Doctors Post By Marmite

Posted by Marmite on August 02, 2007

REMEMBER 50% of the Doctors graduated in the bottom half of the class.There is ONLY 1 doctor who is BEST in the hospital, State, Country! Then there is always different fields of endeavour.. We go to GI, do you realise that very few specialise in the Pancreas?We go to Surgeons, do you know that very very few specialise in the pancreas.. then there are ones who specialise in roux n y, whipple etc etc. Some are better than others.. Do you know where in the worl dis considered the country of excellence for Pancreas Surgery? India. They have more than 1 billion people, 4 times the pop of the US, so they have more people to operate on.
I have laid in hospital MANY times, A&E way too much and to a lesser extent, wards.I often overhear patients families complaining bitterly that the "doctor SHOULD KNOW .."I have seen people get deathly ill, go to hospital, been admitted, got well, and gone home and NO ONE has any idea what was wrong with them, or how they got better.One lady, on my first trip, couldnt digest food. She could handle "clear soup", cup of black tea or coffee, no problem, but white tea and coffee or cream soup would simply sit there and cause her to bloat. She had a black belt in karate, so she was rather fit and generally healthy. One day they had her scheduled for surgery, she came bac, and the surgeon said "Good news.. it is not cancer!".She was horrified.She asked what it was?? No idea they replied, but it is definitely not cancer!
She got better, and went home, I saw her in hospital a year or two later, same problem and she had lost a lot of weight and condition. I have no idea what has happened since.
You MUST remember that they only perfect diagnostic tool is AUTOPSY, and no one seriously ever wants to go there. Especially not just for a diagnosis.
Celeste and Jerry did 59 dud doctors b4 finding one that worked. You go as far as you have to. You have to put together your MEDICAL TEAM. That includes all of them. Listen to CJ and their experience. Don't stop with anyone who is not the very best, most especially when it comes to surgery.. Panc Surgery is no longer regarded as probably mortal, 30% chance up til the 1990s just from cutting into the pancreas.About that time, I think it was the UK surgeons who decided that only panc accredited surgeons could do scheduled panc surgery. It spread world wide as a std. In emergencies anyone will do what they can to help anyone but if there is panc surgery to do and a panc surgeon is available they lead the team, always!
Again, a great whipple surgeon may be poor on puestow, so check their record. You might wonder how someone gets to be good at something without doing it first, it is the tutor system. If you wanna be a whipple guy, go assist a whipple guy and stand beside him thru all his surgeries, eventually, you will be handed the reigns while he looks over your shoulder.
As the patient or family there of, ASK QUESTIOS. The better the question the greater the respect you develop with your medical practitioner. My GP/PCP at age 60 said he had never seen a case of pancreatitis in General Practice. He vaguely remembered maybe a coupla cases when he was a Reg at the end of his training. he said he had no intimate knowledge, and that he would help but if it were panc related, go to the panc specialist thru the hospital.
When I left my home city to come 200 miles north, for family support, my Panc Surgeon said there was ONLY one guy to talk to here about pancreas here in Welly. Take good advice when it is on offer!
The single most important SECOND thing, after assembling the best medical team you can get no matter what, is to keep the Food & Event diary. This is the greatest diagnostic tool you will ever help with in your particular case. Remember, every panc case is unique and ultimately different to everyone else's! Write down everything you did and ate in the 6-12-24 hours prior to you attack or episode.This is CRITICAL to determining if you contributed to your upset condition. AND you probably did. Many foods do contribute or are even the prime cause of attack. Alcohol is probably the #1, Stress is probably the #1, physical movements are probably the #1, Hot Spice is probably the #1, find out what your #1s are, and avoid them at all costs. Antibiotics were a surprise to me, but they can hurt hurt you. Cold is another one that upsets me, food acid, [apples/tomatoes], all sorts of thiungs will contribute to setting you off. One hospital admission was due to 3 tomatoe sandwiches, I never found this out til 18 months later when a support group meeting tossed this up as a trigger for another person.
I can't speak highly enuff of support groups for pancreatitis. Simply sitting down with other people and telling them how bad that pain was, the horror of the way I live, and they were able to nod sagely and say " I know how that feels"! THAT was special. That is after a long time having A&E doctors and nurses abusing me, frequently, nurses in wards doing the same thru basic ignorance, and lo9tsa people not understanding the condition, me or my particular levels of discomfort with this horrible affliction.
I have never said or posted the word disease. I use affliction, it seems a lot more powerful and nasty. Disease seems to me as a rash, or creeping minor nastiness even if it is severe like leprosy. I don't think it is a BAD enuff word to describe what my pancreas does to me! AFFLICTION, I am afflicted by this damnable medical condition!
Take this seriously, it can kill you. Chronic Pancreatitis will not kill you, but it will destroy your additional organs, liver, kidneys, lungs, heart and lots more. The F&E diary is vital in helping you work out things to do to lower the misery you go thru. It is not a complete solution but it can stop a lot of things starting. As described elsewhere, things like stress can hardly be avoided sometimes. I remember watching the World Trade Centre atrocity unfold live on TV and the stress levels rose, instantly. Simply seeing something as bad as that was translated into pain readily. Stress in everyday life thru family and friends can't be avoided, and that can put you in hospital. Identify every thing in your life which is aggravating your panc condition and then avoid them like the plague.
Talk to family, friends and workmates about your condition and how it effects your everyday life. Tell them things they can do to help or not hurt you, and encourage them to understand you and what exactly you are going thru.
I know my own family never really believed me when I told them what was happening to me and how bad it was. Even when I moved closer to them, they still never really understood, but with time and them doing my total shopping etc, they have come to be my best defenders and they isolate me as much as possible from any and all situations that can hurt me. Namely they deal with all govt departments and hospital administration. They drive me to all doctors visits and come in with me. They help me write out all the questions and points I want to raise and make sure those points are covered as well as writing down answers so I can discuss these with them later if I have missed things.
I no longer function at a high level. I have short term memory problems. I can remember things from school in full detail but can't tell you what happened last week, or even things I agreed to do. I figure this is cos my life is so bland, with no changes, that I don't have points that stand out as different or unique. I only know it is weekend cos the TV programs are different. I don't watch much TV but it is on all the time I am awake, it provides me with human type company while I am alone, which is the way of things except for twice a week. I have a cleaning lady that comes in once a week and my brother and sister come over once to just talk about whatever happens to come up. Life has changed a lot since I was a cab driver dealing with a hundred different people every day!
Stay in control of your life. Do what it takes to monitor you version of this affliction. Inform others about your plight, and ask good questions of your medical team, it will improve your relationship with them.
KEEP your attitude as best you can, positive and be open to suggestions, no matter where they come from. Don't let anyone tell you how to feel or behave, only you can KNOW this. Speak up for yourself, or do what I do, have your family speak for you to insulate yourself from idiots and arseholes, they are everywhere, including hospitals and especially in govt departments.
Have a pain managed day!


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