Today I saw my rheumatologist for the first time since he officially diagnosed me in December. I was fully expecting him to tell me I needed to get on medication right away, since when we talked in December he wanted me on it, but gave me some additional time for the sake of our family planning.
He asked me how I was feeling, and, when my reply was 'Great', he sort of gave me a funny look. I think he thought I was pulling an April Fool's joke on him or something. He then asked if I was still on NSAIDs and I told him I hadn't taken anything in nearly a month. He was very taken back my this, and asked what I was doing. When I told him diet and exercise, he thought maybe I was on some weird "exotic" diet. I told him I simply was avoiding starches, dairy, and refined sugars, and his response was "all of the inflammatory foods". I explained the theory behind the diet, and it made sense to him. He was super excited and said he was going to research it.
My question to him was "when do I start medication?" He told me at this point I didn't need to, and he didn't need to see me for 6 months instead of 3. He said in a year we will repeat the x-ray to see if any further damage is happening, but advised me to keep up what I'm doing for now, as it seems to be working. He told me he didn't want me on a pill if I was feeling pretty good.
I'm so thankful for a doctor who isn't a pill pusher and sees that I'm doing well without medication and realizes that lifestyle changes can affect diseases. I'm thankful that God is using this diet to help in my pain and inflammation reduction. I hope it continues to work!
That's awesome John! Who are you seeing? I'm in the market for a new guy.
ReplyDeleteExcellent news, Jon! I don't like pill-pushing doctors either. I'm so glad that you have a good rheumatologist.
ReplyDeleteJulie, I go to Dr. Oliveira at the Clinic. I really like him and would highly recommend him. Why are you looking for a different doctor?
ReplyDeleteFirst...sorry I spelled your name wrong in my other comment. Shesh! Force of habit I guess. I'm looking for a new doctor because I don't have confidence in mine. We've had a couple of HUGE points of disagreement on treatment and the divulging of information. He's not always completely up front with me and unless I ask the EXACT question I don't get the answers I seek. Because of that, I don't fully trust him yet I love his Nurse Practitioner. She is simply amazing! On the other hand, he needs Jesus and God has obviously crossed our paths for a reason. Quite a quandary.
ReplyDeleteJulie, I'll be praying that God makes it clear to you what you need to do in the situation. I hope you find someone that you can trust and get along with. That's kind of important considering what you're dealing with.
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