Happy New Year!!! Got Neuropathy? I wanted to talk in this new year about being one of the herd out there of neuropathy sufferers. What does this mean you ask? Well, I have touched on it in earlier posts, but it simply means in today's complex nightmare called the Healthcare Industry, you want take as much control as you can and not simply be one of the herd! Make no mistake either, it is an industry! I have always started my Business Ethics 301 classes asking the same question... What is the number one goal in business??? With today's juggernauts like Alphabet (Google's Parent Company) adopting corporate motto's such as "Do the right thing," a bright eyed student would always answer to make the world a better place... Oh sweet child...
The Healthcare Industry is like any other business, their primary goal is to make MONEY! Now, I am not saying they cannot have other much higher altruistic goals involved in within the different parts of the medical profession, but like anyone else, these people wake up and go to work each day to make a living like you and I. More importantly, with the American Healthcare System in the state it is, it almost takes a master's degree to break down and understand the charges on your Explanation of Benefits (EOB), much less understand actually if you are being cared for properly.
All this being said, during my fight with cancer I will never forget sitting at MD Anderson Cancer Center waiting for one of my three days of appointments. The piece of paper I held in my hand had directed me to a certain floor and Zone Blue. Now each floor, had big color signs hanging over the reception desks throughout the floor and instead of the common terms like radiology, Lab, etc., they had large sings with a colored square. Of course it may have been the horrible tasting granola bar I found at the bottom of my bag to munch on, but as I sat there waiting for my next appointment, I watched "herds" of patients walking around, looking at their pieces of paper, looking up at these large colored signs, shaking their heads, and repeating the process a few more times! I decided sometime after this experience that if I was going to live and fight my condition (and subsequent effects of the big C like neuropathy), I could no longer be a part of the herd and would need to empower myself.
Become Educated
First and foremost, become educated about your condition and do not rely on your doctor or their staff to educate you about it. This means doing research yourself and with the Internet out there there is really no excuse for not doing this. You first want to go with the primary resources of the internet. This does not mean simply reading what your cousins neighbor's sister posted on their social media about what their doctor told them! You want to look at resources such as what we used to put together our www.neuropathy.info website. National Institutes of Health (NIH), Large Hospitals and Research Centers, and supporting Medical Journals in the field. Too Daunting? well read websites like neuropathy.info which tries to also break down the science talk to a more understandable language and then use that to go back to specific research based on the vocabulary you have gained. If you really want to go the extra mile, you can look at the primary research into many of the treatments prescribed at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
Keep Track
If you do not have a treatment journal already, make one!! This is one place where you can either type or write down each and every appointment you have had (and the reason you are having it), every medication you have taken, every medical test and blood work you have been given, etc. (and there results). If you think it is important, record it!! I went to a total of nine different hospitals during my cancer treatment and this was just the hospitals... Now certain health systems have gotten much better with the portability and common record systems, but you never want to have a new provider wait on your records or more importantly you do not want to be sent back to all those places to get your own records for a new provider. Also you will be shocked but having a well organized journal can actually save you money and give your provider a better overall picture of your conditions. Before doing this, I cannot tell you how many times I would receive the exact same expensive blood tests days apart from different providers. So asking for a copy of all blood tests etc will most defiantly save you time and money, much less the needle pricks. Also it will sometimes give the medical provider a more clear picture of who all you are seeing and possibly help them form a better medical history of you which is always important for neuropathy as it is always caused by another condition!
Take Control
This is the most important one. Realize that you are in control of your healthcare. If you do not understand something, ask questions until you do. If you do not like your doctor, get a new one! In today's world of primary care physicians, referrals, and specialists for every single different ailment, it is easy to see why we have all simply become one of the herd. However, this is because we ourselves allow it! We are the consumer! The customer is always in charge! I have always been a big fan of having an Internist as your primary care doctor even if your insurance company calls them a specialist. They will often times handle things themselves or understand at least how one thing is connected to another. Since my cancer, my Oncologist has basically served as my primary care physician. I am comfortable with him and he knows me the best which is important. I will go to him for any other referrals I need, but if he can handle the treatment for whatever aliment I have, he always will.
I know better than most that medical treatment can be daunting at times, and if you do not feel well on top of it, you tend to digress at times. I know I do... However, each new day is just that... A new day! Do one thing today that will make tomorrow a better day! They add up! Happy New Year!!
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