I want you to think about the last time you went to the doctor. How did your appointment go? Were you able to really converse with your caregiver and get your questions answered? Or did you leave feeling rushed and unheard?
Hopefully when you had your last experience with a caregiver it was a good one, but sadly often times we leave these appointments frustrated. As a Health Educator, I am very passionate about what they call Health Literacy. You may be wondering what in the world I’m talking about and be ready to navigate AWAY from this article. But stay with me! I promise that something in this article may relate to you or someone you know.
A few years ago after the birth of my first little girl, I started to get sick. At first it just started out as an almost constant, upset stomach. I went back to my obgyn to see if it could be something related to my delivery. After my birth I had been prescribed Reglan to boost my milk supply. I had only taken it for a few weeks and when I went to this appointment I was no longer on the medication. I sat down with my doctor and told her what had been going on with me, and as soon as she realized I had taken Reglan she was convinced that it was the root of my problem and literally wouldn’t listen to a word I said after that. It was unreal. No matter what I said it was like she really didn’t hear it. I knew it wasn’t the medicine because I had been off it for a while. I left the appointment in disbelief.
Over the next few months my health problems started getting worse. I was losing weight and was almost constantly sick and in pain. I was doing all the research I could online to try and get some ideas as to what could be going on with me since I couldn’t find a care provider that seemed to even be interested. I was trying every herbal remedy and diet I thought may be able to help me. My illness was getting so bad that it was getting hard for me to function. I had multiple tests done and still had no answers. I was at a ridiculously unhealthy weight for my height and actually had a nurse tell me how great I looked at one of my appointments. I couldn’t believe it! Here I was wasting away and no one seemed to care.
Finally after months and months of this, I decided to press my gastroenterologist to get my gallbladder checked. We had exhausted all other tests and I didn’t know what else to do. His office wasn’t very nice about my pushing to get the tests ordered, but eventually they did. My sweet mom went with me a few days later to get both an ultrasound and HIDA scan done at the hospital. To make a long story short, the ultrasound came back fine but the HIDA scan showed that my gallbladder was very sick. My mom and I cried when they told us that something was wrong. Who knew that bad news could sound so great! Maybe I could finally get my life back.
I waited for my gastroenterologist to call once he got the test results back, but he never did. To make a long story short, my mother-in-law actually picked up the test results herself from the hospital and I went ahead with the surgery without any input from my doctor. As dramatic as it sounds, I felt like I was dying and I had to do something. The day of my surgery I was under 100 pounds, which is definitely NOT a healthy weight for someone who is 5 feet 6 inches. I had been living off of apple juice and bagels as they were the only things I could keep down and were somewhat calorie dense. Even as I was wheeled into surgery, I remember one of the nurses saying, “well, you aren’t the 3 F’s – forty, fat, and female.”Apparently this is an acronym often used to detect a likely candidate for gallbladder problems. Nice.
Luckily for me my surgery was very successful and has improved my quality of life greatly; though I do feel like my body is still weakened from being undernourished for so long. My point in sharing my story is that sometimes you have to be your own health advocate. You HAVE GOT TO DO YOUR RESEARCH. I am so incredibly grateful for modern medicine and for doctors that devote their lives to helping people. But like you and I, doctors are only human. They are not perfect. They make mistakes.
When it comes to your health it’s up to you to get the care you need. This is the reason I am also so passionate about women educating themselves about birth (perhaps this will be another blog post later?). It’s one of the most important days of your life and though it’s wonderful to have a trusting relationship with your doctor, it’s your body and no one knows it better than you do. If complications arise, or even if they don’t, don’t you want to know what the research says? You would think a doctor’s medical practices and current research always line up, but sometimes they don’t and this is why it’s so important to know your stuff. If I had stayed with my first obgyn with my second birth, she would have undoubtedly pushed for me to have a scheduled c-section because I’m a small girl who has big babies. This is not an assumption of mine as she talked to me about it at the hospital after my first birth. With my second doctor I decided to go with a nurse midwife and was able to have another totally successful, unmedicated, vaginal birth.
Please know that I don’t think everyone has to have the same opinions as me or make the same choices in regards to their medical care. That is what’s so wonderful! You can be a partner in your healthcare, not just a passenger. Sometimes I think about what would have happened if I hadn’t pushed to get the care I needed. How much more weight would I have lost? How much harder would my recovery have been? Would I have experienced any long-term problems from being sick for so long? Would I have become even more depressed and withdrawn?
Next time you go to the doctor, go with a list of questions and concerns that you have.
Look your provider in the eye.
Take notes.
Be confident.
Take someone with you so they can advocate on your behalf and interpret what is being said.
You have to let them know that you are important and willing to really participate in this appointment.
If your health is suffering and no one seems to be able to help you, know that my heart hurts for you. Keep seeking. Sometimes the answers are out there and sometimes they are not, no matter how hard you look, but know that you are not alone. As amazing as our bodies are, sometimes they do things that cannot be understood. But I do believe that if you become your own advocate you are more likely to get the care that you deserve and that you can feel confident about.
Whitney Tibbs- Health and Home Decor
Motherhood has always been a dream of mine, and now that I have arrived, I endeavor to find a little joy in every day. My 2 year-old daughter, Monroe, is my little gal pal, full of sweetness and spunk. I’m lucky to have a wonderful partner in my husband, Jeff. He helps keep me grounded and happy, while working the crazy schedule of a CPA. I love to learn and am always seeking knowledge. I graduated in Health and Promotion from the University of Utah, and have a great passion for health and wellness. I also am a bit obsessed with home design and decor, which is mostly fueled by blogging and Pinterest. For me happiness is about balance, and I’m always striving to seek just the right formula.
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