As important as it is to gain knowledge of the foods we eat, our health conditions, and how to treat them, and work to become as healthy as possible, it is equally as important to receive proper medical care. I believe that it entails an amount of trust in the doctors who treat us. We need to be confident that our doctors are honest and knowledgeable and that they care.
A solid relationship with our doctors is vital to our good health. I grew up with full faith and trust in the doctors who cared for me over the years. Recently, however, I've come to feel that my concerns haven't been addressed or are taken seriously by some of my doctors.
In 2008, I was enrolled in the VA healthcare system. At one of my appointments, my doctor wanted to prescribe me a new medication. I was familiar with every medication I was taking, but what she was giving me was new to me. So I asked her one simple question: "Does this medication include lactose?" I asked her because the inserts that come with our medications from the VA do not include a list of inactive ingredients.
This doctor turned to me, looked at me, and laughed. She proclaimed, "Medications don't have lactose in them." Her reaction and tone left me with the perception that she thought I was stupid. Why did I feel that way? She said, "Don't be silly."
By the time I left her office, I had less trust in her as my doctor. It was a huge wake-up call because she was the first doctor I had ever seen react that way to a question I posed. Since that day, I have gradually lost trust in my doctors and the medical establishment as a whole.
You may ask why I became so concerned with inactive ingredients in medications. Because in the years since my diagnosis of lactose allergy, I found out that some drugs have lactose added to them. There are many reasons why lactose is used in medications. It acts as a flow agent, a filler, a disintegrant, and above all, a binder/diluent, retaining or releasing the active ingredient. Lactose can be used as a diluent in tablets, lozenges, capsules, and powder for intravenous injections. It can also be used in enteric coating on certain medications. Pharmaceutical-grade lactose is produced from cheese whey or milk. The process results in pharmaceutical lactose of different shapes and properties.
In 2009, I was diagnosed with IBS, irritable bowel syndrome. By this time, I had cut out the lactose in my diet. However, I started to suffer from a repeated, painful cycle of irregularity that, at times, left me unable to function. Receiving the diagnosis of IBS left me hopeful that I would be treated and become healthy again.
I was seen by GI doctors; I was given colonoscopies and tested for other gut diseases, such as celiac disease. I was told to eat more foods containing fiber. I was even given information about foods with fiber. However, I returned to the doctor again and again. My painful irregularity continued. And every time I left the doctor's office, I felt less confident that I would feel better or that anything would ever change.
In 2012, I returned once again to the GI doctor. I explained my symptoms to her and told her how sick I always felt. She looked at my chart, my history of complaints, and the history of all the tests done. Then she looked at me, shrugged, and said she didn't know what she could do for me because my symptoms were the same as they had always been. "Nothing has changed," she said. And then she prescribed me dicyclomine. Once again, when I returned home, I researched the inactive ingredients in dicyclomine. And found that it contains lactose. I became angry.
Dicyclomine is in a class of medications called anticholinergics. It relieves muscle spasms in the GI tract. It's a wonderful medication for IBS unless the patient has a problem with lactose.
Although this medication is an excellent treatment for IBS, I became angry because my medical chart listed my lactose allergy. I had to do the work of the doctor when she was the one who should have known the medication she prescribed me. I also felt like I was simply given drugs and sent away. It appeared that this doctor didn't want to deal with me anymore or find another way to treat me and help me become healthy.
This destroyed my trust in that doctor and further reduced my trust in the doctors who provided my care.
We must realize that we have the right to have our doctors work to help us become and stay healthy. Yes, we have the power inside of us to work to find health solutions for ourselves when necessary. I also believe that, along with everything we can do for ourselves, we need doctors we can trust to help us when we are confronted with serious health conditions. As a people in this great country, we have a right to competent, caring healthcare that results in our best health. So I turned my anger into action and went to the internet and researched foods for IBS and the IBS diet.
Education about foods and how they affect not only our overall health but also our individual health diagnoses is vital. The information I read was invaluable. I learned how to tailor my diet to my IBS. I learned what foods to avoid, what foods to try on an elimination basis, and what foods are excellent for someone with IBS. I found a new lifestyle that helped to heal me.
Once again, I felt very empowered to be able to take my health into my own hands because, within one week of incorporating this diet into my life, I had none of the symptoms that had crippled me.
In the future, I will highlight the importance of specific foods in my diet and how they played a significant role in my journey to becoming healthy again.
Navigating Trust in the Doctor-Patient Relationship
- by: Gena Hulse
- 11/21/2024
- Source:
UncoverDC
- 11/21/2024
