mellowsong
11-02-11, 10:16 PM
Minor, maybe major victory today!!! Will try to make a long story short without too much medicalese. Most of you know I'm at my wits end with the docs at the VA not listening to me, assuming I'm a mental case etc etc. Recently, a cardiologist told me to cut down on sodium. I tried to explain how I ate and he waved me off saying: "You're crazy, nobody eats like that! Cut down the sodium." He waved me off and walked out of the room.
Today I was seeing a kidney doc because I lose a lot of electrolytes in my urine. Spent quite a while with the Fellow, then the attending came in. After saying hi, the next words out of his mouth were: "You have to cut down on sodium!" Well, I kinda lost it. I told him I was tired of all their assumptions, calling me crazy, a liar etc and that he needed to listen to me or I was leaving. After his initial shock was over, he sat down and listened to me. I told him I was way more than numbers on the blasted lab report and that I was NOT lying about sodium intake, that I eat nothing processed etc and the only sodium I eat comes out of MY salt shaker. He actually seemed to believe me and started doing calculations. BTW...according to the 24 hour urine I was supposedly taking in TEN grams of sodium/day!!!
The end result of all this: His own calculations prove that the lab values given are impossible. He apologized for assumptions and insinuations and of course, re-ordered the test, lol. He then proceeded to say a lot of things that actually made sense. I think I need to try this on pulmonary next!
Today I was seeing a kidney doc because I lose a lot of electrolytes in my urine. Spent quite a while with the Fellow, then the attending came in. After saying hi, the next words out of his mouth were: "You have to cut down on sodium!" Well, I kinda lost it. I told him I was tired of all their assumptions, calling me crazy, a liar etc and that he needed to listen to me or I was leaving. After his initial shock was over, he sat down and listened to me. I told him I was way more than numbers on the blasted lab report and that I was NOT lying about sodium intake, that I eat nothing processed etc and the only sodium I eat comes out of MY salt shaker. He actually seemed to believe me and started doing calculations. BTW...according to the 24 hour urine I was supposedly taking in TEN grams of sodium/day!!!
The end result of all this: His own calculations prove that the lab values given are impossible. He apologized for assumptions and insinuations and of course, re-ordered the test, lol. He then proceeded to say a lot of things that actually made sense. I think I need to try this on pulmonary next!