Saturday, July 15, 2017

June Recap

Happy July, It continues to be very hot here. It has been in the 90's for a few weeks now with no rain in sight. It would be nice to have some moisture but I am not complaining though. I would much rather have it be hot then snowing and cold. How is the weather where you are?
My medical drama continued through June. I went to see the new primary care doctor. It was pretty much another big waste of time. She was supposed to be familiar with my case after talking to the office manager back in March when I complained about the other doctor there. The office manager told her about my case and after looking it over and said she would be willing take it on. I told them I was going to wait to see the vulvar specialist first though.  When I got there she had no clue as to what was going on with me though. I even asked the person that made the appointment if she would be reviewing my records again prior to me coming in since it had been a few months since my last visit. She said yes she always reviews cases before appointments but she obviously never did. At that point I was already annoyed and she must have heard it in my voice because she told me there was no need to be angry which made me even more mad. I proceeded to try and tell her what was going on, I didn’t get very far though. She moved on to the exam rather quickly and even had me undress before I talked to her. She was not very gentle during the exam but did see where the problem was because I took her a copy of the photo the Vulvar specialist took while I was there to compare it too. She wanted to use a spectulm but I said no because I had my period and didn’t want to go through that again especially since I knew that was not where the problem was. After looking she said that the area the Vulvar specialist said thought could be cancer was healed and looked nothing like it did a few weeks ago when I saw her so there is no need to do a biopsy now. The is nothing to do a biopsy of. That is good news because the vuvlar specialist said that if it healed with the steroids it is most likely an underlying inflammatory condition which is what I have been saying for years but this doctor never looked at the other records I brought her. She basically told me that because my vulva looks fine now not to go to any more doctors, don’t put anything else on it and just live with it even though I told her many times I was still in pain. Who says that to someone????? I tried to explain to her that the vulvar pain was just one small piece of this puzzle there are a lot of other things going on but she did not want to hear about them. I showed her the problem in my mouth which she acknowledged was there but did not have much to say about it. I also told her I had talked to a gynecologist last week that was recommended from another group I am a member of and was willing to look at my records. She agreed it would be a good idea to take them to him since he has been around for a long time. I also told her I was considering seeing a functional medicine doctor but she had no idea what that was. I told her if I did that would she be willing to refer me to specialists but she said she would have to talk to that doctor first. She also suggested I might have Bechets which has come up quite a few times in the past and suggested I see a rheumatologist which I have already done many times in the past so she dropped that. Then she asked me the strangest thing, if I had  ever been physically assaulted or abused which I found really odd. The answer was no and even if I was did she feel that my pain was psychological then?? I did get her to refill my medications and asked her a few more questions like if I needed a mammogram and if blood to needed to be taken to make sure all the antinflamatores I hav been taking were not causing more problems but she said no to both. I am just so tired of being treated like this from the medical community. When does it stop?? I am emotionally , physically and financially drained at this point but I am still in pain so as much as I just want to give up but I don't know if I really can at this point, 
Last week I got a call out of the blue from the vulvar specialist at University Hospital the one that was scaring me with the C word. She asked for me when I went to answer the phone than asked if I got the photos I was looking for. It totally caught me off guard but I told her yes, I had requested those photos over 3 weeks ago so I wondered why would she be calling me now and I told her that especially since she sent me out of there with no follow up to which she replied that yes she did because she referred me to the dental school for a biopsy of the problem she saw in my mouth. I thought that was an even odder thing to say since I went there for my vagina not my mouth. She never asked me anything about that or gave me any follow up for that problem. I told her that I went to see another doctor about my vagina though and the problem she saw when I was there is gone now. She was really excited to hear that and automatically assumed the steroid ointment she gave me worked but I had to set her straight again and tell her that it made me burn worse and I went back to using the Desonide a less stronger steroid cream which the other doctor gave me. That must have been what resolved the problem something she would have known if she had done a follow up. I also told her I was still in pain though and the other doctor told me to just live with it. She responded by saying she could not speak on what the other doctor said but once again her recommendation was to go to the dental school for a biopsy of my mouth to which I responded that she sure liked to cut people and she replied that she really didn't. Why was she going to cut me looking for cancer then when the problem resolved with the steroid?? She even said in her notes that if the problem resolved with the steroids that it is likely that there is an underlying inflammatory condition which is what I have been saying all along. She could have suggested I try the steroid again first before rushing to cut me. I had to beg her to even let me try it in the first place. At this point I was very angry and we were getting not getting  anywhere so she said I should contact a patient advocate. I told her I had already done that and never got a call back. She ended the conversation by saying she would have them call me then and that was it. I spent the rest of the night trying to make sense of it 
The next day I called patient advocate again myself. I was going to file another complaint against her since I never heard back from them. Nobody answered though so I had to leave a message. Later that afternoon I got a call from the patient advocate I originally spoke to. She was not of much help though which was not a surprise. I did find out the reason the doctor called was in response to my complaint the first time. That was a horrible way to try and work things out with me though. I told the patient advocate what happened that she started the conversation by asking if I got the photos I requested. No how are you or anything like that and she agreed that was not good. She did not really have anything else to offer me as a resolution though since this doctor is the only one that deals with the sort of thing there. I asked about seeing the other doctor in the clinic but she didn't know anything about her. We ended the conversation with her saying she would ask around to see if she could get a recommendation for someone else for me to see outside of there. I did not think I would hear from them again but I did the following Monday and this time she told me to go see a urogynocologist for the pain but could not recommend one.  I just wish I could rewind and have never gone there now. All it did was cause me more pain and stress. I don't understand how doctors like her can even be doctors. At this point I am going to go and meet with a  functional medicine doctor in August. I just hope I can wait until then because I am still in a lot of pain especially when sitting. 
In the meantime things in my Etsy shop have been slow again. I was able to make a new ribbon and fabric highchair banner to go with my nautical party theme though. 

We also got these great appreciations photos from a buyer showing some of my nautical party decor in use.


With all the medical stuff going on I needed to do something to make me happy so Emilia and I went and got our toes done again. I also got this necklace while I was there it matches the bracelet I got last month.

We have been eating more salads for dinner now. This is Skinny Tastes Steak Baja Salad. The recipe is from her cookbook Light On Calories Big On Flavor. You could leave off the corn and cheese if you wanted to make it Paleo or Whole 30. It is still gluten free though.
Finally I wanted to leave you with something cute to look at. I made this dog bowtie for a buyer who bought the wrong size. It fit Lily perfectly though. To bad her name doesn't start with B. 
 I also just made this custom crown for another return buyers dog. She happens to be the same age as Sophie. Normally Sophie would probably wear a larger size but I think it still looks cute on her. Also thanks to Aura Frames and their new pet collections for asking me to include some new photos of my dogs. 
That's all for now. I hope the rest of the month will be a good one for you and I will be back next month with more to share then.