It's Sunday afternoon and here I am in a safe and comfortable home. I read about the terrible conditions of others around the world and wonder why I've been so blessed. It's what inspires me to continue to do good works; ......or try to.
whenever my physician gives me direction regarding medication, tests or requests for data, especially a new physician to my team, I tell him/her,
"I'm a compliant patient. However, if there is something I decide not to do for some reason or another, I will call the office and advise you of that."
That's a promise I have always kept.
There have been times in these many years it has been difficult to tell a physician I didn't agree with him/her. However, I have found that the trust between physician/patient can only be maintained if we as patients always let our physicians know what we are or are not doing.
If we are taken to a hospital to be treated for something, it should NOT be a guessing game for the physicians. They should be apprised as to what is in our system.
Enough said regarding this. I want to tell you about the letter I just wrote to my "eye guy" regarding something I'VE been doing.
The last time I saw my ophthalmologist, I was having some problems with my eyes. I had been placed on Digoxin and of course that slows the heart. Obviously slowing the heart might cause less nourishment to flow to the little bit of retina I have left in the eyes. That lack of nourishment that occurs in diabetics who may have high blood sugars (vessels filled with high glucose) causes deterioration. For me, even with fairly 'tight' blood sugars, there is little circulation and thus, malnourishment of the vessels. This is how I understand it.
I first started my eye problems after 40 years of Type I diabetes, in the 1990's. My doctor in New York advised me to take Bioflavinoid tablets called, at that time, CVP Capsules. They were by prescription. I took 3 a day and now I understand it was the same as the Bioflavinoids with Vitamin C that are sold over the counter in most health food stores.
I finally was taken off the Digoxin, had taken 4 weeks worth of Bioflavinoids (3x a day) as well as other vitamins, kept my sugar as tight as possible and my eye problems seemed to clear again.
Listen up guys! We should be thinking of what our body is trying to do in healing and maintaining itself and pay attention to its needs.
My letter to my ophthalmologist suggested we try to nourish our eyes by taking more care of the nourishment we send to those vessels. Also when a patient is on Digoxin, the slowing of the heart curtails the nourishment to vessels. I believe a patient should be placed on the smallest dose possible because most diabetics have small amounts of retina left.
After working in the medical community for 30 years plus, I do understand why it's so difficult for the physicians if they don't know what you're doing that's different from what they have suggested. DO TELL THEM. They don't have to agree but they do have to know.
Enough for today. May you be as well and happy I am for today.
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