YOU have choice and control, always!
This week I want to talk about choice and control. That, we always have control even in the instances when we think we don’t and how to regain control when we think we have lost it. Especially in an area close to my heart. Doctors.
A friend of mine posted on LinkedIn this week that he had been misdiagnosed for the past 2.5 years for a skin irritation. Here’s his story,
I am so relieved and so angry at the same time. Relieved that I’ve got my health back.
Angry because I’ve wasted 2.5 years of my life being treated for a condition I did not have!
The saga started around September of 2020 when I had severe rashes. They became very itchy and then painful.
I saw three dermatologists at three different premier hospitals who all agreed I had chronic idiopathic urticaria and the likely cause being an immune system disorder.
I was given extremely high dosage of antihistamines and other drugs for an extended period of time. I’ve also been hospitalized several times. My medical card has been depleted by at least RM20,000.
Last week after another round of intravenously administered steroids and an expensive monoclonal drug - I was not getting any better.
I went to see my family GP for medical leave. He was shocked to see my condition and persuaded me to do an allergy test.
The three dermatologists who treated me had all dismissed allergy tests as unreliable and a waste of money.
My GP showed me my results on Saturday. The culprit - house dust mites!
I threw out my mattress and pillow and got brand new ones by 6 pm the same day!
I am no longer on ANY medications and am totally symptom free!
For the first time in 2.5 years I’m feeling relieved, healthy and normal.
His request to his LinkedIn followers was whether to be angry or sue the doctors.
‘What’s the lesson in this?’ was my immediate reflection on his story.
Every year in April I do my yearly medical check-up. It is my way of taking care of myself and gathering data on my progress with functional medicine.
This year I was asked to do a couple of extra procedures and I thought it was a good idea. I had to see a Gastroenterologist. My first time. Prevention rather than cure. The diagnosis and then the prognosis is where it gets tricky and where we, patients, can feel like we lose control.
But it shouldn’t be the case. As an aside, I only work with doctors who give me options and let me choose. Whenever a doctor thinks otherwise, I walk away and get a second opinion or find one who can work with me. Like my functional medicine doctor.
So, what do we do? Let’s work this through with me as an example.
I have found a slight anomaly with my haemoglobin. Via weekly tests, I found that it fluctuates. My mother was slightly anaemic, but we associated it with her vegetarian diet. But me? Yes, I may have the gene, but I believe in epigenetics. And the lifestyle I want requires a certain energy level to sustain my hobby - endurance cycling.
But the Gastroenterologist’s take on it was, “If it doesn’t impact you, just live with it”. Without even asking me about my lifestyle and what I want to achieve!
That’s when I step back. I wish doctors would do the same. Either limited by time or their thinking, they can, at times, be ‘robotic’. Which irks me. Science is amazing – but it can limit us too.
As a good friend said, “Science puts what it already knows ahead of what it could know.”
That’s how I see doctors. They see and do what they already know without considering other possibilities. Of course, not all doctors are this way.
In my case, long story short, back in my control seat (after stepping back), I have made an appointment with a haematologist to find out what could be causing my fluctuations.
I shall keep you posted.
Regarding my friend, I just checked in on him today, he is well. Healthy and happy.
And I hope you are too.
Remember, you have choice and control – ALWAYS. Let no one tell you otherwise.
As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com