Lungs in Crisis III

Day 102 – July 31, 2003: I made a return visit to my primary care doctor. We once again discussed the stubbornness of my favorite pulmonologist. For the time being I decided with her input that I would stay the course before starting over with a new pulmonologist.

My primary care doctor is the type of doctor who would have felt right at home making house calls one hundred years ago. When she treats you she treats the whole person and she has become rather concerned about my lack of improvement. One her own time she has been doing some research and recommended a new series of blood work that might help her to pin down the overall cause of my problem.

She also sat down with me and we had a serious discussion concerning my panic disorder. She understood that I was thrilled at the idea of visiting a psychologist but she felt that at this time it was probably for the best.

Seeing how concerned she was I gave in and promised her I would do some research and call some psychologists in the area and see if I could find someone that I was comfortable with.

Day 103 – August 1, 2003: Searching for a psychologist has proven to be rather more difficult than I expected. My first choice happened to be located in the same complex as my doctor was booked solid but she did put me on a waiting list and she promised to call when and if she had an opening.

The second name on my list had available appointments but he appeared to be rushed and I did not feel comfortable talking to him on the phone so I imagined talking to him would be more difficult in his office.

The next three names were all overbooked and promised to put me on their waiting lists.

By this time my frustration level was worse than my panic attacks so I made the decision to wait until I saw my doctor again and see if she had any recommendations.

Day 121 – August 19, 2003: Once again I found myself fraternizing with my two fish friends in my pulmonologists office. I feel rather out of place when I visit his office because the majority of his patients appear to have been around when the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. However, considering the current working condition of my lungs I really have no choice so I gossip with the fish while waiting for my personal lung expert.

Once in his office we discuss my current condition and he listens to my lungs wheeze. He was rather surprised to find that I had still made no real improvement. This non-improvement finally spurred him into some belated action.

I was given a referral for a series of sinus x-rays, a ct scan of my lungs and a sputum test. For now he is also eliminating all of my inhalers and allergy medicines. The only medication he wants me to take is something called Benzonatate, which are capsules designed to reduce coughing in patients with lung problems.

Day 123 –August 21, 2003: Back for another visit with J my primary care doctor. We discussed the lung experts latest recommendations and we both agreed that thought the forward movement was small progress was being made. My blood work came back normal none of J's latest hunches paid off. Which overall is a good thing since some of the diseases involved would not have been fun to deal with.

As I was leaving I noticed a stack of cards with the name of the psychologist who had been my first choice. I mentioned to J that I had yet to be successful in finding a therapist. I showed her the card in my hand and explained that this had been the one I hoped to see but she was booked solid.

J gave me a big smile and explained that the psychologist also a J who I will call JG was a friend of hers and always held a spot open in case she had a referral. She told me to give JG another call and she was sure things would work out.

Upon leaving the office I did just that and left a message on JG's machine. Within minutes she called back and with a laugh told me that dropping J's name was the key to the door and that she would find a way to squeeze me in.

Coming up next the bureaucracy of disability and long-term disability claims.