I had an interesting conversation with a friend a few weeks ago, that I thought I’d pass along. He’s an internist (yes, some doctors DO have “friends” ) and we were discussing his wife’s problem with a frozen shoulder. He commented that she made a critical mistake when she first approached her doctor, something he had warned her not to do: she told the doctor what the problem was. I know, this sounds strange, but let me go on. She went in, and told him she had a frozen shoulder. Well, she’s the WIFE of a doctor. But Gary said that that was totally the wrong thing to do. Doctors don’t want to hear our judgments, they want to hear the details of the problem, and draw their own conclusions. (Which, he admitted, would probably be that she had a frozen shoulder.) What she SHOULD have said was more along the lines of: “I cannot move my right shoulder.” “There is pain radiating into my fingers.” “I first noticed this after ten hours of planting shrubs.” Etc.
Anyway, I’ve been taking this message to heart, with “some” positive results with my endo. I’ve begun to think of the doctor-in-their-office as a humanoid. Once that lab jacket goes on, they are Science personified. I leave off the “touchy-feely” comments (like “the PTU is making me CRAZY!!!!) and try to stick to facts. “I’ve broken out in red, itchy blotches on my hands.” “My heart rate, resting, is X.” “I lost my glasses fifteen times yesterday.” It does seem to make a bit of difference in the way my endo responds to the issues.
So, for what it’s worth, I thought I’d pass Gary’s bit of advice along to you all.
Take care.
Bobbi
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