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MattyC 
I finally had the guts to watch the trailer for the Under Our Skin documentary and with only 5 minutes in length it brought me to tears. Im not sure I think I can watch the whole thing...
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That took guts Matt. I did watch the whole thing, BUT I wasn't alone. I saw it at a Lyme support group meeting (that's the 1 and only time I went, I get all the support I need on this board), and asked my Mom and sister to join me.
I was pissed off by the movie. Totally PO'd by the doctors who were so cavalier about our health. Ba$tards! I actually muttered (ashamed to admit now) that I hope they get Lyme. So they'd get a clue, but I wouldn't wish this on anyone.
If you do decide to watch more of it, do it with someone who loves & supports you. And if you don't watch it, no one would blame you. It's pretty intense.
Oh, and 1 more thing. When I watched it, the woman running the support group said she'd talked to each of the patients, and met 2 of them. The woman in the pool, and the young girl, are both doing EXCELLENT now :) I couldn't have taken it if there hadn't been a positive outcome (in real life, not in the movie).
Hugs,
Jenn
UechiWoman
Thanks Jenn, I am actually downloading it right now, but there are some viewings of the documentary in CT this month. I kinda would like to go but I would need someone to go with and im not sure i'd be able to find someone. Regardless...
I just watched a news clip promoting the documentary from last year. They had that girl you mentioned on the news. She said she is like 90% back to full health, which is great.
As for doctors, it makes me really concerned about getting proper treatment. I'm a straight shooter and if doctors start giving me the run around, they are going to learn to hate me.
Hugs back at ya.
MattyC
If I remember right, you're a s/w engineer, right? Me too (or I was before I got into project mgmt). Something I find interesting is the parallels between engineering and medicine:
- Triage a problem
- Develop a theory
- Test out the theory; if it holds, try the most likely "fix"
- Test again. Is it fixed? Yup? Great, you're done. If it's not, go back to beginning.
When we engineers can't figure out a problem, it's "unreproducible". When doctors can't figure out a problem, it's the patient's fault. Go figure!
UechiWoman
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA wow. Thats a good one.
MattyC
Thx :) I also find that I am much less likely to put a doctor on a pedestal, because of these similarities. I mean, to some extent, they're following cookbook steps for dx and tx. Or are bound by insurance reasons to do test 1, followed by test 2 or test 3, depending on the outcome.
I mean, not much different than a data flow diagram!! Right?!?!?
So when they get high and mighty, as they can tend to do, I feel the need to level the playing field. Some of my doctors aren't that wild about me, either..
Oh well! I'm getting excellent care, being my own best advocate :)
UechiWoman
Yea, and thats a scary thought. I just hope that I encounter doctors that are way smarter than me LOL And I find my naturopath to be such a man. Unfortunately he is waaayy busy. But the analogy is brilliant. I think it just comes down to the people and the extent of their knowledge and experience.
MattyC
I find it empowering now, tho I do know what you mean about it being a little scary. We're used to doctors being all-knowing, having all the answers. But we're smart too, and know our bodies better than anyone else could ever know it. I sort of take the "trust but verify" approach to working with my doctors. Yep, they have the training and the knowledge. But are they any more capable of understanding something than I am? That's where I've begun to doubt, and so do a lot of research on my own. In the end, I've found out just how cutting-edge my doctors have been, by checking out what they've prescribed.
My neurologist was (is) one of those scary-smart people. I entrust her with my life, and she's really knocked it out of the park for me. So there are exceptions. And I'm glad you're getting treated by one of them, too! But the everyday PCP? Not all that different from you and I.....
Jenn
UechiWoman