Wednesday, December 8, 2010

"Heart Failure"

Don't panic. I don't have heart failure, at least not yet.

So I go to my internist today due to ongoing water-retention issues, especially the Popeye arms. The doctor, whom I don't care for, asks when was my last echo-cardiogram. I say August 2009 when I was in the hospital for my transplant. He says: I'm going to send you for one due to the possiblity of heart failure. I probed a little deeper. Are you referring to congestive heart failure? Yes.

If I were a doctor, I might say something like this: Let's do an echo-cardiogram to rule out any possible heart issues. I wouldn't blithely toss out the phrase "heart failure" to a patient who's obviously dealing with some challenging medical mysteries such as sudden sky-high cholesterol and an iron-laden liver. I fully expect him to say something like, Patricia, you are going to die someday. Thanks for reminding me. Is there a test for that?

This is the same doctor who responded to Marty's complaint about headaches with: I'll give you a referral to a neurologist to rule out a brain tumor. We had a good laugh over that one.

So I have to find a new doctor. This one's clueless, and although he might be a really good physician, he gets my goat.

5 comments:

Ann said...

What a jackass. Hope you find an internist that better suits your needs. There's nothing worse than a doctor with no people skills.

Ronni Gordon said...

I was scared by the headline, but when I saw it in quotes, I knew something was up. What an idiot doctor. Definitely time to find someone else.

Sue S. said...

wow.......get rid of him ASAP

Jim said...

He needs to go. New doc needed.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I am checking this blog using the phone and this appears to be kind of odd. Thought you'd wish to know. This is a great write-up nevertheless, did not mess that up.

- David