Being Assertive in Your Own Health Care

An important lesson that I have learned in the last several months is how important it is to be assertive in your own health care. I have known for a long time that something was not right with my breathing and that none of the asthma medicines had helped. I kept telling the doctors and they kept prescribing different medicines. It all started almost 6 years ago. I had been coughing and coughing non-stop for months. I went to my regular doctor's office and they did a breathing test on me and decided I had asthma. But for several years before that, I had been fighting recurring bronchitis several times a year.

Last August, I was to the point of despair. I felt terrible, both physically and mentally. None of the asthma medicines helped. I had NO energy to do anything. I went to see my pastor, thinking perhaps the problem was spiritual. He insisted that I go back to the doctor and gave me a list of items to ask them to check out. At that time, I didn't have a sub available for my child care very often and wasn't sure how or when I could go. But I knew that week, I had a day that I was only scheduled to have one child and sometimes that child didn't come on Thursdays. So on the way back from the church, I prayed that if there was a physical problem, then God would work it out where I didn't have any kids on that day and could go to the doctor. He worked it out and I went to the doctor that week. To make a very long story short, this eventually led to me finding out what was wrong and having the tracheal re-section surgery. We also learned that I had entered menopause. I'd had a hysterectomy several years ago but they left my ovaries, so I had no um...monthly way of knowing that I had entered menopause. LOL

So...what is my point? Well, I had known for years that something wasn't right with the breathing. I kept letting the doctors throw different medicines at me instead of insisting that they look deeper. It would be really easy to be angry with the doctors (and I am a little bit). But, in all fairness, the lady at Medford had suggested last year that I go see a pulmonologist and I put it off, not really seeing the point. I had also suspected for a while that I was in menopause, but hadn't asked them to check my hormone levels to see for sure. So, my main point is: You KNOW your own body. You know when something isn't right! If you feel like a doctor isn't listening to you, then either switch doctors or insist that they listen. Make a list, keep a chart of the problems, whatever it takes. But be assertive! Stand up for yourself if you know you're not feeling right.