My younger daughter had some pretty serious eye problems when she was a baby. As a result, she had to wear an eye patch and switch from one eye to the other each day. It was no surprise that she had absolutely no interest in wearing the patch and as soon as I put it on, she would pull it off. And so it went all day, on-off, on-off, on-off. I made an appointment to discuss the problem with her eye doctor. His solution - put casts on her arms to keep her from pulling off the patch. Huh? Was he kidding me? I disagreed and he tried to convince me to do things his way. I wouldn't be convinced and scooped up my daughter and told him he might be able to do that to another child - but certainly not my daughter. I went to another doctor and we used eye drops to blur the vision in one eye to strengthen the muscles in the other. No patch. It worked.
It isn't easy to have the courage of my convictions, and push back when a doctor is leading me in a direction I don't feel comfortable with. It's true when dealing with doctor's for my kids as well as my own care. I want to be a partner in making decisions and I am not willing to trade one set of problems for another. I am excited to say that I don't have to make that kind of trade-off with my Lady Doc. I am getting excellent treatment with no, I repeat no, side effects. I find that pretty amazing because we are attacking this fibro and fatigue on many fronts. I take meds and supplements all through the day, but with no additional symptoms! Pretty cool. I really appreciate being a partner in my care, being able to share my point of view and my opinion about what we're doing without feeling like I am being a "non-compliant" patient. I'm happy to comply when I understand what we're doing and why we're doing it. I'm also comfortable when I know that we are taking the safest route to my recovery. I've changed doctors a number of times, but this time, I think I'm in it for the long haul. It feels good to feel respected by a doctor that I respect in return.
It takes careful consideration to decide when my best interest is being served and when it's important to stand up for myself and demand something better. I don't mind putting up with some discomfort for the greater good - like doing my vitamin B shots at home, but I have pretty much lost my tolerance for side effects. If something makes me feel worse by doing it, I'm not going to do it. There are many decisions that doctors have made for my care that have created more trouble than they were worth. I just don't want to go there again. And, with my Lady Doc, I don't have to worry about it.
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