Down at our health centre, young doctors come and go. It is a training centre for The University of Sheffield Medical School. They stay for three months and then they are off to their next position - perhaps in orthopaedics or coronary care or geriatrics. When you are a young doctor you never stop learning.
Since it was discovered that I have high blood pressure, I have seen four of these doctors - all women. I heard today on BBC Radio 4 that the number of women doctors working in the NHS now matches the number of male doctors. It represents quite a turnaround and an achievement that our country should recognise with pride.
They still haven't been able to get my blood pressure fully under control. I have taken different pills with different strengths and now I am adding doxasozin to my cocktail. I believe it is some sort of alpha blocker. Anyway, I hope it will have the desired result without too many side effects.
All of this pill taking has come as a bit of a shock to my self-esteem. Previously, I never took any medication. I was wild and free but now I am corralled. They have got me.
At the end of this week's doctor's appointment, I asked the young doctor if she would have a look at the corner of my mouth where there has been a swelling like an ulcer for months now. My dentist referred me to the local dental hospital last September but it had remained a waiting game.
The young doctor, Rachel, photographed the problem area and sent that picture straight to the dental hospital whereupon I received a quick referral. This very evening I had an appointment with a dentistry professor and he will be booking me in for day surgery in the next ten days. The lump will be excised and then my mouth will be sewn back up. Hopefully, the excised material will not prove to be cancerous though it could be - only laboratory analysis can determine that.
The professor was a very nice man and we enjoyed some banter. He joked that I would need to keep a stiff upper lip after the surgery and he also made me laugh when he said that I still had the look of a schoolboy about me with my floppy fringe and my mischievous smile. Why wasn't I still teaching? I suggested to him that he should have been a stand-up comedian rather than a professor of dentistry. I would guess that I am twenty years older than him.
I think I will give Dr Rachel a "Thank You" card as she departs from our health centre. Getting me into the dental hospital is not the only extra service she has provided. She also hurried my urology appointment along but I would rather not discuss that matter here and please don't ask about it. It was just between Dr Rachel and I.
I'm glad you had such a swift response to the lump in your mouth and I hope it's fine. I also hope that they're able to get yur blood pressure down. That's worrisome.
ReplyDeleteWell it is down a lot from when the issue was first discovered but they want to get it even lower.
DeleteI'm sorry you're dealing with these health woes, YP. In my younger days I would have said "life's a bitch and then you die", but now that I've entered my golden years I prefer the words of Bette Davis. "Getting old is not for sissies."
ReplyDeleteOur attitudes to health matter alter as the years pass by.
DeleteMay you be as fortunate with the Dr who follows Dr Rachel. Is there any way that you can let Dr Rachael's mentor/supervisor know of her exemplary care in helping you navigate your system? I feel that too often that the squeaky wheels with the grievances, both real and imagined, are heard more often. It would be nice to be the difference (just don't sign your note Karen).
ReplyDeleteWill Jay
Some days it really feels grim to be aging, doesn't it? I'm having medical issues myself but like you and your unmentionable problem I am not going to discuss it! I'm glad Dr. Rachel helped out with the referral issues and I hope you get good results from the lab. Hang in there, dude.
ReplyDeleteGreat that women and men physicians are about equal in number. Those mysterious little lumps always cause some worry. To get yours looked after right away is a bonus.
ReplyDeleteDr Rachel is what we should expect and receive from our medical professionals.
ReplyDeleteWow, young doctor Rachel got good, fast action for you! I hope all goes well with the oral surgery and the lump is benign. And yes, I know from my own experience that it can take quite a period of "trial and error" for the doctor to find the right high blood pressure medication -- it's a very individual kind of thing. That surprised me too.
ReplyDeleteThank heavens for Dr Rachel, she may have saved you from cancer. I hope the lump isn't, but you never know do you? I hope the new doctor is just as diligent.
ReplyDeleteI feel your urological pain
ReplyDeleteAll the best for your surgery, Neil. It is good to know that Dr. Rachel and the Professor are both caring and competent. A thank you card is a kind gesture.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about your urology problem. Young Rachel shared the details on Facebook and asked for advice from all the experts there.
ReplyDeleteI recall Kay doing a 3-month GP rotation in London. I am glad Dr Rachel has helped fast-track all your problems. People assume that because they are young doctors they don't have the experience but to be honest they have the latest updated knowledge and procedures, so are often better than the older ones. Hope your surgery goes well.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are getting good care for your health problems. It shows the value of face to face appointments with a gp.
ReplyDeleteWe are very lucky in our local hospital QA, covering Portsmouth area we have loads of military doctors, mainly Navy, when being treated often our doctor will be in uniform under their white coats.
ReplyDeleteLove Jaycee's response - is nothing sacred?
ReplyDeleteHope all went well with the surgery yesterday and you're managing to maintain that stiff upper lip!
Have you considered that an alteration to your diet may help lower your blood pressure? There seem to be so many articles on the net about every convceivable health problem - including urology!
It also helps bp if you eat the right diet.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that you have a lot going on, health wise. Hopefully it all settles soon
ReplyDeleteA responsive doc, is worth ten average docs.
ReplyDeleteYou are a brave man YP. You are not one of those who go for just a chat.
ReplyDeleteHow lucky to have good doctors and fast service. Hope they get the medication right for your blood pressure and best of luck with the oral surgery.
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that my doctor is young. Hopefully he'll be around for the rest of my life. Keep us updated on how the oral surgery goes. I would never ask about the urology situation. I mean- I talk about my kidney stone all the time but somehow that is different, I think.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Rachel accelerated your referral. It's worrisome when something hangs around for months and it's especially frustrating when you can't get in to see someone about it. Here's hoping it's nothing.
ReplyDeleteMy dad has a t-shirt that says, "Growing old is not for sissies"
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday he slipped at the top of his stairs and landed at the bottom. Not a broken bone. Just a bit of skin scuffed and a shock. He is made of strong stuff. I wish I was!
Hope you get the treatment you need and It's all good news.
In later years I've met different doctors on almost every visit, and can't help but feel a bit nostalgic about a time in a more and more distant past when there were two female doctors at my health care centre who actually knew me and remembered me from one time to the next. (They both even recognised me well enough to say hello if we happened to run into one another on the street etc in between.) It saved such a lot of explanations. They both retired a number of years ago, though, and since then I never know how much of my medical history I'm supposed to repeat (or not). - You seem to have been very fortunate with this Rachel, though, and I hope all goes well!!
ReplyDeleteHere too, so often it is having the right doctor who can speed things up for you.
ReplyDeleteMy mother used to take that blood pressure drug. I don't remember there being side effects. She reached 89, if that is of any comfort.