Had Appt with GP today - 1st since DX

laurid8967

Hey all -
Great posts today!! I love relaxing and reading this board! So, I went to see my GP for a follow up today. The last time I saw her, she had said she thought "neg.ANA lupus", gave me pred. and plaq, and sent me to rheumie. She said she got letter from rheumie saying he agreed with her Dx (she gave me the 'I told you it would be OK!' look, because I told her I didnt want to go and get brushed off again!).
She said he would talk to me when he saw me on the 28th, but he discussed his concern with my CRP still being so high while on the prednisone. He said he wants to taper the prednisone, and start Imuran. He is really concerned about my bones, as they already have damage from steroid use years ago. Any experiences with Imuran to share? I will def search the site here too.
Also, I made it a POINT to commend her on how she thought a little outside of the box, and went ahead with a rare Dx and treatment. I said to her, "By you doing that, I have my life back...My children have their mother back...Thank you so much. I know, had I seen another doctor, who didnt want to be "hasty", I could very well still be in bed sick today"
Well, she started to CRY!! She got all teary and said, "That is a really nice thing to say, thank you.." I said, "I mean it. I have been really learning alot about this, and the number of people who stay undxd due to doctors not wnating to be wrong is horrific" She said she knew, and she was so glad she could help. It was really important to me that I make her aware of HOW IMPORTANT it was to take that step. Now, maybe the next time a thirty-something year old woman comes in with swollen joints and fatigue and a rash, she'll think of me - and maybe save some poor soul years of being without treatment.
I am so incredibly grateful that God brought this doctor into my life....Thank You GOD!!
Talk to you all soon -
Love Lauri
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God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference...

mcitymom · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:39 pm Post subject: Here's to Thorough Doctors

I whole heartedly agree with you about your doctor and feel the same way about mine. I had several months of going to a GP I had been going to for 15 years who treated me like I was a brainless moron who wasn't even capable of telling him I had something wrong with me. After begging him for months to please help find out what was wrong with me, and having him do NOTHING for months on end, I ended up at a new GP's office. And I feel like you do - Thank God for thorough doctors who do their job. The new GP did a full blood panel on me and what do you know, high high ANA.

When my new doctor found the root cause of my problems, I carefully (prayerfully) sat down and wrote a letter to my first doctor telling him that he missed my symptoms (red rash, swollen joints, fatigue), that he didn't even do a simple blood screen on me, and that I expected better from him. It must have effected him as well. Even though he had passed me off to everyone in his practice for months before I refused to go there ever again, once he received my letter, he called me personally to find out more about my diagnosis. (I still won't ever go there again, but maybe he'll be more careful about listening to his patients in the future because he did seem genuinely shaken that he had missed my diagnosis).

Good for you for sharing this with your doctor. Too many times I think that we (as patients) think the doctor's time is too important and maybe what we say isn't important enough to warrant their time. Your story is exactly why we SHOULD take the time to tell them, "thank you". Thank you for taking my symptoms and my care seriously and for helping me stay well. Good job!

Saysusie · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:37 am Post subject:

Thank both of you....I imagine that what you both did will have a much more rippling effect that you realize. You both opened the eyes of doctors; one to commend her and the other to educate him. Believe me, these doctors will change because of what you both did, and they will insist on (or precipitate) change in other doctors, and so on, and so forth!

So, again....Thank You Both. You have probably made a very big difference to many in the medical field when dealing with Lupus!

Peace and Blessings
Saysusie
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Look For The Good and Praise It!