Day 55 - Hey Doc - You're Fired!!!

I have done my share of doctor hopping. I usually give a doc three, or maybe four visits before I make my decision to switch. I don't take the decision lightly - I know that I am dealing with a condition that doesn't have easy or clear answers. The doctor that diagnosed me was a neurologist that I respected and I got some good results from his suggestions and the meds he had me try. He was intelligent, curious and compassionate. He was terrific! Unfortunatley, he retired and I was left with a huge void to fill. So my search began. I left one fibro doc because I was having a drug reaction from a med he prescribed. I called him, but he never called me back all day on a Friday. I wound up in the emergency room. Bye-bye. Another doctor has published some very interesting books about fibro - but he always seemed more interested in his research than in my needs. He must have invited me to participate in a study half a dozen different times. Each visit he seemed to have forgetten what he asked of me the last time and was onto something new. See ya. Yet another doctor didn't seem to hear me and each visit I felt like we were starting from square one. I recently got a copy of her notes and she was incorrect about many of the things she recorded. I almost wonder if those are actually my records! Too-da-loooo.

My cousin recommended yet another doctor for me. I liked her and she seemed competent. I stuck with her for almost two years but I kept getting sicker and sicker. The visit that really turned it around for me was just a few weeks before I found my Lady Doc. We had a very hot summer - more ninety degree days than usual, and I was just wiped out. At the end of July I saw my doctor and went through my litany of complaints hoping there would be something else I could do to get my life back in order. Instead of hearing something that would give me hope or set me in another direction she just said, "Yes, you're going to feel bad in this kind of weather. It's rough for everyone. I'll see you in three months".... What?? That's it?? No new magic pill or potion that will make me feel like I can make it through a day? No suggestions, strategies or adjustments to what we were already doing? I left there enormously discouraged, not knowing what to do next.

Almost as an answered prayer, I found the network of fibromyalgia centers and a center that was within a reasonable driving distance for me. After just two months I feel like I am definitely on the right track and that wellness is within reach. Already I have noticed a decrease in my headaches, as well as some relief from the almost constant pain I had in my legs. The weather has turned a bit cooler and I know that makes a big difference on the plus side, so I will see if it's one thing or the other. While I'm on my way to dealing with the symptoms of the fibro and chronic fatigue, I know I am getting healthier because of all the tweaks we are making to my system. I am doing what the doc has told me to do and I am optimistic. In the end I just want two things from my doctor - expertise and compassion. I think that in my Lady Doc I've got both!