" me two months to try and decrease it before starting me on Lipitor. It went up. I was half-ass about working on it at the time, bought into "gene" thing.

Later I did some research, read how I could lower it naturally with diet and proper exercise. I ditched the Lipitor. My cholesterol is well below the top range and has stayed there for years. My doctor still insists on testing it more often than usual to monitor :-)

I could tell more tales...I have politely argued with many doctors, done it my way and been successful in every instance. Good research and culling through all the hype of the current fads is crucial.

I'm not saying that diet can cure everything, but we really should give it a shot first. Even if it's not "the" cure eating healthy sure will help with fighting whatever you are facing.

I now have an OK doctor. She's not "into" the same things I am but when I walk in and tell her I'm doing this or that she says OK, try it, go for it, we'll do blood tests and see how it works. She has even given me some natural alternatives when I asked. She's still a prescription pad grabber first type, but she's agreeable to trying other things.

I am getting ready to tell her I've gone totally plant based. That's going to be an interesting conversation!