finding a good doctor

One of my friends just asked me how you find a good doctor.

First, i'd suggest checking out a DO (osteopath). they have all the training of an MD but they don't go through the "hazing" of internship, so they're still human. they also are more open to alternative medicine and self-care, not just ramming pills down your throat and sending you for a million tests.

Many M.D.s started out kind, curious and idealistic. then the system squashed and dehumanized them (ever see the movie patch adams?) so that, as in every cycle of abuse, they pass it on- to us, the patients, the vulnerable powerless group. the only cure is love, to love them even tho they are wrong.

Sometimes i feel singled out. even tho i know they treat everyone that rudely, somehow that doesn't make me feel any better knowing.

If you are stuck with the doc you have you can always try to make him/ her more human. Suggestions from bernie seigel and patch adams (both doctors) about how to get better care form your doc include hugging your doctor, looking at them compassionately, bringing them cookies or some other token of friendship, or act as you would if you were trying to get someone to like you.

it's ridiculous, but we as patients have to give the lvoe first if we want ot get it. being a dr right now really sucks
the pressure they are under and the BS they have ot deal with sucks the joy right out of their calling. it's no excuse for being rude or abusive, but it does help to remember that when dealing with someone who is only marginally offensive

you may find you like a cash-only doctor. Find one at one of these websites:

http://www.simplecare.com/

http://www.pricedoc.com/


ultimately, the best thing is word of mouth- ask around to people who live near you for someone who is still human.

Did Michael jackson have lupus?

If michael jackson had lupus, he would have to hide it in order to be able to keep working. that's how show biz works. you can't get anyone to insure your tour if you might end up sick and cancel because of a rpe-existing condition. so if i were him and wanted to keep open the option of working, i would hide the fact that i had lupus. also, lupus is so misunderstood that i imagine he did not want to have to be the poster child for it and have ot educate everyone on this misunderstood disease. he had enough crap swirling around him as it was.

lupus would explain everything- the umbrellas shielding him from the sun, the autoimmune skin disease, the need for pain killers and other drugs. And the cardiac arrest. Most people who die from lupus die of cardiac arrest.

some say that anna nicole smith had lupus, and that she hid it because she didn't want to be remembered that way.
very few celebs come out and admit to a chronic illness. lots of them come out and talk about cancer, because cancer has had a great public campaign of awareness and no stigma attached to it anymore. also, it's something that happens, then you get better. the chronic illness... is chronic.

healthy (and not) sunscreens

Folks with lupus are warned to avoid the sun.
Sometimes we can't completely avoid it, so we use sunscreen. But some sunscreens are filled with nasty chemicals that are really bad for us. Here's a great resource for finding a healthy sunscreen:
http://www.ewg.org/cosmetics/report/sunscreen09/Beach-Sunscreens

wheee

I just signed up to take a class at the PIT (horrible sounding name! but it stands for People's Improv Theater). It's a class on writing one-(wo)man shows. I've had this yen for bout 5 years now, and keep trying to squash that little voice. But I'm going to go take the class, because if you don't learn anything else from having a stroke and kidney failure, you learn that you only live once. And I'm in good enough shape to get over my New-York-city-o-phobia to go take the class. 9 times.

I remember seeing Dead Poet's Society (movie) shortly after recovering from my first horrible bout with the big L. Thats was 15 years ago, but I remember Carpe Diem! Seize the day! And that the main character killed himself because his father would not allow him to pursue his dreams.

In Bernie Seigel's book, Love Medicine and Miracles, he asks all his patients what their lives were like for the one year before they got sick. In my life, I had squashed myself down into a life I hated- a job I hated, a church where I didn't fit in in a town I didn't like, and living in a trailer park where one of my neighbors broke in on my just a week after I moved in. While I was there. Sleeping. (He's in jail, last I knew). Is this a recipe for health? (That's rhetorical). My family moved me back home to my hometown. I got a fresh start. When I started to regain my strength, I decided to rebuild my life from scratch, but on purpose this time, architecting a life that was worth living.

Will that save me from ever getting sick again? No. But my life is worth living now.



I've bought about 6 copies of this book over the years. it was life-changing for me:

Gluten-free pizza!!!

hey you gluten-free pizza lovers!
I just got back from Uno's Chicago grill, where I had my first pizza in a restaurant since going gluten-free last fall.
Uno's is a national chain and they are doing gluten-free pizza right- they take it very seriously. The chef has to change gloves before working with the gluten-free ingredients; the sauces and other toppings for the gluten-free pizza is kept entirely separate from the toppings for the regular pizzas, and the manager personally brings the gluten-free pizza to the table. With all that care, once it arrived, I felt like i was getting the Hope Diamond.

Since going gluten-free, I've been restricting myself when eating out to either eating Japanese food- and i have to bring my own gluten-free soy sauce (most soy sauce has wheat in it for some reason) or mexican food (but not burritos or quesadillas- only tostadas, tacos, rice and beans and corn chips). I also go to Charlie Brown's steakhouse (they're like wildflowers in new jersey)- they have a great salad bar and delicious salmon.

But now I can have pizza. So can you and all your friends with celiac disease or other gluten sensitivities!

Not only that, it gives me another national chain I can search for when traveling.
Thanks, Uno's, for doing this, and doing it right.