My Road to Health

Friday's appointment with my doctor in Tulsa went very well. Although I didn't see him until one hour after my scheduled appointment time, he took me seriously and spent quality time with me. He agreed to the Antibiotic Protocol (AP) and even ordered Minocin at my request, even though he recommended doxycycline. When I told him I had "broken up with my rheumatologist," he wrote a replacement prescription for my prednisone and didn't criticize me for the difficulty I have had in lowering it's dose. He recommended some vitamins and herbs, which lifts him up a notch in my esteem; our bodies need more than man-made chemicals whirling through them. When I requested another blood test that he thought was unnecessary, he still agreed to it. Finally, I'm on a path that will lead to the road I think I should be traveling.

Bottom line: Dr. B. considers himself the "coach" in my health care, while I'm the "team captain." That's exactly what I want. Some people want their doctor to tell them exactly what to do so that they can follow a series of suggested steps with minimal (if any) study or research. The doctor knows best. Not me. I spend hours, days, weeks reading books and scanning the Internet. I make my well-known lists and answer my own questions. By the time I finally see a doctor, I know the route I want to take. I want the doctor to consider that route and give me insight, not dismiss my extensive research.

The rheumatologists I've seen dismiss AP. They only want to prescribe strong medications that knock out my immune system while they gloss over the fact that those same drugs greatly increase my chance of cancer and death. I'm glad to find a doctor who will consider a different route, even if I have to travel two hours to see him.

In all this posturing about my medical decision-making prowess, I recognize that my decisions have not, to this point, led to health. My mobility is severely limited and my stamina is stuck at an all-time low. Somehow over the next year I hope to find a crossroad between idealism and realism. I'm hoping and praying that this new road will be the road back: back to vitality, movement and spark; to living instead of merely surviving.