Having chicken pox when young increases one’s chances of getting shingles later. We are on the downside of that latter condition right now, and how that leads to my “person of the day.”
Once the condition developed some quick online research pretty much confirmed it. A discussion with a medically qualified out-of-state relative confirmed that certain medications would be helpful if taken promptly. It was a weekend evening and that prompt window was almost gone. Nevertheless, on Monday morning six separate calls were made to various appropriate physicians’ offices to see if one could get a quick/brief appointment and a prescription. No one would accommodate it the same day and most said to go to the emergency. I could have had my relative call in a prescription or contacted an online doctor but decided against it. Instead I decided to aggressively follow some natural diet treatments, which were researched, and thus far they have seemed to be very effective.
A few past experiences come to mind. In the early 1960s working on a car in the snow outside | developed a very sore throat. Was given $5 and drove to the mining company’s doctor office and was given a shot of penicillin for what was probably strep throat-problem solved. Many years later in a major city an acute pain developed in my upper back while at work. It felt terrible so I called my doctor’s office and was “asked” to come in right away. After a brief examination I was given a prescription (tetracycline based) which took the pain away almost immediately from what might have been a kidney issue-problem solved. I went back to work for the reminder of the day. My doctor had shortly before this given me a complete physical. Everything was okay except he said there were a few “clinkers” in the lab tests. My cholesterol levels and ratios could have been better. No medications were recommended but “exercise” was prescribed.
My wife later used my doctor when her doctor moved away. At about that time my Mother-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (believed to be the cause of her severe pain). My wife took this very hard but did some checking and spoke with several knowledgeable individuals about her mother’s history and supposed condition. My Mother-in-law’s gallbladder was removed previously, and this is what my wife focused on as opposed to what her Mother’s doctor was saying. Finally, my wife called our doctor asking him to call her Mother’s doctor as the latter would not listen to her. Our doctor agreed to call and did not even wait for my wife to set up a conference call. You see my Mother-in-law lived Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and there were no cheap, instant communications systems as there are today. Our doctor called the KL doctor, advised him to check the bile duct for kidney stones (which were found). Our doctor, unannounced to my wife, placed a follow up call to KL to check on the results of his advice. He declined any payment for his efforts. My Mother-in-law’s pain disappeared and, she lived XX more years well into her 90s. Our doctor is no longer with us, but Dr. J.A. Hiatt is our “person of the day” !
Notes/lessons learned:
— If you have a good doctor keep him/her
–drugs/medications can be very helpful
–exercise and diet are important
–a little research can be positive