my wife is required to get her blood thinning levels (known as an International Normalize Ratio; or an INR) checked every so often. She has been on Coumadin for six weeks now (with four and a half months to go, at least) and in the beginning her levels will fluctuate as the doctors try to pinpoint the correct dosage for her body chemistry and eating habits (certain foods can counteract the effectivity of Coumadin).
a therapeutic INR level is between 2.0 and 3.0 (where a 1.0 is "normal"). she has gone to the clinic weekly to get it checked out, and it's fluctuated rather wildly. it rose up to 3.7 three weeks ago, whereupon her dose was adjusted. it dropped the subsequent week to 2.4 (just about where she needs to be) and was told to come back in two weeks. being the vigilant and intelligent girl she is, she went back the next week (just last week) surmising that without an adjustment it is likely her INR had continued to plummet.
it had dropped to 2.0.
then, the doctor told her to come back in a month without adjusting her dosage! A MONTH! he obviously didn't review her chart, or the trend of her levels, or anything like that. anything BELOW a 2.0 and she is at risk to have another clot. jesus h. christ!
well, my vigilant and intelligent wife KNEW a month wasn't right as her levels had been steadily dropping, and who was to say it plateaued at 2.0? she went back this week to get it tested and lo and behold! it was at 1.6! well below the therapeutic level. if my wife wasn't vigilant and intelligent, she would've been walking around with an increased chance of having another thrombic episode, and we would've been through the same hell we just went through six weeks ago.
so, my question is this: what the hell are we paying this guy for, exactly?
insight? no.
concern? no.
expertise? no.
incomptence? apparently.
apathy? definitely!
i can tell you this, we will no longer be paying him a dime. we're looking for another clinic that can handle the workload; with doctors who care, understand trends, and with the time (or ethics) to do their job right.
and all of this now reminds me of a little joke:
Q. what do call a person who graduates last in his class in medical school?
A. doctor.
it appears we found ourselves such a guy.
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8 comments:
i have no faith whatsoever in these croakers. NONE!
That's awful, justin! There has only been one doctor, in all the moving we've done, I've ever fully trusted. You waited a long time to see him but he thorough. He talked with you. He asked questions. He was great and there have been times in the last few years that I wished I could just fly up and see him. I worked in that office and he won my trust because he was the only doctor who could explain what was wrong with Lila. She had strep throat but we didn't catch it in time and it went into her bloodstream.
Working at that office was an eye opener. The PA was the most disorganized person on earth. We'd give her charts with test results on them and a month later, they'd be collecting dust on her desk. Awful! I wonder sometimes why certain people decide to be doctors and nurses. Not all of them have the brains or personalities for it!
Still sending good vibes. :)
Way to go Julee, and Justin. It is a shame that we have to be OUR OWN doctors, but apparantly we do. Keep looking, your sure to find one you can trust.
Glenn,
doctors are very hard to trust. luckily, our Primary Care Physician is VERY good. we got lucky on that one. but, our stay in the hospital definitely gave us a greater appreciation for nurses and greater understanding for what doctors do (or don't do).
Kat-
like i said above, i think the truly great doctors are few and far between; and i, too, question the motives of some people to enter the medical field.
Mom C-
thanks. it really IS a shame that we must do what the doctors won't. it's crazy.
but, vigilance is key in these matters! :)
sorry to hear of yet another glitch along the way – glad Julee was wise enough to listen to her own alarm bells – always better to second guess some of these bell ends.
thanks Owen and Brian-
things should be fine here on out
--fingers crossed--
JB:
I hope you find a better doctor.
One who knows what's he/she is doing.
thanks Luis,
so far so good....the hard part is the "better" doctor so much as the "one who knows what they're doing"...you know?
i suppose the same goes for just about any profession.
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