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I don't really consider myself a health advocate (except for myself), but I do enjoy a rant! On this blog, off the top of my head, I have ranted about:
1.) generic drugs and infuriating pharmacy staff
2.) annoying drug ads on TV
3.) the Charmin bears (ugh)
4.) People's offensive reactions to and suggestions about my AAC
5.) one particular asshole naturopath
I'm sure there are many more delightful rants in the annals of this blog....feel free to find them. Like an angry angry scavenger hunt!
Today, however, I went to yoga and I'm completely wiped out (a combination of tired/calm), so I don't know if I can muster a really good, cleansing rant. I think instead I'll make a list of health related things that piss me off or make my life more difficult.
1.) Gentle Rant 1: Naturopaths and Gastroenterologists
In all fairness, I'm a skeptical person-I'm pretty firmly on team western medicine. That said, I think there is value in looking to alternative sources to complement traditional treatments and enhance overall health. I wish that naturopaths and gastros could work together to find some kind of common ground and create some sort of hybrid, holistic approach to dealing with Crohn's. I have yet to meet a gastro who embraces the benefits of a naturpathic perspective, and I feel like there is a lot of secret (and not so secret) eye-rolling happening from both parties. I've been to a few naturopaths, and a few (ok, more than a few) gastros, and many subscribe to a pretty entrenched "us vs. them" philosophy of treating illness. This is stupid.
Nowhere is the divide more apparent than diet. My current gastro doesn't focus on diet as a contributing factor to Crohn's symptoms and flares, but all of the naturopaths I've seen have focused on diet as a contributing to factor to health and well being in general. Again, I'm not sure that eliminating food groups a, b, and c from my diet could put me into remission, but what if it made me feel better? I would love for my doctor and naturopath (not the asshole one) to sit down and hammer things out for me: eating these foods will help reduce inflammation. Avoiding these foods might help prevent gas/increase absorption/decrease motility. This supplement will help alleviate some of the side effects from that drug/give you more energy/help you sleep. A combo approach to Crohn's-I'll take whatever help I can get. You know how when two family members are fighting, and you just want to lock them in a dark closet until they figure out their problems? That's what I want to do for these two. Get together, talk, eat some quinoa, hug it out. I think it would benefit both practitioners and all of their patients.
Gentle Rant 2: GO VOTE
I'm working up a little steam with this one.....check out the picture above. You know what DOES make me ranty? Conservative men making decisions about my health care options. You know what else makes me ANGRY? The fact that we don't have universal health care in this country. Finally (stepping up onto soapbox), let's talk a little about pre-existing conditions (I have one!). Due to a computer glitch, I didn't have health insurance for a few months this summer (I never knew-was never notified-I only found out three months later when I tried to pick up a prescription and found out I suddenly had no coverage). Since I have Crohn's, it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find other coverage. Do you know what it feels like to have, even for a second, your health care snatched away? Do you know how much money an MRI costs? A month's worth of steroids? A freaking colonoscopy?
No one should be penalized for having a disease.
If for not other reason (and there are SO MANY OTHER REASONS), vote for people who want to insure the uninsured, and prevent discrimination based on pre-existing conditions. Vote for people who want you to be allowed to have control over your own body and make your own health care choices. Vote-just vote.
Gentle Rant 3: Test Results
I think I'll end on a positive note. When you undergo as much testing as I do, it can be incredibly frustrating to have to hunt down your doctor/nurse to get your test results. In the past, I felt like I was harassing them with my multiple calls and messages, but when you're waiting on important test results you get a wee bit impatient. In the past few months, I've been getting weekly/bi-weekly blood draws, and while these aren't as nerve wracking as tests in the past (will this be the blood test/procedure that finally figures out what's wrong with me?!) my doctor (well, his nurse probably) sends me a copy of my results with the his notes a few days after each one. I didn't ask him to do this-maybe it's just how he does things. It's awesome. It helps me stay updated about my health and aware of what's going on with my body. I feel more empowered when I go to appointments, and I feel like I have more information when I'm making decisions about my health. Such a simple thing that has such a big impact.
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