Until PD re-educated me I used to take better care of my
car than of my body. I didn't expect every motor mechanic
to know the finer points of the make and model of car I drove.
I was more than happy to seek out a mechanic who could
get the best out of the car.
At the same time I chose my doctor using the proximity method,
the nearest got my custom. The day came that, my regular doctor
being on holiday, I asked one of his partners to provide me with
a script for stemitol(sp?) (I have this little balance problem). Doctor
number two, wanted to know who was proscibing contraindicated
drugs to a parkie and didn't I know I'd be a 'cot case' within 3 months
if I continued taking drugs designed to treat middle ear balance
problems when ' as you know your balance problems are PD related".
My less then useful response was to sound off in my turn demanding,
amoungst other things, to know how the hell was I supposed to know
anything when I kept getting contradictory advice from the experts.
I went home in an absolute fury, blaming everyone but myself for
the situation. Eventually I calmed down, reason prevailed, and only the
phrase 'as you know' remained. The truth was I hadn't known, and I
have a 100% interest in the problem. Why was I expecting a man whose
PD patients represent somewhere around 2% of his list to be
fully informed on PD simply because I lived down the road from him?
On that day was born a pro-active, parkie activist, I've taught myself
and my doctors even as I have learned from them. I talk about PD
to anyone who wants to know. I revel in the wealth of experience
and the profound insights made available by this list. The experts are
still contradicting each other and they always will, GP's and even
neurologists still have knowledge gaps and they always will. We still
have PD and we always will.
Who has the most need to know?
Lets stop blaming doctors. Lets learn from them what we can, teach
them if they'll let us, and change them if we must.
Dennis
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Dennis Greene
[log in to unmask]
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