Oh the joys of Mike's treatment. The highs, lows and in betweens of dex et al. continue. It's hard to decide which of the phases is the worst.
- The non-stop chatter
- The extreme views (why did we have to have an election NOW!)
- The "I look like I've been in the ring with Muhammad Ali" puffed up half closed eyes
- The no-one is home or gone deaf day
- The jokes that only Mike finds funny
- The emotional days
That is just a short sample as I am sure many will know.
We did manage to acquaint ourselves with yet another doctor yesterday. I think he might have been Doogie Howser. They say as you age the policemen get younger, I seem to have a problem with my vision where doctors are concerned, after all I'm not getting older! Dr Pip (oh yes that was his name) was I have to say extremely good. I'm sure you've all known doctors who somehow manage to get your back up the second they open their mouth. Who instead of saying "Tell me that all again so I can get my head round it" ask you the same questions all over again with a tone that implies you are verbally inept and stupid. He tried the "tell me that again" tactic on Mike but quite frankly, he was suffering from a bad case of chemo-brain yesterday. His answers didn't make sense to me, and I knew all the facts. The staff must think I like the sound of my own voice, I always seem to end up answering for him.
Quote of the day: "I've deximalised"
P.S. Dr Pip really did look like Neil Patrick Harris!
At the time I had the shingles and was still 'on the pills' at my second appointment with the eye doctor I got completely confused over the eye cream - I thought it was for rubbing on my eyelid not putting in my eye and denied all knowledge of anything to go in my eye! The doc started speaking slowly as he obviously thought it was a problem with his accent rather than me hearing the words but not comprehending them! ;D
ReplyDeleteThe last time Tim went to his regular doc, I wound up looking like a totally controlling wife.
ReplyDeleteTim had a rash that I wanted checked for shingles and everytime the doctor asked him a question, Tim answered it wrong. Tim remembers very little of the transplant and all the meds he has ever been on. We had asked about some stomach issues and the doc asked Tim if he'd ever been on a certain med. Tim said "no." I said, "Yes you have.
You took it when you were on Dex." Then he asked when the rash started. Tim said. "Oh a couple of weeks ago." I said, "no, it just popped up 1 week ago." The doctor had made a comment about me getting up and coming in the room too when he called Tim for his appt but the truth is the doctor would not get the correct info if I wasn't there and when Tim came home and I asked what the doctor said, he would not remember, hear, or understand what was said so I would have to call anyway. I try not to speak for him whenever possible but sometimes when a doc asks him something, he will flat out say, "I have no idea,
ask her."
I wish I'd got a good excuse for my forgetfulness! (Crikey that's a long word!) I forgot, I have, perimenopause! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, how I miss the fun of those Dex days. =)
ReplyDeleteI answer for Phil too. I actually appreciate it that our medical team looks to both of us for answers instead of just to Phil; it's become a pet peeve when a doctor or nurse doesn't acknowledge my presence or input. During transplant Phil was too tired to give details about how he was feeling so when anyone would come in the room and want information from him he would just point at me. Hilarious.
And yes, when I realized that several of the doctors were younger than me I got a little weirded out.
A small digital recorder is a useful tool for visits with the medical staff. It is important to say, prior to pushing the button: "I am going to record our conversation so that I can refer to your instructions after we leave here, if that is OK with you." But having an Advocate I think is essential for the patient who may be not focusing because of pain, drugs or emotions. Doctors who don't comprehend those kinds of issues with their patients require a little "re-training."
ReplyDelete