On Doctors and Rashes
When I go to a doctor, in my head, the scenario goes something like this:
Me: Doctor, I have this problem.
Doctor: Oh? Tell me about it. What are you experiencing?
Me: Well, I have this symptom, and I feel this way and then this happens.
Doctor: Hmmm. Well that sounds like _____________. It is caused by ________________. All you need to do is ________________________ and you will be healed.
Me: Thanks!
Doctor: You're welcome. You don't have to see me again until you have another problem.
In reality, doctor appointments go rather differently. As a missionary, I once saw a doctor. That discussion went more like this:
Me: Doctor, I have this weird itchy rash on my hands.
Doctor: Oh? (Looking at it) Hmmm. That's weird. Tell me about it.
Me: It showed up a few weeks ago and won't go away. It itches like crazy. Hot water seems to make it itch worse. It is spreading from my pointer fingers to the rest of my fingers and hands. It seems centered around my knuckles.
Doctor (taking notes): Interesting. Tell me more. Have you ever had this before?
Me: Maybe a little bit when I was in college, but it has never been nearly this bad before!
Doctor: Hmmmm.
Me: ???
Doctor:
Me: Is there anything I can do about it?
Doctor: Well, you have eczema (meaning an itchy rash... He just gave an official name to what I told him I had...). It is probably an allergic reaction to something that is aggravated by stress and exacerbated by heat.
Me: So what could be causing it?
Doctor: It could be anything, and it would be too difficult to figure out all the things you might be allergic to. Here are some free samples of a steroid cream that might help. Or it might not. Try it and if it doesn't work after six weeks or so come back and we'll try something else. (My interpretation: I have no idea what is causing it. Hopefully it will go away on its own, but this cream stuff probably won't hurt anything. If I'm lucky she'll transfer to a different area in the next six weeks and I won't have to see her again.)
The rash on my hands still comes and goes and I still have no idea what causes it.
Now I have seizures that come and go.
Yesterday I saw my neurologist again now that she had the results from the EEG and the MRI that I took. I was hoping that the results would be more conclusive. Something like, "Your seizures are being caused by _________________, and so we will do __________________ and they will go away and you won't have to worry about them again."
When I went to the cardiologist and did a bunch of tests, they found stuff, but nothing that he could say was the cause of my passing out. Now with the neurologist, again they did a bunch of tests, and again they found some stuff, but again, nothing that she could pinpoint as the cause of the seizures. There is a small scab on my brain, as though I had experienced head trauma at some time or had a history of migraines, but it is small and isn't likely to be causing the seizures. The EEG was interesting, showing that one side of my brain wasn't working the same as the other half of my brain, and the neurologist would like to do another EEG in a few months to see if that was an anomaly, (it wasn't evident in the EEG I did last year) but that isn't causing me to have seizures either.
After explaining the test results, the doctor began explaining the many different types of seizure medications with their strengths and weaknesses - the side effects. In the end, she told me she would send a prescription to the pharmacy, and we would try it. I'm to let her know if I have issues with the side effects, or if I have another seizure (meaning it isn't effective) and she'll gradually increase the dose as necessary.
Last night after I picked up the prescription, I was reading the warnings and information that came with it. The most important information I should know about this medication are the potential side effects including (but not limited to) problems with concentration, attention, memory, thinking, speech, or language; increased level of acid in the blood (which means an increased chance of kidney stones); suicidal thoughts or actions; and serious skin rash that can cause death. Yay.
So once again, I have an annoying symptom without an obvious cause. Once again I've been given a medication that may or may not help, only this time the side effects are a bit scary. I took a pill last night, and so far there is no sign of the deadly rash... I guess that's good.
Me: Doctor, I have this problem.
Doctor: Oh? Tell me about it. What are you experiencing?
Me: Well, I have this symptom, and I feel this way and then this happens.
Doctor: Hmmm. Well that sounds like _____________. It is caused by ________________. All you need to do is ________________________ and you will be healed.
Me: Thanks!
Doctor: You're welcome. You don't have to see me again until you have another problem.
In reality, doctor appointments go rather differently. As a missionary, I once saw a doctor. That discussion went more like this:
Me: Doctor, I have this weird itchy rash on my hands.
Doctor: Oh? (Looking at it) Hmmm. That's weird. Tell me about it.
Me: It showed up a few weeks ago and won't go away. It itches like crazy. Hot water seems to make it itch worse. It is spreading from my pointer fingers to the rest of my fingers and hands. It seems centered around my knuckles.
Doctor (taking notes): Interesting. Tell me more. Have you ever had this before?
Me: Maybe a little bit when I was in college, but it has never been nearly this bad before!
Doctor: Hmmmm.
Me: ???
Doctor:
Me: Is there anything I can do about it?
Doctor: Well, you have eczema (meaning an itchy rash... He just gave an official name to what I told him I had...). It is probably an allergic reaction to something that is aggravated by stress and exacerbated by heat.
Me: So what could be causing it?
Doctor: It could be anything, and it would be too difficult to figure out all the things you might be allergic to. Here are some free samples of a steroid cream that might help. Or it might not. Try it and if it doesn't work after six weeks or so come back and we'll try something else. (My interpretation: I have no idea what is causing it. Hopefully it will go away on its own, but this cream stuff probably won't hurt anything. If I'm lucky she'll transfer to a different area in the next six weeks and I won't have to see her again.)
The rash on my hands still comes and goes and I still have no idea what causes it.
Now I have seizures that come and go.
Yesterday I saw my neurologist again now that she had the results from the EEG and the MRI that I took. I was hoping that the results would be more conclusive. Something like, "Your seizures are being caused by _________________, and so we will do __________________ and they will go away and you won't have to worry about them again."
When I went to the cardiologist and did a bunch of tests, they found stuff, but nothing that he could say was the cause of my passing out. Now with the neurologist, again they did a bunch of tests, and again they found some stuff, but again, nothing that she could pinpoint as the cause of the seizures. There is a small scab on my brain, as though I had experienced head trauma at some time or had a history of migraines, but it is small and isn't likely to be causing the seizures. The EEG was interesting, showing that one side of my brain wasn't working the same as the other half of my brain, and the neurologist would like to do another EEG in a few months to see if that was an anomaly, (it wasn't evident in the EEG I did last year) but that isn't causing me to have seizures either.
After explaining the test results, the doctor began explaining the many different types of seizure medications with their strengths and weaknesses - the side effects. In the end, she told me she would send a prescription to the pharmacy, and we would try it. I'm to let her know if I have issues with the side effects, or if I have another seizure (meaning it isn't effective) and she'll gradually increase the dose as necessary.
Last night after I picked up the prescription, I was reading the warnings and information that came with it. The most important information I should know about this medication are the potential side effects including (but not limited to) problems with concentration, attention, memory, thinking, speech, or language; increased level of acid in the blood (which means an increased chance of kidney stones); suicidal thoughts or actions; and serious skin rash that can cause death. Yay.So once again, I have an annoying symptom without an obvious cause. Once again I've been given a medication that may or may not help, only this time the side effects are a bit scary. I took a pill last night, and so far there is no sign of the deadly rash... I guess that's good.
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