One sure thing this disease has taught me….take control of your own health. So that is exactly what I did.
Between my two primary doctors which are my family physician and my “infectious disease doctor” (or as I call him, my HIV doctor), I was feeling alone. I had chosen a family physician which regularly handled HIV patients. However, she was only working 2 days per week nowadays and simply wasn’t in the office enough for me to see her on a regular basis, so I was seen by other people.
My illnesses would go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed and I was becoming increasingly sick. And truly, I don’t blame the other doctors who missed my diagnosis. I understand that my situation is much different than the typical patient. I was often told that if I don’t improve, to contact my HIV doctor. While my HIV doctor was telling me that it was something the family physician could handle. I felt as though I was slipping through the cracks. I was so tired of having sickness after sickness and no one seemed to know what was wrong with me.
So I took control of my own health. I found a new family physician. I’m very happy and actually feeling much better. She did some blood work that no one else had done and discovered that I was deficient on many vitamins. She also found that my allergies were a big cause of my problems. So with the help of some additional medications, I’m feeling much better.
While I feel a little guilty for switching family physicians, because I truly loved the one I had. However, I had to do what was in my best interest, and that was to find a physician who was more readily available, yet still familiar with my diagnosis.
Katie,
It sounds like you are on the right path to wellness. I do not have HIV but I have been involved with this issue for many years. I made a documentary about families living with HIV who did not want to treat their kids with medications and had many questions about other issues, too, such as testing and breastfeeding. Their lives all went very differently but the one thing they all seemed to have in common was the fact that there seemed to be no simple, one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with HIV. There were many facts, opinions, studies, options, but at the end of the day, each family took control of their own health (to use your words), for better or worse. Sometimes these issues seem very black and white, but what I learned in making the movie (and continue to learn) is that there are many, many shades of gray that everyday people have to get through to find their own answers. Best wishes to you.
If you are truly concern about taken complete control of your health first thing first make sure you are educated on the needs for your health then please make sure that your doctor is HIV specialist that see over 50 clients and is up to date on the research of HIV/AIDS.