Posted by Jennifer on May 25, 2000, at 0:56:33
In reply to Re: Medical questions, posted by Deanna on May 18, 2000, at 16:55:32
> >With all the new meds that come out on the market; and the different reactions individuals have to them; many can find more info among those here than from their MD's. I know my MD had only 8 patients in the history of his practice on Nardil. He gave me quite a bit of info, but it wasn't enough for me. I ended up giving HIM new handouts for his patient's. It used to be that physician's could be knowledgeable in most areas of medicine, but as the amount of scientific knowledge increases, it becomes harder and harder to do. In addition, many American's live under a health care system where they are restricted to certain physicians, whom they may not feel are the best in their field(and everyone wants the best).
As far as your friend, you may think they have tested just about all there is, but that is what they are telling you. Take the thyroid gland for instance. If you run one test like TSH it may come back negative and most doc's will say that's good enough, but with that kind of weight loss, why not do the entire set of thyroid tests, even though the chances are low? I recently saw an endocrinologist who felt my MD had tested all he could over the last 2 yrs. I told him what additional tests I wanted. After rolling his eyes, he agreed. Turns out one was positive and now I go for treatment for Cushing's Disease. Arm yourself with knowledge. Be persistant. I can't tell you how many times I've felt blessed to be a nurse because I know what to ask for. What do non-medical people do? They look here. Good look. Make sure she sees an endocrinologist and gynecologist for hormone tests. Then possibly Internal Medicine MD. If all else fails, email a University Hospital Medical School here in the States and "challenge" them with the problem. You never know what med student will be eager to "problem-solve". Jen
poster:Jennifer
thread:1952
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000517/msgs/34557.html