WOWOWOWOWOW!! The Blog has past 20,000 page views!!!!!!

Today!  Yay!

Oh my gosh!  I come back from vacation just in time to see that the blog has now past 20,000 page views!!  That is incredible!!!

2007

 When I started this blog three months ago, my primary purpose was to be of service, to share my experience and to gather & organize important information on the vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, anti-inflammatory lifestyle.  A secondary goal was to build a warm, loving community of support amongst blog readers & fellow bloggers.  I feel that the blog is reaching both of those goals today and I have all of you to thank for it!  


It really makes me feel amazing to know that so many of you relate to my story.  I LOVE hearing yours too!  


As a doctor, I learned early in my career that you can never judge a person's insides by their outsides!  EVERYONE has a story and there is always something of value to learn from each person who crosses our paths.  I feel privileged to have you trust me (and the blog community we have built here) enough to share YOUR experiences with me--via comments, emails and Facebook.  


As we grow together I hope you will share the resources on this site with your family and friends that are interested in health, medicine & pain-free living.  By working on your own health and well-being you will attract others to your lifestyle simply because you can demonstrate that a truly vibrant life is possible!  At least that has been my experience!  


Thank you for being here & participating in the conversation!
With gratitude,
:-) Dr. Cat

Coming Up 

• Sugar-Free, Gluten-free Vegan Sweets for Valentine's Day!!
• Preparing for a Joint Replacement--What can YOU do?
• SLEEP:  Why Is it Critical for Your Health ~ Join the Sleep Challenge!!!
• What Do You Do When You Are Vegan & Your Family/Spouse Is Not?!
• What The Happy Nurse & I Are Eating This Week & The Recipe of The Week!!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

~Part 2~ A ToolKit to Communicate with Your Doctor and Take Charge of Your Health!!

Today, for Medical System Tuesday (well it actually is a Wednesday this week because I didn't have time to complete the post earlier!) we continue to focus on outpatient topics to optimize your health BEFORE you become acutely ill.  As I mentioned last post, I completed my inpatient series of "Insider Tips" and now we've moved out the outpatient series.  


Before we get started, I wanted to ask you that after you read this post, could you please share in the comments below if you have ever had problems communicating with your doctor and/or understanding why various tests or medications were ordered?  What do you do to make sure you are getting high quality care? Any tips to share with your fellow readers?


My goal by the end of this outpatient series is for you to be able to:

• get the BEST out of your doctor--in other words, to do your part to empower your doctor to optimally use their expertise to your benefit
• understand what is going on with your own health--knowledge is power
• learn how to organize your health information to improve the quality & efficiency of your medical care
• know how to advocate for appropriate preventive care according to your age, gender & medical history
• learn how to prevent medical errors (check out the last two of my reader Christy's comments on one of my older posts--she followed the communication tips from my previous post and actually was able to help prevent her doctor from making an error with her medications!!!-note--there are a lot of comments on that page, scroll down to the end to see what I'm referring to!)
• be an active teammate in your wellness journey as opposed to a passive participant

Part 1 outlined the the first steps to seize control of your own health. How many folks followed through on the assignments?  Don't worry if you didn't--even if all you do is read these posts to become aware of ways to improve your ability to receive excellent quality healthcare, that is an important beginning!!!  


Oh!  And for all of you who haven't been to a doctor in years--please go.  As you can see by Part 1, you may be due for some important preventive screens that can actually save your life!!

Ok moving on.


Today, in Part 2, we'll get specific about what data your doctor need to really get a comprehensive view of your health.  Why does this matter? Lets look at an example:


You come into your doctor's office for a check-up and says the following:  "I'm feeling good doc--a few headaches over the last few weeks, but other than that, I'm ok."  The doctor has 15 mins to see you.  The doctor checks the chart--your vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, etc) look good, your "finger stick" to check your blood glucose is mildly elevated.  So the majority of the visit you and the doctor talk about your headaches--what do they feel like, how long do they last, how severe are they, what makes them worse, what makes them better?  And then you get a quick physical exam, a prescription for some migraine medications and are sent to the lab to get your blood drawn.


Sounds ok right--well there is just one problem.  You forgot to mention that you've been urinating a lot more than usual, you feel thirsty all the time, and you actually came in this morning after not eating dinner last night or breakfast this morning because of your headache.  So when your doctor looked at your blood glucose "finger stick" they didn't become alarmed because they assumed you'd eaten breakfast that day and the elevation was due to that.  Instead, you may have diabetes.  It might show up on your labs but maybe not.  Next thing you know, three weeks later you are being admitted to the hospital with severe hyperglycemia and require IV insulin & an ICU stay.... 


Ok this is an extreme example, I know, but it could be really be anything--a black mole on your leg that is getting bigger but you forget to mention, some weight loss that wasn't intentional but didn't seem important to bring up, some increased shortness of breath with activity that you downplay to the doc....etc.  It is VERY hard to hit on all the points needed to make a good clinical diagnosis in a short interview.  That is where you come in!!  Docs need data from the patient to get the right diagnosis!!!!!!  It is 100% a team effort!!! And you can help them ask the right questions based on how organized you are before you come to the visit & how well you understand what is important to share with your doctor!


So to get you organized and keyed into the important parts of your history to share with the doctor, here are your assignments for Part 2. These are all key tasks to complete in the two weeks prior to your appointment. Your goal is to enter your doctor's appointment organized (see Part 1 as well) AND make sure you leave the appointment with a clear understanding of what your doctor recommended and most importantly, WHY!

1)  If you have any of the following chronic diseases, prepare CLEARLY PRINTED OR TYPED logs for your doctor on ONE PAGE:

• If you are a diabetic or have hypertension (high blood pressure) and you don't keep a log of your blood sugars or blood pressure, in the 2 weeks before you go to the doctor record daily at least 2 "finger-stick" values (at least one before breakfast) and get your blood pressure measured each day (use a home blood pressure cuff or grocery stories sometimes have them).
• If you have angina record the number of times you have been symptomatic in the two weeks prior to your visit and what you were doing at the time.
• If you have an inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome, write down your daily bowel symptoms for two weeks prior to the appointment as well.
• If you have depression or anxiety try to keep a "mood diary" for the two weeks prior to the appointment
• If you have a pain disorder, try to keep a "pain diary" of your pain levels at four different points throughout the day, when you needed to take your "as needed" medications and what effect the medication had on your pain level.  

2)  For EVERYONE:  Sit down before the doctors appointment & review your health in every body system you have so you will able to answer your doctor's questions quickly & clearly.  


Here is a link to good old Wikipedia's "Review of Symptoms". (currently down due to the Jan 18th protest--check it out tomorrow!)  There are also twenty million "review of symptoms" forms that pop up on a google search.  Don't get overwhelmed.  Just quickly go through each category and not any abnomalities.  For example:  Eyes: blurry vision, Heart: nothing, Lungs: cough, etc.

6) Read through everything you have organized (including the medical info sheet & history from Part 1) and make a list of questions to ask your doctor.  


Try to limit the list to less than 5 questions in order of priority.  Make at least two questions the following:

"Doc if you could pick two things for me to work on healthwise this year what would you choose?"

 And 

"Are there any medications I could potentially get off of if I changed my eating habits or exercise level?"

You can also use this Free Online "Question Building Tool" that the AHRQ put together to help patients prepare for doctor's appointments!

7) Once you have finished your question sheet, clearly PRINT/TYPE it and make 3 copies:  


1) Give 1 to the receptionist at check-in and ask her to give it to your doctor's nurse so your doc can look over the questions (if they have time) before entering your room. 



2) Give 1 to the doc when he/she walks in the room--just say: "I made this brief list because I want to make sure that I ask you the questions I have but also help you stay on schedule because I know you are very busy" (the doc will LOVE this statement).


3) Keep one in your lap with something hard to write on. leave enough room after each question on your copy so you can write down AS THE DOC IS TALKING so before they leave the room you can *quickly* repeat what they said so you make sure you understand.  Just say:  "Doc, I want to quickly repeat what you said to make sure I understand so I can follow through on what we discussed."  Don't be intimidated if you doctor appears to be in a hurry--keep it short but make SURE you repeat everything back to them--you'd be surprised how many errors can be prevented this way!!!


Ok!  Well that concludes this series!  I am hopeful that with this information you will be able to overcome the extremely frustrating & dangerous constraints on the patient-doctor relationship due to insufficient time to do a proper clinical interview!!!    


If you do end up using any of these techniques, please report back and let me know how it goes!!  I hope that this information is helpful to all of you! 


The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

Struggling With Loved Ones' Choices: A Guest Post from The Happy Nurse

It's the Happy Nurse (the Happy Rehab Doc’s husband) here with a little post.

I'm Canadian yet I've lived and worked in the U.S. since the mid 1990's. My parents are retired and like so many Canadian seniors they head to warmer locations for the winter. We had the good fortune of having them here with us over Christmas this year, as they stopped in on the drive south. Unfortunately my father had some chest pain on Christmas day and spent a few days in the hospital having labs and other tests performed.

I spend my working life taking care of patients immediately after open heart surgery. I'm a critical care nurse and enjoy the challenge of open heart, trauma and ER. In short I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I like having to make quick choices and having to be really good at my job. Yet I still know that however many numbers I'm looking at, however many labs I'm reviewing, however many xrays I look at, it's always some one's mother, father, son or daughter. I think that the real strength of my job is being able to blend the technology with the person. Medicine is both art and science. When we bring the two together we are much more successful than either alone.

This time it was my father lying on the hospital bed waiting to find out if he was going to be ok. All the knowledge I have doesn't change the heart ache of seeing him and my mother scared. It's debilitating. I find myself having a very difficult time being objective. I try to remember this sensation, the fear, the helplessness, when I care for patients. If I do then maybe I can ease the pain of another family.

My father is a wonderful man. I have learned so much from him about how to live, give and love. It hurts to see him and my mother worrying about what will happen. I wish so much I could take that pain and worry away. My father also eats poorly. He smokes and doesn't exercise very much. I do my best to help him make better decisions but they are his to make.

I'll always love him no matter what he chooses. I know that others out there struggle with loved ones who make poor choices, I see it at work every day. I know your pain and I share your prayers. Thank goodness everything worked out and he was discharged to continue the trip.

I can't control or force him to change. I can try to lead by example. I can make sure he sees how much happier and healthier I am when I choose to eat vegan. When I choose to get on the rower rather than the sofa. When I celebrate life by living it to its fullest. I have my own health challenges. I have years of poor choices including what and how I ate to overcome. Today I choose to try to be an example to myself and my family.

A Toolkit to Communicate With Your Doctor & Take Charge of Your Health! ~Part 1~

Its Medical System Tuesday, a New Year and time for a new way of operating with regard to your health!  After spending the last part of 2011 sharing my "insider tips" on how to get the best medical care in the hospital, with the New Year upon us I'm going to shift to talk about outpatient topics to optimize your health BEFORE you become acutely ill.  I'll also throw in a few posts over the coming months specific to my medical specialty--like how to use rehab techniques to prepare for a joint replacement surgery or how to use multi-disciplinary interventions to treat chronic pain. 

Today I'm going to talk about how to take the first step to seize control of your own health.  This step begins with your primary care doctor.  


Outpatient clinics are hectic--you have a very short period of time to communicate your health concerns & give your doctor the opportunity to use their professional training & clinical judgment to assist you.  The result is often leaving appointments feeling confused about the treatment plan and having forgotten to ask about a key medical symptom that has been worrying you!  


But this doesn't have to be the case!  There are a few simple things that you can do to get the professional best out of your doctor and leave appointments feeling empowered to take charge of your own health!


It will require some work on your part but the benefits are tremendous!  Are you ready to get started?  In the comments section of this post let me know if you are COMMITTED to taking these steps and then lets check in next week to see if you were able to follow through!!:-)

Your first goal is to organize yourself as a patient to enable your doctor to get all the data they need to fully focus on and address your key medical problems.

As you can probably tell, I like writing lists so guess what?  Its time for another list!  This time its YOUR list of assignments for the months of January and February 2012. :-)  

Here are the first three tasks (lets take it step by step and don't get overwhelmed!)

By next Sunday, January 15th:

1) Make an appointment with your primary care doctor to be seen in one month from today.  When you make the appointment ask for either the first appointment of the day or the first appointment after lunch.  This will make it more likely that you will be seen close to on time.

2) Make time to sit down and organize all your health information before you go into the doctor (make a medical info sheet, put all your health-related paperwork in one binder, call ahead and make sure the doctor's office has all your updated information in their files.)

3) Research what recommended health screens you should have based on your age and exposure.  Make a written list of any tests that haven't been done that are appropriate for your age range. 

MEN:  print this PDF file out: http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthymen.pdf or visit the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) website at: http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthymen.htm 

WOMEN: print this PDF file out:  http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthywom.pdf or visit the website: http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthywom.htm

Ok now lets get to it!  Tune in next week for the key tasks to complete in the two weeks prior to your appointment and the techniques you can use to make sure you leave the appointment with a clear understanding of what your doctor recommended and most importantly, WHY!

Coming Up:

• Build a Healthy Immune System with Food: Part 2 of SuperImmunity for Kids!
• The Clear Skin Diet and My New Soy-Free Life!
• Treating Pain with Food--more thoughts
• Foods That Make You Feel Good (A New Series Featuring Individual Foods & Their Nutrient Power)

Coming Up on Medical System Tuesdays:

• Part 2: A Toolkit to Communicate With Your Doctor & Take Charge of Your Health

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

A Psychiatrist is Grateful She Helped a Patient Get His Life Back After Alcoholism & Liver Disease ~ The Holiday Happiness Marathon Continues!! ~

The HOLIDAY HAPPINESS MARATHON Continues!!!!! 

Welcome & Thank You To All My Guest Bloggers--Doctors, Nurses & Patients whose stories warm our hearts....Here is Another Story From A Doc!

The Moment That Sealed My Conviction For A Career in Medicine

Dr. Cawthorn-Opalinski, Psychiatry

San Antonio, TX

In my intern year on call, I was seeing a patient on the medicine floor as a consult. It was in August so my anxiety was high as well as my stress level given I was 6 months pregnant.


 The patient was admitted for alcohol detox, and suffered chronic liver damage from the years of heavy alcoholism. I spoke with him for about 1 hour including discussion of clinical depression and many loses secondary to alcoholism including employment, marriages, familial relationships (including children), financial independence.  Using motivational interviewing I was able to elicit insight and movement from precontemplation to contemplation in the stages of change.  Since I saw him on consults, I did not have direct follow up, and I did not know what occurred after our discussion.


 A couple of months later, I received word in my resident meeting that the patient had stopped drinking and was able to reconnect with his children which furthered his motivation.  He had written a comment card in the patient advocate office about how impressed he was with my bedside manner, and he felt that our discussion changed his life.


 I was thankful for the recognition, but more than that thankful that I played a role in helping a family regain a relationship with their father, son, brother... This was 3 years ago, and although I have never seen him again, I think about that interaction and hope for his continued sobriety and healthy relationship with his family.


 This was a moment that sealed my conviction for a career in the medical field particularly psychiatry.

Thank you Doc for sharing your story with us!!  Readers--lets send a little love back to Dr. C in the comments!!  Write away!! :-))

Previous HOLIDAY HAPPINESS MARATHON Posts:

• A Pediatric Anesthesiologist Loves Being a Doctor & Is Grateful for Patients' Parent's Trust!!
• After Having Brain Tumor Surgery, A Patient is Grateful for "The Best Nurse I've Ever Had!"
• She lost 60lbs, Got Her Health Back and Is Grateful for Her Doctor for Saving Her & Her Husband's Life by Recommending a Plant-Based Diet!!

The Holiday Happiness Marathon Begins!: A Pediatric Anesthesiologist Loves Being a Doctor & Is Grateful for Patients' Parent's Trust!!

The HOLIDAY HAPPINESS MARATHON Begins!!!!! 

Welcome All My Guest Bloggers--Doctors, Nurses & Patients whose stories warm our hearts....Here is Our FIRST Story!

Why I Am Honored To Be A Doctor:
~Dr. I, Pediatric Anesthesiologist , Dallas, TX~



HRD's goddaughter
(with the permission of her mom)



I love being a physician.  As I finish my training to become a pediatric anesthesiologist, I am honored that parents entrust their children’s safety to me every day.

Each time I walk into a new patient’s room, I try to earn first the child’s and then the parents’ trust.  As a parent to two little boys, I don’t even want to imagine how hard it must be to separate from your baby before their heart surgery, or their brain surgery, or even just before they have tubes placed in their ears for chronic ear infections.  

For me, my favorite part of being a doctor is playing with the kids and distracting them from what could be a terrifying situation.  If I can keep a child calm and happy as they breathe my anesthetic gases until they fall asleep, they usually wake up calm and happy.  I am not perfect, and every child doesn’t wake up calmly, but the challenge of accomplishing that goal and giving my patients a positive experience keeps me going. 

There are a lot of frustrations in medicine, but doctors became physicians because we love what we do.

Thank you Doc for sharing your story with us!!  Readers--lets send a little love back to Dr. I in the comments!!  Write away!! :-))

ONE DAY LEFT to contribute medical stories to the Holiday Happiness Marathon!! Join us!! :-)

If you are a patient, have you ever had a good medical experience that made you grateful for your healthcare provider and modern medicine?  Or, if you are a healthcare provider do you remember any moments with patients that made you happy you became a doctor, nurse, etc?  


Are you willing to briefly share one of those stories with my other readers?  (stories should be no more than 1-2 paragraphs in length).
From December 19th to December 25th I'm going to host the "Holiday Happiness Marathon:  Doctors, Nurses & Patients Share Special Medical Moments!"  In the midst of all the chaos of the season, this post series is a special week to pause for a quick moment & smile as you read positive stories about healing :-)


I already have doctors, nurses & patients lined up to share their stories (I've gotten some already from the docs & they are AMAZING), but there is room for some more!! 


So if you want to take a quick break from the holiday madness & join the story-telling marathon, shoot me an email with your story (no more than 1-2 paragraphs long) to happyrehabdoc@gmail.com and I'll add you to the marathon!  I need all the stories by no later than the end of the day on THIS Wednesday, December 14 (THAT IS TOMORROW!!).  It doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to come from you! :-)

 Hope to hear from you!  

Tip #5: What is the Hospital Routine? (Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital)

Being in the hospital is literally like moving to a foreign country.  People eat & sleep at different times. There are all these people wandering around but you don't who they are or what they do.  A lot of the time it feels like everyone is speaking a foreign language.


Tips #5 & #6 are your travel guide:  


Tip #5:  Know the hospital routine:

• Nurses & Techs usually change shift at 7 am & 7 pm.  If you want ANYTHING (especially pain medication) ask for it BEFORE 6pm or 6am.  Do not expect to have any response to requests between 6:45pm-8pm or 6:45am-8am unless it is an emergency & you are seriously ill.  Family members & patients:  do not ask to talk to a nurse during this time frame.  Why? They are giving report to the next nurse or tech.  If you want the next nurse to have ALL the important details about your family member or yourself than you should allow them to transfer care uninterrupted.  Your care on the next shift will be better!

• Social Workers:  they usually work 8am to 4/5pm & are INCREDIBLY busy & overworked.  Most ones I know end up staying after the time they are supposed to leave.  If you want to meet with them, don't ask to do so after 3pm.  Ask early & it will happen.  Ask late & you may have to wait until the next day.

• Physical & Occupational Therapists:  they usually work 7am-4pm.  They usually see their last patient at 3pm.  You will not be able to talk to them after this time & You probably won't ever have therapy after 3pm.  

• Dietary Staff & the Kitchen:  They bring trays to patients at Breakfast (usually 6am-8am); Lunch (usually 11am-1pm) & Dinner (usually 5pm-6:30pm).  If you want snacks in between meals you will need to talk to the Dietician or the Nurse.  On the floor they usually have a few sodas, crackers, applesauce/pudding & juices.  Don't expect a big spread in between meals.

• Doctors:  We usually sign-out our patients around 5pm to the person covering for the night.  This does not mean we leave then--I regularly work past 6pm--but what it does mean is that if you ask for your doctor after 5pm you usually won't get them (you will get the night person).  Ask before 4pm if it is urgent that you see them that afternoon.  But as noted above, if you have further questions that aren't answered in the a.m. rounds & are very important to be answered that day, ask the doctor in the morning if they have time to come back in the afternoon before they leave

Next time:  Tip #6:  Know the Role That Each Person Plays In The Hospital Team ((Who ARE These Different People Taking Care of You & What DO They Do??!!))

Coming Up AFTER Thanksgiving:

• SuperImmunity Foods for KIDS (Calling All PARENTS!)
• RECIPES & Ideas: Snacks!  YUMMY & Portable Plant-Based Snack Food--all sugar-free, gluten-free & without adding oil or fat!!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

TIP #3: Key Question to Ask the Doctor in the Hospital (Part 2 of 5 on "How To Get The BEST Medical Care: Insider Tips From A Doc!")

Today we are continuing in the series on my "insider" tips on how to get the best medical care in the hospital.  I hope that the last post on Tip #1: Be A Teammate & Tip #2: Be Concise & Organized made sense and was helpful to you!  


Two of the biggest problems I found last week when being on the patient side of things was that non-medical people need to know:

1.  what questions to ask to understand what is really going on (today's post)
2. what things to tell the doctor about themselves to get the best care (BE PREPARED) (tomorrow's post!)

Lets face it.  Some docs are not very good explaining things to patients in layman's terms.  Remember, we M.D.'s have spent so many years studying that we have become an expert in diseases rather than people. I think that things are getting better these days since more focus in our medical education has been on how to improve the doctor-patient relationship.  

Until the doctor-patient relationship is perfected, my advice is to give your doctor a roadmap of questions so they can translate their often brilliant medical skills into layman's data for you to understand enough to be a true teammate for healing.  


Ask us these questions (and follow my advice from the last post on being CONCISE & ORGANIZED to get the most out of each conversation with the doc.)  


************************************************************************
The MOST important point is to always repeat back to the doctor what you think you understand AND write it down!!--I'll give you an example on how to do that at the end of this post.  Here we go!
************************************************************************

Key Questions To Ask The Doctor:

                     

#1:  If it isn't what you think it is, what else could it be?

#2:  If this was your mother/your father/your child who would you send them to see?  (this was a key question for my family last week because we were in a hospital initially that I wasn't familiar with & my family member needed surgery.  I asked this question to the ER doc QUIETLY & he helped us find the BEST surgeon in the facility).

#3:  When you say that "we have a good chance" what does that mean?  What percentage of patients survive or are cured with this procedure/treatment/etc? (SO important particularly when dealing with a terminal disease or a serious, life-threatening procedure)


#4:  Why do you think this medication is necessary & what side effects does it have?  (piece of advice--many docs will discontinue some non-critical meds immediately if they anticipate or get push-back from the family (to avoid conflict.)  The meds may actually be very helpful--for example, stool softeners/laxatives/pain medications.  I encourage you to follow what they recommend after asking WHY).


#6:  If you REALLY don't want to do something that the doctor recommends ask them SPECIFICALLY what the consequences of refusing the med or procedure will be and why they think it is important? 

#7:  Here are a few more excellent questions from the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ).  They call these the "Top Ten Questions to Ask Your Doctor". Some of these are more applicable in the outpatient setting but they are helpful!  Check them (and AHRQ) out!


Example of Conversation that uses the "team" approach and helps the doc communicate better:  
(I put this together using diseases from a reader's comments & my own experiences with patients--obviously this isn't what actually happened!)  
Patient: Doc I was wondering if it isn't pneumonia than what else could it be?
Doctor:  Well it could be any number of things but I do think it is pneumonia
Patient:  Doc I know that you have years of experience, could you please give me the name of another disease that looks like pneumonia but isn't pneumonia?
Doc:  Well it could be congestive heart failure, but I don't think that is likely.
Patient (repeating back):  So what I hear you saying is that you think it is pneumonia but another disease that can look like this is congestive heart failure?
Doc:  Yes, that is correct.
Patient:  Hmmm well doc I think I forgot to mention that a few years back I saw a heart doctor that said my heart wasn't very good (the patient in this example doesn't have the proper written history I mention in Tip #4 (tomorrow's post).  As you can see, this info sheet would have helped them get a lot better care from the beginning)
Doc:  Really, I didn't see that on your history?!
Patient:  Yes, I'm sorry I forgot to mention that in the chaos of the emergency room
Doc:  Well this changes things a bit.  Let me examine the other data knowing this new information and get back to you later this afternoon.
Patient:  Great.  I really want to feel better and it doesn't seem like the treatment is working.  I appreciate you looking into this.


Hope this is helpful!!

Next Time:  Tip #4:  Key Things You Need to Know About Yourself To Tell The Docs:  How to Make A Medical Info Sheet!! 

Coming Up AFTER Thanksgiving:

• SuperImmunity Foods for KIDS (Calling All PARENTS!)
• RECIPES & Ideas: Snacks!  YUMMY & Portable Plant-Based Snack Food--all sugar-free, gluten-free & without adding oil or fat!!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

RESOURCE: Find out how your Medications & Vitamins Interact with a FREE Online Tool!!

Have you ever wondered how the medications and the vitamins/supplements you take interact?  There is a fantastic FREE resource on the web--its a tool designed by one of my favorite authors:  Dr. Leo Galland! Its called :"Pill Advised":  http://pilladvised.com/.  I'm all about freeeee awesome information and this webpage is so helpful! 


Basically you can enter your medications and supplements (after registering FREE) and the program will tell you GOOD & BAD interactions and which additional supplements would help maximize the GOOD effects of medications (from anti-depressants to allergy meds!).  Not only that but it can tell you how different VITAMINS and SUPPLEMENTS interact together!  Ever wondered whether your multivitamin was really giving you the benefits of all the vitamins listed on the bottle? It also tells you interactions with food & sun!


Check it out! Hope this is a resource that helps!


You can also check out Dr. Galland's facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pill-Advised/271060899666

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.