Dear Doctor

 (Note:  This is probably going to be really boring and TMI for most...you've been warned.)

Dear New Dr., 

We've moved to the Poconos and it's time for me to get a doctor in the area.  Insurance says you are in network and a (somewhat) reasonable distance from the house, so I'm selecting you.

I haven't had many physicians in my life.  From birth till about age 10, I went to pediatrician, Dr. U, who then retired.  I went to see him a lot and even though I am nearing 60, I can still remember his office (in his home); it's antiseptic smell. A teal sofa and the portrait of a clown (Emmett Kelly?) in his waiting room. There were two examining rooms and Nurse Barbara (who scared the crap out of me).  My mother said that as I baby I would start to scream the minute we rounded the corner to get to his office.  I recall him as a good physician.  I was prescribed tetracycline quite a bit.  The one time he was on vacation, is when I got a terrible earache and saw the covering doctor who prescribed erythromycin.  It may have (eventually) helped the ear ache, but I spent all of my school spring break throwing up as a result.  I'm not sure if that constitutes an allergy, but I won't take it.

My second doctor, Dr. O, was a family friend who actually made house calls!  My mother went to school with his children.  He was only my physician for a year or so before he also retired.

Then it was on to family practitioner, Dr. C, who came recommended by a neighbor and saved my brother's life by recognizing epiglottitis and getting him to a hospital.  He was a wonderfully calm and patient physician.  He started out as solo doctor, also practicing out of his house.  Eventually he took on a partner, Dr. M and moved from his home to an office downtown.  They added another partner, merged with another practice in the next town over and eventually became part of a big "corporate" practice.  He and Dr. M retired almost simultaneously, tired of the bureaucracy, having become physicians to care for patients and not kowtow to insurance companies.  He cared for me from tweendom to adulthood and I miss him and Dr. M and their common sense approach to care. Until now I've stayed with the practice and been moderately pleased.  The doctors, nurses and PAs are good, but that bureaucracy...

I'm a relatively healthy individual, or so I'd like to think.  Although I've had my share of trips to the ER (mostly as the result of food allergy anaphylaxis...more on that later), I've only had one hospital stay when I had my uterus removed in 2008.  I had same day surgery the year before for a D&C (which might have foretold the next year’s hysterectomy) and then my only other OR experience was when I got a piece of meat lodge in my esposphogas.  For hours I couldn't swallow (I could breathe!), and I had to have a gastroenterologist "push" it down.  (There are photos if you want to see...they aren't pretty.)  Other than that, I've avoided hospitals.

Which brings me back to the allergies...My mother had a peanut allergy. She went into anaphylactic shock.  You'd think I'd be allergic to peanuts.  I am not.  My egg allergy was discovered when I was just a year old.  Before I was 10, I had my first experience with shellfish and discovered I was allergic to that.  Then as a teen, I started to have "trouble" with poultry and one Thanksgiving ended up in the ER. I'm extremely sensitive; rotisserie chicken cooking in the grocery store makes me reach for my inhaler.  (I had asthma as a child...I have occasional flare ups).  My mother couldn't cook eggs in the house or I'd start to wheeze.  Having my burger grilled on the same grill as a piece of chicken means that I swell up.  (Yes, I carry a generic epipen and Benadryl all the time...along with that inhaler.)  Other food items such as kiwi, lentils, peas and hard shell beans (such as pinto, navy and kidney) make my throat/mouth feel "funny" so I avoid them and put them on my allergy list, even though I've never had a full blown attack.  I'm not taking chances.  I grew up before allergies were a "thing" and am paranoid (slightly terrified) about eating out.  I've found out the hard way that trusted foods can have ingredient changes.  I read, read, read!  You never know where an allergen might turn up: flu shots cultured in egg, anesthesia with an egg base.  It's a scary world out there...is it any wonder I am anxiety ridden?

I've also had a few "weird" disease "experiences" in my life.  In my 30s, I had costochondritis and pityriasis rosea.  (Not at the same time.)  I'd never even heard of them.  They were resolved and (thus far), I've not had a recurrence.  In my 40s I would have bouts of intense pain/cramping in my "stomach (really the intestinal area).  No one ever figured out what they were or what caused them, but Bentyl helped and I haven't had a flare up in years.  Of course I also used to have a lactose intolerance/sensitivity (which was more likely to occur during "that time of the month"...explain that to me), which doesn't happen all that much anymore.  (Although I do try to be moderate in my dairy intake.)

I have (had) high blood pressure which is kept under control with benazepril.  I used to take a pill  a day, but dropped some weight (I'm still overweight and I always will be) and now only take half the original amount 3 times a week.  High blood pressure runs in my family, as do a host of other issues like  osteoporosis.  (But isn't that common in most women of "a certain age?")

I have anxiety (who doesn't these days) and am easily stressed.  I don't take any medication for that, nor do I self-medicate. When stressed, I do try to do breathing exercises, go for walks (I'm a regular walker when the weather allows) and pray/meditate.  (I talk to God; God has yet to answer.  No burning bushes have crossed my path.)

That's me.  I hope you are able to take something away from all this prattling and that we will have a long and fruitful relationship.  I know as I get older I will have face more health challenges.  I hope that you will be the person that will guide me through with thought and compassion.  I think we can both listen and learn from each other.

Sincerely,

Bfth