Last summer, one night after we had taken our family walk, my husband let me in on a secret he had been harboring for awhile.
He called me into the bathroom to let me know he had been having chest pain for two, yes two, weeks! I was flabbergasted!
My husband has an extensive hypertension history at the ripe young age of 32. He has been on blood pressure medicine since he was 21.
We started dating at 18 so I am pretty sure it is my fault. Only kidding, but his family history is very extensive as well. His grandfather died at 45 from it, his dad has had eight stents put in and his mom is a walking heart attack. Therefore, obviously, when he finally let me in on his dirty little secret I was worried.
I pulled out my blood pressure cuff and stethoscope and went to town on his arm. The reading of his blood pressure was alarming indeed. I waited 30 minutes to recheck it and proceeded to make babysitter arrangements so I could take him to the hospital. His blood pressure was still high there but they checked his blood levels and let him know his heart enzymes were normal which meant no impending heart attack was coming.
What a relief to hear about the blood levels, but we still had to figure out why his blood pressure was so high. After the emergency room visit, he followed up with his general practitioner, who essentially started him on another blood pressure medicine with a follow up in 3 months. This just tickled my fancy that he took the time out to run tests to figure out why his blood pressure was so high.
I was livid when he came home and told me what had been done. This is also a doctor who would write my husband, a heart patient, a script for a year without any check ups in between much less blood work. Therefore, I figured I would just monitor his blood pressure and if it was not coming down, I would send him back.
Basically, we were looking at my husband, 31 years old, healthy weight, fairly healthy lifestyle (could improve in some ways) on four blood pressure medicines just to keep it at a half way normal reading. This was not sitting well with me.
These doctor appointments went on for quite a bit with nothing being done. I finally was fed up with his long beloved doctor and fired him. You see we were not happy with his care. He was not having any proper testing done to figure out why his blood pressure was so high all of a sudden, especially since he was originally on three medications and now four.
You do not want to mess with this southern chick when it comes to my family, much less my husband, whom I dearly adore! So, in the words of Donald Trump, “You are fired,” is the phrase that the doctor read in my letter. I was done. I was done with him on this much medication, I was done with no testing; I was done with not having proper medical care.
I have worked with doctors before, and the doctors I worked for took the time to learn every patient they came across. They took the time to learn what was going on with their patient, took the time to answer questions, took the time to run necessary testing, and took the time to find a remedy.
We were not receiving any of the above. He is now seeing a cardiologist who is running extensive testing and blood work to try to figure out why his blood pressure is running so high. Yes, he has the family history but he takes more medicine than the men in our family with heart disease that have had bypass surgery. Even before their surgeries they were not taking as much as him. You cannot convince me he needs to be on this much medication. I know how he lives, I have a health care background and something is not right.
I am determined to figure out what needs to be done too, because I am my husbands own health advocate. You have to be your own health advocate these days. Staying with a doctor you are not happy with can be as unhealthy as staying in a relationship you are not happy with. When you do not mesh well with the doctor then it is time for a change. There is nothing worse than going to a doctor that makes you want to throw water in his face. When a doctor does not respect your time, for example, when you wait an hour to see him and then your appointment is finished in five minutes, it is time to switch. Every doctor should take the time to listen to the patient.
If your doctor does not fully communicate the reasoning behind tests to help you understand his plan of attack, you need to go elsewhere. You need to know every test and why. You need to research these tests and take your health seriously. Make sure what needs to be done, is done. If your doctor does not take the time to hear your worries and fully answer your questions, pack your bags and move out.
You see, every fear, every worry in your head is very important. Whether or not every fear and every worry is actually important does not matter, you are paying that doctor to take the time to respond to each one. If you are being cut off without them allowing you to express your feelings on your health, then back your truck up and get out.
Also, really pay attention to the office staff. Many times, you can learn plenty by watching the receptionist, the medical assistants, the phlebotomists and anyone else that works there. You should not see them on personal phone calls, using their cellphones, having random conversations with other staff about what they did that weekend or anything of that nature. A doctor’s office is a professional business and you should expect no less. If the office staff is not caring about following through with these absurd actions while at work then most likely there is not someone in the back who cares enough to correct the situation. Enough said.
You truly have to know that nobody is going to care about your health if you do not care enough to make sure you’re being treated properly. You are your health advocate. If you do not take the time to know you deserve the best medical care then they are not going to give it to you. Is it time for you to fire your doctor?