To Mark Re: Dr/Patient Relationship

August 16, 2005

I totally agree with you Mark...and I would think that a doctor

would be glad to have an informed patient. I mean I don't go in

there with an attitude, you know, all ready and " flexed " to start an

argument. But, I've gone in there and suggested things, etc., and

it just seems that ever since I took it upon myself to go see Dr.

Lehman in Indiana and the resultant dual sphincterotomy that he

performed, my PCP just has this " thing " with me. He STILL refers to

Dr. Lehman as " that GUY in Indiana " and he even has inferred a few

times that that is what " wrecked my health " and " caused unecessary

problems. " He gets really tweeked whenever I try and interject

things and says " you've been on the internet again haven't you? " As

though going on the internet is some sort of evil thing. I don't

know, I get the idea he thinks I'm a hypochondriac but I also get

the idea that he gets his ego " massaged " by the patients that go in

there and treat him like he's the " be all, end all " of MDs in this

area.

Oh well, off on a tangent here but what I mainly wanted to ask you

since you mentioned the " natural " approach is if you know of any

sort of natural, home remedies for this awful edema that I'm having

of late. I really need to find a way to approach him on this

one...because like I said he claims that Amiloride doesn't cause

pancreatitis and yet Heidi found something to the contrary on

webmd/rxlist.com. If I so much as go in there and give him

conflicting info...he'll poo poo it as " that internet thing " again,

and yet, I can't take the drug he's offering me because it IS

causing me to have attacks. I've given it two separate trial

periods and each time it always coincides with a worsening of

symptoms. I'm going to give it one more trial period after I feel

like I'm well enough - I'm still coming out of the second attack and

if THAT causes another attack (and god, how I hate to play my own

guinea pig here!!) then I will be forced to face him with the news

that it isn't working and the resultant " Jekyll-Hyde " behavior.

Thanks Mark and I sure hope you're feeling better...you've had a

bout of late yourself haven't you?

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