One of the toughest things for me in terms of my medical care is trying to make decisions. I know that a lot of people avoid this problem by having their doctors make their decisions for them. I can’t do that though; I think that it’s really important for individuals to be informed about their own health care and to advocate for themselves when working with their doctors in order to get the best results.

A lot of people will just go to the doctor that has been recommended to them and will then take that doctors advice about what to do for their problems. I’ve never done this. I do a lot of research into which doctors I want to use for different problems. I then ask a lot of questions of those doctors and make sure that whatever we’re doing is really individualized to my own needs.

I’m not saying that I don’t trust doctors. I just think that individuals know themselves better than anyone else does. You know what your specific issues are. You can tell if medications are working right or not. You have a gut feeling about whether one solution is better than another even if it’s less traditional. I think it’s important to listen to yourself and to advocate for those things that you know you need. If you have a good doctor, the doctor will be happy that you’re so involved in your own care.

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Tags: advocate, doctors, health, hub pages, kathryn vercillo, medical, patient safety

Last month I was so sick that I couldn’t get out of bed for almost a week and I couldn’t really do much else for about three weeks after that. It was awful. It wasn’t even serious really – just a cold that turned into a bit of a lung infection which exacerbated old problems with asthma. Once the cold was out of my system, I was able to get the rest under control.

However, I did have to go to a doctor about my asthma because I hadn’t been to one in ages. The trip went exactly as I expected that it would. He told me that I need to use a steroid inhaler every day forever and ever and I told him that I didn’t want to do that and we were basically at a standstill. It ended with me agreeing to try this inhaler for one month and come back to the doctor.

I tried the inhaler for all of two or three days before I decided that the side effects weren’t worth the trial. I also just felt like I was going against all of my gut instincts by taking this steroid inhaler so I quit it and now I have to go back to the doctor and explain that. And I really just don’t want to bother. I’ve spent years trying to figure out what to do about my asthma and I haven’t found any great solution that works for me.

Sometimes I really hate the hassles of trying to figure out the right medication and medical choices. I don’t know if I should use a steroid inhaler or an albuterol inhaler or keep trying to find a holistic solution for asthma that works for me. I don’t know if I should get my wisdom teeth removed or just leave them be. Heck, sometimes I don’t even know if I should take aspirin or Tylenol for a headache.

And I feel like I don’t really get information from my doctors that is helpful. The pulmonologist just says that I need the steroid inhaler end of story. The dentist insists that I need to get my wisdom teeth removed even though they don’t bother me but she can’t really give me a good reason why. I feel like I have to be my own advocate and do research myself but there doesn’t seem to be enough accurate information out there for me to know what to do. It’s frustrating! And it makes me really really glad that I’m basically healthy.

Tags: asthma, doctors, health, hub pages, kathryn vercillo, medication, medicine, pain relief