I grew up in the medical system. For those that don’t know this about me I was born with a birth defect that meant I had my first corrective surgery at 3 months old and my 50th right before my 18th birthday. There have been a few others since then but the bulk were in my childhood. I’ve depended on doctors and medicine my entire life. Honestly never was taught to question them or their orders.
As I have grown older and run into periods where I suffered consequences of some of those orders I’ve begun to wonder if the doctor is always right. For example when I received the COVID vaccine and subsequently suffered through 3 months of full body hives that the doctors swore couldn’t possibly be a side effect of the vaccine I was itchy, angry, and pretty sure the medical community was full of morons.
I find myself sort of here again. My middle child and his wife question EVERYTHING. As I ask questions and find myself dissatisfied with the side effects of multiple rounds of antibiotics and steroids I grow increasingly more curious about their perspective on things. And how to balance that with conditions I have like Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism. And dysfunctional ears and sinuses that periodically, like now, just flat refuse to cooperate.
I left on vacation with an ear infection. My second in a month. Though I completed a full ten day round of antibiotics while on my trip I came back with a double middle ear infection, RSV, and a sinus infection. Was put on a different round of antibiotics when I got home, given a steroid shot, and oral steroids. The antibiotics have upset my gut. The oral steroids keep me up at night and make me angry at everything and everyone. I’m sleep deprived and cranky. By now I should be getting better but woke up with the room spinning. Like WTF.
Where is that line that we trust doctors or we say nope this isn’t working and I have to try something else? How does someone like me with all kinds of complications wean myself off of depending on doctors? One of the things pressing on my mind is the shingles vaccine. I’m not quite at the age for it yet but I had HORRIBLE chicken pox as a kid and I’m a prime candidate for shingles. But after the reaction I had to the last vaccine I let someone put in me why on earth would I sign up for another? But I know from seeing people around me go through shingles that those can be excruciating too. Which is worse?
And even if I did figure any of it out and think I have a plan then the damn insurance company would weigh in and say NOPE you can’t have that drug. Perfect example is my thyroid medicine. I was stable on one drug for over five years. But my insurance changed and they wouldn’t cover it. My body doesn’t respond to the one they do cover and even though we switched me back to the good one by paying out of pocket for it it’s now two years later and we still haven’t gotten my thyroid back under control from having been off it for 9 months. Why the hell does insurance get to dictate what we take if patient and doctor have determined that one medically won’t work?
It’s all madness. Just fiscally driven madness where money is most important and we are secondary. There’s my brain dump for the day. 😉
Blessings y’all. – A
