Wanted to pop in and provide a really quick update on A’s
appointment yesterday. I know he was
really concerned going into the appointment and even thinking about a hospital
admission. To be clear, he didn’t think
he needed to be admitted. He wasn’t
feeling bad, but he knew the previous virus he caught, was a bad one and he
could feel it affecting his lungs. Antibiotics
helped immensely and he was relatively back to normal when he started feeling
another cold coming on over the weekend.
I know that it’s so dejecting to catch a cold right before clinic and A
was worried his doctors might overreact before giving him a chance to fight the
virus. With all that said, there was
good news and bad news from the appointment.
Bad news first: A’s weight was significantly
down. The lowest it’s been in
years. Down 9lbs from his highest weight
ever last appointment. I was really
surprised. I guess seeing him every day,
I didn’t realize he had lost so much weight over the course of three
months. CFers know that decreased weight
often results in a decrease in lung function so that was very concerning. Now the good news: A’s lung function was only
slightly down. His doctor even said it
was within the range of error of the spirometer equipment so wouldn’t even be
considered down. Huge relief. A is to continue weighing himself and
increase his caloric intake and if he doesn’t see an increase in the next few
weeks, he’s supposed to call his doctors.
Otherwise, he won’t have to go back for another 3 months. I have to give A major props because for the
past month, he’s been doubling his vest time and also going for long
walks. I really believe that these
activities kept his lung function up and if he can continue these and increase
his caloric intake, I think his lung function will improve more. We’re also going to try yoga, which makes me
laugh just typing that, but apparently yoga is especially helpful for CFers.
Unfortunately, the appointment was with the doctor neither
of us is very fond of. Just when I was
thinking she wasn’t super annoying this time around, she made the following
comment (I’m paraphrasing…): “The flu can be extremely detrimental to people
with CF because of the bacteria in their lungs and many times they can’t
recover. So good luck.” WTF?!?
I’m not sure why we were talking about the flu. A hasn’t been tested for it or shown signs of
having the flu. And good luck?!? Was she trying to make a joke? I have no idea, but what kind of doctor gives
a “good luck!” as their only advice?!?
In general, I like the idea of women doctors. And I have two wonderful ones - my gyn & dermatologist. The two GP women I've had have been perfectly good, and my kids' female pediatrician's fine. However. One of the WORST doctors I ever used was a woman. She had me bank blood for a disaster C section that never happened. Totally normal vaginal birth. Hey, doctors can make mistakes but it was more than that. Just her typical communication style, or non-communication style, was off, abrasive, out-of-touch, arrogant. My tolerant husband, who doesn't go along with me to get along, disliked her too. I like to imagine that women wouldn't be like this but it happens. Still, in general, I think women physicians are a good answer to some of the unpleasant patriarchal attitudes in medicine. I am happy that A had a positive report on balance. I hope he enjoys an abundance of delicious high calorie food and gains back his weight, and that the two of you enjoy romantic couples yoga. Namaste!
ReplyDeleteI have had bad experiences with both men and women doctors. Sometimes, I think that doctors are so academically intelligent, their social intelligence comes up short. Unfortunately, I have seen the patriarchal, entitled attitude in many professions at many levels. Sometimes, it's incredibly subtle, but you notice little things like re-scheduling meetings without consulting the attendees or excluding certain people from higher profile conferences. I'm rambling, but the point is, it becomes more and more apparent that women are not treated as equal the further I get into my career.
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