The Quality Of Life

Wow life is constantly throwing curve balls at us.  I feel as though I am being tested to see how well I can handle the stress that has been bestowed upon us once again.  I have to admit that I can feel my heart pounding in my chest and I have been out of sorts for the past month and a half.  I have to remind myself everyday that everyone experiences life situations that are not pleasant, but it is how we react that makes the difference in our quality of life.

My husband and I have learned a lot about interacting with health care professionals in order to get the best care and reducing our anxiety.  The environment and attitude of the healthcare team will make or break the experience that the patient has and it will make a difference in the quality of a patient's life.

I have read some good articles about the trust level of the patient-doctor relationship.  I studied in college the importance of looking at the patient as more than just their disease.  Yes we can just prescribe medications that we supposedly know will help the patient, but a lot of times I have seen where the quality of the patient's life has been disregarded in order to sustain life.  I have even heard a doctor say he did not have time to care about his patients and his job was to just prescribe medication.   That statement hurt my husband and I both.  I am sorry that a physician was so overwhelmed that he felt the need to drop that bomb on us, as my husband was trying to stay alive.

And here we are again facing another life threatening situation, in which my husband was told to just take a medication and see the doc in another three months.  My gut was telling me something was not right.  You can't live without your heart.  And no it was not a cardiologist that said there is nothing else you can do.

Okay, so my husband and I will stand before you and say we have great anxiety when it comes to doctors.  We have not had good experiences with doctors and  we have become afraid at times to speak up.  We have even been threatened by doctors who I guess have their own insecurities.    We have learned to be our own advocates.  My husband has always looked to me for advice and my advice was get yourself to a cardiologist and quickly.  We have overcome so much to let the ship sink now.

There is actually a term for people that suffer great anxiety before seeing doctors called iatrophobia of doctors.  I don't quite have all the symptoms, but I have developed an anxiety disorder to the point that I personally a couple of years ago would have let myself die than see a doctor.  My husband also has anxiety, but he will go to the doctor and suffers from the white coat syndrome.  It was evident, as we saw a new cardiologist two days ago.  I could see my husband's chest quivering through his shirt and his blood pressure was 30 points higher than usual.  I didn't want to tell him that my heart was about to pound out of my chest.  And if not for the love I have for my husband,  I would have run out of that room as fast as I could.  I reminded myself over and over in my head that I am not responsible for how the doctor acts, but I am responsible for how I react.  I have to be able to talk to the doctor about my husband's treatment, as my husband freezes up during the visits and can not remember half of what was said.  I had to really step up to the plate and had prepared myself with records and health history of my husband.  I prayed over and over that the doctor would be receptive and listen and he did.  In fact he commended me on providing all the info and it helped him to create a healthcare plan for my husband.  He encouraged us both to talk our life and the quality of life that my husband wanted.  I felt that God was there with us and we had an excellent experience.  

The doctor was glad that my husband had come, because he can help my husband live a good quality life.  He also told us that if we had not come his heart would have failed.  He also told my husband that his quality of life mattered and that at any time he could not tolerate the medications that he was not to hesitate to call.  He said that there are a lot of options available.  He was compassionate about the quality of life and assured us both that we would be enjoying a lot more of life.

I thank myself for not letting the anxiety paralyze me and believing in my medical knowledge.  We need to be our own advocates and it is all right to seek second opinions.   I am not going to let a bad experience with a doctor determine the outcome of my life or anyone that I love any more.   The doctors who don't have time to care perhaps should think about another profession.

A person is whole, mentally, spiritually, and physically,  not just a disease.   Quality of a patient's life is dependent on the physician understanding that every patient is unique and that not all patients respond the same to treatment that has been based on research and studies.  A patient should never have the fear of telling a doctor that they are experiencing difficulty with a treatment.  It is irresponsible to let a patient suffer, because the doctor does not believe that side effects exist.  Every patient needs someone to be an advocate for them so that when the anxiety takes over and paralyzes them they can get the help they need. 

It is not how long we live, but the quality of the life we live.

Life is beautiful !!!

Elizabeth:)