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Friday, July 25, 2008

Don't Worry, It's Just The MS

I hate going to new doctors. I'm not terribly thrilled to go to the old ones. You develop a certain relationship with your regular doctor that you don't have with strangers, if you're lucky. Being in Baltimore, I am close to both Hopkins and U of Maryland hospitals, and have been patients at both. I also have been seen at Mercy, Franklin Square, Good Sam, St. Joe's, and GBMC. It's not too bad when you go to a neuro that specializes in MS. You expect to give the whole history. I hate it when you go to one who isn't a MS specialist and as you explain your symptoms, they say, "NO WAY!" Not very encouraging.

God forbid you have to go the emergency room for anything. I no longer tell them I have MS, not right off anyways. The reason for that is I have had doctors right in the middle of the exam say, "oh, you have MS? That's probably what's wrong," end of exam. Whaaaa? They have to be kidding! How about when a doctor tells you, when you are there concerned about something that he isn't worried about it. I guess you're not you dumb S.O.B., you aren't the one going through it!

All of this brings me to this mornings rant. Just as I dislike it when a doctor declassifies my concerns because they find out I have MS, similarly I have to make sure I don't do it myself. It would be foolish to ignore things because it's probably the MS. Having been diagnosed over 20 years ago, I have developed my own form of hypochondria. I have a simple ache or pain, it's that damn MS again! I broke a tooth the other day that I'm waiting to have a crown put on. MS! Bad hair day? MS! It is something we laugh about all the time. My wife or kids ask me to do something, or I do something stupid, yes me, I have a stock answer. Actually I have a couple. Either it's that I can't do it because I have a condition, or because I'm in the witness relocation program.

Funny story, at least I think so. When our daughter was elementary school, she is a junior in college now, looking at a January term, or Jan-term, in Israel, Jordan, Poland, Prague, and someplace else not here! Anyway in elementary school they bring all those forms home to sign. I hate filling out forms. I told her to wait for her mother to come home, I wasn't allowed to do it because I was in the witness relocation program. She told me what a goof I was and waited for her mother. The next day the teacher asked if anyone had a problem getting the paperwork done. My little sweetie raised her hand and said her father wasn't allowed to do it because he is in the program. It's great when your kids have your sense of humor. That teacher always gave me a wide berth after that?

My latest thing is I woke up this morning with a pain in the side of my neck.(My wife wakes up with a pain in the neck every morning! Baroompa!) Obviously it's a blood clot caused by the MS. I still have the port in my chest from the chemotherapy. it must be leaking, or ready to explode. Will the surgeon be able to get it out today? Is this the price I pay for having not called her to take it out already? Why does this kind of thing always happen to me? That's when it happened! Dust from the construction process caused me to sneeze and boy did that hurt! I started sneezing last night, hey wait a minute! What did I say to myself lat night? I said self, remember that sneeze tomorrow when something hurts, because that was a doozy! Tragedy averted! Call off the paramedics! I told you I was OK. Sometimes you just have to sit and think these things through. All this typing makes my finger hurt, I wonder.....

4 comments:

mdmhvonpa said...

I'm pretty certain that my MS is causing global warming ... or cooling ... or climate change. Probably all 3.

Anonymous said...

Now I can't sleep because I worry MS is coming after me. You are so like me I hope I don't catch it from you. Remember the golden years are coming, then you really have aches and pains to explain to yourself. If I go right to sleep it is just an attack of hypochondria. I have a lot of that. Better days are coming I just don't know when. keep your chin up because you know big heads are another problem. Love you.

Slammermike said...

That is what happens when you are a big strapping handsome guy. Nobody believes that that you can be sick or hurting.

Anonymous said...

"Obviously,.."?