The Start of My Diagnosis Journey
In TV medical dramas like House and Grey’s Anatomy, often a patient will present with a collection of seemingly unrelated symptoms. The doctors will run test after test, try treatment after treatment, and the patient will get worse until suddenly the doctor finally diagnoses the patient. In these shows, the doctors believe the patient, they run the tests the patient needs, and they don’t give up.
There’s a reason these are fictional TV shows.
My 9 Chronic Pain Must Haves
Treating the Parts, Not the Whole
Having multiple illnesses means that I also have multiple doctors who treat me. I need a different one for every system of my body that malfunctions. Kind of like I’m collecting them like Pokemon.
And that’s all fine. Doctors specialize so they can more effectively treat a patient, and I get the reasoning behind that. But it also means that my pulmonologist may say one thing and my ENT may say another. As a patient, it’s on me to keep track of what my doctors say and figure out who to listen to.