Be the BOSS!

Here are some terms that I think tend to confuse the average consumer (patient) when it comes to Physicians and all aspects of the Medical Field-

• Doctor's Visit


• Go to see the Doctor

Now... why in the world are those terms confusing?

Forgive me if I am wrong, but the last time I went to visit someone I did not have to pay for the privilege and certainly did not have to pay more for a 'special' visit!

I also did not go to "see" the Doctor... I can do that for free by sitting in a Hospital lobby, seeing hundreds of doctors in a single day!

What we tend to forget is that the Physicians we "see" are actually subcontractors... we make a contract with the Insurance Company, in a sense, hiring them and they in turn have a list of subcontractors that we can choose from to serve our needs. We forget that WE are the upper management in all of this, we are the BOSS!

We pay our 'employees', our 'subcontractors' to do specialized work and trust them to do the work they have been hired to do, but somehow we have lost sight of the fact that we are the ones that really call the shots.

You need to take an active roll in your Health Care...

Would you hire a roofer to come in and put a new roof on your house then let them call the shots as to the color, price, design and timeline? No, you would watch them carefully and make sure that your wishes were followed and would refuse to pay until the job was done to your satisfaction.

You need to know what tests are being done and why, what treatment options are available, what you need to do to be prepared for any emergencies and what the future might hold so that you can make the best decisions in your own best interest.

You would fire an employee that did not return phone calls and would never even consider calling in a plumber that did not understand the plumbing in your house.... why accept a Doctor that never returns phone calls or does not understand all of your medical conditions?

The terminology used can be very confusing... to 'visit' tends to denote a casual atmosphere and to 'see' makes you believe that just being in their presence is enough, but it isn't.

If your Medical Subcontractor is not living up to the roll of a good employee it is time to put out the "Help Wanted" sign and find one that you can work WITH and will work FOR you.

Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk

This week (August 22-28th 2010) is the First Annual DTP (Digestive Tract Paralysis) Awareness Week on Facebook, Sponsored by G-PACT.ORG as part of their celebration of their 9th Anniversary in existence (August 23rd) and people across Facebook are changing their profile pictures to G-PACT colors of lime green and yellow in a show of support and posting Awareness messages in their updates.

Those of us with Digestive Tract Paralysis conditions tend to talk in initials when we speak of the conditions involved and the treatments to keep us alive, so I thought that I would share a small 'translation' for those who see these mysterious initials popping up so that they could follow the discussions more easily.

• 
  
  DTP- Digestive Tract Paralysis


• 
  
  GP- Gastroparesis- delayed gastric or stomach emptying


• 
  
  CIP- Chronic Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction- when the small intestine has nerve paralysis and reacts as if there were a physical obstruction with all the symptoms of a physical obstruction but no obstruction can be found in testing.


• 
  
  DS- Dumping Syndrome- accelerated gastric or stomach emptying


• 
  
  J-PEG- feeding through a tube placed through the abdominal wall directly into the digestive tract


• 
  
  TPN- IV nutrition delivered directly into the peritoneum or abdominal cavity


• 
  
  NG- Naso-gastric, a tube fed in through the nostril and down the throat to deliver nutrition to the stomach


• 
  
  NJ- a tube fed in through the nostril and down the throat to deliver nutrition to the small intestine, by-passing the stomach


• 
  
  GES- Gastric Emptying Scan- a test used to diagnose Gastroparesis and Dumping Syndrome

It is much easier to talk the talk and help those with Digestive Tract Paralysis raise Awareness if you can understand the 'lingo'... now it is up to you to walk the walk.

There are many things you can do to help Raise Awareness, if you have a Facebook account you can go to www.facebook.com/g-pact and see all the wonderful Awareness activities going on. There are videos on youtube made by sufferers telling you in their own words what DTP does to them (including a 4 year old girl), suggestions for status messages that you can use to help raise Awareness, pictures that you can post and use as your profile picture, letters you can send to politicians... the list goes on and on.

Four Paws up for Gastroparesis

Some people are still shocked to hear that animals can suffer from Gastroparesis and other Digestive Tract Paralysis conditions and are amazed to hear that I, as a Gastroparesis sufferer, happen to be owned by a Long Haired Chihuahua who also has Gastroparesis!

Loki (the above named Chihuahua that owns me) is not alone in the canine community when it comes to having Gastroparesis, here is another dog with Gastroparesis who owns a blogger! (http://starcraving.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/gastroparesis-my-dog-the-good-the-bad-the-crunchy/)!

In fact, if you do a search on the Internet about Electrical Stimulation for the treatment of Gastroparesis you will find that dogs with Gastroparesis (mostly diabetic gastroparesis) were the used to test the Gastric Pacemakers that help so many Gastroparesis sufferers. (http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~7XXoSLm_kv_Ho)

The fact that my dog was diagnosed before I was saved his life and gave me a better understanding of Gastroparesis and what to expect by watching him as he went on a low fat low fiber prescription diet.

Loki was my Service Dog, and still is in the Home (I have various mobility issues and he helps me with many daily tasks) but he had to retire from working out of the home because of the stress it put on him. He became very defensive of me, if I was hurting and he was hurting then no one could come near me and this is not acceptable in a Service Dog.

We have a very close bond, when I talk to him he is always looking into my eyes, head cocking to the left and the right as he tries to make out the strange noises I am making (He humors me alot in this, lol) and I can always tell when something is wrong and what is bothering him. He will just look at me in a certain way and I know that his belly is hurting, or he has a headache and when he feels he needs one he will bring me the TUMS bottle for a quarter of a TUMS and sometimes will not touch it until I have one if he thinks I need it.

The truth of the matter is that if an animal has a nervous system then they can suffer from the same nerve issues and damage is humans, and this includes vagus nerve issues. Dogs that seem to throw up undigested food hours after eating (cats and other animals as well), have 'poor appetites', are 'picky eaters' or always seem to be eating grass might very well be suffering from Gastroparesis.

Loki has a few quirks that go along with his tiny pawed walk with Gastroparesis... like the fact that he refuses to drink! He used to be willing to drink from a water bottle (he has never been willing to drink from a bowl, maybe because of the air that is taken in making him uncomfortable) but now the only way he will take in water is with his food. This is not as big of an issue since he gets many small meals a day and I monitor carefully how much water he gets a day, but when I am not able to be with him he often will refuse a meal and that worries me.

There are three things that he will lap up with a gusto... any smoothie (yes, I have made him special little smoothies on hot days to encourage fluid intake), iced coffee (he goes absolutely nuts when he sees one but only gets a few drops) and green bean broth!

This pup refuses to drink meat broths, lick ice cubes or touch any of the special liquid treats that he has been offered... he knows what he likes and what does not make him sick and that is what he will drink and nothing more. (I wish I had that kind of will power at times)

This does not mean that he is not above snorffling up the odd tasty bit at rest stops when we are on a trip so we have to keep a very careful eye on him when he is walking us at one of those because the stray french fry, bit of leftover sandwich that did not make it in the trash or other goodie strangers were kind enough to leave on the ground just for him is absolutely irresistible! (If they left Gatorade on the ground, however, he would not touch it with a 10 foot cat!)

So, today, Loki is giving four paws up for Gastroparesis in solidarity to his canine GP sufferers! (Four paws up is a wonderful thing to give and puts the belly in the perfect position for a good gentle rub :) )