Listen to Your Gut

This morning Cooper crawled in bed with me and cuddled up.  In the process, he hit me in the gut with his elbow hard enough to knock the wind out of me.  Sometimes he has the subtlety of a freight train.
When I caught my breath and told him he had hurt my tummy, he sweetly kissed my hand and gave it a pat.   He usually kisses whichever body part he hurt, but sometimes he thinks a kiss anywhere will solve the problem.  And, coming from him, it usually does.

Strangely, this interaction made me think of my interactions with numerous doctors.  It seems many doctors have tunnel vision.  They make every symptom fit into their specialty, or they treat one thing even when you are complaining about something else. My Rheumatologist swore I didn’t have Lyme, and that every symptom fit into the category of Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Unfortunately my LLMD (Lymie lingo for “Lyme Literate Doctor”) suffered from the same tunnel vision.  He attributed every symptom Dave and I had to Lyme.  When I told him my IV antibiotic was giving me horrible gallbladder symptoms (a common side effect of this medication), he told me to stay on it because it was helping kill Lyme.  Sure, but at what cost?  I still have to live in this body when and if the Lyme treatment is complete. Then he missed Dave’s tumor symptoms because he was looking for Lyme.

It is almost against the Lymie code to bad mouth your LLMD, or even point out their imperfections.  They face so much persecution that we want to protect them.  Regardless of this persecution, it is important that we, as Lymies, still take charge of our own health care.  We can’t allow tunnel vision, regardless of the source.  If I had, I would be without a gallbladder, and my husband would be without eyesight.

If you doubt your doctor’s advice, ask for clarification or get another opinion.  Don’t ignore your instincts.   If you go to a doctor complaining of stomach pain, don’t let them send you home with a wrist splint.

(Every post this month will include this reminder to click on the badge to the left to become a fan of my new page on Facebook  and to spread the word to others who might become a fan.  Our goal is to get to 50 fans by the end of the month.)