I am not a frog: Medical Specialists must collaborate

 I am not a frog.

Remember the frog from your 9th grade biology class?  We studied muscles, eyes, heart all as separate units.   We looked at the frog as individual parts, not as a whole.

Specialists tend to want to look at our individual parts, not as a whole.  Well, not MY specialists.  If I meet a new doc and they don't look at me as a whole person, or refuse to collaborate with my. other docs they find themselves thrown off of Team Gail.

I had a visit with my nephrologist.  He spend the appointment going over my bloodwork ( which was all in range) and my medications.  He got to the anti-inflammatory that I was taking.   He  laid into me about how taking anti-inflammatory medication for this long will put me into renal failure.  He even said "You keep this up and you will be on dialysis in 10 years".   I was shocked.  I got myself together quickly and had the presence of mind to ask, 'So what else do you recommend to control my inflammation?"  His response was, "That is up to your rheumatologist".    I shared since being on my cocktail of infusions and anti- inflammatory medication I am living a full life. I am able to work full time, have a social life and travel.  Without my anti-inflammatory I'd be curled up on the couch crying in pain.All he could do was repeat that my medications will trash my renal system and I'll end up on dialysis.  I  recently changed primary doctors and thus decided to seek out a nephrologist within his medical group.  When I met the new nephrologist she listened to my whole story. She listened to what I'm taking and how I am functioning.  While she did say that my cocktail could potentially be damaging to my renal system she could see that my numbers were great and I clearly have a high level of functioning.  She even said , "With all the blood work that you have from your primary doc,  endocrinologist and rheumatologist I won't  order more tests. I can review records from all the others".  You can guess which nephrologist is now on Team Gail

Contrast this with my ophthalmologist.  I was experiencing extreme dry eyes.  The ophthalmologist asked if she could contact my Rheumatologist.  One portal message later and the 2 of them were chatting on their personal cell phones.  They came up with a plan together. 

I am not a frog in a science class that can be dissected into individual parts.  Your team MUST be willing to collaborate with your other specialists.




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