Um Yeah, Second Opinion Time.
March 20th, 2007 by Kevin
So I went to the endocrinologist yesterday and spent a hefty two hours in his office answering questions and having my blood pressure repeatedly monitored.
I was sort of thrilled, actually. Finally a doctor that appeared to give half a crap and actually spent some time talking to his patients! Had someone slipped me some acid in the waiting room (where the magazines were actually current)?
We talked about pretty much everything that has been going on with me over the past few years - the vision loss, the ongoing visual horseshit, the Heartfuck, the Fuckbrain, the shakes I get quite often, the pains, the stints using the wheelchair/cane, my lack of pooping ability, and a couple of other things I don’t generally mention as they fall under the category of TMI-and-a-half.
I’ll bet you thought that nothing was sacred in my book, didn’t you?
Anyway, the guy looked at me and said, “I know what’s wrong with you.”
He proceeded to describe a condition that encompassed everything I had just mentioned along with a couple of things I hadn’t, something that made so much sense I felt a wave of relief come over me. Right on! Fuckbrain and Heartfuck were not separate entities, and I finally had some sort of feasible explanation for my medical madness!
He said it was something about my autonomic nervous system not functioning, which my neurologist had mentioned before. It made sense. Sure, I thought. Whatever.
He then told me that it wasn’t really treatable or curable, but that’s pretty much where I’ve been anyway, so this didn’t exactly crush me the way he seemed to think it would.
He told me he could jack me up with steroids the way I had been jacked up at Fancy Downtown Hospital, but that he wasn’t even sure it would work at this point and that he didn’t think it was the greatest idea.
I concurred. Hell, I have no deep desire to go back on the ‘roids.
He did, however, give me some tips on how to deal with the constant passing out. Wear compression stockings so that the blood didn’t pool in the lower half of my body. Move very slowly. Take a fair amount of time when changing positions.
Cool, I thought. Less passing out. Plus, a pretty solid reason for all of this from a guy who’s seen it before. Awesome.
Then I went home and Googled Shy-Drager syndrome and took a look at the life expectancy.
I promptly flipped out.
After bawling, taking a sedative, bawling some more, getting a migraine, taking a migraine pill, taking a nap, and bawling some more, I came to my senses.
The guy isn’t even a neurologist. He had no business making that kind of diagnosis. I mean, for Christ’s sake. I think he was mainly going on the fact that my blood pressure drops when I stand up, which can’t be central to only that condition.
I have ordered copies of all my recent tests and am calling to make an appointment with my old neurologist at Fancy Downtown Hospital in order to see what he thinks, even if they won’t take my insurance and I have to pay cash. I want a big-time mucky-muck’s opinion on this.
I just don’t buy it.
Croaking within ten years is just not in the works. While I do plan to be a very attractive corpse, I aim to execute that plan by being a stylish and well-preserved little old lady, not by buying the farm before I hit fifty.
Fuck that with a capital F, and fuck this guy and his death sentence. I just don’t buy it.
I will be around to annoy the shit out of my child all throughout his adulthood and to become a bonafide crazy cat lady, screaming at the kids to get the hell off of my lawn while I sit on my porch swing and knit.
I will not be terrified.
Happy Tuesday.
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net
michael wrote on 03/20/07 at 8:53 am :
Definitely time for a second opinion from someone in the right field. Hell, I have most of those symptoms most of the time and have for 13 years. I don’t do the passing out thing, but those are pretty common symptoms for a lot of disorders/diseases (including plain ol’ anemia). Ignore the bastid until you hear from the specialist.
LA wrote on 03/20/07 at 9:26 am :
What a jackhole. Listen, dear one, the big muckety docs told me I’d be dead before 30 and here I am. So do like you’re planning and get a second and maybe a third opinion from docs who didn’t get their medical degrees off a Happy Meal box, even if it did come with a Grimace stethoscope. ~LA
cloudy wrote on 03/20/07 at 10:36 am :
“I will not be terrified”.
Clap Clap Clap!!
Rumblelizard wrote on 03/20/07 at 11:04 am :
Yeah fuck that endo and the horse he rode in on…
Bozoette Mary wrote on 03/20/07 at 11:28 am :
Yep, what everyone else said. And compression stockings? So chic.
Tracy wrote on 03/20/07 at 11:42 am :
What a fucking irresponsible moronic asshole who probably hasn’t been laid in the past five years.
Really, we need to start a collection to send you to the Cleveland Clinic.
Stupid sorry ass doctor.
Laura (the Live) wrote on 03/20/07 at 2:06 pm :
Did you watch the Colbert Report last night? You definitely should if you didn’t!
Colbert had this doctor on who wrote a book “How Doctors Think”. Anyway, the author (a Dr. himself) told a story about how he was having trouble with his hand and went to a bunch of different doctors and was given a different diagnosis by each. Not only that, one of the Dr.’s actually made up a condition! It didn’t exist!
So, yeah, fuck the endo and get a bajillion different opinions until something feels right. Dr.’s are fallible, that is for sure (even if they disagree).
ERIKA wrote on 03/20/07 at 5:28 pm :
i’m sorry i’m still stuck on a waiting room with current magazines…bad sign.
second opinon is definitly the way to go
Julie wrote on 03/20/07 at 9:12 pm :
I have questions that are probably answered somewhere in this blog, but I’m new. Have you had an MRI and all that good stuff? The whole Neuro sha-bang work up? Obviously there are some un-pleasant things goin on OTHER than the orthostatic hypotension. Is it triggered? Like with stress and stuff or are you standing one second and passed out another? That’s enough for my questions. good luck!!
Kathy wrote on 03/20/07 at 11:33 pm :
My friend went to the doctor with symptoms related to her gallbladder. The doctor told her it was esophageal spasms and gave her Prilosec. Not really in the same area of the body but ok… She saw another doctor and he removed her gallbladder last week. Now anytime anything is wrong we say it our esophagus…
Lorrie wrote on 03/20/07 at 11:45 pm :
Oh Trance! I refuse to believe this. You are not a 60 year old man, or if you are, you’re awfully fine looking for your age.
Pam wrote on 03/21/07 at 11:29 am :
Nice! I second the commenter who said we should start up a collection to send you to the Mayo Clinic or something. What do you think Jenn?
Melanie wrote on 03/22/07 at 11:02 am :
Hey, I’ll chip in to the “Send TJ to the Mayo!” fund.
And doctors can be so full of shit. Go to the neuro and see what he says.
sooboo wrote on 03/22/07 at 11:41 am :
Eff that guy! Jeez. It is a really sad state of our medical system that the person with the medical issues has to also be their own advocate. You are an inspiration. Also, do compression stockings come in fishnet? You could rock that.
Kungfukitten wrote on 03/23/07 at 12:06 am :
What a fucking terrifying thing to go through. I agree with you, I don’t think a doctor can make that diagnosis based upon blood pressure readings and going over your medical history. What a jerk. I like your plan of going back to the fancy neurologist even if you have to make monthly payments to pay off the visit. Your symptoms seem to wax and wane, not progressive in the way it was described in the website. Hang in there, darling. XOXO
Kungfukitten wrote on 03/23/07 at 11:53 am :
Okay, I’m still pissed off at that doctor. What about Pure Autonomic Failure (PAF). It has similar symptoms and isn’t as frightening. Also your problems with weakness seem to resolve after a period of time, you use a cane for awhile and then you’re back to doing dance dance revolution. That doesn’t sound progressive to me. Harrumph. If I ever meet that endocrinologist I’ll kick him in the nads for you.
Jen the ex Radiator Lady wrote on 03/24/07 at 4:38 pm :
Honey, information and knowledge is your power. Keep getting opinions until you are satisfied that it makes sense. I know you said it made sense to you when you were in his office, but it takes more than just hearing you talk and looking at your records. But, Jen? I’ve been telling you this for years, and on the off chance that you DO have something that’s being affected in the same manner as what this guy thought you had, PLEASE stop smoking and drinking. You have plently of amazing things in your life (son, boyfriend) that you don’t need those escapes, and you just don’t know how they may be affecting you. What if you just try it as an experiment? See what happens.
dichroic wrote on 03/28/07 at 12:26 am :
Jen, I was looking again at the site you linked, and I noticed something: no seizures. I mean, they’re not mentioned as a symptom. That sounds like a pretty *major* omission to me. (Unfortunately, they’re not listed for PAF either - I say ‘unfortunately’ because that one sounds like the consequences are much less dire.) So on the bad side, from this and what everyone else has pointed out (Kungfukitten has some excellent points), it sounds like you may still not have a diagnosis. On the plus side, sounds like you may not have *this* diagnosis.
Come back. We miss you.
trancejen wrote on 03/29/07 at 9:20 am :
Jen. I will concede that I do smoke. However, you make it sound as if I am a problem drinker, which I most certainly am not. I drink socially, which these days is pretty fucking rarely, and I’ve drank nothing stronger than beer in a long, long time.
Compared to the assload of liver-killing medication I take, a few beers once every couple of weeks is NOTHING. NOTHING.
Jen the ex Radiator Lady wrote on 03/29/07 at 10:52 pm :
Hey, TJ. Did I really make it sound like you are a problem drinker? I read my comment again, and I don’t see it, but it doesn’t matter - that was never my intention. Apologies if it came across that way. I just thought it would be an interesting experiment to cut both smoking and the occasional drink out, and see what happens. Of course I don’t think you’ll magically get all better, but you’ve gone through a lot lately (and for a long time) and it simply can’t hurt. I hope you get over that nasty strep crap soon. Take care.
Jellynuttz wrote on 04/5/07 at 9:38 pm :
the way i look at it is that ever extra day is bonus….anyone can passaway at anytime so there is no sense getting worked up about it…
I personally have a 32% chance of dying this year.
Not Just Your Garden-Variety Neurotic Smartass. » Blog Archive » Spring Cometh Not and Hatred of the Body. wrote on 04/11/07 at 9:27 am :
[…] I’m also waiting for the blood test results that I will receive next week from the endocrinologist. I still feel that the man is largely full of crap thanks to this bullshit, but I am interested to see whether all my little hormones are moaning like the proper whores they are and whether my blood is giving any clues about my current state. […]
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