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>3. How can I approach the dr. as an intellegent well informed patient
>without seeming like I'm doing the doctoring reasearch and diagnosising. ( I
>thought maybe a simple approach. "I'd like an evaluation for early
>Parkinson's. ___Here are a list of my symptoms____ " Or forget the list
>and memorize or wait for him to ask?
Barb (and others)...
While I am not a physician and do not have PD, I have had my share of
encounters with the medical profession and count a number of doctors as
friends and social acquaintances. In my _OPINION_, no doctor is
all-knowing; they're nothing more than folks who have learned a trade and
have a job -- albeit an extremely important one -- to do. I believe that if
you approach your doc with the facts and tell him/her what YOU think the
problem might be, you have placed yourself in the role with that doctor of
being (a) an intelligent individual who cares about her condition, (b)
someone who is willing to take an active and aggressive role in her
treatment regimen, and (c) someone who is willing to go at least half way
in assuring that she and the doctor are communicating. Perhaps as
important, you have set the stage that you're going to require answers to
questions. You NEED TO ASK QUESTIONS and you have a right to expect
answers! (Granted, there are questions that have no answers, particularly
when one is dealing with a three-and-a-half-pound chunk of stuff inside
your head that no one really knows much about.)
It has also been my experience that if I feel uncomfortable with the doctor
(NOT with what the doctor tells me, but the doctor him/herself and the
treatment that I as an individual get as a person) I'm gonna find another
doctor. That is NOT to say that I "doctor-shop" and look for someone who
will tell me what I want to hear!!!
There are three books that have NOTHING to do with PD or, for that matter,
anything other than life in general that I find myself re-reading often,
and I'd suggest that they might be of interest to you. They're all
available in paperback and the three cost probably less than $30.00 (you
might even be able to find them used.) The first two, written by Richard
Carson, are titled "Taming Your Gremlin" and "Never Get a Tattoo." Quick
reads, but powerful message (and a LOT of laughs of familiarity!) The third
is by Rick Fields (and others) and is titled "Chop Wood, Carry Water." My
copies of all three are held together by rubber bands, they've been read so
many times.
Peace...
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Frank A. Nagy
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
[log in to unmask]
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority,
it's time to reform.
-- Mark Twain --
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