Rollercoaster

Dear specialists of all my fabulous diseases,

My life has been quite a rollercoaster the past weeks, so in this blog I would like to express myself and share what I have learned.

The problem started 5 years ago when I developed pain in my chest and I was given anti blood clotting medication by my GP. Then, the cardiologist told me to stop it because, according to her, my heart was healthy and it was because of the stress of losing my brother. I stopped and a week later on my way to London for holidays I got a heart attack at Antwerp station on 3 August 2015. In the Hospital in Antwerp they did a lot of exams and told me it was caused by a blood clot. So they put me back on medication and the pain in my chest was gone. I lived without fear of having a heart attack.

Last year during the summer of 2019 I started having heavy menstruation and it went on for 3 weeks non-stop. I even collapsed during a flight back from holidays and ended up at the emergency room at Schiphol, a place where, by the way, I was mistreated by the medical staff the moment I told them my HIV status. They accused me of putting in danger other people’s life in the plane because of my bleeding and I was supposed to stay away from travel until it was over.

But the bleeding simply did not stop, so I went to my own hospital where I was told I had a fibroid in my uterus. Keeping me on the same medication I continued bleeding heavily every month. But at some stage I lacked so much blood that I ended up in hospital for a blood transfusion at the beginning of 2020. Still, no changes to my medication.

Then, in March this year I visited my cardiologist and he told me that I didn’t need to visit anymore for regular check-ups, only to see the GP four times a year to check my blood pressure. He sent a letter to my GP with an updated medication list, including the anti blood clotting medication. By then I already told my gynaecologist my family history of my two sisters who had the same problem. She told me that if the bleeding did not stop, that my last option, after trying a new anti-conception called Mirena, they would consider removing my uterus. My heavy bleeding never stopped since it started so it became a chronic problem to me. And so I survived through most of the summer.

Three weeks ago is where the communication problem seriously started. As the bleeding continued, I was now anxious to hear the gynaecologist’s plan to solve my bleeding problem. Knowing what she told me before about removing my uterus, I was in shock when she said, "Madam, there is no need to remove your uterus now that Mirena does not work with you, and you can stop the anti blood clotting medication. After that we will see how things will be going without those two".

I was in shock to hear I had to stop my anti blood clotting medication. I immediately recalled what happened 5 years ago. So I asked why should I stop it and she said that she had a discussion with the cardiologist and they concluded that I never really needed it. To me it was so tough to hear from the gynaecologist to tell me to stop medication that I have taken for so long. To me, this seemed just for the purpose of solving my bleeding without really considering my complicated story of heart failure and family history.

And since she informed me at the end of a Friday afternoon there was nothing I could do anymore but to stop the medication at that moment. So you can imagine how scary this idea was for the whole weekend. Meanwhile my pain was killing me and I could not wait to call my GP on the next Monday. And here came another surprise… My GP was not informed by the hospital for me to stop the anti blood clotting medication, she did not receive any update from the cardiologist or gynaecologist at all. So there was no way for her to tell if it was good or not and she advised me to call the cardiologist for him to explain.

So now I tried to reach the hospital to speak to my cardiologist. They said this was not possible as he was on a holiday, so they gave me an appointment for a telephone consultation for 2 weeks later. Can you imagine? Me having urgent questions about why my heart medication was stopped and having to wait for so long? I was angry, felt stressful and had panic attacks in the night. My pain was unbearable. So desperately I approached my pharmacist and she called the hospital to find out how long I would stop. The answer she got was the same, "Stop it, she never needed it". To me I could not understand why the cardiologist never told me himself in March this year when I visited him, and suddenly my gynaecologist is taking charge of these two diseases?

So, the last 3 weeks I have been calling medical professionals every single day; Two specialists, my GP, and my pharmacist. So often I could not reach them and they would promise to call me back. I was always holding my phone in my hands as I feared missing a call. And so often they didn’t call back at all on the date agreed. Every day I have been crying, scared in the night, and I don’t trust myself anymore when it comes to living my life.

So, where do I stand right now? By now I learned from the cardiologist that the gynaecologist urged him to stop my medication, but that he would have preferred me to stay on the medication to reduce the risk of a heart attack if there were no problems with my bleeding. Meanwhile, the gynaecologist still does not have an alternative, and told me that I have to make a very strong case (myself!) for her to take out my uterus. So I still don’t know what is going to happen.

Dear specialists, I know that each of you is doing a good job for the benefit of your patients. But I would like to ask you to communicate better between yourselves and do so on time. And please keep my GP informed at all times! More importantly, you are dealing with a human being, so make sure you explain very clearly what is going on. And please listen to the concerns of a patient without ignoring his or her family history. The pain I went (and still am going) through, I do not wish to any other patient.

Together we are strong! Work together for the sake of a patient with multiple diseases.

Thank you.

Peace,
Eliane