A CHANGE AT HAND

IN AN ATTEMPT TO CONSOLIDATE MY WRITING, 

THIS BLOG IS BEING MOVED "ARCHIVE" FORMAT.

If your want to see what I am doing currently,

please check Chrome on the Range

which continues to be my primary blog.

Items which would have appeared here,
will now be posted there.

Thank you.

FINDING A NEW DOCTOR

I think I have a great family doctor. 

• He takes time and listens.
• He explains things well.
• He understands my knowledge of medicine and medical ethics.
• He understands that I see him as a team-mate on my health care team.
• He works well with other professionals.

But he is making changes.

He sees the importance of complementary forms of medicine. It's called a number of this, including "Integrative Medicine." Focus is on issues of food and lifestyle, and getting toxins out of one's body. And while there are critics, it seems to me those critics are people who have not studied the process to any degree. Indeed, my doctor treats my conditions with pharmaceuticals that other doctor would use.

While this is all good, integrative medicine is what he intends to focus on in the future. He's become a specialist. And while he will continue to help me with some of my concerns, I need to find a new family doctor for everyday aches and pains.

I think I'm a bit old having to do this all over again — finding a new family doctor. The ones who are coming out of medical school are younger than my children!

I think it's called "living in interesting times."

BTW, how good do you think your family doctor is?

MINDING MY MEDS, AGAIN — WITH GOOD NEWS!

It's been about a year since my last post here. And I've done a another complete meds review with my doctors (yup; two of them).

The result is that I think I'm taking fewer, but better, medications. And I am feeling a great deal better. That is because, in part, there are newer medications which are available, which have made a huge difference.

Probably the most significant change for me is that I am in much less pain. Living almost painless now. Thanks to the meds. That is a HUGE change for me.

The upshot is that I am physically stronger, and my thinking is clearer. I've found a "base" that is solid, from which I think I can do a bit of rebuilding in my life.  I don't expect that you will see any major changes any time soon (or at all). But I'm starting to feel the changes. "Starting to."

MINDING MY MEDS (Conclusion)

I had my appointment with the doctor today. He couldn't find, or think of, any reason why I've had this negative drug interaction.  So, he's done the best he can do.

The only possibility is that there is something else going on in me, of which neither not I is aware. It would be, in doctorese, "an additional underlying condition."

Or maybe its simply my body, which has something just a little different from usual, and is giving me problems. (You, of course, already know that Bear is "a little different from usual," and will nod your head, knowingly, at the comment.)

So, back to my previous combinations of medicines. We'll see how that works out, in a day or two.

In the meantime, thanks for your expressions of concern and support.

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Addendum

Nancy, in her Life in the Second Half, has raised some interesting issues about medications. I encourage you to take a look.

MINDING MY MEDS

I think I've gotten to the bottom of why I've been feeling so awfully poorly as of late. A bad drug reaction. Or, more specifically, a bad drug interaction — something I've just started taking isn't getting on with something I've been taking for a while.

I suppose I could blame the doctor or pharmacist for this potentially life-threatening situation. They're supposed to be looking after me! Right?

Well, actually, uh, no. Their jobs are to help me look after me. Quite a different story.

If one is going to take the meds, one ought to read up on what one is taking. Our pharmacy actually gives out information on the drugs being dispensed. It makes sense to read the bulletin. It's just that I hadn't remembered one of the details about one of the other pills I've been taking for a while. So, when I suspected a drug mismatch, to the computer and do the research. The problem became immediately obvious. As did the solution. (I understand the priority of the medications, because I understand the priority of the situations the medications are set to overcome; the joy of having a physician who explains things well.)

Have you even had a bad drug experience?

And what do you think of the notion that each of us is responsible for his/her health, with the assistance of professionals? (Quite different from many peoples' attitudes these days.)

I fully realize that we live in an age of "entitlement," in which people take for granted many of the services provided. What are the benefits, and what are the dangers of this sense of entitlement?

I'll be writing more on this, in due course

SHIFTING PERSPECTIVE

The purpose of this blog has shifted a bit over time. But I want to keep it focused on issues related to the care of people and animals. (I'm adding animals because I'm increasingly involved in animal care and research issues at the University of Saskatchewan.)

Like developing characters in a novel, one just never quite knows how things will turn out, even when one has something in mind. So, as I've said elsewhere, "Please Bear with me on this adventure."

The New Flu

A new type of Influenza (called A/H1N1; sometimes called, incorrectly, "Swine Flu) is circling the globe. Notes about this form of 'Flu are being kept on my "Bears Noting" blog.