Update on the Doctor Front

Yesterday, I was so frustrated over my bust-up of a doctor's appointment that I didn't get to mention my good news.

My blood pressure has gone down some. My last reading, in June, was 135/90. Yesterday, it was 125/90. Also good news is the fact that my medication has been reduced from two pills to just one pill a day. (Yes, that is blood pressure medicine - heredity plays a part in it, but I will be the first to admit that my weight plays a larger part.)


Also, I have an appointment with an allergist - for allergy testing and a 2nd opinion - in about 2 weeks. If you want to check out the good doctor's credentials, as well as his information for new patients - go to: Dr. Jeffrey Davidson. I saw the links to the A Word A Day and PFLAG sites - after making the appointment - and knew that I'd picked a pretty decent doctor. :) {Of course, the Canadia-philes and/or BNL fans will notice that Dr. Davidson attended McGill University in Montréal, Quebec where he earned his M.D.}

If I'm doing the Right Thing ... why do I feel so wrong?

I know that by going to the allergist for a second opinion, I'm doing the Right Thing^TM. I'm picking up where the internist seemed to blow me off (in the bad way, you dirty birdies ... heh) - yet, it almost feels like I'm 5 years old and undermining the authority of a grown-up, of Someone Who Knows Better^TM.

I know, I know ... it's my body, I hired this doctor - and if I don't feel comfortable with her bedside manner and/or the way she handled my presenting complaint(s), I can go to another doctor (or specialist) for a second opinion - or fire her. I wouldn't be this way if I were facing the Big C, or something else potentially terminal - I'd be clamoring to get a second, maybe even a third opinion (okay, so that would be denial speaking...) rather than taking the word of just one doctor.

Still, it feels strange. I didn't like the treatment (or lack thereof) that I received at the hands of my internist, so I am going to a specialist, to have my suspiscions confirmed or refuted - whichever the case may be. It's what I did when I suspected that I was sinking into a heavy depression - and what I did when I didn't think that my internist could properly treat a sports-related knee injury ... why I can't wrap my mind around the fact that this is the exact same idea is beyond me.

Also, it'll be good to find out what all I am allergic to - up until now, it has been like a crapshoot, total luck of the draw. Whatever the allergen of the season was - that was probably the allergen that had me positively miserable at that time. The only definites seem to be pet dander and grasses - not just any pollen that may come from their being mowed, but just coming in contact with them (i.e.: walking in the grass barefoot, or sitting on the lawn, without a towel or blanket between the grass and me) can give me a nasty case of hives.